On New Year's Eve, a couple of days ago, someone from Shanghe Village went to the county to buy New Year's goods and brought a message for Li Yumei. They said that Old Lady Li had slipped and fallen at the kitchen door last month, breaking her left leg. Because of her advanced age, she had been bedridden and needed Li Yumei to return and take care of her.
Old Mrs. Li's beloved son, Li Dashun, is lazy and good-for-nothing. His wife, Ye Zhen, has to take care of the children and look after the small shop. Old Mr. Li himself is also old and has some mobility issues, so he can't take care of her either.
At first, it was Li's two daughters who took turns taking care of her.
However, a month later, Li's eldest son-in-law couldn't hold back any longer and stopped his wife, Li Yongmei, saying, "You can't neglect your own husband and children just to take care of your mother. If you go back, we'll get a divorce, and you can go back to your parents' home."
He couldn't take it anymore.
As daughter and son-in-law, it's only right that they visit occasionally, but it's impossible for them to take care of the elderly every day. Besides, the mother-in-law also has a son and daughter-in-law, and a daughter and son-in-law in the county town; they should all come back to take turns caring for the elderly.
Seeing the fierce and resolute look in her usually honest and unassuming husband's eyes, Li Yongmei knew he was serious, so she dared not go back to take care of her mother every day. If they really divorced, she would definitely not be able to go back to her parents' home; her sister-in-law would not agree to give her a place to live.
When the second daughter, Li Dongmei, saw that her eldest sister wasn't going back to take care of their mother and that she was being left alone, she naturally didn't want to. Moreover, her husband, being clever and assertive, refused to let his wife go back to her parents' home.
The main issue is that the two sons-in-law's families had been constantly bothered by Old Lady Li, who would frequently ask them for money to give to her younger brother.
They said they wanted to open a small shop, didn't have money to buy goods, or were building a house, etc.
The two sons-in-law had been harboring resentment for a long time, suffering greatly. But they couldn't bear it, because their wives only cared about their own families, or rather, they were forced into it by Old Lady Li, and had been silently enduring it all.
Now that Grandma Li can no longer walk, both of her sons-in-law are rebelling and refusing to let their wives go back to take care of her.
So for the past few days, no one has helped Grandma Li with bathing, let alone taking care of her bodily functions. The whole room reeks of stench, and Grandpa Li has moved to the storage room to live.
Fortunately, her daughter-in-law, Ye Zhen, would bring her three meals a day and place them by her bedside, where Old Lady Li would eat by herself, lying on her side. When Ye Zhen came home in the evening, she would help tidy up, but the care was not thorough.
Ye Zhen was not a kind person, and her relationship with Old Lady Li, her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, had always been bad.
Although Grandma Li has three grandsons and a five- or six-year-old granddaughter, none of them know how to take care of others. They are Grandma Li's pampered grandsons.
Li Dashun's precious son, on the other hand, spent his days loafing around with a group of idlers and was never home. Even when he was home, he wouldn't take care of his mother. He had been spoiled by Old Mrs. Li since he was a child and had hardly ever done any housework, let alone cared for anyone.
Upon learning of Li Laotai's situation, Li Yumei asked Chen Lao Er to drive her back to Shanghe Village on his motorcycle the next morning.
As for what happened after Chen Lao Er and his wife returned, Chen Xihua and her siblings did not intend to ask.
But when they returned home in the evening, they saw that both of them had gloomy faces and looked very unhappy.
During dinner, Chen Xihua and her siblings gleaned the gist of the matter from the complaints of Chen Lao Er and Li Yumei. It turned out that those with money contributed money, and those without contributed labor, with all four of Li's children expected to contribute equally.
Chen Lao Er must have paid several hundred yuan, and will pay an additional three hundred yuan each year thereafter. However, he also made it clear that he would not interfere in other matters, leaving it up to Li Lao Tai whether she hired someone to take care of her or had her three children take turns caring for her.
Originally, Chen Lao Er intended to be a rogue and not give a single penny, but when he returned to Shanghe Village, several elderly men surnamed Li had already gathered at the door of Li Lao Tai's house.
Li Yongmei and her husband, as well as Li Dongmei and her husband, were also present.
The implication behind those people's words was moral blackmail: After all, Old Lady Li is Li Yumei's biological mother, so it is only right to give her money and take care of her.
They also said that Chen Lao Er was a businessman in the county town, but people said he was stingy and disrespectful to his elders, which would sound bad if word got out.
At this point, Chen Lao Er became concerned about saving face again. There were many people gathered at the door, looking at his motorcycle with envy, praising it, and flattering him. Overjoyed, Chen Lao Er stopped making a fuss and reluctantly agreed to pay.
After hearing this, Chen Xihua thought to herself that it was good. Now, Chen Lao Er and Li Yumei should no longer be easily swayed by the emotional appeals of Li Lao Tou and Li Lao Tai, or blindly become close to that family after a few tearful pleas.
The next day was Lunar New Year's Eve, and as Chen Xihua had expected, her uncle's family did not invite them to the reunion dinner. She even thought that her uncle's family would never invite them to the New Year again.
...
In 1997, after the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, Li Shisheng found a suitable location to build a factory, which he found together with Uncle Zhang.
Zhang Anmin was no longer working as a gatekeeper at Fanghua Workshop. He was recruited by Chen Xihua and, together with Li Shisheng, took charge of the construction of the new garment factory.
The new factory of Fanghua Company is located between the North and West Districts of Gaoyang County, about four or five kilometers outside the suburbs. It is a piece of wasteland of about fifteen acres, which had been vacant for a long time.
After finding the location, Chen Xihua rearranged the work for the group.
Zhang Xiaolan is still managing the workshop in Zhangjia Village, and she will be in charge of the garment production line in the new factory later. In addition, she needs to make plans to recruit people in Gaoyang County in advance.
Zhang Anmin and Li Shisheng were initially in charge of the construction of the new factory.
The main items are the construction of factory buildings and company office buildings, as well as the purchase of production line equipment such as sewing machines.
The new garment factory's address was rented, with a 20-year contract. All other application procedures were handled through Boss Torre's connections.
The reason for not buying land is that there are more than ten acres of land, which is tens of thousands of square meters. Even if it is 400 or 500 yuan per square meter, it would cost 4 or 5 million yuan, which Chen Xihua really cannot afford all at once.
Secondly, Gaoyang County does not allow private individuals to buy such a large piece of land, fearing it will affect the county's future planning and development.
However, an agreement was signed stipulating that if land sales are permitted, Chen Xihua would be given priority, and she would also be given priority in renewing her lease.
The sewing machines and other equipment on the garment factory's production line were purchased through connections with Factory Director Yang in the provincial capital.
The garment factory plans to purchase production line equipment that can accommodate 300 people, and the factory building will be larger than that of the No. 2 Garment Factory in the provincial capital.
In the future, Fanghua's clothing will not only be transported to the provincial capital of Hunan Province in the west, but also to neighboring places such as Yincheng in An Province in the north.
Because the factory buildings are just single-story structures, not high-rise buildings, the construction period will be shorter, estimated at six months. The plan is to move to the new factory in June or July of this year.
It just so happens that the small workshop in Zhangjia Village was originally planned to be rented for two years, just in time to connect with the garment factory after it was built.
Time flew by, and the garment factory was completed in early June. Staff dormitories and a canteen were also built, though only enough dormitories for about a hundred people were constructed.
Most of the workers recruited by the county plan to return to their own homes to live, with only a few from more remote towns or mountain villages requiring accommodation.
Of course, accommodation is not free; a reasonable accommodation fee will be charged to prevent some workers from the vicinity of the factory from wanting to reserve a place in the factory dormitory.
By mid-June, Fanghua Company's garment factory had completed the purchase of all its production lines.
For the past six months or so, Chen Xihua didn't have to worry much; Li Shisheng and Zhang Anmin handled everything.
On June 29, the day before the new factory opened, Chen Xihua held a meeting with the three of them. That day happened to be a Sunday.
"Uncle Zhang, I formally invite you to be the factory manager of the garment factory." Chen Xihua hadn't forgotten Sister Xiaolan.
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