Watching Chen Chunhua head off to school with a pile of newly bought luggage, Li Yumei felt another pang of pain in her heart. All of this was her money!
However, thinking about what Xiao Wu said yesterday, she felt a little better!
Yesterday, Chen Chunhua asked Li Yumei for money to buy things to prepare for school.
"Fifth Sister, your eldest sister is in high school now, it's not nine years of compulsory education anymore. Didn't you say back then that you would find a way?"
Li Yumei has been feeling uneasy ever since her eldest daughter received her college acceptance letter, and now she finally has a reason to talk about her fifth daughter.
High school tuition is over 500 yuan per semester, plus accommodation and food costs, which is another 400 to 500 yuan. That's 1,000 yuan per semester, over 2,000 yuan per year, and over 6,000 yuan in three years. With five daughters, that's over 30,000 yuan... I can't even think about it, it makes me breathless!
"Why bother with schooling? She'll be ready to get married in two years!" Li Yumei had planned it all out. Once her daughter reached a certain age, she would get married and receive a dowry!
“That’s right, you can stop supporting me now that I’m in high school, but I can find a way to do so!” Chen Xihua paused deliberately for a moment before continuing.
"But, Comrade Li Yumei, do you know that girls who haven't gone to school, or who have only attended primary school for a few years, are basically married off to nearby counties or rural areas, and a dowry of eight hundred or a thousand yuan is considered a lot?"
If my older sister had gone to high school, or even university, and waited until graduation to get married, she would have been able to marry into a relatively good family.
The bride price should be at least 10,000, if not 20,000. If she marries into a wealthy family in the provincial capital, wouldn't the bride price be even higher? Wouldn't you be incredibly proud to have a rich son-in-law?
"Look, it only costs a little over six thousand for three years of high school. Whether you need to support yourselves in college is up to you. There are subsidies for college now, and you can also get student loans!"
"You do the math, is a dowry of 1,000 yuan more worthwhile, or 10,000 or 20,000 yuan, or even more?"
Just like the pastry shop we bought, you have to invest upfront to see potential for appreciation later!
Chen Xihua tried her best to analyze the data with Li Yumei. How could she possibly not use their money?
It's not like the family can't afford to spend more money right now, and we can't let Mr. and Mrs. Chen have too much money. Just a few thousand or ten thousand is enough.
She asked them to pay for her education because, at present, she hasn't earned much money yet.
Another point is that even if we don't take money from them to pay for their high school education, the sisters will still have to support them in their old age, so we can't just cut ties with them, can we?
Does that mean that because she didn't receive financial support during her high school years, Li Yumei wouldn't have clung to her daughters and asked them for money?
No, if her daughter had money, she would still ask for it, and she would ask so confidently. So Chen Xihua wouldn't pretend to be generous; she would refuse their money for the sake of her pride!
Moreover, Chen Xihua was secretly pleased. The dowry money for her future marriage wouldn't be something Li Yumei could just ask for. She would just keep it up for a while and then figure it out!
After much effort, they finally convinced Li Yumei to agree to continue supporting their studies. The day was quite lively with some arguments. The Chen sisters looked away shyly. How could their fifth sister still be so shameless, casually mentioning things like dowry when getting married?
Chen Lao Er had completely given up. He was willing but unable to teach Xiao Wu. He couldn't win an argument with her if he tried to reason with her, and he was even less able to win if he didn't try to reason with her. As long as she didn't go too far, he would just let her be!
Actually, Chen Xihua didn't need to say all this to Li Yumei. As long as he explained the importance of education to Chen Lao Er, he would agree to let his daughter study, since the family could barely afford it now.
Moreover, once Chen Lao Er makes a decision, Li Yumei can't object. But considering that there are still several older sisters who need to go to high school, if Li Yumei isn't completely convinced, she will cause trouble from time to time!
Winter has passed and summer has arrived!
It was late June 1994. Chen Jinhua, the second sister, was taking the high school entrance exam, and Chen Xihua herself was also taking the entrance exam for junior high school.
Before the summer vacation of that year, Chen Jinhua was admitted to Jiangshi Ordinary High School, Degao.
Chen Xihua was admitted to the county's No. 1 High School without any doubt, ranking tenth in the county!
"Second sister, can you help me find Sister Xiaolan and ask her to go to the textile factory and buy eighty catties of cotton yarn, forty catties each of milky white and khaki?"
Chen Xihua was getting ready to work; there was still a year until May 1995.
She plans to double her current capital within a year and then make a profit at the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
She recalled that in mid-May of the following year, the domestic stock market experienced three days of explosive growth. All common stocks rose.
Although Chen Xihua didn't understand the financial and stock market situation very well, he knew that at that time, buying in advance and then selling would make him money!
There seems to be another potential stock, related to the pharmaceutical industry. After those three days, it kept falling, but for the next few years, it didn't change much. After more than ten years, it held on and then rose straight up. But this stock isn't urgent!
"Eighty catties?" Chen Jinhua was shocked. Was her fifth sister really that generous?
"Yes, eighty jin. I'm buying the solid color one this time. There shouldn't be any discounts. It's thirty-five yuan per jin, which is two thousand eight hundred yuan. Keep two hundred yuan for emergencies."
Chen Xihua calculated that during the two months of summer vacation this year, all five sisters were skilled enough to weave ten jin (5 kg) of kiln bread each, and they would sell a batch first.
We'll see how things go with Sister Xiaolan then. We can knit the rest slowly when she comes back on the weekend and sell them all before the winter break at the end of the year!
"Also, please ask Sister Xiaolan if she's interested in joining us to knit bags. I can teach her, and I'll give her twenty yuan for each bag she knits!"
"Okay, I'll go find Zhang Weibing now. He didn't get into Jiangshi Middle School and doesn't plan to go to high school. He wants to join the army, but he's not old enough yet, so he might stay home and help out for a while!"
Chen Jinhua actually hoped that Zhang Weibing could also learn martial arts, since her younger sister had promised to teach her after she got into high school!
"Fifth Sister, when will you teach us that fighting technique?"
"In a couple of days, I'll arrange my other things and spend two weeks teaching you in the mornings!" Chen Xihua suddenly realized that this summer vacation was going to be very busy!
In the past year, Chen Xihua has not knitted any more bags because she thought that the purchasing agent, Wang Jun, would imitate her. She also guessed that he would definitely take apart the bags they sold to learn how to make them and then make them himself, so she had no intention of doing it again.
Unexpectedly, at the end of last month, Wang Jun found her at the school gate and asked her if she would still be knitting bags to sell this summer!
At the time, Wang Jun pretended to be calm, trying to hide her anxiety. She could tell that the woven bags must have sold very well, and at a high price.
So, she decided to go all out and, while she could still reap the benefits of the technology, she spent all three thousand yuan at once.
In fact, Chen Xihua's guess was correct. Wang Jun did indeed have someone take apart the bag and learn how to knit it. He used two knitting needles, but it seemed like he couldn't knit it right no matter how he tried, and he couldn't even knit one in ten days. In the end, he gave up, which is why he came to Chen Xihua again!
Actually, you can use knitting needles to knit bags, but there are too few stitch patterns, and they are simple and lack character. In addition, they can only think of a few bag designs, so the finished product will just look like a bag!
That noon, Zhang Xiaolan helped buy two more colors of cotton yarn. Chen Jinhua and Chen Xihua waited outside the factory. They used four snakeskin bags to carry the yarn, and it took them two trips to get it all home.
Chen Xihua and her team acted in the middle of the day. It was hot, and many people were taking a nap at home. There were few pedestrians on the road. When they got home to their apartment building, it was quiet except for one or two cicada calls!
Zhang Xiaolan is very willing to learn how to weave bags. She used to be an apprentice at an old tailor's house in the village. Recently, the old tailor decided not to continue working there. The old tailor is getting old, and her son plans to take her to the provincial capital to live and retire.
When Chen Xihua found out, she was delighted and asked her to go back and inquire whether the tailor's sewing machine and clothing-making tools were for sale, and how much they would cost. If so, Chen Xihua planned to buy them and leave them at Zhang Xiaolan's house for now!
Two days later, Zhang Xiaolan asked about the result. Chen Xihua had bought the second-hand sewing machine for one hundred yuan, and the old tailor had also given her some old scissors, rulers, and other tools!
These past few mornings, Chen Xihua has been going to the suburbs to teach Chen Jinhua and Zhang Weibing martial arts, and then teaching Zhang Xiaolan how to crochet bags.
After learning how to knit, Zhang Xiaolan also took ten kilograms of yarn home to knit.
The Chen sisters have been busy knitting bags for over a month now, and it's already mid-August!
"Chen Lao Er, do you think Chunhua and the other girls are doing something naughty, always hiding in their rooms with the doors closed? It was the same last summer!"
Xiao Bao is always messing around with them again, I can't even check on his studies!
When Li Yumei and Chen Lao Er returned home for lunch, they found that their daughters had gone back to their rooms immediately after finishing their meal!
"Study! Can't you hear the tape recorder playing English tapes all day long?!"
Chen Lao Er didn't notice anything unusual. His eldest daughter was already seventeen, and he couldn't keep an eye on what his daughters were doing in their rooms all the time!
In the past year, business at the pastry shop has improved considerably, and it's been quite busy.
Although there are already several shops selling osmanthus cakes in the county, the development of the new district in the north of the county has improved the living standards of the people, and residents have more spare money, so they have gradually gotten used to eating some cakes in the morning or evening.
During the summer vacation, Li Yumei didn't have to cook or do housework. She also helped out at the pastry shop every day, so she didn't pay much attention to her six children. However, when she came home for dinner, she always noticed something was wrong!
Forget it, as long as I don't ask her for money, I don't care if they're tearing the house apart inside. Suddenly I remembered that my second daughter is starting high school in September. Ugh, when will this ever end!
Chen Xihua would say: "Let's wait. In five or eight years, Xiaobao will be in college, and Li Yumei won't be able to save much money."
Chen Xihua was also thinking that once her sisters went to university, she would take advantage of Li Yumei again!
"Xiao Liu, it's time to cook. Let's go out. I'll teach you one more time today." Chen Xihua pulled Chen Baohua into the kitchen.
She has been teaching Chen Xiaoliu how to cook for the past few days. She is determined to teach him to become a good man who can cook and do housework!
"The rice is fine now. Yesterday's rice was cooked just right. It's just that the stir-fried vegetables weren't quite right. Remember one key point when stir-frying vegetables: heat the pan, add cold oil, and add salt after cooking! Of course, they also need to be cooked thoroughly!"
"Fifth sister, I'm a boy, a boy! None of my classmates cook or do laundry or anything, why do I have to?"
Chen Baohua was furious. If he didn't listen, his fifth sister would grab him by the back of his collar and drag him into the kitchen. It seemed that his fifth sister was quite strong. Although she couldn't compare to his second sister, who was a super strong woman, he just couldn't break free. Sometimes he would go for a run with his fifth sister in the morning to exercise.
"Am I still your favorite little brother?"
Chen Xihua's expression changed: "No! I'm a girl! Girls need to be protected and helped by boys, and right now, I, as a girl, need you!"
She wouldn't be fooled by Chen Xiaoliu's coquettish and aggrieved eyes!
Chen Baohua looked dejected: There's no love left!
By August 25th, Chen Xihua and her sisters had knitted 109 bags, and Zhang Xiaolan had knitted 11, for a total of 120 bags. They had arranged with Wang Jun to deliver the bags the day after tomorrow morning!
After finishing this summer's knitting, I only have 20 jin of cotton yarn left. I'll continue knitting in the second half of the year and sell it all before the New Year!
When delivering the goods the next day, Wang Jun saw two solid-color bags in milk white and khaki, as well as three new styles. He tried to appear calm, but he couldn't hide the joy in his eyes. It turned out that solid colors were also very beautiful, and more timeless, and more in line with people's aesthetic preferences!
"Brother Jun, as I mentioned before, the price of these bags will be higher this time, sixty-five yuan each. Firstly, the cost of cotton yarn has increased, and secondly, our labor costs have also increased!" Chen Xihua wasn't worried that Wang Jun wouldn't buy them!
"Okay, but, as you said before, there will be a small batch at the end of the year, and you have to sell it to me at this price, and it can't be sold to just any individual!"
Wang Jun has been asked many times in the provincial capital where he got his goods, and he believes that he can sell these goods for eighty or ninety yuan each, or even one hundred yuan!
Wang Jun took out a stack of dark blue 100-yuan bills from his black briefcase, pulled out twenty bills, and handed them to Chen Xihua.
"Here's seven thousand eight hundred yuan, keep it safe!"
"Thank you, Brother Jun! It'll be a pleasure doing business with you!" Chen Xihua took the money and quickly put it into her small cloth bag.
"Brother Jun, there should be around forty more by the end of the year. I'll call you in advance!"
"Okay, I'll wait for you!" Wang Jun turned around, jumped into the small truck, and drove away. This shipment needed to be delivered quickly, as many regular customers in the provincial capital were already queuing up!
The two who remained in place, Chen Jinhua was still tense and alert, looking around to see if anyone was there. More than seven thousand yuan!
"Xiao Wu, let's go home quickly!"
"Okay, let's go. Second sister, relax. Being so nervous will only attract attention!"
Chen Xihua remained very calm. This was nothing. She had seen tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of yuan before, but it was all in her bank account. She hadn't used much cash; she mostly used mobile transfers to pay!
Chen Jinhua admired the fifth sister very much. Seeing the fifth sister's calm and composed demeanor, she gradually relaxed as well, but she still kept an eye on her surroundings to see if anyone was around!
When they returned to the Chen family home, Chen Chunhua, Chen Meihua, Chen Xiuhua, and Chen Baohua all looked at Chen Xihua and her companion with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation, as they had received more money this time than before.
Although I had heard Chen Xihua say before that they would sell each bag for 65 yuan and that there would be 120 bags this time, I was still very nervous and worried before I saw the money!
This time, apart from eating and sleeping, they were basically busy knitting bags every day. Knowing that their fifth sister had invested three thousand yuan in this, they were quite frightened and felt even more pressured!
"Let's go back to our room first!" Chen Jinhua, also excited, reminded him.
Inside the room, the Chen siblings were counting the more than seven thousand yuan, counting it several times to make sure it was correct!
"Fifth sister, it really is seven thousand eight hundred yuan!" Chen Chunhua counted it once and then stopped. She had been worried: what if her mother stopped supporting her to go to high school?
Now I can finally relax. My fifth sister said she could find a way, and she really could!
Chen Jinhua and Chen Meihua were counting the money over and over again, while Chen Xiuhua only glanced at it and then stopped counting.
Chen Baohua picked up a card and said, "Fifth Sister, can I have one?"
"One hundred yuan won't do, but I can give you ten. My eldest and second eldest sisters are going to high school, so each of them gets one hundred yuan. My third and fourth eldest sisters each get fifty yuan. The rest will be very useful!"
Chen Xihua suddenly realized that her older sisters were all grown up now, and it wasn't right to always ask Li Yumei for pocket money. However, she really couldn't divide all the money away now!
"Second sister, here's two hundred and twenty yuan. Take it and give it to Sister Xiaolan!"
Chen Jinhua thought of something: "Okay, I'll take it to her tomorrow. Fifth sister, the guard said that Sister Xiaolan can make her own clothes now, although they're not very good, but the guard looks quite well dressed!"
"Really? Then I'll draw a dress pattern for her tonight and see if she can make it!"
Chen Xihua had studied simple line drawing. She took out her paper and pen, but her eyes were fixed on the calligraphy brush lying silently to one side.
Chen Xihua slapped her forehead. Oh no! She hadn't practiced calligraphy in a long time. She was planning to go back to Shanghe Village to visit the old headmaster before the Chinese New Year this year!
It seems she'll be busy again after school starts. Chen Xihua's school days were her most relaxed and carefree time; holidays were her busiest.
She had been thinking that she could relax once school started, but now it seems she can't; she'll have to practice calligraphy every day.
If her calligraphy hasn't changed much from two years ago, the old principal would definitely be able to tell that she hasn't been practicing diligently. That awkward old man must be having a headache!
"Chen Xiaoliu, I told you to practice writing every day, why haven't I seen you doing it?" Chen Xihua had previously told Chen Baohua to practice two pages of pencil writing every day!
Chen Baohua rolled her eyes: "Fifth Sister, I do write, I write every day, I write outside the dining room!"
Fifth sister hasn't practiced calligraphy herself, yet she wants to push all the responsibility onto him. That's really too much! The youngest has no say!
"Oh, really? Then let me check it!" Although Chen Xihua was in the wrong, she still pretended to want to check it!
"Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter!" Chen Jinhua couldn't help but laugh, and the other sisters were also trying not to laugh.
They rarely saw their fifth sister, who was so intelligent, calm, articulate, and mature for her age, with such an expression!
Chen Xihua swept her over with a haughty look: What's so funny? Can't she have a little emotion?
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