"Pearl, are you slapping your aunt in the face? You're just using the kitchen, and I'm going to charge you rent? What kind of person do you take me for?" Aunt Zhang said unhappily.
"Auntie, I misspoke. It's not rent, it's money for the seasonings and firewood. You buy your oil, salt, soy sauce, and all that stuff! If you don't charge me, I'm afraid I won't dare to use it freely," Zhao Zhenzhu explained with a smile.
“The firewood was cut by family members on the mountain, it didn’t cost any money, and the oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar didn’t cost much either. You can use the pearls as you like. You used to make clothes for me without charging me, shouldn’t I charge you for that?” Aunt Zhang’s face finally broke into a smile.
"Then... Auntie, you must accept this packet of brown sugar." Zhao Zhenzhu handed the brown sugar she had prepared beforehand to Aunt Zhang.
"Pearl, I'll accept it this time, but don't be so polite next time. We're already on good terms, and you're being so calculating with me, it makes me lose face," Aunt Zhang muttered.
“Just this once. If I need to use your kitchen again in the future, I won’t give you anything,” Zhao Zhenzhu said.
"That's more like it!" Aunt Zhang was finally satisfied.
Social interactions involve you asking me for favors and I asking you for favors. The more you do this, the better the relationship becomes.
Aunt Zhang was hoping that Zhao Zhenzhu would bother her often!
Lunch was in an hour and a half. Zhao Zhenzhu didn't want to make anything too time-consuming, so she spent two or three minutes making two bowls of sweet egg soup.
Zhao Zhenzhu brought a bowl to Zhou Bingchen before sitting down to eat her own.
"Pearl, your Bingchen is so lucky," Aunt Zhang said enviously.
Aunt Zhang saw it.
The bowl that Zhao Zhenzhu just served to Zhou Bingchen had three eggs in it. The bowl that Zhao Zhenzhu ate herself only had one egg.
Aunt Zhang was filled with mixed emotions.
Over the years, Zhao Zhenzhu's love for Zhou Bingchen has never changed. She would save the best food for him and take on any chores she could.
Fortunately, Zhao Zhenzhu didn't know what Aunt Zhang was thinking. If she had, she would definitely have explained it loudly.
She wanted to save room for a good lunch! It wasn't because she felt sorry for Zhou Bingchen.
The lunch included a chicken and a bag of peeled chestnut kernels.
Zhao Zhenzhu didn't eat a single bite of the chicken stew that Ding Ermei made last night. She did, however, enjoy the aroma.
Since she has ingredients on hand and is cooking for herself today, Zhao Zhenzhu is definitely going to make something to satisfy her craving.
After chatting and laughing for a while, Zhao Zhenzhu asked Aunt Zhang, "Auntie, you said you had something to ask me. What is it?"
"Pearl! I went back to my parents' home yesterday." Aunt Zhang glanced at Zhao Pearl's face, and seeing that Zhao Pearl's smile was still there, she dared to continue.
It turned out that after Aunt Zhang went back to her parents' home yesterday, she saw her sister-in-law making hair ties.
Aunt Zhang helped make dozens of them.
Aunt Zhang is very skillful; she can make hair ties faster than her sister-in-law, and the quality is guaranteed.
Aunt Zhang's sister-in-law knew that Aunt Zhang and Zhao Zhenzhu had a good relationship. She told Aunt Zhang that she could earn several yuan a day making hair ties. She suggested that Aunt Zhang go to Zhao Zhenzhu and ask if she could get work to do back in Zhoujia Village.
Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhang hurriedly ran to the Zhao family's house.
Aunt Zhang would definitely want to do a job where she can earn money from home, and even make several yuan a day!
When Aunt Zhang arrived at the Zhao family's house, she learned that Zhao Zhenzhu had returned to Zhoujia Village.
Aunt Zhang didn't dare go to Zhou Fugui's house to talk to Zhao Zhenzhu about the hair clips. She tossed and turned for most of the night last night and finally decided to invite Zhao Zhenzhu to her house today.
"Pearl! I showed the hair ties I made to your mom yesterday, and she said they were all very good and up to standard. I was wondering if I could take some materials home to make them? I promise I'll put my heart into each one and won't tell anyone else about it." After Aunt Zhang finished speaking, she looked at Zhao Pearl expectantly.
Zhao Zhenzhu lowered her head and thought for a moment.
What Aunt Zhang said isn't actually impossible.
Zhao Zhenzhu had previously asked several of her neighbors who made hair ties to keep it a secret, because she was afraid that others would beat her to it and make the first wave of profits.
Now that Zhao Zhenzhu's stall has been set up, she realizes that there are only four or five people making hair ties, which is not enough for He Bo and his group to sell.
If Zhou Bingchen hadn't suddenly returned, Zhao Zhenzhu would definitely have found a few more people in town to help her make hair ties in the past two days.
In her past life, Aunt Zhang had helped Zhao Zhenzhu several times.
Now that Aunt Zhang has spoken up, Zhao Zhenzhu is definitely willing to lend her a hand.
“Auntie, I’m certainly happy to welcome you to make hair ties. However, I hope you can help me find three skilled women in the village to form a processing group. You don’t need to tell them that hair ties are my business. You can pick up the materials in town, and I will only settle the wages with you. If the quality is guaranteed, I will give you a one-cent commission for every ten hair ties they make. What do you think?” Zhao Zhenzhu asked.
"Yes, I'm willing, Pearl, thank you!" Aunt Zhang was overjoyed.
Zhao Zhenzhu is implying that she should be the group leader!
Pearl is trying her best to take care of her, even giving her a commission for the hair ties others make!
Aunt Zhang was very satisfied.
After lunch, Zhao Zhenzhu learned the details of the attack on the villagers of Zhoujia Village the previous night.
The victim was Widow Liu.
Around 11 p.m. last night, Widow Liu was hit on the back with a brick in her own yard.
Widow Liu immediately stopped breathing.
The murderer probably thought Widow Liu was dead, so he roughly cleaned up the scene and ran away.
It was also because Liu the widow was not destined to die.
That blow only knocked Widow Liu unconscious. After an unknown amount of time, Widow Liu slowly woke up.
Despite her exhaustion, Widow Liu ran to the town's police station to report the case.
Chief Jin takes this case very seriously.
After listening to Widow Liu's story, Chief Jin suspected that the murderer was a villager.
Murder is a serious crime.
Director Jin happened to have some free time, so he personally led a team to Zhoujia Village early in the morning to conduct an on-site investigation and visit the villagers.
Fearing the murderer might escape, Chief Jin simply blocked the roads, temporarily prohibiting anyone from leaving the village.
Zhao Zhenzhu knew all this because Director Jin told her when he asked her about the situation.
Of course, Zhao Zhenzhu also promised that she would never reveal this information before the murderer was brought to justice.
Zhoujia Village is a large village with more than 150 households.
Although Director Jin brought a large group of people, it would still be quite difficult to visit all 150-plus households in one day.
In the afternoon, Director Jin "borrowed" Zhou Bingchen to go and inspect the site for the second time.
Zhou Bingchen is a soldier with exceptional investigative skills. Chief Jin hopes to hear different perspectives from Zhou Bingchen.
Since she couldn't leave today, Zhao Zhenzhu could only stay in Zhoujia Village for another day.
Zhou Fugui was extremely anxious.
After breakfast, Zhou Fugui slung a bundle over his shoulder and carried gold bars wrapped tightly in cloth in his arms, hurrying towards the town.
Zhou Fugui is preparing to flee.
As soon as Zhou Fugui reached the village entrance, he was stopped by Police Officer Xiao Geng.
"Grandpa, you can't leave the village today. Please go home and wait for news!" Xiao Geng asked.
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