"Winning the championship is not easy," Yao Shiling said.
"Okay." Wen Qing nodded. "But I'll do my best. What if I end up taking it?"
“Okay, Mom supports you,” Yao Shiling said.
Wen Peng patted his chest and shouted, "Go, big sister! As an outstanding Young Pioneer from our school, I unconditionally support you!"
Wen Qing laughed and patted Wen Peng's head: "Thanks."
The family chatted and laughed, and half an hour later they arrived at Shuiwan Village. When they returned to their own yard, Aunt Wang, Sister Zhou, and others were making shoes in the yard. They even put the grass in the cow trough in the cowshed on the ground.
Yao Shiling and Wen Qing exchanged a glance and smiled.
Then Wen Qing went to her room to pack her luggage. She had to go to class tomorrow and had to go back to the city tonight, otherwise she would miss the morning self-study session. She usually didn't attend evening self-study sessions, but she couldn't miss the morning self-study session.
Before leaving, Wen Qing told everyone about making shoes.
Five people are definitely not enough; we need to invite five more. Aunt Wang will decide on this. If the yard gets too crowded with too many people, we can use her second uncle's yard.
Aunt Wang was immediately excited, feeling like she was a team leader during the Great Production Campaign, her status suddenly changed, and her responsibilities became greater.
In addition, we need to make white-soled shoes and corduroy shoes, both urgently. We'll have Yao Shiling and Aunt Wang manage this. If they make a lot and sell well, there will be a reward. Also, next Friday is National Day, although there's no such thing as a "National Day Golden Week" or a "National Day long holiday" back then. But it's normal to have a day or two off to celebrate National Day. Since it's a celebration, Wen Qing will also give out some benefits in the village as a way of celebrating, provided that they make a lot of shoes quickly.
Aunt Wang got excited again, patting her chest and guaranteeing that there would be absolutely no problem.
Wen Qing then picked up her backpack and prepared to leave.
Aunt Wang, Sister Zhou, and others brought Wen Qing homemade pickled vegetables, soybean paste, and corn kernels fried with saccharin.
"Wen Qing, take this. I heard that you students have a tough time. The food in the cafeteria is cheap and has little oil, and even water costs money, right? This cabbage is something I pickled in the winter and kept in the cellar. I put chili peppers in it, and it tastes great with steamed buns. Here you go."
"I stir-fried this soybean paste."
"There's also corn fried with saccharin, which we eat for fun when we're bored."
"..."
Wen Qing knew that the entire Shuiwan Village was struggling to make ends meet. The fact that she could bring out these things was enough to prove that everyone's opinion of her had changed. Wen Qing was happy, but she wouldn't take them. She knew that these seemingly insignificant things were precious in this era.
Wen Qing naturally didn't take it, and said with a smile, "I can't eat this much by myself, and it won't taste good if it's left for too long, right?"
"Bring your classmate along to eat," Aunt Wang said.
Wen Qing laughed and deliberately said, "No, that won't do. I can't bear to share such precious food with the other classmates. How about this, you keep it, and when I come back next Friday, if I want to eat it, I'll go to your house and ask for it. Will you give it to me?"
"Give us some, give us some, of course we'll give you some," Aunt Wang, Sister Zhou, and the others said repeatedly, which prevented them from forcing food on Wen Qing.
Wen Qing and Yao Shiling then left the courtyard. Yao Shiling usually took Wen Qing to the main road.
Before the two even reached the main dirt road, Big Knife's mother came over with two duck eggs.
"Sister-in-law Wen, sister-in-law Wen!" Big Knife's mother came running over, panting, her face flushed. There were slight sweat stains on the duck eggshell, as if she had been holding it in her hand for a long time. She herself had probably been lingering in Wen Qing's yard for quite some time.
"Big Knife Mom, what's up?" Yao Shiling asked.
Big Knife Mom looked embarrassed and glanced timidly at Wen Qing. Wen Qing already had a bad reputation in the village; she was known for being aggressive, disruptive, and prone to tantrums. Her second uncle had also been to prison. Most people in the village were afraid of Wen Qing, including Big Knife Mom. She had heard that Wen Qing had tempered her temper, but she was still a little afraid of her. She forced a smile and asked, "Wen...Wen Qing, are you going to school?"
"Yes." Wen Qing nodded and asked with a smile, "Auntie, is there anything I can help you with?"
Wen Qing smiled at her, smiled at her… Da Dao’s mother’s heart surged instantly. That day, she covered Da Dao’s mouth, locked Da Dao in the pigsty, and prevented Da Dao from testifying for Wen Peng. If it were according to Wen Qing’s previous temperament, Wen Qing should have kicked open her door, held a kitchen knife to her neck, and made her tell the truth. But instead, Wen Qing smiled at her.
"Big Knife Mom, what's wrong?" Yao Shiling asked, puzzled.
Wen Qing, however, saw through her thoughts.
“Sister-in-law Wen, Wen Qing…” Da Dao’s mother hesitated, then finally said, “That day, Da Dao did indeed go collecting monkey shells with Peng Peng. I… Da Dao’s father is the only man in his family, and he’s a weak-willed man. If we offend Aunt Wang, our family will never have a good life again…”
"It's alright," Wen Qing said with a smile. "Auntie, it's all over now."
It's all over?
Big Knife Mom stared at Wen Qing in surprise. Wen Qing actually said it was nothing and didn't scold her. Wen Qing was really different.
Yao Shiling said with a smile, "Look, Wen Qing said everything is fine now." Wen Qing is now the head of the Wen family.
"But I..." Big Knife Mom felt really guilty.
Wen Qing smiled and said, "We're all neighbors, we see each other every day, how can we not have some disagreements? After we reconcile, we can live together peacefully, help each other, and that's all that matters."
Wen Qing's words left Da Dao's mother speechless. She was happy but couldn't laugh. Her limited vocabulary left her unsure how to respond. She awkwardly rubbed her palms against her pants to wipe away the sweat and ease her tense nerves. She smiled and said, "Knowledgeable people are different. Wen Qing speaks in a refined and elegant way, but it sounds nice."
Wen Qing and Yao Shiling couldn't help but laugh.
Big Knife Mom laughed along, but her laughter looked extremely unnatural.
Finally, Wen Qing got to the point that Da Dao's mother had come for: "Auntie, you can make shoes too, right?"
Big Knife Mom stiffened, then quickly nodded, "Mmm."
Wen Qing smiled and said, "I happen to be short-handed here. Do you know if you can help out when you have time? You can make shoes for me with Aunt Wang and the others. I'll still pay you twenty yuan a month."
Da Dao Ma felt as if a hundred yuan had floated down from the sky. She stood still and the money floated into her palm. Moreover, Wen Qing said "help me out." She felt guilty, happy, and grateful all at the same time. Her previous prejudice against Wen Qing was swept away. At this moment, she couldn't wait to put all her strength into making shoes.
Big Knife Mom almost immediately agreed: "Yes, yes, yes, I can."
Wen Qing smiled and said, "Okay, my mom will tell Aunt Wang when she gets back."
"Oh, oh, oh!" Big Knife Mom was overjoyed, her heart churning with various emotions. She was so excited that after a while she remembered the two duck eggs in her hand. She quickly handed the duck eggs that she had been holding for a long time to Wen Qing and said, "These are two eggs laid by my ducks. You can take them and eat them. Studying requires brainpower, so eat more good food."
"No, no, no, Auntie, I can't accept it," Wen Qing declined.
"Take it, take it." Afraid that Wen Qing would give the duck egg back to her, Da Dao's mother pushed and shoved for a while to make sure that Wen Qing had a firm grip on the duck egg. She then ran away and turned back to say, "Wen Qing, you can take it and eat it, take it and eat it."
Wen Qing held the two warm duck eggs, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Yao Shiling didn't know what to say.
"Mom, give the duck eggs back to Da Dao's mom in a bit." Wen Qing handed two duck eggs to Yao Shiling.
"You don't want it?" Yao Shiling asked.
Wen Qing pulled Yao Shiling toward the dirt road and said, "Didn't you hear what Pengpeng said? She said that Da Dao's mom is afraid the ducks will lose their eggs, so the first thing she does every morning when she wakes up is to catch the ducks and feel their bottoms. If she can't feel the shape of an egg, she lets the ducks out of the yard. If she can feel the shape of an egg, she covers the ducks with a chicken coop until they lay the egg before letting them out. Da Dao's mom values the duck eggs so much that I feel embarrassed to take them."
Yao Shiling nodded upon hearing this: "Then I'll return it to her when I get back."
"Um."
Yao Shiling asked again, "Wen Qing, why did you ask Aunt Da Dao to make shoes for us? Speaking of which, she really hurt Wen Peng's feelings last time. I don't understand why you didn't use those five tailors yesterday, but you would ask Aunt Da Dao today."
Wen Qing smiled and said, "Those five tailors are different from Big Knife Mom. Although Big Knife Mom only came to apologize because we became capable, she has always felt remorse. When Pengpeng went to her house, she was exceptionally kind to Pengpeng. The reason she hasn't come to our house to apologize is probably because she's afraid I'll take a knife and chop her."
Cut her with a knife...
Yao Shiling's lips twitched involuntarily.
Wen Qing continued, "Moreover, Da Dao's mother's starting point was for her family. Back then, when Aunt Wang bullied our family, it wasn't just Da Dao's mother's family that didn't step in to help. In general, Da Dao's mother is timid, afraid of trouble, and protective of her family, but she's not a bad person at heart. She's also a skilled shoemaker. It's always better to have more help than more enemies, isn't it?"
Yao Shiling nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.
"Most importantly, I want everyone in our Shuiwan Village to become rich, to build tiled houses, bungalows, and multi-story houses, to have electricity, telephones, and to buy televisions, refrigerators, and washing machines," Wen Qing said with a smile.
Wen Qing's words stunned Yao Shiling. Building tiled houses, bungalows, and multi-story buildings, installing electricity, telephones, buying televisions, refrigerators, washing machines... how much would that cost? Yao Shiling said directly, "How is that possible?"
Wen Qing smiled and said, "Mom, trust me, it will be quick."
Yao Shiling took Wen Qing's youthful arrogance as the reason and did not discourage her ambition, saying, "Okay, Mom believes in you."
"Thank you, Mom."
As they spoke, the mother and daughter walked onto the dirt road. Yao Shiling told Wen Qing as usual, "Eat well, drink well, sleep well, control your temper, and don't cause trouble."
Wen Qing smiled and agreed, then stepped onto the straight dirt road.
As usual, Yao Shiling watched Wen Qing walk away from the intersection of Datu Road, calling out from time to time, "Wen Qing, walk on the right side of the road and watch out for cars."
Wen Qing turned around and called out, "Okay, I understand." Actually, there were at most oxcarts and bicycles on the road, so it wouldn't matter if she bumped into one, but she obediently walked on the right.
"Wen Qing, walk properly and don't get distracted!" Yao Shiling called out again.
"Okay, Mom, I understand. You can go back now." Wen Qing turned around and waved to Yao Shiling from afar.
Yao Shiling stood at the crossroads until Wen Qing was out of sight. She remained standing there for a while, and when she saw someone from the neighboring village riding a bicycle back, she hurriedly asked, "Brother, did you see a little girl when you came back?"
“I saw it,” the man said.
Where did she go?
We'll be in the county town soon.
"Oh, thank you, thank you." Yao Shiling felt relieved and walked towards the village. Not long after she arrived, it started to rain. Yao Shiling was worried that Wen Qing would get wet in the rain again, so she wanted to bring him an umbrella. However, Aunt Wang and Sister Zhou persuaded her that Wen Qing must have arrived in the county town long ago, so she did not go to bring him the umbrella.
Just then, Wen Qing reached the end of the dirt road. It started to rain heavily, and just as she was about to run, she heard someone calling her. She turned around and saw Ji Yousheng.
"Wen Qing, Wen Qing." Ji Yousheng came over with an umbrella and asked, "Wen Qing, why didn't you bring an umbrella?" He handed the umbrella to Wen Qing, as he had also brought an umbrella to pick up Liang Wenhua at the market.
"No need. Thank you, Mr. Ji." Wen Qing refused the umbrella directly.
"Wen Qing, Yan Jun hasn't settled down yet on the coast, so I haven't been able to contact him. Once I do..."
“Mr. Ji,” Wen Qing interrupted, “you don’t need to take what my second uncle said seriously, but please take what I said that day seriously. The rain is getting heavier, I’m leaving.” With that, Wen Qing ran to Feng Qing Clothing Store.
Ji Yousheng paused for a moment, sighed, and wondered where Yanjun had gone. Why hadn't he called home yet? Ji Yousheng walked toward the market with a worried look on his face.
When Wen Qing arrived at Feng Qing Clothing Store, the store was already in operation. Fifteen tailors were working there: five were making plain trousers, five were making polyester white shirts, and five were making khaki high-waisted trousers with front slits. The distribution of work was even and reasonable.
Aunt Xiao was calculating the fabric quantities in front of the cloth, while Bao Hong was hanging clothes and greeting customers in another open storefront.
"Aunt Xiao," Wen Qing called out.
Aunt Xiao and Bao Hong quickly came to greet them.
"Is it raining outside?" Aunt Xiao asked.
Bao Hong quickly went to get a towel for Wen Qing to wipe the water off her head.
"Hmm, it was a small amount, not much." Wen Qing took the towel Bao Hong handed her, wiping the water droplets off her body, and asked, "Aunt Xiao, what are you doing?"
Aunt Xiao handed the notebook to Wen Qing: "Wen Qing, this is the fabric we have left. I just calculated that, based on our daily usage, we only have enough fabric for Wednesday."
Wen Qing took the notebook and looked at it. It was indeed true. Then she said, "Then let's buy more. Didn't the fabric store we bought from before say that if we bought a lot, they would give us a 50% discount?"
“But they said it had to be over 500 yuan,” Aunt Xiao said.
Wen Qing immediately took out six hundred yuan and said, "I'll buy six hundred yuan's worth."
Aunt Xiao was startled: "Really buying it?"
“Yeah. I’ll keep using it anyway,” Wen Qing said.
In the past, Aunt Xiao would have advised Wen Qing not to buy so much, but this time, Wen Qing's khaki high-waisted pants sold so well, which she had personally witnessed, so she bought them without any worries.
After receiving the money, Aunt Xiao planned to make a call soon to have the fabric delivered. Then, speaking as a friend, she asked Wen Qing, "Wen Qing, you've probably spent most of your money, haven't you?"
Wen Qing laughed: "Money is earned to be spent."
"Do you have your living expenses this week? If not, I have some here." As she spoke, Aunt Xiao reached for her own money, but Wen Qing quickly stopped her: "I have some, I have some."
"Really?"
Yes, there is.
Aunt Xiao then stopped insisting and told Wen Qing that five or six tailors had come to apply for the job earlier. Wen Qing gave her advice and then told Aunt Xiao to make her own decision, emphasizing that good character and excellent clothing were the two most important factors.
Aunt Xiao nodded.
After saying a few words, Wen Qing took the bus to the four-way intersection. Bao Hong chuckled and said she would take Wen Qing to the four-way intersection.
When Bao Hong returned, she looked incredulous.
Aunt Xiao asked, "Baohong, what's wrong?"
Bao Hong looked up at Aunt Xiao and said, "Aunt Xiao, do you know? Sister Wen Qing said that 'Aunt Xiao's tailor shop is going to close down.' She's the one who spread the news."
Aunt Xiao was taken aback.
“It was actually Sister Wenqing who sent it,” Bao Hong said.
Aunt Xiao immediately realized what was going on and couldn't help but give Wen Qing a thumbs up. Now the whole transformation incident was explained. No wonder Wen Qing had been so calm and composed from beginning to end; it turned out she knew everything.
Aunt Xiao was secretly amazed. This successful transformation was not only due to Wen Qing's ability, but also her skill in utilizing all the negative comments directed at her. For example, the grand opening of Fengqing Garment Factory by Tang Quan successfully reversed the negative impact of the Ji family incident. Now, when people in Wangcheng County mention Wen Qing, they talk about how capable she is, and naturally, they talk about how despicable the Ji family is.
It can be said that Wen Qing, without uttering a single word, spoke through her actions and facts, making the people of Wangcheng County look at her in a new light.
There was also the suppression of the tailor shop across the street...
Aunt Xiao looked at the tailor shop across the street, a place usually frequented only by the elderly, and found it deserted. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Wen Qing is amazing!"
"Huh?" Bao Hong asked.
Aunt Xiao turned her head and said seriously, "Baohong, don't talk about Wenqing's matter. Only the two of us know. She is doing this for our own good. Without Wenqing, we wouldn't even be able to eat."
"Okay, I understand." Bao Hong was taken aback by Aunt Xiao's seriousness.
At this moment, Wen Qing had already boarded the bus. Because of the rain, the bus was moving a little slower.
Wen Qing turned to look at the car window, which was covered in raindrops. It was raining. With each layer of autumn rain came a layer of coolness. In the next couple of days, everyone should put away their summer clothes. At least short-sleeved clothes would be put away, half-sleeved clothes might have to wait, and long-sleeved clothes would have to wait until the middle of next month.
In other words, no one will likely buy short-sleeved clothing anymore.
Few people buy short-sleeved shirts.
Therefore, Zhang Fangfang's tailor shop will have an unprecedentedly bad business, because the two main outfits in Zhang Fangfang's shop are summer styles that she made for Tang Quan Garment Factory.
It is now autumn, and winter will soon follow.
On the other hand, Wen Qing thought about it and realized that she should speed up the production process. How could she produce the work faster?
With that thought in mind, Wen Qing arrived at the city bus station.
As soon as the car door opened, raindrops flew into the car.
"The final stop has arrived! The final stop has arrived! Everyone get off!" the ticket seller shouted.
Wen Qing got off the bus, opened her umbrella, and braved the rain and cool wind to quickly leave the bus stop and head straight for Greenland Garden. Once inside, she went up to the second floor and saw the landlord standing at the door.
Wen Qing was taken aback, then smiled and said, "Landlord, what brings you here?"
The landlord looked embarrassed, clutching the banknotes in his hand, and said with a forced laugh, "Wen Qing, you're back."
Wen Qing glanced at the money in the landlord's hand, which was about twenty yuan. She rented the house for eight yuan a month, and paid a deposit of one month's rent plus three months' rent in advance, so she paid thirty-two yuan. She had lived there for about a month and a half, and according to the number of days, her rent was twelve yuan as of today. So if the landlord wanted to refund her money, he would have to refund twenty yuan.
Could it be that the landlord came to ask her to move out?
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