Chen Lishu hadn't expected him to be so thoughtful. Just as she was about to speak, Gu Xingping's voice came from behind: "Third Sister-in-law, who is it?"
"Comrade Ding knows you have an injured hand and came to bring some antiseptic solution," Chen Lishu replied.
Upon hearing that it was medicine for her, Gu Xingping smiled and waved her hands in front of him carelessly. "It's not serious, just a minor scrape. I've already cleaned it. We country folks aren't that delicate. Thank you for your kindness, but you should take it back."
"Oh." Ding Chen was a little disappointed but quickly smiled again. "Since you don't need it, I'll take it back."
Gu Xingping nodded. "Yes, please take it back."
Seeing there was nothing more to say, Ding Chen bid farewell and left.
After he was gone, Chen Lishu and Gu Xingping closed the courtyard gate again.
In the evening, due to the electric lights in the city, although the wattage was not high, only twenty to thirty watts, they were much brighter than the kerosene lamps and candles in rural homes. After washing up, the two studied under the light for a while before going to bed.
The next day, the two followed the same pattern and went to several other factory areas. By late afternoon, all the clothes were sold out.
Chen Lishu calculated roughly that after deducting costs, she had made less than seven hundred yuan from over a hundred pieces of clothing. Although it wasn't a lot, she gained one hundred and thirty-seven feet of cloth coupons. She planned to start a "false collar" business, and having cloth coupons was more important than anything else.
Seeing that she had no clothes left, the sisters-in-law felt a sense of relief. Chen Lishu also paid Gu Xingping seventy yuan as her commission for selling clothes.
To earn seventy yuan in less than two days, Gu Xingping felt as if she were dreaming.
"It's too late to go back to the village now. Let's go to the department store to buy some fabric first, then go to the food store to buy some flour and cut some meat. We'll go home and make dumplings to celebrate tonight."
"Okay, I'll listen to you, Third Sister-in-law," Gu Xingping agreed happily.
Chen Lishu first bought two bolts of fabric, then bought the ingredients for making dumplings, and then they walked home.
Back home, after putting away their things, they started washing their hands, kneading dough, and chopping fillings. There were fresh large chili peppers in the yard, so they made dumplings with green pepper and meat filling.
Soon the dumplings were ready, and the water in the pot was boiling. Chen Lishu put the dumplings in to cook, then served two large bowls separately. "Little sister, please take this bowl to the Ding family next door."
After yesterday's events, Chen Lishu was quite grateful to Ding Chen and knew that being good neighbors was quite important.
Gu Xingping responded, picked up the bowl from the stove, and went to the Ding family.
Chen Lishu then served the remaining dumplings, holding one bowl herself to the other family next door.
The courtyard gate next door was open. It was the time after work when families were cooking. As Chen Lishu entered, she saw a woman in her thirties washing vegetables in the yard. She smiled and said, "Hello, sister-in-law. I'm new to the neighborhood. We just made dumplings at home, so I brought some over for you to try."
"Oh, that's too kind," the woman responded. She took the bowl from her hand, smiled, and welcomed her inside.
There were many people in the house, more than ten people of all ages. After a brief chat, Chen Lishu learned that the family's surname was Wang, the man was called Wang Chenglin, and the woman was called Sun Min. Both were employees of the garment factory. They had four children, a younger aunt, a younger uncle, and two elders.
When Chen Lishu heard "garment factory," she was slightly surprised and thought it was quite a coincidence. However, she quickly concealed her surprise. The two families were not yet familiar, so she did not proactively mention Liu Xiaoting or the others.
After sitting for a little while longer, Chen Lishu got up to leave.
When she returned, Gu Xingping was already home. Seeing her come in, she mysteriously said to Chen Lishu, "Third Sister-in-law, do you know what Ding Chen's parents next door do?"
Chen Lishu shook her head. "No."
"They are both teachers, and high school teachers at that!" Gu Xingping said, patting her chest with a hint of lingering fear. "Good heavens, you don't know how I dared not speak loudly or even breathe heavily when I found out they were teachers. I always felt they were even more serious than our teachers."
Chen Lishu couldn't help but laugh at her words. "Are they that exaggerated?"
"Of course, they are. You don't know the hardships people like me who didn't do well in school have gone through. In class, I didn't even have the courage to make eye contact with the teacher, fearing that if I looked at her, she would call on me to answer a question."
Hearing this, Chen Lishu laughed even harder. "Look at your nerve."
Gu Xingping thought about it and felt quite embarrassed, so she joined in the laughter.
After eating the dumplings and tidying up the house, Chen Lishu took out her books and started studying again. Seeing her study, Gu Xingping, despite wanting to be lazy, had no choice but to follow along.
The next day, the two locked their door and returned to the village with the fabric they had bought.
Upon arriving home, they didn't idle. One went to cut pig feed and gather firewood, while the other stayed home to tidy the house and wash clothes. In the afternoon, Chen Lishu had free time and began to cut fabric to make "false collars."
When it was about time, they started preparing dinner. The Gu family members were happy to see them at home when they returned from work.
"You weren't home these past two days, and something big happened in the village," Liu Yuemin said at the dinner table, with a hint of schadenfreude in her eyes as she looked at Chen Lishu.
Chen Lishu, seeing her expression, knew it wouldn't be anything good. She didn't say anything and continued eating her meal.
Gu Xingping, however, was quite curious. "Second Sister-in-law, what happened?"
"Third Sister-in-law's paternal uncle's family got into a fight. It's said that Chen Baozhu and Old Mrs. Chen committed a crime and were sent to the detention center, leaving his wife alone in the hospital. Her family, naturally, got angry and came to reason with them. Words escalated, and a fight broke out," Liu Yuemin said, her gaze fixed on Chen Lishu's expression. The whole village knew about her family's disgraceful incident. She wondered how long Chen Lishu could maintain her facade.
Chen Lishu, upon hearing this, merely raised her eyebrows slightly, as if she had expected it all along. She didn't react much.
When Chen Mancang's family arranged a wife for Chen Baozhu, to ensure he had a son, they married a woman from a family with five brothers. She was the only daughter, and now, after giving birth, she was left alone in the hospital. Her family members would certainly not let Chen Mancang and his wife off the hook.
"Serves them right!" Gu Xingping couldn't help but mutter upon hearing this.
If her sister-in-law hadn't warned her beforehand to avoid worrying her parents by mentioning matters related to the Municipal Management Committee, she would definitely have reported this to her family and given Chen Baozhu and Old Mrs. Chen a good scolding.
Seeing that Chen Lishu had no reaction, Liu Yuemin felt bored, pouted, and continued eating.
After dinner, Liu Yuemin went directly to her room to make hair ornaments, leaving Chen Lishu and Zhang Qin to clean the kitchen.
"Eldest Sister-in-law, I'm planning to make 'false collars.' Would you like to do it with me?"
Zhang Qin's hands paused while washing dishes, and her face lit up with surprise. "Third Sister-in-law, what kind of work are you preparing to do again? I'll do anything as long as you lead me."