After sending Old Man Yang away, Grandma Zhou asked Lin Weishen if he was truly willing to provide for the old couple in their later years.
In rural areas, where men are valued over women, all property is given to the sons, and the responsibility of caring for elderly parents falls on the sons; daughters and sons-in-law are not expected to provide for them.
Lin Weishen sighed helplessly. “Mom, you have two sons; why would you need us? That was just an excuse. I was afraid that if they found out about the demolition of our village, they would ask for an exorbitant price and demand every penny.”
Grandma Zhou was deeply disappointed. “You are such a calculating person.” She hadn’t really expected it, but since her son-in-law was using the guise of filial piety to buy a house, she had to demand something in return. “Not providing for us is fine, but you must lend money to your eldest brother to marry a wife. He isn’t young anymore.”
Getting married is a major life event, and they were close relatives, so Song Lanfang and Lin Weishen really couldn’t refuse.
Lin Qionghua, listening from the side, frowned.
When they left in the morning, they were adamant about not lending money to others, yet now they had agreed to lend money for her eldest uncle’s wedding. Her parents’ resolve was far too weak.
She had gotten rid of the devious Dong Liang, but there would always be a Chen Liang or a Li Liang in this world. As long as her parents did not change their mindset, one day they would eventually squander all their demolition money through their own “ability.”
Back at Dalin Village, Lin Weishen rode his bicycle home and took his wife and daughter to watch the demolition team measure the homesteads.
The demolition team had reached the sixth row today; it was estimated that they would finish measuring everything in another day. Villagers, whether their land had been measured or not, followed along to watch the spectacle.
Lin Qionghua stood on the outskirts, listening to their discussions.
An argument had broken out at Old Mrs. Jiang’s home. The reason was similar to the Lin family’s situation.
The entire Jiang family lived together, but the homestead was registered in the eldest son’s name. The eldest son wanted to claim the entire demolition payment based on the registration, but the younger son wouldn’t have it; the homestead clearly belonged to both brothers.
After Old Man Jiang passed away, the eldest son changed the registration entirely to his own name. The younger son had been working away and wasn’t married yet, so he didn’t know about this.
Now that the eldest brother claimed the homestead was his, the younger one was naturally unhappy, and the two brothers started arguing right there in the courtyard.
Many in the village stood outside watching the drama.
There was no way to intervene in such matters. They weren’t physically fighting; they were just arguing, cursing, and debating.
Everyone else was just watching the fun, but only Mu Xiaocao felt terrified. If Qionghua hadn’t urged her husband to buy a house, the couple in the second brother’s family would surely have done just like the eldest Jiang brother and claimed all the demolition money for themselves.
Lin Qionghua watched for a while, found it too boring, and went to look for her parents.
They weren’t at the Jiangs’; they had gone to ask the village chief when they would receive the demolition payment.
They were going to buy the homestead in two days, but they didn’t have enough cash on hand, so they wanted to receive a portion of the payment early to close the deal.
The village chief actually didn’t know and instead asked why they were in such a hurry.
Upon learning it was to buy a homestead, the village chief was surprised they were moving so quickly. “The rice hasn’t even been harvested yet. You’re moving away this fast?”
“I only have one mu of paddy field; I’ll come back to harvest it later. It’s not that far. I want to secure the homestead first.” Lin Weishen didn’t think much of it.
The village chief thought about it and agreed. “I’ll go ask for you.”
He consulted the captain of the demolition team, who gave a quick answer.
They would receive the first installment of the demolition payment in three days.
Lin Qionghua was stunned; the speed was incredible.
Lin Weishen figured it out after a moment of thought. “Some families in the village don’t want to move. The demolition office is paying out this quickly likely to make other families jealous, so they’ll sign the papers sooner.”
Lin Qionghua was curious. “Which family doesn’t want to move?!”
“The Fang family.”
Lin Qionghua was slightly startled. There was only one family in the village with the surname Fang: Old Mrs. Fang and her son.
Old Mrs. Fang had three sons. Whether it was bad genes or something else, five years ago, two of her sons went out to work and died away from home, and the old man couldn’t handle the blow and passed away too. The youngest son had fought in the Counterattack against Vietnam and suffered a head injury, becoming half-mad and delusional.
Old Mrs. Fang was old, and her son was mentally incapacitated; the small subsidy they received wasn’t enough to sustain them. The third Fang son survived by begging. Because he was a veteran and had been injured in battle, every household would give him something when he came to their door.
Old Mrs. Fang was worried that after she passed away, the demolition money her son received would be swindled away by others, so she was reluctant to move.
Village officials were currently trying to persuade her.
Song Lanfang felt that Old Mrs. Fang would eventually agree. “We’ve all agreed to move; it’s no use if she alone refuses. Once we’re gone, what will her son eat?!”
Lin Qionghua nodded; her mother’s point was valid.
But the Fang family had no relatives, and Old Mrs. Fang was so old. If she were to pass away suddenly, what would happen to her son?!
Seeing his daughter’s forehead furrowed into a ‘chuan’ character, Lin Weishen chuckled and ruffled her hair. “Alright, these are grown-up matters, not something a child should worry about. Go off and play!”
Lin Qionghua felt helpless; her parents still treated her like a child. Her eyes suddenly darted around. “Mom, Dad, since our home is being demolished and we’re getting so much money, shouldn’t you give me some pocket money? I heard city kids all have pocket money, and I’m really envious of them.”
Lin Weishen and Song Lanfang looked at each other and laughed.
“Alright. I’ll give it to you.” Lin Weishen agreed to give her one hundred.
Lin Qionghua felt it was too little. She gave her mother a fawning smile. “Mom, I’m your only child. I’ll have to support you both in the future. If you don’t let me learn how to manage money now, how will I run the household later?”
This hit the mark with Song Lanfang. How could a woman not know how to manage money? She was uncharacteristically generous. “Alright. I’ll give you…” She steeled herself and gritted her teeth. “I’ll give you five hundred.”
Lin Qionghua’s face flushed with excitement. She stepped forward and hugged her mother’s waist. “Thank you, Mom! You are the most beautiful mother in the whole world.”
Song Lanfang was thrilled by her daughter’s praise. Dong Liang, who was watching people measure the homesteads nearby, saw this scene and his eyes glazed over with a trance-like expression.
Lin Weishen didn’t know that Dong Liang still hadn’t given up. He wanted to stop his wife from giving so much money, but it was too late. He felt it was unnecessary to give a child so much, but since his wife had already promised, he couldn’t go back on it. He could only repeatedly warn his daughter not to spend the money recklessly.
Lin Qionghua was very obedient and promised repeatedly that she would manage the money well.
Having swindled a large sum of money from her parents, Lin Qionghua was beaming with joy.
This was her first startup capital, and she was going to use this money to double her earnings.
Lin Qionghua looked happily at her father. “Dad, you’ve worked with Qingqing’s father for many years; you know how to cook too. You could buy a storefront in town and open a snack shop.”
She felt that her parents couldn’t hold onto that money. They couldn’t refuse her grandmother’s request to borrow money for her eldest uncle’s wedding, and they wouldn’t be able to refuse others either. Instead of letting it be borrowed away, she would rather teach them how to do business and have them spend it all.
“Buy a storefront?” Lin Weishen waved his hands. “Too expensive. The town only gets busy when there’s a market; otherwise, there’s no one around. Opening a snack shop isn’t cost-effective.”
Seeing that he was reluctant to buy a shop, Lin Qionghua stepped back. “If you don’t buy a shop, then you can just set up a stall on market days.”
Lin Weishen disagreed even more strongly. He had sold vegetables in town before.
When he first split from the family and started growing vegetables, he only grew one kind at a time. During the harvest, he would go to the market. He had to wait in line from three in the morning, or others would grab the best spots. Plus, he had to pay management fees for the stall.
It was better to sell to Qingqing’s father; there was no middleman to cut into the profits, and the produce was harvested fresh.
He didn’t hide his past experiences from his daughter. “Staying up late every day, not eating or sleeping well—I couldn’t handle it.”
Lin Qionghua felt her father chose the wrong timing. Selling vegetables at the market during the peak harvest wouldn’t fetch a good price.
How could he give up just because of one failure?
Lin Qionghua looked at her mother. “Mom, don’t you want to be a boss lady? Snacks are different from vegetables. The business is great.”
Song Lanfang was actually tempted, but Lin Weishen disagreed. “It’s so hot; your mom will get tanned.”
Song Lanfang loved beauty more than anything, and upon hearing she would get tanned, her temptation vanished instantly. “Forget it, I’m not going. I like staying home.”
Lin Qionghua felt her father was like a man bitten by a snake who fears a well rope for ten years; convincing him was too difficult. However, convincing her eldest uncle and aunt would be easy. They were the type who couldn’t stay idle. After the demolition, they wouldn’t be able to sit at home and would definitely look for work in town, but there were no factories there, so they wouldn’t find work. If selling at a stall could make money, they would definitely be willing to try.
As long as her parents knew that her uncle’s family made money doing business, would they not be tempted? Her father had dreams of being a boss! Otherwise, he wouldn’t have trusted those “investments” in her past life.
Lin Qionghua immediately ran to find her uncle to discuss doing business.
Their cooking skills weren’t as good as her father’s, so they certainly couldn’t sell snacks. The best business for them was reselling.
What’s the best business in the summer? Ice pops and jelly noodles, of course!
Jelly noodles were out; that required seasoning, and her uncle wasn’t skilled at that.
Lin Qionghua decided selling ice pops was best. Their town didn’t have an ice pop factory, but the neighboring town did.
Lin Qionghua didn’t find anyone at her uncle’s house. After asking her second cousin, she learned he was in the fields, so she went to the paddy field to find him and have him take her to sell ice pops.
Lin Weimu was weeding in the field. Although the village was about to be demolished, they might still catch this season’s rice harvest.
Lin Weimu asked, “Where’s your dad?”
Lin Qionghua didn’t answer but earnestly persuaded him, “Uncle, after the demolition, when you move to town, you won’t be able to find work. You can’t just eat through your savings, right? Don’t you want to do business and make money? It’s so hot now; ice pops are the best business for you.”
Lin Weimu was truly a brother to Lin Weishen. “What if I lose money?”
“Ice pops aren’t worth much anyway. Your family got so much money from the demolition; you can afford to lose a little.” Seeing that he was still hesitant, Lin Qionghua tried to provoke him. “Uncle, my younger uncle dared to go to Shenzhen all by himself to forge a path; you should learn from him.”
As soon as Lin Weimu heard this, he was instantly energized. “When do we go?”
“Right now. The sun is up, let’s get them, and we can start selling.” Lin Qionghua hadn’t expected her uncle to be so easily provoked; mentioning her younger uncle was so effective.
Lin Weimu stepped out of the field, washed his shins on the ridge, and let down his pant legs. “I’ll go pick up the stock; you just wait at home.”
Lin Qionghua’s heart sank when she heard this. “Uncle, this was my idea; you can’t leave me behind. I want to earn some pocket money too.”
Lin Weimu laughed. “I’ll help you wholesale them. How many do you want?”
Lin Qionghua’s face turned red; it turned out she had misunderstood. She scratched her head in embarrassment. “Uncle, I didn’t bring any money.”
In reality, her parents’ demolition money hadn’t arrived yet, and her own savings were too little to cover the cost.
Lin Weimu didn’t think much of it. “I’ll front the cost for you.”
Lin Qionghua seized the opportunity. “Then I’ll pay you back after I sell them. Oh, I want 100 ice cream bars, 100 classic ice pops, and you can pick another 100 of other flavors.”
There weren’t many types of ice pops back then, and she didn’t know what was available, so she could only be vague.
Lin Weimu frowned. “Ice cream is much more expensive than the classic ice pops. Are you sure you want so many?”
“Yes! Our village is about to be demolished; everyone is willing to spend money,” Lin Qionghua said confidently.
Lin Weimu looked at the empty paddy fields, which were nothing like they had been a few days ago, and he really couldn’t argue. “Alright!”
Returning home, Lin Weimu dumped all the clothes out of a wooden crate and put a cotton quilt inside. He had seen people selling ice pops in town do this. Although he didn’t know the logic behind it, copying the method couldn’t be wrong.
Lin Weimu used a rope to tie the wooden crate to the back seat of his bicycle, securing it tightly.
Lin Qionghua, seeing only one crate tied to the bicycle, frowned. “Can this crate hold three hundred ice pops?”
“Let’s try it out first.” Lin Weimu told her not to worry. “If selling ice pops really makes money, I’ll buy a tricycle later. That can hold four crates easily.”
Lin Qionghua understood; her uncle actually didn’t think much of this business and didn’t dare to take too much stock at once. It was just that because she had helped him change the name on the land deed earlier, preserving the large demolition payout, he felt embarrassed to refuse her.
Lin Qionghua followed her uncle to the village entrance. Lin Weimu told her not to see him off anymore. “I should be back in half an hour. You wait in the village. Don’t run off, you hear?”
“Okay!”
Lin Qionghua watched her uncle cycle away.
Just standing there like a fool for half an hour wasn’t in Lin Qionghua’s nature; she ran off to other homes to watch the drama.