“I’m not going,” Big Knife said.
Big Knife Mom asked, "Why?"
"Shameless!"
Big Knife Mom got furious and slapped him across the face: "You beheaded bastard, I'm your mother, how dare you talk to me like that! I earn money to support you!"
Da Dao angrily scratched his head, turned around, and climbed into bed to sleep.
Da Dao's mother then turned to Da Dao's father and said, "When Aunt Wang bullied Wen Qing's family, I didn't expect Wen Qing to be so capable. Besides, our family has no money or connections, so how could we dare to offend Aunt Wang? That's why I didn't let Da Dao speak. Now that Aunt Wang is completely convinced by Wen Qing, we should have helped Wen Qing's family back then. Da Dao's father, do you think if I went to Wen Qing's house, she would chase me out with a broom?"
"Stop talking, go to sleep," said Da Dao's dad.
"Sleep, sleep, all you do is sleep! Now every family in the village is richer than us. What are we going to do about Da Dao's tuition next semester?" Da Dao's mother kept nagging.
Dad sat up abruptly: "Talk, talk, talk! What's the use of talking? If you talk, money will grow legs and come to you, and Wen Qing will make you work for her!"
After Dad yelled like that, Mom fell silent.
Meanwhile, Wen Qing's courtyard was also quiet. Apart from the occasional rumination and breathing of the cows in the cowshed, one could faintly hear Wen Qing and Yao Shiling talking in the main room.
"Is this corduroy fabric expensive?" Yao Shiling touched the upper of the new shoes.
Wen Qing laughed: "That's how you get a good price."
"That would be such a waste to make shoes."
"Comfortable, beautiful, and warm. It's sure to sell well," Wen Qing said.
Yao Shiling nodded. Actually, she didn't understand much, but she thought that whatever Wen Qing said was correct. So, under Wen Qing's guidance, she roughly understood how to make corduroy black cloth shoes with foam soles and buckles.
“Mom, teach them like this from now on,” Wen Qing said.
"good."
Finally, Wen Qing said, "Mom, have Aunt Wang find five more people to make shoes tomorrow."
Yao Shiling was taken aback: "Why do we need to find more people? Aren't five people enough?"
"It's definitely not enough. The shoes we're currently producing can't meet the demand at all, and I'm also thinking of opening my own store."
"Open your own shop?"
"Um."
What are you selling?
"We specialize in all kinds of clothes and shoes from the Fengqing series, and we'll also have scarves, hats, and more in the future," Wen Qing said with a smile.
Yao Shiling stared in disbelief, only managing to ask one question: "Will this work?"
"Okay, okay, okay," Wen Qing said with a smile, then urged Yao Shiling to go to sleep. After entering her own room, she revised the winter clothes she had envisioned, preparing to make one set tomorrow and give it to Aunt Xiao so they could start production.
It wasn't until nearly midnight that Wen Qing was satisfied with the revisions and then went to sleep.
The next morning, Wen Qing had only been up for a short while and hadn't even started eating when Aunt Wang, Sister Zhou, and the others had already finished eating and drinking, and the dishes and pots were washed and cleaned. They came to the yard to start making shoes.
Wen Qing handed the black cloth shoes with foam soles and buckles to Aunt Wang. She looked them over and asked them if making these shoes was difficult for them.
“What’s the big deal!” Aunt Wang said first. “Corduroy looks thick, but it’s actually easy to sew. There are also foam soles and straps, all of which are readily available. It’s easy to sew soles without having to do any sewing!”
"right!"
"The work will definitely be done quickly."
Everyone chimed in, and Wen Qing was finally relieved. She smiled and said, "Okay, then you just need to provide the shoes. I'll have the uppers and insoles made in the county town using sewing machines. You can provide the finished products."
"Okay!" Aunt Wang, Sister Zhou, and the others answered in unison, full of enthusiasm.
Then Wen Qing picked up the cloth bag, left the courtyard, and prepared to go to the county town.
As soon as Wen Qing left, Aunt Wang and Sister Zhou started talking.
“Those shoes were made of corduroy, they’re so expensive. I heard that when people in the city have babies, they use corduroy to make blankets to wrap their babies’ pants, it’s much warmer than our tattered quilts.”
"I just touched that fabric, it's so slippery."
"The foam soles are good too; they're much lighter than Na's shoes, and they're easier to walk in."
"How much did these shoes cost?!"
"Alright, alright," Aunt Wang interrupted their conversation, "Make good shoes, make more pairs of shoes, that's what's important."
Sister Zhou and the others then fell silent.
Wen Qing was now heading straight towards the county town along the dirt road. Yao Shiling and Wen Peng had come to pick her up the night before. She could have ridden her bicycle with Wen Peng on the front bar and Yao Shiling on the back, and then gone home.
However, it was dark then, and the dirt road was uneven, so she was afraid of falling and didn't ride. Otherwise, she would have reached the county town by now.
Wen Qing arrived in the county town after walking for half an hour.
The ten tailors had already started work. After Wen Qing greeted them, she and Aunt Xiao began preparing to pay their wages.
The ten tailors had been excited since last night, and now they kept glancing at Wen Qing.
It wasn't until Wen Qing handed them the five yuan that they believed it was real. Their joy, excitement, and exhilaration were no less than those of Aunt Wang and the others in Shuiwan Village.
After the wages of the ten tailors were paid, Wen Qing personally paid Aunt Xiao and Bao Hong.
Aunt Xiao's wages were at most forty yuan a week, which frightened her. She repeatedly declined, saying, "Wen Qing, Wen Qing, please don't give me so much."
Wen Qing laughed: "Aunt Xiao, I said that for every pair of shoes you handle, you'll get three cents. For 150 pairs of shoes, you make the uppers and insoles for 100 pairs, so you'll get thirty yuan. That's not too much. Besides, you're in charge of everything from 'Feng Qing's' clothes to her shoes. This forty yuan is not too much at all."
Wen Qing recounted Aunt Xiao's contributions word by word, bringing tears to Aunt Xiao's eyes. She hadn't expected Wen Qing to be so clear about everything she had done and to give her such high praise.
Wen Qing not only saved her son's life, but also made her earn more than when she ran the shop. She also increasingly realized her own value: "Wen Qing..." Aunt Xiao almost choked up. She had never earned forty yuan in a week before. Forty yuan!
"Take it." Wen Qing smiled and stuffed the money into Aunt Xiao's hand.
Bao Hong also chimed in, "Aunt Xiao, take the money. Let's work hard from now on and not let Sister Wenqing worry about us."
Wen Qing smiled and said, "Yes, Bao Hong is right."
Aunt Xiao then accepted the forty yuan.
Then Wen Qing said, "Bao Hong, go to the intersection and find a male laborer to tear down the signboard of our 'Aunt Xiao's Tailor Shop'."
Aunt Xiao and Bao Hong were taken aback and asked, "Why?"
Aunt Xiao wiped away her tears and said, "Wen Qing, why do you want to tear down the storefront? This is our storefront!"
Wen Qing smiled and said, "Aunt Xiao, you forgot, our 'Aunt Xiao's Tailor Shop' has already transformed, so of course the storefront needs to be changed too."
Aunt Xiao then remembered that her tailor shop was named after herself. Now that the shop and the land all belonged to Wen Qing, it was only natural to change the storefront. However, Aunt Xiao still voiced her doubts, saying, "We transformed our business a long time ago. Why didn't we change it before? Why are we changing it now?"
Wen Qing looked at the tailor shop across the street, where customers were coming and going. Wen Qing smiled and said, "I didn't intend to take it down before, but now I do."
"Who should we defeat?" Aunt Xiao asked, puzzled.
"Take down the tailor shop across the street," Wen Qing said.
Bao Hong was confused: "Why? Who owns the tailor shop across the street? Sister Wen Qing, didn't you say before that we shouldn't bother with it and that it could still make money for us? Why are you going to take it down now?"
Wen Qing looked at Bao Hong and said, "It never bothered me before, but it did yesterday."
"Who?" Bao Hong asked.
Wen Qing said, "Zhang Fangfang."
Aunt Xiao and Bao Hong were both taken aback. Aunt Xiao asked, "Is this the girl who came to cause trouble with the Ji family yesterday?"
"That's right."
"Does she own the tailor shop across the street?"
"right."
"Why?"
"She wanted to push me out of the county town."
"And why again?"
"Because she wanted to marry Ji Yanjun, and because her uncle also supported her in marrying Ji Yanjun."
Aunt Xiao was astonished. She had always thought that the tailor shop across the street was run by some jealous person who just wanted to make money. She never expected that it was actually run by Zhang Fangfang. This... this... she didn't know how to describe her feelings at this moment. Aunt Xiao was stunned and asked, "But you don't even want to marry Ji Yanjun anymore, yet she still does this."
"So, even though I don't provoke her, she still comes to provoke me, how can I let her get away with it?" Wen Qing looked at Aunt Xiao and smiled, "Otherwise, wouldn't I be too easy to bully?"
“That’s right!” Bao Hong chimed in, unconditionally supporting Wen Qing: “Sister Wen Qing is right. I’ve disliked them for a long time. They copy everything we do. They’re shameless.”
Wen Qing laughed: "Then why don't you hurry up and find someone to tear down the storefront sign?"
“Okay, I’ll go right now!” Bao Hong replied, and ran out of Aunt Xiao’s tailor shop.
A short while later, Bao Hong brought two men over. After agreeing on a price, the two men took their tools and began dismantling the storefront.
The demolition of the storefront sign caused another uproar in the surrounding area. After all, someone had made a scene at Aunt Xiao's tailor shop yesterday, and now the storefront sign was being torn down. Could it be that the business was failing?
"It's so pitiful. City people are bullying rural people, making it impossible for them to do business."
"Exactly, the Ji family is disgusting."
"That's disgusting."
"Maybe they hired thugs behind the scenes to force Wen Qing to leave."
"..."
Thus, Wen Qing merely dismantled a storefront sign, yet passersby conjured up a whole mess of dramatic events in their minds. Their instinct to sympathize with the weak led many to feel sorry for Wen Qing, and inevitably, they all cursed the Ji family as scoundrels.
Meanwhile, news of Wen Qing dismantling the storefront spread like wildfire throughout the streets and alleys.
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