Seeing that Granny Wang hadn't heard clearly, Qiu Chunfang and Li Hongjuan repeated it loudly again.
"Ten yuan?"
Her voice trembled, high-pitched with disbelief, "How could there only be ten yuan?"
But when she glanced up, she saw that Qiu Chunfang and Li Hongjuan didn't look embarrassed at all; on the contrary, they were both self-righteous. So, Grandma Wang started to make excuses for herself.
"Oh, you mean that once the accounts are settled, you'll give us ten dollars, is that what you mean?"
Qiu Chunfang shook her head vigorously, her voice rising eight octaves higher than before: "No! It's just that we only sold ten yuan worth in total!"
Li Hongjuan quickly took out the ledger, handed it over with both hands, and smiled broadly.
"Here's the list. You're so lucky, sir. How could you be left out when it comes to splitting the profits? We didn't dare to make a move first; we've been waiting for you to take the lead!"
"No, how could you only sell it for ten yuan?"
This time, Granny Wang was truly shaken; her legs went weak, and she almost slid down the wall.
Ten dollars? That amount was a far cry from what she had in mind.
She had been thinking that when Zhao Damei was selling flowers before, she didn't know anything about her business and might have secretly pocketed a lot of money. This time, with Qiu Chunfang and Li Hongjuan, who were her own family members, she couldn't let them suffer the same fate.
She had originally thought that this trip would earn her at least thirty yuan, and with good luck, maybe even more...
At this rate, you can easily earn seventy or eighty yuan a month. If you save up for two months, you can buy your grandson a shiny Phoenix brand bicycle. How impressive it will be to ride it around the military family compound!
But right now, ten yuan isn't enough to buy a bicycle, let alone a bicycle chain!
Grandma Wang usually has a bad memory, but this time she remembered everything at once.
"Da Mei made sixteen yuan on her first trip out! And each time she went out, she made more, and the last time she made twenty-five yuan! How could you only make ten yuan?"
She became more and more agitated as she spoke, her chest heaving violently, and her vision blurred. Seeing this, Sister-in-law Wang quickly reached out to support her.
"Mom, slow down, don't get angry..."
Grandma Wang flung Wang Dasao's hand away, snatched the sheet from Li Hongjuan's hand, and, squinting her old eyes, read it aloud word by word.
"Let me see, spider plants are seven cents each, five pots sold... Carnations only two pots? Petunias three pots..."
There were only three or five lines of text. I read them over and over again, and that was it.
Her eyes widened.
"That's all??? Why did you sell so few? Did you go shopping or sell flowers?"
Li Hongjuan quickly smiled and explained.
"This is my first time doing business, I have no experience and I'm still quite clumsy. I'll get the hang of it after a few more trips, don't worry."
Qiu Chunfang stood to the side, pounding her legs and grimacing as she complained.
"That's right, you can't blame us! To sell these few flowers, we pedaled that beat-up tricycle until our legs were almost broken, and we nearly couldn't pedal anymore on the way back!"
As they talked, the two of them glanced furtively at the courtyard gate. Seeing that no one was passing by, they approached Granny Wang and lowered their voices.
“Grandma, you don’t know, many people on the street have bought flowers from Zhao Damei before. When they see us, they just ask about the price and all sorts of questions, but they don’t pay. I reckon that Zhao Damei is probably gossiping about us behind our backs!”
Grandma Wang's face darkened instantly, as if covered by a dark cloud. She gritted her teeth and squeezed out a few words.
"If Zhou Qiqi dared to give me attitude, it's no wonder Zhao Damei did this!"
She paused for a moment, then said, "So, it really isn't your fault."
The anger in her heart immediately turned to Zhao Damei. Her expression softened, and she patted Qiu Chunfang and Li Hongjuan on the shoulders, her tone becoming gentler.
"Alright, alright, I know it's not easy for you guys either. Now put your mind to it, sell faster, and try to make more money."
There wasn't much to divide among ten yuan, so Grandma Wang took six.
Of the remaining four pieces, Qiu Chunfang and Li Hongjuan each took two.
As they put the things in their pockets, both of them looked a little awkward, but they still tried to appear calm and walked away.
Grandma Wang returned to the house, carefully put the six yuan into the money box, locked it, and pressed the lock repeatedly while sighing.
Sister-in-law Wang brought in a cup of cooled chrysanthemum tea, gently placed it on the table, and said softly.
"Mom, have some water to calm your nerves. Or... how about we let Da Mei help sell flowers? She knows the ropes well."
She had previously spent money to buy a yard full of petunia and carnation seedlings. At the current rate that these two people are selling three pots a day, they won't be able to sell them all even if the leaves wilt. They will definitely lose money.
Grandma Wang glanced at her and said irritably, "Didn't you hear what Chunfang and the others said? She's been talking about us a lot outside!"
"But you believed them when they said that?"
Sister-in-law Wang hesitated before speaking.
"Da Mei is usually very nice to us. Every time we pick up flowers, she gives us some hawthorns, walnuts or something. She's very polite."
"polite?"
Granny Wang gave a cold laugh and leaned back in her chair.
"You think she's sincere? We're just business partners. It's suspicious that she's sending us all this and that for no reason. I bet she feels guilty for cheating us out of money before, so she's trying to shut us up with these worthless things!"
Zhao Damei was not good with words, and usually she would only talk to Sister Wang a few times, mostly about whether the flowers and plants needed more water or more sun.
Unlike Qiu Chunfang and Li Hongjuan, whose mouths were as sweet as honey, they would run into the yard every few days, calling Grandma Wang sweetly, making Grandma Wang beam with joy.
Sister-in-law Wang wanted to say something more, but seeing her mother-in-law's bad expression, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue. She could only pick up the needle and thread on the table and silently start knitting a sweater. Only the occasional sighs of Grandma Wang could be heard in the room.
While people here were just sighing, the clinic was in complete chaos.
As soon as Zhou Qiqi stepped out of the clinic in the afternoon, Lin Yao threw her white coat on the back of a chair and angrily lay down on the iron-framed bed in the inner room.
She was certain that Xu Shu would soon come running in to coax her, just like countless times before.
But no matter how long they waited, there wasn't a single person in sight, not even a sound of footsteps.
I could only vaguely hear Xu Shu outside saying that he was hungry and asked Xu Zao to cook noodles, while he went to the military canteen to get a large stew.
Lin Yao hadn't eaten much all day, and now she was hungry.
She licked her lips, a flicker of anticipation rising within her. Surely he'd come to call her now? He always knew he was more responsive to gentle persuasion than force.
She waited and waited, and the clattering of bowls and chopsticks could be heard, but no one lifted the curtain and came in to call her.
She thought something had happened, but when she lifted the curtain, she saw the brother and sister eating heartily around a small square table. Xu Shu had noodles in his mouth, and Xu Zao was putting cabbage stew with vermicelli into her bowl.
She immediately exploded, standing at the door with her hands on her hips.
"Xu Shu! What do you mean by this! Instead of comforting me, you're eating all by yourself! Can't you see I'm upset?"
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