"Don’t listen to her nonsense! It looks like the business is doing well, but the problem is we don’t make much money," Yi Xiaolin said helplessly. "If we sell it for too much, no one will buy it. If we sell it too cheaply, we don’t make a profit."
What Yi Xiaolin said was true. In the countryside, he wasn’t the only one who knew how to brew alcohol. Several households in the surrounding area did the sa. You could find at least one distillery every few villages. If you charged just a little more, people would rather walk a bit farther to buy from sowhere else. Rural folk calculated every penny they spent.
"Uncle Anguo, when are you going to take with you to make a living in Shenzhen?" Yi Xiaolin asked with a smile.
"If you go to Shenzhen with , what about your family?" Yi Anguo smiled and asked back. "Are you willing to leave your wife and two children at ho?"
"Uncle Anguo, as long as you can take him to Shenzhen to make money, what’s the problem? If worst cos to worst, the three of us—the children and I—will just follow him to Shenzhen to enjoy the good life," said Yi Xiaolin’s wife, Huang Xiaoli.
"If I really take him, I have to make sure he can earn money. Otherwise, I wouldn’t take him at all."
Yi Anguo already had a few ideas, but Yi Xiaolin alone wasn’t enough.
"By the way, what’s Yi Xiaoman up to these days?" Yi Anguo asked.
Yi Xiaoman was an apprentice whom Yi Anguo had previously taken out to work.
"He bought his own set of machinery and makes furniture at ho to sell. He should be doing better than working for soone else!" Yi Xiaolin said.
"I’m going to visit my parents and burn so paper offerings. When I get back, let’s go see Yi Xiaoman," Yi Anguo said after a mont of thought.
Just then, his eldest cousin’s wife, Hongi, returned, pushing an electric scooter. "Anguo, you’re back!"
"Sister Hongi, you’re back!" Yi Anguo greeted her with a smile, and the others present greeted her as well.
Hongi was a village cadre—the won’s director, accountant, and cashier all in one. She was very well-liked, and villagers ca to her for advice on matters big and small. She also diated family disputes and argunts.
Yi Anguo’s family and his eldest cousin’s were neighbors, sharing a courtyard. "Did you drive this car back?" Hongi asked, looking at the vehicle parked out front.
"I drove it back," Yi Anguo nodded.
"Not bad. You seem to be doing well for yourself out there," she said, nodding with a satisfied smile. "Your parents can rest in peace knowing this."
She then turned her attention to the people with him. "Is this your new wife? She’s quite pretty, better than the last one! And is this Xin Yi? She’s gotten so big! Her eyes, her nose... she looks more and more like you every day."
"Rember to stay for dinner later!"
"Then I won’t be polite! I’ve been craving your cooking since I was a kid!" Yi Anguo replied with a laugh.
"If you like it, eat your fill later. I’ll make sure you have plenty!" Hongi said with a happy smile.
Yi Anguo said his goodbyes and left with Li Shanshan and Yi Qiuyi, carrying the sacrificial items they had bought, and headed toward his parents’ graves.
Along the way, whenever he ran into villagers, he had to stop and exchange a few words, so his progress was slow. He couldn’t hurry even if he wanted to. When people from the village greeted him, you couldn’t just ignore them. After not seeing them for years, stopping to chat for a few minutes was basic courtesy.
The walk from his house to his parents’ graves would normally take seven or eight minutes, ten at most. However, it took him over an hour to finally get there.
"Dad! Mom! I’ve brought your granddaughter to see you. How are you?"
In front of his parents’ graves, Yi Anguo offered incense and kowtowed three tis. Then, he had his daughter offer three sticks of incense as well. Finally, Li Shanshan also stepped forward to offer three sticks of incense.
Li Shanshan knew in her heart what her sister ant by sending her ho with her brother-in-law, so she felt she should also offer incense and pay respects to his parents.
Yi Anguo then burned the Joss Paper and paper ingots he had brought and set off firecrackers to notify his parents to co and collect their money.
"Dad! Mom! You suffered your whole lives in the world of the living. Now that you’re in the netherworld, your son has burned mountains of money for you. From now on, don’t pinch pennies or be afraid to spend it. If you run short, send a dream and let know. I’ll burn more for you. I’ll burn as much as you want—I guarantee it’ll be enough!"
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