CHAPTER 10
“You…you woman…you…”
She didn’t even have a tactful excuse, and directly said that she was not willing to give it to you. This made the uncle very angry, and he stammered and didn’t know what to say. He was so angry that he couldn’t answer correctly. The aunt poured a glass of water for her husband to calm him down, and started to criticize Li Xia.
“Niece-in-law, how can you talk like that? We are your elders, and you don’t know the rules when you talk to us like that. What if you make your uncle angry and make him sick? That job…”
Li Xia was in a hurry to make the buns, and was too lazy to talk nonsense with them. She interrupted her directly: “Auntie, you are right about one thing. I am from the countryside, and I really don’t know the rules. So I do whatever I like, and don’t tell me about the rules in the future. I am the master of my family, and it is not your turn to point fingers.”
“you,”
“Goodbye. Please don’t come here again in the future, or you will get mad and then have to blame me. I don’t accept blackmail, so let’s keep our distance from each other in the future.”
“you,”
They were so angry that they were shaking all over. This time they were not pretending, they were really angry to the point of fainting. Although the niece-in-law before was also quite arrogant, she was not as ruthless as her.
“You, you just wait and see how I deal with you.”
Li Xia saw them leave, sneered and quickly made buns. “I don’t have time to fight with you, so don’t always try to get something for free from me. I’m a woman with two children and a vegetative husband, so I have to be tough in what I say and do. I’m the pillar of the family, so I have to stand up for myself.”
She gets up early and works late to sell steamed buns and soy milk. In the past month, her business has been getting better and better because of her clean style and fragrant taste. A preliminary calculation shows that her net income is several hundred yuan a month.
Counting the money she earned, she was really happy this time. There were tens of thousands of dollars in the passbook that she kept for safekeeping, and it was in US dollars. But she knew that it belonged to the Shen family father and son, and the money she earned through her own labor was the guarantee for her and her daughter. She kept the passbook for Shen Hui well, and she would buy him a house for investment after finding a suitable house.
“I earn by myself. I have my housing and household registration settled. At this rate, I will be able to save several thousand by the end of this year, and I can buy a house myself.”
She really didn’t dare to calculate it in detail. She was shocked when she did so. Although she knew what to do during this period, she was still shocked when she really got her first pot of gold. No wonder the old saying goes that money can’t buy foresight. If she had known this in her previous life, she would have gone to the city early.
“Mom, Uncle Han is here.”
Shen Hui called out from outside, and she put away the food and came out to entertain the guests. “Hurry up and sit down. I’ll pour you some water.”
Han Jun has seen his old classmate. After observing him for a while, he has more respect for Li Xia. This woman is capable and kind. Her home is clean and tidy, and she takes good care of the father and son. She is also a good cook. The buns she made are also delicious. He heard that her business is good.
“Don’t worry, I came here to tell you something.”
Li Xia poured him some water and sat down beside him. “What’s the matter?”
“The day after tomorrow, Jianshe Road Primary School will enroll new students for the preschool class. Don’t forget to enroll your two children…”
“I know. I saw the notice posted at the school gate.”
“Another thing is that I found the art teacher you asked me to find. She graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and is now a teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts. I showed her the paper-cuts your daughter drew, and she liked them very much. If it weren’t for the paper-cuts, she wouldn’t have accepted such a young student.”
Upon hearing this, Li Xia immediately smiled. “Okay, then I’ll take HuiHua to their home one day so they can see the child?”
“We have an appointment. The day after tomorrow. I will take you there at 3:30 in the afternoon.”
“Okay, I understand.”
After seeing off the guests, she walked around the room. Her daughter was going to see the teacher, who was very interested in the children’s paper cutting. If this thing was done, it could be said that her future path in painting would be more than half paved. In art, her daughter’s previous life, no one taught her, but she could draw so well and win the first prize in the county. If she really had such a good teacher in this life, she would definitely be able to follow this path and not have to study hard in cultural subjects.
“I need to make new clothes to give the teacher a good impression. What should I do if I don’t have any fabric or coupons at home?”
She was so worried that she had money but no tickets, so she could only take out the remaining foreign exchange coupons from the drawer. When she started talking about making new clothes for the two children, Shen Hui frowned when she heard about spending money.
“You don’t have to buy it for me. My clothes are still wearable.”
This child is really frugal. He still doesn’t want to spend the money even though he has so much money to his name. Li Xia reached out and touched the child’s head, and began to explain to him.
“Because we don’t have tickets, we have to use foreign exchange coupons.” She took out a few big notes from her pocket. “Look, I’ve made money too. Don’t worry, I’m here, and you won’t go hungry. You have to buy clothes, you’re going to school soon. If our family wears tattered clothes, people will look down on us and underestimate us.”
“Then the saved money won’t be moved, right?”
“No… that money is for buying you a house.”
“What about my dad? The money is for my dad’s medical treatment. I can’t just ignore him.”
The child spoke in a hurry, his voice getting louder. Li Xia realized where his anxiety came from, and quickly explained to him to calm him down.
“Don’t worry, I am here. I promised your grandma I’d take care of him and I’ll keep my word. I’ll take care of daily expenses, and I’ll invest some of the money and keep it for emergencies. In short, don’t worry, I’ll never ignore you and your dad. If you don’t want to use the foreign exchange coupons, then I won’t use them. I’ll try to get some cloth coupons back.”
“Grandma told me to listen to you, so I will.” He looked up at her timidly and said, “I will be good and obedient.”
He is only seven years old, but he always puts his father first. He doesn’t ask for pocket money, and saves the few cents his grandmother gives him. When he thinks of money, the first person he thinks of is his father.
His mother was gone, his grandmother was dead, and his father lay there motionless. He must be afraid, right? Afraid that his father would not have money for treatment one day, afraid that his father would leave him. Li Xia reached out and touched him, trying to give him a sense of security.
“Come on, mom will take you two out for some shopping today. School is about to start, and I’ll make new clothes for both of you. Don’t think too much. I’m working hard to make money now, and it won’t be a problem to support the family.”
“okay.”
She took the two children to a foreign trade store, bought cloth and made them at home to save money. She let the two children choose the patterns they liked. Shen Hui chose dark blue pants and a light gray corduroy top under her persuasion, and Huihua chose an orange printed top and brown corduroy pants for herself.
“Mom, pick one for yourself too.”
“Yes, mom, you pick it quickly.”
“Okay, Mom will pick one too.” Most of the clothes she had before were patched up. They were bought for her wedding and now she couldn’t wear them during the mourning period. Buying a new set would make her look neater.
The mother and her two children each bought a set of cloth, which was cheap and didn’t cost much. She worked overtime to cut and make them at home.
“Huihua, Mom bought you some colored pencils and paper. Draw a few pictures these days and bring them to the teacher when you meet her, this teacher is not an ordinary person. If she doesn’t think highly of you, you can’t learn from her then .”
“Okay, mom, I get it. I’ll draw it well.”
After the new clothes were made, the mother and daughter went to see the teacher of the Academy of Fine Arts under the guidance of Han Jun. The teacher looked at the girl’s painting and asked her to cut paper in front of her. She cut a monkey paper-cut seriously, and the teacher nodded happily.
“Yes, I’ll take this child.”
“Hurry up, Huihua thank the teacher.”
The mother and daughter stood up together to thank the teacher, who asked them to come every Sunday morning at nine o’clock. Li Xia looked at the paintings hanging on the wall of the teacher’s house and felt happy secretly. Her daughter finally took another path. She didn’t have to work in the factory even if she didn’t study well.
In her previous life, a teacher said that her daughter had a talent for art and that if she cultivated it well, she would definitely be able to do so. But she had two children to support and the normal tuition and living expenses for the year were already taxing her, so she really didn’t have the extra energy to support her children to learn this.
After leaving the teacher’s house, she took her child to buy the tools needed for learning painting. Art knives and scissors, paints, brushes, paper…
The teacher originally said that it only needed to be simple and not too many colors, but she bought 24 colors at once, and she felt happy when she saw the child’s face turn red with excitement.
” Mom is making money now, so you don’t have to paint from blue leaves and red bamboo anymore. ”
Huihua smiled brightly at her mother while holding these tools. She has loved painting since she was a child, but there was no paint at home, so she used the pencils left by her father to paint on waste paper, she doesn’t think the patterns are difficult at all, no matter how difficult they are. In the past, her mother always told her that it was useless and asked her to study hard, but she didn’t expect that she would find a teacher for her and buy so many materials.
“Mom, do you think art is useful?” If it’s useless, wouldn’t it be a waste to spend so much money? She looked at her mother with great trepidation.
“It’s useful. If you like painting, it must be useful.”
“Then, I will definitely study hard.”
“good.”
In a short time, the timidity on the little girl’s face faded a lot. Now her mother is the head of the family, and Shen Hui is a good-tempered child who never bullies her. Living here makes her feel safe, and she smiles a lot more than before.
She is happy when her daughter is happy, and she goes home to make dumplings quickly. Make money, make money, only with money in hand can you choose life.
“Mom, let me help.”
“Okay, help mom wash the vegetables. Wash them cleanly.”
“Okay.”
It was autumn, and she had recently received a batch of potatoes, cabbages, radishes and other winter vegetables. The brigade had a cellar for her to store them, so she just rode her bike to get them every few days.
Usually they were vegetarian buns, but later she found a place to buy water and developed a bun with meat – pork head and chili buns. She dried the chili in the summer, mixed the chili with pork head, and added vermicelli, which tasted very fragrant.
“Mom, the tofu and vermicelli buns you made are delicious. I like that one best. My brother likes the one with cabbage and mushrooms, but cabbage alone is fine.”
“We’re out of mushrooms for now. I’ll make some for you in a few days when mom goes to the countryside to find fellow villagers to collect mushrooms.”
“Okay.”
“Mom, I bought tofu.”
Li Xia hurried out upon hearing the sound, took the bucket from her son and carried it into the house. “Why did you go alone? Didn’t I say I would go later? Or you can go with your sister, and both of you can carry it with a pole.”
“I was playing outside when I remembered this, so I went with my friends to get it back for you.”
“Is that so? Then you can share the buns with your friends next time.”
“I’ve given it to them before. They all said it was delicious. Four of us shared one and they licked their fingers.”
“We’re out of mushrooms, so Today we’re making cabbage vermicelli. I’ll save one extra for you tomorrow.”
“thanks Mom.”
Prepare everything in the evening, get up in the middle of the night after a good night’s sleep, steam buns and boil soy milk, soak beans and rice to make porridge, and go out to sell on time.
When closing her stall, she would ride her bike into the alley to get information. She had been doing this since she started her stall. During this period, many things were done privately, and she was afraid that she would not be able to get first-hand information if she did not go into the alley.
Sure enough, she got the news today that someone wanted to sell a house. The house had just been returned to the original owner, who planned to sell it to pay for his child’s medical treatment.
She rode over and looked inside through the crack of the gate. The yard was quite neat. It was a square courtyard. Under the main hall corridor, an old man was sitting in a rocking chair, leisurely drinking tea.
