Chapter 276
Ji Wanmei and Lei Tingjun returned to the bookstore on the street in front of the school with the daily necessities they had bought, and began to set up the attic.
Lei Tingjun first used a rag to wipe the wooden frame bed in the room clean, and then laid out a palm mattress and cotton wadding.
While he was doing these things, Ji Wanmei sat to the side, taking out the four-piece bed sheet set she had bought and putting it on.
The pillows are all brand new, and they still smell of new cotton.
The navy blue striped bedding looks clean and tidy when laid out.
Lei Tingjun placed the wooden desk he had bought near the window and the doorway. Ji Wanmei went over, spread a tablecloth on it, and put on a small desk lamp.
After the large items were arranged, the cluttered feeling in the attic disappeared instantly, and it became clean, tidy, bright, and well-organized, with a touch of coziness.
Then Ji Wanmei hung the curtains up, tied them together with two strips of cloth to both sides, and let the light in through the window.
The thermos flask, washbasin, and other toiletries were placed inside the attic, against the wall on the floor.
Ji Wanmei studied it for a while and said, "It's not really suitable to put it there. Let's go buy a storage rack next time."
Lei Tingjun was busy taking measurements when he turned around and said, "No need. There's some wood cleared out outside the attic. I can make one myself."
Lei Ting can do even simple carpentry work.
He picked out two planks and a few strips of wood, brought them in, and after gesturing at them for a while, said, "This should work. I'll go downstairs and borrow some tools from the landlord."
After saying that, he went downstairs.
Ji Wanmei finished arranging everything in the attic, but after looking around one last time, she felt that something was still missing from the room.
"Ah, I've got it!" She clapped her hands and went out to the balcony.
On the balcony, I planted several potted flowers, which were in full bloom in April, the season of spring.
Ji Wanmei picked two flowers, put them in an unwanted glass bottle, then filled a water pipe on the rooftop with some water, and her homemade vase was finished.
She brought in the glass bottle with the fresh flowers and placed it on the desk, instantly filling the room with fragrance and life.
Ji Wanmei admired it for a while with satisfaction, thinking it was quite good.
A short while later, Lei Tingjun came up with tools such as a hammer and nails. He moved the few pieces of discarded wood outside the balcony and began preparing to start the operation.
Ji Wanmei sat down on a small stool to watch and said, "The owner of this bookstore may seem old-fashioned and difficult to talk to, but everything he does is actually a good thing. I think he's all bark and no bite."
Lei Tingjun said, "It's because our thinking is too traditional and our ideas are too outdated. When they saw the two of us coming together, they assumed that we were just like other young couples who come out of school for a secret rendezvous."
Ji Wanmei frowned, both amused and exasperated, and scolded him, "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Lei Tingjun looked up at him, smiled, and said, "Forget it, I won't bother with him."
Lei Tingjun picked up his tools, assembled the wood, and hammered in the nails.
Ji Wanmei watched for a while, then went inside and took out her handbag.
She usually carries a notebook and a pen in her bag, just in case.
She meticulously recorded all the money she had spent at the department store in her ledger.
"We just spent a little over fifty-eight yuan and fifty cents to sell these things."
After finishing recording the expenses, Ji Wanmei flipped to the previous pages of the bills, added and subtracted some details, and said to Lei Tingjun, "There is a total of six thousand seven hundred yuan left in the savings account."
Hearing this, Lei Tingjun looked up from his carpentry work and asked Ji Wanmei, "How come there are still so many?"
Before the Lunar New Year, Ji Wanmei gave all the money from her two savings accounts to Lei Tingjun when she bought the brick factory.
However, the brick factory is currently operating at break-even, and after deducting workers' wages, it has not yet recovered a significant portion of its profits each month.
Even if there was some money left over, Lei Tingjun had already used it to buy equipment.
They all knew that the brick factory was a long-term investment, and there was no way to expect a big return in a short period of time.
Currently, most of the income for Leitingjun comes from the transportation team, mainly through business cooperation with two factories and several construction sites.
Before the Lunar New Year, Lei Tingjun only sent Ji Wanmei money once, which was his and A Qiang's share of the profits, only five thousand yuan.
Lei Tingjun didn't understand why more than 6,000 had emerged.
Ji Wanmei smiled and counted on her fingers as she told him, "You sent me five thousand before the New Year, and I saved it all. I haven't touched that money. There's also the two thousand left over from when you bought the brick factory last time, which I haven't spent either; I've saved it all. And last time I went to Honghe Township to buy New Year's goods for your fellow villagers, I spent a few hundred yuan."
Lei Tingjun stared at Ji Wanmei for a long time without moving, his eyes filled with heartache: "Meimei, this money is what I gave you to spend, not for you to save for me."
He held her hand and said, "If I give you the money I earn, but you don't use a single penny to save it, what's the point of me working so hard to earn it?"
Ji Wanmei smiled gently: "Silly boy, have you forgotten? My own shop also has income every month. I often take custom orders for cheongsams from the wives' circle at Grandma Song's place, which also earns me money. Besides, my father sends me living expenses every month."
"With so much money in my hands, where am I supposed to spend it? Even if I ate sweet and sour pork ribs at the school cafeteria every day, I still couldn't afford this much."
Ji Wanmei said gently but firmly, "Besides, I'm still a student. I can't afford to be extravagant."
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