"Can't you mind your own business if you don't know anything?" Wang Aixiang said loudly, her eyes red. "I'm disciplining my son! After I finish my work outside, I still have to take care of the house. Can you please give me less trouble? What does the entire compound think of our family now?"
Wang Aixiang's mother-in-law paused, then retorted stubbornly, "Let them think whatever they want. If you can't stand the sound of crickets, will you stop planting crops? They just want us to move out so they can have our space. What a pipe dream! This house was allocated when my son started working. I've lived here for over a decade. This is my home, and I'd like to see who dares to say otherwise!"
Wang Aixiang, in her anger, blurted out, "Your son is long dead. What's the point of us clinging to this place? I've been saying we should buy another house..."
"My son died while working for the factory, so the factory has the right to manage our family. Let them say whatever they want. I will not move out even if I die. I'm telling you, if you have someone else, go marry him. My grandson and I will live in this house, and you don't need to worry about us!"
Wang Aixiang was incredibly annoyed by her unreasonable behavior. But she was her mother-in-law, someone she couldn't hit or scold. Thinking of what the neighbors said, the grievances and闷iness in her heart reached their peak.
"Fine. If you have the ability to stubbornly refuse to leave, then since you don't need my help, do whatever you want!"
Suppressing the sting in her eyes, Wang Aixiang stood up and walked towards the door.
Seeing her about to leave, Wang Xiaopeng hurriedly called out, "Mom!"
Wang Aixiang's mother-in-law, with a grimace, said stubbornly, "Why are you calling her? If she has the ability to leave, don't come back!"
In the evening, families in the compound were busy stir-frying dishes for dinner. The aroma of the food wafted out through the open windows. Some families who cooked early were already gathered around the table. Although the meals were simple, they ate with gusto, and laughter could be heard from time to time.
Wang Aixiang walked out of the compound gate and began to wander aimlessly.
She unconsciously walked to the back of the factory area. When she saw the gap about a meter wide in the courtyard wall, she stopped.
Time seemed to rewind eleven years, to the year she married her husband, Wang Yimin, through a relative's introduction.
Although he wasn't tall and didn't look particularly handsome, he had a city hukou and a formal job. This was enough to make the villagers envious.
In the early days of their marriage, they had their sweet moments.
When she was pregnant with Xiaopeng, Wang Yimin would wait for her at this gap so she wouldn't have to walk as far to bring him food. As the area was secluded and rarely visited, they could talk together.
Wang Aixiang took a couple of steps forward and sat down at the dilapidated gap.
The sun began to set, and the sky gradually darkened.
After an unknown amount of time, Wang Aixiang shifted her numb legs and was about to get up when suddenly a beam of a flashlight pierced the distance. Soon, a lanky figure ran quickly towards her.
"Mom?" Wang Xiaopeng exclaimed in surprise, seeing Wang Aixiang sitting on the ground. "Grandma and I have been looking for you for ages. Why are you sitting here?"
Wang Aixiang gave her son a sideways glance and got up. "What are you looking for me for? I'm a grown person, I'm not going to die."
"Mom, I was wrong. Don't be angry." Wang Xiaopeng hesitated before apologizing. "Grandma Zhang and Uncle Zhou are talking about finding me a stepfather, and I just lost my temper. Also, Zhao Xiaojun cursed me for being fatherless and motherless, and said our family was occupying their house..."
Wang Aixiang's eyes darkened for a moment. She reached out and stroked her son's head. "No matter what, you shouldn't have kicked their flower pot and smashed their glass. And you shouldn't have hit them. You'll apologize to them tomorrow."
Wang Xiaopeng nodded reluctantly. Then, as if remembering something, he looked up and asked nervously, "Mom, if you find me a stepfather, will you abandon me?"
The hand Wang Aixiang had placed on her son's shoulder paused. A tall figure suddenly flashed through her mind.
"Why do you ask? You are my son. No matter what, Mom will never abandon you. I'll go look at houses in a couple of days. Once we move to a new place, all these troubles will be gone."
Hearing about moving to a new place, Wang Xiaopeng's eyes lit up. "Is Grandma coming with us too?"
"She's your grandmother. Are we going to leave her here alone?"
"But, Grandma..."
"No 'buts'. It's getting late, and you have school tomorrow. Let's go, hurry home."
...
The next day, Wang Aixiang went to the shop as usual. When Wang Dazhu saw her come in, he observed her expression and found it no different from usual, secretly heaving a sigh of relief.
He knew Wang Aixiang wouldn't be so petty as to be angry with him over a single sentence.
"You're here? You're quite early today."
Wang Aixiang gave Wang Dazhu, who was making small talk, a sideways glance. "How is that early? It's the same as usual."
Wang Dazhu, feeling rebuffed, hesitated and asked, "Um, are you still angry?"
Wang Aixiang replied, "Do I look like I'm angry? If there's nothing else, take the mop and clean the floor. You're a grown man, standing there with no work in sight?"
"Okay, okay, I'm going right now." Although he was reprimanded, Wang Dazhu didn't mind at all. As long as Wang Aixiang wasn't angry, that was all that mattered. He happily turned to rinse the mop and started cleaning.
For the next three days, sales at the trade fair continued to be booming, with daily sales exceeding 20,000 yuan.
By the end of the last day, only over a hundred out of twenty thousand short-sleeved shirts remained.
This meant that after deducting costs, Chen Lishu had made a profit of over 110,000 yuan this time!
Besides Chen Lishu, the sales performance at the other booths, including those of Li Zhengxing and Han Shenglin, were also very good. Especially Li Zhengxing's textile factory. People's hands were very skilled now. If they liked a particular style, they would buy the fabric themselves and cut it to size. This way, compared to ready-made garments, it could save several yuan.
"The results of this trade fair were even better than I expected. Now that it has successfully concluded, I greatly look forward to cooperating with you all again." Before leaving, Li Zhengxing shook hands with the leaders from the other factories with a smile.
Factory Director Xu of the glove factory agreed, "Yes, I didn't expect the results to be so good either. If there's another opportunity like this next time, our factory will be the first to sign up."
If it weren't for this opportunity, the factory wouldn't have been able to recover so much capital. Although they couldn't compare to Chen Lishu and the other factories, at least the company could continue to operate and not close down.
After a few more pleasantries, everyone parted ways.
"The success of this trade fair is inseparable from everyone's concerted efforts. Each person will receive a bonus of five hundred yuan."
Chen Lishu said this as she counted out 2,500 yuan from the day's revenue.
"Sister Chen, I get some too?" When Tian Lin received her share, the young girl was stunned.