Chapter 493: Untying Thousands of Knots for Others
It was almost midnight before I turned on my phone, and a few missed calls popped up.
One of them was from Mr. Fang, another was from my brother-in-law, and the other was a stranger.
I checked WeChat first. Shaojie had indeed replied to me. He wrote:
"Teacher Wan, after seeing the WeChat message you sent me and the money you transferred, I thought about it for a long time. I finally accepted it.
If the stone can be sold for money, I will use the money to pay it back. If the stone cannot be sold for much money, I want to pay it back slowly.
Recently, many friends have suggested that I start a photography training class. Some recent retirees, who have money but no other hobbies, are looking for something to enrich their lives.
The barrier to entry into the photography industry is not high, so I think running a training course is also a way to generate income.
The reason why I accepted your money and will pay you back slowly later is because you hit the nail on the head.
I have to make my wife happy. She was once a flower of youth for me, but now she has become a shrew. I feel guilty and should make her live a happier and more joyful life.
A thousand words are not enough to describe my feelings at this moment. I can only quote Wang Changling's poem to describe the feelings between us:
The green mountains share the same wind and rain, and the bright moon is never in two places.
Thank you again. A journey of a thousand miles reveals a horse's strength, and time reveals a person's true character. I will live up to the gods and you."
I didn't reply to him again.
Master said that after helping others, we should not bring up the subject again. We should act as if nothing had happened.
If I reply, he will thank me again, and this back and forth will increase the psychological burden on others.
As for his promise to pay it back, that's a matter for the future. Let's talk about the future later.
I called my brother-in-law and asked him what was wrong.
He said, "I've built a small niche in the hotel and want to put a pair of Pixiu in it. How should I place them?"
"Don't place it directly facing the main door, but at a 45-degree angle. Place one on each side, with the Pi Xiu's head facing the door in the shape of an 'eight'."
Also, place a small bowl in front of each one with a layer of water in it."
After making this call, call Mr. Fang.
Mr. Fang said, "I have a relative who wants your advice. I couldn't get through to you on the phone, so I sent her your number, but she couldn't get through either."
"Sorry, I had something to do this morning, so I turned off my phone."
"Are you free this afternoon? I'll ask her to come see you this afternoon. Please send me a map of the location."
"Come at three in the afternoon."
After hanging up the phone, I sent Mr. Fang the map of the location. My mother said, "It's time to eat."
Xiaolin didn't come home, so it was just me, my dad, and my mom eating together. Sister Guihua had to wait until my mom finished eating and took over taking care of Yuyu before she could come eat.
I told my mother, "Originally, I only wanted a salary of 50,000 yuan. But Mr. Chen meant that I still had to serve as the company's cultural consultant.
I haven't told him I'll only take 50,000, and I haven't changed his bank account. I'll still pay him his original salary this month. I'll transfer 50,000 to you when the time comes."
My mother said, "Don't think too much. You can't earn 150,000 yuan a month at home. Just go work for Mr. Chen."
As for the money, you can give me as much as you want. But don’t let Xiaolin hold all your money.”
I smiled and didn't argue. In her mind, Xiaolin was still an outsider. My parents and I were the real family.
The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is an age-old problem. Buying a villa has its advantages, as each family can live on one floor. Otherwise, daughters-in-law would always live cautiously under the watchful eyes of their mother-in-law.
To be compliant means to be submissive like Japanese women; to contradict them goes against the traditional virtues of the Chinese people and is considered unfilial.
After dinner, I was too lazy to go upstairs, so I took a nap in the guest room on the first floor.
Before I knew it, I had slept until three o'clock, when my mother came to wake me up. She said, "Someone is looking for you."
I washed my face and lazily walked into the living room, where I saw a woman in her thirties sitting on the sofa.
Seeing me, she quickly stood up and said, "Teacher Wan, my name is Yu Fang. It was Master Fang who asked me to come and see you."
I nodded and said, "Let's go to the study."
After saying that, he walked in and she followed him in.
I made tea and it boiled in a moment. She said, "I have a cup."
It turned out that she brought in the cup of tea that my mother had made. I said, "Add some hot water."
I filled her glass to 70%. I poured myself a glass, looked at her and smiled, "If you have anything to say, please tell me."
She said, "I heard from Mr. Fang that you are very resourceful, and I have a small matter to ask you. So, I took the liberty to bother you."
"You're welcome. Just tell me what you want. I'll do my best to help you."
"My husband's family is from Wushan County, Chongqing. He only has one mother. My mother-in-law sells fruit at the Wushan cruise ship dock.
That doesn't sell for much money. Tourists have very little time on land and still want to visit other attractions.
When a tourist came to buy something, the other tourists didn't want to wait. By the time she finished weighing, the other tourists had already left.
She runs a small business like this. She doesn't make much money, but she still refuses to live with us. She says she wants to buy an apartment in Wushan.
Actually, I'm okay with her, despite our different living habits. But she can't stand me. If I dress more fancy or fashionable, she'll call me a freak.
I felt sorry for her and told her not to sell fruit anymore. We could support her, but she refused to listen.
As a result, every time we go back home, the neighbors on both sides point fingers at me and say bad things about me behind my back.
So, this time, I want to go back with my husband and take her home. What I want to ask you is how I can persuade her."
I took a sip of tea and said, "Actually, there's no conflict between you and her, just a difference in perspective. But if you just ask her to come live in Shangzhou, she won't agree."
In the summer, if you wear something revealing, she thinks it's inappropriate. In the winter, if you wear tights and a long coat, she feels uncomfortable.
She would think, a married woman would rather freeze than dress like a fairy in such a cold weather, who is she dressing for?
Yu Fang clapped her hands and said, "Teacher Wan, that's exactly what happened. You seem to be there." She asked, "Why are you dodging?"
In fact, everyone in the workplace dresses like this. They drive to work and their offices are air-conditioned. It's normal to dress like this. She thought I was trying to seduce someone else."
I said, "There is no other conflict, you just have a difference in concepts, so you don't have to rush to take her over.
First, change her mindset. Once her mindset improves, she will understand you in a new way and think everything about you is normal."
Erfang pointed at her nose and asked, "I improved her thinking?"
I nodded and said, "Yes."
She asked in surprise, "How can I improve her thinking? Our ideas are incompatible. She gets disgusted the moment I open my mouth."
I laughed out loud: "I have an idea. During the May Day holiday, you and your husband will go home. You can accompany your mother-in-law to sell fruit. Sell as many days as you have off, and don't go anywhere else."
She looked at me intently.
I said, "Your mother-in-law sells fruit the old way: weighing, calculating, paying, and delivering...
Tourists, on the other hand, can’t wait that long. As long as your mother-in-law has a customer, they will go to another stall to buy.
So, when you get back, buy some lunch boxes and fill each box with fruits, such as peaches, strawberries, and plums.
First weigh the weight, calculate the price, and put labels on it to tell how much this box is and how much that box is.
At the dock, the packaged fruits were displayed on a stall. Some loose fruit was also available for people to taste. Visitors came ashore, scanned their phones, picked up a box, and left.
While others are still weighing out their produce by the pound, yours has already sold out. This is like introducing the urban supermarket model to your mother-in-law. It's like passing on advanced concepts to her.
Do this once, and your perspectives will converge. Gradually, she will be able to understand you."
Yu Fang opened her mouth wide and took a long time to say, "The docks in Wu County all use straw scales. Why haven't I thought of this before?"
I said, "Some people always complain that their parents back home are unhygienic and backward in their thinking. They always like to lecture their parents.
You can tile your parents' house, paint the walls white, replace the wood stove with a gas stove, or build a special wood stove room.
Civility and hygiene can't be changed by just preaching; we need to spend money to improve the environment first. Thinking can't be improved overnight either; we need to integrate advanced ideas into their lives.
Isn’t this how supermarkets sell fruits – they keep them clean, mark the prices and then sell them?
It means moving the work of packaging and weighing forward. Once the product reaches the market, only the last step is completed: the deal is done.
If you try my method once, you and your mother-in-law will have more things in common in the future."
She exclaimed, "You really explained it in a simple and easy-to-understand way. I'm really inspired. Thank you. How much is it?"
I said, "After May Day, just send me a pound of fruit."
She smiled and said, "I want to give you some fruit. How much is it?"
I waved my hands and said, "Mr. Fang's relative, why should I charge you any money? Come on, come on, don't be so distant."
She thanked him repeatedly before leaving.
I stood up and stretched, thinking that I still had to continue fighting in the evening. I wondered what new problems the friend Kong Haoran introduced me to would have.
I hope that just like what I did just now, I can make others leave satisfied.
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