Chapter 6 The smiles on the two women's faces...
The smiles on the two women's faces froze instantly. They exchanged a glance, and the stylish woman said, "Huh? What did you say? What about buying a house? I didn't know that."
Another woman said, "Nothing like that." Then she quickly left, as if a monster was chasing her, muttering under her breath, "Sneaking around and eavesdropping."
The big boss said that the matter of selling the house couldn't be told to anyone, and that he would give me another 500 yuan as hush money later. I haven't received the hush money yet.
The two were speaking so softly, yet they were still heard. It seems this matter shouldn't be discussed outside.
Jiang Can: !!!
A big boss bought a house at a high price but wouldn't let the seller move out immediately, and wouldn't let the seller talk about it.
That house is definitely worth the price; otherwise, the big boss wouldn't be making a loss-making deal.
Why?
Two words immediately popped into Jiang Can's mind: demolition.
Her heart began to pound wildly, like a small boat adrift on the sea, unable to find peace. She watched the two women's backs disappear into the morning market, wishing she could immediately investigate the matter thoroughly.
She took a breath and decided to buy groceries first, so as not to delay her lunch break. She decisively picked out a ten-pound piece of beef shank, not caring about the cost at this moment.
Just thinking about demolition and relocation makes her eyes light up with gold.
Then he asked the beef vendor if he knew the two older women from earlier.
The uncle actually knew them. He said they were both workers at an enamelware factory, and the stylish woman seemed to be named Jiang Meiyun.
Jiang Can had just guessed that the two were workers in an enamel factory. In this day and age, if the son worked in an enamel factory, the adults were usually the same.
Jiang Can paid the money and then bought tofu, bean curd sheets, dried bean curd sticks, gluten, wood ear fungus, kelp strips, and lotus root. He also bought a lot of scallions, ginger, and garlic. In addition, he bought four wooden buckets and a carrying pole. Two of the larger ones were for rice and soup, and the smaller ones were for vegetables.
Ask the craftsman to help modify it so that the four wooden buckets can be connected with a carrying pole and hung on both sides of the bicycle.
That's easy; Jiang Can doesn't even need to pay extra.
Once the carrying pole is secured to the back seat of the bicycle, with two buckets on each side, it's very sturdy.
Disposable chopsticks and lunch boxes are also essential.
A trip to the morning market cost me almost 300 yuan.
She really wanted to go to the enamel factory right now to see what it was like, but with all that stuff on her bicycle, a round trip would delay her lunch break, so she held back.
She needs to stabilize the food business first.
When he got home, Jiang Can prepared lunch. He planned to sell spicy chicken and braised pork, and also make a pork rib and tofu soup with large pork bones. He started by steaming the rice, then cleaned the four large buckets and scalded them with hot water. He started simmering the bone broth on the coal stove, making sure it cooked for a long time to enhance the flavor.
After a busy morning, the dishes were all cooked. The aroma was so enticing that even the neighbor's kids were drooling. Several groups of neighbors came over to ask Jiang Can how much the food cost. Seeing that not all the dishes were ready yet, they wanted to wait in the kitchen.
Actually, I wanted to learn to cook. If I did well, I might be able to set up a stall. Even if I didn't do well, I could still cook better.
But it's not okay to have everything in the kitchen; it's unhygienic and unsafe! Too many people make it easy for something to happen, and she wouldn't even notice if someone just grabbed some meat or vegetables.
Jiang Can doesn't tolerate others; he waits in the yard and won't let anyone into the kitchen.
The neighbor next door complained, "It's just a glance, why are you being so stingy?"
Jiang Can ignored him and pretended not to hear. After the food was ready, he sold five boxed meals, each costing five yuan and containing a large spoonful of rice, two side dishes, and a soup. If someone brought their own lunchbox, they would be given an extra piece of meat.
The neighbors all brought their own lunchboxes.
That piece of braised pork is quite large.
At 10:40, Jiang Can chased everyone away, locked the door, and went to sell food at the entrance of the steel mill. When he passed the street corner, Jiang Can greeted Zhou Hongling warmly.
The old lady who makes sesame seed cakes was overjoyed to see Jiang Can selling food at the steel mill.
If there's one less food vendor here, her business will be even better!
The steel rolling mill is a large factory with tens of thousands of employees, and it's very lively. There are stalls at the intersection selling all kinds of things. Jiang Can arrived late, and there were no seats at the front. She could only find a place that was a bit out of the way and at the back.
With high unemployment rates these days, many laid-off workers have started businesses, and selling food is a small business that attracts many customers.
Jiang Can was a little worried that the food wouldn't sell in this remote location, but there was no point in thinking about it too much.
After a while, the bell rang in the steel rolling mill, signaling the end of the workday.
As expected of a factory with tens of thousands of employees, there were so many people, a dense crowd, some riding bicycles, some walking, squeezing towards the food stalls in twos and threes.
The food stalls were bustling with activity, as vendors hawked their wares.
Jiang Can lifted the lids of the two small wooden buckets, and the aroma immediately wafted out. She was worried that her position at the back might make it difficult to sell, but people had sharp eyes. She was so pretty that she stood out in the large crowd.
A crowd quickly gathered around her.
Whenever someone comes over and sees the spicy chicken and braised pork in those two wooden buckets, they can't tear themselves away.
Jiang Can quickly sold the first serving. "If you like it, come again! We also have braised dishes for dinner tonight."
After getting the first order, things went much smoother. She collected money and served food at the same time, and there were always people around. Some even asked Jiang Can how old she was and where she lived. Jiang Can told them that she was already married.
The braised pork sold out quickly, and there was one and a half servings of spicy chicken left, which was sold to a young woman for three yuan.
Jiang Can looked at the clean food and touched her bulging wallet, feeling very happy. She didn't count how many she had sold, but it must have been at least fifty or sixty servings.
She was overjoyed that the money was so easy to earn and was going to the enamel factory soon!
She was eager to find out more useful information.
"Jiang Can."
Hearing someone call her, Jiang Can looked up and saw a middle-aged man standing not far away. He was wearing a white shirt and black pants, and gold-rimmed glasses. He had a very refined and scholarly air about him.
It was Sun Wenfeng, Jiang Can's high school homeroom teacher.
Jiang Can stood up straight and called out, "Teacher."
Sun Wenfeng walked over, looked at her as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, and finally sighed: "The shops near the school gate belong to the school. I'll help you negotiate and get the school to rent them to you at a low price. Why don't you go and do business in the shops? You won't have to worry about the wind and rain, and it will be more stable."
Jiang Can was somewhat tempted; running a business near the school gate could be very profitable, but she still declined: "Thank you, teacher, you've already helped me so much. Selling food here is fine, and it's flexible. Have you eaten? I'll treat you to a meal."
Given her reputation, how could the school possibly rent to her?
Even if we rent it to her, the students' parents wouldn't agree.
They will cause even more trouble, making it impossible for her to do business and putting Sun Wenfeng in a difficult position.
Sun Wenfeng: "I've already eaten. You should go back and rest; you must be exhausted. If you don't want to be near the school, I'll think of another way. Your teacher's wife works at the steel mill; I'll ask her if she knows any connections I can get you a job selling food at the steel mill's canteen."
Jiang Can's eyes welled up with tears. "Teacher, you don't need to worry about me anymore. I'm doing really well."
Throughout her three years of high school, her homeroom teacher took care of her in so many ways, both academically and personally.
Her first tutoring job was introduced to her by her homeroom teacher. She earned more money than she did washing dishes, enough to cover her tuition and living expenses, and also to buy more teaching materials.
She didn't dare tell Sun Wenfeng that she was planning to repeat a year of high school, fearing that she wouldn't be able to find a school and would disappoint her teacher for no reason.
After Teacher Sun entered the steel rolling mill, she rode away on her bicycle, feeling very depressed. Memories of being expelled from school flooded back. She took a deep breath, thinking that none of that mattered. The most important thing now was the staff quarters of the enamel factory. She headed straight for the enamel factory.
The enamel factory was quite far away; it took her almost twenty minutes to cycle there. She wandered around the area and listened to the old ladies chatting by the roadside. Everyone was complaining that the factory was not doing well and they couldn't even pay wages. Everyone was afraid that the factory would go bankrupt.
Jiang Can found out where Jiang Meiyun lived. When he arrived at her building, he looked up at the fifth floor and realized that climbing up there would be a lot of trouble. The building was a tenement building where the water room and toilet were shared.
Nothing is as comfortable as living in a commercial apartment.
Why would a big boss buy two houses here at such a high price?
She increasingly felt that something was amiss, and that the houses here would definitely be very valuable in the future.
She then approached a few children and coaxed them with candy to elicit information. Without asking anything else, she simply inquired about their family's well-being, whether they had acquired any new appliances, and whether they were eating well. Two children mentioned that their family had recently acquired a large color TV and a washing machine, and that they were eating very well, with their family providing whatever they wanted.
These two children are not from either of Jiang Meiyun's families.
There are more than two households selling their houses.
Some people are buying houses at high prices.
It might be one person, or it might be a group of people.
She rode her bike home, preoccupied with her thoughts, wondering who had bought the enamel factory's house.
This is very important.
Speculation alone is not enough; we must have concrete evidence.
What if the workers at the enamel factory want to sell their houses and spread rumors about demolition to lure others into buying them at high prices?
However, if the big boss who buys the house is not only rich but also has connections, then it's almost certain that the demolition will take place.
When she arrived at her door, the door was ajar, and Shen Lang was home! She pushed the door open and entered the yard, where Shen Lang was reclining on a deck chair, eating sunflower seeds, while a slightly chubby young man sat on a small stool next to him.
When Shen Lang saw Jiang Can return, he jumped off the deck chair. "Weren't you supposed to be selling food outside the steel mill? I couldn't find you."
The slightly chubby young man also stood up and walked over, calling out, "Sister-in-law."
Jiang Can wanted to immediately have Shen Lang investigate the enamel factory, but there were outsiders around. She pushed her bicycle into the yard and asked, "There's food left in the pot. Have you eaten?"
Shen Lang: "I don't know if you've eaten yet. I'll wait for you to eat together." He then asked the slightly chubby young man, "Would you like to eat before you leave?"
The slightly chubby young man hesitated for a moment, not asking if he wanted to eat together, but instead bowed his head and apologized to Jiang Can: "Sister-in-law, I'm really sorry about what happened the day before yesterday. I only found out today that Yu Ning went too far."
Jiang Can recognized him immediately. This was Zhang Yuning's husband, Liang Kaiwen, the same creditor who had come to her door to run away the day after their wedding. "Paying back debts is a matter of course, what's the big deal?"
They're just being unreasonable in their debt collection efforts.
They don't seem like friends, they seem like mortal enemies.
There's no need to say anything more; he's Shen Lang's friend, it has nothing to do with her.
She would never give Zhang Yunning a kind look again.
There was plenty of rice left over: a plate of spicy chicken and a plate of braised pork. It was definitely enough for two people, but not quite enough for three. She also stir-fried some Mapo Tofu, and each person got a full bowl of rice.
Jiang Can wasn't very hungry. She ate quite a bit as soon as the food was cooked. She wasn't going to be stupid enough to go hungry while selling food.
Shen Lang took a bite of the spicy chicken and exclaimed, "This is so delicious! It's even better than the stir-fried pork intestines and meat pie you left me last night." He then took a sip of the soup, adding, "This soup is delicious too. I like this soup, and I also liked the hot and sour egg soup from last night." He said to Liang Kaiwen, "Your sister-in-law is so kind, always worried that I won't have anything to eat. I must have been a very kind person in my past life to have married such a beautiful and virtuous wife."
Liang Kaiwen was an honest man, and he just kept nodding as he ate.
Jiang Can couldn't take it anymore. Fine, fine, others will know what you ate last night.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com