"Really? You're planning to hire a few more people to do the work?"
Liu Hongju was overjoyed, but then she thought of what Ji Xia had said. The commune only had so few people, and with one or two relatives following her to set up stalls, what was she going to earn?
Liu Hongju couldn't help but sigh. It was a dilemma; she didn't know whether to help or not. This little bit of money was really hard to earn.
Just as I was about to ask a few more questions, someone called out from behind the counter, so I had no choice but to go over there dejectedly.
Ji Xia shook her head. She had wanted to give her another suggestion, but since she wasn't going to ask, she decided to let it go.
Out of the corner of her eye, Ji Xia saw a tall man walk into the supply and marketing cooperative. She looked up and exclaimed in surprise, "Second Brother, you're back? When did you get back?"
Ji Xiangjun looked around and then strode toward the food counter.
It's currently the busy farming season in the village, and my family is exhausted, so I thought I should buy some good things to nourish them. I went to the food counter and browsed around.
"Give me two cans of malted milk powder, a pound of red dates, and two bags of milk powder," he said, pointing to the items on the counter.
"Take it back to the brigade for your mother?"
Ji Xiangjun nodded. Ji Xia knew what he was getting at, so she not only brought him everything he wanted, but also gave him half a pound of dried shrimp, half a pound of kelp, and a bag of seaweed.
These are all good sources of calcium. With several people in the family working hard during the autumn harvest, it's best to supplement with calcium and protein.
"The extra money and tickets are on me. Please take them back to my parents for me."
Ji Xia smiled, looked around, and then asked in a low voice, "Brother, have you been to the workshop? The small workshop has expanded now."
"I've looked at it, and I've also looked at the reports and ledgers. It's done quite well. I also brought back ninety-six bolts of cloth, all of which were sold off at rock-bottom prices. You can take a look at how to use them."
When Ji Xia heard that he had also brought back new fabric, her eyes lit up: "Brother, you brought back fabric too? That's great! How much did it cost?"
"It didn't cost much, only three or four thousand yuan. I owe it. I'll bring some goods back with me next time I leave to settle the debt."
Ji Xiangjun paused, then said with dissatisfaction, "What's going on with my sister-in-law in the city? She didn't stay in the countryside to recover after giving birth, but came to the city instead? And she even brought her family to stay in my yard?"
"Brother, isn't it because the two nephews weren't born healthy? They weighed less than six pounds combined at birth, so we weren't comfortable leaving them in the countryside?"
Seeing that Ji Xiangjun was somewhat dissatisfied, Ji Xia quickly explained, "Besides, my sister-in-law is in confinement after childbirth. Doesn't Mother need to take care of her in the countryside? Taking care of her during confinement, looking after the house, feeding the chickens, tending the vegetable garden, and there are two babies to take care of, plus it's harvest season. Isn't it tiring?"
"It was my suggestion that my sister-in-law take care of my mother, as I wanted to make things easier for her. But I don't have the time, and I also hope that my sister-in-law can recover quickly and take over my job as soon as possible. Is it a loss to spend a little money to solve so many problems?"
Upon hearing this, Ji Xiangjun thought about it and realized it made sense, and his anger subsided.
Hearing this, he couldn't help but flick her forehead with his middle finger: "An unmarried girl like you is meddling in your brother's affairs, look at how capable you are."
Ji Xia pouted: "I just didn't want Mom to get too tired. Besides, raising twins well is a blessing, but if they're not raised well, they'll be a burden on the family. They didn't think of that, so I made a suggestion. Is that wrong? You don't want to see the family looking worried all the time, do you?"
Because of these twins in my past life, my parents felt aggrieved and guilty, and my brother and sister-in-law harbored resentment. The two children were skinny and couldn't be raised properly. Because of their poor health, my older brother worked like an ox, but he couldn't even earn enough money to buy medicine.
Even if we feed our child well in the city, it will only cost about a hundred yuan for two months. It's much cheaper and less troublesome than constantly spending money on medicine for the child later on.
Of course, according to her standards, a hundred yuan for two months wouldn't be enough, but how could the Ji family expect her to pay for everything?
Even if she paid for everything, Zhang Hong was too ashamed to eat like that. After eating pig's feet six or seven times, she had already asked Zhang Lan to save some money and only eat them once every ten days.
Ji Xiangjun gave Ji Xia a seemingly genuine but actually feigned complaint, and not wanting to take it to heart, he changed the subject.
"How's it going with you and Chen Jing? You agreed to get engaged after I came back, but it's not done yet, is it?"
"No order."
Ji Xia chuckled: "We've decided to hold our wedding banquet after the autumn harvest."
"What? Getting married? How old are you? Aren't you planning to take the college entrance exam?"
"Of course, but there's a way to have the best of both worlds."
Ji Xia didn't want to talk much in the supply and marketing cooperative. She looked around and asked in a low voice, "Brother, did you drive back? Chen Jing is delivering a batch of goods tomorrow. The last truck was too small; it couldn't fit 1,100 sets."
Ji Xiangjun nodded with a straight face: "It's okay, I drove a small truck, I'll go with him to deliver goods first thing tomorrow morning."
That brat! He got away with it while he was away. Just wait and see how he deals with Chen Jing tomorrow.
Ji Xia suddenly thought of Su Yujing. Last time, she sent Su Yujing a letter, and Su Yujing replied happily.
However, when she contacted two middle schools in the county, she didn't hear of any study materials for college entrance exam candidates. They promised to help her think of a way and write to her relatives in the provincial capital to ask. If she could get the materials, she would ask her next time she went to the city to deliver goods.
As for the bookstores in the county town, Ji Xia had already visited them last time, and she bought all the books that were even remotely related to educational materials.
Ji Xia said with a smile, "Brother, I'll give you an address. After you deliver the goods tomorrow, find a young girl to help me bring some things back."
Upon hearing this, Ji Xiangjun couldn't help but ask suspiciously, "What are you bringing?"
"I asked someone to help me find these review materials, to prepare for the college entrance examination."
Ji Xiangjun agreed, and the two talked for a while. Seeing that it was getting dark, they left with a large bag of paid items.
He planned to go home for one night and then return to the commune early the next morning to deliver goods with Chen Jing.
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