Chapter 198 Every family has its own troubles
Mr. Li was bewildered. "I called you, and the woman who answered asked for my address and then went over there..."
"Woman?"
The two looked at each other.
Old Qiu stood up. "Let's go to the dealership and ask. My wife has been using their phone to contact customers all these years, so he should know."
"...Huh? I didn't know, I didn't notice."
The shop owner glanced away, then lowered his head and pretended to organize magazines and newspapers before quickly dropping a sentence.
Li's father and Old Qiu exchanged a glance.
Mr. Li said, "I called you to find Old Qiu, and both times the person you called was that woman who answered. You're saying you didn't know?"
"With so many phone calls every day, how am I supposed to remember them all?"
Seeing that the boss was refusing to talk, Li's father looked at Lao Qiu and said, "Why don't we call the police and let them come and question us..."
"Hey, you..."
The boss was displeased when he heard this, saying, "It's such a small matter, why do you have to call the police?"
"Then tell us who the woman who answered the phone was?"
Old Qiu frowned at him. "With this phone, half of the calls are for my wife, right? You're letting other people answer calls asking my wife to do chores. How can we dare to use this phone in the future?"
The boss felt a little guilty and gave a dry laugh.
Old Qiu pressed his advantage, "If you don't tell us who it is, we'll leave our customers with phone numbers from other places, and you won't be making any money from making or receiving calls."
"Hey, no, no, Old Qiu, I..."
He was still reluctant to speak, but Old Qiu's face turned cold. "If that person stole something from someone else's house using my wife's name and did something bad, then you're an accomplice. Now that they've come to settle accounts, you still won't say who it is? Do you really want the police to come and question you and shut down your shop?"
The man's expression changed, and he glanced at Li's father.
He hurriedly said, "No, I'll tell you, I'll tell you. The person who answered the phone... it wasn't anyone else, it was you, your sister-in-law. She gave me an extra penny for each call, and told me to call her when your wife wasn't home, so she could earn a little something too."
“I saw her go to quite a few places without causing any trouble. Yesterday she was complaining to me that this employer was extremely stingy, refusing to let her bring her daughter and daughter-in-law. She said a few unpleasant things, but who knew that person would call again last night, and after only a few words, she angrily hung up and told me not to answer that person's calls. I never expected this…”
The man glanced at Li's father, gave a dry laugh, and said, "I didn't expect them to come knocking on our door like this. I didn't hear them say they stole anything from your house, or that you didn't even pay them their trial wages..."
"Where did the trial period pay come from?"
Old Qiu's face turned ashen with anger. He glared at the man and said sternly, "My wife will never answer the phone from you again after this customer. If anyone calls again, just tell them the same thing. If I find out you've given the phone to your second son's family again, I'll call the police. This is a case of fraud. It's hard to say whether the dealership can stay open."
"this……"
The man was terrified, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He tried to say something conciliatory, "Old Qiu, we've known each other for so many years, and you've gone too far like this..."
"Before criticizing others, think about what you've done first," Li's father immediately interrupted, giving him a dismissive glance.
The man regretted it immediately; he had truly lost more than he gained by trying to save a small thing.
A phone call costs only one cent, which is not much money in total. I had just started to enjoy the benefits when I was discovered. It was such a loss.
Li's father and Old Qiu left one after the other, and the man watched helplessly, not daring to say anything more.
He certainly didn't do things right. This customer didn't seem like someone to be trifled with. Old Qiu didn't choose to report it to the police because of their friendship. If things continued to escalate and people found out what he did in private, who would dare to make or receive calls at his place?
This phone call is quite profitable.
The two returned to Old Qiu's house, where Old Qiu solemnly apologized to Li's father, "Old Li, wait at home for a while, I'll go to my second son's house and call him over to apologize to you."
Mr. Li sighed.
But she didn't refuse, saying, "She does owe my wife and daughter an apology. She spat at them over a disagreement and even threatened to demolish my house. That's really going too far. Oh, and there's something else..."
Mr. Li glanced at Old Qiu, then took out fifty yuan from his pocket and handed it to Old Qiu.
Old Qiu was stunned for a moment, "What's going on?"
“Your sister-in-law said she went to someone else’s house for a trial work, and if they didn’t hire her, they would charge a trial work fee of fifty yuan. She asked my daughter-in-law for twenty yuan. My daughter did try to cook a few dishes and was asked some simple questions, which she managed to brush off. I didn’t know this custom…”
Old Qiu's face turned bright red, and he hurriedly pushed the money back.
"Old Li, aren't you slapping me in the face? My wife never charges anyone when she works for other people, no trial period fees whatsoever. If they like her, they'll keep her; if they don't..."
He paused, looking at Li's father, "It seems there are no ones who don't keep her. Over the years, her business has mostly relied on word-of-mouth referrals from acquaintances, people who come for her skills."
At this point, as if remembering something, Old Qiu's expression darkened, and he let out a long sigh.
"Old Li, don't laugh at me, but a few years ago my son died in battle, and my wife remarried and left after a few years. Only my granddaughter is left at home. My second son was instigated by his wife, who said that since my son is gone, they'll have to rely on their second wife for old age and funeral arrangements. They wanted my wife to pass on her skills to her. My wife thought our branch of the family was ruined, and the skills couldn't die out in her hands, so she agreed. Who knew..."
His eyes changed, and his face was filled with anger.
"The second son's wife has only been learning for a few days and has only learned the basics, but she dares to tell people that she can also take care of women during their postpartum period and that she has inherited the Qiu family's ancestral skills. Her daughter-in-law, influenced by her, can't stand my granddaughter no matter what. She points her finger at my daughter-in-law and curses her, saying that it's not enough to support the two of us old folks, we also have to support a freeloader. She wants us to marry off our little granddaughter. My little granddaughter was only twelve years old at the time, how could she get married?!"
At this point, he slammed his hand on the table in anger. "The second son and his wife just watched coldly without saying a word. It's simply... too much! I told my wife that I wouldn't teach them anymore. Originally, the family's traditional skills were only passed down to the eldest daughter-in-law. If there's no eldest daughter-in-law, then we'll teach them to our granddaughter. In a few years, we'll let our granddaughter find a husband who will live with us. Once they have children, we'll pass the skills on to her eldest daughter-in-law. That's how the skills will be passed down."
Mr. Li was moved by what he heard and gave Old Qiu a thumbs up.
“You two have thought things through. This ancestral craft should not be passed on to people with bad intentions. Passing it on to your granddaughter’s eldest daughter-in-law is family, so it doesn’t violate the ancestral rules.”
Old Qiu smiled and said, "You sit down, I'll be right back."
Considering that the two families had already fallen out, Li's father didn't want to put Old Qiu in a difficult position, so he said to let it go.
Old Qiu disagreed.
"Let things be as they are. They lied to us first and then insulted us. We can't let this go."
Old Qiu left in a flurry, and a short while later, he returned, clutching the vital point of a small old man who bore a striking resemblance to him.
Behind them followed a woman with bloodshot eyes, who stared at Old Qiu with barely suppressed anger.
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