After finishing the important task of packaging the gift boxes, Li Guifang was in high spirits the whole day. She even gave the customer two extra peach cakes when weighing the snacks.
After closing the store, she returned home humming a little tune and walked around the kitchen and yard. Great!
The rice was warming in the pot, the clothes were hanging neatly, and the trough in the chicken coop was still filled with fresh corn grits.
It looked like the chicken coop had just been cleaned, but I didn't know where the chicken droppings had been shoveled away!
She nodded with satisfaction. Li Mingyuan, her adopted son, was a really good househusband!
Finally I don’t have to be so busy today.
I walked around the house but didn't see Li Mingyuan. He must have gone to pick up the child.
Just as I was thinking about it, a crisp child's voice came from outside the courtyard gate: "Grandma!"
Li Shuduo came in like a colorful butterfly, her pigtails swinging back and forth, holding a paper windmill in her hand.
"Grandma, look at how pretty it is! Dad bought it for me!"
Li Guifang was about to say a few words of praise when she caught a glimpse of Li Mingyuan following behind with a sad look on his face, holding his daughter's floral schoolbag in his hand.
Li Guifang rolled her eyes at him. "Isn't it just some housework? Who are you trying to show me that bitter face?"
In her previous life, she lived in his house. She got up before dawn to light the fire and cook, and took care of the old and then the young. She was so tired that she couldn't even straighten her back, but she never saw him groan.
Now, after only a day's work, he's already showing a bad temper. He's really spoiled!
But when I was eating, I ate the tomato fish that I ordered last night. The moment the fish's freshness melted on my tongue,
Li Guifang forgave Li Mingyuan for the bad look he gave her today!
As soon as he finished his dinner and put down his chopsticks, Li Minghua couldn't wait to share with everyone: "Today our shop is finally open!"
He gestured excitedly, "It was just dawn, and I had just opened the shop door when I heard a creaking sound—"
"Guess what?" He paused deliberately as if to keep you in suspense, his eyes shining as bright as a 50-watt light bulb!
"In half an hour, three young men came to the shop pushing bicycles with tires as flat as pancakes!"
Li Minghua became increasingly excited as he spoke, his fingers tapping a cheerful rhythm on the table. "After I fixed their tire, the young man in the blue cloth jacket kept praising our craftsmanship!"
As he spoke, he imitated the customer's tone, "Master, your tire repair skills are the best in the whole county!"
He said with a thumbs up.
You're incredible! You've already had such good luck in the first two days of opening. It must be the auspicious day of the 25th day of the winter month that has revealed its power!
"Of course not!" Li Minghua slapped his thigh, "It's even more weird at noon, a van comes driving in!
It's only the first day and I've already earned eight dollars and sixty cents!
"The new highway has only been open for two days, and there are already so many cars?" Li Mingyu couldn't believe it. Is running a repair shop so profitable?
"Not really, there aren't many cars. Maybe I'm just unlucky!" Li Minghua didn't take it seriously. After saying a few words, he went back to talking about the van.
He spread his arms exaggeratedly and gestured, "A car that big, parked right in front of our shop, would block half the door!"
"After I fixed it, the driver even gave me a 'Da Qianmen' package!"
Li Minghua pulled out a half-pack of cigarettes from his pocket and proudly waved it in front of his family. "I never thought that one day someone would offer me a cigarette!"
Li Minghua shared his joy with everyone with a smile! Although it is a small business, Li Minghua is very satisfied!
While cleaning up the dishes, Li Guifang was thinking to herself, how long has the new highway been open to traffic? Not many people know about it, and even the milestones along the road haven't been fully erected yet.
How come so many cars come to get their tires repaired all of a sudden?
It's 1985 now. If anyone has a bicycle, they can show it off for half a month and ride it with extreme caution, not to mention the rare van.
What's more, this is a new road. How come there are suddenly so many cars with punctured tires?
The happier Li Minghua is, the more uneasy Li Guifang feels!
She unconsciously wiped the rag back and forth on the table, thinking over and over in her mind.
I’m just getting old, I just can’t figure it out!
. . . . . .
Li Mingyuan had just put coats on his two children and was about to go home when Li Guifang's shout of "Wait a minute" stopped him in his tracks.
"Mingyuan, your mother ordered a batch of boxes from the printing factory today," Li Guifang said while touching her apron pocket.
"The goods will arrive in three days. When you finish your chores around the house, go to the store and help fold the boxes. It's crucial. One more person will help, and it will go much faster."
Li Mingyuan was shocked by these words. What Li Guifang said afterwards didn't matter anymore. He just felt his head was buzzing!
This means that in addition to doing housework during the day and taking care of the children at night, he now has to work as a free laborer?
"Grandma!" Li Shuduo suddenly emerged from her father's armpit, her pigtails swinging back and forth.
"I have a day off the day after tomorrow, so I want to go help too!"
She stood on tiptoe to get close to Li Guifang. "If I can make a paper boat, I can definitely make a box!"
Li Guifang's face wrinkled with smile, her rough hands rubbing the top of her granddaughter's head, her eyes sideways at her son: "Our Duoduo is still sensible."
"...knew."
When Li Mingyuan bent down to pick up the cotton-padded jacket, he was caught off guard by his mother's shining eyes.
He looked just like a salesperson behind the counter of a supply and marketing cooperative, tightly guarding his bulging trouser pockets.
He felt a chill on his back and shivered even though he was wearing a cotton jacket.
How come he's still cold even though he's wearing so many clothes? The weather is getting worse and worse!
"Well..." Li Mingyuan seemed to suddenly remember something, and took out three brand new "Great Unity" notes from his trouser pocket.
I don't know how long he has been holding these three "Great Unity" cards in his pocket; they have become hot.
"Look at my memory. I was so busy that I forgot to give you the money!"
His voice became lower and lower, and his fingers were unconsciously twisting the edge of the banknote.
Li Guifang grabbed the banknotes and rubbed the corners of the money with her fingertips - wow, they were so crisp and new, it was obvious that they were just withdrawn from the credit union.
She glanced at her son meaningfully and said, "Oh, Mom knew it, my Mingyuan is capable and filial!
No, Mom reminded you because she knew you would forget!"
As he spoke, he stuffed the money into his secret pocket.
Li Mingyuan watched the money disappear into his mother's pocket, his heart trembling with pain.
The money he earned through hard work just flew away like that.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
