Chapter 59: The Thief

“Master, what time did you arrive?” Jiang Liyun asked the carpenter.

“I had breakfast and came over around six o’clock,” replied the carpenter.

Jiang Liyun smiled. “Master, you work really fast. I guess it won’t be long before you finish everything I need.”

The carpenter honestly admitted, “If I work faster, I can earn more money per piece. I’ll definitely try to finish quickly. For the chairs and cabinets you need next, let’s calculate based on each piece.”

Jiang Liyun agreed, knowing it wouldn’t be feasible to pay him by the day if he worked efficiently.

“Alright,” she said. “I hope you can finish soon. Once you’re done here, you can go to my brother’s place to make furniture.”

In this era, building houses incurred the most expenses, especially for bricks and tiles.

Their family owed the brick and tile factory for the materials used in building their house. Despite not paying a penny yet, they hadn’t faced a situation where construction halted due to insufficient funds. Even Jiang Qianzi and his wife still had a few hundred yuan on hand.

They were planning to find a craftsman to make doors, windows, and furniture, but everyone was busy recently, and they hadn’t had a chance to hire someone.

Once this carpenter finished the tables and chairs, Jiang Liyun intended to recommend him to her brother for making furniture.

“Sure,” the carpenter agreed. “We’ll still settle payment per piece.”

He used to work slowly every day, not getting tired but earning less.

With a piece-rate payment, he could potentially earn more, especially if he worked efficiently. For instance, if he made a few extra tables and chairs today, he could easily earn an additional five yuan.

If he could make five yuan every day, that would be 150 yuan in a month!

The carpenter suddenly felt determined and in high spirits as he nailed nails into the table.

Jiang Liyun didn’t have high expectations for the appearance of the table; she just wanted it sturdy. Therefore, the carpenter used simple and efficient methods, nailing the pieces together.

The house was quite large, but old and worn. Jiang Liyun asked Feng Qiufeng and Gu Dafa to help with cleaning.

As for Feng Qiufeng’s living quarters, there was a low attic above the house. Jiang Liyun instructed her to tidy it up and find a place to sleep there.

The remaining space would serve as a warehouse, where she planned to stockpile flour and spices. After the New Year, prices were expected to rise, so stocking up would prove beneficial.

Gu Dafa and Feng Qiufeng got to work, and as Jiang Liyun was about to buy more wood and some paint, she saw her sister, Jiang Liping.

“Liyun, did you rent a shop? Such a big one must cost quite a bit, right?” Jiang Liping inquired as she entered. Then, noticing Gu Dafa and Feng Qiufeng, she asked, “Little uncle, aunt, what are you doing here?”

Jiang Liyun explained, “I’m opening a shop. With just my parents and Feng Yi being busy, I’ve hired a few more people.”

Hearing this, Jiang Liping couldn’t help clenching her teeth. Initially, when Jiang Liyun started selling dumplings at a stall, she didn’t take it seriously and even looked down on it.

But now, in such a short time, Jiang Liyun was about to open a shop—a significant step up from a street stall. Not to mention, she had hired additional staff.

After a moment of bitterness, Jiang Liping asked, “By the way, Liyun, I saw my older brother and the director of the food factory leaving a restaurant yesterday. How does he know the director of the food factory?”

Jiang Liping had wanted to ask last night, but it was too cold, and it was dangerous to go out late at night. She only came to enquire today.

Jiang Liyun replied, “Sun Jinshan resigned from the brick and tile factory and plans to start a business. My brother just went to enjoy a free meal.”

“I knew it; Jiang Lihai can’t accomplish anything,” Jiang Liping remarked.

She never had a high opinion of her older brother, thinking he hesitated in everything he did. However, she couldn’t help but envy that her brother could enjoy free meals and drinks with his friend doing business.

She had saved money before to eat at a restaurant once, regardless of the taste of the food. Eating at that time had given her an unprecedented good mood.

Previously, she was the one among her siblings who lived the best life, never worrying about food or clothing and not having to work. However, now her brother and sister’s lives were getting better.

As they were talking, Feng Yi and Jiang Qianzi, with their stall closed, arrived. They had brought the coal stove and other items into the shop.

After arranging things, Feng Yi fetched tap water and started boiling it on the still-warm stove. He worked efficiently.

If Feng Yi were like this, Jiang Liping could have asked him to give her a ride back to her parents’ home last night.

Jiang Liping, who had to go to work, stayed for a while at Jiang Liyun’s place and then left.

After she left, Feng Yi took Jiang Qianzi and Jiang Lihai away.

However, during lunchtime, Feng Yi returned with prepared meals, including ten slaughtered chickens.

These meals were for Jiang Liyun, the carpenter, Gu Dafa, and Feng Qiufeng. There was a bowl of rice, steamed salted chicken, and vegetables with tofu stew.

After eating a bit, Jiang Liyun suggested, “Feng Yi, let’s have lunch here in the future. After eating, you can take my parents back and bring some food for Xiaoyu.”

Initially, Jiang Liyun thought only the carpenter and herself would eat there, so she brought lunch from home. But now, with Gu Dafa and Feng Qiufeng, it seemed more convenient to cook and eat in the shop. She could just send a portion of the lunch back home for Jiang Liyu.

“I agree,” Feng Yi said.

Jiang Liyun then said, “Feng Yi, let’s go shopping.”

When they went back to prepare dinner, she had already purchased the wood, but there were other things to buy.

Opening a shop required buying some kitchenware, and additionally, Jiang Liyun planned to buy a gas stove. She had been wanting to buy liquefied gas and a gas stove for a while. Having these would make cooking and frying dumplings much more convenient.

Controlling the heat on a coal stove was challenging, and it was troublesome to change coal briquettes frequently.

Of course, she would continue using the coal stove in the future. It could be used to keep dishes warm, such as noodle soup, soy milk, tofu pudding, and even steamed buns.

She even planned to buy a few more single-eye coal stoves.

Jiang Liyun knew she had been spending quite a bit lately, but she wouldn’t hesitate to buy what was necessary.

In no time, Feng Yi’s tricycle was filled with the purchased items.

By the time they returned, it was already past two o’clock. They hurriedly prepared and managed to set up the fried chicken stall just before four o’clock.

“You guys are late today. I thought you wouldn’t come to sell,” someone remarked.

Today being Sunday, with no kindergarten classes, Jiang Liyun and her team had fewer child customers. However, Sundays were the town’s day for couples to go out on dates. Jiang Liyun would encounter a generous couple of customers.

She would also encounter elderly customers who would buy a lot of fried chicken.

Retired grandparents in the town, having a pension, were not short of money. They would call their separated children back home for a family meal on weekends. Since their grandchildren liked fried chicken, it became their preferred choice.

Jiang Liyun was still busy today, but she didn’t forget to chat with the customers. “I’m preparing to open a shop, so I’ve been busy. That’s why we’re a bit late today.”

“Oh, I see. Where is your shop located?”

Jiang Liyun smiled and mentioned the location of her shop, saying, “From now on, fried chicken will also be sold at the shop. If anyone wants to buy, they can go there.”

Her shop wasn’t right at the kindergarten entrance, but there was an elementary school nearby.

Thirty years later, elementary school students were generally picked up by parents as soon as they left school. But at this time, elementary school students often went to and from school by themselves. Some children from well-off families even had pocket money.

At that time, besides selling fried chicken, Jiang Liyun could also sell fried ham sausages, fried tofu, and fried rice cakes.

She didn’t believe those elementary school students could resist the temptation.

In her previous life, she had a shop at the entrance of an elementary school, selling various items, even boiling instant noodles in the afternoon after school. In the 1990s, she bought some instant noodles wholesale, cooked and divided them into disposable cups, added a few slices of ham sausage, and sold each cup for one yuan. The elementary students couldn’t resist and flocked to buy them.

One pack of instant noodles could make two cups, and she only added a few slices of ham sausage. At that time, she could earn fifty cents for each cup.

Elementary students, hungry after a day of studying, couldn’t resist the temptation.

In fact, opening a shop in its early stages might earn her more than selling the white-feathered chickens she bought and sent to the big city.

Without large-scale farming, selling white-feathered chickens wouldn’t yield much profit.

Renting a cold storage room costs money, hiring someone to slaughter the chickens costs money, and transporting them to the big city also costs money.

But the latter had greater prospects; the former…

When she ventured into the catering business in the future, she would not open such a small shop.

That night, Jiang Lihai and Sun Jinshan didn’t return home. They probably had a lot of work on the county side and couldn’t make it back in time.

Jiang Liyun’s guess was correct. After arriving in the county, they had two companies to visit, and with inconvenient transportation, by the time Jiang Lihai and Sun Jinshan finished their busy day, it was already completely dark, and they didn’t have the energy to ride bicycles back home.

Yes, they rode bicycles to the county. They set out at around five in the morning, and by nine in the morning, they had cycled to the county. Then, they spent the day asking for directions, meeting people, etc.

After a whole day of this, even though they were two young and strong guys, they were already exhausted.

In the late evening, there was no problem riding bikes in their familiar village, but riding on a long road, they might get robbed.

Bicycles were valuable!

Jiang Lihai and Sun Jinshan didn’t rush back home. They spent three yuan to stay in a guesthouse in the county.

Whether it was Jiang Lihai or Sun Jinshan, it was their first time staying in a guesthouse.

Today, they not only cycled to the county but also continued cycling within the county, accumulating about eight hours of cycling.

It was the first time Jiang Lihai had cycled for so long. His legs were a bit weak, and he was too tired to speak.

He also didn’t dare to speak much. The guesthouse, being entirely unfamiliar, made him a little uneasy.

It was a place he had heard about but never been to before. The price of three yuan per night was particularly expensive for him.

If it weren’t for Sun Jinshan covering the cost, he would have definitely gone to stay in a communal dormitory, where it only cost a few dimes.

Jiang Lihai felt uncomfortable, but Sun Jinshan was different.

It was also his first time staying in such an expensive room, and now he wanted to show off a bit.

Instead of staying in the room, he went outside and loudly spoke to Jiang Lihai: “Boss Wang is not as generous as the owner of the food factory. He actually only treated us to the cafeteria, and the food in the cafeteria was made by his mother. The taste was really not that great.”

Jiang Lihai didn’t know what to say. How could he respond to this? Yesterday, the owner of the food factory treated them, and it was reimbursable; he spent someone else’s money, so naturally, he was generous. But the feed factory was privately owned and not reimbursable; naturally, they wouldn’t spend a lot of money treating them to a meal.

“But Zhang Boss from Shanghai is the best; he comes and goes in a small sedan.” Sun Jinshan commented on those bosses. I wonder if people who don’t know his background would think he’s also a big boss.

Of course, he did this to make people around him think he was a big boss.

Previously, Sun Jinshan could only show off at the brick and tile factory, but now he finally had a bigger stage.

Facing such a Sun Jinshan, Jiang Lihai didn’t know what to say.

He felt a bit awkward about this show-off. Even if he really became rich, if someone asked him, he would still modestly say he had no money.

As for Sun Jinshan? He actually didn’t have much money, but now, in front of others, he was boasting extravagantly, behaving as if he were rich…

Sun Jinshan’s boasting had some basis in reality. He had been to Shanghai, seen the prosperity of the big city, and spoke vividly about it. As a result, many people in the guesthouse came out to listen to him.

He became more enthusiastic about his storytelling.

Jiang Lihai felt a bit embarrassed and simply went back to the room to sleep.

However, he had already slept for a while when Sun Jinshan returned.

Jiang Lihai: “ThThis guy is really good at bragging.

Jiang Lihai was very tired. Although he was awakened by Sun Jinshan, and although Sun Jinshan had been snoring all night, he had slept very soundly. When he woke up again, it was already bright outside.

Jiang Lihai got up from the bed, yawned, and then saw Sun Jinshan’s suit hanging on the hanger.

“Sun Jinshan!” Jiang Lihai exclaimed.

“What’s wrong? Isn’t it still early? I’ll sleep a bit more,” Sun Jinshan mumbled, unwilling to open his eyes.

Jiang Lihai said, “Your suit has been cut!”

Hearing Jiang Lihai’s words, Sun Jinshan was startled, quickly got up, and then discovered that both sleeves of the suit he had spent over three hundred yuan to buy in Shanghai had been cut off by about two or three inches, leaving the sleeves shorter.

For a moment, Sun Jinshan only wanted to cry out loud.

Over three hundred yuan! This was more than three hundred yuan!

Thinking of something, Sun Jinshan rushed to check his bag and found out that the over one hundred yuan he had kept in the bag was also gone.

Sun Jinshan was almost knocked out by anger.

Undoubtedly, a thief entered their room last night.

Experienced thieves can easily open the guesthouse door lock, sneak in, and steal Sun Jinshan’s money.

Jiang Lihai touched the money he had kept in the pocket of his underwear and breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, his twenty-something yuan had been with him all the time.

“He stole the money, but why cut my suit?” Sun Jinshan felt heartbroken.

Jiang Lihai remained silent.

He remembered that Sun Jinshan had been boasting about how expensive his suit was yesterday, deceiving others that it cost over $600.

This suit was indeed uncommon, and the thief probably felt it would be hard to sell after stealing it, perhaps even risking being caught by the “well-connected” Sun Jinshan, so he didn’t steal it.

But that thief probably found Sun Jinshan annoying, so he cut off a section of the suit sleeve to taunt Sun Jinshan.

Sun Jinshan reported the incident to the police, but thefts are common these days. Even if the police wanted to catch the thief, they had no leads. So it was highly likely that Sun Jinshan’s stolen money would not be recovered.

As for the suit that was damaged, no one would compensate for it.

Unable to catch the thief, asking the guesthouse was useless. As a public institution, the guesthouse wouldn’t care about Sun Jinshan.

Sun Jinshan could only count himself as unlucky.

After some commotion, they couldn’t make it home that day and had to continue staying at the guesthouse.

Sun Jinshan’s money had been completely stolen, so this time, Jiang Lihai had to pay for their stay at the guesthouse. Although Jiang Lihai was reluctant, he still paid the money.

Fortunately, due to the experience the previous night, Sun Jinshan didn’t go out to boast again but stayed in the room, sulking.

Early the next day, they set off around five in the morning and returned to Jiucun Town by nine.

Wearing a padded jacket and a sweater over it, with a section missing from the sleeves of his suit, Sun Jinshan looked dejected.

This trip resulted in a loss of five hundred yuan, making him unable to feel happy.

“Isn’t your sister renting a shop already? Let’s go check it out.” In town, Sun Jinshan said to Jiang Lihai.

Although he felt uncomfortable, he managed to think about something else for a while.

For example, he lost a lot of money this time, and his sister, Jiang Liyun, should know about it.

For the sake of their business, he had truly invested a lot!

When Jiang Lihai and Sun Jinshan arrived at Jiang Liyun’s shop, she was busy applying paint to the table she was making with Feng Qiufeng.

In the courtyard, Gu Dafa and Feng Yi were setting up a shed.

While busy, Jiang Liyun chatted with Feng Qiufeng, learning more about her situation.

These days, Feng Qiufeng stayed in the loft of the shop.

Feng Yi found some bundles of straw for her.

The loft had a wooden floor, and covering it with straw made it no different from a bed.

However, her bedding was really thin, and these days, Feng Qiufeng slept with her clothes on.

Jiang Liyun said, “When you get your wages, you can make a quilt for yourself.”

Jiang Liyun felt that Feng Qiufeng should divorce her husband.

But Feng Qiufeng had been under long-term domestic violence control. Starting by saying this might not be something she could accept.

So, it had to be taken slowly.

“80? That’s too much.” Feng Qiufeng wanted to refuse.

Eating meat every day from Jiang Liyun was one thing, but now Jiang Liyun wanted to give her so much money. She felt unworthy and thought she didn’t deserve it.

“Not much. Just do your work well,” Jiang Liyun said. “But don’t tell your family about this. Let them think you can only get fifty a month. Don’t only think for yourself; also consider the child.”

Hearing this, Feng Qiufeng felt a bit dazed.

While they were chatting, Jiang Liping arrived, asking, “Liyun, has your brother returned from the county?”

“Not yet,” Jiang Liyun replied.

Jiang Lihai and Sun Jinshan had gone to the county and hadn’t returned. Jiang Liyun was getting a bit worried.

But with no phones, she couldn’t contact them at all.

Security around here was relatively good, and Jiang Lihai and Sun Jinshan were both sturdy men. They shouldn’t run into trouble, right?

Jiang Liping said, “Why haven’t they come back yet?”

These days, Jiang Liping had been wanting to have a chat with Jiang Lihai, but unfortunately, he wasn’t at home.

But Jiang Lihai could actually stay in the county for a few days… It was truly enviable.

She hadn’t been to the county yet!

“Jiang Liyun, we’re back,” Sun Jinshan’s voice suddenly rang out.

Hearing Sun Jinshan’s weak and breathless voice, Jiang Liyun furrowed her brows slightly.

If things had gone smoothly, Sun Jinshan wouldn’t sound like this. Could something have gone wrong?

But it didn’t make sense. The feed factory and the small chick hatchery had no reason to refuse cooperation.

Jiang Liyun was pondering this when she noticed Sun Jinshan’s suit with a section of the sleeve missing. “What happened to your suit?”

Sun Jinshan said with a mournful face, “Our room was broken into while we were staying at the guesthouse in the county. The thief stole a few hundred yuan from me and ruined my suit, which cost over a thousand!”