Thirty-seven legendary early romances
Li Wei's performance was undoubtedly satisfactory. When she left with Rosa, she was given a thick stack of square fabric patterns, which Rosa euphemistically called "making sandbags."
The two went directly to a small restaurant outside the factory gate and found two old men still drinking. Since the grandfather was in charge of public relations, Li Wei started to get down to business. She sat down and began to select fabric samples, categorizing and arranging similar patterns on the table, carefully comparing them.
Rosa carefully observed Li Wei, the rural child, who completely overturned her previous impressions. Her outstanding clothes and appearance were not surprising, as money could easily buy those; the real issue was the child's unique charisma. Being able to sing English songs was also understandable; after all, children generally have good memories if taught.
Now this child is actually seriously thinking about things that should be decided by adults. Obviously, her father's sworn brother, Old Master Cheng, seems to be very used to little girls making decisions. He just drinks and laughs as usual, without asking any questions about what the child is doing.
Li Wei quickly selected six different fabrics, carefully inquiring about the width, unit price, and basic sales unit of the fabrics from Aunt Luo. Then, she took out paper and pen from her bag and calculated the total price and cost. Li Wei didn't hold back at all, using up more than half of the two thousand yuan her grandfather had applied for. She handed the paper with the written amounts to Rosa: "Aunt Luo, do you think it's okay for you to buy these kinds of fabrics for us?"
Rosa glanced at it and was shocked—so many!
Seeing his daughter's expression, Luo Chaozhong, who had been watching them closely, also craned his neck to look and was surprised: "Brother, didn't you say you were buying less? How can this be considered less?"
Grandpa Cheng chuckled, "How could I ask my niece for a favor if I didn't buy enough? Oh, Xiaoming, how much?" The old man was actually being reasonable. He was implying that he was worried about the money.
Li Wei said to her grandfather in a serious tone, "Not much." She would naturally buy more at once, but who knows if this path will be open in the future.
It's unclear whether this father and son were begging or being begged.
Rosa was a bit troubled. Although her factory frequently ordered goods, the amount of fabric they ordered each time was not much more than the amount ordered by Li Wei. Ordering so much at once was really conspicuous. After thinking for a while, she said to the old man, "Uncle, the quantity is too large. It might be a bit troublesome to get it through our factory. How about I talk to my acquaintances at the textile factory and see if you can pick up the goods directly and ask them to sell them at the price we offer?"
Rosa felt a little embarrassed. She had initially thought they were just buying a few dozen or a hundred pieces of cheap fabric. She hadn't expected such a large quantity. It was really awkward.
Actually, Li Wei preferred to source directly from the factory. Going around like this wasn't a proper business. Seeing Rosa's predicament, she didn't say much. After all, there was a connection between Grandpa and Second Grandpa. Rosa had no reason not to try her best. So she said, "That's fine. Second Aunt, could you contact that acquaintance of yours first? Grandpa and I will go find him now. Also, could you tell us about that person?"
Rosa was quite familiar with two people at the textile factory. One was the cashier, a woman in her thirties named Li Hong. They were quite close because of frequent business dealings. The other was Zhou Qing, a deputy section chief in the sales department of the textile factory. They also knew each other through business. Rosa suggested that they go directly to Zhou Qing. She would call him immediately. If Zhou Qing wasn't available, she would call Li Hong. Although Li Hong was just a cashier, her husband was a deputy factory director, so she could speak to him.
Li Wei and her maternal grandfather left under her great-uncle's apologetic gaze. Li Wei thought to herself, "In the future, it will be a buyer's market everywhere. As long as you have money, you can find anything you want. But now, it's like having money and not even knowing where to start!"
Li Wei had been hit hard all day. She was starting to feel discouraged. These days, wining and dining, giving gifts, and taking kickbacks weren't widespread. Going to the textile factory to find someone to help her... That's a long shot!
But when Li Wei arrived at the textile factory and found Zhou Qingdi in the sales department, looking at the serious-looking, bespectacled Zhou Qingdi who seemed like a cultured man, and after exchanging rambling pleasantries with her grandfather while serving tea and water, Li Wei suddenly had a feeling. It seemed like there was a chance.
She couldn't stand Zhou Qing; he didn't seem like a person who was as honest as he appeared. From his meticulously groomed appearance, his carefully chosen words, to the way he left half-said, Li Wei concluded that there was more to this than met the eye. While Zhou Qing was being summoned to the factory manager, Li Wei, seeing that no one was around, whispered something in her grandfather's ear for a while, leaving the old man looking troubled. He had never done anything like stealing before, and he asked Li Wei with difficulty, "This... will it work?"
Li Wei was exasperated. If she weren't so small and worried about not being able to convince anyone, she would have taken the plunge herself. She hurriedly assured her grandfather, "Oh, Grandpa, it'll definitely work! Just give it a try! Remember the three key points I told you, please, Grandpa!"
"This..." The old man was quite old, but he really had no experience with this kind of thing, and he was a little unsure of himself.
Li Wei panicked. If she couldn't handle her grandfather by the time Zhou Qing returned, her trip would have been in vain. Desperate, she grasped at straws: "Oh, Grandpa, didn't Blind Qian say I'm a benefactor? A benefactor can't be wrong, right? Just do as I say, and you'll be right!"
The old man was willing to risk his reputation for this granddaughter. He'd give it a try, and if it didn't work, he wouldn't come here again; he couldn't bear the embarrassment.
Truth is often held by a minority. Seeing the old man nod, Li Wei felt that Blind Qian was one of those minority.
So after Zhou Qing returned, Li Wei went out to leave her grandfather alone, as she was afraid of affecting their performance.
Having witnessed countless instances of people demanding bribes and favors, Li Wei was right this time. Just as she was almost falling asleep counting ants outside the sales department, her grandfather and Zhou Qing came out beaming, acting like family. Zhou Qing even saw the two of them off at the factory gate before reluctantly going back home.
As soon as he disappeared, Li Wei couldn't help but ask, "Grandpa, Grandpa, what happened? How did he do? What did he say?"
The old man sighed, "Grandpa's lived to a ripe old age, but my eyes aren't as sharp as yours, little one. I never expected this guy to be such a scoundrel. Not only can he buy any kind of fabric, but he also gets it cheaper than your Aunt Luo and the others. But he gets half of that discount as a kickback, and he can have as much stock as he wants. Sigh, what a mess..."
Li Wei was overjoyed to have caught a parasite.
However, she knew that this person must have used the lowest internally agreed price. Aside from the irregular procedures, it wasn't exactly undermining the socialist system. After all, textile factories and affiliated units were government-run entities, so they weren't so concerned about prices; it was all a matter for the state, and nobody wanted to offend anyone. But for some private units from other places, prices had to be lowered. Zhou Qing probably used that route, since there were over a dozen textile factories in the city, and with the deepening of the market economy, they faced increasing competitive pressure, which was already beginning to show.
Of course, unlike Li Wei's thoughts, the old man believed it was his two hundred yuan red envelope that made the difference. Damn it, two hundred yuan! That's half a year's salary for that kid! For the first time, the old man began to seriously consider the role of money. In Cheng Enjiu's mind, who had been poor all his life, money was only for meeting the basic needs of life, such as food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Could it be... that this is the legendary "ghost pushing the millstone"?
The main raw material issue was resolved, and the old man also took care of the transportation for Li Wei. He arranged for her second uncle to pick up the goods tomorrow using a horse-drawn cart, and the old man would go home that evening to give the payment to his second son. Li Wei specifically asked her grandfather to give the transportation fee to her second uncle as well, since she might need his help frequently in the future. The old man understood that his son had separated from the family and was living independently. The two of them agreed on the transportation price, and then they took the cart home.
Li Wei had originally planned to buy some elastic cord, beads, and other materials, but remembering it wasn't the weekend and there wouldn't be many people around, she had to give up. She almost treated her sick leave like Sunday—what a shame!
Grandpa Cheng took Li Wei to the high school again to give his beloved daughter some money, as well as some fruit and snacks they had just bought on the way. After all, Cheng Fei was now a senior in high school, and her studies were quite demanding, so she didn't come home much. Grandpa Cheng missed his daughter and came to check on her. They didn't stay long, as the girl was still in class; they left some money and left.
In that short ten minutes, Cheng Fei spent most of the time lecturing Li Wei: "You can come out for a stroll with your grandpa but you can't go to school? Just by looking at what you're holding, I can tell you're a glutton. You're so young and you're already lazy, don't like going to school, and so on..."
Li Wei was filled with regret. She thought, "If I'd known this would happen, I would have stayed outside the gate and not come in. I'd just been asking for trouble."
The father and son returned home in the afternoon. Cheng Min glanced at the old man and the child, said nothing, and continued working.
Li Wei went inside and put down the snacks she had bought for Li Lin and the others. She poured a cup of chilled water from the thermos for her grandfather and herself, and drank a few sips. Then she washed her hands and face. She was uncomfortable because she was injured and couldn't take a bath. After changing her clothes, she spread a small mat on the kang (a heated brick bed), covered herself with a towel, and lay down comfortably, intending to take a nice nap.
As I've said before, children grow taller while they sleep, and women beautify themselves while they sleep. She needs both.
Li Wei was sound asleep when she was awakened by a chattering noise. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw Li Lin and the others had come home from school and were gathered around the large octagonal table doing their homework. One, two, three, four… seven… wait, there's one more! Shouldn't there be six? Looking closer, she saw that Gu Liwei was there too, doing her homework with them. Lately, this pretty girl had been quite close to Li Lin, but her home was in another village adjacent to Linjia Village in the town, on the east bank of the river—Hedong Village. Hedong Village had a special product known for its wild and belligerent nature—the Hedong boys.
This boy from Hedong was a ferocious beast that children would flee from. Li Wei had only heard about how terrifying he was, but had never seen him in person.
Seeing them chatting so happily while doing their homework, Li Wei couldn't stand it anymore: "Keep your voices down, focus on your homework, what are you talking about!"
Immediately, all was silent.
When did my words become so effective? Usually, saying something once or twice wouldn't work; I had to threaten or even get angry to achieve this effect. It's really strange. Could it be that the children have all grown up and become more sensible?
Li Wei was quite pleased with this positive sign, so she didn't get up and continued to doze off.
After dinner, Li Lin sneakily pulled Li Wei aside and asked mysteriously, "Sis, um... what did you and Luo Jianhua do yesterday?"
Li Wei couldn't stand Li Lin's occasional stingy and mysterious demeanor, and said irritably, "What could I possibly be doing? I just went home. Don't worry, I didn't sneak away to eat anything delicious!"
Li Lin wasn't affected by her sister's impatient tone, and even said somewhat awkwardly, "Sister, um...um...you really didn't do anything else? I...I heard people talking about it."
Li Wei became even more impatient: "What did you hear? It's such a short distance, do you think I can go abroad?! Speak up if you have something to say, or I'm leaving."
Looking at her sister's expression, Li Lin made a firm decision: "Sister, I heard it from Gu Liwei. She heard it from her classmates, and they all listened to He Dong, just like her..."
Li Wei pretended to leave, but Li Lin quickly grabbed her, saying, "They said you're dating Luo Jianhua."
Uh—cough cough cough…
Li Wei almost drowned in her own saliva. After catching her breath, she tilted her head and looked at the amazing little brat Li Lin, saying, "Do you know what dating is?"
Li Lin seemed to think, "Of course I know, it's just a man and a woman holding hands!"
Li Wei was out of words. According to Li Lin's theory, this world was utterly corrupt and morally depraved. Wait... now is not the time to discuss that issue, but... right, the rumors about herself and that brat Luo Da!
Wow! That's amazing!
She never had any scandals in her past life, but she's really improved in this one. She's already got star power at such a young age. Wait a minute... According to Li Lin's theory, she has held Luo Da's arm and hand before, and she's also held Luo Er and Er Pangzi quite a few times... Wait a minute, now is not the time to think about this.
He glared at Li Lin and said, "What do you mean by 'dating'? You little brat, what do you know about dating? You just spout nonsense because others don't understand. You're not allowed to spread these kinds of rumors anymore, understand?"
Li Lin was a little unconvinced and muttered, "They said that people saw it, Luo Jianhua carried you on his back and pulled you..." Seeing her sister reach out her hand, Li Lin was so scared that she quickly promised, "I won't say anything, I won't say anything, okay?" She took the opportunity to run away.
Li Wei was both angry and amused, unsure whether skipping grades was actually good for them. She could sense that the fourth-grade students were all teenagers, over twelve or thirteen years old. They were already developing a bit of a sense of self-awareness, and the boys and girls were very careful with their words, afraid of being gossiped about.
But what does this have to do with me? Li Wei felt speechless at this kind of gossip from elementary school students. No wonder these kids were behaving so strangely today.
She's not even ten years old yet, and Luo Da is even younger than her. This rumor of puppy love is spreading way too early! I'm sweating bullets!
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