Forty-five money offensives
Because he brought his younger sister along, Ding Anping left early in the afternoon.
Li Wei finally saw Princess Anne off and breathed a sigh of relief. It had been quite a ordeal for her. Taking care of Princess Anne was more exhausting than taking care of the six or seven neighbors in the front and back yards. She hadn't known her much before, but she realized that a princess was indeed a princess, with a princess-like demeanor and so many rules.
She'd wipe even the smallest speck of dirt off her sandals with paper; it's the countryside, after all, there's a lot of dirt, so she was constantly asking for toilet paper to wipe her shoes. She complained about everything being dirty, and at mealtimes, she'd complain about any scallions, garlic, or anything else in the food… She wouldn't eat vegetables, wouldn't eat steamed buns…
They're so difficult to please.
Li Lin couldn't stand it anymore and rolled her eyes at Ding Anni at the dinner table.
Lunch was at Grandma's house. Besides Li Wei and her two siblings, Ding Anping and his brother, there was only Aunt Cheng Fei and Grandma. Although there weren't many people, Ding Anping still felt very awkward.
Grandma was very patient, constantly asking Ding Anni what she wanted to eat. Ding Anni was too scared to say anything because of her brother's glare, so she looked to Li Wei, who was easier to talk to, for help.
Li Wei stuffed the last piece of steamed bun into her mouth, took a sip of soup, and then said, "Do you want some flour, eggs, salt, and soybean oil?" If you don't eat this, I might as well let you starve to death.
Seeing Ding Anni nod, Li Wei stood up: "Grandma, you eat first, I'll go make her an egg pancake." This was her second aunt's specialty.
The old lady was worried, but Li Wei insisted on making her sit down: "It's okay, Grandma, it's a piece of cake, I'll take care of her in two minutes. You eat first, watch me, even my mom's cooking isn't as good as mine."
The old lady sat down and glanced at Cheng Fei: "You're not even as good as Xiao Ming. You've never cooked a single meal since you were a child. How will you ever get married in the future!" These words sounded like they were meant for Ding Anping.
Cheng Fei glanced at her mother but didn't say anything and continued eating.
Don't let Cheng Fei's upbringing in the countryside fool you. As the youngest child in her family and a bright student, she was spoiled rotten by everyone. She never cooked, and only washed her own clothes occasionally out of a moment of conscience. As for farm work, forget about it; she'd never even been to the fields. Her food, clothing, and other necessities were also a luxury. She was considered well-off among her classmates. Although Grandpa Cheng's income wasn't high, his sons and daughters were very supportive, especially towards his youngest sister. So, Cheng Fei's somewhat spoiled nature had its roots in this.
Li Wei went to the kitchen, grabbed a large bowl, cracked an egg into it, and stirred it with chopsticks. She then added flour, water, and salt, stirring vigorously again. She set it aside, took two corn stalks from beside the stove, and lit them. She poured a little vegetable oil into a large pot, swirling it with a spatula to spread the oil evenly. Once the pot was hot, she poured most of the bowl of batter into it and began spreading it evenly with the spatula. Then she flipped it over. In less than three minutes, a golden-brown egg pancake was ready.
He put it on a plate and placed it in front of Ding Anni: "Eat up." Hey, if you don't eat, I'll force-feed you duck.
Everyone heard Li Wei bustling about in the kitchen, making a racket. Before they could even react, the finished product was on the table. It was golden yellow and smelled wonderfully of eggs and flour. Even Li Lin was a little tempted. She and Li Lianhui glanced at her sister simultaneously.
Li Wei glanced at the large egg pancake. She picked up a spoon with one hand and used chopsticks to cut off a small piece. She then divided it in half, giving one portion to Li Lin and one to Li Lianhui. The twins, who had felt neglected by their sister that day, were now happy.
The three adults were all surprised.
Grandma Cheng: Look at my granddaughter, she's good at everything she does. You can tell what a person will be like at three, she'll be great in the future.
Cheng Fei: This little brat is pretty amazing. Is there anything she can't do? My sister is like that, yet she managed to raise a child like this. It's like the Li family's ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke.
Ding Anping: This little girl can earn money, cook, and she's pretty too. She's truly a remarkable child, capable in both the kitchen and the living room. If she were a little older, she'd have tons of suitors... cough cough, my loyalty to Cheng Fei is unwavering.
Not long after lunch, Ding Anping said goodbye. He was too embarrassed to stay any longer. His sister was making a fool of herself. Li Wei was also a child, even younger than his sister. They were both children, so why was there such a big difference between them? He was depressed.
That night, Li Wei didn't go home but shared a bed with her aunt. Seeing that her aunt's mood had stabilized a bit these past two days, Li Wei wanted to find out what her aunt was planning to do after failing the college entrance exam. She suggested that they start their own business, since her aunt hadn't held onto her secure job for long before remarrying and going to work for someone else.
Judging from Li Wei's furtive look, Cheng Fei knew something was up. After taking a shower, she sat on the edge of the bed, drying her hair with a towel, and asked, "So, what's wrong now?"
Li Wei hurriedly took the towel from her aunt's hand and carefully dried her aunt's hair from top to bottom: "Auntie, what are your plans? Are you going to continue studying for the college entrance exam or go to work? Actually, going to work is not bad either, since your current education level is not low. And I heard that you can continue to study for a degree through self-study or adult education while working, so you can earn money and study at the same time. Isn't that great?"
"Tch, you seem to know quite a lot. I haven't even thought about this properly yet, and you're already worrying about it. What are you thinking about all day with that little head of yours? Why are you so restless!" I wonder who you take after?
Li Wei checked that her hair was almost dry and handed the towel back to her aunt: "I was just thinking of taking care of you in your old age, didn't I? We still have a fifty-year contract, right? Have you forgotten?" Li Wei reminded Cheng Fei with a hint of satisfaction.
Cheng Fei has a good memory and quickly realized what was going on: "Don't talk nonsense. What fifty years? I remember it was twenty or thirty years. You're so young and your memory isn't very good."
"Yeah, twenty plus thirty equals fifty, of course I haven't forgotten, hehe." You still remember that contract? I thought you'd forgotten it on the back of your neck.
"Stop arguing! Who taught you to be so glib?" This kid is infuriating, always causing trouble, but he's also quite amusing.
Seeing that the small talk had gone on long enough, Li Wei got down to business: "Auntie, I think you shouldn't keep looking for something better. Just stick to selling hair accessories. You know, you only earn a few dollars a month when you're working. You might not even earn as much in a year as you do in a month now. If we manage this business well, we can earn even more. In a few years, we'll both be rich, with luxury cars and beautiful women… cough cough! Why bother being managed by someone else every day? If you're planning to go back to university, that's not bad, but I don't think you look like the type to become a scholar. You'll probably just end up working after graduation. So I think you should stick to your hair accessory business. Why bother looking for something better at universities? I've heard that university graduates aren't called alumni, they're called travel buddies. Everyone's looking for travel buddies, right? How apt! Let's just stick to selling hair accessories, Auntie, what do you say?"
After all that talk, Li Wei finally revealed her true colors.
"Where did you hear all this? You didn't just make it up, did you? I've never heard of such an awful way of addressing alumni! Alright, alright, you go to sleep first. I'm going out to get some fresh air to dry my hair faster." With that, he got up, covered Li Wei with a towel, and left.
The next day, Cheng Fei was supposed to go alone to deliver the goods to Dong Hui, but Li Wei got up early, dressed up nicely, and went with her.
Dong Hui is quite docile now. After that return incident, Li Wei provided her with limited quantities of the best-selling new products twice more, claiming that she was worried about Dong Hui's sales ability and that if she couldn't sell them and returned them, it would delay others from selling them. Dong Hui was anxious and helpless, so she could only try her best to maintain a good relationship with Cheng Fei. Now, having stock on hand is really powerful.
After the cash-and-goods transaction with Dong Hui was completed in a manner reminiscent of the mafia, Li Wei suggested that her aunt go shopping together. Cheng Fei had the same idea, and the two immediately agreed.
At that time, the shopping mall seemed utterly tacky to Li Wei, but it was a different story for Cheng Fei. Its allure was the same as that of a modern girl shopping. Cheng Fei was young, beautiful, and had a great figure. Encouraged by the ulterior motives of Li Wei, she tried on any clothes that caught her eye, and once she put them on, she didn't want to take them off. But when she looked at the prices, not a single item was less than a hundred yuan.
Finally, she tried on a coffee-colored wool suit. Looking at her elegant and beautiful reflection in the mirror, Cheng Fei was reluctant to take it off. But when she saw the price, wow, it was much more expensive than any of the other clothes she had just tried on.
Cheng Fei reluctantly took off the outfit and handed it to the salesperson, only to find that the salesperson quickly folded the clothes, put them in a bag, and handed them back to Cheng Fei, making Cheng Fei feel embarrassed: "Um... I'm not buying it."
The waiter grew impatient: "You've already paid, here's your clothes." "Is this guy crazy?" the waiter muttered to himself.
Cheng Fei was a little confused. Li Wei tugged at her aunt's sleeve and grinned at her, "Hehe, Auntie, I just used the money from selling my hair accessories to buy you clothes. Isn't that money meant to be spent? Besides, you look so good in those clothes, it would be your loss not to buy them. Take advantage of your youth and dress up, otherwise when I'm taking care of you in your old age, you'll probably be old and unattractive, with wrinkles all over your face. Who will even look at you then?" No one would even look at you if you were naked.
Cheng Fei was reluctant to part with the money and the clothes, but it seemed that even if she wanted to return them, it wouldn't be easy. The sales assistants were all arrogant and wouldn't pay any attention to her. After all, she was a young girl who hadn't seen much of the world, and this was the first time she had spent so much money on clothes. She was both excited and uneasy. She had given all the 500 yuan that Li Wei had given her to her mother last time, and she didn't care whether her mother gave it to her sister or kept it. So Cheng Fei returned home in a state of torment, feeling like she was dreaming, only the clothes reminding her that this was reality.
Suddenly, Cheng Fei realized that money was a wonderful thing. No matter who had it, even little Li Wei, who had money, could still buy things that people who seemed respectable but didn't have much money couldn't get. This made Cheng Fei take the small business they were doing seriously.
Black cat or white cat, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat.
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