Chapter 49: Playing the Emotional Card

To avoid leaving a bad impression on her grandfather, she wrote in the letter, lamenting how she had been admitted to university, but Liu Xiuhua had deceived her, only paying tuition fees but not living expenses. Her father was fooled by Liu Xiuhua, and he was busy with work, so she was helpless at school. Although she had a part-time job, it wasn’t time to get paid yet, and now she had to pay tuition fees and other expenses, she really had no choice, etc.

The letter also mentioned her mother, Xu Xiangyu, from time to time, playing the emotional card.

The letter was written with sincerity and emotion. If someone didn’t know her true situation, Xu’s grandfather would surely be heartbroken after reading it.

After sending the letter, Xie Huai Shu borrowed some money from a friend and returned to school, waiting for her grandfather to send money.

As for the hospital, she didn’t even step foot in it.

That was Zhao Xiaoman’s mother, what did she have to do with her?

As for the injury, well, this woman had taken so much money from her, it was enough for her to lie comfortably in the hospital for a lifetime.

This little injury wasn’t enough to compensate for her losses!

She was still thinking about how to get the money back from her when Liu Xiuhua recovered.

Including the jewelry and foreign exchange, it would be worth about 20,000 yuan in Chinese currency.

She was determined to make Liu Xiuhua spit it out.

Not to mention the chaos at the Xie family, Xu Sangluo’s side was very lively.

Dinner was directly held in the courtyard, with two eight-仙 tables put together.

Nine people sat around, eating hot food, chatting about food, business, the future, and policies.

They didn’t finish until almost nine o’clock.

Today, Qin Zhiyi was unusually generous, and he specially went to the supply and marketing cooperative and spent over nine yuan to buy a bottle of Moutai.

The three men finished the whole bottle.

But most of it went into Liu Boss’s stomach.

Qin Zhiyi and Chen Tao didn’t like to drink, they just drank a little to accompany him.

So, when it was over, Liu Boss was sent home drunk by Qin Zhiyi on his tricycle.

When he left, Xu Sangluo put fifty cabbage and pork dumplings on the cart.

“Taozi, you should go back too. Take the flashlight with you, watch your step, and ride slowly,” Qin Mama also reminded Chen Tao.

Although Chen Tao hadn’t drunk much, he had had a couple of drinks, and his face was red and his neck was thick, making Qin Mama a little worried.

Finally, she added, “Why don’t you stay tonight, squeeze in with Da Qin.”

Chen Tao waved his hand, “No need, Auntie, I’m fine. I just get red in the face when I drink. Okay, I’ll go now. Tell Da Qin later.”

“Okay, be careful.”

“Wait.” Xu Sangluo came out with two bamboo baskets and tied them to the back of his bicycle.

“What’s this for?”

“Take some vegetables back with you.”

“No, no, I have plenty of vegetables at home.”

Xu Sangluo smiled, “It’s not the same. I was lucky to buy these vegetables. Don’t be polite, come and help.”

“Yes, yes, don’t be a pain in the neck, kid. Take it if I tell you to, or I won’t call you for help next time.”

Qin Mama also laughed and patted his arm.

Chen Tao chuckled and didn’t refuse anymore.

Xu Sangluo packed a little of each kind of vegetable, and 50 cabbage and pork dumplings, reminding him to put them in the cellar at night.

Although the weather was cool now, it was easy for them to spoil if they were left at room temperature for too long.

“Okay, I’ll go then. You guys go back to the house, it’s cold outside.”

After watching Chen Tao leave, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at each other and couldn’t help but laugh.

Xu Sangluo went forward and helped Qin Mama walk inside.

In the house, the three siblings had already finished cleaning up.

As for little Qin Yan, he must have been tired from running around today, he ate his fill and fell asleep while sitting.

The next morning, someone came knocking on the door to ask about the recruitment.

Xu Sangluo directly handed this matter over to Qin Mama to deal with, and she would only intervene if necessary.

She didn’t need to go to the county today, Manager Fang had said in advance that he wouldn’t be delivering goods today.

So, she was responsible for making patterns today.

Of course, she wouldn’t actually use scissors to cut through a stack of fabric, she would go to the sewing room at the farm.

There happened to be a set of pattern-making machines there, and they were all-intelligent, integrated machines.

She just needed to upload the drawings and put the fabric in.

She planned to make more, just in case.

Around seven o’clock, a group of people from Luoxi Brigade also came in groups.

Some came to work as permanent workers, some came to take things back to work on, and some, to save time, simply stayed to do handicrafts.

Among them was even Chen Tao’s mother, Wang Jinju, the Wang Auntie Xu Sangluo had met on the first day she was reborn.

Chen Tao and Qin Zhiyi were childhood friends, and their relationship was good, so their families’ relationship was naturally not bad either.

So, even though there were some disputes in the brigade about Xu Sangluo or the Qin family’s business, she didn’t stop her son from helping.

The Chen family was considered to be relatively well-off in the brigade, and they could earn over a thousand yuan every summer and winter just from growing wheat, rice, cotton, and fruit trees.

They were probably already a hidden ten-thousand-yuan household.

So, Wang Jinju didn’t need to compete with others for work.

She came here today, probably to support the Qin family.

This group of people who came in the morning were also brought together by her and several other aunties.

Of course, she was also curious about Xu Sangluo’s business.

To be honest, although Wang Jinju had only met Xu Sangluo once and hadn’t spoken much, she had a good impression of her.

Firstly, Ji Mingzhu, that is, Qin Mama, had often spoken highly of Xu Sangluo.

The two families had been getting along for over twenty years, and she knew Ji Mingzhu well. If Xu Sangluo was really a bad person, she wouldn’t have this attitude.

Secondly, Xu Sangluo’s arrival had indeed improved the Qin family’s life.

She didn’t know if the Qin family had noticed it themselves, but they, as bystanders, could see it clearly.

Qin

Life at the Qin family now includes everyone, and it’s changing every day.

Especially little Qin Yan, he’s no longer the skinny, pale child he used to be. Not only is his skin much whiter, but he’s also gained weight, always clean, and always has clothes to wear. He always carries a handful of candy or dried fruit snacks.

Sometimes he can even pull out a piece of cake, attracting all the children in the brigade to follow him.

This is a far cry from the Qin Yan who used to have a runny nose and followed a group of children with longing eyes.

Not to mention the other children, especially Qin Zhiyu, she’s completely transformed.

It’s said that Xu Sangluo dresses her up every day and makes all sorts of things for her.

Now, the little girl’s skin is also a little whiter, and she goes to school every day with a proud swagger. Her little face already shows signs of beauty.

You’d think she was a child from the city.

Although Qin Zhifeng and Qin Zhishu don’t seem to have changed much, just looking at their spirits, you can tell that their lives are definitely better.

The children are all like this, not to mention Qin Mama, who was injured.

When she was injured, Wang Jinju was worried for a long time and was ready to come over and help every day.

But as soon as she was injured, Xu Sangluo took over the household.

Not only did she take care of everything inside and out, but she also allowed Ji Mingzhu to lie down and do nothing, allowing her to recover peacefully.

During this time, she saw that her old friend’s smile had increased, and she had a lighter, more cheerful air about her.

There was also another point, which came from her own son.

After only one day of contact with Xu Sangluo, he came back praising her endlessly, always saying how great Sangluo was, how great Sangluo was.

He was later warned by his mother to be careful, so he toned it down, but he still couldn’t help but mention her at home.

Wang Jinju also learned from him that Xu Sangluo had once gone to university, which made her like her even more.

But later, the Qin family’s life got better and better, so she didn’t need to intervene.

This time, the Qin family moved, and there were more rumors in the brigade, so she took the lead in supporting them.

After all, her second son said that the government has now opened up the economy, and they don’t restrict individual businesses, and there are even hints of encouraging individual economic development.

As long as the Qin family’s business doesn’t do anything illegal, it should be fine.

Qin Mama was also very happy about Wang Jinju’s arrival, and with her help, they could get twice the results with half the effort.

The Chen family had a good reputation in the brigade, and Wang Jinju, as the former director of the brigade’s Women’s Federation, still had some authority among the women.

With her help, at least there wouldn’t be any trouble because of gossip.

Xu Sangluo was also happy about this.

Except for the permanent workers, basically everyone was welcome.

Of course, she made it clear from the beginning.

If they took the work home, they had to return it by five o’clock, no matter how much they made.

She would set a standard sample, and if there were any unqualified products, they would be deducted double the piece-rate wages for the items. If they accumulated more than 10 unqualified products, they would no longer be allowed to take work home.

Everyone readily agreed, but how they would actually feel and what they would do remained to be seen.

Xu Sangluo only appeared for a short while, coldly stating the rules before returning to the sample room.

Qin Mama wasn’t a pushover either. She showed no mercy to the crowd, warning them with a stern face.

The materials were bought with real money, and she was even less willing to have them wasted.

Not to mention that Wang Jinju was there to support her and keep them in check.

With the three of them showing their attitude, the crowd had to take it seriously.

During this time, many curious neighbors came over.

After understanding the situation, several people couldn’t help but come over to work together.

It was piece-rate work, so they could earn more or less depending on how much they did.

These idle women at home had nothing to do except housework and grocery shopping.

Handicrafts not only earned money but also helped pass the time, so they were naturally willing to do it.

On the first day, the workshop was bustling with activity.

Unfortunately, they still hadn’t recruited any permanent workers.

Those who came to inquire were basically unqualified.

The newly purchased fabric was almost all finished with patterns, and Qin Mama’s teaching was also temporarily over.

Xu Sangluo called her over, took out some yarn, and started teaching her how to crochet patterns.

She also gave her a printed pattern instruction manual, saying it was sent back from abroad by her adoptive father’s family.

Qin Mama didn’t suspect anything, she was delighted to see so many patterns and immediately started trying it herself.

Her hands were very skillful, with decades of accumulated experience.

As the saying goes, once you understand one thing, you understand everything. After a while, she started to look through the manual and learn to crochet new patterns.

The new patterns were still mainly for hair accessories and clothing accessories, not large items.

These could also be mass-produced later and made into piece-rate handicrafts.

While she was busy here, Manager Fang in the county was also pacing around his office, worried.

The three thousand pieces he had sent yesterday were simply not enough.

The county was fine, but the new ones sent to the city were bought up in no time.

But today there were no new goods, and the city kept calling, and people kept coming to the supply and marketing cooperative to inquire.

Manager Fang couldn’t get in touch with Xu Sangluo, and he was so worried that he couldn’t even swallow.

Finally, he couldn’t hold it in anymore and rode his bicycle directly to the town.

There were no public phones in the town yet, they could go to the community, but it was too troublesome.

So, Xu Sangluo only left her address.

The contract stated Luoxi Brigade, but she had told him the new address in the town yesterday.

Manager Fang rode his bicycle around the town for a long time and couldn’t find it. In the end, he could only take the address and ask people one by one.

By the time he found it, it was already past one o’clock in the afternoon.

Manager Fang knocked on the door of the main house.

Xu Sangluo happened to be making clothes in the main house, and when she heard the sound, she

Opening the door, they were all surprised.

“Manager Fang, why are you here?”

“Oh, I finally found you, Xu Comrade. You were so hard to find.”

Seeing Xu Sangluo, Manager Fang was so excited that he clapped his hands.

This attracted the attention of passersby and neighbors, who peeked out from their houses.

Qin Mama, who was next door, heard the commotion and came out to see.

Seeing a bicycle parked at the entrance of the main house and a middle-aged man in a green Zhongshan suit and a military cap standing there, she was a little confused.

This man didn’t look like he was here to apply for a job.

Seeing his excitement, she immediately thought that Xu Sangluo’s family had come to find her.

Thinking of Xu Sangluo’s family, she immediately put on a stern face.

But before she could speak, Xu Sangluo smiled and said, “Qin Mama, let me introduce you, this is Manager Fang from Chunsheng Supply and Marketing Cooperative, the one I mentioned before. Manager Fang, this is Ji Comrade, who is in charge of the work here. Come, come, let’s go inside and talk.”

“Ah, ah, okay, okay.”

Qin Mama went back and said hello, then came over.

She no longer needed crutches, and she could walk normally, but she couldn’t walk too much.

Of course, she felt fine, but everyone in the family wouldn’t allow it.

Mainly because Xu Sangluo said that she was still in the recovery period, and too much exertion could easily cause wear and tear and recurrence. Even if she was fine now, she would have sequelae later.

Everyone in the family listened to her, so they wouldn’t allow her to move around much.

The three of them sat down in the house.

Manager Fang looked around, “This is where you work?”

It was too small and too simple.

Xu Sangluo knew what he meant, and she smiled, “The small workshop is just starting out, so it has to be like this for now. We’ll expand when we have the resources. It depends on the market feedback.”

Manager Fang laughed, “Well, there are still things you’re not sure about. I thought you were sure of everything. I think the market shouldn’t be a big problem. Why don’t you set up a small factory?”

Xu Sangluo laughed, “I would love to, but setting up a factory requires not only a lot of capital, but also time, machines, labor, etc. It’s definitely not something that can be done in a short period of time. It would actually delay the work. You see, we just moved yesterday, and we had to stop work for a day, so you didn’t have any goods.”

Speaking of goods, Manager Fang immediately remembered the purpose of his trip.

He hurriedly asked, “Yes, yes, yes. How are your goods doing today? Can you get some first? Will you be able to supply them tomorrow? How much can you supply? Oh, Xu Comrade, you don’t know how many times I’ve been urged by the city today.”

Xu Sangluo poured him a cup of warm water and handed it to him, smiling helplessly, “Manager Fang, didn’t I tell you before? I just started today, where would I get the goods?”

Manager Fang smiled helplessly, “I know, but… sigh, how much can you produce tomorrow?”

Xu Sangluo didn’t answer immediately, but looked at Qin Mama.

Manager Fang immediately looked at her too.

This was the first time Qin Mama had faced a supply and marketing cooperative manager, and she was a little nervous.