Chapter 55: Chen Xinghai accidentally gets into trouble, Xiao Ying makes charcoal
It turned out that when Chen Xinghai went to Taohua Village to purchase red strips, he was recognized by someone. It was his aunt Sun Mei who recognized him.
Sun Mei's family is really a bunch of rotten things. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are both more selfish and greedy than each other, and her husband Xiao Tieshu is even more idle, stealing and cheating all day long.
Father-in-law Xiao Qing appears to be a good man, but in fact he is very cruel and selfish.
When Chen Enke was still alive, they often went to beg for money and always brought home a lot of stuff.
After Chen Enke passed away, they never went there again.
I heard that Xiao Ying had become a different person, lazy and addicted to gambling. He even sold his land and his children, and his family was extremely poor.
They were all afraid that Xiao Ying would return to her parents' home to ask them for it.
As a result, he didn't set foot in Chenjia Village for eight whole years.
The reason why Sun Mei recognized Chen Xinghai this time was because the villagers called out his name. After asking around, she found out that he was the son of her sister-in-law.
Sun Mei was a little surprised at once. Wasn't it said that her sister-in-law's family was so poor that they couldn't even make ends meet? How could they have the ability to start a business?
After further inquiries, I learned that Xiao Ying had become wealthy recently. Not only did he start a business, but his family was also said to be building a brick house. He was quite wealthy.
After hearing this, Sun Mei no longer had the heart to stay any longer and immediately ran home to tell her family.
"You heard right, that bitch is really rich?"
Mother-in-law He Qiuju was extremely surprised after hearing this and wondered if Sun Mei had made a mistake.
Father-in-law Xiao Qing was also skeptical. Who didn't know Xiao Ying's character? How could he possibly be capable of building a brick and tile house?
"Absolutely, I asked several people."
Seeing that they didn't believe her, Sun Mei anxiously patted her chest and made a promise.
"But didn't we hear last month that she was going to sell a loss-making product again?" He Qiuju still didn't quite believe it.
It's only been a few days. How could such a huge change have happened?
"I don't know either, but that's what they all say." Sun Mei also hesitated.
"Who cares if it's true or not? Let's just go and take a look and we'll find out. Hey, I'm really short of money lately, maybe I can get some from her."
The person who spoke was Xiao Tieshu, who looked wretched, with a pointed face and monkey cheeks, and a calculating gleam in his eyes.
He Qiuju glared at him angrily: "Even if I get the money, I won't let you spend it carelessly."
Her son had been spoiled since childhood, which led to his developing such a temper. Now she regrets it too late.
Xiao Tieshu snorted and turned his head away.
"Old woman, go and take a look with your daughter-in-law tomorrow."
Xiao Qing spoke again, obviously not wanting to miss this opportunity. What if Xiao Ying really was rich?
I haven't contributed a penny to them in the past eight years. It's time to compensate them.
"OK."
He Qiuju agreed immediately, but was wondering how much she would ask for at that time.
Since you can run a business and build a house, it should be okay for you to ask for ten or eight taels, right?
Sun Mei also showed excitement. If she could get the money, she might be able to make new clothes for her son.
The whole family treated Xiao Ying as a cash cow.
…
Chen Xinghai, who was collecting peppers, didn't know that his appearance had caused trouble again.
Since they only set out to harvest peppers in the afternoon, he didn't harvest much. Together with Chen Jie and the other two, he harvested only about 1,000 kilograms. This was because several villages didn't sell any peppers yesterday afternoon.
This also allowed Xiao Ying to estimate the stock of peppers. If he continued to harvest, he estimated that there would be only about five or six thousand kilograms.
However, this amount of peppers is enough for her. If there are too many, she will worry about not being able to sell them.
"Mother, I bought it in Taohua Village for seven coins per pound, which saved me nearly three hundred coins."
Chen Xinghai said happily that this was his first time doing business alone and he felt pretty good about it.
Xiao Ying nodded approvingly: "The money you save will be considered as your wages. You can keep it yourself, and it will be the same in the future."
"How can this be possible?"
Chen Xinghai was about to refuse. It was the same in this village and outside the village. The family had not been divided, and the money was kept by their parents. Children had almost no private money. How could he take his mother's money?
"You earned this yourself, so keep it." Xiao Ying refused to allow any refusal and looked at Chen Xingyun and her sister: "The same goes for you. If you make money with your own abilities in the future, you can keep it for yourself."
"Thank you, mother."
The two sisters were beaming with joy, eager to make money right away.
Chen Xingyue suddenly remembered that she still had ten taels of silver in her hand, which was the wages she received when she left the Zhao family. So much time had passed, and her mother really didn't ask her for it.
In other words, she already had ten taels of silver in her pocket.
Chen Xingyue's eyes lit up. With so much silver, she was probably richer than most families in the village.
After dinner, Xiao Ying did not teach them arithmetic tonight, but took out a bunch of willow branches picked in the afternoon.
She asked Chen Xinghai to peel the skin, asked Chen Xingyun to get some paper, and she made a bowl of glutinous rice paste.
"Mom, what are you doing?"
Chen Xingyue asked curiously, and the other two also looked puzzled.
Xiao Ying smiled mysteriously: "You will know later."
As he spoke, he took out a piece of burning wood and lit the willow branches that Chen Xinghai had peeled to carbonize them.
Each willow branch was more than ten centimeters long, and after carbonization, it turned black inside and out, which made the three siblings even more confused.
After carbonizing a few sticks, she cut the white paper into thin strips, wrapped them around the outside, and then glued them together with glutinous rice paste, leaving about one centimeter exposed in front of each stick.
In this way, a simple charcoal pencil is completed.
She picked up a pen and started writing on the paper. It felt a little thick, so she sharpened it with a dagger until it was almost as sharp as a pencil.
The three of them opened their eyes wide at the same time and finally understood what their mother was doing. She was making a pen!
It is not one of those soft and difficult-to-use brushes, but a charcoal-like pen, only much more delicate and smaller, and can be used to write on paper.
They have been studying arithmetic for so long but have never written it on paper. Does this mean that they can write on paper in the future?
"One for each of you, come and try it."
Xiao Ying gave each of the three people a pen and a piece of paper, and then taught them how to hold the pen.
The three of them were a little confused at first, but they got it right after getting used to it for a while.
Chen Xinghai is especially fond of this, as he had learned to write before. Although his pen-holding posture is slightly different from this one, he finds it easier to write this way now.
"Swish, swish, swish" he wrote more than ten words in a short while, but they were not very neat and the characters were a bit big.
"Mom, this pen is really useful."
Chen Xinghai was very satisfied, but felt that it was a bit of a waste of paper.
Xiao Ying said, "Then use this pen to write from now on. You all can practice."
She also took a pen and paper and wrote down her own name and the names of her three children. Her handwriting was neat and beautiful, and the size was just right. After reading it, I felt quite satisfied.
Chen Xinghai blushed slightly and thought to himself that he must practice calligraphy well in the future.
"Xinghai should be able to write the names of his family. You two should learn more."
Xiao Ying showed the paper to Chen Xingyun and her sister, and then she and Chen Xinghai taught one of them each how to write the names of their family members.
The two sisters studied very seriously and were even a little excited.
Not to mention girls, even boys in the village are rarely literate. They are so lucky.
After teaching for a while, the two sisters almost knew everything, but it was still a little difficult for them to write it down by themselves. Xiao Ying asked them to practice more and then continued to make wicker charcoal pencils.
She made more than ten in total, intending to leave them for the three of them to use slowly. They should be enough for a while.
"Mom, can this be sold for money?" Chen Xinghai asked from the side.
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