??44: Chapter 44: Shock_1
44: Chapter 44: Shock_1
Li Qiao smiled with twinkling eyes, “Let’s eat together.”
When he returned ho, Qin Jin handed over the eggs.
Old Mrs.
Qin couldn’t stop smiling, “I’ve saved up six or seven, the day after tomorrow morning I’ll boil them all for you to take to school and eat.”
Li Qiao asked, “Won’t they go bad?”
“They won’t spoil in this weather; one per al and they’ll be gone in two days.”
“Eating too many will make you sick of them, I’ll just take two when the ti cos, the rest you and Jin can eat.” Li Qiao said as he went out to pick rice straw.
“Qiaoqiao, what are you doing with that?” Old Mrs.
Qin paused, “Making a vase?”
Li Qiao replied, “Yeah, before school starts didn’t we go to the supply and marketing co-op?
My classmate Gao Dagang works there; I plan to weave a few vases for him to put on display, to see if they can be sold.
If soone buys them, I won’t have to rely on Jin going far to earn my living expenses.”
He heard the elders in the family say that the security in the seventies and eighties was much worse compared to decades later.
If one went out alone, the risk was high.
Qin Jin was young and impulsive, which worried her.
Qin Jin’s voice was a bit muffled, “I’m a man, what’s there to be afraid of hard work?
It’s you, though, the first year’s exam news ca so suddenly, everyone was unprepared yet you didn’t pass.
This year, those who want to take the exam will definitely have regained their montum, you probably stand even less chance.
Instead of taking advantage of the ti to read more books, you’re busy with useless things, even taking notes for the educated youth, don’t end up being the only one left behind when…
hiss~”
It was Old Mrs.
Qin who pinched his ear.
“Can’t you speak so pleasant words?!”
“Ow, Grandma, let go, I won’t say it anymore.
She will definitely pass, beco the Top Scholar!”
Old Mrs.
Qin said, “That’s more like it!”
The scene in front of her made Li Qiao smile, “I’m confident this ti, if I can’t be the Top Scholar, at least the runner-up or the third place, right?
If worse cos to worst, I must be in the top ten in the province.” She had been recomnded to university after just one year of high school.
It showed she had so talent for learning.
Now she had been crazily cramming for over a month at ho, morizing what needed to be morized.
It was enough.
Now, as long as she followed the teacher’s steps, making a good impression with her score, she felt it was not difficult.
Qin Jin’s smile was unrestrained, “You get out of breath just from being called fat.”
“You rascal!
A dog’s mouth can’t spit out ivory, go chop so bamboo for your future wife!” scolded Old Mrs.
Qin.
Qin Jin pursed his lips and left with his sickle.
After chopping the bamboo and dragging it ho, he found the front door wide open.
Old Mrs.
Qin and Li Qiao were nowhere to be seen.
He called out twice and then stepped into the Feng family’s courtyard.
Yu Feng was sitting in the yard enjoying the sunshine, leisurely directing her daughters-in-law at work.
She looked up to et Qin Jin’s ferocious montum and panicked, falling off her stool onto the ground.
“You, you, Jin, what are you doing?
Let’s talk it out nicely.” Ever since that hooligan ca back, she’d been scared out of her wits, afraid the old man would spout nonsense in front of this guy.
She got through one night safely and thought all was well.
Who would have thought, he still ca knocking.
Feng Hu ca out of the house, explaining, “Jin, about your family’s rabbits, we’ve already converted them into money and given it to Old Mrs.
Qin, one yuan and fifty, Feng Qingjun decided.”
“Yes, yes, it was Feng Qingjun who made the decision,” Yu Feng quickly chid in.
Qin Jin laughed coldly, aware they knew to use the team leader as a shield.
He said grimly, “Are you buying them with the fur included?”
The family looked at each other, unsure of his aning.
Yu Feng said, “Then, it must have been bought with the skin, right?”
“One yuan and fifty with the skin?
Are you trying to take advantage of the fact that my grandma is old and doesn’t understand anything?
My wife feeds that rabbit every day, and it’s fat and big, weighing at least six or seven catties.
If I took it to the town’s butcher, he wouldn’t give
just one yuan and fifty!
At the very least, he’d give
two yuan and let
keep the skin!
We’re all neighbors here, I won’t argue with you, just give
another yuan.
Otherwise, we’re not done here today.”
Upon hearing she’d have to give another yuan, Yu Feng’s eyes rolled back, and she fainted again.
Feng Hu was sowhat angry, “Jin, do you really want us to be unable to be neighbors in the future?
If we really start fighting, my brothers and I together might not necessarily lose to you.”
Qin Jin was even angrier than Feng Hu.
Not only did the dog kill his rabbit without compensation, they even secretly cooked and ate it, and now they think they’re in the right?
Rolling up his sleeves, he stepped forward two paces, “It was you who first didn’t want to be neighbors with my family!
Taking advantage when I’m not at ho, bullying my grandmother, bullying my wife, if I can’t stand up for them today, then what kind of man am I?!
If you want to gang up on , then do it!
I’m barefoot and not afraid of soone with shoes, and if it cos down to dying, so be it—I’ll be back in eighteen years as a strong man again!
Let’s see if you value your lives.”
The whole family was so intimidated by his fearlessness that they had no choice.
In the end, they grudgingly pulled out the money.
Qin Jin pocketed the money and left.
He still had to go ho and whittle bamboo strips for his beautiful wife.
…
As soon as Qin Jin left, Yu Feng started wailing again.
Regretting her greed over the Qin family’s rabbit, two yuan and fifty cents.
Oh heavens…
To console Yu Feng, Peng Chunhua said, “Actually, you only spent two yuan.
We sold the rabbit skin for fifty cents.”
“Oh…” Yu Feng cried even louder.
Two yuan was too little?
And there was also the chicken, which cost sixty cents.
It was practically costing her life.
Li Qiao and Old Mrs.
Qin returned from outside, hearing Yu Feng’s cries, they exchanged looks.
“Wonder what happened?”
Li Qiao, “Maybe she’s upset by her daughter-in-law.”
“As long as she doesn’t bully the daughter-in-law, that’s fine.”
Grandmother and granddaughter were saying this as they got ho, and Qin Jin had already split the bamboo strips.
Li Qiao asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong with the auntie next door?
She’s crying so loud.”
“Who knows?
I’ve been at ho the whole ti making bamboo strips for you, no clue about anything else.
Take a look, are they up to standard?” Qin Jin said with composure.
Li Qiao replied, “Yeah, they’re good.” She took them and smiled, “You’ve even smoothed them down, you’re really ticulous.”
Seeing her smile, Qin Jin smiled too.
Her hands were so delicate, just a few swings of the shovel would raise huge blisters, and wouldn’t the bamboo splinters easily break the skin?
It would hurt him.
“Then shouldn’t I get a reward?”
Li Qiao glanced at Old Mrs.
Qin and mouthed, “Wait for tonight.”
Qin Jin raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Li Qiao waited until the straw was soaked and used the bamboo to start weaving the bottom of the vase.
It took her most of the afternoon to finish two straw vases and one bamboo pen holder.
“Qiaoqiao has really skilled hands,” Old Mrs.
Qin said, admiring the vases and pen holder.
“They’re so nice I almost don’t want to sell them.”
“I hope they sell well.
What do you think would be a fair price?”
“One to two mao would definitely sell.”
Li Qiao compromised, “Let’s make it one mao and five, that’s the bottom price.
If the classmate can sell them for more, he can keep the difference.”
“Spending an entire afternoon until the fingers turn red, to earn just thirty-five cents is not at all worth it,” Qin Jin comnted.
Li Qiao countered, “Earning thirty-five cents in an afternoon ans more than one yuan in two days, nearly enough for my two weeks of living expenses, I think it’s worth it.” Living expenses were a major part of household expenditures.
She wanted to do what she could to lessen their burden.
Suddenly she added, “My stepmother supported
through high school, which couldn’t have been easy, probably costing quite a bit of money.” That was also a reason she put up with Li Jinhua.
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