How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 54 - Stingy_1

54: Chapter 54: Stingy_1

54 -54: Stingy_1

After the pleasantries,

Peng Chunhua said, “I’ve often seen Old Mrs.

Qin knitting these past few days.

My mother-in-law said you sell them to the supply and marketing cooperative.

How much money can you make from this?”

Li Qiao was slightly shocked.

Had grandmother told them?

“One…

Jin knows.

Ask him, he’s the one who took them there, I’m not too clear on the matter.” The words she was about to blurt out took an abrupt turn.

If Old Mrs.

Qin had shared the information, Peng Chunhua wouldn’t have asked her about the price.

She must have come asking after she couldn’t get the information from Old Mrs.

Qin, no?

Peng Chunhua started to feel suspicious in her heart.

Were the old and the young all pushing the matter onto Qin Jin, deliberately keeping her in the dark, afraid that she would steal their way to wealth?

They were all villagers here; this was just too stingy!

She forced a laugh and said, “I’ll ask him when I see him tomorrow.”

After making a couple of perfunctory remarks, Peng Chunhua made an excuse and left.

Li Qiao saw her out and then shut the door again.

Old Mrs.

Qin said, “Thank goodness you didn’t tell her the truth.

Otherwise, your aunt’s family would be green with envy and lose sleep over it.”

Li Qiao suddenly expressed concern, “Later, I need to ask my classmates if it would have a bad influence on him if the villagers go to the supply and marketing cooperative and see our woven vases.”

“That’s right.

Nowadays, having a steady job isn’t easy; let’s not cause someone to lose theirs,” Old Mrs.

Qin said.

The two busied themselves until evening before calling it a day.

It was completely dark, and Qin Jin had not yet returned.

Li Qiao shone a flashlight toward the direction of the village entrance.

“Li Qiao.”

Li Qiao turned the flashlight, and the beam fell on the newcomers.

It was Du Xinxin and Wang Nannan.

Both looked exhausted, their trouser legs covered in mud, hands in pockets, with a book tucked under their arms.

“Have you finished work?

Why didn’t Jin come back with you?” Li Qiao asked.

“We two are on cooking duty, so we came back early.

They still have a ways to go.

Oh, did you learn English this week?

Can you teach us here instead?

It saves us from running to your place on a cold night.”

“Sure,” Li Qiao went inside to light a kerosene lamp, poured hot water into two tea bowls for them, extravagantly adding sugar.

She arranged the necessary notes to the side.

Only then did she take out the English book to teach them the new knowledge.

Next door, Old Mrs.

Qin was nearly asleep but sat up startled when she heard the reading.

Recognizing her daughter-in-law’s voice, she listened intently with a serious look on her face.

Li Qiao ended the reading aloud and whispered, “Have you memorized it?”

“We have.

It’s so late, and you’re still willing to patiently teach us; we really don’t know how to thank you,” they said.

“It’s just a minor effort, not worth mentioning.

Do you have to work again tomorrow?” Li Qiao said.

“Yes, I hear we’re going to be digging for a month.

Then it’s time to plant the peanuts and corn for the spring.

With the seeds in the ground, there’s still so much to do.

Ah!

I envy you being able to focus solely on studying.”

Li Qiao didn’t know how to comfort them and simply said, “To endure the bitterest of the bitter is to become superior among people; sweet comes after bitter, right?”

“Haha, that’s how we reassure ourselves too.

It’s getting late; we should go,” they said.

“Alright,” Li Qiao saw them out and reminded them, “Be careful on the way.”

“Yeah.

You go back; it’s quite cold outside.”

Li Qiao watched until their figures disappeared into the darkness, then turned to enter the courtyard and bolted the door behind her.

She went straight to the cooking shed, added a couple of bundles of firewood to the stove, threw in two sweet potatoes for Qin Jin when he returned, then went inside to wash up and sleep.

She didn’t know when Qin Jin finished work.

By the time she woke the next morning, there was no one in the house, just a stack of notebooks on the table.

Had the educated youths brought them first thing in the morning?

Li Qiao got dressed and out of bed and asked Old Mrs.

Qin, “Grandma, has Jin gone to work?”

“Yes, he left less than half an hour ago.

It was just now.

Han Zhiqing brought some books over.

Check if there are any missing; if so, you can go and get them at noon when someone comes back to cook.”

Li Qiao: “They won’t be missing.” She trusted Han Ting’s work; actually, all of them were quite good.

Not like the villagers who always nitpicked with others.

At first, Wang Nannan seemed to look down on her, always bickering with her, but after spending more time together and getting to know each other, there was less friction.

“Today, you should take the minibus to school.

Carrying a cloth bag for over ten miles isn’t convenient,” Old Mrs.

Qin said.

Li Qiao had the same intention.

Throughout the day, she stayed indoors with Old Mrs.

Qin, continuing their knitting.

At sunset, Li Qiao packed her schoolbag, took a week’s worth of dried food, slung the bag full of handicraft on her back, bid farewell to Old Mrs.

Qin, and set off to school alone.

Just as she reached the curb, Yu Feng came along on a bicycle.

She greeted her with great enthusiasm, “Qiaoqiao, are you on your way to school?

I’m just about to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some things.

Come on, I’ll give you a lift.”

“Thank you, Auntie, I appreciate the gesture, but I have a lot of stuff with me, and it won’t be easy to fit it in the car, so I won’t trouble you,” Li Qiao replied.

“How come you didn’t go to Digging River Ditch today?”

In the village, besides the old, weak, women, and children, anyone who had a bit of strength had gone out to Digging River Ditch.

Yu Feng was always eager to do work.

Yet today, she was unusually idle at home and even had time to stroll to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Curious!

Just then, the shuttle bus arrived.

Li Qiao waved to stop it, got on carrying her sack, and didn’t forget to bid farewell to Yu Feng: “Auntie, see you.”

There were only a few people inside the bus.

Li Qiao casually chose a seat, paid the fare, and then found time to look back, only to see Yu Feng pedaling her bike fast, as if chasing after the shuttle bus.

Was she trying to find out exactly who she had sold the woven goods to?

As they neared the supply and marketing cooperative, Li Qiao called for the bus to stop.

She went straight to the supply and marketing cooperative.

After wandering around inside, she bumped into Gao Dagang and handed him the items.

“You’ve brought quite a bit today.

I was just about to tell you to make more,” he said.

Li Qiao: “Some are woven by my grandmother.” Old Mrs.

Qin might be old and her eyesight wasn’t very good, but her mind was still sharp.

She could remember the craft after just looking at it once.

She would even put effort into creating something new.

“Oh, didn’t you say your fiancé was going to come later?” Gao Dagang said.

Li Qiao: “The team organized a digging detail at River Ditch, and he couldn’t get away.”

“I see,” Gao Dagang led her into the office as usual to settle the accounts: “We were planning to start deducting next month, but the director said to issue you an authorization note, so whatever you bring later will count as official.

You don’t have to worry about someone reporting you.

This is the money after the deductions, count it.”

Li Qiao was incredibly happy, as she had been worried about this issue.

She took the money and put it straight into her bag, “No need to count, thank you so much.

Actually, some people in our village saw me doing handicrafts and knew I brought them to the cooperative, so I was a bit afraid it would cause you trouble.”

Gao Dagang just smiled, sat down, wrote her an authorization note, and stamped it for her: “If anyone reports you, just show them this.

The inspectors won’t say anything after they see it.”

Li Qiao was very grateful: “Thank you so much.” She thought to herself: When I become successful, I will definitely help you in return.

…..

It wasn’t long after Li Qiao left the supply and marketing cooperative.

Yu Feng entered, having seen the finished products of the Qin family.

She searched carefully and eventually spotted them at one of the counters, adorned with bright red plastic flowers.

Indeed, the flowers added a touch of class to the straw.

She stepped forward to ask for the price.

The cheapest ones were two jiao each.

The more expensive ones were three jiao and five.

There was a cylindrical piece with a flower shape that actually cost four jiao.

Who would spend so much money on these things?

While she was observing, several well-dressed women came over to inquire about the prices.

They paid for their purchases without hesitation.

As the counter cleared out, Yu Feng moved closer: “Comrade, I have these at home too, can I bring them here to sell?”

“We don’t accept them without an authorization note here.”

“How do I get an authorization note?”

“I wouldn’t know about that.”

“Do I need to ask your leaders for instruction?” Yu Feng was persistent in her questioning.

Just then, customers arrived, and the sales clerk was busy with sales and collecting money, ignoring her repeated inquiries.

She waited patiently for the clerk to finish up and continued her questioning.

But when it was time for the clerk to finish work, they packed up even faster than a rabbit: “If you have questions, come back tomorrow to ask.

I’m off work now.”

Yu Feng: “…”