Chapter 304 Brothers Cannot Work Together

"What the hell? She ran away?! Does she have a death wish?"

Su Laosan was so angry he almost choked. He glared at the receiver, wishing he could reach through the phone line and strangle Su Hongying.

"Don't worry, you didn't manage to escape."

My uncle's comrade chuckled a few times and said, "...She was caught by the man she was with."

"A man? Where did this man come from?" Old Su asked urgently, becoming wary.

His comrade said, "He was also a soldier, and he came here to look for work after his discharge. He happened to be in the same carriage as your older sister, and he helped her out on the train..."

His comrade recounted how Su Hongying had been targeted by the scarred man on the train because of her paper package, and how the man had helped her. Su Laosan broke out in a cold sweat and said sheepishly, "It was my fault. I should have put the package in her bag. Luckily, she's alright. Uncle Jiang, please thank him for me. Regarding work..."

"Don't worry, although he's not in the same unit, he's still a soldier, so I won't treat him badly. I've already settled him in. It's up to him to decide what he wants to do. We have plenty of job opportunities here."

Jiang Zhanyou smiled and then spoke to Su Laosan about Su Hongying, "There's something else I need to tell you. Your eldest sister doesn't want to work in the garment factory operating the sewing machine..."

Su Laosan frowned and muttered, "She's picky about jobs? With only a few years of schooling, she thinks she can find an office job?"

Of course, he wouldn't tell Jiang Zhanyou this.

He simply replied, "Uncle Jiang, let Su Hongying answer the phone. I'll talk to her and reason with her."

Let him curse her to death!

Jiang disagreed, "What's the point of reasoning? If she's not happy, she can change jobs. I have plenty of opportunities here; she can find something suitable for whatever she wants. The factory just happened to be short-staffed for garment models, and I asked her opinion. She said she'd give it a try. And you know what, she..."

"Model? What model?"

Su Laosan frowned. He seemed to have seen models in swimsuits in Hong Kong magazines. If Su Hongying dared to do that, he would break her legs.

"They just wear dresses and business suits produced by the garment factory, take photos, and let customers choose styles. Third brother, your eldest sister is very photogenic. As soon as the photos are put in the brochure, the orders for the outfits she wears multiply... Customers can pick out the clothes she wears at a glance!"

As the introducer, Jiang Zhanyou had also received a bribe. Fearing that Su Laosan might overthink things, he explained carefully, "Don't worry, this job is very legitimate. In addition to the basic salary, there is also commission. The more orders she places through her, the higher her commission will be. With me keeping an eye on the salary, I will definitely not let her suffer any losses. I am also sure that I can protect her before sending her there. You don't need to worry about that."

"Yes, yes, I'm very relieved to have Uncle Jiang here. I'll have to trouble him a lot over there. When you come back for the New Year, my uncle and I will treat you to a feast! I called my uncle a few days ago, and he told me to be smart and not act like a silly kid who only knows how to ask you for help without understanding social etiquette. His closeness to you is between the two of you. Who am I to you..."

Su Laosan's words, which were both affectionate and sarcastic towards his uncle, inadvertently brought the two of them closer together.

Jiang Zhanyou laughed heartily and said, "Then it's settled. Have your uncle prepare some wine. When we go back for the New Year this year, the three of us will drink until we drop!"

"Alright!" Old Su replied with a smile.

After hanging up the phone, he let out a long sigh. "Oh my god, talking to such a shrewd person on the phone is exhausting."

Fang Erniu leaned over.

I asked him, "What did you say? I heard you say your sister-in-law ran away?"

Su Laosan curled his lip and disdainfully recounted how Su Hongying had disobeyed him and tried to sneak away after seeing Comrade Jiang. Fang Erniu stared wide-eyed in surprise, "She's really bold. In a place where she knows no one, she finally found someone she knew, and she didn't want to go with them but wanted to run away? Isn't she afraid of running into bad people?"

Speaking of bad guys, Su Laosan became even more depressed.

At that moment, all he was thinking about was catching up with her and stuffing the money into her hands. It's really tough to be out in the world without any money. Isn't there a saying that goes something like "a penny can kill a great hero"?

Su Hongying's health was completely damaged. He had discussed with his mother, older brother, and sister-in-law that when Su Hongying's family came, they would send her to her maternal grandparents' house so that her maternal grandfather could help her recuperate.

This death... ugh, let's not use such an unlucky word.

That brat, she ran off to the south all by herself without a word.

The young couple walked back together. Fang Erniu was still a little regretful. "I haven't even met my sister-in-law yet, and she's already leaving. I was thinking of inviting her to our wedding banquet... Since we're opening a shop, we'll be hiring servants everywhere. It's definitely better to hire someone we know than someone we don't know. My sister-in-law is family, so it'll be much easier to hire her..."

"You're kidding me."

Su Laosan smacked his lips and retorted, "Are you stupid? Even brothers can't work together, especially when it comes to money. It's even more inconvenient to do business together."

"Huh? Why?" Fang Erniu frowned.

Su Laosan frowned and said, "How should I put it? You said you wanted to keep Su Hongying, but how much money are you going to pay her? How much work are you going to assign her? What if she complains that the pay is too low? What if she doesn't want to do the work she's given?"

"...Then give me more money? And less work?" Fang Erniu blinked.

Su Laosan looked at her, "How much is too much? What if she's always greedy and complains about not getting enough? We can't just give her the whole shop, can we? If there's little work and a lot of money, what will others think? Will they still be motivated to work? Everyone will start comparing wages..."

"My sister-in-law doesn't seem like that kind of person... right?" Fang Erniu chuckled awkwardly.

Su Laosan tapped her, "Whether it looks similar or not, just don't mix them up, right? You should understand the principle of 'familiarity breeds contempt,' shouldn't you?"

Fang Erniu frowned and sighed.

He said to Su Laosan, "Why are you talking like my eldest brother and my grandparents now? You're all part of the same family, why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

"……yes."

Su Laosan hugged her and said with a smile, "We're all family, there's no need to be so particular. Let's go back and find our eldest brother now, and tell him to give us all the money in the family to open a shop..."

Fang Erniu pushed him away.

Staring wide-eyed, she exclaimed, "Are you crazy?! If you give us all the money, what will my brother and sister-in-law eat and drink? They have two children to raise!"

Su Laosan crossed his arms and looked at her without saying a word.

It took Fang Erniu a while to realize that Su Laosan had said that on purpose.

She slapped him on the chest in anger, "Can't you talk things out properly? Why are you scaring me!"

Su Laosan grasped her small hand and stuffed it into his pocket.

He said, "Look, this is distance."

Fang Erniu gave an "oh," sounding somewhat deflated, and said, "No wonder I thought I treated my... ex-sister-in-law quite well, yet she said such things before divorcing my brother..."