I am a benefactor at sixteen.
The "blind man" was indeed a real person, surnamed Zhang, but he was a fake blind man who swindled people. Once, after telling fortunes in another village, he was collecting money from a man who was also deliberately trying to trick him, holding out a one-yuan note and saying it was two yuan. But the "blind man" took the money, felt it, and said, "Wait a minute, brother, you can't cheat a blind man like this, this is a one-yuan note."
But they insisted that it was two yuan.
The blind man panicked: "Do you think I can't see it? This is clearly a dollar..."
From then on, he was nicknamed "Blind Money." Li Wei felt it was similar to the nickname "Goubuli" (a famous steamed bun brand).
And if there's anyone in this world who still believes in Blind Qian, it's Old Master Cheng Enjiu. The thing is, Old Master Cheng, despite his burly, fearless nature, has a good relationship with Blind Qian, this charlatan who swindles people out of food and drink. A rough, uncultured man and a pretentious, pedantic fortune-telling 'blind man'—this combination...sigh, it leaves Li Wei speechless.
Anyway, Li Wei doesn't believe in these things.
After finishing his work in the canteen, Old Master Cheng was sitting on the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) connected to the large stove in the inner room of the canteen, drinking water to aid digestion. He was startled when his granddaughter came in and said that he had an air of nobility. He immediately spat out a mouthful of tea with a "pfft" and flew far away.
The old man put down his teacup and glared at her unhappily: "You brat, you're just making fun of your grandpa. You have such a noble air about you. Old Zhang even examined me last year and said that I've worked hard all my life just to make a living, but I'll have a peaceful old age and good health."
Li Wei shamelessly sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed): "Grandpa, a year has passed. You've changed so much in just a few days! Grandpa, I haven't eaten yet. Is there anything you can get me?" It would be strange if there was no food in the canteen.
As the old man kicked off his shoes to get food for Li Wei, he said, "Grandpa is already so old. The only change is that I'm buried a little more in the ground. Do you think Grandpa can grow taller like you? You brat, you're getting better and better at fooling people. Just you wait."
"Don't let my dad know I'm here, Grandpa," Li Wei quickly added behind her grandfather.
And so, Li Wei ate her steamed bun while telling her grandfather about selling buns these past two days. Then she encouraged him, "Grandpa, you know, your job is in a collective enterprise, and the profits aren't very good. You're not a registered employee, and your monthly salary isn't even as much as my dad's. You still have to support my aunt's university education, so your future is uncertain. I did the math. If you make a hundred buns a day and sell them, even if you only have half a day to spare, you'll earn more in a month than my dad does in five or six months. Tell me, why bother going to such a long distance every day for this job? Even if you don't like it after a few days, you can easily find a job in a canteen with your connections. What do you say, Grandpa?"
Grandpa Cheng wasn't without financial pressure. These days, there are hardly any people without financial pressure. And there are hardly any who don't want to become wealthy. But what he lacked was a catalyst—the courage to break free from the majority and traditional thinking.
What Li Wei is bringing today is undoubtedly a real and unquestionable opportunity!
Old Master Cheng has always been a man of great courage and boldness, though not particularly educated. He's pragmatic, unlike Li Wei's mother's daughter, Cheng Min, who, being young, is a bit vain. Speaking of which, it seems that many of the early wealthy people in China didn't have high levels of education.
However, looking at her tiny granddaughter in front of her, she still found it hard to believe: "Girl, you really did go sell steamed buns these past two days? Didn't your mother notice?"
Li Wei practically patted her chest and said, "Oh, Grandpa, what am I to you? Would I lie to you? If you don't believe me, come to my house tonight. I'll take out the money and show it to you. Oh, and there's some bone broth too. There's some meat left too. I'll show it to you. Speaking of my mom, all she does is work on her lowly job. She's got nerves bigger than Aunt Luo's waist. Besides, I've done almost all the housework. She doesn't even have time to worry about anything at home anymore. She wouldn't have the mind to doubt me, her capable assistant."
Old Master Cheng was genuinely tempted. The last time he went to the city to chat with his three sworn brothers, they mentioned that many people in Shenzhen, Guangdong, had made a fortune in business. Some people around them were also doing business, and even the third brother's son was considering opening a restaurant. City people are well-informed, so this matter must be worth mentioning.
After finishing her steamed bun, Li Wei had talked quite a bit. Seeing that her grandfather was also deep in thought, and noticing that it was almost time for her to go back to class, she stood up and said to him, "Grandpa, you really need to think this through. I can't count on my parents anymore. My hopes for making money are all pinned on you, Grandpa. I'm leaving now; I have to go back to class."
"That brat's getting better and better at talking nonsense. Alright, be careful on the road, Grandpa needs to think about this. Oh, by the way, what did Old Zhang say?"
"Old Zhang? Who is Old Zhang?" Li Wei was a little confused.
"It's that blind man Qian!" the old man said irritably.
Oh, this blind man even has two names, one of them is an English name, hehe.
Li Wei quickly composed herself and said seriously, "He said that someone with a big head and a thick neck is either a landlord or a cook."
After saying that, he quickly slipped away.
Li Wei hurriedly rode her bicycle back to the grain store, returned the bicycle to her aunt first, and then jogged back to school. Luckily, there were no classes yet.
But as soon as Li Wei entered the classroom, she was a little confused. What was going on?
The classroom was packed with children, some shouting and some cheering, creating a chaotic scene. Li Wei squeezed her way in and immediately felt a headache worsen.
Li Lianhui and Luo San were rolling and writhing on the ground, while Li Lin and Gu Liwei shouted in vain, "Stop fighting!"
She was perfectly fine when she left, how did they suddenly start fighting?
Li Wei rushed forward angrily, yelling at the two burly boys who were watching the commotion, "You, you two, pull Luo Jianzhong up, now!"
In the little boy's heart, Li Wei, the vice class monitor, was second only to the teacher. She usually helped the teacher with some things. The two boys were obedient and went up to hold Luo Jianzhong down and pull him away. Of course, Luo Jianzhong also took a few more hits from Li Lianhui, but he couldn't fight back.
Li Wei and Li Lin helped Li Lianhui up and brushed the dust off his clothes.
Seeing the two little ones still fighting like bulls, neither willing to give in, Li Wei was quite annoyed. What was going on this time? "What exactly happened, Li Lin, you tell me first." Li Lin was not only full of clever ideas, but also had a very talkative mouth.
The incident was actually quite simple. Li Lin and Gu Liwei were having a great time playing cat's cradle. Luo Jianzhong walked by and snatched the red ropes from the two girls' hands. Li Lin and Gu Liwei chased after him to grab them back, but Luo Jianzhong pushed them to the ground. Li Lin fell first, and Li Lianhui, seeing his sister being bullied, stepped in and slapped Luo Jianzhong. This was the "Five-Finger Fan" technique he'd learned from his older sister, Li Wei, which she often used to discipline the twins. Today, he was finally putting it to use.
However, Li Wei usually spanks them, but today Li Lianhui slapped Luo Jianzhong in the face.
And just like that, the two boys started fighting.
Li Wei double-checked with Gu Liwei and confirmed it was correct. She was both angry and helpless; thankfully Luo Da wasn't there, otherwise Li Lianhui would have been in trouble.
Li Wei pointed at Luo Jianzhong and Li Lianhui with a stern face: "You two, stand by the wall! You're always fighting, don't you have any discipline? Don't you have any respect for the law? Everyone else, go back to your seats! What are you all doing standing around like that! You didn't stop your classmates from fighting, do you have any spirit of unity and friendship among classmates? And the one who was cheering earlier, if I see him doing that again, I'll teach him a lesson!"
Listen to this! He's been around children's circles for so long, he seems to have the air of a student leader or teacher. Wow!
Just then, the school bell rang, and the students returned to their seats. Li Lianhui, who had been disciplined, was quite obedient and stood against the wall next to the teacher's podium as punishment. Luo Jianzhong had clearly forgotten about being scolded by Li Wei last time, and stubbornly refused to move.
Li Wei was itching to get her hands dirty, thinking to herself, "You little punk, daring to bully the twins! I've been looking for a chance to teach you a lesson in a fair way, and you're just asking for trouble." She glanced at Luo Da, who wasn't around, and thought, "If I try to teach him a lesson but end up getting taught a lesson myself, that would be hilarious."
With the timing, location, and people all in place, Li Wei, without saying a word, pulled out the teacher's pointer and cracked it twice, pointing at Luo Er: "Hurry up and stand against the wall." The little brat has no sense of the situation; I'll give you one more chance.
Luo Er was a little scared when he saw the pointer; it would hurt quite a bit if it hit him. But he was also a man with a temper. Which member of the Luo family didn't have a temper? He glared at Li Wei and was about to return to his seat.
Li Wei was furious. "The whole thing was clearly your fault, and you still dare to be unrepentant? You're asking for trouble!" Without another word, she took a few steps forward, grabbed Luo Er, and dragged him to the podium. He was given another beating, this time much harder than the last. Last time, his buttocks would take a day to heal, but this time it would take two.
Painful memories flooded Luo Er's mind. More importantly, the thought of Li Wei angrily threatening to cut off his penis, coupled with the pain in his buttocks, finally broke his mental defenses, and he burst into tears.
Seeing that things were about right, Li Wei, based on her experience dealing with twins, knew it was time. She pulled Luo Er up and placed him next to Li Lianhui: "Stand still, think carefully. Is it right to steal someone's things and fight? And you, what are you looking at? You started it. Stand still, both of you."
Guliwei, who had run out at some point, also ran in and announced, "The teacher had to leave for this self-study period. Teacher Zhao from Class Two said that before leaving, the teacher told the vice class monitor to organize discipline and arrange the study." After saying that, she returned to her seat, not very happy.
It took Li Wei several seconds to realize, "Oh right, that's me, the vice class monitor!" She shuddered; how could she have overlooked such a high-ranking position? How utterly incompetent! But Teacher Meng, you really trust me! If there's anything important, I can just leave without a second thought. There are two violent individuals ahead waiting to be dealt with.
Li Wei had no choice but to return to the podium: "Um, copy the texts from Lesson 1 to Lesson 5 once."
Let's keep the students at their desks for now. They haven't learned much yet, so what's there to arrange?
Luo Dacai finally returned after almost half a class. Seeing his dirty appearance and seemingly some injuries, it was obvious that he hadn't been up to anything.
Luo Jianhua glanced at his younger brother, who was standing with Li Lianhui as punishment, then at Li Lianhui, blinked, said nothing, and returned to his seat expressionlessly. This left Luo Er, who had initially thought he was saved after seeing his family, feeling dejected, and he continued standing with his face downcast.
Li Wei secretly admired him, thinking to herself, "Look at that expression, Luo Jianhua has the potential to be a cool guy!"
Li Wei made Li Lianhui and Luo Er stand for most of the class before letting them return to their seats.
Wednesday was a half-day of school. After two classes, the teacher didn't come back. Teacher Zhao from next door came over to assign some homework and then school was over.
Li Wei wasn't in a very good mood today. Making money is so addictive, and not selling steamed buns all day was making her feel uneasy. She wondered what her grandfather's thoughts were going to be.
After supervising the twins, Erpangzi, and Wu Feng to finish their homework, Li Wei made sure they stayed behind to study together. The twins even had some extra study tasks. Normally, Erpangzi and Wu Feng wouldn't study with her; they'd play after finishing their homework. However, Li Wei was in a bad mood today and couldn't stand seeing people being carefree and unmotivated, so she made them stay and study together.
Given Li Wei's fierce demeanor today, the two didn't dare to say anything and could only sit down and study together, and from then on, they also started to eat special meals with the twins.
Cheng Min, who got off work late, was eating dinner prepared by her daughter when her father, Cheng Enjiu, arrived.
"Dad, have you eaten?" Cheng Min hurriedly greeted her father, and Li Zhaoxing also stood up and offered his father-in-law a cigarette.
The old man waved his hand: "Don't bother, I've already eaten. Hey, Xiaoming, go for a walk with Grandpa."
After saying that, he walked out with his hands behind his back. Li Ming put down his almost finished dinner and hurriedly followed him.
The father and son turned left and right, forward and backward like the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, until they arrived at an inconspicuous house at the east end of the village. Li Wei looked and saw that it was Qian the Blind Man's house. Her grandfather's bicycle was still parked in the yard.
Li Wei couldn't help but ask, "Grandpa, what are you doing?"
She dislikes fortune telling; she's heard that you shouldn't casually have your fate told, or it will only make you more ill-fated.
"I came to Lao Zhang to have his fortune told and see if the business of selling things will work out. Lao Zhang said I look like I have a good chance of making money, and that I should ask you to take a look with me."
Cough cough cough! Li Wei choked on her own saliva, stumbled, and almost slipped and fell.
Grandpa, you're amazing!
You're asking about ghosts and gods instead of the people's welfare! Even though you weren't born in the new society, you still grew up under the red flag. How can you so blatantly promote feudal superstition?
Uncle Qian, no, Grandpa Qian, you're even better!
I could actually see a blessing on my grandfather's face.
Li Wei admired herself the most. How could she have been so prescient that she even fell for Qian the Blind Man's fortune-telling trick?
It is said that after the blind man's act of pretending to be blind was exposed, although the distance of his business had increased and he dared not do business near his home, he simply opened his eyes and started reading faces. He no longer rolled his eyes when calculating birth dates and times. Not only did he not suffer any losses, but he also gained a side business.
But does he even need to calculate that? It's an inevitable trend. At this time, it's so easy for those who are bold and greedy for money to get rich.
However, since Grandpa believed in this, we had no choice but to go in with him.
Qian the Blind's house was fairly clean. He had a lame, dark-skinned wife and a pretty, seventeen or eighteen-year-old daughter who was said to be a temporary worker at the town's textile factory.
His wife gestured for Li Wei to sit down and offered her some sunflower seeds. Li Wei politely declined but didn't touch them, sitting listlessly next to her grandfather as he waited for his fortune teller to read her face. Sigh. If he could tell she didn't have an air of wealth and status, her grandfather's plan to make steamed buns might be ruined. But she knew her own limitations. She might not have had that air of wealth and status in her past life, but she still had a temper. How had she ended up in this state?
Feudal superstition is deadly!
After carefully examining Li Wei's dejected face for a while, the blind man said to the old man bluntly, "Brother, your business is doing well. Your granddaughter has a noble look to her face; she's a benefactor, no doubt about it. You've benefited from her; you're set for life now."
Li Wei is absolutely speechless!
I'm seriously considering changing careers to become a fortune teller.
If I were to be reincarnated in this era, there might be a chance to make some money, but that would only amount to a modest fortune. It would be completely unrelated to the word "noble" in any way. A noble person? I'm just a concubine. This blind man is really good at fooling people!
Li Wei held her tongue, not daring to utter a sound. After all, she hadn't been fooled for nothing; her grandfather had finally decided to sell steamed buns, and her Beijing-style steamed buns were now secured.
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