Twenty-three fortunes and misfortunes are interdependent
Based on her raw materials, Li Wei came up with countless ideas. After school that evening, she didn't even have time to give the twins any extra homework. She quickly finished her homework and then went into the clutter pile in the west room.
The kids who were doing their homework together were overjoyed. If Li Wei didn't tell them to continue studying, it meant they were all doing well and could go play without any worries. They wouldn't have to worry about getting bad grades, but frankly, they didn't even know what worry was; they were just perfectly fine and strong.
Li Wei carefully organized and put away the miscellaneous items she had bought with two months' salary from her father, especially the pile of scraps of cloth. First, she put away the piece of wool she had prepared for Li Lin's autumn dress in the closet. Then, she picked out a few pieces of brightly colored fabric and began to ponder what kind of hair accessory she could make.
People's aesthetic sense is still quite simple nowadays. Flowers are beautiful, they look beautiful anywhere, and no one would laugh at you wearing them. Young girls would never think it's fashionable to dress in drab, messy clothes, and children even less so. Therefore, we must start with the most eye-catching fabric.
As for the style, the most common and easiest thing for her to do is to put a rubber band or elastic cord inside and loosely put a pretty cloth cover on the outside. The cloth cover should be a little longer and wider so that when it is tightened by a shorter rubber band, the wavy folds will set off the floral pattern on the fabric, which looks quite nice.
Li Wei prepared all the tools she estimated she would need. She hated not having anything in the way when doing things, as it greatly affected her mood.
First, she cut a large piece of light blue silk with a bright red peony pattern into several even strips, and then sewed them all into fabric tubes. Fortunately, she didn't make the silly mistake of sewing the front side out. This step was relatively easy. Looking at the five fabric tubes, each less than a meter long, lined up in a row, and stretching her slightly sore arms, Li Wei suddenly realized that she had made a silly mistake. Why didn't she think of using a sewing machine? All this effort was not worth it.
Her family's little Bee sewing machine, which they bought less than three years ago, is practically getting moldy from being idle.
Remember to use a sewing machine next time!
First, cut a piece of fabric tube into three sections. Turn the fabric right side out, thread an elastic cord of the same size through it, and sew the two protruding ends together. Finally, sew the two ends of the fabric tube closed with a hidden stitch so that the stitches are not visible.
After finishing one, Li Wei set it aside and admired it for a while. It was not bad, but she didn't know if anyone would like it.
As darkness fell, Li Wei completed fifteen identical sets in one go. Exhausted and dizzy, she thought, "I can't go on. I should stop here for today. I can't risk my life for money. Damaging my eyes would be a huge loss. Getting new glasses every year is a considerable expense, and more importantly, it affects my appearance."
Now she doesn't need to cook anymore. Mom's home all day. Although she's busy, there's no reason for her to watch such a young child do this and that. Besides, everyone's in high spirits these days. Cheng Min sees things getting better and better, and she's full of energy. She has inexhaustible energy. This has also freed Li Wei from housework.
During dinner, Li Wei came up with an even simpler and easier design.
After the meal, I helped clear the table. I took out a few thin elastic cords, rubber bands, and that bag of colorful beads.
Before she could put it down, Li Lin pounced on it with a loud cry, completely captivated by the bag of beads. Li Wei smiled and let her play with them. Actually, not only a child like Li Lin, but even an 'adult' like Li Wei herself, would be very fond of these colorful beads. This was also the most expensive item in her entire collection. Three hundred beads cost her a full fifteen yuan, averaging much more expensive per bead than a glass marble.
Li Wei held the elastic cord and rubber band up and down, realizing her initial idea was a bit rough and lacked technical sophistication. In the end, she took a thinner piece of fabric, cut a small strip, and made a thin tube, only slightly thicker than the elastic cord, to loop over it. This looked much better. Then she sewed a large, matching bead onto the joint between the elastic cord and the fabric cover. Before she could even examine it closely, Li Lin snatched it away.
That's it! This girl is definitely a trendsetter now that she's grown up.
And so, Li Wei carried a small bag with her every day. During breaks, lunch breaks, and after school, she was always sewing. As the bag filled with hair accessories grew bulging and was about to burst, it was filled with all sorts of styles and colors of hair accessories. Li Wei counted them: 188. What an auspicious number! It meant good fortune.
Unfortunately, I have my midterm exams tomorrow.
That evening, Li Wei stopped her handicrafts and gathered the children from her neighbors' desks to give them a final pre-exam tutoring session. As the saying goes, even last-minute cramming can be effective; no matter what, she'd better start practicing.
Of course, Luo Da was nowhere to be seen. It seemed that Luo Da had little interest in studying. At Li Wei's house, he was only interested in Grandpa Cheng. Li Wei caught a glimpse of him and saw Luo Da acting like a lapdog, serving tea and water to the old man. She looked down on him.
However, there has been progress. At least Luo Er was reluctantly dragged here by Li Lianhui, or perhaps he was driven here by his grandmother—it's hard to say. Sometimes Li Wei really couldn't understand why Li Lianhui and Luo Er, who argued every few days, were always playing together, seemingly having a pretty close relationship. Once, the two of them teamed up to beat up Er Pangzi, and then teamed up to be beaten up by Li Wei. They even bullied such an honest kid as Er Pangzi. Li Wei was so angry that she left a handprint on each of their buttocks.
Now Li Wei is too lazy to mediate their conflicts. As long as it's not too outrageous, she'll turn a blind eye. It's better to be confused than not; otherwise, she'll be furious.
The day after the midterm exams was Sunday. Li Wei got up early, ate a simple vegetable bun and drank a cup of goat milk for breakfast, and took the small floral cloth bag she had sewn the night before from the west room. She had specially added shoulder straps to it, and the bag was full of hair accessories. She placed it on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the room. Then she woke up Li Lin, who was still in bed, and took out their best clothes to change into.
Li Lin was very excited. Yesterday, Li Wei had finally agreed to take her to the market to sell things today. It was going to be a real sale, not just playing house. She was beaming with anticipation.
While Li Lin ate her steamed bun, Li Wei combed her hair. Wow, it's so convenient for them to eat these days. Steamed buns, mantou, red bean buns, whatever they want, they have it all.
Li Lin's hair was quite long, reaching her waist. Li Wei first divided the hair on the top of her head into two parts, and tied a hair flower with pink beads and milky white rope loops at the base of each part. Then, she joined the hair at the back of her head and divided it into two parts along the middle line, tying a milky white rope loop with light blue beads at the base of each part. Then, she braided both sections of hair into braids, and tied two beaded hair flowers at the ends. Li Lin, completely unaware that she had become a living advertisement, felt incredibly beautiful and thought herself exceptionally pretty.
Of course, the billboards are all beautiful; otherwise, who would buy them?
However, Li Wei considered herself to be fairly considerate; at least the beaded flowers on both sides were symmetrical in style and color. Li Wei herself had short hair and wore a headband that matched the color of her dress, loosely tied and knotted into a bow just above her ears, making her look quite ladylike.
Compared to Li Lin, one is a lady and the other is a child, which makes their relationship quite fitting.
The two sisters ignored Li Lianhui, who was still in bed. Li Wei said goodbye to her mother and left with her small floral backpack, leather wallet, and Li Lin's small luxury bag.
Li Lin was carrying a small folding stool that Li Wei had bought at the city's free market.
Cheng Min was also helpless. Her husband was busy with work, and she was even busier. They couldn't take care of the child. But then she thought that her daughter had even been to the city by herself and had a car bring her back, so going to the market in the nearby town shouldn't be a problem. Besides, she had taken the child there many times. As for selling something, she didn't expect her to make any money. Let her play if she wanted; consider the sixty-odd yuan as money to buy her toys.
Wow, newly rich people are really something else.
As Cheng Min checked the flour bags, she wondered why her child was so obsessed with making money. Her family had been poor peasants for three generations, with impeccable revolutionary credentials and no trace of capitalist tendencies. Where did she learn this from? Was it something to do with her father's ancestors?
Li Wei and Li Lin arrived at the market early, only to find it already packed with people. They thought they were quite early. Li Wei found a spot on the main thoroughfare, next to an old woman selling eggs. She placed her bag of hair accessories open on the ground, standing in a row with the egg baskets. She set up a small stool for Li Lin to sit on while she stood, and they began selling.
It has to be said, two pretty and eye-catching young girls standing there together definitely attracted attention, but most of the people who arrived early were selling things, and even those who inquired about prices didn't buy anything. After standing there for a while, Li Lin got restless and kept asking her sister when someone would come to buy something and why no one had bought anything yet. This annoyed Li Wei so much that she threatened to send her home if she kept talking, and only then did she quiet down.
It wasn't until more than half an hour later that they finally sold a few items. Li Wei observed that most of them were housewives who had already sold their own things and were buying them for their children. Then, as more and more people came to the market, more and more people started buying. Li Wei collected money and watched the stall, while Li Lin was mainly responsible for watching the stall and getting the goods. Li Lin was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. This was the first time in her life that she had sold goods. Hehehe, it was so interesting.
It would be even better if her sister could let her collect the money.
It would be even better if we could collect the money without having to hand it over.
At first, people were buying eggs one after another, but by noon it got quite crowded, and the old lady selling eggs had long been pushed aside. Li Wei and Li Lin were working up a sweat, especially Li Wei, whose red purse was bulging as much as a frog's belly, and money was still flying in like flies.
Li Wei was overjoyed. Today she brought a total of auspicious hair accessories to make some, each selling for 50 cents. Looking at her bag now, she still had less than a third left, and she was still selling them. Hehe, she had already recouped her cost of the raw materials and still had some left over.
Having experienced making money selling steamed buns, Li Wei wasn't as excited about the money she earned from selling hair.
As the market gradually thinned out around noon, the two sisters, seeing their bags with only a few hairpins left, were starving. Without a word, Li Wei bought four fried dough sticks for Li Lin, whose sister loved junk food. Li Wei herself thought the chive and egg pancakes looked good, so she bought two, and the two sisters ate them all the way home.
Li Wei sorted through the pile of small bills at home, earning a total of eighty-two yuan. She immediately tipped her sister, Li Lin, who was eyeing the pile of money with longing, two yuan. Li Lin happily took the money and ran off to the convenience store to buy some shortbread. Li Wei planned to deposit the money in the bank the next day.
Thinking about all the raw materials I still have in stock, if I processed them all into hair accessories, then...
Li Wei didn't dare to think about it anymore. Although the money was a lot, finishing it in a short time would exhaust her. It wasn't worth ruining her eyes and fingers for money.
After racking my brains for a long time, I still couldn't come up with a solution. I did consider finding someone else to do the processing, but I couldn't find anyone suitable. Besides, it's the busy farming season now, so who has any free time? I had no choice but to put it aside for now and just make a few myself first, and then figure it out later. However, I could consider bringing Li Lin and Wu Feng over as child laborers to help out.
Perhaps there was something wrong with the chive and egg pancake, because that evening Li Wei felt a bit unwell in her stomach. She regretted not eating the fried dough sticks with Li Lin; at least the microorganisms would have been killed. She had a slight stomach upset the next morning, but it wasn't serious, so she didn't pay much attention to it and went to school.
She was fine in the morning, but her stomach cramped and hurt all afternoon. She wanted to endure it for a while and go home to deal with it. In a bad mood, she sent the twins and Wu Feng away and finished her chores with a few classmates. Li Wei felt like she was about to collapse. She rested at her seat for a while and felt better. The classmate who took out the trash also came back. Only then did she carry her schoolbag and go home.
The distance from school to home wasn't far, but Li Wei felt the road was exceptionally long today. The further she walked, the farther it seemed to go. Why was she suddenly on an uphill road? Then, Li Wei found herself lying face down on the road, her mind clear and still, her face a little cold, and her body a little unresponsive, as if she were dreaming.
What's going on? Is she going to die? No way, I've heard of bloodshed caused by a steamed bun, but I've never heard of a murder caused by two pies.
Then Li Wei heard someone mumbling something beside her, but she couldn't make it out. A large head jutted out in front of her. She recognized him—wasn't that Luo Da? What was with that look in his eyes? Like he was looking at a bug… No, she misspoke. He wasn't looking at a bug; he was looking at a dead dog! He grabbed her arm and hoisted her onto his back, leaving her feet still on the ground. This wild boy just dragged her away like that! My feet! My feet…
When Li Wei was dragged to the village clinic by Luo Da, she was fully conscious, but still dizzy and weak. The barefoot doctor at the clinic was an old man in his fifties surnamed Lin, who was said to be highly skilled in medicine, able to treat everything from pigs and dogs to strong young men. He was also a doctor who could treat both humans and animals.
After asking Li Wei about her condition in detail, Dr. Lin took out a thick glass syringe without saying a word and quickly dispensed two small bottles of medicine. The hissing sound of the syringe drawing the medicine terrified Li Wei, and she asked the doctor in a trembling voice, "Uncle Lin, is that...is that for me to get an acupuncture?"
"Yes, you have acute gastroenteritis, and your blood pressure is low. I'll give you an injection and you'll be fine," Dr. Lin said casually.
Li Wei panicked: "Hey, Dr. Lin, let's... let's talk this over. I... I don't want the injection, can I have an IV drip instead?"
Getting a shot hurts way more than getting an IV drip.
"Why would you need an IV drip for such a minor illness? Two injections will suffice." They were already squeezing the air out of the syringe.
In this era, minor ailments are usually treated with medication, and injections are only used when the condition becomes more serious. As for IV drips, those are almost always for serious illnesses requiring hospitalization.
Li Wei had a weak constitution from childhood to high school, frequently catching fevers and colds. She was terrified of injections. Later, as she got more and more IV drips, she discovered their advantages: quick results and no pain. So she stopped getting injections altogether. The lingering pain in her buttocks after an injection was an unforgettable experience.
Seeing that Dr. Lin was approaching with a syringe as if he hadn't heard her, Li Wei quickly shouted, "I don't want a shot, I want an IV drip, do you hear me?"
Unfortunately, this is a seller's market, and you have to listen to the seller in everything you do.
Seeing that Dr. Lin acted as if he hadn't heard her, Li Wei was furious. How could he be so disrespectful of her personal wishes? What a terrible doctor! She struggled to get up and resist.
Dr. Lin had seen all sorts of mischievous and naughty people, and without changing his expression, he immediately directed the only spectator, Luo Da: "Hold her down, quickly."
For some reason, Luo Da was unusually obedient at this moment. He rushed over and flipped Li Wei over like flipping a pillow, pinning her down. His practiced movements nearly drove Li Wei crazy: "Luo Jianhua, you wait, I'll kill you..."
My skirt was lifted up, my shorts were pulled down, then a chill, then pain, and more pain...
Li Wei was filled with grief and indignation. "Heavens above! Is there any doctor like this? Even though you're quite familiar with my grandfather, you can't treat me like this! You old veterinarian, how dare you conspire with that wild boy to molest your great-grandmother… I—"
Li Wei really couldn't do anything about the old barefoot doctor, so she retaliated by scratching Luo Da's face, leaving four red marks immediately.
This is why Li Wei has never had the habit of keeping her nails long; otherwise, those four marks would have drawn blood, or at least broken the skin and would have hurt quite a bit. Li Wei was so angry today that she lost her mind.
But Luo Da's skin was really thick enough that Li Wei didn't see any signs of pain from him. She couldn't vent her anger, and she wanted to beat him up but didn't have the strength. She had never felt so frustrated in her life. How did she end up like this, being bullied by the old man and the child? How was she going to live in the future? Li Wei burst into tears and cried so hard that she didn't even notice that she was swaying on Luo Da's back as she left the clinic.
Finally, he noticed it soon enough. He quickly straightened up and flipped off Luo Da, falling flat on his back. Luo Da also tumbled over. Needless to say, the two of them were in a sorry state, lying face down in the ditch of the road, staring at each other.
Li Wei was furious. If she couldn't even handle such a little brat, she might as well not live. If she didn't teach him a lesson today, she was as fragile as paper.
Gathering his strength, he scrambled over in a few quick movements and grabbed Luo Da, who was still in shock. Unfortunately, he wasn't strong enough to hold him down, so he lifted his leg and straddled Luo Da, then started beating him mercilessly with his weak fists...
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