Chapter 31
The next day at the market, Yao Chunnuan took a gold bead to the pawnshop to pawn it.
There was no rush to exchange the banknotes. If she waited for the North-South Caravan, she could wait until she had climbed a little higher up the ladder to avoid being ripped off. Or she could wait until she had a chance to leave the military farm. Yichun also had a branch of the Huitong Bank, but she had inquired and learned that inter-regional exchange was at a tenth discount. In other words, for a hundred taels of banknotes in Beijing, she could only withdraw ninety taels in Yichun. The handling fee was exorbitant.
The pawnshop attendant examined the beads again and again before giving her an estimate. The beads were small and not new, so they could only be exchanged for silver at a ratio of one to seven. So, she still had to pawn them.
Yao Chunnuan knew the profit. The gold beads were solid, so if they were pawned, they could be exchanged for silver at a ratio of one to nine. Because the gold beads would be almost as good as new after being shredded, the pawnshop clerk said this just to lower the price.
The other party clearly wanted to make so much money, and border prisoners had little freedom. They were the only pawnshop in this area, so they were not afraid that she would not agree.
Yao Chunnuan's idea was right. At this moment, the pawnshop waiter held his head high and had already prepared a plan in his mind to reject her plea for more silver.
Their pawnshop was located in this area, specializing in business with the military settlement. The settlement consisted of two districts: the east and west. The east district housed soldiers and their families, while the west district housed prisoners and laborers. Typically, those who came to pawn their belongings were prisoners, especially newly arrived prisoners. They had saved up some money, and since life in Yichun was difficult, they sought to pawn some to improve their lives or for emergencies.
The people in the pawnshop are used to it. A while ago, a group of exiled prisoners came to Yichun, and they have been doing business with them recently. So the pawnshop’s business has been very good recently. The woman in front of them is still late.
Unfortunately, Yao Chunnuan knew that people who could run pawnshops were ruthless and hard-hearted, so she certainly wouldn't waste her words, let alone humiliate herself. So, Yao Chunnuan didn't dwell on the price, but instead said, "If I exchange it for copper coins, I can get three thousand coins, right?"
The topic jumped so much that the pawnshop attendant was momentarily confused. When he finally realized what she was saying, he thought the woman was quite tactful and didn't plead with him. Even if she had, he wouldn't have raised the price for the beads. At the same time, he felt a sense of regret. Although the woman was pregnant, she was quite pretty and had a pleasant voice. It would have been quite beautiful if she had pleaded with him softly.
The pawnshop clerk was obviously distracted. Yao Chunnuan frowned slightly and asked her question again.
"Ah, yes, is that so?" the pawnshop attendant said uncertainly.
"Then please count out three... strings of coins for me." Yao Chunnuan originally wanted to say three thousand coins, which actually meant the same thing, but she thought it would be better to change the word. In case the pawnshop waiter was a sensitive person, he would definitely react.
"Okay." So the pawnshop attendant began to count the copper coins. He was puzzled as he counted. The customer was quite straightforward, but he still felt something was wrong. But even after he handed the three hundred yuan to Yao Chunnuan, he still didn't understand what was wrong.
Yao Chunnuan took the money, said thank you and left.
She didn't know that the whole scene was seen by the two male guests in the box opposite on the second floor.
"What a clever little woman!" the young man praised.
The gold bead weighed four or five qian, and at a rate of one to seven, she could get three liang of silver. Three liang of silver for three thousand copper coins seemed reasonable. However, the typical exchange rate for silver and copper coins was less than ten to one, and even less so in a pawnshop. In other words, the copper coins she exchanged for the gold bead were less than three thousand wen.
The older man drank his tea in silence.
The young man continued, "Changfeng, your family has a stake in this pawnshop, right? Why didn't you warn the waiter when you saw your family suffer a loss?"
"In the business world, everyone relies on their own abilities. Why should I say more?"
"Tsk tsk, how cruel."
Xing Changfeng put down his cup, frowning and looking down. Besides, even a warning would be useless; it would only tarnish the pawnshop's reputation. That would be a veiled admission that the silver they pawned was of poor quality. That young woman was indeed clever; she'd even blocked her escape route.
At the market, Yao Chunnuan bought several jars of different sizes. Her family was short of a water jar, a rice jar, a jar for pickling sauerkraut, and various small jars for storage.
Don't think she bought too many tanks, she really needed them.
A water tank was essential. After settling down, their family's wooden barrels increased from the original two to four or five, and Xiao Jieming would fill them up with water every day. Even so, it was still very inconvenient. A large water tank would be very convenient, especially when the weather was cold. They could fetch more water at once, without having to go out all the time after using it.
A large rice jar was also necessary. Although they didn't have that much food yet, she planned to use it as a granary. Their mud house was infested with insects and ants, making it difficult to store food. With a rice jar, she could put all the food in it, sorted by category, and then cover it with a wooden lid to keep the insects and ants out.
The other tanks are also very necessary, so I won’t go into details about them.
The shop owner who sold the jars was very nice. Seeing that she bought a lot of jars and was pregnant, they were willing to deliver them to her door.
Yao Chunnuan thanked him repeatedly, and then said a few auspicious words to the boss's wife, wishing her business to be prosperous, which made the boss's wife smile happily, and she no longer had the displeasure she had when she heard her husband say that he would deliver the goods to Yao Chunnuan.
Yao Chunnuan gradually bought other supplies, such as seven or eight feet of coarse cloth, some needles and thread, salt, eggs, and other necessities. She bought all the necessities the family needed. She even gritted her teeth and bought two taels of soybean oil. It wasn't that she didn't want to buy more, but her wealth didn't allow it.
She'd gone to the pawnshop today, and there was a chance it might fall into the sight of someone with ulterior motives. It wouldn't be safe to keep the money she'd exchanged today. Of course, she couldn't spend it all without even a little for emergencies; wouldn't that make it clear they were hiding something? So, seeing only three hundred coins were left, she decisively headed home.
Two ounces of soybean oil would also be enough. When she had the chance later, she could smuggle some blended oil out of the old house and sneak it in. Xiao Jieming and Luo Suyi would help with cooking and washing vegetables, but they only had a rough idea of the supplies at home and were never very clear about the exact number.
On the way back, she met Old Lady Wang, Wang Lang and several other people from the Wang family.
Old Lady Wang looked at her belly and wanted to come over.
Yao Chunnuan said nothing, but looked at Wang Lang with a slightly cold gaze. Wang Lang saw that her complexion was better than other prisoners and her belly was slightly protruding, so he pulled his mother away.
Madam Wang sighed, "Alright, I won't go over. Second Brother, give her two of the bones you bought today."
Wang Lang pursed his lips and said, "She won't want it."
"Whether she wants it or not is her business. Whether we give it or not is our intention!" Moreover, when she was on the road of exile, the Wang family sent her things, and she accepted them, although she still did not treat the Wang family well after accepting them.
Wang Lang couldn't persuade his mother, so he took two bones with the most meat from the basket and walked towards Yao Chunnuan.
"Take it away! Since there's no connection, then don't have any dealings with each other. I'm not just talking about people, I'm talking about things as well."
Yao Chunnuan didn't want the child to grow up and not recognize them. She would be so disgusted by the Wang family saying that she had eaten the food sent by the Wang family when the child was in her belly.
As he expected, he was rejected and Wang Lang stood there with a stern face.
Madam Wang sighed, "Forget it, Second Brother, come back."
Old Lady Wang stepped forward and took Wang Lang away. Before leaving, she looked at her belly reluctantly.
Yao Chunnuan didn't understand. Madam Wang clearly had grandchildren, so why did she seem so attached to the child in her belly? They were all grandchildren, so what was the difference? It was simply greed.
When Yao Chunming returned, the owner of the jar shop and his son drove a bullock cart to deliver the jars they had bought.
Xiao Jieming and Luo Suyi had gone to the mountains to collect firewood and had not yet returned. Yao Chunnuan quickly opened the door and asked them to bring the jar inside for her.
After the father and son delivered the jar, they did not stay long and drove the ox cart back.
Yao Chunnuan closed the door and took out a piece of bacon weighing about a pound from the old house. She had saved this opportunity on purpose; she hadn't taken folic acid today.
Because the aroma of bacon was too overpowering, she didn't plan to stir-fry it, but instead made a simple pot of bacon rice. She cut the bacon into thin slices and buried it in brown rice, then fried some pickles and mixed some cold vegetables, and dinner was ready.
Xiao Jieming and Luo Suyi brought back a large pile of firewood today, filling up the warehouse next door by about 70%. There were still a lot of firewood that was not dry enough and piled up at the foot of the wall to dry.
Seeing the things Yao Chunnuan bought for the house today, both of them were very satisfied.
After a hard day's work, the two of them enjoyed their dinner very much. Afterwards, the three of them showered and rested, as tomorrow would be another tiring day.
The next day, as soon as the prisoners in their team gathered for their labor service, Chen Jin made an announcement. Yao Chunnuan had been promoted from an ordinary prisoner to a recorder!
The scene was quiet at first, and then everyone went into an uproar.
The position of recorder is usually filled by the right-hand man of a small boss. Not only is the job easy, the most important thing is the trust of the small boss, which is rare among prisoners.
Few prisoners of civilian origin can do this, of course, except for prisoners with backgrounds, but they have never seen it anyway.
To be honest, Yao Chunnuan was also quite surprised. She could guess that Chen Jin would reward her, but she didn't expect him to do it all at once. This didn't seem like his kind of courage. But he did it anyway, regardless of the grim expression on Lin Hui's face.
Lin Hui has been away for a while and just returned today, but according to the information they have collected, he is highly valued by Chen Jin.
Lin Hui's expression told her he was vehemently opposed to her promotion, but Chen Jin showed no hesitation or hesitation. Given that Lin Hui had just returned from his hometown, she could rule out a falling out. This left only one possible explanation: someone had made the decision for him, and he was resolute. The person making the decision for Chen Jin must have held a higher position than he did. If she was right, it was most likely Zhao Hong.
Yao Chunnuan was very happy to guess this. It meant that someone higher than Chen Jin had noticed her. Perhaps she still had a long way to go before she could catch his eye, but it was a good start now, wasn't it?
"Why does she do that?" Li Taohua said angrily. She hated it. Why did all the good things happen to this woman Yao Chunnuan?
Yao Chunnuan also heard this, and she thought to herself, why is she so successful? Of course it’s because of her ability.
The people around Li Taohua advised her, "Just say less. Even if Yao was not the one who took on the job of recorder, it would not be your turn. Why make such a fuss?" She had been here for many years. If she could catch Chen Jin's eye, she would have done so long ago.
Seeing Yao Chunnuan happy but not losing her composure, the elders all shook their heads. They couldn't be jealous. They really couldn't be jealous. Promotions weren't based on seniority, nor did they guarantee promotions just because they had been there for a long time. Yao was young, but she was also very capable.
In addition to Li Taohua, there was another person who was very unhappy about Yao Chunnuan's promotion, and that person was Lin Hui.
Lin Hui didn't expect that when he just took a vacation to visit his parents in his hometown, he would find a strong rival as soon as he came back!
“Senior Lin, from now on we will be stirring the spoons in the same pot. Please give me your guidance.”
Lin Hui said with a forced smile, "I don't deserve your advice."
Yao Chunnuan didn't care, but Lin Hui was unhappy. Isn't that normal?
In Chen Jin's team, her position overlaps with his, but Chen Jin's cake is not big, and with someone like her coming to grab a piece of the pie, he would be furious.
Yao Chunnuan was right. Lin Hui was furious. When he came back from vacation, his house was vandalized and he was not even given time to repair it. The enemy squeezed in directly.
The news that she was the recorder spread throughout the area.
When the women of the Wang and Han families heard the news, many of them felt a pang of jealousy. They knew how to keep records. Who among them couldn't keep accounts and read the ledgers? Why could a village girl like her be promoted and given such a respectable and easy job?
"Didn't we know on the way here? She's always been a manipulative person. I don't know how she managed to become the recorder this time!" Fortunately, Yao Chunnuan was pregnant, and Wang Han and other female relatives did not think of her promotion in terms of relationships between men and women.
Yao Chunnuan doesn't care what others say. If such things happen more often in the future, they will get used to it.
Everyone: I don’t really want this habit.
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