Chapter 57: Public Opinion 1/3

As soon as Li Qingzhi and his three companions arrived home, Li Damao and Li Ermao rushed out and hugged Li Qingzhi, saying, “Dad, I missed you so much!”

Li Qingzhi always told his two children that he Li Qingzhi always told his two children that he missed them, and in return, the two children also learned to express their longing for him. missed them, and in return, the two children also learned to express their longing for him.

Li Qingzhi said, “Dad misses you too, Damao, Ermao, come, let me give you a kiss!”

Li Damao and Li Ermao immediately raised their little faces, waiting to be kissed by Li Qingzhi.

After the kiss, Li Qingzhi took out some pumpkin seeds for them, saying, “Dad bought some pumpkin seeds in the county today, you can have them.”

The two children took the pumpkin seeds and went to find Zhao Xiaodou.

Zhao Xiaodou was older than Li Damao and Li Ermao, and he usually took good care of them, so the two children didn’t mind having him as an additional older brother at home, and even stuck to Zhao Xiaodou quite a bit.

Li Qingzhi could leave the two children at home with peace of mind because Zhao Xiaodou was there to look after them.

“Brother in law, can you give me some pumpkin seeds?” Jin Xiaoshu asked.

“You can go get them yourself,” Li Qingzhi replied.

Upon hearing this, Jin Xiaoshu squeezed next to Li Damao and Li Ermao, took out a pouch, and started to fill it with pumpkin seeds until it was full.

Li Damao and Li Ermao watched as a third of the pumpkin seeds disappeared into Jin Xiaoshu’s pouch.

Jin Xiaoshu felt a little embarrassed, “Damao, Ermao, Uncle will bring you some delicious snacks next time.”

Li Damao said, “No need, Uncle, you don’t have money.”

Jin Xiaoshu cleared his throat, “Who said I don’t have money? Your uncle is wealthy!”

“Alright.” Li Damao didn’t believe Jin Xiaoshu’s words. He had seen it himself; his uncle gave their mother money every day!

Jin Xiaoshu didn’t eat any pumpkin seeds; he put the pouch away and sat down at the table, waiting for dinner.

He was starving!

But things are much better now. Before, he only had two meals a day at Jin’s house, and he was so hungry every day that he was almost eating grass like his brother-in-law.

Of course, he didn’t eat grass; he usually just dug up some radishes or turnips from the field, washed them, and ate them directly. Sometimes he would sneak into the kitchen to eat the pickled vegetables his grandmother had prepared and stored in jars.

His grandmother would keep eggs and grains away from him, but the jar of pickled vegetables was always kept in the kitchen.

The food at Li’s house today was still very good, with radish and egg soup, and steamed meat slices.

The meat was sliced thinly, drizzled with soy sauce, and steamed until cooked. It was delicious, especially when eaten with the meat soup, making people want to eat three more bowls.

Of course, the meat soup belonged to the three children, and no one else got to eat it.

Li Damao and Li Ermao were happily eating when someone came in from outside.

It was Aunt Jin, and seeing meat on the Li family’s table, she swallowed her saliva, “Xiaoye, your family is really well-off, eating meat every day.”

Jin Xiaoye said, “Ah Qing was injured, Damao and Ermao are growing up, so they eat a bit better now.”

Aunt Jin eagerly looked at the dishes on the table, but Jin Xiaoye didn’t invite her to sit down and eat.

Jin Xiaoye wouldn’t do such a thing; if she did, what would happen if Aunt Jin me over for meals every day in the future?

After finishing the meal in no time, Jin Xiaoye gave Aunt Jin some pumpkin seeds, “Sister-in-law, did you come over for something?”

Jin Xiaogu said, “I have something to discuss! Xiaoye, aren’t you familiar with Mr. Yao? Could you help me talk to him and ask him to take my son as his apprentice?”

Jin Xiaoye replied, “Why don’t you talk to him yourself?” Aunt Jin was her sister-in-law, and also Jin Moli’s sister-in-law. Why didn’t she speak to him herself instead of him coming to her?

Aunt Jin looked embarrassed. “Mr. Yao said my son is still too young…”

Aunt Jin’s son was not exactly young, so Mr. Yao’s excuse was probably just a pretext. In plain terms, he was unwilling.

That was quite normal, considering Aunt Jin’s son was a bit slow.

Aunt Jin constantly complained that her husband was dull and her son was slow, which was true. Her husband and son could handle farm work, but probably not much else.

Jin Xiaoye said, “Auntie, there’s nothing I can do about it. My relationship with the Yao family isn’t that great either.”

In fact,Aunt  Jin didn’t think Jin Xiaoye had a great relationship with Mr. Yao either. Jin Xiaoye had never gotten along with Jin Moli, and Yao Zhenfu clearly disliked Li Qingzhi. Although the two families were neighbors, their relationship was probably superficial.

She had been rejected by Mr. Yao, so she came to Jin Xiaoye to try her luck. Whether Jin Xiaoye was willing to help or not didn’t matter much.

Aunt Jin changed the subject, “Xiaoye, Yao Zuming said Mr. Yao’s back probably won’t get better, and he also said the Yao family will eventually be ruined by Yao Zhenfu…”

Li Qingzhi thought to himself, “…Yao Zuming sure talks a lot,” though Aunt Jin was about the same!

After chatting for a while, Aunt Jin left, still unsatisfied.

Meanwhile, the Yao family next door was still lively. They only had six acres of land fields left, but they had quite a bit of dry land.

There was over one acre of vegetable fields around their house, and three acres of land with mulberry trees planted.

Now, even the unused parts of their vegetable fields had been carefully reclaimed, and even their mulberry tree field had been reclaimed to grow some vegetables.

Being Mr. Yao’s apprentice meant a stable income in the future, so many young people in the village were eager for it.

“Mr. Yao’s being too picky, it’s just rowing a boat…” Li Laogen grumbled. Recently, no one was talking about Jin Xiaoye earning two silver coins a day. Instead, the villagers were all talking about Mr. Yao taking on apprentices.

“Mr. Yao still has connections,” Jin Xiaoshu said, “If I didn’t already have a boat, I’d definitely work for him!”

As Jin Xiaoshu mentioned Mr. Yao, on the other side, Mr. Yao also mentioned Jin Xiaoshu.

Mr. Yao said to his wife, “If Jin Xiaoshu didn’t already have a boat, I would definitely take him as my apprentice.” Jin Xiaoshu was still young, but he worked in the fields with Jin Dajiang. Jin Dajiang himself was hardworking and honest, so if he took Jin Xiaoshu as his apprentice, he would be assured.

But Jin Xiaoshu probably wouldn’t agree now.

“Have you decided who to take as your apprentice?” Yao’s mother asked, feeling a bit embarrassed by the enthusiasm of those people.

Mr. Yao also felt embarrassed. He could only take one apprentice, but there were several people working at his house… If he didn’t make a decision soon, it would seem like he was deceiving them into working for him.

Mr. Yao said, “Let’s choose Jin Sangshu.”

Previously, Jin Moli’s mother had come to their house with her three sons to cause trouble, and she had been quite rude to them. He was quite angry about that.