Winter has just begun, and the weather is getting colder day by day.
Everyone added a lot of clothes to keep warm. Pan Jinhua was old and was most afraid of the cold, so she hurriedly asked Liu Yun to buy cotton in town to replenish her clothes.
Even adding more cotton didn't work; now he stays cooped up in his room every day and doesn't even leave.
Li Xuming was worried that his mother would get cold, so he bought a lot of charcoal to keep on hand.
Unfortunately, it was no use; Pan Jinhua felt cold even lying in bed.
Having been tempered into a docile state by the southern winter, Pan Jinhua quickly brought out her winter weapon—the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed).
Unable to stay still from the cold any longer, he finally remembered this ultimate weapon. Pan
Jin Hua hadn't initially expected that winters in the south could be so unbearable, so she hadn't thought of it at all when the renovation was being carried out.
Now she's so cold she doesn't dare move. She had planned to make something new to increase the Li family's income and have a bountiful year, but the cold winter has held her back.
The hastily added kang (heated brick bed) directly replaced the bed, as Li Xuming had chopped up the bed frame to burn for fuel.
Nestled on the kang (heated brick bed), Pan Jinhua felt her icy hands and feet relax and her whole body warm up; she had finally come back to life.
After Li Jiagang had finished building Pan Jinhua's kang (heated brick bed) and experienced its benefits, Li Xuming quickly led his brothers to Cao Shangjin's house to build a kang for Cao Shangjin free of charge.
This kind of overly solicitous behavior is not Li Xuming's style.
——————
Zhao Qi's eldest son, Zhao Chuanjia, is thirty years old and is lame.
When he was exiled, he was severely tormented by the officials, which left him with some foot problems.
This was Zhao Qi's deepest sorrow, having been exiled here. He and his wife were left with only their eldest son, Zhao Chuanjia, and their third son, Zhao Chuanshi.
The eldest son was already married, but because of his exile, his wife asked for a divorce. Chuanjia was a kind-hearted man and wrote it down on the spot.
Now that he has no children and is lame, he has become even more taciturn. As his father, how can he feel good about this?
That day, Zhao Qi was given a long lecture by the villagers, and then he stayed at home thinking about it for several days. His wife kept urging him, and her face grew darker and darker every day.
He knew his wife also resented him, resenting that he hadn't come up with any solutions for their eldest son.
Seeing that the Li family had started construction on something again these days, Zhao Qi finally couldn't sit still any longer.
Only those with money can repair their houses repeatedly.
For the sake of his child, what harm is there in being shameless just once?
When his wife saw him about to leave, she finally smiled for the first time in days.
"Uncle Zhao, is something the matter?"
Although Zhao Qi had mustered up the courage to come to the Li family, he still lacked confidence when facing the polite Li Xuming.
"Old man, you are shameless. I have come today to ask you for a favor."
Zhao Qi's messy eyebrows were furrowed into a tight knot.
"Uncle Zhao, why do you say that? We are all from Shuxia Village, please speak frankly."
“Shuxia Village is poor, and the villagers have little source of income. They all know that the tofu was made by your family. The villagers are thinking, could you help us think of a way to earn some money to make a living?”
Zhao Qi had prepared himself mentally before coming, and with gritted teeth, he blurted out his purpose in one breath.
"sure."
"It's understandable that it's not possible, I understand, I understand."
Before Zhao Qi could hear what Li Xuming said, he hurriedly nodded and responded.
"Uncle Zhao, I mean, yes, it's possible."
Looking at Zhao Qi's appearance, Li Xuming felt a pang of pity.
"What?! You can?! Old man, you didn't hear me wrong?"
Zhao Qi's voice trembled, his eyes wide open.
"Yes, Uncle Zhao, you heard me right."
He smiled broadly, but in his heart he admired his mother immensely.
It turns out that Pan Jinhua had long anticipated this day.
Shuxia Village was poor; everyone in the village was penniless, except for the Li family.
The problem isn't scarcity but inequality; this applies to villages as well.
Ever since the Li family started making tofu and made money from it, villagers have been watching them from a distance. Clan members often encounter villagers striking up conversations with them when they are out and about. Even when Li Qingtong and her friends are playing, villagers will ask them about the tofu.
The villagers' envious glances were not missed by the clansmen, nor were their covetous stares; they all knew perfectly well what was going on.
Li Xuming thought it was unnecessary to pay attention. But Pan Jinhua said that no one's jealousy should be ignored.
Even a small ant can shake a tree.
"Uncle Zhao, to be honest, I have a profitable business opportunity that I can entrust to you."
"Is that really true!"
Li Xuming immediately took Zhao Qi to see the kang (heated brick bed) they had built for Pan Jinhua.
After this visit, Zhao Qi was filled with anticipation, constantly praising it and wishing he could go home and relax there right away.
"This kang is really nice. If we could build one in our homes, the winter would be much easier."
Winters in the south are also cold, with biting winds that few people can withstand.
Wealthy families are fortunate, as they have precious and beautiful furs to keep warm and charcoal to burn all the time. But for ordinary people, charcoal is unaffordable. If the charcoal is of poor quality, the house will be filled with smoke and soot after a short time. There are even cases where people die the next day after charcoal is burned in the house at night.
For these reasons, in winter, poor families would huddle together in bed, eat and drink less, and endure the winter until spring.
If they were to heat a kang (a heated brick bed), it would require a lot of firewood, but since they rely on the mountains, firewood isn't something that can be obtained simply by putting in the effort.
"Uncle Zhao, I was referring to the business of this kang (heated brick bed)."
After looking at the kang (heated brick bed), Li Xuming led Zhao Qi back to the main hall.
"This skill?! You're going to teach it to us? To the village?"
Zhao Qi was also taken aback. He hadn't expected that the Li family would agree as soon as he opened his mouth and immediately come up with a job for them. Could they be such a philanthropist?
“Uncle Zhao, we’re all from the same village. We know how the villagers are having difficulties. As you know, my family is busy with the tofu business. Now that it’s cold, we’ll have to stop the tofu business for a while.”
“If the villagers are willing, my family is happy to teach them how to make kang (heated brick beds). It’s true that making kang can be profitable, but it’s a tiring job, and with the cold weather now, you have to suffer a bit to earn money.”
"We're not afraid of suffering, as long as we can make money."
"Nephew, please enlighten us."
Zhao Qi felt a lump in his throat and a deep sense of guilt after hearing Li Xuming's heartfelt words.
They are like leeches in the field, rushing to grab any flesh and blood they can find and sucking it up.
He came with ill intentions; how could he possibly repay the Li family's kindness? Even more tragically, he couldn't refuse.
Zhao Qi could only bend over deeply, and Li Xuming quickly stopped him.
"Uncle Zhao, you flatter me. I am a junior and should not do this. Today, my family will be making a kang (heated brick bed), and I would like to ask Uncle Zhao to select some people to come and observe."
"Alright, I'll go get some people right away. Nephew, you don't need to send anyone to do it yourself. Just send someone to teach us. We've already set up the kang (heated brick bed) at the Li family's house!"
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