Zhou Liang said, keenly sensing that the air around him was not quite right. Connecting the dots, his spine stiffened, and he immediately changed his tune, "Old Wu, that's not like you. Old Gu is your superior, after all. It's really unfair to tease him like that. I'm full, you guys eat slowly."
As Zhou Liang spoke, he gathered his bowls and chopsticks and turned around, only to see Gu Xingdong standing not far away, looking at him with a half-smile.
"Old Gu, you're here. I've finished eating, I'll save the seat for you." Zhou Liang saw the situation was not right and quickly slipped away.
Who didn't know that Gu Xingdong, the battalion commander, was a ferocious god? He trained relentlessly. Although there were complaints from below, his personal conditions were outstanding. Anyone who was not convinced could challenge him at any time. Moreover, he was indeed adept at leading troops. During the training assessment, his battalion had the most outstanding results, even receiving a collective third-class merit.
Seeing Zhou Liang walk away, Gu Xingdong then walked over and sat next to Wu Zheng.
"Old, Old Gu." Wu Zheng mechanically turned his neck, showing him a smile that was not much better than crying.
Gu Xingdong raised an eyebrow, "Haven't seen you for a few days, and you're speaking so incoherently. It seems you need some training."
Wu Zheng stopped smiling.
"Eat more," Gu Xingdong said, handing him a steamed bun. "You'll run twenty laps on the training ground later. If you don't finish within the allotted time, you won't get dinner."
Wu Zheng wished he could die at that moment.
...
Time flew by, and it was soon the day Chen Lishu and Zhou Bin had agreed to deliver the goods.
In over half a month, with the sewing machine and the help of many family members working overtime, they had made nearly four thousand hairpins. The scraps of cloth bought from the garment factory were also depleted.
Because the quantity was too large and the journey was a bit far, Gu Xingye took leave that day to accompany Chen Lishu in delivering the goods to town.
When they arrived, Zhou Bin was already waiting. Seeing Chen Lishu and Gu Xingye each carrying a large bag, he knew the quantity would not be small. He was very happy.
In total, there were over three thousand seven hundred hairpins. Chen Lishu didn't haggle over the few dollars and directly asked for three hundred and seventy yuan.
Having cooperated a few times, Zhou Bin was very satisfied with Chen Lishu as a business partner. She was trustworthy and didn't talk much. He felt she was a partner worth long-term cooperation.
After bidding farewell to Zhou Bin, Chen Lishu and Gu Xingye first bought some rubber bands and then went to the Qingshan Garment Factory together.
"You've finally arrived." Liu Xiaoting waved at them from a distance.
"That liar who claimed to be your sister-in-law came to buy scraps a couple of days ago. I completely ignored him. Even though she pestered me to pay more, I didn't agree. I saved all of these for you."
As Liu Xiaoting spoke, her gaze unintentionally swept over Gu Xingye's tall figure, and her heart fluttered like a little deer. Her cheeks also couldn't help but turn red.
Chen Lishu looked at the large bag of scraps at her feet, which was probably sixty or seventy pounds. Hearing that she had saved them all for her, she smiled and said, "Thank you so much for your care, Sister Liu."
"I'm only twenty-four this year, not much older than you. Calling me sister is too polite. You can just call me by my name, Xiaoting."
Chen Lishu readily complied and called her Xiaoting.
Liu Xiaoting's face immediately broke into a smile, and she pointed to the bag, saying, "It's sixty-five pounds in total."
Chen Lishu directly gave her seven yuan.
Liu Xiaoting refused to accept the fifty cents no matter what, and shoved it back into Chen Lishu's arms, saying, "Don't worry, I'll save all these scraps for you in the future."
Chen Lishu thanked her again, then took the bag home with Gu Xingye.
"Mom, sister-in-law, this is the money everyone earned making hairpins during this time. I didn't pay them in previous times, so I thought I'd save it up and give it out all at once."
After dinner, Chen Lishu returned to her room, took out the ledger and money, and began distributing the money to everyone.
Since she started cooperating with Zhou Bin, they had made nearly seven thousand hairpins. Although they later got a sewing machine, the commission remained the same three cents.
Li Xiulan received thirty-one yuan. Gu Xingping received thirty-three yuan. Zhang Qin received a bit more, thirty-eight yuan.
In just over a month, everyone had earned more than thirty yuan. Let alone the three women, even the men in the family were quite shocked.
"It seems I need to work harder and weave more baskets at night to sell at the collection station. Otherwise, people might say I rely on my wife for a living in the future," Gu Xingguo said jokingly to Zhang Qin.
Zhang Qin blushed and said, "What's wrong with being supported by your wife? I can earn money now. In a couple of days, there will be a big market in the town, and I'll buy cloth to make new clothes for you four men."
"Oh, great, I'll have new clothes to wear!" Gu Hong, a three-year-old girl with pigtails tied with red hair ties, wearing a patchwork floral smock made by Chen Lishu from scraps, heard that she would have new clothes. Her big eyes narrowed into crescent moons, and she grinned, revealing a row of small, white, rice-like teeth.
Everyone couldn't help but smile indulgently at her adorable appearance.
Only Gu Xingmin and Liu Yuemin, the couple by their side, felt jealous and angry seeing how much money everyone received. But the path they had chosen themselves, it was not so easy to open their mouths now.
After distributing the money, Chen Lishu took the money and went back to her maiden home.
Wu Chunmei was feeding her baby, Chen Lizi, and was surprised to see her come in.
"Why are you back at this hour?"
Chen Liyuan and Chen Lifie, who were studying at the table, also looked up.
Chen Lishu smiled, "It's nothing. I sold the hairpins today, so I came to settle the accounts with Mom."
Wu Chunmei then breathed a sigh of relief, "You scared me. I thought you had a quarrel with your in-laws since Xingdong just left not long ago."
"How could that be?" Chen Lishu smiled, took out fifty yuan, and handed it to Wu Chunmei.
"Why so much?"
"The previous few times are all included. It will be the same in the future, settling once a month."
Wu Chunmei took the money, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Have you heard from Xingdong since he left? You two are living apart, so you need to communicate more. Don't be busy making money all day; write letters to stay in touch."
Having been busy making hairpins for the past half month, Chen Lishu had indeed forgotten about writing letters until Wu Chunmei mentioned it. Thinking that someone had specifically told her to write before leaving, Chen Lishu quickly nodded in agreement.
"I know, Mom. I'll write it back when I get home."
Chen Lishu chatted with Wu Chunmei for a while longer, then asked, "Where did my father go?"
Wu Chunmei's eyes clearly dodged.
"Dad went to Big Uncle's house," Chen Liyuan looked up, her tone carrying a hint of anger and helplessness.
"What did he go to Big Uncle's house for?"
"Now that the family's conditions are better, your father and I figured since the rabbits and pheasants were all caught on the mountain, and your grandmother is there, we sent two over."
Wu Chunmei took over.
"It wasn't just two. After the first time, Grandma and Big Uncle kept pestering Dad. Now, every time Dad catches something, he has to send it to them first. They clearly can't bear to eat it themselves. If they want to eat it, why don't they go catch it themselves?"
Chen Liyuan was full of anger when she thought about it.