Chen Lishu held Rui Rui’s hand as they walked into the house, saying, “Who knows? Maybe she’s not thinking clearly because she’s sick. Second sister-in-law, you shouldn’t stand by the door. The wind is strong here; be careful you don’t get sick too.”
Liu Yuemin nearly choked, too angry to speak. She turned and went back to her room with the child.
Chen Lishu paid her no mind, guessing that Old Mrs. Chen’s visit was likely about her asking Chen Baozhu to work on the road construction.
Whether she came or not, it was best if she didn’t, saving her some trouble.
She had a pile of things to do now and no time for her.
The next day, right after breakfast, as Chen Lishu was washing dishes, Hu Si’er came to report the situation.
“Third sister-in-law, let me do it. You and Uncle Hu Si go talk in the room,” Zhang Qin took over her task. Chen Lishu didn’t refuse, smiled at her, wiped her hands, and followed Hu Si’er inside.
Li Xiulan was cutting clothes. Seeing Hu Si’er enter, she beckoned him to sit. After they both sat down, Hu Si’er explained about finding people the previous day.
“We have twenty to thirty people signed up now, but Lao Lin and I discussed it, and we probably won’t need so many for now. Including us two, there are fifteen people. However, we haven’t turned anyone away; their information has been recorded. If anyone doesn’t perform well, we can replace them on short notice.” Dafeng Novel Network
Chen Lishu hadn’t expected them to be so thoughtful and nodded to show she understood.
Seeing she didn’t object, Hu Si’er spoke a few more words, then glanced at Chen Lishu’s expression before changing the topic to Chen Baozhu: “We already notified him yesterday, but he seemed unwilling. We’re organizing everyone to start work today, and he hasn’t shown up.”
“Just record him as absent. If he’s absent for three consecutive days, he won’t get a chance to join later. Tell him it’s my decision. If he has any complaints, he can come find me directly.”
“Got it.” Hu Si’er had been waiting for her to say this. He acknowledged her, stood up, and bid farewell to Chen Lishu and Li Xiulan: “We’ve already told everyone to bring their tools and gather at the foot of the mountain. Lishu, sister-in-law, I’ll head there first.”
After seeing Hu Si’er off, Chen Lishu informed Li Xiulan and returned to the Chen family home.
“Mom, next spring I want you to collect some eggs and hatch some chicks. It doesn’t matter if they are chickens, ducks, or geese; the more the better. Chicks hatched at home are always sturdier and easier to raise than those bought from outside.”
Chen Lishu took out two hundred yuan and handed it to Wu Chunmei.
Buying eggs personally would be slightly more expensive than the purchasing station, but it would be at most seven to eight mao per catty. Because they were free-range eggs and small, about ten would make a catty, meaning seven to eight fen per egg. Fertilized eggs were slightly more expensive than normal eggs, about one mao each. The number of people raising chickens in the village was limited, so Chen Lishu estimated that one hundred yuan would be enough for Wu Chunmei to collect eggs.
“This hundred yuan is for hatching chicks, and the other hundred yuan is for New Year’s from Xingdong and me to you and Dad.”
Wu Chunmei waved her hands repeatedly as she looked at the stack of yuan bills Chen Lishu handed her: “You don’t need that much. Fifty is enough. You’re tight on money right now. We just sold the pigs, and your father and I have money.”
Chen Lishu directly stuffed the money into her pocket and said with a smile, “We’re not short of this two hundred, no matter how much money we lack. Mom, please take it. I’ll need you to help me look after the chickens and ducks later. If you don’t accept the money, I won’t use your help.”
Since Chen Lizi’s premature birth, Wu Chunmei’s health had not been very good. Later, she had a miscarriage with severe bleeding, and now she couldn’t do any heavy work. Chen Lishu was even worried that sewing clothes would be too strenuous for her.
Normally, she could only tend to the vegetable garden and earn some money by sending vegetables to Liu Yong in winter.
Now that Chen Lishu was planning to raise chickens and ducks, Wu Chunmei could help look after them.
“You child, I’m your mother; of course, it’s my duty to help look after things.”
Chen Mantun smiled and advised from the side, “It’s the child’s thoughtful gesture, you should accept it. We can help each other out more.”
…
“Grandma, I saw Chen Lishu going to Second Uncle’s house.” Chen Baozhu came in from outside and quickly told Old Mrs. Chen what he had seen.
“This wretched girl finally showed herself.” Old Mrs. Chen immediately got off the kang, put on her shoes, and called Zhang Chunhua to go to Chen Mantun’s house.
“Eldest daughter-in-law, come with me. I don’t believe I can’t deal with that wretched girl.”
Zhang Chunhua was also filled with anger. Hearing Old Mrs. Chen’s words, she grabbed her scarf without hesitation and went out with her.
…
Seeing that most of what they needed to discuss was done, Chen Lishu asked a few more questions about her younger sisters’ studies and prepared to leave.
As soon as she stood up, the door was pushed open, and Old Mrs. Chen and Zhang Chunhua entered with frosty expressions.
“Mom, why have you come over in this cold weather? Come inside and warm up on the kang.” Chen Mantun immediately got up to usher them to the kang.
“Warm up, my foot! Having such a granddaughter has made my heart as cold as ice.”
Old Mrs. Chen glared at Chen Mantun, then turned to Chen Lishu and questioned directly, “Did you send Hu Si’er to our house to ask your elder brother to go work on the road construction?”
Chen Lishu smiled, “Wasn’t it agreed before? We hired my elder brother to work for thirty yuan a month.”
“Is that called working? That’s making him do manual labor! Hu Si’er and Lin Dazhong are not related to you, yet you have them managing the road construction. Baozhu is your own elder brother; you’re making him chisel the earth with everyone else. What on earth are you thinking?”
The smile on Chen Lishu’s face faded slightly, “Hu Si’er and Lin Dazhong still have to work; they’re just helping out more. There’s no fundamental difference. Besides, if I’m paying people to work, I certainly need them to do their jobs. Do I hire my elder brother to be a decoration?”
“Your Grandma doesn’t mean it like that,” Zhang Chunhua explained, “Your elder brother hasn’t been strong since he was young and can’t do heavy labor.”
Chen Lishu feigned realization, “Auntie, why didn’t you mention this earlier? If I had known my elder brother was like this, I wouldn’t have agreed to hire him. Clearing the mountains is all heavy work; there’s no easy job. How about I take back my offer, and my elder brother can go home to rest?”
Old Mrs. Chen’s face immediately darkened, “Rest for what? We said we’d arrange a job for him. If he can’t do heavy labor, isn’t there supervision? He can direct others to work. You’re not usually here, and if someone is slacking off or stealing things, I think it would be better to have your elder brother watch over those people for you.”
“Grandma, there’s nothing much to steal on the mountain now, and besides, I’ve contracted out all the work. There’s no need to watch over them. Didn’t you see I haven’t even gone to check?”
Seeing that for every ten words she spoke, this little brat had a hundred comebacks, Old Mrs. Chen couldn’t help but direct all her anger at Chen Mantun, “You see this wretched girl playing mind games with me? You have a daughter, and you don’t even discipline her. You’re happy to see her wear me down to my death, aren’t you?”