Chapter 28 – Business Comes Knocking on Their Doors
In Nanbian village, within a dilapidated house.
There was a coughing sound from inside.
Two thin, yellow-faced children in shabby clothes squatted in front of the thatched hut.
The child frequently stretched his neck to look at the path, but he couldn’t see the figure he was looking for, his little gray face dimmed even more.
His brother hasn’t come back yet, did he get any money from the sale? They had a meal of wild vegetables in the morning but now they are very hungry, and they are even more worried about whether their brother will have money to buy medicine for their parents.
“Our brother hasn’t come back yet, so he’s been gone for a day.” He left the house before dawn.
“Er-ge, will Da-ge be able to sell those for money?” the thin little girl whispered, her hair was as messy as dry grass.
“Definitely.” The little man stood up and said loudly, as if the louder his voice, the more probable his Da-ge would be able to earn money.
The coughing from the thatched cottage became more and more intense.
The little girl burst into tears, and approached the little man, “Gege, I don’t want our parents to feel sick.”
The little man’s eyes were also red. As the second son and the young man of the family, he must be strong and not cry. He comforted his sister, “Mother and father will be fine. Brother will be able to sell those things and earn money to buy medicine for mother and father.”
In a dark room, an old man with a tired face and cloudy eyes looked at his lame feet and his emaciated wife, hating himself for being useless and causing his wife and children to suffer.
He was originally poor and widowed, unmarried at the age of thirty, and he worked hard for more than ten years. He saved five taels of silver to marry his wife who gave birth to three children.
Later, his leg was accidentally broken in a work accident and he had no money to buy medicine. His foot had become useless, so he could only walk on one foot- it became a struggle to work. He could’ve still worked and supported his family if he didn’t have a broken leg, but now his wife and children are starving. His wife was seriously ill, having a fever and severe coughing but he had no money to buy medicine.
His cloudy eyes were dim, as if making a decision, although he was reluctant to give up, as long as he was gone, his wife and the children could still survive. One less burden for his firstborn.
“Brother, you’re back!”
There was a sound of surprise from a child outside.
Li Shuiqing took the money, bought things and medicine, and came back in a hurry- sweating profusely and panting from exhaustion, but he was very happy. Because the family will not be hungry in the future, and the parents can be cured when they are sick.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Ol Ljc xcfk atja tlr fivfra mtliv kjr yjmx, tf erfv j gbeut nblmf, ybkfv tlr tfjv jcv rjlv ab tlr klof, “Yeg ufg lr yjmx, tf lr yjmx ogbw rfiilcu atlcur jcv yeslcu wfvlmlcf.”
Dea Ol Ljc xcfk lc tlr tfjga atja tlr mtliv mbeivc’a rfii jcsatlcu.
Xblcu bea bc mgeamtfr, Ol Ljc kjr raeccfv ktfc tf rjk tlr mtliv’r yjrxfa bo atlcur.
“Father, I sold out the mushrooms and bamboo shoots for fifteen copper coins. I bought medicine for mother and father, and I also bought rough noodles for our home.” Li Shuiqing poured out the baskets and took out a small cloth bag from his arms. He excitedly said, “This is the white rice I bought for my mother and father for five wen- mother and father will definitely get better sooner if they eat it.”
Li Han was stuck in his place, his eyes were getting cloudy, but he was not uncomfortable, he said roughly, “Okay!” Li Han, who was in his forties, tired and aging like a sixty-year-old, smiled.
The two children also cheered happily, as if they heard the joy outside, Li Shuiqing’s mother didn’t feel uncomfortable as he coughed anymore.
Li Shuiqing cooked medicine and porridge for his mother and father and cooked wild vegetables for everyone in the family while his younger brother and sister lit the fire next to him. If he wasn’t sure that he would make money in the future, he would not buy white rice extravagantly.
Li Shuiqing’s mother saw the white rice porridge in Li Han’s hand, he was startled and refused to eat it, Li Han gently persuaded him, and the children all persuaded him, hoping that he would get well soon after eating.
Li Shuiqing’s mother agreed with tears in her eyes. It was the first time in more than ten years that he ate white rice.
After eating rice porridge, Li Shuiqing’s mother felt his strength recover and he felt much better after taking the medicine.
This is their motivation and hope.
He asked his husband to eat with the children.
Only then did Li Han eat wild vegetable buns with the children.
He was overjoyed just now but when Li Han thought deeply about it- the cheap bamboo shoots and mushrooms can be sold for so much money, he was worried that something bad happened to his ger, “Qing-ger, the mushrooms and bamboo shoots were really bought by people?”
“It was really sold,” Li Shuiqing was happy and didn’t pay attention to his father’s worry. “Not only today, the boss also said that I can send the bamboo shoots and mushrooms to them from tomorrow onwards.”
“What’s going on?!” Li Han was startled, but not happy. He was afraid that his ger would be tricked into doing bad things, and that something would happen to him.
Who would want so many bamboo shoots?
Li Shuiqing told him everything from when he met Wei Cheng and his husband, and also said that he saw Wei Lei- Li Han knew Wei Lei’s personality and trusted this news, he said excitedly, “Qing-ger, our family has met a benefactor.”
More than a dozen copper coins a day, if they can be sold all the time, the family will not be afraid of starvation in the future. The more they thought about it, the more excited they become, and Li Han’s aging face seems to be less wrinkled. After dinner, before it was completely dark, they planned to go to the mountains to dig bamboo shoots. They’ll chose the big ones, and peel off the shells, hoping that their benefactor would be satisfied and can continue to accept their mountain products, otherwise, they knew that every home can sell them.
“Okay.” Li Shuiqing also speeded up in eating his meal.
The two children are very happy that they will be able to earn money in the future, “Brother, we will also help, and today we will pick the mushrooms.”
They were all weeping with joy.
There was only one person left in the room, separated by rags, Li Shuiqing’s mother wept with joy after hearing this.
God has blessed them!
*
After finishing the morning market, Wei Cheng and the rest were resting.
Unexpectedly, Wei Liang found him.
“Er-ge, is business not good?”
Wei Liang went to look for him at his house, and the neighbor told him that his Er-ge cooks food at the pier. On Food Street, Wei Liang found a stall and saw that there were no customers at the stall while there were customers at other food stalls. Since there was no one at his Er-ge’s stall, so he thought his brother’s business was not good.
“Er-ge, doing business is a bit more difficult. It’s already a form of luck if you don’t lose money. If you can’t continue, you can support your family by working at the dock.” He also comforted Wei Cheng in the tone of a big brother.
Wei Cheng, Zhou Yuan and Wei Lei were confused, what was Wei Liang doing here?
They also didn’t explain that they sold out of food, it was not because the business was bad, but because it was too good.
He had to treat his brother politely when he came so Wei Cheng asked his brother to sit down.
Zhou Yuan went to the back to pour out a bowl of water and bring it over, while Wei Lei sat on the stool farthest from them.
“Brother, why have you come here?” Last time, the pension money for parents was delivered on time, and there was no happy event in the Wei family, so Wei Cheng couldn’t guess the reason for the visit.
“That’s right. On our grandfather’s birthday, did you send some boxes of pastries? Grandpa sent someone to ask you from whom did you buy the birthday cakes?”
It turned out that it was about cakes. Wei Cheng didn’t know what happened on the day of the birthday banquet. He thought it was because people at the Wei family’s house liked to eat, so they asked him to inquire.
“I made the cakes myself.” He could hide things once or twice, but later on, it would be meaningless to hide again and again. He also wants to start a customized pastry business so maybe he can open a connection from the Wei residence and spread it from there. The upper levels of the inner county are a gathering of extremely wealthy people.
“You made them?!” Wei Liang was surprised, “When did you learn how to make pastries?” He didn’t even know that his brother had such skills.
He procrastinated for a few days to discuss things with his family, hoping to benefit from it. They’ll find the pastry maker and discuss cooperation. They would be responsible for finding customers for the pastry maker, and then earn a share from it.
The things were made by his brother, how about their share?
Wei Liang couldn’t make up his mind, so he decided to go back to discuss it with his parents after talking about the matter with his brother.
“I learned how to make simple pastries, and then researched new ones myself.” Wei Cheng was vague.
“Er-ge, can you still make those pastries?”
“I can.”
“How much would the price be?”
Wei Cheng pondered for a moment, then offered a moderate price, “Fifty wen per piece.”
“So expensive!” Wei Liang was shocked.
“Brother, you should know the price of passion fruit cakes. The materials and exquisite shape of the longevity peach cakes I make take a lot of thought and time. It is definitely worth the price.”
Baixiangzhai’s pastries all cost at least sixty wen per piece, but his family only sells theirs for fifty wen a piece, and it’s also high-end. Wei Cheng thinks that the price is not expensive.
Wei Liang frowned.
“If there is a batch order, you can get a discount of one wen.” How could Wei Cheng not understand the Wei family’s thoughts- if there is room for discounts then the Wei family may be able to earn some benefits from it.
If people do things clearly then Wei Cheng doesn’t mind giving up a few extra wen, it is after all for the sake of relatives.
If a person does not speak directly then he’ll act as if he does not know what they would be insinuating.
“I’m asking for our grandfather, so I can’t make a decision now.”
With that, Wei Liang left.
This people, really 🤦🏽♀️
I was having such a good time feeling happy for the Li family and the Cheng family had to appear in front of me again 😐
Thanks for the chapter!!
thank you for the chapter!
It would be better not to mix and made business with those scums…
Thank You for the new chapter ♡(ӦｖӦ｡)
Thanks for the chapter! Leech alert…
Could you please check the pronouns? Sometimes it’s she then it’s he. It’s hard to know if the character is male or female.