After seeing everyone off, Xiao Weiguo and Xiao Shanshan finally had time to pack up.
Too many people came just now, and they scattered quicklime all over the yard. Then they started a fire to cook.
With rice, oil, and salt readily available, and plenty of vegetables, dinner was quickly prepared.
The only downside is the lack of meat. In this hot weather, without a refrigerator, meat products can only be bought and eaten immediately, otherwise they will go bad if left for half a day.
"Brother, why won't you agree to work in the county?"
Xiao Shanshan asked while drinking the rice porridge in her bowl.
In rural areas these days, the word "going to work" is considered a relatively high-class term.
It meant they were now eating government-supplied food, no longer having to toil in the fields every day. She couldn't understand why her older brother would waste an opportunity that others could only dream of.
While eating, Xiao Weiguo replied without looking up, "No interest. I don't want to live a life of being controlled by others. Besides, if I go to the county town, who will take care of you?"
"I can do it."
Xiao Shanshan said softly.
She didn't want to jeopardize Xiao Weiguo's future because of her sisters.
Xiao Weiguo seemed to suddenly remember something, put down his chopsticks, and looked at his younger sister.
"Shanshan, you stopped going to school after graduating from junior high, right? If you want, you can go back to school after the summer vacation."
Xiao Shanshan finished junior high school two years ago and had good grades. However, due to family reasons, she gave up taking the high school entrance exam and returned home to farm to support her family.
Hearing her brother say that, Xiao Shanshan's eyes lit up, but they immediately dimmed.
"No, what about the work in the fields?"
Xiao Weiguo felt somewhat helpless. So many years of poverty had led his sister to regard that little piece of land as her last resort.
"Shanshan, you only earn a few hundred yuan a year farming, which is less than what I earn in a day doing business."
Xiao Shanshan fell silent.
She desperately wanted to go to school, but her family couldn't afford it; her priority was to ensure her family's survival. They had nothing else, and that was what she needed.
When her older brother brought up the topic of going to school, a ripple stirred in her long-dormant heart.
Seeing that his younger sister was interested, Xiao Weiguo seized the opportunity and said, "It's good that you need to stay home as much as possible during this period. I'll call Liu Ye over and have her tutor you. You can go to high school after the summer vacation."
"What about Xiao Jiang and Xiao Yue?"
Xiao Shanshan was still a little hesitant, mainly because she was worried about the two younger children.
"Silly little sister."
Xiao Weiguo chuckled, stroking the hair of his younger brother and sister, who were both eating.
“If you go to school, I can still let the two of them stay at home. Of course they can go to school too, and they'll be in first grade.”
Xiao Shanshan had thought about this problem before, but her family was barely able to afford food, let alone send their children to school. Now that she thought about it, her older brother was indeed earning money, and it was time to put this matter on the agenda.
"Okay, I'll give it a try."
Xiao Shanshan smiled, a sense of anticipation rising in her heart.
Life went on, and Xiao Weiguo didn't take the county's epidemic prevention work too seriously.
He has done everything he could. As for how well the prevention and control measures can be implemented, that depends on how well the county does its work.
Liu Ye's family still has tens of thousands of pairs of socks stored away, and Xiao Weiguo needs to sell them as soon as possible to make money; that's his most pressing concern.
So starting the next day, he carried a large bag of socks and wandered around several surrounding counties.
As for Liu Ye, she is a first-year junior high school teacher at the county's No. 1 Middle School. School is about to start, so Xiao Weiguo didn't ask her to come along, but he didn't let her be idle either, and asked her to tutor Shan Shan as well.
That day, Liu Changhe returned to the township clinic. His elderly mother lived there, so he couldn't go back.
He recounted his meeting with Xiao Weiguo to his wife, Wang Xiuhong, and finally showed her photos of Xiao Jiang and Xiao Yue.
"Look at my godson and goddaughter, what do you think?"
The photo of the two adorable little children immediately captivated Wang Xiuhong's attention.
"Old Liu, these are our godsons? They're so adorable. I have to go see them sometime when I have time."
Wang Xiuhong is the factory manager of a clothing factory in the county town. She and Liu Changhe have been married for twenty years, but they have never had children of their own, which is their biggest regret.
After a day of treatment, Mrs. Liu, who had recovered, sat up when she heard the couple talking. She took a photo from her daughter-in-law's hand; it was a picture of her son embracing Xiao Jiang and Xiao Yue.
"Oh my, these are my grandson and granddaughter? My goodness, how did they grow up? They're so beautiful."
Liu Changhe sat smugly in a chair to the side, his face beaming with a smug expression, even happier than if he had won a great victory.
Unlike them, while some are happy, others are naturally unhappy.
The Xiao family gathered together, their faces showing expressions as if they had eaten shit.
Xiao Changsuo slammed his hand on the table and roared at his eldest son.
“You good-for-nothing, what can you do? Not only did you fail to teach Xiao Weiguo a lesson today, you also let him steal the limelight in the whole village. I almost got arrested by the police.”
Xiao Feng had a long face, and his mood was extremely bad.
In the afternoon at the agricultural machinery station, Hu Haidong berated him, saying that his report was false and that he would break off all ties with him. Hu Haidong told him to go to the station the next day to pay a 200 yuan fine, or he would be detained.
Now that I'm home, my father is yelling at me again. Who the hell can I complain to?
Not only did they fail to get rid of Xiao Weiguo, but they also got scolded twice and lost two hundred yuan.
The old man was furious, so he didn't dare to say a word and could only lower his head and smoke silently.
Xiao Lian, the second brother who always had the most mischievous ideas, suddenly had a brilliant idea.
"Father, I have an idea, what do you think?"
"Spit it out if you have something to say."
Xiao Changsuo retorted to him in an annoyed tone.
"Dad, didn't the police say that reselling socks doesn't count as speculation? If he can do it, why can't we? That way, even if the police ask us questions, we'll have something to say, right?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Changxiao and Xiao Feng's eyes lit up.
Yes, if Xiao Weiguo can make money selling socks, his family can too. Xiao Zhang found out exactly where Xiao Weiguo got his socks.
So, if they buy all the socks from the workers at a higher price than Xiao Weiguo, then Xiao Weiguo will have nothing to sell, right?
The men exchanged glances, and Xiao Changsuo slapped his thigh.
"It's settled then. Tomorrow I'll personally go to the county town and collect socks from door to door. Eldest and second sons, take out all your savings. I'll add my own. If that's not enough, we'll borrow from our relatives. I refuse to believe we can't take down that good-for-nothing."
At the old man's command, the family emptied their savings and scraped together more money from various sources, managing to raise over 20,000 yuan. No wonder the villagers said his family was rich.
These guys have been smuggling a lot of stuff into their home.
Early the next morning, Xiao Changxiao hitched up his family's mule cart and set off for the county town with great pride and high spirits.
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