Chapter 67: Diligence 1/2

When Li Qingzhi first started writing Zhu Qian’s autobiography, his body had not yet recovered, and his handwriting was not proficient, so his words were very ugly and very large.

However, he had the intention to improving his handwriting, trying to make each character as neat as possible.

So, although the characters at the beginning of this autobiography seemed like those written by a child, they were large, the strokes were clear, and they were very suitable for beginners to follow and learn.

Jin Xiaoye held a brush and carefully traced the words on it, striving to memorize them.

“Xiaoye, are you learning to write?” Sister Wang glanced curiously.

“Yeah!” Jin Xiaoye said, “In business, you have to recognize words. I have to start learning now!”

Sister Wang admired Jin Xiaoye. Learning to write was not an easy task, especially considering Jin Xiaoye’s age…

No wonder she could do business while others couldn’t!

Sister Wang preferred to chat with others while doing needlework.

People accustomed to needlework like them could chat freely while working with needles unless they needed to concentrate fully on embroidering flowers.

However, Sister Wang didn’t chat for long. Jin Xiaoye, who had filled a page with writing, dragged her to buy fabric— they had another new business to do!

Coincidentally, when Jin Xiaoye went to buy fabric, he saw Jin Xiaoshu selling shoes to the men working at the dock.

These shoes were made by two old ladies whom Jin Xiaoye had hired to help glue the soles.

Jin Xiaoye invited them to work at Sister Wang’s house, paying them very little; they only earned four wen for making a pair of shoes. But these two old ladies were quite willing to come.

They didn’t have much to do on ordinary days, so earning a little money now and then was great!

Sometimes Jin Xiaoye would also share food with them.

Since the shoes were made, they needed to be sold. Because these shoes were ordinary, Jin Xiaoye didn’t take them to the clothing store for consignment; instead, he gave them to Jin Xiaoshu to sell.

“These shoes are carefully made by our elders using good materials. They can be worn for a long time…” Jin Xiaoshu introduced the shoes to the laborers at the dock.

Working at the dock was very hard. Those who occasionally came to do odd jobs were one thing, but those who worked here year-round were mostly men who had no family. Most of these people didn’t have anyone to make shoes for them, so they usually bought their shoes.

The shoes Jin Xiaoshu brought were indeed good, and they quickly sold out.

“Xiaoshu!” Jin Xiaoye called.

“Sister!” Jin Xiaoshu rowed over. “Sister, where are you going?”

“I’m going to buy fabric. Xiaoshu, help me carry some goods.”

“Okay.” Jin Xiaoshu agreed without hesitation.

Jin Xiaoshu hadn’t slept well last night and was a bit lethargic today, but he was still a young man. Over the past few months, he had been working with Jin Xiaoye and Sister Wang and eating well, so he was much faster at moving fabric than Jin Xiaoye and Sister Wang.

Jin Xiaoye already had experience, so he quickly bought the fabric and headed back, letting Jin Xiaoshu help him carry the fabric to Sister Wang’s house.

Jin Xiaoshu froze.

After not receiving a single glance from Fang Jinniang yesterday, he felt uneasy. He didn’t even dare to go and give anything to Fang Jinniang this morning, fearing she would reject him.

He didn’t even feel like making money anymore. Whatever he did seemed dull, and he especially wanted to go see Fang Jinniang.

Now, if he went to Sister Wang’s place, he would definitely see Fang Jinniang, right?

After thinking it over, Jin Xiaoshu decided to go and see her.

Anyway, Fang Jinniang didn’t like him, so he might as well give up!

After the boat stopped near Sister Wang’s house, Jin Xiaoshu began to help move the fabric.

Sister Wang, holding a piece of fabric, followed behind Jin Xiaoshu. When they arrived at her house, she couldn’t help but say, “Xiaoshu, you’re really strong.” At this moment, Jin Xiaoshu was carrying four pieces of fabric and still moving briskly.

“Yeah.” Jin Xiaoshu replied roughly.

Fang Jinniang knew that Jin Xiaoye had a younger brother. When she heard Sister Wang’s words and saw someone approaching, she looked up and smiled at the person.

Jin Xiaoshu felt a tingling sensation rising from his tailbone straight to the top of his head.

Fang Jinniang smiled at him, and she looked so beautiful when she smiled!

Yesterday she ignored him, but today, why was she smiling at him again?

Was it because he carried four pieces of fabric at once?

Jin Xiaoshu felt a bit floaty. He quickly stepped onto the boat, attempting to carry six pieces of fabric at once.

He could handle the weight, but his hands couldn’t grip all six pieces. Jin Xiaoshu could only carry four, but he moved the goods very quickly, almost breaking into a run.

Wait, steady now; no need to rush!

After helping to unload the fabric at Sister Wang’s house, Jin Xiaoshu saw Fang Jinniang smiling at him again.

Fang Jinniang had poor eyesight, so she was often accused of being rude… She wouldn’t smile at every passerby on the street, but when people came to Sister Wang’s house, she would always smile as a form of greeting.

Jin Xiaoshu was thrilled. After finishing unloading the fabric, he noticed some firewood that hadn’t been split at Sister Wang’s doorstep. He picked up an axe and started chopping wood.

Although he was still young, he had grown taller and stronger over the past few months. In Miaoqian Village, he was considered tall, and he was quite strong too!

He was already a man!

Seeing Jin Xiaoshu chopping wood without stopping him, Sister Wang’s two sons were still young and were not used to manual labor because they grew up in the city. In the past, Sister Wang had always chopped the wood herself.

Sister Wang rarely did heavy work, so chopping wood was quite taxing for her.

Previously, when Jin Xiaoye brought things to sell to her in the county town, he would help her chop wood. Lately, she had also been chopping wood herself, but now she lets Jin Xiaoshu do it, saving her some trouble.

Sister Wang felt a bit embarrassed and said to Jin Xiaoye, “Ah, why is Xiaoshu chopping wood again? This is really unnecessary…”

“It’s okay,” Jin Xiaoye smiled and said to Jin Xiaoshu, “Xiaoshu, later, take a bucket and fetch some water from the end of the alley!” Chongcheng County was surrounded by rivers, and Sister Wang’s house was next to a river.

People usually washed clothes and vegetables by the river, but for drinking water, they relied on well water.

However, not every household had a well, so most people went to fetch water from the public wells in the town.

“Yeah!” Jin Xiaoshu replied and went to fetch water with a bucket.

“Sister, your younger brother is really diligent!” Sister Wang liked Jin Xiaoshu more and more as she watched him.

She used to think Jin Xiaoshu was a country bumpkin, and if her daughter married him, she would suffer. But now…

Jin Xiaoshu was so diligent. If her daughter married him, there would be someone to help with many household chores.

Moreover, the Jin family had some land, and Jin Xiaoshu could row boats and sell goods… Well, they were still young, so she’d wait and see.

“He’s always been diligent since he was young,” Jin Xiaoye smiled.

In Miaoqian Village, lazy people were pampered and indulged by their parents. His parents were quite good to lazy people, but the Jin family wasn’t run by his parents, so neither he nor Jin Xiaoshu enjoyed the same privileges as Jinliushu and Jinzaoshu.