When Wei Laosan heard that the terms were so good, he was stunned. He had really intended to help and had never thought about asking for any wages.
Seeing Wei Laosan's incredulous expression, Li Xiangjian explained, "Uncle Wei, it's true. These are all words my mother said herself."
Wei Laosan quickly came to his senses and said, "But with such good conditions, there should be many people willing to do it."
Li Xiangjian replied, "Of course, but my mother didn't say anything about hiring anyone else. She told me to come directly to Uncle Wei."
After a moment of silence, Wei Laosan understood. This was his benefactor who wanted to help him. Yan Qingqing had not only bought his cow but also saved his grandson's life. Now she was giving him a way to make money. She was like a second parent to him.
Wei Laosan secretly vowed to himself that he would work hard for Yan Qingqing's family from now on and would never let his benefactor down.
Thinking of this, Wei Laosan said, "My little benefactor, please wait for me. I'll pack my things and come with you right away."
Li Xiangjian said, "Uncle Wei, there's no need to be in such a hurry. You should talk to your family and say goodbye, since you'll be staying there."
My mother said as long as these few days can get through, it'll be fine.
Wei Laosan thought it made sense, so he changed his mind and said, "Then my little benefactor, go back first and tell him that I will come over first thing tomorrow morning."
At some point, Wei Laosan's way of addressing Yan Qingqing changed from "little sister" to "benefactor."
Li Xiangjian nodded and prepared to drive the oxcart back. As the ox left, it looked at Wei Laosan with some reluctance, and Wei Laosan touched the ox's head with tears in his eyes.
Seeing the man and the ox so reluctant to part, Li Xiangjian suddenly felt like a bully forcibly breaking up a loving couple.
Fortunately, Wei Laosan knew what he was doing, and the ox did have some conscience. After Li Xiangjian gave the signal, the ox headed towards Canghe Village.
When Li Xiangjian returned home, he told Yan Qingqing everything Wei Laosan had done, and finally praised her, "Mother, you have such good taste, you were right about him. I should learn more from you in the future."
Yan Qingqing glanced at Li Xiangjian with some surprise. This honest kid had also learned to say nice things to coax him.
Yan Qingqing teased, "Why didn't you ever complain in your heart about why your mother didn't save this good thing for our own people?"
Upon hearing this, Li Xiangjian blushed slightly. He had indeed thought about it that way, but he absolutely could not admit it, so he shook his head vigorously.
Yan Qingqing laughed when she saw him like this. After thinking for a moment, she said, "That Tie Tou you mentioned last time, I think he's not bad either. How about you go and ask him if he'd be willing to raise chickens for our family?"
If he's willing to raise them, let him come along too. There are so many chickens in the orchard, Wei Laosan can't manage it all by himself.
However, he was young and inexperienced, and his monthly salary was three hundred coins, not including food and lodging.
"Give him a two-month trial period. If he does well, Mom will raise his wages. If he doesn't, Mom won't keep him."
Li Xiangjian was very excited when he heard this. Tie Tou was his best friend. Before they separated from his grandparents, they often didn't have enough to eat. Tie Tou not only fed him cornbread, but also gave him grasshoppers he caught.
The friendship between teenagers is always the purest, and as long as the person is of decent character, Yan Qingqing doesn't mind helping him out.
Li Xiangjian greeted Yan Qingqing and was about to tell Tie Tou about it when Li Yueniang excitedly walked in and said, "Mother, Second Brother bought a horse."
"Go and see for yourself! Marco looks so impressive now, all plump and strong."
Before Yan Qingqing could speak, Li Xiangjian dashed out. Li Yueniang asked in confusion, "Mother, what's wrong with Third Brother?"
Yan Qingqing laughed and said, "You don't know your third brother's preferences. When the family bought the cow, he was so eager to become sworn brothers with it. Now that they've bought a horse, that's something else."
Yan Qingqing was right. When Li Xiangjian arrived at the stable, he couldn't contain his joy as he looked at the tall, magnificent horse.
The courtyard of Yan Qingqing's house is now surrounded by high walls, and there are not many people coming in to watch anymore. Only a few families who are particularly close to Yan Qingqing's family are discussing the horse.
Li Datou looked at Li Xiang'an and asked, "This horse must have cost a lot of money, right?"
Li Xiang'an laughed and said, "Fortunately, this was specially bought from a foreign country by Manager Xue of Yuelaiju. Normally it would cost seventy taels, but we managed to buy it for sixty-five taels by asking someone to help us."
Li Datou was speechless. Sixty-five taels! He had never seen so much silver in his life. Li Xiang'an spoke of it so casually, which showed that this amount of silver was nothing to him.
However, Li Datou wasn't jealous. He and his wife even made a lot of money when Yan Qingqing's family hired workers during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Looking at the horse, Li Xiangjian said longingly, "I wish I could learn to ride a horse. It would be so cool to ride this one."
Unfortunately, no one in our family knows how to ride a horse.
At this moment, Yan Qingqing also came over and looked at the horse. It was indeed quite good that it didn't have a single stray hair.
So she quietly said to Li Xiangjian, "How about we secretly learn from each other another day? Mother also really likes this horse."
In fact, Yan Qingqing can ride a horse, but she can't tell the children openly, otherwise they will really suspect her.
She could say that her Taekwondo practice was something she learned from books, but if she could ride a horse right away, she couldn't exactly say it was something she learned from books.
Now that the family has a horse, Yan Qingqing needs to get a driver's license openly and honestly.
Upon hearing this, Li Xiangjian readily agreed, and whispered, "There's an open space over there on the back hill that's perfect for horseback riding. Let's go there quietly another day, without letting our older brothers know."
Li Xiang'an, standing to the side: ...
Does he think I don't exist? He can just want to ride a horse, why drag his mother into it? His mother is not young anymore, what if she falls off the horse? That would be terrible.
Thinking of this, Li Xiang'an's gaze turned cold as he looked at Li Xiangjian. His third brother was becoming increasingly clueless.
The next morning, Wei Laosan arrived at Yan Qingqing's house. The last time he came, Yan Qingqing's house was a dilapidated three-room thatched house, but in the last three or four months, it had undergone earth-shattering changes.
But Wei Laosan seemed to feel that Yan Qingqing's kindness and abilities were what she deserved, and that only a large brick house like this was worthy of her.
Yan Qingqing met with Wei Laosan, asked about his family situation, and told him that this ecological orchard was a project she valued highly, and she would definitely not use it if it wasn't someone she trusted.
Raising chickens and ducks may seem simple, but it is a meticulous job. Seeing that Yan Qingqing trusted him so much, Wei Laosan said that he would do his best.
Finally, Yan Qingqing asked Li Xiangjian to take Wei Laosan to the orchard to settle him down.
We just saw Wei Laosan off when Tie Tou and his father arrived.
As soon as Tie Tou arrived, he knelt down and kowtowed to Yan Qingqing. Yan Qingqing quickly helped him up and said, "What are you doing, child?"
Tie Tou replied, "Auntie, your kindness is immense, and I will never forget it. In my next life, I will be your ox or your horse to repay your great kindness."
Yan Qingqing sighed and said, "What are you saying, child? I'm helping you not for your reward. Sanlang said you're his best friend, and since you're in trouble, I'll naturally lend a hand if I can."
Besides, it's only right that your aunt pays you for helping with the work.
Tie Tou was even more moved when he heard this. Not long ago, he had felt inferior because of the gap between his family and Li Xiangjian's, since he had always been the one helping Li Xiangjian.
Now, after hearing Yan Qingqing's words, he cherishes Li Xiangjian as a friend even more.
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