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Chapter 156 – Have Money and Confidence
Mother Ji believed in Su Danhong more than anyone else. If she said Ji Jianyun would succeed, then he certainly would.
Since they wanted to do it, then they should simply go all out for it.
After thinking about it, Mother Ji supported them and asked again, “Do you have enough money? I have a bit saved up. Do you want to take it with you? The shop over there in the college town will certainly not be cheap.”
“No, there is still a little bit of money at home,” Ji Jianyun said.
Mother Ji didn’t bother him about it again. If he did not have enough, he could come get it from her.
The next morning, Ji Jianyun and Father Ji drove to the college town.
A group of elderly sisters were very envious of Mother Ji and remarked to her, “Jianyun will have to earn a lot of money if he goes to the college town this time, right?”
Mother Ji began to pour out her complaints to the sisters, “What money can he make? It’s because he is pressed for money, that he is anxious to go there to sell things. This time, he took on another orchard for his uncle. He spent hundreds of dollars. And there’s the newly shipped saplings that he still owes money for.”
“That’s impossible, right? Jianyun’s business is very good,” Mother Ji’s sisters said.
“How is it not? How much do you think he pays for wages? In the past, Xu Aidang, Ji Hongjun, and Su Jinjun were paid 30 yuan each. That’s 120 yuan a month. Now there’s the other mountain, where his uncle, Wang Dagang, Yang Aisen, and Xu Jianguo are working. These four people are also paid 120 yuan a month, which adds up to 240 yuan a month. You don’t know how much pressure Jianyun has. If the orchard on the other mountain is not successful, he doesn’t know how much he will lose due to labor costs.” Mother Ji was always spitting out her complaints. With that said, she really felt that the third son was under great pressure.
“It’s only 240 yuan a month, but that’s almost 3,000 yuan a year. We would never be able to save such a large sum of money in our lifetime,” said Mother Ji.
When they heard that she had to pay so much money in a year, the sisters also grumbled, “That’s true.”
“So what you’re saying is, Jianyun’s payment is higher. I heard that the salary paid in Jiangshui City is only 25 yuan, right?” an old sister said.
“How can it be as high as 25 yuan? My distant relative’s nephew found a job there, and it’s only 21 yuan a month. After deducting the rent and food, there’s only a few yuan left to send home,” another said.
“How much Jianyun gives here is very high.” There’s no other reason as to why the whole village wanted a place to work in Jianyun’s orchard.
However, it’s not easy to get a spot as a long term worker. In addition to being young, he must be a good worker. Besides that, he must have a good reputation in the village and good values. Otherwise, it would be a worker who causes a lot of trouble, and by then wouldn’t they be paying for someone they didn’t want to work with?
Because of this, the values of Dawan Village improved a lot, and there were many good people. They educated the children at home to be obedient and not too naughty. If they didn’t behave, they wouldn’t have the opportunity to go to the orchard to help with the temporary jobs. These were still decent jobs, where they could eat strawberries, and received eggs and money to take home. It couldn’t be better.
“I can’t talk anymore, I have to go back to the mountain to work first. If I’m not working, I won’t be able to earn anything,” Mother Ji said. She then took Yan’er back to the mountain.
“She is becoming more and more like a petty old lady. She always makes money whether she speaks or shuts up,” a sister said.
“Who let her give birth to a capable son?”
“Don’t just look at their family from the surface. It might be as she said since she laid out what the pay is.”
“How can I trust what comes out of her mouth?”
Mother Ji didn’t care about their gossip. She persisted in complaining that they were poor. They could believe whatever they wanted. Anyway, Jianyun told her about opening a shop in the college town. Nobody said anything about it, at least not for now.
The strawberries on the mountain were in the peak season now. A lot could be picked every day. In addition to strawberries, there are also watermelons.
Su Jinjun came to help get rid of the weeds today and had to compliment, “Aunt, this watermelon is really good.”
Su Jinjun was never lazy again since that time he was cleaned up by Ji Jianyun. Thus, Mother Ji had a better impression of him. Hearing what he said, she generously said, “When the watermelon is ripe, I will let you take a big one back and let your mother have a taste. I will choose one for her!”
“You don’t need to,” Su Jinjun said at once. He did not want to accept it. If his mother knew that their in-laws had sent a watermelon because she had heard his compliments, his mother would break his legs. His mother wouldn’t want it even if Mother Ji wasn’t acting overly pretentious or anything like that.
If Mother Su found out that he did that, she would never let him off.
“Why are you so polite? When the watermelons are ripe and the fruits on the mountain are ripe, we must ask your mother to help us. She should eat one of my watermelons to quench her thirst. You can take it back for me. Don’t be so polite,” Mother Ji said nicely.
Ji Jianyun’s business was getting bigger and bigger, and her other sons couldn’t try to help any more. It was already good enough if they were not jealous. The in-laws should definitely visit more, otherwise outsiders would really think that her Lao Ji family was helpless.
And now the two families were very close, so how could a watermelon be a big deal?
Mother Ji had a lot to fight for last year. She was the kind of person who had more confidence if she had money. The way she talked and did things were totally different now. She no longer cared about the trifling matters.
“Well, okay, thank you, aunt,” Su Jinjun said with a smile.
“These weeds are taking up too much of the fertile soil, so we must get rid of them. If we don’t, all the fertilized soil will be overtaken by these weeds, and the watermelon will not be sweet,” Mother Ji said.
“I’ll get rid of them!” Su Jinjun began to work, huffing. He then stared at the watermelon and dreamed of eating it.
Last year, the Lao Ji family sent some over. It tasted delicious. It was sweet. If he put it in the well water and ate it cold, it would taste even better!
To reiterate, Su Jinjun was extremely lazy to the bones before, but if he had something bad to say, he certainly would not say it. His mind was the same. Mother Ji could see what he was thinking with one glance.
That day, Mother Ji also gave him two jin of strawberries to bring back. When Su Jinjun returned home, he was very happy.
Mother Ji smiled and shook her head. Although she was also a parent, she thought that the eldest brother did not compare to the younger siblings.