Zhao Damei refused the extra penny that Sister Wang offered, and instead took out a small bundle from the basket on her back and handed it over with a frank smile.
"Sister, I heard the other day that your two boys are preparing for college entrance exams. Studying is mentally taxing, so my father-in-law took the kids to the mountains to pick some walnuts. There weren't many, but we'll give them some to help them get some nutrition. It's also a way of thanking you for taking care of us during this time. There's an old saying, 'Even if a deal falls through, we can still be friends.'"
This bag of walnuts looks to weigh two or three pounds. If you buy it at the market, it would cost at least one dollar and fifty cents.
Sister-in-law Wang stared blankly at the bundle.
The bundle was bulging, weighing more than two pounds. At the market, dried goods stalls sell walnuts for 75 cents a pound, so this bag was worth at least one dollar and fifty cents.
The penny in her hand suddenly felt burning hot, like a hot coal just pulled from a stove; she didn't know whether to hold it or put it down.
"You silly child, why are you so honest!"
Finally, Granny Wang came out from the inner room, patted Sister-in-law Wang's hand, pinched the penny between her fingers, and stuffed it into her own clothes with great speed.
He then took the cloth bundle, rubbed it with his palm, and grinned from ear to ear, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothing out.
"Xiao Zhao is right. Even if a deal falls through, we can still be on good terms. My two grandsons really need these brain-boosting supplements, so I'll thank you on their behalf."
After delivering the bag of walnuts, Zhao Damei hurried back to pull the donkey cart without telling Zhou Qiqi about it.
Feeling sorry for Zhou Qiqi, Sister-in-law Wang made a special trip to her house that afternoon.
At this moment, Zhou Qiqi was busy in the kitchen. The oil in the pan was sizzling, and the walnuts were turning over in the oil. She had a little sweat on her nose, and she rubbed her head with her shoulder while her hands were busy turning the walnuts in the pan.
When Zhao Damei delivered goat milk in the morning, she also brought Zhou Qiqi a small bag of walnuts. She was currently frying the walnut kernels to make amber walnuts as a snack for Zhouzhou, so she didn't have time to take anything.
Sister-in-law Wang stood at the kitchen door, clutching a dollar and a dime in her hand. She rubbed her hands together nervously and began to speak.
"Sister Qiqi, this one yuan is my secret stash of money. Just pretend I bought those walnuts from Sister Damei..."
Zhou Qiqi waved her hand without looking up, her voice tinged with helplessness.
"Sister-in-law Wang, you should keep this money yourself. I know Sister Da Mei's temper; she definitely won't take it. If it's convenient for you, could you tell me what happened?"
Sister-in-law Wang walked into the kitchen, watched Zhou Qiqi's busy figure, lowered her head, her chin almost touching her chest, swallowed hard, and seemed to have made a great decision before speaking.
"You know, my mother-in-law is the one who calls the shots in my family. You saw it the other day, Li Hongjuan and Qiu Chunfang came to visit..."
From that day on, the two of them went into Granny Wang's house every day.
No one knows what kind of sweet talk was given to the old woman, but in the end, Granny Wang made a decision that the flower-selling job would be handed over to Li Hongjuan and Qiu Chunfang from now on.
Just as Zhou Qiqi was about to ask Sister-in-law Wang why she didn't say anything in support, she heard her sigh.
“I’ve been thinking, we’re all military wives, who doesn’t have their difficulties? Hongjuan’s husband is always arguing with her, Chunfang has four kids and can’t even afford eggs. What difference does it make who we do this business with? It’s always better to do it with our own family than with outsiders. If the business does well in the future, we can hire a few more people, and all the wives in our military dependents’ area can benefit from it. What do you think, Qiqi?”
Although Sister-in-law Wang is over forty years old, she is quite traditional in her thinking, kind-hearted, and easily influenced. She hasn't even earned much money herself, yet she's already thinking about the wives of military personnel in the military dependents' area.
But while she considered those two as her own people, they might not have been.
Zhou Qiqi knew the answer in her heart, but she didn't say it out loud and changed the subject.
"Sister-in-law Wang, I'd like to ask something extra: they don't have a donkey cart or anything, how are they going to sell their goods? Have you asked them?"
“My mother-in-law asked about this, and she said that the security department has some discarded tricycles that were originally going to be thrown away, but Li Hongjuan is coming to take them to be repaired. In three or four days, once the tricycles are repaired, we can start going into the city to sell flowers!”
Is this even possible?
Zhou Qiqi was speechless for a moment, and the sour faces of Li Hongjuan and Qiu Chunfang couldn't help but appear in her mind.
Zhou Qiqi was completely outmatched by these two when it came to spreading rumors, but when it came to selling things...
With their grumpy faces, it's a miracle they don't start arguing with customers.
She silently shook her head in her heart, thinking that it was difficult to judge and wishing them success.
She asked one last time, her voice tinged with inquiry, "Sister-in-law, have you and Granny Wang made up your minds?"
Wang Dasao nodded, not understanding what was going on.
"Yes, I've thought it through. The two of them, just like Da Mei alone, will only get 40%, so it's the same for us anyway. Besides, my mother-in-law said..."
"say what?"
She stopped halfway through her sentence. When Zhou Qiqi pressed her for details, her face turned red, and she stammered.
"N-nothing..."
She didn't say it, but Zhou Qiqi knew it too.
Grandma Wang probably said that Zhao Damei was just a country bumpkin who didn't have any other livelihood besides farming and pulling a donkey cart.
Even if two of them don't sell well, we can just call Zhao Damei over again; it'll be the same.
But Zhou Qiqi wouldn't give them a chance to regret it.
The next morning, she took a purchasing vehicle to the First Garment Factory.
After finishing my own important tasks and understanding the production status of the second phase of the contract, I inquired about the progress of the production line contract.
I immediately spoke to Deputy Factory Director Zhang Guoqiang about it.
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