Ji Changze didn’t show leniency when he increased the price for the mountain goods. He sold so many at once, and when he had money in his hand, he turned around and went to buy things for his marriage.
He bought a lot of odds and ends, and when he went back, Ji Changze who went to town had returned from a rewarding journey.
He was towing the flatbed back. As soon as he reached the village, he ran into someone coming over, some old ladies.
Rural old ladies, are planes who scatter gossip and rumors on the land.
Ji Changze saw them, but before he could say anything, they took the initiative to ask, “Changze, have you gone to the city? What’s all this stuff you bought?”
Saying that, they weren’t shy about coming forward either, craning their necks to look at what was placed on the flatbed. If Ji Changze hadn’t covered it with a plastic sheet, they might have reached out and looked through it.
Ji Changze didn’t show any displeasure on his face. He put the crate down naturally and smiled, “Yes, aren’t I getting married soon? I just got a few things.”
The several old ladies looked at each other a few times, they all could see the disapproval in each other’s eyes.
Ji Changze’s reputation in the village isn’t so good. Now he was going to marry An Xiaolu, who was a mute that studied so long for nothing. Many people laughed at their marriage behind their backs.
An Xiaolu had no scandals except being mute, but she was just too popular before.
After all, she was good-looking, gentle in temperament, and the key point was that she was a high school student. In the future, whether she went straight to work or to college, she would make more money, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that half the men in the village her age were thinking that way.
Didn’t it stir some kind of ‘I like you, but you like An Xiaolu’ tragedy?
The worst part was, ‘I gave up on you, and the second one I liked, also liked An Xiaolu’.
There had been sour words about her in the village when she was away at school. But now that An Xiaolu was mute, she, who had a bright future ahead of her, suddenly fell into the mud, those sour words turned to cynicism.
Ji Changze’s side was even simpler.
He, Ji Changze, was lazy and thick-skinned. Every day, such a grown man, made excuses not to go to work, and eats off his father and mother.
Such a person actually married An Xiaolu?!
Even if she couldn’t marry those guys, seeing Ji Changze get the girl, wouldn’t they be jealous?
Therefore, there were basically a lot of talk about their marriage in the village.
Ji Changze was an unreliable boy, and he isn’t a hard worker who could bear hardships. An Xiaolu would definitely suffer hardships when she marries him.
And what kind of man wants to take care of in-laws all the time? Just watch, Ji Changze would fall out sooner or later.
Nobody cared about them anyway.
These people are actually pretty accurate in their reading, and the original owner really did turn his back on An Xiaolu, and An Xiaolu did suffer for the rest of her life.
“Changze, you’re getting married now. So, from now on, work harder, don’t always be lazy like before, or how can you support your family?”
This is what one old lady had to say.
Gossip is gossip, but she was actually very kind. Even if Father Ji and Mother Ji love their youngest son as much as they do, they weren’t so young, how much longer could they take care of Ji Changze.
Ji Changguang was the eldest brother, but he was married. Who would spend their life minding a brother who isn’t very close to them?
If Ji Changze doesn’t man up at this time, it would be difficult in the future.
If the original owner heard these words, he would definitely look unhappy, and he might even scold a few words, but replace it with the Ji Changze now…
“It’s not that I don’t want to be hard-working. It’s actually, grandma, as you can see, we work hard in the fields every day, we also get up early and return late. As a result, when I look at how much I get, I feel shortchanged by this work and the lack of benefits.”
The few old ladies were stunned by that.
What Ji Changze said was actually quite reasonable, but the question is, when everyone does this, how come he’s the only one who’s suffering a loss?
“So, what would you do if you don’t work and depend on your parents for your daily bread? That’s no good, you’re getting married.”
Ji Changze gave a dismissive example:
“The team will just feed me. I wasn’t working anyway, and there was no shortage of food for me, but when I do work, the food is the same. So, I won’t work.”
That can truly be called a cheeky statement.
Ji Changze had a righteous expression again, it’s so deplorable to even condemn.
Old lady: “That’s not good enough, you can’t even muddle through on your own, but Xiaolu is going to marry you later. How can this be done?”
“Xiaolu will marry me, I’m sure I won’t make her suffer.”
Ji Changze’s statement was a decisive one, and he announced it with a proud look.
“I’ll tell you what, I went to the city today to add things for the wedding. What a coincidence, I happened to run into a man who fell on the ground, so I helped him up.”
Some of the old ladies had a look on their face as if saying ‘you can do good things too?’
Ji Changze: “I saw that he was dressed nicely and thought that after I helped him up, they could thank me, like invite me to a dinner at a state restaurant or something.”
(TNote: State-owned-restaurant = restaurants are considered a business, and are only allowed to be owned by the state at those days.)
The old ladies had a look on their faces that said, ‘That’s right, that’s his usual development.’
“If that person was stupid. I mean, you just gave them a hand and you would be invited to dinner.”
Even dreams don’t come that good…
Ji Changze shrugged: “Well, he didn’t invite me to dinner.”
How can there be such a silly person?
Then they heard Ji Changze say: “But that man is actually a factory director. He saw that I was young, diligent and capable, kind and honest, and I looked smart and looked good …”
He bragged about himself with a bunch of compliments, and the few old ladies listened with numb faces.
“Stop, stop, don’t boast about yourself. Then what?”
Ji Changze looked so innocently, “Then he said he wanted me to be a worker in their factory.”
Ji Changze: “As a worker, ah.”
Ji Changze held out his fingers to them, “20 yuan a month.”
Ji Changze didn’t feel strange when he saw their disbelief.
That’s a great job for a worker this time of year, manning up with a straight back.
20 yuan a month is more than enough.
Converted, it is almost equivalent to 78,000 in later generations, which was a huge sum for the villagers.
The key was that, this huge sum was for every month.
Ji Changze, the punk who’s always been a no-good village gangster that the village people have always thought was only natural?
Ji Changze knew they didn’t believe it.
He directly took out 10 yuan from his pocket.
“Look, this is the salary that the factory director gave me in advance, and he paid the money privately, saying that it was for me to buy things for my marriage.”
When the 10 yuan came out, the several old ladies stared at it.
“This, how is that possible? You only helped him…”
“What’s wrong with just a little help?”
Ji Changze patted his tricycle, and acted like he was going to have a good time exaggerating the conversation, “It was freezing, he fell to the ground, and there was no one around. If I hadn’t lifted him up, he might have been lying there for a long time, and if he laid there, he would catch cold. If he caught cold, and if he had a fever, he might get pneumonia.”
He stood upright with confidence, “I saved his life!”
Then he’s narrowly right, but… but how come that factory manager asked Ji Changze to be a worker?
Ji Changze, “Why is it unreasonable? I’m kind!”
The several old ladies: “… you? Kind?!”
Ji Changze asked them: “Then you tell me, do workers have to be hardworking, kind, practical, honest?”
There’s nothing wrong with this. Several people nodded their heads.
Ji Changze: “am I hardworking?”
The old ladies: … Definitely not.
Ji Changze: “Am I a practical person?”
There was definitely no such thing. He’s the laziest person in the village, and they have never seen anyone so lazy.
Ji Changze asked again: “Am I honest?”
Ji Changze? Honest? What a joke!
Seeing that they all shook their heads, Ji Changze clapped his hands; “Isn’t that just kinder then?”
“The factory manager just made me a worker because I’m kind, what’s wrong with that? Nothing wrong with it.”
The old ladies: “… we don’t think so.”
Ji Changze really became a worker because of his kindness?
Seeing them admit it, Ji Changze clapped his hands again: “So, be kind.”
“Especially as kind as I am.”
When he saw that the several old ladies had been fooled, his eyes narrowed with laughter.
It looks like, within one day, these gossip transmission matriarchs would be able to spread such a message throughout the village.
He, Ji Changze, became a worker.