Lu Jiaxin had expected that after asking for ten thousand yuan, Lu Hongjun would give her the cold shoulder for a while. She didn’t expect him to actually take the initiative to buy her so many things.
Looking at all these items, Lu Jiaxin felt a complicated tangle of emotions. The original owner had only ever resented Ding Jing and Zhao Siyi, while feeling nothing but pure filial devotion toward Lu Hongjun. It had to be admitted, as long as there was no conflict with Ding Jing, Lu Hongjun really had treated the original owner well, and had never been stingy when it came to money.
Lu Jiajie carried the quilt into her room and said with a smile, “Jiaxin, make a list of whatever else you’re missing. If you’re too embarrassed to ask Third Uncle yourself, I’ll go ask on your behalf.”
“Jiaxin, you’re Third Uncle’s own daughter, and you’ll be the one looking after him in his old age eventually, asking him for money or things is only natural. If you don’t take it, it’ll just end up benefiting those other two instead.”
These items, in fact, he’d gone and asked Lu Hongjun for himself.
Lu Hongjun had originally genuinely intended to give Lu Jiaxin the cold shoulder for a while and not furnish her with anything, after all, having handed over such a large sum of money, no one could accuse him of neglect even without buying more. But he couldn’t withstand Lu Jiajie’s persistent talking, pointing out that Zhao Siyi only fawned over him now because he had money and power, and once he stepped down with nothing left to give, she’d show an entirely different face. And once he was old, the one he could truly rely on would be Lu Jiaxin.
What Zhao Siyi had done had genuinely planted a seed of wariness in Lu Hongjun, and in the end he’d taken Lu Jiajie along to the department store.
Lu Jiaxin glanced outside and saw Xue Mao and the other two men all still in the courtyard. In a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, she asked, “Fifth Brother, taking so many flawed items from the department store all at once, won’t that cause problems?”
Buying a few discounted items cheaply wouldn’t be an issue, but taking this much all at once worried her it might cause trouble. She hated dealing with complications more than almost anything, she’d rather just slowly furnish the place herself if that were the case.
Lu Jiajie was startled for a moment, then said with a laugh, “We’re buying it, not just taking it for free. Since money changed hands, even if someone tries to make trouble, there’s nothing to worry about.”
Lu Jiaxin asked, frowning, “Fifth Brother, does my father often buy flawed items from the department store? If someone reports it and the higher-ups send investigators, that could be dangerous.”
Even if father and daughter genuinely fell out, the blood relation wouldn’t change, and if he ever got caught up in trouble, it would surely implicate her too. That could cause no end of complications for her business later.
Thinking she was mature enough now to understand some things, Lu Jiajie explained, “Jiaxin, these flawed items from the department store get distributed according to rank and position. Third Uncle’s worked there for years and rarely buys anything from inside. This was a special case, no one’s going to have nothing better to do than report something like this.”
“That’s good to hear.”
By the time they’d finished moving everything, it was already past five o’clock, and Lu Jiaxin treated Lu Jiajie and his two friends to dinner at a small restaurant. She ordered five dishes and a soup: chestnut and pork meatballs, braised prawns in oil, red-braised pork, stir-fried pork liver with cabbage, pickled cucumber strips, and crucian carp and tofu soup, plus a bottle of liquor.
Seeing this, Xue Mao’s heart ached, how much would all this cost?
Lu Jiajie thought she’d changed enormously. In the past, whenever they ate out, this girl would only order what she herself liked. But now she’d ordered mostly meat dishes and even added liquor, clearly choosing based on what the men would like. After just over a month out in the world, she’d already learned the ins and outs of social courtesy.
The restaurant’s cooking was excellent and the portions generous, and Lu Jiajie and his two friends ate happily.
Standing at the intersection, Lu Jiajie said goodbye to his two friends. “It’s too late tonight, and you two have to bike home, so I won’t let you drink too much. I’ll treat you both again this Sunday, and we’ll really let loose then.”
Lu Jiaxin also thanked the two men. “Brother Aqiang, Brother Ah Sheng, thank you so much for today.”
The two had only come as a favor to Lu Jiajie, but Lu Jiaxin had treated them politely, serving meat, prawns, and liquor at the meal. This girl really knew how to handle people.
The one called Aqiang said with a smile, “Little sister, whatever you need in the future, just say the word, we’ll make sure it gets handled.”
Lu Jiajie waved his hand dismissively. “This is my little sister, don’t get too friendly. It’s late, hurry home, or your wife will scold you again for being late.”
The one called Ah Sheng laughed and accused him of tearing down the bridge the moment he’d crossed it.
Once the two men had left, Lu Jiaxin asked, “Fifth Brother, aren’t you going home?”
Lu Jiajie had no plans to. “You and Xue Mao are just a couple of half-grown kids, how could Big Brother and I feel at ease about that? I’ll stay here these next few days, and once the traps are set up and you two have gotten to know the neighbors, I’ll head back home.”
Lu Jiaxin was only too glad to hear this. Everything was strange to her here, public safety wasn’t great these days, and living in such a big house did leave her feeling a bit unsettled.
On the way back they had to pass a public restroom, and the pungent smell nearly made Jiaxin gag. Even using a chamber pot at home, coming here felt like a form of torture.
Lu Jiaxin asked, “Fifth Brother, my house doesn’t have a bathroom, I want to build one. Do you know anyone who could get it done quickly?”
Lu Jiajie’s in-laws’ place didn’t have a private bathroom either, they always used the public one too. But this place had plenty of space and rooms, so building a bathroom in the courtyard wouldn’t be a problem. “I’ll ask around among my friends first. You should also go report it to the neighborhood committee.”
Lu Jiaxin was thoroughly astonished. “What, building a bathroom at home requires reporting it to the neighborhood committee?”
Seeing her expression, Lu Jiajie laughed. “You’re going to be doing construction, if you don’t report it, how would anyone know what you’re up to? And besides, your bathroom will need to connect to the sewage pipes, without reporting it, how would you even know where those pipes run?”
Lu Jiaxin realized she’d been taking things for granted. This wasn’t the future, plenty of infrastructure here simply wasn’t complete yet.
Back home, once Xue Mao and the others were all inside the courtyard, they locked the door behind them.
Walking in and looking at the spacious courtyard, Lu Jiajie’s eyes couldn’t help but show envy. “Having your own house is really something. Sigh, who knows when I’ll ever have a place of my own.”
Lu Jiaxin knew that on his salary alone, he’d never be able to afford his own home in this lifetime.
After thinking it over, Lu Jiaxin said, “Fifth Brother, do you know what Xue Mao and I were selling at our food stall in the ancient capital?”
“What?”
“Cold noodles and egg pancakes. Doesn’t look like much, but the profit margin was quite good.”
Remembering his friend saying business was very profitable these days, Lu Jiajie’s interest was immediately piqued. “So how much did you two make in a day?”
Jiaxin said with a smile, “On our best day we made forty-six yuan, and even on our worst day we still made twelve. In just twenty-four days, we not only supported ourselves but saved up over three hundred yuan.”
Lu Jiajie was stunned. “What, you made that much?”
His own monthly salary was only eighty-six yuan and eighty cents. And here a little food stall had made in one day nearly half a month’s worth of his wages.
As policy continued to relax, more and more private factories would spring up, and state-owned enterprises would find life increasingly difficult. Once the state could no longer bear the burden, a massive wave of layoffs would sweep through.
Jiaxin wanted to push Lu Jiajie to leave the shoe factory and start his own business sooner rather than later, so she deliberately provoked him. “I was only selling in the mornings because my health was weak. If I’d sold morning, noon, and evening, I’d have made even more.”
Lu Jiajie opened his mouth, but in the end swallowed back whatever he’d been about to say.
Lu Jiaxin could tell he was tempted, just too cautious to actually try it. But that was fine, a few more nudges later, and she’d get him to act on it.