Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Brothers, Settle Accounts Clearly
Chen Xiulian lovingly stroked her granddaughter's head. Thinking of Wu Yaqin, she sighed, "Your mother isn't as insightful as you are, but don't blame her. After all, a person's character is formed based on decades of life experience, and it's hard to change in a short period of time. It's hard for you, too. You've worked hard to stand up for your mother at such a young age."
Jiang Xi has always been soft-hearted, not to mention that Chen Xiulian really loves her. Jiang Xi's eyes were slightly red, and she shook her head: "Fortunately, I am not having a hard time. I think my mother may slowly change in the future."
"It would be better if she had a stronger personality," Chen Xiulian said with a sigh.
Jiang Xi didn't want the atmosphere to fall into sadness. She had made up her mind to change Wu Yaqin. Everything depends on human effort, and she believed she could do it.
So Jiang Xi changed the subject: "Grandma, I invite you to my house for dinner today. My mother has prepared a table full of dishes."
Chen Xiulian declined: "Grandma is already very happy that you can come to see her. I won't miss the meal. Your family is also in financial difficulty right now."
"We can still afford a meal. Grandma, please don't save food for us. Besides, this meal is not just for you. Comrade Qi has helped us a lot before. To thank him, we also invited him to our home for dinner. We just told him and he agreed. So, you two should come too. It's more lively when there are more people. Otherwise, even if there are delicacies from land and sea, it won't taste good if there are only the three of us."
Chen Xiulian knew Qi Yu'an, a very nice young man, with a handsome appearance and a decent personality. Even the most rude person in the village could not find anything bad to say about him. This kind of person seemed to be a natural focus of the crowd, and could get along with different people with ease.
Chen Xiulian smiled happily: "Since you said so, then let grandma go."
Chen Xiulian couldn't help but say, "Comrade Qi is very well-off, both personally and from a well-off family. It would be great if you could get to know him more. If you could become his friend in the future, Grandma would be relieved."
Chen Xiulian was clearly mistaken, so Jiang Xi hurriedly explained, "Comrade Qi and I are just ordinary friends. It's not what you think. We're probably not even ordinary friends. Comrade Qi likes the kind of well-behaved and cute lesbians, which is completely different from me. Comrade Qi is just particularly helpful, so he helped me. Other than that, there's nothing else."
Chen Xiulian felt a little regretful: "So that's how it is." It's understandable that young people like cute lesbians, but it doesn't matter if the two of them are not suitable.
Chen Xiulian doesn't think there is anything wrong with her granddaughter. Even though she is not the cute type, she is eloquent and excellent. It's just that she hasn't met the right one. Chen Xiulian is confident that Jiang Xi will find a better one in the future.
Jiang Xi had no plans for that at the moment. Making money was the most important thing for her at this stage. "Grandma, did you grow a lot of edamame?"
Chen Xiulian said, "Yes, I planted some this year, and they are growing very well, with more fruits than in previous years."
Jiang Xi asked, "Can I buy some from you?"
Chen Xiulian shook her head: "Why would we need to buy it for our family? I can get as much as you need."
Jiang Xi said, "Brothers, let's be clear about the accounts. I want to do this business in the future. This is not a matter of one or two days, nor a few pounds. I have to give you money so that our cooperation can be maintained in the long run."
Chen Xiulian didn't expect that Jiang Xi would talk so coherently now, even though she was just a child, and yet she was still cooperative. However, Chen Xiulian thought about it and realized that it was indeed the truth. If you want to do business, you have to use business methods. Since her granddaughter could think of this, she naturally had to support her.
"Okay, then you can give me one cent for a pound of edamame."
Jiang Xi shook his head: "Too little, grandma, I'll give you ten cents for a pound of edamame."
Chen Xiulian's face was full of disapproval: "The price you offered is a bit too high. You just said that brothers should settle accounts clearly. The price you offered is much higher than the market price. This is not a clear way to settle accounts."
Before Jiang Xi made her bid, she had already thought it through clearly: "Grandma, I'm not giving you so much money because of you. I have requirements for the edamame. I need you to clean it, wash it, and send it to me. After that, we can braise it directly. This is also to provide us with convenience. So, in addition to the edamame, your labor fee is included in the ten cents."
Labor costs? Chen Xiulian hadn't thought of this, but Wu Yaqin and Jiang Xi would definitely be too busy to handle it alone. If they bought raw materials that could be made directly, it would greatly save their time, which was also a good idea.
Chen Xiulian secretly sighed at her granddaughter's thoughtfulness. "Okay, I'll listen to you. How much do you need now?"
At first, Jiang Xi didn't plan to do too much: "Let's start with 20 kilograms."
Chen Xiulian: "Okay, I dried the edamame a few days ago. I'll go collect them and wash them. I'll bring them to you when I visit your house later."
Before Jiang Xi could nod, Chen Xiu Lian rushed to the backyard. It seems that everyone is very active in making money.
After getting the raw materials, Jiang Xi was busy discussing the handcart with Wu Youli.
"Uncle, I'm going to the county town to do business and I need a cart. Can you make it?"
Wu Youli thought for a moment and said, "I can make a cart, but I'm still short of materials. I have some wood to make a deck for you, but I don't have tires for the cart."
Tires are indeed a problem. Jiang Xi once thought of using wood to make tires, but not only is the process complicated and inconvenient to use, but they are also easy to fall apart. If they fall apart during the pushing process, the jar will fall and the brine will be lost.
Jiang Xi lowered his head to think, then suddenly clapped his hands: "Uncle, then you can help me make the car plate first, I'll go find the tires, and you remember to come to my house for dinner on time!"
Jiang Xi left a word and ran away in a hurry. Before Wu Youli had time to ask for other details, Jiang Xi disappeared.
However, Wu Youli took Jiang Xi's request very seriously and turned to go to the backyard to find wood to make a car board.
Jiang Xi came out of Wu's house, turned a corner, and went to the door of a house at the corner.
The person Jiang Xi was looking for was Xie Xiaoju. Xie Xiaoju and Jiang Xi grew up together and saw each other almost every day before junior high school. However, Xie Xiaoju's family later refused to allow her to attend junior high school, and the two of them saw each other less and less. Although they kept in touch occasionally, their relationship remained strong. Since his rebirth, Jiang Xi had been busy with various things and hadn't had time to look for Xie Xiaoju.
Jiang Xi came to the Xie family's yard and was about to push the door when he heard a noisy sound inside.
"It's already late, and she's still sleeping in the house. She doesn't do anything at home all day, and she's still waiting for me to serve her. What kind of daughter did I raise? I'm afraid I'm raising a ancestor."
A girl responded timidly: "Mom, I'm not sleeping in. I just slept a little late yesterday. My quilt was too thin and very cold, so I fell asleep very late. I just forgot the time this morning."
The sharp female voice kept pestering, "You slept late. What did you do all night? I can't tell you anything. If I do, you'll just keep making excuses."
The girl's voice faded, and the sharp female voice followed, cursing and commanding: "Hurry up and feed the chickens! Didn't you see the huge basket of clothes at home? Go wash them in the river, or else you'll have nothing to wear. You're so grown up and still have no sense. Whoever marries you in the future will be unlucky for the rest of their lives."
Jiang Xi didn't rush to knock on the door, but waited quietly by the door. After a while, the door creaked open and a girl in blue-gray clothes came out.
The girl was pale and thin, with tears on her eyelashes. She seemed to want to cry but didn't dare to, and was just trying hard to hold back her tears.
She was carrying a large basket filled with clothes. When she turned around and saw Jiang Xi, she was surprised and said, "Jiang Xi, you're here!"
Jiang Xi smiled at her and said, "Xiao Ju." Jiang Xi saw Xie Xiaoju's basket and frowned and asked, "Xiao Ju, why do you have to wash so many clothes?"
Xie Xiaoju glanced at the yard behind her and pulled Jiang Xi forward: "This is not the place to talk, let's go over there and talk."
Xiaoju pulled Jiang Xi to the riverside: "Stay here with me to wash clothes, I'll tell you slowly. I'm so happy to see you today, I even have the energy to wash clothes."
Although it is already March, the weather is still very cold. It snowed the day before yesterday. The river water is icy cold. Xiaoju's hands turned red as soon as she wet her clothes.
"Why did I ask you to wash so many clothes in such a cold day? I just heard her scolding you outside. Is she treating you badly now?"
Xiaoju lowered her head, tears trickling down her cheeks. "My mom is pregnant and can't stand cold water. My dad asked me to take care of her."
Jiang Xi was silent. The mother Xiaoju was referring to was not her biological mother, but her stepmother.
Xiaoju's biological mother died of illness a few years ago, and her father remarried. Although Xiaoju's stepmother was not very nice to Xiaoju at the beginning, she did not abuse her. Xiaoju's father also loved Xiaoju very much before, but he did not expect that she would become like this now.
Xiaoju sobbed and said, "Two months ago, my mom found out she was pregnant. The doctor said she was having a boy. My dad was very happy, and I was happy at the time, too. But after she got pregnant, she became a different person. She often scolded me and beat me. She made me do all the work, and if I was a little slow, she would go to my dad to complain. My dad never scolded me much before, but recently he has joined her in scolding me. I wanted to go to you, but I'm very busy every day and can't rest at night."
It's true that if you have a stepmother, you have a stepfather. Jiang Xi was still concerned about Xie Xiaoju: "What are you going to do? Now the child hasn't been born yet and it's already like this. If the child is born, you will have more things to do, and she will probably bully you even more."
Xie Xiaoju wiped away her tears again: "What can I do? I have nowhere to go, I can only bear it."
Jiang Xi sighed, but Xie Xiaoju smiled: "I'm very happy that you came to see me. Talking to you makes me feel much more relaxed. But, what do you want to see me for today?"
Jiang Xicai asked, "Do you have two unused tires at home?"
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