"That's great! Our store's wages are already high. If they increase again, a lot of people will envy us."

"That's right. Everyone in our area envies me for working here. They even asked around to see if we needed anyone, saying they'd be the first to fill in if we were short-staffed."

Er Ya watched their excited expressions with a smile, feeling happy too. Life wasn't easy for anyone living here, and even though the increase was only a little, it was enough to make them happy for a while.

Time flies, and ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. In these ten years, Er Ya has grown from a little girl into a graceful young woman.

Because Qian Lu was in college and couldn't take time off, they still managed the restaurant for him. Business was booming every day. Qian Lu then made a big investment and bought another property around his restaurant, doubling its size.

A few years ago, the country encouraged entrepreneurship, and Lin Xi took the initiative to buy two shops in her name and open a hot pot restaurant. She used Jiang's mother's homemade hot pot base, and the business was booming.

There is also a large supermarket and a clothing store in town, which belong to Lin Xi's family. Because Lin Xi is still studying and doesn't have enough manpower, she hired someone to be the store owner and used modern management methods. Lin Xi only needs to check the accounts every month.

With her business thriving and the extra money she had, Lin Xi used it all to buy houses, both in town and city. Nothing appreciates as quickly as houses, and Lin Xi always chose the best locations. House prices are very low now; you can buy a nice shop for just a few hundred yuan.

Lin Xi knew that in a few years, housing prices would gradually rise to an outrageous level, so she advised Jiang Heping to use his spare money to buy two houses, which would be nice for Jiang Damin and Jiang Ermin to live in when they grew up.

Jiang Heping and Chen Xiuhua, who were initially reluctant, came to Lin Xi's house and discussed the matter with her for a long time. Afterwards, they went home and took out all their savings to buy four houses: two in the town and two in the city.

Wang Meili had no objections. She trusted Lin Xi completely. Didn't she see that her family had bought quite a few houses? And what she said made sense. Even if you don't live in these houses, you can sell them in the future. Anyway, since they bought them, the house prices have risen a bit, so they've actually made some money.

Now Jiang Heping and his friends have also opened a shop specializing in crayfish and snails, as well as some braised pork offal, braised meat, and some homemade seasonal cold dishes. It's quite comprehensive, and business is booming every day.

Li Taohua earned some money in less than two years and brought Gou Dan'er to town. At first, she rented a small house and continued selling her old business. She was good at making noodles, and after listening to Lin Xi, she also made sesame seed cakes and roujiamo (Chinese hamburger). She couldn't manage it all by herself every day, so she called her niece from her maternal family to help. Now she was finally able to hold her head high. Every time she went back to the village, she stood up straight, and many people would take the initiative to talk to her, making her feel very proud.

Seeing that Lin Xi's family had bought several houses in one go, she followed suit and bought two as well. Anyway, following Er Ya's lead was the right thing to do.

Meizi, who had a good relationship with Jiang's mother, was hired by Lin Xi a few years ago when the shop was short of chefs. Lin Xi made a special trip back to the village to hire her, providing her with food and lodging. Now she has savings and always says to Jiang's mother that it's all thanks to their family, otherwise she wouldn't even dare to dream of such a good life.

After Lin Xiao left, he came back for a few days during the winter vacation and spent a good few days playing in the mountains with Lin Xi. The two of them accidentally discovered wild ginseng, but it wasn't very big, so Lin Xi decided to let him take it. Anyway, they already had one at home that was twice the size of this one.

He has come back intermittently over the past few years, but each time he comes in a hurry, stays for only a couple of days, and is then taken back by the people his father brought. However, he and Lin Xi still talk on the phone every day, so they haven't grown apart.

He hasn't come back this year. High school courses are demanding, and unlike Lin Xi, he had already studied them once. He also started learning later than other students, so he found it a bit difficult. Lin Xi also felt sorry for him having to travel for more than ten hours to come back every time, which was too tiring. So she made it a rule that he could not come back this year.

"Mom, Mom, look what I found on the mountain! Come and see!"

Jiang's mother put down the ingredients she was holding and came out of the kitchen.

There stood a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old in the courtyard. She was tall and slender, with graceful and elegant manners.

Her hair was as black as lacquer, her skin as smooth as jade, and her beautiful eyes sparkled with charm. Every smile and frown exuded an indescribable elegance.

She is like a peony bud about to bloom, beautiful but not gaudy, gorgeous but not vulgar, charming and incomparable.

The girl was quite pretty, but her opening remarks ruined the beautiful moment.

When Lin Xi saw Jiang's mother come out, she quickly walked over and pulled her mother to look at the basket on her back. She excitedly pointed to the contents and said, "Mom, look, ta-da! A roe deer! Isn't it silly? I was just walking along, and it plunged headfirst into the snowdrift right in front of me. It was so enthusiastic, so I had no choice but to reluctantly accept it."

Jiang's mother tapped Lin Xi's head with a hint of annoyance: "You know, I told you not to go up the mountain, but you insisted that you had been cooped up at school for so long and wanted to go out and relax. You're such a big girl now, and you're still like before, carrying a basket and running all over the mountain."

Lin Xi muttered softly, "They said we're going up the mountain, so if we don't carry a basket, how are we going to bring back anything we find? Like this roe deer, I can't exactly carry it all the way back."

Jiang's mother raised her voice and asked, "What are you saying? Speak louder!"

"No, no, no, Mom, I didn't say anything. You're right, I'm a grown woman now, I can't always be running around outside. This time it's all Gou Dan's fault, he insisted on dragging me up the mountain. Next time he can nag me all day, I won't go."

Li Taohua brought Gou Dan'er over, just in time to hear Er Ya complaining about him behind his back: "Lin Xi, how can you say that? It was clearly you..."

Lin Xi rushed over and covered his mouth, threatening him with her eyes to shut up, or he'd be in trouble.

Gou Dan blinked twice, indicating that she understood. "Let him go quickly, can't you see her mother glaring at her with unfriendly eyes?"

Er Ya let go of Gou Dan, pointed at him and said, "Tell my mom, did you insist on going up the mountain? I told you to do your homework, and you said, what's so great about homework?"

To be continued!