Chapter 37 Weird People, Weird Things
It was dark and Xia Wu hadn't finished typing the order yet.
Yang Guojun turned on the light in the corridor and moved the stove into the corridor. Everyone worked while warming themselves by the fire. There were so many people, so Liu Guizhen invited them to have dinner at home and cooked some noodles.
No one is a picky eater and will eat anything given to them. The main reason is that the working atmosphere is so charming that it is easy for these older people to think of the lively past and they are reluctant to leave.
After peeling hundreds of kilograms of bamboo shoots, the shells piled up higher than a mountain, and the compost pit was a little full. Yang Guojun could only transport the bamboo shoot shells to the roof to dry them and use them for burning.
Shi Hongniang said, "Pick up some good bamboo shoots and dry them. I also have some newly harvested glutinous rice at home. I'll make some rice dumplings for Xiao Wu later. Does Xiao Wu like sweet or salty?"
Xia Wu wasn't picky, "Anything is fine."
These people wanted to be grateful to her, and she neither refused nor rejected them, which made people feel at ease.
After school, Yang Ping and Yang An found that no one was at home. When they heard from the villagers that Qiu Lan was with Xia Wu, they came to look for her.
We had noodles for dinner and Liu Guizhen fried two side dishes. After eating, everyone continued to work and didn't finish peeling the bamboo shoots until around eight or nine o'clock.
Fortunately, Xia Wu bought enough packaging boxes, otherwise it would be difficult to pack so many bamboo shoots.
The villagers had long known that Qiu Lan and the others worked for Xia Wu to earn money. Some people even came to ask Xia Wu if he was still short of manpower. Since he had enough, Xia Wu didn't ask for any more people.
Many people in the village already envied Guihua Niang and her friends for being able to find jobs to earn money in the village. Now they heard that Qiulan and her friends could dig bamboo shoots at the foot of the mountain and earn hundreds of dollars a day, which made them even more envious.
How did this news get out? It must have been Osmanthus's mother who let it slip when she was buying things for her grandchildren, asking them to follow her after school to dig winter bamboo shoots, which they could sell for money.
That night, Guihua's second daughter-in-law came to see her.
Her second daughter-in-law is called Li Honghong. She works in a supermarket in town and earns 1,800 yuan a month. As soon as she entered the house, she asked her mother-in-law: "How are you doing in the Yang family? Don't they think you are clumsy?"
Guihua's mother is not good at speaking, especially in front of her sons and daughters-in-law, she can't express her anger.
"He didn't dislike it and told me I did a good job."
"You?" Li Honghong rolled her eyes almost to the sky, and said in a very bad tone, "Why don't you talk to that girl and tell her that you can't do it anymore and your health is not good. Let me do it instead. I don't have to ride an electric scooter to work in town every day, standing for ten hours every day, and still earn less than you, an old woman."
Guihua's mother must be unhappy, but she didn't say a word and let Li Honghong talk.
Seeing that she ignored her, Li Honghong started complaining again.
"I'm suffering because I married into your family! Look at other men. They can save hundreds of thousands of yuan a year by working, but your son can't even save a penny. And you still have to force a woman like me to work, and you can't help me at all. I finally asked you for something, and you didn't say anything. What's the point of you not saying anything?"
"Forget it, I won't bother with you about picking strawberries. But what did you mean when you told Niu Niu that you could make money digging bamboo shoots? And you could make hundreds of dollars a day?"
Guihua's mother was afraid that her job would be taken away, so she quickly explained the situation to Li Honghong. Anyone can do the job of digging and selling bamboo shoots. If she wants to make money, she can just talk to Xia Wu herself.
When Li Honghong heard that a pound of bamboo shoots could be sold for 25, she was so happy that she immediately decided to go to Yang's house to inquire about the situation.
Before leaving, she did not forget to complain, saying that her two children at home had to pay tuition and fees, and Guihua's mother's second son had not received his salary yet. Guihua's mother understood and gave her another two hundred.
"Is that all?" Li Honghong still felt it was not enough.
Unable to squeeze any money out of Guihua's mother, Li Honghong left.
The next day, after get off work at the supermarket, she picked up two cartons of discounted milk and went to Yang's house to find Xia Wu. She called out to her familiarly, "Hey, this is Xiao Wu, right? She's so pretty. Are you dating?"
"My name is Li Honghong. You know my mother-in-law, who picked strawberries for you."
Liu Guizhen quickly introduced Li Honghong to Xia Wu, and then politely said, "Since you're here, what else are you bringing?"
"It's not something valuable. We're all from the same village. You see, I've been busy all the time. I didn't even come to say hello when Xiao Wu came back. I feel so embarrassed."
"It's Sister Honghong, please sit down." Xia Wu's first impression of this woman was not very good. It was hard to say whether it was because of her calculating eyes or her somewhat sarcastic expression, but one must always do a good job of saving face.
Li Honghong sat down and stated her purpose straight away. Her family was poor, her two children needed money for school, and the head of the household was owed wages for working outside. She had to earn 1,800 yuan a month to support the whole family.
As she was talking, Li Honghong brought up her mother-in-law again. She said that her in-laws had not helped her much since she got married, and she relied on her brothers from her natal family for everything. She also praised her brothers from her natal family for being handsome and having good character.
"My brother is a good guy in every way, but girls nowadays have too high standards. Without any real talent, they just want to get married and enjoy a comfortable life. How can such a good thing happen?"
Xia Wu interrupted her boasting and said directly, "Sister Honghong, I have no shortage of people to pick strawberries. The salary isn't high to begin with, so if I hire a few people to do it slowly, it can be done in a morning. You're young and strong, but if you really do it, I don't think anyone else will need to come. Besides, strawberries only sell for a few months, and if I don't have any work, you'll lose your job at the supermarket too. It's not worth it."
Li Honghong smiled and said, "I understand. I'm not here to pick strawberries. I heard from my wife that you're selling winter bamboo shoots online. Winter bamboo shoots in our village aren't unique to anyone; everyone can dig them. I figured I might as well dig them, so at most I'll get less. Do you think it's okay? Consider it a favor!"
Xia Wu then understood her intention, thought about it, and agreed for Guihua's mother's sake.
"Sister Honghong, you can dig winter bamboo shoots and sell them here, but I have to be frank. First, people buy winter bamboo shoots because of my reputation, and I can't damage it. Second, I want a little hard work fee for selling the bamboo shoots here. Third, we only have so many orders, and sometimes we dig too many bamboo shoots, so it's impossible to sell them right after you. I have the final say on how to divide the orders. Are you willing to accept these conditions?"
Li Honghong immediately said, "Yes, I can definitely accept it!"
"Okay, then you can dig bamboo shoots tomorrow."
After Li Honghong left, Liu Guizhen noticed that Xia Wu was a little unhappy, so she said, "Xiao Wu, if you don't want to associate with her, then we don't want her things."
Xia Wu sighed and scratched his head. "Maybe I'm too subjective. I only heard about Guihua Niang's daughters-in-law. Maybe I'm biased. It's okay. It doesn't matter who digs the bamboo shoots. Let her try it. If it doesn't work, we'll talk about it later."
Who would have thought that the next morning, a man in a leather jacket arrived at Xia Wu's doorstep on a motorcycle, unloaded a sack of winter bamboo shoots from his motorcycle, and asked, "Who is Miss Xia?"
The word "Miss Xia" almost gave Xia Wu goosebumps.
It just so happened that everyone in the family was there, and Fourth Master Yang and his companions were also packing strawberries. Osmanthus Mother recognized them immediately and called out, "Why are you here?"
The man's name was Li Bo. He glanced at Osmanthus Mother, took out a cigarette from his pocket and smoked it, then shook his wind-blown hair in a self-proclaimed coolness. "My sister asked me to come here. She said someone was harvesting winter bamboo shoots here. I went up the mountain to dig them up last night. Let's weigh them and see how much they are worth!"
Xia Wu frowned slightly. Li Bo stared at her, his eyes full of amazement. "You must be Miss Xia, right? My name is Li Bo. My sister married into your village. I'm from the next village. I heard from my sister that you don't have a boyfriend yet?"
Xia Wu's disgust had reached its peak. With a cold expression, she raised her chin and said, "Take your things back. We won't accept them here."
Li Bo's expression suddenly changed. "What do you mean? Why don't you want to collect it? Are you kidding me? I dug it up the mountain in the middle of the night. Now you can't collect it anymore?"
Seeing this, Yang Guojun hurriedly stood in front of his daughter, and Yang Hongwen also followed his father's example and blocked Xia Wu tightly.
"This is not a fixed place for collecting bamboo shoots. We will stop collecting them when we have collected enough. Young man, please leave now!" Yang Guojun didn't like this young man either. The way he looked at his daughter made him want to use a knife.
Li Bo became even angrier. "What do you mean? You have to give me an explanation! If you tell me to come, I'll come. If you tell me to leave, I'll leave. So what am I?"
"First, I told Li Honghong that I was going to buy the winter bamboo shoots she dug. Second, I have the final say on whose bamboo shoots I buy and whose I don't. Please leave."
Li Bo was so angry that he turned around and took out his cell phone to make a call.
"Hey? Li Honghong, what's your wife trying to do? She's teasing me. She asked me to dig bamboo shoots to sell, and now they're telling me they won't buy them. Didn't I work all night for nothing? Hurry up and get this done for me!"
It was unclear what Li Honghong said on the other end of the phone. Li Bo was about to hand the phone to Xia Wu, "My sister is talking to you, answer the phone."
Xia Wu refused directly: "I won't accept it. Even if your sister comes to sell it, I won't accept it."
After saying this, Xia Wu turned around and went back to the house without showing any mercy.
Li Bo was furious, but he had no place to vent his anger. Yang Guojun and Yang Hongwen were not pushovers either, and this was not his own village.
Finally, he cursed a few words and pulled the winter bamboo shoots away unwillingly.
Although the people had left, the atmosphere at the gate of the Yang family's house was not very good.
Guihua's mother lowered her head. Others wanted to say something to her but didn't dare to speak. In the end, it was Master Yang who spoke first, after all, it was he who had brought the people here.
"Mother Guihua, what you did was not very decent."
In one word, Guihua's mother's face almost turned red to her ears.
"You've worked here for Xiaowu for so long, and you know that Xiaowu is a good kid. Otherwise, we old guys wouldn't be forced to work so hard every day. We have enough to eat and drink. Look, Mingyuan has three safe and sound children, so everyone who comes here can have something to eat."
"You've had a hard time, too. I see it. We've known each other for years, so I should lend a hand when I can, don't you agree?"
Guihua Niang's voice was so low that it was almost inaudible: "Yes, I'm sorry."
"It's not a question of who you're letting down, it's yourself," Fourth Master Yang frowned, looking very disappointed. "Look at these children you've raised. If you didn't know them, you'd think you were a stepmother. You gave birth to all three of your sons. Even if they're not as promising as Guihua, they're still human beings. How could a human being treat their own mother like this?"
"I'll leave you alone and enjoy your leisure time. But now that I've kicked you out, it's not easy for you to earn a few cents a day, and you give it to everyone who asks. Don't you think you're easy to bully?"
The more Mr. Yang Si talked, the angrier he became. His resentment had not only started today, but it just erupted today.
Shi Hongniang also advised: "Guihua mother, Yang Laosi's words may not be pleasant to hear, but he is right. Look at you... your son is useless, and your husband passed away early. If you don't think about your own future, who else can you rely on?"
Guihua's mother is the kind of person who gets bullied easily. She is a bit of a pushover and anyone can bully her. She looks pitiful, but after someone helps her, she becomes annoying.
Qiulan was young and kept silent, her hands working at a speed that didn't slow down at all. In fact, she was also angry with Guihua's mother. After holding it in for a long time, she said, "If Xiaowu hadn't been doing this for your sake, she probably wouldn't have let Li Honghong take advantage of this business. Bah! Li Honghong is so shameless. The brother and sister are the same kind of people. They don't even know to take a piss and look in the mirror. Look at that man's showy look. It makes me sick. He's like a toad wanting to eat swan meat!"
Mother Guihua sighed again and again and could no longer do the work in her hands.
She stood up and walked into the house. Yang Guojun saw her but didn't stop her.
In the room, Liu Guizhen was comforting Xia Wu.
"Mom knows you mean well and want to help them, but I just want you to be happy. Do whatever you want. If you don't want to do it, don't do it. You don't owe them anything!"
Guihua's mother called out from the yard, "Xiao Wu."
Liu Guizhen glanced outside and said, "This Guihua mother, I don't know what to say about her. There must be something hateful about pitiful people!"
"It's okay, Mom. There are some things I don't understand. After experiencing it once, I will know what to do next time." Xia Wu patted Liu Guizhen. She was soft-hearted, but not a fool. She had never thought that some people had no bottom line at all, but she couldn't blame Guihua's mother entirely.
Xia Wu went to the yard and asked, "Grandma Liu, do you want to talk to me about something?"
"Xiao Wu, I, I'm sorry for you. I didn't expect to cause you so much trouble. Look, why don't I quit?" Mother Guihua lowered her head in shame, looking like a child who had done something wrong.
"Grandma Liu, are you sure you've decided not to work here anymore?"
"I'm sorry."
It’s not that Guihua’s mother really doesn’t want to work here, she just doesn’t know how to face these people.
"What Li Honghong did has nothing to do with you. If you really don't want to do this anymore, that's fine. But if you're doing this because of Li Honghong, then you have to think about it. After you leave me, she will definitely take out her anger on you. How long do you plan to endure this?"
Xia Wu was a protective person. Although they had only met by chance, he had worked under her for a long time. He had asked Li Honghong to dig winter bamboo shoots to sell yesterday because of Guihua Niang's kindness.
But today, she really couldn't help but vent about Guihua's mother's cowardice.
If someone suffers from bullying all her life and doesn't know how to resist, then she deserves it!
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