Song Lianfeng was worried for Jiang Qiao. "You said that there are so many people in your uncle's family, and they are all crammed into your house. There is simply not enough room. Why does it seem to me that the old lady doesn't want your uncle to go back?"

Jiang Qiao swallowed the food in her mouth. "I didn't hear her say that, who knows?"

Chunming grew anxious. "Mom, let Qiao'er finish her meal first. She's starving."

Song Lianfeng stroked her son's short hair, saying, "Alright, alright, Mom won't say anything more." She added, "My son has always been good to Jiang Qiao."

After dinner, Song Lianfeng told Jiang Qiao about her troubles: "You know, there are trash cans outside the gate, but she can't just walk a few more steps and dumps her trash against the wall. That's like throwing trash in front of our house. I thought they didn't understand because they were new here, but it didn't work after I told them twice."

Sometimes they even urinate against the wall. You know, all the girls coming and going here are young girls, isn't that a bad influence?

We've been neighbors for so many years, and this has never happened before. I'm afraid if I go directly to her door, your grandma might think I'm deliberately causing trouble. After all, her son just came back, and the excitement hasn't worn off yet."

Jiang Qiao gave a wry smile. "If you hadn't told me, I really wouldn't have known. I'll tell my grandma and the others about it later. Auntie, I'm going out for a bit, I'll bring you something over later."

Chunming still wanted to go out with Jiang Qiao, but Jiang Qiao said, "No, I'll take you out another day. You stay at home for now, I'll be back soon."

Chunming went with her. How did she take the things and divide the money?

Just as she reached the main gate, she ran into Ning Hao, who had come back to find her.

Ning Hao was stunned for a moment when he saw Jiang Qiao come out wearing a new cotton-padded coat.

"I was just about to come find you. Come on, come on, everything's arranged. Let's have a meal together. We've been busy all this time and haven't eaten yet. After we eat, we'll settle the bill and split the money."

This time, Jiang Qiao got to know all the young people who were doing business with them. In addition to Fu Lin and Guan Jiefang, there were two more young people, Miao Xin and Ou Ziyang.

"Come, come, sit down. Let me introduce you. This is Jiang Qiao. She's a huge contributor; without her help, we guys really wouldn't have made it. Everyone, get to know each other; we'll all be friends from now on—"

They had heard of Jiang Qiao before, but this was the first time they had met her in person, especially considering her age. The other two were both amused and exasperated.

"I feel like we're bullying this little girl. Jiang Qiao, I never expected you to be so young—"

Jiang Qiao simply smiled at Miao Xin and Ou Ziyang's probing and questions. "Being young doesn't mean you can't do things. They say ambition knows no age. If we're really talking about it, you brothers aren't that old. As long as we're dedicated and united, we can still accomplish great things."

Guan Jiefang slammed his fist on the table and said, “Well said! My sister Qiao is absolutely right. That’s exactly how it is. To outsiders, we are seen as people who don’t do proper work, but so what? As long as we can make sure our families have food and drink, that’s better than anything else.”

While pouring wine for his friend, Ning Hao said, "I like hearing that. People can say whatever they want, we can't control them. It's not like we're going to lose a piece of our flesh."

Jiang Qiao smiled faintly, not offering her opinion. The situation now is different from Shanghai back then; you can't get what you want just by having more people and being better at fighting.

After hesitating for a moment, out of a sense of friendship, I still offered a suggestion: "Then why can't you do it in a way that makes people think you're a good person, while also benefiting yourself in private?"

Seeing that everyone was staring at her blankly, Jiang Qiao sighed softly, "This is just my personal opinion. What I mean is, people strive for higher positions, and water flows downhill. What would it feel like to be respected every day versus being scolded every day?"

"That's naturally different. Who doesn't want to be respected? But for people like us, it's impossible to climb to a higher position."

Jiang Qiao took a sip of water. "Nothing is impossible in this world. As long as you want to, work hard, and seize the opportunity, you may be able to reach the heights you desire."

Miao Xin stared at Jiang Qiao as if he had discovered a new continent, "Oh my, Ning Hao, where did you find little sister Jiang Qiao? What you said makes so much sense. My parents never said anything like that to me."

Ning Hao pondered for a moment, then nodded knowingly. "You know what, Jiang Qiao makes a good point. We can give it a try. We don't need to be factory managers or anything, being a section chief would be fine too. Come on, let's work hard for our bright future! Cheers!"

After finishing his drink, Ning Hao spoke again, "We've gone a bit too far this time. After we split the money, let's all calm down and go back to work and do what we're supposed to do."

Fu Lin and Guan Jiefang took out the account book. "Come on, you eat while we give you an account..."

After the two finished speaking, they glanced at everyone and Jiang Qiao and said, "Here, let me clarify that we have received significantly more data than Jiang Qiao recorded."

Everyone turned their attention to the young girl in front of them, but Jiang Qiao just smiled calmly.

"It's nothing. I usually put them in there when I go beachcombing with everyone. I also just threw the fish I caught with the Zhou family kids in there."

Don't overthink it. This is something we all did together, so let's just do it as agreed. We're friends, so there's no need to be too formal. I just did it on a whim, and I didn't have much capital to spare."

Ning Hao nodded to everyone, "Alright, now that you all know what happened, just remember how good Qiao'er was to you. Let's split the money—"

The division of money excited everyone present. "Count it all! Even close brothers should keep clear accounts. I won't be responsible if there are any mistakes."

Jiang Qiao calmly put the money into her pocket. She estimated that the two of them had counted the money countless times, and it was definitely not wrong.

This time, each of them received more than 500 yuan, which is more than their annual salary. Do you think it feels the same to have so much money in your hands?

While counting the money, Miao Xin exclaimed, "I love the feeling of counting money. When can I count money every day? I'd be willing to do it even if my hands cramped up. It feels so good."

The others simply took the money to pay for it, expressed their feelings, and then put it away.

"Alright, hurry up and put it away so no one sees it. Go home and count it slowly. If you don't mind the effort, I'll exchange it for a penny, and you can count it for a long time."

"Hurry up and eat, it's getting cold. Oh, and I left a portion for everyone, so that in the end, our own families won't have any to eat. Everyone can take a bag with them."

Jiang Qiao didn't eat much. She ate some at the Du family's house, but she didn't have a big appetite to begin with. She mostly just drank water while watching the others wolf down their food.

"Haozi, do you have any other plans for the next step? I think I've figured it out. This deal is too good to pass up. The boss likes it, and we can make money. Where else can you find such a good deal?"

When asked by Ou Ziyang, Ning Hao and the others shook their heads. "Let's go home and have a peaceful New Year for now. We'll talk about other things after the New Year."