Under the dim light, Shen Qiqi's slender fingers slid across the rough paper of the account book. Every meager income pricked her nerves like a needle tip.
The laughter outside the window seemed to be from another world. Inside the house, there was an indescribable worry between her and Lu Qing.
"This account book is cleaner than my face," Shen Qiqi laughed bitterly, put down the account book in her hand, and rubbed her temples. "If this continues, how can I live like this?"
Lu Qing put his arm around her shoulders with concern and said, "Qiqi, don't worry too much. Things will get better." Although he said this, his furrowed brow revealed his inner uneasiness.
Shen Qiqi took a deep breath, her eyes gradually firmed, "Brother Qing, I've decided, we have to start managing our finances!" A passion to "make money" burned in her heart.
"Financial management?" Lu Qing was a little confused. "How do you manage it?"
Shen Qiqi smiled mysteriously: "The hermit has a clever plan! The first step is to hold a family meeting!"
Thus, an unprecedented "Lu Family Financial Planning Conference" was held in a small room.
Old Mrs. Lu, Lu Qing, and even her daughter who was still playing in the mud were called over.
"Mom, Brother Qing, and my daughter," Shen Qiqi cleared her throat and said seriously, "Everyone has seen our family's current financial situation. To describe it in one word, it's - poor! So, I've decided that starting today, we're going to manage our family finances!"
When Mrs. Lu heard this, her eyebrows immediately twisted into the shape of a "川" character and her mouth pouted. "Financial management? What's that all that new stuff? Why would you bother with good money if it's just sitting there doing nothing?"
"Mom, this isn't a waste of time," Shen Qiqi explained patiently, "Financial management is about making money make more money, so that our family can live better and better..."
Before Shen Qiqi finished speaking, she heard a delicate voice: "Mom, I want to buy a new dress! Xiaohua's new dress next door is so beautiful, I want one too!"
Shen Qiqi turned around and saw that it was her daughter, who was looking at her eagerly, eyes full of longing.
“Why buy a new dress! Where is the money at home…” Mrs. Lu was about to scold, but was stopped by Shen Qiqi.
She squatted down and gently touched her daughter's head. "Baby, can we buy a new dress later? Right now, our family..."
"No! I want to buy it now! I want it!" The daughter started to act coquettishly, with a pout on her lips, and was about to cry.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense...
Lu Qing's daughter cried even harder, her little face flushed red, tears fell like beads from a broken string, and her cries echoed throughout the house, like "devil's sound piercing the ears".
Shen Qiqi felt her temples throbbing and her head buzzing. This naughty kid is really an expert at "tricking his mother"!
She took a deep breath and tried hard to suppress the urge to roar like a lion.
Lu Qing was coaxing his daughter softly, patting her back gently with his big hands, his eyes full of love.
The contrast between this father and daughter, one crying earth-shakingly and the other being gentle as water, is so sharp that it looks like a tragedy.
Just when everyone thought Shen Qiqi was going to use her "trump card" - forcibly prohibiting purchases, she suddenly changed the subject and curled up a mysterious smile at the corner of her mouth: "Baby, it's not impossible to want a new dress, but we have to make money first. How about it, do you want to join a money-making plan with your mother?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell silent, and everyone's eyes were focused on Shen Qiqi, as if they had seen some incredible creature.
Old Mrs. Lu was stunned. The melon seeds in her hand fell to the ground. Her mouth opened wide, like a fish out of water.
"What? A money-making plan? What is this girl up to again?" the old lady muttered to herself.
Lu Qing expressed his support for Shen Qiqi's wonderful ideas. A trace of relief flashed in his eyes, and he gently squeezed Shen Qiqi's hand, as if to say: "Qiqi"
"What plan?" The little girl stopped crying abruptly, blinking her eyes curiously, her face full of anticipation.
Shen Qiqi smiled mysteriously, leaned close to her daughter's ear, and whispered a few words.
The little girl's eyes lit up more and more, and she clapped her hands excitedly, "Great! I want to earn money with my mom to buy a dress!"
"Tomorrow, let's go..." Shen Qiqi deliberately prolonged the tone and kept it a secret.
The next morning, as soon as the sun came out, Shen Qiqi brought her daughter to the small workshop in the village.
The air was filled with a faint herbal fragrance mixed with the scent of earth, which seemed a little novel to the little girl.
In the workshop, several aunts were skillfully sorting and bundling herbs, their movements as swift as a clockwork machine.
"Come, baby, our task today is to separate these herbs by type." Shen Qiqi handed her daughter a small basket and began their "working" journey.
At first, the little girl was very excited and found it fresh and interesting.
But not long after, she began to complain.
"Mom, my hands are so sore!", "Mom, why do these herbs all look the same? I can't tell them apart!", "Mom, I'm thirsty! I'm hungry! I'm tired!" Various complaints came one after another, like a buzzing bee, making Shen Qiqi's head buzz.
Shen Qiqi ignored her daughter's complaints and only gave her an encouraging look occasionally, asking her to keep going.
She knew very well that only by letting her daughter experience the hard work firsthand could she make her understand how hard money is to earn.
Time passed minute by minute, fine beads of sweat oozed out of the little girl's forehead, and her hands became red and swollen, but she still gritted her teeth and persevered.
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