Early the next morning, Jiang Liye ate a full, large bowl of fried rice and drank a bowl of porridge before heading out with his things.
Li Xiaobo from across the courtyard had long been ready and was keeping an eye on the Jiang family’s side. As soon as he saw Jiang Liye come out, he followed suit.
“Brother Ye, where are we heading today?”
Li Xiaobo hurried over excitedly to ask. He always enjoyed going out with Brother Ye—at the very least, no one would bully them.
In recent years, the capital had developed rapidly, with new companies and factories popping up daily, hiring workers. However, these bosses were a mixed bag. If you were unlucky enough to run into one who withheld wages, not only would you work for free, but you might also get beaten up by ‘enforcers’ when asking for your pay.
Jiang Liye grinned. “Follow me, and we’ll talk on the way.”
The courtyard was crowded with people and prying eyes, so for now, he wanted to keep this business under wraps.
Moreover, he wouldn’t be home during the day. If everyone knew he was making money, there was no guarantee someone with sticky fingers wouldn’t sneak into his house to steal it.
The two of them walked briskly out of the alley and down two streets before stopping at a bus stop.
“We’ll go to the cotton mill residential area first to pick up some things, then set up a stall at Shichahai,” Jiang Liye explained.
Yesterday’s toys were nearly all gone, and Jiang Qingning had already arranged with Grandma Su for Jiang Liye to go to the Su family this morning to collect Xiao Jie’s unwanted toys.
“Set up a stall?” Li Xiaobo was taken aback. “Are we going to keep an eye on someone’s place today? I remember Shichahai is Brother Qiang’s turf.”
Jiang Liye explained, “No, not keeping watch. I’m setting up the stall. You’re here to help me—I can’t handle it alone.”
“Huh? Brother Ye, you’re setting up a stall?” Li Xiaobo exclaimed in surprise. “Since when? Why haven’t I heard about it? What kind of stall is it?”
A series of questions poured out. In Li Xiaobo’s mind, Jiang Liye and setting up a stall just didn’t go together.
“Just started a couple of days ago. Hey, the bus is here. Let’s get on first, and you’ll see for yourself later.” Jiang Liye raised his bag and waved at the slowly approaching bus.
Pulling out two dimes to buy two tickets, Jiang Liye noticed there were exactly two seats left at the back and happily walked over with Li Xiaobo.
“Our luck is good today—seats right away as soon as we step out. We’re definitely going to make big money today.” Jiang Liye cheerfully opened the window a crack for some fresh air.
Li Xiaobo was in high spirits too and nodded along. “Yeah, we’re definitely going to make money.”
The bus swayed along until it reached the cotton mill’s entrance. The two got off, and Jiang Liye led the way toward the east gate of the mill, which was closer to the residential area.
The gatekeeper recognized Jiang Liye—he knew he was the younger brother of the Su family’s eldest son-in-law—and had seen him come by every day for some unknown reason lately.
He didn’t stop or question them, just let them in with a smile.
Jiang Liye nodded politely in return. He had given Gatekeeper Wang a pack of cigarettes just yesterday, and sure enough, the attitude was much better today.
“These big factories are something else. Even their residential areas have gatekeepers. Not like our place, where anyone can walk in.” Li Xiaobo walked along, curiously looking around. He had never been to this area before.
It was indeed a large factory. The buildings were newer than those in their own factory, and even the streets were clean and tidy.
Jiang Liye said, “Heh, you won’t find many places in the entire capital more chaotic than our alley.”
Li Xiaobo sighed. “You can say that again. We’re just unlucky to have ended up there. If my dad had come to the east side back then, getting into any factory would have been better than ours. Maybe I wouldn’t have been laid off now.”
“Alright, no point dwelling on it. If we can’t rely on our fathers, we’ll rely on ourselves.” Jiang Liye was optimistic. “Once we make money, we’ll buy a commercial apartment to live in.”
At that time, commercial apartments were something only a very small portion of the population could afford. With an average monthly wage of just over 200 yuan, the cheapest commercial apartment cost at least 1,200 yuan per square meter—an “astronomical price” that ordinary people simply couldn’t afford.
“Whoa! I wouldn’t dare dream of that,” Li Xiaobo shook his head vigorously. “I’d be more than satisfied with just one extra room like the ones in my place.”
Jiang Liye laughed. “What low expectations! In the future, we won’t just buy commercial apartments—we’ll buy export-oriented housing too. Do you know how much the export-oriented housing near the Asian Games Village costs?”
Li Xiaobo shook his head. “No idea.”
“Two hundred US dollars! That’s 1,800 yuan in RMB!” Jiang Liye held up his fingers to form the number eight.
“Wow, there are houses that expensive? I’ve never even seen US dollars before.” Li Xiaobo’s eyes widened. “Who would buy something that expensive?”
“Rich people, of course.”
“Rich people… they sure are wealthy.” Li Xiaobo sighed in amazement.
As they talked, they arrived at the entrance of the Su family’s courtyard. Grandma Su had readily agreed yesterday when Jiang Qingning mentioned collecting toys.
After returning from her daughter’s house yesterday, she had started tidying up the toys Xiao Jie had grown tired of, which were piled under the bed. At first, her daughter-in-law wasn’t happy about it, but as soon as Grandma Su pulled out fifty yuan from her pocket, her expression changed instantly.
Those toys were taking up space at home, and Ye Yunxia had long wanted to take them back to her parents’ place for her nephews to play with. However, Xiao Jie had stubbornly refused, throwing tantrums to prevent her from taking them.
Just thinking about it irritated her. She only had one son, yet he wasn’t close to her nephews at all. Despite being cousins, he was very fond of his eldest aunt’s daughter, Qingning. When he heard the toys were for Qingning, he agreed without hesitation.
Only after Grandma Su mentioned that her sister-in-law was paying fifty yuan for the toys did she stop complaining. Although the toys looked quite new, they wouldn’t fetch that price at a recycling station. If her sister-in-law’s family wanted them, so be it—consider it a favor. After all, she was used to her in-laws constantly subsidizing her eldest sister-in-law’s family over the years.
“Mom, Big Sister is being too formal. Why give money? She just had to say the word, and I would’ve delivered them myself,” Ye Yunxia said with a smile.
Grandma Su replied calmly, “Even among close relatives, accounts should be settled clearly. Guiying, as an aunt, won’t take advantage of her nephew.”
Ye Yunxia said, “Big Sister is just too polite. We’re all family—what’s there to take advantage of?”
That’s what she said out loud, but inwardly she grumbled: As if they haven’t taken advantage enough already.
Having lived with her daughter-in-law for so many years, Grandma Su naturally knew what she was thinking—nothing more than feeling that she favored her eldest daughter’s family. Hmph, it’s not like she doesn’t secretly support her own parents’ family either.
…
Jiang Liye had been to the Su family once before and knew that the three main rooms in the courtyard all belonged to them. He walked into the courtyard and headed straight for the central room, where the door to the living room was open.
“Auntie, happy New Year! Wishing you all the best.” Jiang Liye greeted her with a bright smile at the doorway.
Grandma Su hurriedly welcomed him in warmly. “Oh, it’s Qingning’s fourth uncle! My, you’ve grown even stronger. Come in, have some tea. Have you had breakfast yet?”
Jiang Liye smiled. “Already eaten. This is my friend. We came together to pick up the things.”
Grandma Su beamed. “Come, come, both of you, sit down. Qingning told me about it yesterday, and I tidied up as soon as I got back. Here, everything’s in this box. See if it’s enough.” She pointed to a large cardboard box on the floor, filled to the brim with toys.
“Plenty, plenty. Thank you, Auntie.” Jiang Liye nodded with a smile.
Grandma Su waved her hand. “Oh, you’re too polite, child. We’re all family, after all.” As she spoke, she turned to pour tea and grab some candies.
“Auntie, please don’t trouble yourself. We’ll take the things and go. We still need to hurry and set up the stall.” Jiang Liye quickly stopped her, smiling. “Next time, I’ll visit properly when there’s a chance.”
Grandma Su still insisted they have a cup of tea and stuffed a handful of candies into each of their pockets before seeing them off with a smile.
The toys filled two large bags. Jiang Liye and Li Xiaobo each carried one on their shoulders.
“Auntie Su is really nice, so warm-hearted,” Li Xiaobo said with a grin.
Jiang Liye nodded. “The old lady has a straightforward personality.”
In truth, he knew that Grandma Su’s kindness stemmed from her love for Jiang Qingning and her mother. Over the years, whenever she encountered anyone from the Jiang family, she had always been courteous because of them.
Li Xiaobo sighed with emotion. “Brother Jiang is really lucky. Not to mention Sister-in-law, even his mother-in-law is such a good person.”
Among the young men who had grown up together in their crowded courtyard, who didn’t envy Big Brother Jiang? Despite such heavy family burdens, he had managed to marry such a wonderful wife.
Thinking of his own wife, who had scolded him that morning and threatened not to let him in if he didn’t bring money home in the evening, Li Xiaobo let out a long sigh.
Jiang Liye said, “My brother isn’t lacking either. He started working to support the family at sixteen. Besides, marriage is something destined by fate—it’s unpredictable.”
“That’s true. It’s all fate.” Li Xiaobo murmured.
Jiang Liye bumped his shoulder and grinned. “Why resign yourself to fate at such a young age? We’re not going to accept it. Follow me and work hard, and together, we’ll turn our lives around.”
Encouraged by his words, Li Xiaobo tightened his grip on the bag in his hand and nodded with a smile. “Yeah!”
Soon, they arrived at Shichahai. Huang Guoqing had already set up his stall and waved to them from a distance.
“Xiaobo, you’re here today too?” Since they lived in the same area, they knew each other well.
“I asked him to come help. Can’t manage alone.” As Jiang Liye spoke, he set down his things and began instructing Li Xiaobo on how to arrange everything.
Huang Guoqing nodded. “I heard the Zhang brothers have moved their stall elsewhere. They probably won’t come back to this area for a while. With more customers coming your way today, you really can’t handle it alone.”
Jiang Liye chuckled. “Those guys scared them off. If they come back, they’ll just get targeted again.”
Huang Guoqing also smiled. “The Zhang brothers have been used to throwing their weight around in their own run-down area. They forgot that the capital is a place where dragons and tigers hide. Carelessness can lead to crossing someone formidable.”
Jiang Liye nodded. “Exactly. In business, harmony brings wealth.”
This incident had also served as a reminder for him.
Once everything was set up, Jiang Liye put on his standard smile and warmly greeted passersby. In his mind, he automatically recalled the lines Jiang Qingning had used to attract customers and mimicked them accordingly.
…
Jiang Qingning slept in beautifully today. For the past few days, she had been getting up around seven in the morning to set up the stall. Waking up early in the harsh winter was truly miserable.
But today, with no stall to run, she slept until after nine o’clock.
Illness strikes like a collapsing mountain, but recovery is like unraveling silk.
When she woke up this morning, her body felt incredibly light, with no trace of discomfort left.
As noon approached, Grandma Su brought over another pot of soup. “When I heard you were sick, your grandpa went to Dongdan Market first thing this morning and bought an old hen to make soup for you. It’s been simmering all morning—it smells amazing.”
“Wow, I can smell it already! Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa!” Jiang Qingning leaned in to sniff the thermal lunchbox in Grandma Su’s hands.
Delighted by the child’s enthusiastic response to her efforts, Grandma Su beamed. “I saved a big drumstick for you. Let me get a bowl and serve it for you right away.”
In these times, although the Su family’s conditions were decent, they could only afford chicken once a month. The drumsticks at home were always reserved for Su Yuanjie and Jiang Qingning.
Jiang Qingning clapped her hands happily. “I love drumsticks the most! Grandma, you’re the best to me!” Sweet words flowed effortlessly from her mouth, making Grandma Su’s eyes crinkle with joy.
Grandma Su always saved particularly large drumsticks. Jiang Qingning held it with both hands to nibble—the drumstick was even bigger than her face.
“Take your time,” Grandma Su watched Jiang Qingning fondly, occasionally wiping her mouth and face with a cloth. “Oh, is it tough to chew? I’ll stew it longer next time.”
Jiang Qingning shook her head. “Not tough at all. Chewy chicken like this tastes the best.”
Grandma Su nodded. “Exactly. Nowadays, many unscrupulous vendors sell fake chicken—the meat is so loose it falls apart with one bite.”