Su Guiying, who was eating nearby, chuckled. “How can there be fake chicken? What they sell is just farm-raised chicken, fed on feed. That’s why the meat is so tender. I’ve heard even KFC uses farm-raised chicken.”
Grandma Su said, “What farm-raised chicken? Another thing imported from abroad, I bet. It’s like those pigs raised on feed—they stink. They can’t compare to our Chinese chickens and pigs.”
Jiang Qingning nodded. “Yes, Grandma’s chicken is much tastier.”
Grandma Su was pleased. “Qingning likes it? In a few days, I’ll have your grandpa go buy another one from Dongdan Market.”
Su Guiying said, “Mom, why do you always go to Dongdan Market? It takes several bus stops to get there. Next time, just go to the community market behind the factory. Didn’t it just open last autumn?”
But Grandma Su shook her head. “That new market is no good. There aren’t many vegetables, and the ones they do have aren’t fresh. The prices are even higher—a pound of cabbage costs one fen more, and a pound of eggs costs one mao more. Dongdan Market is different—they have all kinds of vegetables, and the prices are cheaper. The vegetables there are brought in fresh daily from suburban farmers, still covered in dew. They’re really fresh.”
Su Guiying then said, “Then next time you want to go to Dongdan Market, wait until Lifeng or I have a day off. That place is always crowded and packed. Dad is getting older—don’t make him go through that.”
“You two are so busy every day. When would you have the time? Your dad and I have nothing to do at home. Going to the market is like exercise for us.”
“Well, at least tell Dad to be careful.”
“Don’t worry, your dad is in good health.”
Jiang Qingning finally finished her drumstick and picked up the wet cloth on the table to wipe her hands. “Grandma, I’m all better now. Can I go to Auntie’s house tomorrow?”
Su Guiying frowned slightly. “Qingning, you just had a fever. Rest properly at home. You can go play in a few days.”
Jiang Qingning insisted, “Mom, I’m already better. When you and Dad aren’t home, I get so bored alone. I’ve already finished all my comic books.”
Su Guiying said, “Then you can go to Grandma’s house and watch TV.”
“No.” Jiang Qingning shook her head like a rattle drum.
Seeing this, Grandma Su chimed in, “Let Qingning go with them. Your brother has already called a taxi. They’ll go by car tomorrow, so she won’t catch a chill.”
Su Guiying thought for a moment and finally nodded in agreement.
Jiang Qingning happily gave Grandma Su a thumbs-up.
…
After the sun set, Jiang Liye and Li Xiaobo began packing up their stall.
“It gets dark so fast now.” Li Xiaobo said with a hint of reluctance. “If only it were like summer—we could’ve kept going for at least another two hours.”
Jiang Liye had thought the same before and smiled. “But in summer, who comes here to skate?”
Li Xiaobo slapped his forehead. “Oh right, the lake doesn’t freeze in summer.”
The two quickly finished packing up. Jiang Liye pulled out twenty yuan and handed it to Li Xiaobo. “Your pay for today. Keep it safe.”
“This… this is too much, Brother Ye.” Li Xiaobo hesitated to take it. In the past, odd jobs paid at most seven or eight yuan a day. Five yuan a day was the current market rate for temporary work.
Jiang Liye stuffed the money into his hand. “Don’t be polite with me. You worked hard today. Let’s keep it up tomorrow.”
Five yuan was counted as part of the costs, as discussed with Jiang Qingning yesterday. The remaining fifteen yuan came from Jiang Liye’s own pocket.
Li Xiaobo took the money, scratching his head with a bashful grin. “Thanks, Brother Ye.”
Jiang Liye instructed, “Take the money home first. I’m going to my big brother’s place to report today’s earnings to Qingning.”
Today, Li Xiaobo had learned that the stall was a partnership between Jiang Liye and his niece. He had always assumed Jiang Liye was in charge, since Jiang Qingning was only seven years old.
“Brother Ye, you have to report to your niece every day?”
Jiang Liye nodded. “Of course. This stall is originally hers. She only handed it over to me because she got sick.”
“Should I go with you then?”
“No need. It’s getting late—you should head home first. If you don’t go back soon, your family will worry.”
“Oh, alright. Then I’ll go home first.”
Li Xiaobo gathered both bags together. After a day’s work, half a bag had already been used up, leaving about one and a half bags, which weren’t heavy. “I’ll take the things back to your place and give them to Auntie Jiang. Is that okay?”
Jiang Liye nodded. “Sure, be careful on your way.”
With today’s earnings in his pocket, Jiang Liye jogged all the way to Jiang Qingning’s house.
“Is Big Brother still not off work?” Jiang Liye asked.
Su Guiying poured him some water. “Yeah, he said they’ve been working overtime a lot lately.”
Jiang Liye shook his head. “Why is the factory so busy these days?”
Su Guiying handed him the cup. “I heard they got an overseas order. The whole factory is working overtime to meet it.”
Jiang Liye took a sip of water and raised his eyebrows. “Ah, no wonder. They’re earning foreign exchange for the country.”
Su Guiying smiled. “I made dumplings today. I’ll go boil them. You and your niece can chat.”
“Alright, thanks, Sister-in-law. You’re working hard.”
Seeing the expression on Jiang Liye’s face as he entered, Jiang Qingning could tell business had gone well today. Leaning on the table, she asked with a smile, “Fourth Uncle, how did business go today?”
Sure enough, Jiang Liye’s lips curled into a wide grin. Setting down his cup, he said excitedly, “Business today was about the same as the past couple of days. The Zhang brothers didn’t show up at all—I heard they went to set up somewhere else.”
Jiang Qingning nodded. “That’s good. They can make money elsewhere, so why force themselves to stay here?”
Jiang Liye slapped his thigh. “It’s a shame, though. They still learned our method. They can go somewhere else and keep making money. Just thinking about it annoys me.”
Jiang Qingning said nonchalantly, “Fourth Uncle, there’s no end to making money. What we earn from this small-time venture is peanuts compared to what real rich people make. Since it’s already done, don’t dwell on them—it’s not worth it.”
“Haha, our Qingning sees things clearly. You’re right.” Jiang Liye laughed. “I won’t bring them up again. It’s better to spend that time thinking about how to make more money.”
Jiang Qingning nodded with satisfaction. Yes, it was best for Fourth Uncle to think this way—the more money he made, the more money she made.
“Come on, let’s see how much we earned today.” Jiang Liye skillfully pulled out the money, placing handfuls of coins and bills on the table. He muttered, “Looks like I need to get a wallet.”
Jiang Qingning agreed. “Get a big one.”
“Right, otherwise it won’t hold all our money.”
By the time they finished counting, Su Guiying had just finished boiling the dumplings and brought them in. Smiling, she asked, “How much did you earn today?”
Jiang Liye patted the neatly stacked bills on the table. “After deducting the winnings, we made 650 yuan and 5 mao. Minus the cost of the recycled toys, that’s a net profit of 605 yuan.”
Jiang Qingning added, “And there’s a 5-yuan labor fee, so the net profit is 600 yuan. That’s exactly 300 yuan each.”
Jiang Liye scratched his head, puzzled. “I thought we’d make at least 700 yuan today. The foot traffic wasn’t any less than the second day.”
Jiang Qingning patted Jiang Liye’s shoulder. “Today is already the seventh day of the lunar new year. People have finished visiting relatives, and they don’t have red envelope money anymore.”
Jiang Liye nodded. “Oh right, it’s already the seventh. Time flies.”
There was another reason, actually. When Jiang Qingning was around, she used persuasive techniques to encourage those who didn’t win to play a few more times, and she occasionally deliberately stirred up rivalry.
Jiang Liye had also tried to do this consciously, but his ability to read people was still lacking, so he couldn’t quite pinpoint the right targets.
“If only the New Year could last a few more days, we’d make more money.” Jiang Liye used to hate the New Year because not only did the family spend money everywhere, but it was also hard to find work. But after just two days of setting up a stall, he felt that having time off during the New Year was actually good.
Only when everyone was out having fun could he make money.
Jiang Qingning gave him a heads-up. “After the Lantern Festival, our business will drop even more. That’s when students go back to school.”
Jiang Liye sighed. “What a shame. If only winter break were like summer break—two or three months long.”
Su Guiying placed the pot of dumplings on the table, took out three small bowls, and first served Jiang Liye a large, heaping bowl.
“Let’s eat first. You two are already earning more in a day than most people make in over a month, and here you are sighing about it.” Then she served Jiang Qingning a small bowl. “No one would believe it if we told them.”
“Haha, I wouldn’t have believed it myself just a few days ago.” Jiang Liye took a bite of the dumplings and immediately gave a thumbs-up. “Delicious! These dumplings are really good.”
Su Guiying sat down with a smile. “We used the cabbage your friend sent—very fresh. I made plenty today and froze some on the windowsill. They should be frozen enough by the time we finish eating. Take them all back for Mom and the others to try.”
“Thank you, Sister-in-law. For the Lantern Festival, how about you all come back for a meal? I’ll treat the whole family to roast duck.” Jiang Liye extended the invitation with a grin. “Even if Big Brother can’t make it, you and Qingning have to come.”
Jiang Qingning eagerly chimed in. “No problem! Since it’s Fourth Uncle’s treat, I’ll definitely be there.”
Jiang Liye chuckled. “Haven’t I treated you to enough meat pies before?”
“Meat pies can’t compare to roast duck. I want to go to Quanjude for it.” Jiang Qingning made an extravagant request.
Jiang Liye nodded. “Alright, if we’re going to eat, we’ll have the best. We’ll get one duck for each person in the family and eat our fill.”
“Haha, I thought you’d say we’d eat one and throw one away.”
“No matter how much money we have, we can’t waste food.”
“Hmm, Fourth Uncle has a point.”