After dinner, Shen Qingqing tutored Chen Man in Chinese for another two hours before seeing the reluctant Chen Man off at the door.
As soon as I entered the door, I heard her mother discussing with her father whether they should use the family's money to repair the porcelain kiln.
Thanks to her grandmother's frequent cleaning over the years, her mother and uncle also went to check on the small porcelain factory when they went to discuss its acquisition. They found that the damage to their small porcelain kiln was not serious and could be repaired and put back into use with some money.
However, even though Li Xunli manages the family's money, she still has to discuss it with Shen Rongzhou when it comes to using the savings.
Shen Rongzhou frowned. He hoped his wife would accept the job Zhang Zeqin had suggested, at least one that would be more stable. He was willing to pay for the repair of the kiln now, but if it was only used once after the repair, what difference would it make from throwing money down the drain?
Not to mention that we don't actually have much savings at home right now.
But seeing Li Xunli's eager expression, he couldn't bring himself to say it, and after struggling for a long time, he still couldn't utter a single word.
Shen Qingqing knew her father all too well; she could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his expression. After closing the door, she ran to Li Xunli, hugged her, and asked, "Mom, how much does it cost to repair the porcelain kiln?"
Li Xunli instinctively hugged her back. "It will probably cost around a thousand yuan. Repairing the kiln is one part, and another part is rebuilding the door outside the kiln."
Shen Qingqing thought about the stocks she had bought. She already had a principal of one thousand yuan. Even if she withdrew now, she could still make a profit.
However, all the money is with her uncle. Otherwise, after the exam on Wednesday afternoon, she could go to her uncle to sell the stocks.
Having made up her mind, Shen Qingqing said, "Mom, you still need to talk to your uncle and grandparents about repairing the kiln. Otherwise, if you start construction right away, Grandma will scold you again."
This is true. Although Li Xunli still lived in Chaocheng after getting married, in the eyes of the people of Chaocheng, a married daughter is no longer part of their family. If they want to touch their family's land, they must ask the elders for their opinion.
Li Xunli paused for a moment. She didn't really want Li Yuxing to know about this. Back when she always went with Li Xunjin to learn ceramics from her grandfather, she was always scolded by Li Yuxing, who said that it was no good for a girl like her to learn this stuff, since it couldn't put food on the table.
That was indeed the prevailing situation at the time; girls who studied ceramics had no way to work in porcelain factories because the factories didn't want them.
Shen Qingqing also knew that the knot between her mother and her grandmother was hard to untie. Her grandmother's preference for sons over daughters was obvious, but she also gave her mother some maternal love. She never let her mother go without food and clothing. When her mother was young, she did not directly prevent her mother from going to school. Instead, she talked to her mother and uncle openly because the family really did not have money. Even in the later stages of her treatment in the hospital in her previous life, her grandmother was over seventy years old and still often went to the hospital.
She couldn't intervene in the mother-daughter conflict between her grandmother and mother, so she could only act as a small mediator.
"Grandma has to take care of Xiaohong now, otherwise you should talk to Uncle! Mom, you still have to work, but I get out of school early on Wednesday afternoon, and I'll go talk to Uncle! Uncle will definitely support you!"
When Shen Qingqing mentioned the word "go to work," Li Xunli put aside her hesitation. This was just an experiment; she still had a regular job to go to.
"Okay, then go and talk to your uncle, but you can't let your uncle pay for it, understand? This is something Mom wants to do and fix herself, so I can't always bother your uncle to pay for it."
Shen Qingqing nodded rapidly, like a chick pecking at rice.
Shen Rongzhou, with a complicated expression, was teasing Shen Hong, who still refused to sleep.
With something on my mind, time flew by without me even noticing, and Wednesday afternoon arrived in no time.
In the first grade, all the desks in the class were removed, and each student sat at a separate desk.
The Chinese teacher divided the test papers into four parts and distributed them.
Shen Qingqing wrote very quickly. In a 45-minute class period, which was used as the exam time, she finished writing in less than 30 minutes.
Seeing her sitting so leisurely, the Chinese teacher even went over to take a look at her test paper.
After quickly flipping through the paper and finding that she got everything right, the Chinese teacher stopped bothering her and just wanted her to stay quiet.
Chen Man, who was sitting in front of her, was scratching her head and writing furiously for a full forty-five minutes.
When the Chinese teacher called for the papers to be collected, she deflated like a punctured balloon, slumping onto the desk with a blank expression on her face.
The teacher collected the papers and left. Shen Qingqing packed her schoolbag while watching Chen Man's expression, and couldn't stop laughing.
Unexpectedly, after the teacher left, Chen Man sat up abruptly, her eyes shining as she looked at Shen Qingqing and said, "Qingqing, let me tell you, I have a feeling I did well on the test! I've memorized a lot of the questions you helped me review the other day!"
Chen Man swayed triumphantly, "If the results come out this time, I'll ask my dad to buy us both a Barbie doll family portrait set!"
After waving goodbye, Shen Qingqing went home and made a phone call to her grandfather, asking him to come pick her up.
After climbing into the car, Shen Qingqing asked, "Grandpa, is Uncle home?"
Zhang Mingfang helped Shen Qingqing put on her helmet. "No, she's at the company."
"Then I want to go to my uncle's company, Grandpa, please take me!" Shen Qingqing turned to look at her grandfather.
Zhang Mingfang had no reason not to listen; he never ignored what his granddaughter said.
When Li Xunjin heard Shen Qingqing's voice at the company, he thought he was hallucinating until he saw Zhang Mingfang leading Shen Qingqing into his office.
"Dad? Why did you bring Qingqing here?" Li Xunjin quickly went over.
Before Zhang Mingfang could speak, Shen Qingqing grabbed Li Xunjin's leg and said, "I asked my grandfather to bring me! I have something to tell my uncle today, and my mother asked me to come!"
Li Xunjin laughed upon hearing this and pinched Shen Qingqing's nose: "You're just a little kid, what do you know about a commission?"
Shen Qingqing shook her head, shook off Li Xunjin's hand, and then told him exactly what Li Xunli wanted to do about repairing the porcelain kiln.
Li Xunjin was surprised that his sister had made this decision: "Did your mother make this decision herself?"
Shen Qingqing nodded: "Yes!"
"Uncle, sell my stocks! I want to help my mom repair the porcelain kiln!"
Shen Qingqing revealed her ultimate purpose for coming here.
Li Xunjin was touched by Shen Qingqing's words. He lowered his head and looked at Shen Qingqing for a long time, but he couldn't see the slightest wavering in her eyes. He bent down and picked Shen Qingqing up, without refusing her: "Okay, your uncle will help you. You can also leave the matter of finding someone to repair the porcelain kiln to your uncle, okay?"
Shen Qingqing was about to nod when she suddenly remembered her mother's instructions. "Uncle, my mom said I can't let you pay anymore. If I don't have enough money from my stocks, I can go home and get more, but you can't give me any more."
"Also, Uncle and Grandpa must keep the matter of repairing the porcelain kiln a secret; Grandma must not find out!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com