Chapter 66: New Business 1/3

In Miaoqian Village, Jin Xiaoshu was definitely a high-quality unmarried young man.

The Jin family conditions were good, he was the only son without brothers to divide the family property, his father was skilled in cooking, and his mother was known for her good temper…

Now, his sister Jin Xiaoye could also support him!

And Jin Xiaoshu himself… Mr. Yao had thought before that Jin Xiaoshu was diligent and capable, wanting to take him as an apprentice. Others also had such an impression of Jin Xiaoshu.

Now Jin Xiaoshu even rented a boat for business… Although he said he didn’t earn much money, he could still make a few hundred wen a month, right? That’s already very good!

Actually, the villagers had long been itching to propose marriage to Jin Xiaoshu. Some people had even mentioned it to Jin Dajiang, but Jin Dajiang thought Jin Xiaoshu was still young and planned to wait a while longer. Jin Xiaoshu was indeed not very old yet, still a young boy, so the villagers were not in a hurry.

But now, with Jin Xiaoye earning so much…

Those with eligible daughters at home all wanted to marry their daughters to Jin Xiaoshu.

Jin Xiaoshu was at a loss, and in the end, Li Qingzhi spoke up, “Everyone, our family is going to have dinner.”

Li Qingzhi liked the people in the village very much, but he had his limits.

He couldn’t let these people disturb their family’s meal!

They went to the restaurant for lunch, and today’s dinner was relatively simple, with minced meat and steamed eggs as the main dish.

This dish only required the right amount of salt, which was very suitable for Li Laogen to make, but Li Laogen still made it casually—he didn’t even mince the meat properly; it should be called diced meat.

Li Laogen had been in a very good mood all along: “Xiaoye earns so much money, we’ll be able to eat meat every day in the future. This is really an unexpected blessing! When I was young, I once saw Mr. Yao eating, there was a big bowl of white rice, and there was a piece of salted meat on top. At that time, I just wished I could have days like that, now I’m living better than him!”

Li Qingzhi said, “I never thought I could have such good days either.”

During the apocalypse, he couldn’t have imagined that he would be able to eat such delicious food!

He also didn’t expect to have his own family and loved ones.

Thinking this way, Li Qingzhi changed to eating with his left hand and used his right hand to hold Jin Xiaoye’s left hand.

Jin Xiaoshu, sitting across from him: “…” How did his brother-in-law suddenly become like this?

The atmosphere at home was very warm, but at this moment, someone knocked on the door.

Li Laogen especially liked having visitors, so he got up to open the door and saw Li Lao’er and Li Yaofeng.

Li Laogen used to be very afraid of his younger brothers.

And with his nephew, because if they didn’t care for him, he would starve to death.

But now he wasn’t afraid.

“It’s the second brother; what are you here for?” Li Laogen glanced at Li Qingzhi, then straightened his chest and looked up at Li Lao’er.

Li Lao’er said, “Brother, your house is really big and beautiful.”

Li Laogen smiled proudly at his words.

His house was indeed very big and beautiful! He even had his own room, unlike before, when he had to sleep with the family’s sheep at his brother’s house.

“Come in, my house is newly built, definitely good. Have you seen the dining table we use at our home? It was made by a carpenter from the county…” Li Laogen boasted.

When Jin Xiaoye was in confinement, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law came to visit her and ended up taking away ten eggs that Jin Dajiang had brought.

Jin Xiaoye didn’t do anything at the time, but after she finished confinement, she went to Li Lao’er’s house and spread the word about it, saying that Li Lao’er’s family were thieves. Since then, Li Lao’er’s family has never visited them again.

Now that this person had finally come, he wanted to show off as much as possible!

Li Lao’er looked at Li Laogen with envy and suddenly said, “Brother, our family also wants to build a house. Could you lend us some money?”

Li Laogen’s voice abruptly stopped.

Li Lao’er had a hint of embarrassment on his face at first, but after saying this, he felt relieved. Then, he looked at Jin Xiaoye again and said, “Xiaoye, you know how small our house is, especially now that Yaofeng’s wife is pregnant again. We want to borrow some money from you to renovate the house…”

Jin Xiaoye replied, “Second Uncle, if your family wants to build a house, my family will definitely help, but borrowing money is out of the question. I don’t have any money on hand.”

“Xiaoye, didn’t you earn ten taels of silver this month?” Li Lao’er asked.

“Where did you get ten taels? Altogether, it’s only seven or eight taels. I used some to buy things for the family, made new clothes and quilts for them, and the money was spent.” Jin Xiaoye made up her mind not to lend money to Li Lao’er.

If she had a good relationship with someone or had helped them in the past and they were in urgent need of money, she might lend some. But when she was in dire straits, Li Lao’er never helped her; instead, he wanted her to remarry and even tried to seize the two acres of land left by Li Qingzhi. Li Lao’er even stole her eggs when she was in confinement!

And not long ago, when their family was building the house, Li Yaofeng did indeed come to help, but he was lazy when working and always eager to eat during meal times.

Jin Xiaoye would usually address Li Lao’er as “Second Uncle” when she saw him, but lending money was out of the question.

If Li Lao’er’s family wanted to build a house, Jin Xiaoye would at most let Li Laogen help; she never even ate a meal at Li Lao’er’s, let alone owed him anything!

Li Qingzhi’s family did indeed acquire a lot of things recently, and Li Laogen had been boasting about his new cotton-padded jackets, clothes, and shoes.

Li Lao’er didn’t want to break ties with Jin Xiaoye, so he said, “Then… Xiaoye, can I borrow from you next month? I won’t borrow much; just two taels of silver will be enough.”

Just as Jin Xiaoye was about to refuse, Li Qingzhi interjected, “There won’t be any next month; I’m going to study. The money Xiaoye earns is meant for my education.”

Li Lao’er was stunned by his words.

Li Qingzhi continued, “I’ve always loved studying. Now that there’s money at home, I’ll definitely go to school. Xiaoye is doing business to earn money to support my education.”

His education wouldn’t cost much money, and he earned much more than Jin Xiaoye.

But to avoid people asking to borrow money… Li Qingzhi planned to find a reason.

Before Li Lao’er could speak, Li Yaofeng said, “You’re already so old; why do you still want to study?”

Li Qingzhi replied, “Su Laoquan, at twenty-seven, started to exert himself and read books. Su Xun began to exert himself in studying at the age of twenty-seven, and I’m only twenty-three now, so it’s not too late for me to go to school.”

Li Lao’er and Li Yaofeng didn’t understand, so Li Yaofeng asked, “What are you talking about? Who is Su Xun?”

It was Jin Xiaoye who understood what Li Qingzhi meant after he mentioned teaching the child the “Three Character Classic”.

Of course, she also understood that Li Qingzhi was just finding an excuse not to lend money to others.

Li Qingzhi continued, “I just want to say that it’s never too late to study, and I’m still young now. I can’t wait until I have white hair to regret not studying.”

Li Yaofeng didn’t want to argue with Li Qingzhi’s eloquent speech, so he looked at Jin Xiaoye and said, “Jin Xiaoye, do you really want to send him to school? Think about Yao Zhenfu, sending him to school won’t benefit you in any way.”

“I’m willing to send him to school, what’s wrong with that?” Jin Xiaoye replied.

Li Qingzhi smiled proudly at Li Yaofeng’s remark.