Chapter 9, Female Supporting Character in Historical Fiction
Xu Qingzhou lifted his eyelids.
"Huh? What did you say?"
Yang Qiang froze, slapped his mouth, and gave a fawning smile.
"I misspoke, I misspoke! How could Brother Zhou possibly lead me astray!"
Xu Qingzhou chuckled, too lazy to argue with him.
He counted out some money and handed it to Yang Qiang.
"Well done, here's your commission. Keep it up."
Yang Qiang didn't stand on ceremony. He took the money, moistened his fingers with saliva, and started counting it in front of Xu Qingzhou.
The money came in small amounts, totaling fifty yuan.
This was the first time he had ever received so much money, and he was so excited that his face turned red.
Yang Qiang carefully put the money away, his gaze towards Xu Qingzhou filled with admiration and loyalty.
"Don't worry, Brother Zhou, I'll definitely do a good job!"
Seeing his excited expression as he patted his chest in assurance, Xu Qingzhou still reminded him.
"Be careful, don't let anyone find out."
He didn't stay idle during this time; he kept thinking about how to make money.
After much deliberation, he chose to do business, which was what he was most familiar with.
However, now that he is an educated youth, he has to win favor with the brigade leader, so he can't often leave Maolin Brigade to go to the county.
He tricked Yang Qiang into running errands for him and doing some reselling in the black market.
His job was to occasionally go there, show his face, and stabilize the situation.
Xu Qingzhou loosened his collar and let out a breath.
He knew that within three years at most, the country would open up private trade, legalize individual businesses, and promote economic development across the country.
But as of now, the policy hasn't been released yet, so this line of work isn't safe enough.
Xu Qingzhou had no other choice but to take the risk.
Although the original owner brought a lot of money, he also spent a lot of it, and when he arrived, there wasn't much left.
As for the Xu family, they probably felt that since he had gone to the countryside, he would probably never be able to return, and they had completely given up on him.
The money given to him when he went to the countryside was, in a sense, no different from buying out their relationship.
Now that his relationship with Yang Jiahui has been made public to the brigade leader and his wife, he doesn't have much time left.
He had to accumulate funds as quickly as possible to provide Yang Jiahui with sufficient financial security so that she wouldn't have to suffer with him.
As for relying on the brigade leader's help to get through until the college entrance examination?
He had never thought that way.
If he actually did that, he wouldn't even respect himself.
"Don't worry, Brother Zhou, I'm very careful. No one has noticed that I'm going to the county town every day!"
Yang Qiang scratched the back of his head and laughed.
He'd always been a petty hoodlum, often loitering around outside. If he didn't show up in the village for two or three days, no one would notice anything amiss.
"But Brother Zhou, what do you think the captain meant by that?"
Xu Qingzhou thought for a moment, then his expression relaxed a little.
"It's okay, just listen to whatever he says, don't go against him."
Judging from the captain's tone, he probably wouldn't object to his relationship with Yang Jiahui.
Next, it's time to save money to propose marriage and get married.
Xu Qingzhou patted the money in his hand and began to calculate the things and expenses needed for the marriage proposal and wedding.
According to his rough estimate, he currently has enough working capital.
However, this is only a rough estimate based on the prices of goods in that era, and the specifics are still unclear.
After thinking for a moment, Xu Qingzhou gave Yang Qiang a few more instructions.
"Next time you go to the county town, please inquire about the prices of 'three turns and one sound' for me, and also keep an eye out for any reliable matchmakers."
Yang Qiang's eyes widened.
"Brother Zhou... are you really planning to marry Yang Jiahui?"
Xu Qingzhou glanced at him.
"You should call her sister-in-law."
Yang Qiang was somewhat reluctant.
He hadn't forgotten how that woman had dealt with him last time.
But he didn't dare to refute Xu Qingzhou, after all, this man was a god of wealth.
The thought of Xu Qingzhou marrying that woman and having to deal with her frequently made Yang Qiang shudder.
But he couldn't bear to let him stop following Xu Qingzhou just because of this.
This man is capable. Following him is far better than spending your whole life as a despised thug in the village.
Yang Qiang forced himself to suppress his fear of Yu Wanwan and nodded.
"Okay, okay, I'll definitely find out more."
Although Yang Qiang was asked to inquire, this was not something that could be done in a short time.
While Yang Qiang was inquiring about these things, Xu Qingzhou started thinking about the house again.
Since we're getting married, housing is a big issue.
He is still living at Yang Qiang's house. Although he doesn't mind, he can't let a girl live with him in someone else's house.
After thinking about it for several days, he finally decided to ask the brigade leader to help him get a piece of land in the village.
After finishing work that day, he took the cigarettes and alcohol to the Yang family's house.
His relationship with Yang Jiahui has become public knowledge, and everyone in the village knows what kind of relationship they have.
During this time, Xu Qingzhou stopped hiding his true feelings and frequently visited the Yang family to help them with household chores.
It wasn't a heavy job, but it made Yang's mother very happy, and the brigade leader also found him increasingly pleasing to the eye.
Yu Wanwan, however, found the male lead utterly annoying.
In the actual storyline, before the college entrance examination, Xu Qingzhou only dared to secretly meet and talk with Yang Jiahui.
Unlike now, he's always hanging around her, making her deal with him and go through that ridiculous, fake drama with him.
After overcoming the initial nervousness and confusion, Xu Qingzhou calmed down and became quite adept at coaxing people.
As a result, he has already won over the captain and his wife. Given the original owner's somewhat pitiful background, the couple now treats him like their own son.
Yu Wanwan was extremely annoyed.
If she had known, she wouldn't have messed with him back then.
They really shot themselves in the foot.
Upon learning Xu Qingzhou's purpose, the captain was both surprised and pleased.
His decision shows that he genuinely wants to live a good life with his daughter, and that he's not just playing around.
However, the captain was also very worried.
Do you have enough money?
He was afraid that building a house would cost him all his money, and then his daughter would be the one to suffer.
Xu Qingzhou had made preparations before arriving, taking out the money he had prepared and placing it in front of the brigade leader.
He didn't dare take too much, afraid of scaring the brigade leader. After asking Yang Qiang about the approximate cost of building the house, he conservatively took two thousand.
In that era, the highest denomination of RMB was only ten yuan, commonly known as "Great Unity".
Two thousand may not sound like much, but when you put them all together, it can seem like a lot.
Even though Xu Qingzhou had tried to take as little as possible, the captain was still taken aback.
He quickly stood up, glanced outside to make sure no one was there, and then breathed a sigh of relief. Clutching his pounding heart, his hand trembled as he pointed at Xu Qingzhou.
"Quickly tie your bag up!"
Xu Qingzhou remained silent for a few seconds, then obediently tied the cloth bag to cover the money inside.
Did he take too much?
Yang Qiang said that the price of building a house in the countryside varies from 1,000 to 3,000 depending on the type of house.
If he compromises and takes two thousand yuan, it shouldn't cause such a big reaction from the brigade leader, right?
Could it be... that Yang Qiang's information was wrong?
Or did he get scammed?
The captain calmed his breathing and steadyed his rapidly beating heart.
Where did you get so much money?
Did you do something bad outside?
Xu Qingzhou remained calm and decisively shifted the blame to the Xu family, who were far away in Kyoto.
“My dad gave it to me when I came here.”
How much money did he actually give you?
Xu Qingzhou hesitated, unsure of how much to say.
Considering the captain's reaction just now, he still didn't dare to say too much.
"Five thousand."
After thinking for a moment, Xu Qingzhou added another sentence.
"I haven't spent much money since I came here, and I still have quite a bit left!"
Anyway, the original owner spent almost all of his money secretly in the county town when he was slacking off, so the brigade leader had no idea how much he actually spent.
The captain's heart, which had finally calmed down, started pounding wildly again.
He clutched his chest, his face a complex mix of emotions.
He knew the Xu family was wealthy, and Xu Qingzhou also had a considerable amount of money.
But he never expected that he would be so rich!
Five thousand!
That's five thousand!
It was just given to a child like that!
Seeing that the captain's expression was off and his gaze was becoming more distant, Xu Qingzhou pinched his palm, lowered his eyes, and put on a dejected look.
“He said… this money is enough for me to live well here, so I shouldn’t contact them anymore.”
His voice was calm, no different from usual, but a sense of loneliness surrounded him.
Sure enough, as soon as he said that, the captain's eyes regained their loving look.
He let out a long sigh.
This is like buying out the kinship with him for five thousand yuan!
How could someone have such a heartless father?
The captain calmed down and no longer felt the panic of seeing so much money all at once.
He patted Xu Qingzhou on the shoulder, unsure of what to say to comfort him.
In the end, the captain could only pat his chest and guarantee it.
"Don't worry, Xiao Xu, I'll definitely handle this matter perfectly for you!"
Xu Qingzhou gave a slightly forced smile, a hint of filial piety in his eyes.
"Thank you, Uncle Yang. If I hadn't met Jia Hui and the others, I really don't know how I would have lived my life."
The captain felt even more sorry for him.
"Hey! You child, we'll be family sooner or later, why say such things? Just tell me if you have any difficulties!"
Xu Qingzhou's smile became much more genuine, less forced.
Without hesitation, the team leader didn't delay. He didn't even eat; he grabbed the money and rushed out the door.
Xu Qingzhou couldn't stop him.
"Yang Guoxiang! Where are you going? Aren't you going to eat?!"
"If you need anything, don't wait for me, just save me some food!"
Watching the brigade leader rush out, Yang's mother was completely bewildered, and put her hands on her hips and said "Hey."
"Why can't you do things after you've had a meal? You're getting more and more unreliable as you get older!"
Xu Qingzhou, the culprit, stood blankly in the middle of the courtyard, looking at the gate where no one was, and then at Yang's mother, who was cursing and turning to go into the kitchen to work. He was at a loss.
Yu Wanwan sat under the grape trellis, whistled, and smiled slightly.
"Good tactic."
His acting was simply phenomenal; it would be a disservice to the performance not to award him an Oscar.
Was he really a businessman, or an actor, before he was bound to the system?
Xu Qingzhou's brow twitched, but she still forced an innocent look on her face, pretending not to understand.
"What?"
Yu Wanwan chuckled but didn't expose him.
She waved, as if beckoning a puppy.
"Come here and fan me."
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