Half a minute later, Cao Laoliu released Zhou Jiaxiang's hand, nodded to Liang Xiaobao, and said, "I think he's alright. With proper guidance, he should be able to amount to something."
"Alright! Brother Cao, I might not be able to come over for a while. As for this kid's share..."
Before Liang Xiaobao could finish speaking, Cao Laoliu's expression changed.
Cao Laoliu glared and cursed, "Liang Xiaobao, aren't you going to work with me and bring people here to make fun of me? He's a greenhorn who can't do anything. I have to spend a lot of effort training him. When the profits are made, it'll be in your name. You'll be so happy!"
"Sixth Brother, don't be angry. I didn't say I wouldn't work for you. I'm just coming a month or two later," Liang Xiaobao said with an embarrassed smile.
"There are plenty of people who want to live a life of luxury with me. Take it or leave it," Cao Laoliu said arrogantly.
"Sixth Brother, I'll do it as soon as possible. You know, Brother He has always valued me highly. If I leave immediately, Brother He will definitely be unhappy, and he might even take his anger out on you, Brother Cao!" Liang Xiaobao said, looking like he was thinking of Cao Laoliu.
"Alright, I'll wait for you for a month at most. If you don't come in a month, you don't need to come anymore," Cao Laoliu said irritably.
"I understand, Brother Cao. Don't worry, I'll definitely have everything handed over properly within a month," Liang Xiaobao assured him, patting his chest.
"Take your henchmen and get lost, don't delay my fortune-making." Only then did a smile appear on Cao Laoliu's face.
After jokingly cursing, Cao Laoliu turned around and tried to squeeze back into the crowd.
"Brother Cao, wait a minute." Liang Xiaobao grabbed Cao Laoliu's arm.
"What else do you want?" Cao Laoliu asked impatiently.
"I'll take this little brother of mine to your house later. Could you teach him a thing or two when you have some free time?" Liang Xiaobao asked with a beaming smile.
"It's 1:30 in the afternoon, don't be late." Cao Laoliu waved his hand, and before Liang Xiaobao could speak, he plunged back into the crowd.
Zhou Jiaxiang blinked.
He couldn't understand much of what Liang Xiaobao and Cao Laoliu were saying.
The more Zhou Jiaxiang listened to what Brother He was talking about, the more confused he became.
Zhou Jiaxiang only understood one sentence: Cao Laoliu asked Liang Xiaobao to take him to his house at 1:30 pm, and Cao Laoliu was going to teach him some skills.
Once you learn the skill, you'll be able to enjoy delicious fried dough sticks, right?
Zhou Jiaxiang couldn't help but stick out his tongue and lick his lips.
"Kid, got it? That Brother Cao from earlier is our boss from now on. You'd better work hard for him from now on," Liang Xiaobao said, patting Zhou Jiaxiang on the shoulder.
Zhou Jiaxiang nodded.
Cao Laoliu said that following him would mean a life of luxury, and Zhou Jiaxiang wanted the same.
"Let's go! It's still early, I'll take you to get some fried dough sticks." Liang Xiaobao patted Zhou Jiaxiang and started walking forward.
Liang Xiaobao was afraid that Zhou Jiaxiang would run away.
There aren't many children in town who don't go to school. The few that were there before, Cao Laoliu took them all away.
Cao Laoliu just said that Zhou Jiaxiang is a "good prospect". Liang Xiaobao plans to win Zhou Jiaxiang over so that Zhou Jiaxiang will be willing to "make money" for him in the future.
Besides, fried dough sticks aren't expensive.
One fried dough stick costs three cents, two cost five cents.
Liang Xiaobao himself was also a little tempted.
"Brother, can you treat me to some wontons?" Zhou Jiaxiang asked, following behind Liang Xiaobao.
A bowl of wontons costs two cents and contains meat.
Zhou Jiaxiang hasn't eaten meat for over a month.
There was nothing they could do; Ding Ermei was stingy and couldn't bear to buy meat. She was hoping that Zhao Zhenzhu's family would send meat so that the Zhou family could have a proper feast.
The Zhao family's money didn't come from thin air.
Since Zhao Qingshan and his son learned two months ago that Zhao Zhenzhu was sharing the food sent from her parents' home with her husband's family, they have been sending meat much less often. This month, they haven't sent any at all, and have instead invited Zhao Zhenzhu and her son to go back to her parents' home to eat.
Zhou Jiaxiang waited and waited, but more than a month had passed and he still hadn't tasted any meat.
Since Liang Xiaobao was willing to treat everyone, Zhou Jiaxiang naturally wanted to eat something good.
"Kid, don't push your luck. A bowl of wontons costs two cents, which can buy six, seven, no, it seems like eight fried dough sticks. Never mind, it doesn't matter how many fried dough sticks two cents can buy, I'm only treating you to one fried dough stick today."
Liang Xiaobao is bad at math; the more he tries to do math, the more confused he becomes.
He wasn't sure if he had calculated it correctly, but anyway, he couldn't bear to spend two cents to treat Zhou Jiaxiang to wontons.
"Okay, brother." Zhou Jiaxiang didn't dare to murmur anymore, afraid that if he said a few more words, Liang Xiaobao wouldn't even offer him a fried dough stick.
Supply and marketing cooperative, cloth selling counter.
Liang Xiaohe and Zhang Mei stood behind the counter, their faces clouded with worry.
Today was really unlucky. Market days are usually busier than usual, and today they even brought in a few bolts of defective cloth that didn't require ration coupons. It's like they're trying to exhaust both of them to the point of exhaustion!
Outside the counter, crowds surged, but inside, Liang Xiaohe and Zhang Mei moved slowly.
"Comrade, could you please hurry? There are too many people here, it's so uncomfortable being squeezed like this," an elderly woman urged, as she was being jostled around by the crowd.
"If you're uncomfortable being squeezed, don't come and join the fun! Do I need you to teach me how to do things? Who do you think you are?" Liang Xiaohe slammed the scissors in her hand on the counter with a "smack" and said with a fierce look.
Liang Xiaohe's temper tantrums depend on the person she's dealing with.
If it were a cadre wearing a Zhongshan suit, Liang Xiaohe would definitely agree and then speed up.
The old woman's clothes were neither new nor old, and had two patches on them. Coupled with the fact that she was a complete stranger, Liang Xiaohe concluded that she was just an elderly woman from the countryside who had come to the market.
Liang Xiaohe, a saleswoman at a supply and marketing cooperative, was certainly not convinced that she had been "lectured" by an old woman from the countryside.
"Auntie, didn't you see we've been busy until now? We're so tired we can barely lift our hands, and you're still urging us to hurry up? Even Zhou Bapi wouldn't treat people like this," Zhang Mei said sarcastically from the side.
"Comrades, I didn't order you around. I just asked if you could hurry up a bit. I've been standing here for ten minutes, and the two of you have only managed to tear off two pieces of cloth," the old woman said with a forced smile.
"So what if you tear off two pieces of cloth in ten minutes? Normally, we can't even tear off two pieces of cloth in a whole day." Liang Xiaohe rolled her eyes at the old lady.
"Comrades, there are so many people waiting today, it's different from usual. Usually, when no one is buying, you can sit behind the counter and sleep all day, and no one will rush you!" The old lady said in a very serious tone, perhaps because she was stubborn.
Except for the month before the Lunar New Year, the cloth sales counter at the supply and marketing cooperative is usually deserted.
The sales clerks spend their days chatting or knitting; they have plenty of free time.
Today, the crowd was so large because they happened to be selling defective fabric that didn't require ration coupons.
"This is our speed, we can't go any faster. If you want to wait, then wait. If you can't wait, then don't buy it." Zhang Mei was also annoyed. She rolled her eyes at the old lady and said irritably.
"What kind of attitude is this?!" The old woman's voice trembled with anger.
The old lady didn't understand. She had only urged them on, so why were these two sales clerks so fierce?
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