"Let me give you a simple example. Right now, I'm alone. If the business grows, I'll naturally need helpers. I can manage one, two is tolerable, three is barely manageable, but any more and I won't be able to. These people have more knowledge and experience than me. Why should they listen to me? There's a lot of knowledge involved in this."
"But..." Gu Xingping still wanted to insist on her own idea.
"I understand your desire to make money. If you like, I can talk to Mom for you. I'm planning to rent a place in town and I need people anyway. You can work with me this holiday. However, after you've had your experience, you must go back and study hard. If you can get into high school, I'll take you to travel to big cities like Beijing and Shanghai."
Beijing and Shanghai?
These were places Gu Xingping had only seen in books and on maps, places she never dared to dream of.
"Third sister-in-law, can you really take me?"
Chen Lishu nodded, "I'll take you if you get into high school."
Gu Xingping hesitated, "What if I study but still can't get in?"
Chen Lishu said with certainty, "Then you didn't study seriously. If you study seriously, I don't believe you won't get in."
Gu Xingping hesitated for a long time, but ultimately couldn't resist the allure of Beijing and Shanghai and agreed.
Chen Lishu didn't give her a chance to regret it. As soon as she agreed, she immediately pulled her out of the room to find Li Xiulan and Gu Shoufu to be witnesses.
"Lishu, how did you manage it? I've said it all, shouted and shouted, and only stopped short of hitting her. How did you persuade this stubborn girl in such a short time?" Li Xiulan was overjoyed that Gu Xingping had agreed to go back to school and was even more impressed with Chen Lishu.
"Mom, my third sister-in-law said she wants to take me to make money this holiday. You mustn't stop us."
Li Xiulan replied repeatedly, "No stopping, no stopping."
Gu Shoufu also looked relieved to see his daughter agree to go to school.
On the contrary, Liu Yuemin, who had been peeking through the crack in the door, saw the smiling faces of the group, especially Chen Lishu who was making an appearance before the elders. She couldn't help but spit inwardly. Seeing them walking towards her, she slammed the door open. If Chen Lishu hadn't reacted in time, she would have been hit directly.
"Finished putting on a good show?" Liu Yuemin looked at her and sneered, "Third sister-in-law, you're really something. You went to the provincial capital and brought gifts for everyone, but you left our family out? And you secretly delivered them to each room, afraid people would know, is that it? Don't tell me you forgot!"
Some people are truly insufferable. If you want to give them some face, they insist on being shameless.
Chen Lishu sneered, "Second sister-in-law, which eye of yours saw me acting secretively? I delivered them openly. Also, I didn't forget to bring you something, I intentionally didn't want to bring you anything. You know the reason yourself."
"I don't know," Liu Yuemin said with a dark face and a stubborn neck. "Are you behaving properly? Everyone got gifts, but I didn't. It would be a laughingstock if word got out."
Chen Lishu stepped forward and looked down at her, "Laughing at whom? If anyone is to be laughed at, it's probably you! You have nothing to do all day but stare at this person and scheme against that person, quacking everywhere like a duck all day. Don't you find it annoying? Don't think that the matter of you sabotaging the garment factory last time is over. Believe it or not, I can make all those hairpins you made sit on your hands."
Liu Yuemin took a while to react to her outburst before saying, "You, you're trying to scare me."
"If it weren't for the fact that we share the same surname Gu, would you have been able to bounce around in front of me for so long? People have their limits. You'd better behave yourself and stop bothering me, then we can live in peace. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite."
Liu Yuemin looked at her serious expression and felt an inexplicable fear. This sister-in-law was not as soft-natured as the eldest sister-in-law, Zhang Qin. She suddenly remembered the time she wanted to burn her fabrics and hairpins. Liu Yuemin was indeed afraid of provoking her.
"Tsk, it's just a cheap silk scarf and a box of powder. Do you really think anyone cares? I wouldn't want them even if they were given to me for free."
"That's great then. Fortunately, I didn't bring anything for you. Since you don't care, why are you blocking the way? Good dogs don't block the path, don't you know?"
With that, she pushed Liu Yuemin aside and went back into her own room. As soon as she entered, she heard the neighboring room door slam shut with a "boom."
Chen Lishu paid no attention and pretended not to hear. After sorting out the items she bought for her maiden family, she went to the Chen family.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Chen Mandun and Wu Chunmei, the couple, making adobe bricks. On one side of the courtyard, there were already made adobe bricks stacked high, estimated to be over a thousand.
"Dad, Mom, why are you still working so late? Are you building a house?"
The couple looked up in surprise when they saw her return. Wu Chunmei stopped her work and wiped the sweat from her forehead, "You've only been gone for a few days, how did you come back so quickly?"
"Xingdong only has three days of leave. There wasn't much for me to do there, so I came back."
Chen Mandun saw her gaze shift to the bricks behind them and replied, "The house has been leaking badly recently due to the rain. We have to build a house sooner or later, so we thought it's better to do it early. The production team sent people over to make over a thousand bricks, and your mother and I thought we should speed things up. We have nothing else to do after dinner, so we're doing more."
One good thing at this time was that the affairs of the commune members were the affairs of the collective. Whether you were digging a well, building a house, or laying a courtyard wall, the production team would send labor to help for free, and then the production team would calculate work points based on the labor provided.
"Your father and I calculated that although we don't have enough money to build a brick house, a spacious adobe house is also good, and we'll still have some money left over."
At this time, the only things that needed to be paid for when building a house were the roof beams and doors and windows. Laying adobe bricks and labor didn't cost money. The total cost would be less than two hundred yuan.
Chen Lishu nodded, thinking it was a good idea.
"The mud is already mixed. I'll finish this batch, and you two ladies go back inside first."
Hearing him say that, Wu Chunmei put down her work, washed her hands, and went into the room with Chen Lishu.
Chen Liyuan and Chen Lifeng were studying, while the other younger ones were playing. They were all very happy to see her come in, "Eldest sister, you're back."
"Mmm," Chen Lishu nodded, took out the gifts she had brought for them, "Fourth sister will also be starting school in the fall. Eldest sister specially bought you a schoolbag too. Look, it's army green with a five-pointed star on it."
"Eldest sister, Mom said my second and third sisters' schooling have already cost a lot of money, and she said I should wait a couple more years to go to school," Chen Liwan said a little aggrievedly, touching the schoolbag with fondness.
Seeing Chen Lishu frown, Wu Chunmei quickly explained, "That's part of it. Sixth and seventh are still young. I thought she could stay at home for two years, and when the second one finishes, the fourth one can go."
Chen Liyuan became anxious, "Mom, I'm studying well, why should I stop? I want to go to high school too."