Chapter 29 Uncle, Cousin

Jiang Peiyu composed herself and looked seriously at her eldest brother, sister-in-law, and second brother.

“Big Brother, Sister-in-law, Second Brother, I have something to say…”

“Little sis, whatever it is, just say it. Big Brother is listening.”

“Yeah, say what you need to say, no need to be so serious — you’re scaring me,” her second brother joked.

“Alright then, I’ll just get straight to the point…”

“This store was acquired with my own money… You’ve all worked hard these past few days helping me get it ready, and I can’t let that go unpaid…”

“Little sis, your sister-in-law and I helped because we wanted to. We’re family — no need to be so formal.”

“Yeah, little sis, I don’t like hearing you talk like that,” her second brother chimed in.

Jiang Peiyu was touched by her brothers’ words but continued seriously.

“Big Brother, Sister-in-law, Second Brother, hear me out…”

“You two are already a family, and you’ve got Yangyang to raise — he’ll need money for school and college in the future…”

“Second Brother, you haven’t bought a car or a house yet, and you haven’t gotten married either — these are major life events. If you don’t work hard now, you’ll end up an old bachelor…”

“I’ve decided to divide the shop’s income into four parts and give dividends every quarter.”

“Big Brother and Sister-in-law, you get 20%. Second Brother, you get 20% too…”

“Mom and Dad get 10%, as a retirement fund…”

“The remaining 50% goes to me. I’ll also give you each a monthly salary of 30 yuan.”

“If the business does well and becomes stable, I’ll increase your salaries. What do you think?”

The group exchanged looks. Finally, Jiang Yanshu, the eldest brother, spoke.

“Little sis, isn’t that a bit much? We haven’t done that much — just helped a bit…”

“Yeah, little sis, all I did was wash and cut some fruit — way easier than farming,” the sister-in-law added.

Jiang Yanwen nodded in agreement. “Little sis, how about just paying us a salary? We don’t want dividends.”

“Yeah, Big Brother and Sister-in-law don’t need the dividends either. Just give Second Brother and me some wages, and that’s enough.”

“No way,” Jiang Peiyu insisted. “Even among siblings, money should be clear. And besides, if you don’t take the dividends, what happens if I get married in the future…?”

“You’ll be the ones managing the store. The dividends are your rightful share.”

Seeing how firm her attitude was, Jiang Yanshu nodded first.

“Alright then. Your sister-in-law and I will take the 20%. We’ll follow your lead and work hard.”

“That’s more like it! And… Second Brother?”

“Well, if Big Brother already agreed, what choice do I have? I’ll accept too…”

Once the dividend arrangement was settled, everyone became even more motivated. To earn more money, they opened early and closed late every day.

After some time, business got even better and stabilized — they were bringing in about 200 yuan per day.

Most customers were locals with steady jobs and good income: city workers, factory employees, couples going to the movies, families, night market goers. Some customers came to buy fruit almost every day.

Once the business was running smoothly and everyone was constantly busy with no rest, Jiang Peiyu decided to hire two helpers — one male and one female. The woman would assist her sister-in-law in the store, while the man would help her second brother with deliveries and stocking.

Thinking it through, she decided to go home and ask her parents if there were any suitable people in the village. After all, when dealing with money and people, it was better to hire someone they knew and trusted.

That afternoon, when Jiang Yanwen returned to the village to pick up stock, Jiang Peiyu went with him. She hadn’t been home for over half a month because of the busy store.

After dropping off a load of goods, Jiang Yanwen left again, and Jiang Peiyu decided to stay the night and return to the city the next day.

That evening, she brought up the hiring matter to her parents.

The salary would be 30 yuan a month, with two rest days, working seven hours a day. Since they couldn’t provide housing, the workers would be scheduled for the morning shift — 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. with lunch provided.

The upstairs had three rooms for the family to live in, and meals were cooked by her brother and sister-in-law anyway.

Li Shuzhen had someone in mind but was hesitant to say it out loud, fearing her daughter might object.

“Daughter…”

Seeing her mother hesitate, Jiang Peiyu prompted her, “Mom, just say it if you have something on your mind.”

“Well, here’s the thing… Your uncle was ill a few years ago, and the treatment cost a lot… He’s recovered now, but he can’t do farm work anymore. The family relies entirely on your aunt and cousin — things are very tight financially…”

“So I was wondering… maybe your cousin could work at the shop… Don’t worry, your cousin is honest and hardworking… very reliable. He’d never slack off or cause trouble.”

“If you’re willing, I’ll ask him to come over and let you see for yourself. If it doesn’t work out, he can go home.”

After finishing, Li Shuzhen looked nervously at her daughter’s expression.

Since it was her uncle’s family and her mother spoke so sincerely, Jiang Peiyu figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“Mom, go to the commune and call Uncle’s house. Ask if Cousin wants to come.”

“If he’s interested, tell him to come over tomorrow morning at 8.”

“Alright, I’ll go make the call now,” Li Shuzhen said, happily hurrying off to the commune to make the call.

The next morning, as soon as the chickens crowed, Jiang Peiyu got up. Li Shuzhen was already in the kitchen, and Jiang Fugui was splitting firewood in the backyard.

That chore used to be done by Jiang Yanshu and Jiang Yanwen — but now, with both of them busy running the shop, the old man had taken over again.

Naturally, the responsibility fell to Jiang Father. After splitting firewood early and eating breakfast, he would head to the fields for work.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Jiang Peiyu thought, It’s barely dawn — who could be knocking this early?

When she opened the door, she saw two men — one older, one younger. She was puzzled — she didn’t recognize either of them. Well, she didn’t go out much, and she hadn’t been home in a while, so it wasn’t surprising she didn’t recognize them.

“May I ask who you are?”

The older man spoke up. “You must be Peipei, right? I’m your uncle, Li Hongzhou, and this is my son, Li Junhao.”

The younger man standing behind Li Hongzhou quickly greeted her. “Cousin,” he said shyly, scratching his head. It was his first time meeting his cousin, and he hadn’t expected her to be so pretty.

Jiang Peiyu finally realized — this was her uncle and cousin. She immediately smiled and welcomed them into the courtyard.

“Uncle, Cousin — you’re here! Please, come in…”

“This is our first time meeting, so I didn’t recognize you. Please don’t mind.”

Li Hongzhou replied, “Not at all — how could we? It’s completely normal not to recognize us the first time.”

“Is your mom here?”

“She’s in the kitchen.”

“Mom, Uncle and Cousin are here!” Jiang Peiyu called out.

Hearing her daughter, Li Shuzhen came out of the kitchen.

“Brother, Junhao, how come you’re here so early?”

It was barely dawn, just after 6 a.m. It would take at least an hour to walk from their village to this one, maybe an hour and a half at best.

No need to ask — they had definitely come on foot this early in the morning.