For the next two days, Li Mai and Zhou Quan didn't go out; they were busy helping their families prepare for the New Year.
When the villagers who had worked for them heard that they had returned, they all came to visit them one by one.
Li Mai and Zhou Quan also received them, and they sat together to chat about the heart-pounding experiences of the past six months and their current peaceful lives.
Even Zhou Zhong and Zhou Huang said that the villagers are very grateful to Zhou Quan and Li Mai for their contributions to the new village. Now, when people talk about the two of them, they all say that Zhou Quan deserves to be chosen by the clan chief and elected as the new clan chief.
Zhou Quan explained to them that they planned to do business in town next year and had already declined the clan chief's offer.
Zhou Zhong and the others were surprised that Zhou Quan would refuse, and asked curiously, "Brother Quan, what kind of business are you and your wife going to do? I heard that you need capital to do business, right? Your family has donated all the money, is what you have left enough to do business?"
Zhou Quan smiled and said, "We've met some business people out there. We'll help them out first, and slowly build up our network and capital!"
"Oh, Brother Quan is so lucky to have married such a smart wife. Just by looking at her, I can tell she's good at dealing with people. She must be a friend of hers, right?"
They had heard that their sister-in-law had drawn designs for the owner of the Jin Yu Ge jewelry shop in town, and the owner liked them very much, so he paid money to buy jewelry designs from her.
It's said that this trip in winter was actually the female boss taking her sister-in-law out to look at things, and Quan was driving the carriage for them. It seems that it's true.
Zhou Quan smiled and nodded, then said, "That's right!"
The younger brothers were immediately filled with envy. Some of them were married too. Thinking of their own wives and then of Brother Quan's wife, they realized they couldn't compare!
“Brother Quan, if you start your own business and need to hire people, please consider us first. This year there was no harvest in the fields, and next year's crops won't be harvested until autumn. The whole family needs to eat and drink throughout the spring and summer, and we need money for everything. We also need to find ways to make money,” Zhou Zhong said.
Zhou Quan nodded and said, "Okay, if there's anything suitable for you to do, I'll call you."
The group was delighted to hear this. After thanking Brother Quan, they left together with smiles on their faces.
Later that evening, when the couple were having a heart-to-heart talk, Zhou Quan recounted what the boys had told him that day.
Li Mai nodded, "Yes, my aunts and sisters-in-law have also told me about this. I'm also thinking about how to help the villagers have income and work next year!"
“Uncle Da Niu’s family is still making and selling tofu, right? They should be doing fine, as should Uncle Wu Ping and the others. The ones who are having problems now are the families who relied on the fields for their livelihood,” Zhou Quan said softly.
Li Mai nodded, "Yes, a few families are doing well and have no problem, but most families will have a hard time in the first half of next year, relying on the money we donated and received before."
“However, as long as they don’t squander it, that money is enough for them to eat and drink for a year. The problem is that they might spend it recklessly. Because this money comes too easily to them,” Li Mai said in a low voice.
Zhou Quan paused. "Have you heard something?"
Li Mai nodded and told Zhou Quan about what Shi Zhou's sister-in-law had told her that day.
It turns out that three families in the village had children studying at the town's school. They had originally planned to use the money from selling the grain after the autumn harvest to pay for their tuition next year, but now, due to this disaster, they had no hope of getting any grain.
Logically, the money they received should have been enough to pay for the children's tuition, but if that money had been used for tuition, the whole family might have gone hungry.
These past few days, with the Lunar New Year approaching, three men from different families came to the clan chief, asking for his help in finding a solution. They said they couldn't let their families starve to death or let their children drop out of school halfway through their education!
The clan chief had been bothered by the harassment these past few days, so he asked Shi Fan to handle the matter.
Shi Fan had no idea what to do. He wanted to discuss it with Zhou Quan, but he was afraid of bothering him since it was almost Chinese New Year. So he planned to invite Zhou Quan over for drinks during the first month of the lunar calendar to discuss the matter.
Shi Fan's sister-in-law was a big liar, and since she was close to Li Mai, she secretly told her everything.
After hearing this, Li Mai could only smile and agree. She wouldn't make such a wish unless she was confident she could help resolve the situation.
Li Mai always believed in the saying, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Therefore, she was unwilling to spend money directly and become a sucker until the very last moment. She felt it would be better to discuss with Zhou Quan and find a way for the villagers to make money.
After all, they only cherish the money they earn through their own labor. Once she says, "Don't worry, I can pay for their education," she is certain that those families will feel at ease and happy, thinking that the matter has been easily resolved.
Li Mai even guessed that the reason those families approached the clan chief was probably to get him to organize them to donate some money so their children could go to school.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have pressured the clan chief in the days leading up to the New Year.
Being the clan leader is truly miserable; thankfully, Zhou Quan didn't agree.
After hearing Li Mai's story, Zhou Quan rubbed his forehead. "No doubt about it, that's exactly what they meant. Uncle Wuping's son is also studying in town, why didn't he go to the clan chief? Those families went to ask the clan chief for money."
"These people really can't be given away for nothing. The saying 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime' is so true!" Zhou Quan sighed.
"If Brother Shizhou asks you about this, how will you answer him?" Li Mai asked him.
Zhou Quan looked at her and asked, "What do you think?"
Li Mai thought for a moment, "How about we build a dye house? After the New Year, whoever wants to make money can go and work there. Let them build the dye house, and let our parents keep an eye on it. It should keep them busy for two or three months. Maybe next year, when our clothing shop does well, we'll start using the dye house!"
Zhou Quan took her hand, intertwined their fingers, and looked at the girl's kind nature, chuckled, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
“Then I’ll go see Shi Zhou tomorrow. He’s the one who should handle this. I’ll tell him our wishes, and he can arrange who will work and earn money. That way, we can save ourselves some trouble and effort, and it will also help him, the newly appointed clan chief, establish a good image among the villagers.”
Zhou Quan chuckled and said, "What do you think, Madam?"
“Okay, then I’ll talk to Sister-in-law Shi Fan. She can organize the women in the village to learn weaving when they have free time. Cotton and linen are both fine. Once our garment shop opens, I’ll start collecting cotton fabric. When our dye house is built, we’ll try dyeing ordinary cotton fabric ourselves first,” Li Mai said.
Zhou Quan smiled, "Okay, let's go together tomorrow!"
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