"Ji Yanjun?" Wen Qing paused, surprised.
"Mm." Wen Peng nodded.
Wen Qing looked at Wen Peng, still unable to believe it, and asked, "He cut beans for our family?"
"He harvested beans for our family for three days," Wen Peng said. "He harvested so many and so quickly?"
Wen Qingli's heart skipped a beat: "Does everyone in the village know?" She had just clarified the marriage matter with Yao Shiling.
"Why would the villagers know?" Wen Qing asked, puzzled.
“How could the villagers not know that he came to our field to harvest beans?” Wen Qing retorted.
“Big sister, you’ve forgotten, we harvest beans in Shuiwan Village in the middle of the night,” Wen Peng said. “It’s very dark then.”
"Harvesting beans in the middle of the night?" Wen Qing asked, "Because of the heavy dew?"
“That’s right. If the dew is heavy, the ripe bean stalks won’t prick your hands, and the ripe bean pods won’t burst open, so the beans won’t fall to the ground. When it’s light, you can take the bean stalks home by oxcart and spread them out in the yard to dry. This way, you can harvest several more pounds of beans per acre.” Wen Peng said earnestly, “If you cut beans when the sun is out, the beans are more likely to fall to the ground.”
"So, Ji Yanjun came to our field in the middle of the night?" Wen Qing asked.
"Um."
"How does he know where our land is?" Wen Qing asked again.
Wen Peng stared wide-eyed at Wen Qing: "That's right, big sister, how did he know where our land is? Didn't you tell him?"
Wen Qing: "..."
“He even knows about the three mu of land!” Wen Peng said.
Wen Qing didn't say anything, but pulled Wen Peng towards the vegetable market.
Wen Peng continued, "At first, Mom wouldn't let him cut the beans, and she even scolded him. He just kept quiet and let her scold him. Then Mom pulled him to the edge of the field to talk. I didn't hear what Mom said, and neither did my second brother. Anyway, after he came back, Mom let him cut the beans."
"And then?" Wen Qing asked.
"Then, he rode his bicycle over late at night and cut beans until dawn, then rode off with his sickle," Wen Peng said with a grin. "He also brought candy and cake for my second brother and me, and told us to go back to sleep and not cut beans anymore."
Wen Qing remained silent upon hearing this. He had always been a responsible man. Even though she was so immature in his past life, he still kept his promise and married her. Now it seemed that "responsibility" was not always a good thing.
"Big sister, where are we going?" Wen Peng asked, pulling Wen Qing aside.
Wen Qing then realized that she had passed the market and said with a smile, "It's all your fault, why didn't you remind me?"
Wen Peng chuckled.
"Let's go buy groceries," Wen Qing said. "Don't tell Mom that I know Ji Yanjun helped us harvest beans, or I won't buy you anything to eat anymore."
“Okay, I promise I’ll keep it a secret!” Wen Peng said.
"Hmm." Wen Qing thought that perhaps Ji Yanjun felt guilty because his second uncle had risked his life to save him, so he wanted to do something for the Wen family, which was why his mother was willing to let him cut beans.
Wen Qing stopped thinking about it and took Wen Peng to the market. They bought chicken, fish, meat, and some vegetables, carrying their hands full, and returned to Aunt Xiao's tailor shop.
Aunt Xiao, Yao Shiling, and Bao Hong surrounded the soles and uppers of the shoes, trying to figure out how to make them fit together better.
"Wen Qing, why did you buy so many vegetables? It's such a waste!" Before Yao Shiling could speak, Aunt Xiao spoke first.
Wen Qing smiled and said, "It's nothing. It's not easy for everyone to have a meal together."
Aunt Xiao wanted to stand up and help.
Wen Qing quickly said, "You guys are busy, you guys are busy. I'll cook this meal today. I have to go back to school this afternoon, and I won't be at ease if the three of you can't make two pairs of shoes for me to see."
Aunt Xiao, Yao Shiling, and Bao Hong then refrained from stepping forward to help.
Wen Qing and Wen Peng carried the groceries into the backyard.
Wen Peng put down the dishes and said, "Big sister, second brother is home alone. We ate the meat, but he didn't get any."
Wen Qing smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll save some for him later and put it in a white porcelain jar. You can take it back for him to eat, and that will be fine."
"Okay." Wen Peng smiled.
In the backyard of Aunt Xiao's tailor shop, there was a wood-fired stove. After Wen Qing washed and chopped the ingredients, Wen Peng sat in front of the stove to burn firewood while Wen Qing cooked.
When the food was ready, Wen Qing came out from the backyard to check the shoes that Aunt Xiao, Yao Shiling, and Bao Hong had made. She gave them reasonable suggestions and demonstrated the shoes to them, and the three of them nodded in understanding.
"Okay, let's eat first, and then we'll continue cooking," Wen Qing said.
“Yes, let’s eat first.” Yao Shiling agreed and started clearing the table.
Wen Qing then invited the shoe repairman over, which moved both the shoe repairman and Bao Hong to tears. The main reason was that it wasn't easy to eat meat in this era. The shoe repairman kept telling Bao Hong that she must be diligent and do more work.
Wen Qing smiled and urged everyone to eat.
Wen Peng's mouth was covered in oil from eating.
Wen Qing served food to the group.
After the meal, Wen Qing washed the dishes and then kept watching Aunt Xiao, Yao Shiling, and Bao Hong, correcting their mistakes in a timely manner and repeatedly telling them that quality comes first and they must never take shortcuts. Only in this way will "Feng Qing's" path become wider and wider in the future.
It wasn't until 3 p.m. that Aunt Xiao, Yao Shiling, and Bao Hong finally made a pair of shoes that satisfied Wen Qing.
Wen Qing looked at them, nodded, and said, "Okay, let's do it this way. After making forty pairs of size 38 shoes, make five pairs of size 36, 37, and 39 shoes respectively. I'll come to pick up the forty pairs of size 38 shoes next Friday."
"Okay," Aunt Xiao said.
Wen Qing looked at Yao Shiling: "Mom, if you're busy, take the shoes home to make them. It's tiring to travel back and forth to the county town. After this batch of clothes and shoes is delivered, I'll buy a bicycle."
"It's alright. Running to the county town every day is nothing. Don't worry, once the shoes are made correctly, we'll know how to manage our time. We'll definitely be able to make forty pairs of shoes by Friday."
“That’s right,” Aunt Xiao chimed in. “We don’t need to sew the soles. Threading a needle on white leather soles is easy, so don’t worry.”
Wen Qing nodded, then said goodbye to the others, packed his things, and prepared to return to Nanzhou No. 1 Middle School.
Yao Shiling couldn't help but give a few more instructions, and Wen Qing nodded in agreement before stepping out of Aunt Xiao's tailor shop.
After leaving Aunt Xiao's tailor shop, she took a bus. After getting off, she didn't immediately return to Greenland Garden, but went to the sewing machine sales center to see how much a sewing machine cost.
Butterfly brand ones cost 180 yuan each, and Yangtze brand ones cost 150 yuan each.
Wen Qing visited several stores, including a fabric shop. The weather is getting colder and colder. Although there are two or three months of autumn, it can get cold very quickly. If winter clothes don't keep up, the "Feng Qing" brand will face a shortage of customers.
Thinking this, Wen Qing went to the fabric store and specially bought woolen fabric, khaki fabric, and corduroy fabric. Then she returned to Green Garden and started reading as soon as she got home, reviewing what she had learned in the week and previewing Monday's lessons.
In the evening, she was so hungry that she went downstairs to buy a bowl of noodles, which cost eight cents. She thought that if her mother knew that it cost eight cents for a bowl of noodles, her mother would definitely say that she was not thrifty.
With this in mind, Wen Qing planned to buy pots and pans, gas, and a bicycle after selling this batch of clothes, so as to improve her living conditions.
"Okay, it's decided then!" Wen Qing said, carrying a bowl of noodles upstairs, and began to envision the style of the woolen coat, intending to draw it out when it was quiet at night.
The next morning, I got up early to go to class.
As soon as I got to the classroom, I heard that there would be a monthly exam this week.
The most important thing during student days is all kinds of exams. As soon as this news came out, it made many people uneasy. Even during morning self-study, everyone listened attentively to many of the morning classes.
Ji Ningzhi stopped flaunting her wealth and beauty and instead buried herself in her studies, bought study materials from Xinhua Bookstore, and asked questions of her classmates who had good grades.
Ji Ningzhi wasn't that serious. You know, everyone paid a lot of tuition fees, yes, a lot. Everyone paid a lot of tuition fees to go to school. What would it mean if their grades weren't good?
Wen Qing would leave as usual after class, and would not be seen during evening self-study.
Everyone speculated that Wen Qing might have reverted to his old ways, started going astray again, and returned to his ignorant and incompetent ways.
While reading attentively, Ji Ningzhi and Xu Shanshan couldn't resist making a few sarcastic remarks about Wen Qing.
Xu Shanshan: "A top student, huh? I wonder how many points she can get on this monthly exam?"
Ji Ningzhi smiled dismissively: "She might even get first place in the entire liberal arts class."
"Impossible!" Xu Shanshan said firmly, "She didn't work as hard as you, how could she be number one? Besides, didn't you almost get full marks on the mock exams? Maybe you're actually the number one in the entire humanities class."
"How could that be?" Ji Ningzhi said with a grin, secretly pleased with herself, eagerly awaiting the exam.
Wen Qing didn't take the exam very seriously. Her purpose in going to school was to learn knowledge, not to pass exams. So, she reviewed the previous day's material as usual and previewed the next day's. Then, she focused most of her energy on making clothes.
Two days before Friday, Zhang Xiuying and others had already urged Wen Qing twice. What was supposed to be twenty sets of clothes had now become fifty.
Wen Qing then stated that fifty sets of clothes were no problem, but there were only twenty pairs of shoes.
Zhang Xiuying agreed.
On Wednesday, Wen Qing drew designs for early winter and late winter coats, cotton-padded jackets, and overcoats.
The coat is made of corduroy fabric, which is thick and provides good warmth.
The cotton-lined cover is made of polyester, and the inside is naturally cotton.
The overcoat is made of woolen fabric, shaped and fixed, and provides wind protection and warmth.
Wen Qing originally planned to draw the pants design that night, but since the exam was the next day, she wanted to review the textbook content again, so she put the pants aside for the time being.
The next morning, the second-year students of Nanzhou No.1 Middle School began their exams.
The exams are in Chinese and Politics on Thursday morning, and Mathematics and History in the afternoon.
We have English and Geography exams on Friday morning, and the afternoon is a holiday.
Although Wen Qing didn't prepare specifically for the monthly exam, she gave it her all during those two days. She focused entirely on the exam.
On Friday morning, as she was heading to her exam with her pencil case, Zhang Xiuying arrived again.
"Wenqing, you have to promise Sister Zhang that you'll give me fifty sets of clothes today, okay?" Zhang Xiuying said.
"Okay, okay," Wen Qing said. "Don't block my way. Let me go to the exam first. Two o'clock this afternoon. I promise to deliver fifty sets of clothes and twenty pairs of shoes to your shop at two o'clock this afternoon, okay?"
"Okay, I believe you." Zhang Xiuying said with a smile, "Do your best in the exam and strive to be number one in the whole school."
"Thank you, I'll do my best." With that, Wen Qing hurriedly left.
Wen Qing entered the examination room just in time. She started with the English exam, and after that, she took the physics exam.
During the physics exam, the classroom was as quiet as the previous five sessions. Occasionally, you could hear a student tapping the desk with a ballpoint pen instead of using scratch paper.
Half an hour into the exam, Wen Qing's chair made a soft creaking sound, and everyone's eyes turned to her.
Because Wen Qing handed in her paper!
The exam is over!
Half an hour!
While the students were amazed by Wen Qing's speed in solving the problems, Ji Ningzhi said disdainfully, "Either it's a blank paper or he's just guessing. What's so special about submitting the paper early?"
The students felt this made perfect sense; doing well on the test was the most important thing, so they all lowered their heads and continued working on their test papers.
Wen Qing handed in her test paper, tiptoed through the aisles between the classrooms, and started running as soon as she left the school gate.
It's 10:50 a.m. She has to go back to the county town to get forty pairs of shoes, and then go to Tangquan Garment Factory to get two hundred sets of clothes. If she can't carry two hundred sets, she can take one hundred sets first.
Thinking this, Wen Qing practically ran all the way to the bus stop. After getting on the bus, she arrived in the county town in about half an hour and headed straight for Aunt Xiao's tailor shop.
Inside Aunt Xiao's tailor shop, Aunt Xiao, Yao Shiling, and Bao Hong were still making shoes. Wen Qing didn't have time to greet them and went straight to ask, "Have the forty pairs of shoes come out yet?"
"They're out, they're out. Fifty pairs have come out," Aunt Xiao said with a smile.
Wen Qing didn't ask why there were so many, but said, "Pack them all up, twenty-five yuan a pack, I'll take them with me. Aunt Xiao, you can take them with you, there's too much stuff, I can't carry it all."
"Okay." Seeing that Wen Qing was in a hurry, Aunt Xiao went to change her clothes and put on a pair of comfortable cloth shoes. Then she picked up a bag of shoes and followed Wen Qing.
"Wen Qing," Yao Shiling called out.
Wen Qing turned around and said, "Mom, we're in a bit of a rush. I have to keep my promise to others. If there's anything else, I'll talk to you after the goods are delivered."
"Okay, okay, take it easy. Come home for dinner this weekend," Yao Shiling called out, leaning against the doorframe.
"Okay, I understand."
Wen Qing and Aunt Xiao each carried twenty-five pairs of shoes onto the bus. Wen Qing realized that in her previous life, she lived with Ji Yanjun, and she never realized how capable she was. In this life, she discovered that she could eat a lot and had a lot of strength, carrying twenty-five pairs of shoes as if it were effortless.
"Wen Qing, there are still a hundred sets of clothes, right? Can we carry them all?" Aunt Xiao asked.
Wen Qing said, "When we get to the city, we'll rent a bicycle, put all our things on it, and push it to the pedestrian street."
"You have to deposit 30 yuan to rent a bicycle, and pay 1 yuan for the rental fee." Aunt Xiao felt that 1 yuan per use of a bicycle was too expensive.
Wen Qing smiled and said, "It's alright."
More than half an hour later, Wen Qing and Aunt Xiao got off the bus, went to a bike rental shop to rent a Forever brand bicycle, filled out the forms, paid the money, and then put fifty pairs of shoes on the front bar of the bicycle.
Wen Qing pushed the bicycle and said, "Aunt Xiao, after I start riding, you can sit on the back seat."
"You can ride a bicycle?" Aunt Xiao asked in surprise.
"Yes." She can ride a bicycle. Ji Yanjun taught her by hand. Ji Ningzhi fell several times while learning to ride a bicycle, but she never fell once. Every time she was about to fall, Ji Yanjun would quickly run to her side and catch her, both the bicycle and herself.
"Wen Qing, you're really amazing," Aunt Xiao said.
Wen Qing had already mounted his bicycle, an old-fashioned, heavy Forever brand bicycle with a high frame. As Wen Qing pedaled up, the handlebars wobbled wildly. When Aunt Xiao suddenly jumped onto the back seat, the bicycle almost lost its balance and she was about to fall, but fortunately Wen Qing held on and pedaled away.
One of the great advantages of the Forever brand bicycle with a front bar is that it is easy to ride and fast.
Soon after, they arrived at Tangquan Garment Factory.
Tang Quan wasn't here today, but Master Zhu was. Wen Qing inspected two hundred sets of clothes, which were very meticulously made. She immediately took out one hundred yuan as a labor fee for Master Zhu, who declined, but Wen Qing insisted on giving it to him. Then she tied the two hundred sets of clothes to the back seat of the car.
With clothes tied to the back seat, there was no way to live properly. Wen Qing pushed the bicycle, while Aunt Xiao supported it from behind.
Master Zhu said, "Wen Qing, you should come to pick up your clothes this afternoon. Boss Tang said he'll drive you back this afternoon."
Wen Qing smiled and said, "No need to trouble Uncle Tang. I can handle this myself. Goodbye, Master Zhu."
"Goodbye." Master Zhu watched Wen Qing's retreating figure, thinking to himself that she was truly a good girl, and whoever married her would be blessed. He then looked back to see if any of his relatives were suitable and offered to act as a matchmaker for the girl.
After leaving Tangquan Garment Factory, Wen Qing and Aunt Xiao headed straight for Nanzhou Pedestrian Street.
Wen Qing pushed her bicycle quickly, and Aunt Xiao followed suit.
Aunt Xiao asked, "Wen Qing, their family wants fifty sets. If we send two hundred sets over, will they sell?"
Wen Qing smiled and said, "Don't worry, we'll sell them. If we can't, we'll just bring them back."
"Um."
Wen Qing and Aunt Xiao walked quickly, and after about forty minutes, they finally arrived at the pedestrian street.
"It's almost two o'clock, Wen Qing. Where is Zhang Xiuying's shop?" Aunt Xiao asked.
Wen Qing said, "This is the place. Just around the corner is the main entrance."
"We've finally arrived." Aunt Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.
Wen Qing pushed her bicycle and had just turned a corner when she saw that Zhang Xiuying's shop was packed with people.
Aunt Xiao asked in confusion, "Is her business so good?"
“It wasn’t this good last time,” Wen Qing said.
As soon as Wen Qing finished speaking, Zhang Xiuying's voice came over: "Wen Qing! Oh dear, the clothes are here, they're here, they're finally here!"
Before Zhang Xiuying finished speaking, a group of people poured out of the store and rushed towards Wen Qing.
Wen Qing and Aunt Xiao were both startled.
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