“Hua Bao, be good, listen.”
Hearing her dad instruct her not to play with Da Tou, Hua Bao immediately agreed.
She didn't like playing with Big Brother Da Tou either, it was just that their houses were too close, and there was no avoiding it.
“Hua Bao is so cute.” Zhang Liunian found his daughter Xiang Xiang’s daughter so much better – soft, obedient, and good.
Unlike Zhang Da Tou, who was not at all likable.
“Dad is so amazing, like… like an immortal from heaven.” Hua Bao’s small eyes were filled with stars as she recalled her dad standing up for her earlier.
Zhang Liunian enjoyed his daughter’s gaze and beamed.
The father and daughter played together for a while, their joy palpable.
Zhang Liunian and Jiang Qingqing continued their work. This time, with enough oil, Zhang Liunian directly fried fifty jin, packed it into an iron bucket, covered it, and set off.
“Little comrade, what are you selling?”
Just as they reached the entrance of the mechanical factory construction site, he heard the old man selling clear soup noodles nearby ask.
Zhang Liunian paused for a moment, then smiled, “Uncle, this is made from flour and fish and shrimp. Why don’t you try some?”
“No, no, I’m just curious.” Zhang Liunian had placed his goods next to him yesterday as well, and he had smelled the fragrance when he opened the lid.
This time, he was genuinely curious.
Seeing him refuse, Zhang Liunian was about to say something when a customer arrived. “I’ve been waiting for your ‘Flying Dragon in the Sky’. I ate it at noon and still want more. How is it this time, still the same as yesterday?”
The speaker was an uncle wearing a revolutionary cap, who was very satisfied with Zhang Liunian’s shrimp dishes.
“It’s even more fragrant than this morning.” Zhang Liunian opened the lid, and indeed, a fresh aroma wafted out. Many workers who had just finished their shifts were drawn by the smell.
“Good, good, give me a bowl quickly.” The uncle, smelling the aroma, impatiently took out the large aluminum container he had prepared, gesturing for Zhang Liunian to put the dish into his container.
Zhang Liunian was naturally delighted. He scooped a bowlful into the uncle’s aluminum container, filling it almost to the brim.
The uncle was extremely pleased, paid promptly, and left.
As soon as this uncle left, the people behind him swarmed forward, ordering by quantity without a word.
“Give me one portion.”
“I want two portions.”
“…”
There were five to six hundred people at this construction site.
Even if Zhang Liunian sold all fifty jin he brought, it wouldn’t make much of a splash.
“Sorry, it’s sold out.” Forty minutes later, Zhang Liunian looked at the empty iron bucket and apologetically looked at the workers who hadn’t managed to buy any.
Upon hearing this, the workers all complained that Zhang Liunian had made too little.
Zhang Liunian was moved, considering the idea of increasing production, but with just the two of them, a hundred jin a day was their limit.
After seeing everyone off, Zhang Liunian packed up and said goodbye to the old man next door before leaving.
Finding a secluded spot, he counted the money. This time he had earned 25 yuan.
It was double what he made in the morning.
If he could sell two hundred jin every day, wouldn’t that bring him close to a hundred yuan?
This was a good idea, but it required getting someone to help.
But who in the village could he trust?
His parents were definitely out. Not only were they currently at his second brother’s house, but even if they weren’t, they wouldn’t cover for him.
That left only his younger sister or his elder brother. If he had a choice, his elder brother would be last. It wasn’t that he was bad, but his sister-in-law was problematic.
Thinking about who else in the village could be useful, Zhang Liunian went to the black market.
Another ten jin of cooking oil, and some steamed buns, which he had promised Hua Bao.
Then, some ingredients for braised dishes. He would collect these first and start when he had time.
It wasn’t necessary to braise them; he could also sell the braising sauce.
These things would have to be taken one step at a time. The priority was to ensure his wife and daughter didn’t go hungry.
Passing by a cloth stall, Zhang Liunian thought of his wife and daughter’s tattered clothes and bought ten feet of small floral print fabric.
Walking to the butcher stall, he thought of his thin wife and daughter. Zhang Liunian inquired about the price, and upon learning it was 1.2 yuan per jin, he bought two jin directly.
By the time he got home, less than ten yuan remained from the original 25.
“Dad’s back.”
Just as he reached the doorstep, a small figure rushed out and hugged his leg.
Zhang Liunian bent down, picked up his daughter, and kissed her little cheek. “Did you miss me? Dad remembers.”
Hua Bao’s large dark eyes rolled slightly, and she swallowed her saliva, saying with perfect composure, “Hua Bao misses Dad, not the buns.”
Zhang Liunian was amused by her adorable behavior. He patted her head, went inside, and took out the meat buns.
The meat buns were two for 0.15 yuan, and Zhang Liunian bought six.
Hua Bao, having received the meat buns she longed for, immediately opened her mouth and started eating.
“You eat two first, they’re still warm!” Zhang Liunian walked over to his wife with a bun. Jiang Qingqing looked up as if to get up, but Zhang Liunian said, “I’ll hold it for you, eat quickly.”
Jiang Qingqing’s cheeks flushed involuntarily. Was her husband trying to feed her?
Just thinking about it made her feel weak, but meeting his expectant gaze, Jiang Qingqing still closed her eyes and took a bite.
“Your mouth is so small.” Zhang Liunian looked at the bite mark Jiang Qingqing had made, which was smaller than his daughter’s, and exclaimed. In the next moment, he met his wife’s clear, deep eyes, and his heart suddenly seized.
A desperate urge to absorb her into himself arose in Zhang Liunian’s heart.
He shifted his gaze, forcing himself not to look at his wife’s eyes. After a long pause, when his fingers were enveloped by something warm, Zhang Liunian’s body trembled violently. He turned his head to see his wife finish the last bite.
And there were two small teeth marks on his finger.
She… was playing with fire.
Zhang Liunian leaned in, about to kiss her, but saw his daughter toddle over. The curious baby asked, “Dad, what are you doing?”
Zhang Liunian froze, quickly moved them apart, and pulled his daughter onto his lap. “Are the buns delicious?”
“Delicious, Hua Bao wants more.”
“There’s more here, but Dad also bought meat for Hua Bao. Didn’t Hua Bao want to eat meat?”
“Want to eat, want to eat, Hua Bao really wants to eat.” Hearing there was meat, Hua Bao’s big eyes sparkled, and she was almost drooling.
Zhang Liunian raised his hand to wipe her mouth and smiled, “Wait a moment, Dad will make it for you.”
“Dad is so good.”
Meanwhile, Tu Meili, who had been beaten by Zhang Liunian, could not calm down for a long time. To retaliate, she began spreading rumors in the village that Zhang Liunian had returned her two yuan.
This news reached the ears of everyone in the village, undoubtedly like a thunderclap.
The Zhang Liunian couple, who had been borrowing money from the villagers, were actually going to start repaying their debts?
Then their own borrowed money could be repaid.
The most excited was Zhang Liunian’s eldest sister-in-law, Wu Gudi. As soon as she heard the news, she immediately spoke to her husband.
“Liushui, your third brother returned money to Tu Meili. So, shouldn’t it be our turn next? We are his eldest brother and sister-in-law, so we should be prioritized for repayment, shouldn’t we?”
Zhang Liushui remained silent, quietly eating his watery gruel with black flatbread.