They rambled on and on, portraying Li Guanlin as utterly worthless and a complete scoundrel. Then, the conversation drifted to his parents, becoming increasingly rude and unkind.
Li Guanlin didn't say another word from beginning to end.
He was like a machine, repeating the process of digging, picking up corn stubble, and continuing to dig.
The afternoon sun shone on him, casting a long shadow that made him look like a tall figure carrying a black sickle.
Li Guanping and his wife's parents were home, while Li Guanhong and Li Yamei had gone to school. Wang Tianxiao helped unload the items from the motorcycle and explained to the two women how to use it.
Li Wanfu and Qin Xiaoling repeatedly declined, saying that Li Yali needed to replenish her nutrition at this time, and these good things should be left for her to eat.
Wang Tianxiao naturally offered some words of comfort, telling the two old people that his wife lacked nothing now and that he would take good care of her, and so on.
After all the pleasantries were over, Wang Tianxiao explained the purpose of his trip, which delighted the two elders and Li Guanping. Li Guanping, in particular, was worried about how to help ease the burden on his family. He was already eighteen years old and no longer a child, and he never expected to receive an invitation from his brother-in-law, Wang Tianxiao.
"As for wages, it's the same as everyone else's, two yuan a day," Wang Tianxiao said with a smile. "We're brothers, so we'll keep clear accounts. You've worked hard for me, so I can't let you suffer. Otherwise, my aunt and uncle will come after me."
"Two yuan, that's so much! I don't want that much..."
Li Guanping, who was usually anxious about spending even a penny, was suddenly filled with panic when he heard that he was making so much money every day, rather than excitement.
“Yes, Tianxiao, it’s fine if Guanping helps you. Just give him a little something, how can you give so much? You and Lili don’t even have a house to live in yet, and life is so tight,” his mother-in-law said kindly.
"Just give me fifty cents a day, why ask for so much? We're all family," my father-in-law said, puffing on his old pipe and blowing smoke rings.
Li Wanfu was a heavy smoker. In Wang Tianxiao's memory, he was almost always smoking a pipe, and all his words were spoken along with smoke rings.
“Yes, yes, just give me 50 cents.” Li Guanping said hurriedly.
"Two yuan isn't much, Aunt and Uncle. I've hired a few people, and I paid them two yuan each. How can I let my own people take less? I originally wanted to give them more, but considering your concerns, I decided to give them the same amount."
"Stop saying so much, it's just five cents. If it's not worth it, then Guanping shouldn't go." Li Wanfu became stubborn instead.
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