"No." Before Li Chenyang could speak, Ye Xiaoxiao interjected.
"Repairing the car costs money, and buying parts costs money too. If you don't have the money, take the car back first, and come back when you have it."
Wang Dashun was a little embarrassed: "Sister-in-law, I'm just..."
"Da Shun," Ye Xiaoxiao interrupted him, "you're a regular customer, so I won't lie to you. We're a small business, we can't afford to run on credit. Don't you agree?"
Wang Dashun thought about it and agreed, so he had no choice but to promise to bring money that night.
After seeing Wang Dashun off, Li Chenyang felt a little embarrassed: "Wife, you were being too heartless."
"What do you mean by 'unreasonable'?" Ye Xiaoxiao's face darkened. "There have to be rules in business. If you let one person buy on credit, everyone will want to buy on credit in the future. Are we even going to be able to do business like that?"
Li Chenyang was speechless. He felt sorry for everyone, so he always helped others by fixing things for them.
The next day, Ye Xiaoxiao took Li Chenyang to the county town to purchase goods. She showed the list to Director Zhang of the supply and marketing cooperative: "Director, do you have all these parts?"
Director Zhang glanced at the list: "Yes, we do have some, but it'll take two days. Since you need so much, we'll have to get it from the warehouse."
"Okay, we'll come back in two days," Ye Xiaoxiao said. "By the way, Director, we plan to come here more often to buy goods. Could you give us a wholesale price?"
Director Zhang laughed: "You've got a knack for business, young lady. Alright, as long as you buy in sufficient quantities, the price is negotiable."
On the way back, Li Chenyang said, "Honey, you're amazing. I was too embarrassed to even ask for a discount."
Ye Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at him: "What business doesn't involve bargaining? Every penny saved counts."
Once the parts arrived, Ye Xiaoxiao immediately started tidying up the yard. She cleared out a corner, had someone build a makeshift shed, and added some tool racks.
While they were busy that day, Ma Yanling and Sun Xiuju passed by and saw that Ye Xiaoxiao's house was being renovated. They stood at the door and gossiped.
"Look at this," Ma Yanling said sarcastically, "this is going to make a fortune."
Sun Xiuju chimed in, "That's right, they're really something now. They run a small shop and are planning to open a bicycle repair shop too. I don't know where they get so much money."
Ye Xiaoxiao was wiping the counter and didn't bother to respond to their conversation. Li Chenyang, however, couldn't stand it anymore: "Are you two alright? If not, don't just stand there."
"Oh," Sun Xiuju sneered, "Brother, you've got money now, so you look down on us poor relatives. I bet you're completely under your wife's thumb."
"Exactly," Ma Yanling added, "When a man is controlled by a woman, what's that called? It's called... it's called... being a henpecked husband!"
Li Chenyang was so angry that he was about to rush out, but Ye Xiaoxiao stopped him: "Ignore them, let them talk."
Seeing that Ye Xiaoxiao ignored them, Ma Yanling and Sun Xiuju said a few more unpleasant things before leaving.
"Wife, why won't you let me yell back?" Li Chenyang said defiantly.
Ye Xiaoxiao laughed: "Why scold them? Aren't they just jealous? Let's just focus on doing a good job with our business."
Ye Xiaoxiao held her child, watching Li Chenyang work. She watched Sun Xiuju's departing figure. Suddenly, she remembered something.
Sun Xiuju has been married for five years and still doesn't have children. If she's so smug now, in another two years, the villagers will definitely be gossiping.
The book says that Sun Xiuju felt she couldn't have children in her sixth year of marriage. That's when she begged someone to adopt a child. At that time, the original owner's aunt found a family that had four daughters, and the original owner brought back a girl.
After having this girl, she became pregnant again in the third year, but she still gave birth to a daughter.
But now that Ye Xiaoxiao is here, she won't care whether or not someone has children.
There's a saying among rural people that adopting a child will bring you another child, but I don't know if it's true.
Ye Xiaoxiao managed the accounts meticulously, recording the number of parts used and the amount collected each day. Li Chenyang was in charge of repairs, and the couple worked together very well.
One day, a man from another village came and said that his tractor had broken down and asked Li Chenyang to take a look.
"Sure," Ye Xiaoxiao said, "but we need to agree on the price first. The repair fee alone is one yuan. Any replacement parts will be priced accordingly. Don't let anyone try to trick you into thinking this or that is free."
Upon hearing this, the man exclaimed, "This is too expensive! It used to be..."
"That was then," Ye Xiaoxiao interrupted him. "Now the prices are clearly marked. If you think it's too expensive, you can go find someone else."
The man hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed. The main problem was that they didn't know how; they would have to find a technician at the agricultural machinery station.
By the time the tractor is repaired, what time will it be?
Calling Li Chenyang cost one yuan, but it saved time.
The shop also had broken parts. Finally, he had to say, "Master Li's craftsmanship is excellent; the money was well spent."
"See?" Ye Xiaoxiao said to Li Chenyang that evening, "Your craftsmanship is worth this price. From now on, whoever comes to repair things, charge them exactly what you're owed. If others say it's too expensive, that's their business."
Li Chenyang nodded. He now understood that his wife was right; his skills were his livelihood.
Seeing how well Ye Xiaoxiao's business was doing, Ma Yanling and Sun Xiuju felt even more resentful.
"That Ye Xiaoxiao is really capable," Ma Yanling said idly, sitting at Sun Xiuju's house. "She can earn several yuan a day now."
Sun Xiuju curled her lip: "That's just how she acts. Look how arrogant she is now, she doesn't even acknowledge us when she sees us."
"I heard she even wants Li Chenyang to go to the agricultural machinery station for training," Ma Yanling said. "She's planning to make all the money out of him."
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