Chapter 26 Only one silver dollar left, two fried dough sticks.
"Grandma, I'd like to invite you to dinner."
Yao Xiaoyu stuffed three round, hard objects wrapped in newspaper into Zhou Chunhua's hand and said excitedly. Zhou Chunhua had been frugal these days and subconsciously wanted Yao Xiaoyu to eat at home, but then she remembered that the money had already been given to her family, so she didn't say anything more.
The money Yao Ping'an earned from copying books was all given to Zhou Chunhua by Yao Xiaoyu after she received it from Manager He along with her own wages. Yao Ping'an knew that he was a penny-pincher and didn't spend much money since he rarely went out, so he had no objection to this method of handling things.
When the Yao family was wealthy, most of the money was in the hands of the two elders. When Yao Ping'an needed money, he would ask his family directly, or simply put it on an account outside. He was weak and could not tolerate a life of luxury, so he only bought writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and travelogues. There was nothing he couldn't tell his family.
"Let's go with this one."
Yao Xiaoyu wanted to have a good meal, but she didn't intend to challenge Zhou Chunhua's bottom line. Instead of choosing a fancy restaurant or a large hotel, she went into a regular restaurant. [1]
Pro-restaurants were a feature of this era, similar to modern self-service restaurants and fast food outlets. You could order set meals or individual dishes, and a good meal could be had for a dozen or so copper coins. Even a hungry, strong man could fill his stomach there for no more than two cents.
"Give me two pieces of pork ribs, served on a bed of mung bean noodles, and a stir-fried vegetable dish... Do you also have poached chicken today?"
Yao Xiaoyu looked at the small plate of chicken with some surprise. She had chosen this restaurant because the staff wore light-colored clothes and the tables, chairs and floors were very clean. She didn't expect to get an extra treat.
"Yes, it's one cent a serving. Would you like one?"
The portion of poached chicken wasn't large, but it wasn't expensive either. Yao Xiaoyu immediately nodded, then turned to Zhou Chunhua and asked if she wanted to add another portion of meat. Zhou Chunhua hesitated for a moment and shook her head.
Except for the green vegetables which had to be stir-fried fresh, all the other dishes were prepared in advance. Yao Xiaoyu and Zhou Chunhua waited for the rice to be served and then began to eat heartily. There wasn't much meat on the ribs, but because they were generous with the seasonings, the taste was not bad. The glass noodles were probably stewed for too long and had almost completely melted at the bottom, so they could be scooped directly into the rice, which was also very delicious.
The poached chicken was served cold, but the color hadn't changed, so it must have been cooked not long ago. I dipped it in the sauce dish next to it, and it was delicious.
Zhou Chunhua didn't want to strain her teeth, so she replaced the ribs with steamed meat patties and changed the base to tofu, and she still enjoyed it very much.
The green vegetables were served last, and although there was a generous portion, they weren't very oily, Yao Xiaoyu still ate them until tears welled up in her eyes—it had been two months since she had last eaten a stir-fried dish!
Zhou Chunhua did the physical labor, while Yao Xiaoyu used her brain. Both of them had large appetites, but the rice here was served in huge bowls. After finishing a bowl, the grandmother and granddaughter were so full that they kept burping.
A bowl of rice cost six copper coins, two pieces of pork ribs and a meat patty cost the same, seven copper coins each. The side dishes were free, green vegetables cost one copper coin, and poached chicken cost one cent. Yao Xiaoyu and Zhou Chunhua ate to their hearts' content, and in total, they spent a little over three cents.
This money wasn't expensive for Yao Xiaoyu, who had five silver dollars, but it pained Zhou Chunhua greatly.
"The food we ate in this meal is enough to cover our family's groceries for a month."
Excluding food items like tofu and meat, the Yao family spent no more than one copper coin on vegetables each day.
Having eaten and drunk her fill, Yao Xiaoyu pretended not to hear. If she couldn't even spend the money she earned on herself, then what was the point of working so hard?
Besides, there will be many more such incidents in the future. Before the Yao family pays off their debts, she definitely won't be able to hire a bodyguard. A young woman going out alone is seen as easy prey by everyone... Why can't a chosen bodyguard just fall from the sky?
With a sigh, Yao Xiaoyu bought three pounds of lean meat and had the vendor slice it. She planned to buy a kitchen knife next time she received her royalties, or the time after that, because she really didn't want to eat a whole cabbage leaf anymore.
I'll buy the iron pot again next month or the month after. It doesn't need to be big, just big enough to stir-fry some vegetables and render some lard.
"Grandma, we are really poor."
Yao Xiaoyu bought some newly published newspapers and sighed as she spoke to Zhou Chunhua. Zhou Chunhua, carrying the meat, twitched her lips, not really wanting to talk to Yao Xiaoyu, who was always snacking.
"Didn't you just receive your royalties?"
Spiced beans, yellow twigs, sesame cakes, sugar rice cakes—I bought whatever I saw. I'm still drinking osmanthus red bean soup right now. I paid for it without even blinking at the extra money. I haven't even gone halfway, and I've already spent almost a silver coin.
If this is considered poor, what was she poor when she was young?
"Besides these few silver coins, I only have one whole silver dollar left."
Listening to her granddaughter's distressed complaints, Zhou Chunhua remained outwardly calm, but inwardly she was quickly calculating: the three newspaper clippings she had just received should contain three silver dollars, and these silver coins were all broken from a single silver dollar. Adding the untouched silver dollar, Xiaoyu should have received five silver dollars this time.
She secretly counted the number of words in the newspaper when she wasn't cooking. It was over 5,000, but not 5,500. If the rules for newspapers were the same as those for copying books, and 3,400 words were counted as 3,000, then that would be the payment for 5,000 words.
So far, Xiaoyu's articles have been published in the newspaper three times, each time taking up roughly the same amount of space and having roughly the same number of words. The payment for the first one has already been settled, and this time the payment should be for 10,000 words, totaling five silver dollars, which is equivalent to fifty cents per thousand words.
It was less than the first time, which was three silver dollars for five thousand words. But Xiaoyu also said that the first time, they took advantage of her young age and the good story she wrote to round it up. For such a long manuscript, it was reasonable to give her fifty cents for a thousand words. Her price for short-term work was also higher than that for long-term work.
But if you save two silver dollars a week, you'll have eight silver dollars a month, and Little Fish isn't that old...
"When I get the money next time, I'll buy a kitchen knife, and save the rest. Once I've saved enough, I can buy a small pot, and my family can start cooking stir-fries again."
While her granddaughter was counting on her fingers, Zhou Chunhua thought about the price of the iron pot and the kitchen knife and lost the desire to ask for more money. With Xiaoyu's plans, she wouldn't have much money left. If she asked someone to pay more money to the family, it would mean not even letting her have a snack, which was really too much.
"If we had any money left, we'd buy some cloth to make clothes..."
Yao Xiaoyu was still counting the places where she would have to spend money when she saw Zhou Chunhua's expression change from hesitation to relief. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief—the income hurdle had finally been overcome!
Although she made the income she hadn't handed over public, her family would definitely guess how much she had kept for herself. Yao Xiaoyu did this so that the Yao family could deduce how much money she had in her hands.
Just like a diary shared with teachers and secretly read by parents, just like her real diary, the accounts also need to be kept both overt and covert. The income she mentioned was one part, while the income deduced by the Yao family from her "straightforwardness" was another part. The money that was not included in the final figures was the money she could actually save.
Yao Xiaoyu didn't want things to go through that trouble, but she also didn't want to gamble with human nature.
In a large family, having disposable income is one thing, but having a large amount of disposable income is another. Based on the fee of six cents per thousand words, Yao Xiaoyu can earn six yuan per week, which is at least 24 yuan per month.
She gave her family ten yuan a month, plus four yuan for copying, leaving Yao Xiaoyu with ten silver dollars to spend. She didn't go out often, and as long as she didn't buy bird's nest or shark fin, she could never spend it all.
This money might not be confiscated immediately, but just like how someone helps plan for the money once it's mentioned, once it's deduced, the Yao family will include it in their household expenses. Yao Xiaoyu doesn't want to wake up one day to find out that her savings have been confiscated, so she needs to make plans in advance.
For example, she might lower her royalties to conceal part of her income; or she might spend some of the silver dollars in advance. Zhou Chunhua tries to save as much as possible to pay off her debts. She can afford to buy a few copper coins for snacks now, but she really can't bear to spend large sums of money.
Yao Xiaoyu adopted a two-pronged approach: on the one hand, she reduced her manuscript fee from six cents to five cents, and on the other hand, she spent the money she received immediately. When she arrived at the newspaper, she had already figured out how to make Editor Pi hide her income from the outside world. The only thing she didn't expect was that her manuscript fee would increase so quickly, with the price increasing on the second occasion.
But this is also good, as it adds another layer to her income – Yao Xiaoyu told her family she earned 50 cents, and they actually came to inquire. If they learned from other people in the editorial department that her actual income was 60 cents, they would only assume that Yao Xiaoyu earned an extra silver dollar for every thousand words.
However, Yao Xiaoyu had anticipated their auditing and had already spoken with Editor Pi beforehand. She had hidden income within hidden income, and she would never let her go back to square one.
The Yao family members are all good people, but the mother loves her eldest son, Yao Ping'an dotes on his youngest daughter, and Zhou Chunhua treats all three grandchildren equally. It's just that Yao Daniu shows a little more affection for Yao Xiaoyu, but only a little. If the family really puts their heads together, Zhou Chunhua won't side with Yao Xiaoyu.
As Yao Xiaoyu pondered, she began to sigh. She felt that she would be happy if she had her own space. She didn't need it to be big, just big enough to hold two cell phone boxes. She would put a small handgun and a sharpened dagger with a blood groove inside. There was no place in the world she couldn't go.
They arrived at He Family Bookstore, eating as they walked. Yao Xiaoyu handed over the paper Yao Pingan had finished copying, received a new copying assistant, and casually stuffed the money into Zhou Chunhua's hand. Seeing a few fried dough sticks just coming out of the vendor's stall, her eyes lit up:
"Grandma, do you want some?"
Seeing Zhou Chunhua shake her head, Yao Xiaoyu only ordered two fried dough sticks. She ate one herself and kept the other in her hand, intending to have her family cook porridge with it. Zhou Chunhua looked at the two copper coins she had spent with great heartache, and finally turned her head away fiercely, hypnotizing herself that she hadn't seen anything.
It's only because Xiaoyu knows how to make money; otherwise, with her spending money like water, what would she do in the future?
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The author says: [1] Proletarian Restaurant: The name comes from the simple pronunciation of the word "proletarian" "pulou", which means common and simple things.
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Don't casually reveal your income and savings; some people can really calculate every single penny you have.
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