This woman's marriage was like a second reincarnation. Qin felt that she was lucky and had married very well. Although her mother-in-law was in charge of the household, she treated all the families equally and always considered their needs. Now the family had even started a business, and the future development would only get better and better.
But Lianhua is different. Mothers-in-law like Sun are rare. If you encounter an old lady who likes to torment her daughter-in-law, money is naturally the only reliable thing to rely on.
Besides, how could she, as the aunt, accept money from her niece?
“Aunt, although I always say that Grandma Lu saved my life, if you and Uncle hadn’t met me and gone through the pressure to beg Grandma Lu, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’ve always remembered that kindness. I know you’ve put all the money into business now, but this is just a token of my appreciation. Please accept it.”
Lianhua spoke with heartfelt sincerity, saying that if her aunt hadn't told her family about her situation to protect herself, she would definitely have been sold into a brothel.
Moreover, there was a riot in Ganzhou, and I heard that the brothels were burned down. If she were inside, she probably wouldn't even be left with her body.
“Silly child, you are the only child left in my family. If I don’t protect you, who else can I protect? Your parents were very good to me when they were alive, so it’s only right for your aunt to be good to you. I know you’re sensible, but you’re still a child. You don’t need to push yourself too hard. You’ve done a great job. Your aunt is proud of you.”
Madam Qin smiled and touched her face, her eyes shining with pride.
How could she not be proud? Her niece had secured such a large order for the family and gained their approval, so things were naturally different from before.
Lianhua hugged her aunt tightly, her voice choked with emotion: "Aunt..."
She was still just a twelve or thirteen-year-old child, and when she thought of her grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters who had all died tragically, she couldn't help but shed tears.
In the end, Lianhua kept the two taels of silver herself. Qin told her to find a place to hide it, and that was her private savings.
Lianhua nodded in agreement, thinking that since she would be going to the county town often in the future, she would buy more nice things for her younger siblings when she had money, which would be a way of showing her appreciation.
Meanwhile, Sun and Old Man Lu knocked on the door of the village chief's house.
The person who opened the door was Zhao, the eldest daughter-in-law of the village chief. Her husband had built a house for the Lu family, so she naturally recognized the old couple. Without asking what they wanted, she invited them into the house.
"Father, Uncle Lu and his wife have arrived!"
She called out to them, then asked the two elders to sit down, and went to the kitchen to pour them two bowls of tea.
"We don't have any good tea at home, so I hope you two won't find it too bad."
Zhao was very polite and hospitable, and Sun accepted the gifts with a smile, in a very good mood.
At Zhao's call, the village chief and his wife came out. Several children peeked out from inside the house, but Zhao pulled them back inside.
"Brother Lu, is there something you need?"
The village chief asked with a smile, and Old Man Lu explained his purpose.
"Is your family buying land to build another house?"
The village chief's eyes widened. Wasn't this house just built?
So spacious and luxurious, isn't that enough to live in?
"Haha, please excuse my poor brother. My family has recently started a business, which I'm sure you've heard about. We're making and selling ready-made clothes. But with people living at home, there's not enough space to work, so I thought we should build a dedicated workshop."
Old Lu explained with a smile, his words were very modest, but his tone still couldn't help but reveal his pride. This was unique in the village, and he, Old Lu, was the most impressive old man in the village.
The village chief and his wife were shocked. They knew that the Lu family was in the clothing business. The villagers had previously gossiped about it, saying that they just stuffed chicken, duck and goose feathers into their clothes, and that stuff smelled terrible. At first, they thought the Lu family was just using the clothes for themselves. They never expected that they would start a business, and that the business seemed to be doing quite well.
Old Man Lu just said he wants to buy another six acres of land, which means he wants to build a workshop on six acres of land. Has the Lu family's business grown so big?
After the initial shock, the village chief laughed again: "Buying land is no problem. Anyway, no one has bought that area next to your house. Just go and measure it out and mark it off. As for building the house..."
Old Lu said, "Of course, we will have to trouble the village chief to help us. The young men worked very hard last time, so we will use the same ones. However, we are in a hurry this time and we need to finish the work within ten days. So we ask the village chief to recruit more strong men from the village to do the work. The wages will be the same as last time. If there are not enough people in the village, we can find reliable people from the surrounding villages."
This is great!
The village chief laughed even harder, because this way he could also bring his wife's family and the families of all his daughters-in-law to work together!
"Brother Lu, are you planning to build workshops on all six acres of land?"
"Only two acres need to be touched; the rest can remain untouched for now."
Old Lu stroked his mustache. Two acres of land were enough to build a workshop. The reason he bought more was because he was worried about his third son's wife's various demands, so he bought them now to save himself the trouble of buying more later.
We can fence off areas where we don't need the feathers for the time being and raise chickens and ducks there. We need so many feathers at home right now, so we might as well be self-sufficient.
The village chief then asked, "So, will you build a brick house again this time?"
“It’s just a workshop, using bricks would be a waste. Making adobe bricks will do. Thank you for your help, village chief.”
"What's the big deal? Brother Lu, this is a blessing for the village!"
The village chief smiled happily. In another half month, the village would start harvesting grain. At that time, there would be no more work to be done. But the Lu family's timing was just right. They could finish the work within ten days, get paid, and then continue to tend their own crops. Every household could have a prosperous New Year.
While the two old men were chatting happily, Sun handed the basket she had brought from home to Liu, the village chief's wife.
The basket was covered with a blue cloth. When Liu lifted it, she found it was full of eggs, at least thirty or forty.
"Sister-in-law, our family has been troubling the village chief a lot lately. This is a token of our family's goodwill, please accept it!"
Madam Sun always had a smile on her face. No matter how fierce she was at home, once she stepped outside, she was a very kind and gentle woman who was considerate and likable.
Although Liu said it was too kind of her to help, she still accepted the eggs. Eggs were a rare commodity these days, and they could help supplement the nutrition of her children.
"Then thank you, young lady!"
Liu handed the basket to her daughter-in-law to make room, then pulled Sun aside and chatted intimately, looking just like old sisters.
Having a good relationship with the village chief's family would only benefit her, so she said, "Sister-in-law, please don't say that. Living in the village in the future, we'll need to trouble the village chief a lot! Our family is making clothes, and we don't have enough manpower, so we'll definitely need to find some young women and wives in the village who are good at needlework. Sister-in-law, you have to help me keep an eye on them and make sure they're quick and efficient and don't try to cheat!"
P.S.: As usual, there will be another chapter tonight. I have no drafts saved up, and I also have another book to write, so I'm just going to stubbornly update without any chapters. Please forgive me, ladies!
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