The shopâs business in town was good, and Father Ji and Mother Ji were relieved. They never asked how much money was made. They just cared about whether business was good or not.
If business was good, then they must be making a lot of money. However, the old couple didnât want to interfere with it and didnât ask.
Despite Mother Ji feeling the pain of Su Danhong giving her second brother money to buy a rickshaw, she didnât say anything.
When Father Ji saw her pain, he said, âRight now their lives are getting better and better, and they have things planned out. Letâs just help out and donât complain about things.â
He added, âThe rickshaw Jindang drives is not bad. Itâs also used for the caught chickens, or else there will be a lot of trouble going back and forth. It takes time to accomplish great things.â
Mother Ji said to him, âI didnât say anything, I just think Danhong is digging a hole thatâs a little too big for herself.â
She felt the pain as long as she thought of how the rickshaw was a lot of money.
They were just talking, but they would never mention it in front of Su Danhong.
They saw how Su Jindang came back once a day to take the chickens and sell them. There was definitely not much else to say about this business.
At this time, business was not booming as much as before, but there was no problem selling a couple chickens a day. In two weeks, the hens they had left behind to lay eggs began to do so.
The food for these hens was better since they were for laying eggs. Once the first hen began to lay eggs, the rest began to follow.
Of the original 200+ chickens, these 60 or 70 were reserved for laying eggs, and the rest were to be sold. Naturally, the food for these 60 or 70 hens increased so that they would lay eggs quickly.
As for the eggs, it was basically one a day. There were also a dozen that were amazing and paid two in a day!
Mother Ji was delighted, and the hens were given extra food immediately.
There were many seasonal wild herbs in the field, which she would bring as extra meals to the chickens. She called for some children in the village to dig earthworms and catch bugs. These were exchanged with candy for them to eat.
With this, the children in the village were very happy, while the hens could eat more every day and lay eggs faster.
Thus, after the shop was open for two weeks, they began to sell eggs too. Selling only chickens was really a bit monotonous. Hong Jie also went to see the shop. It was when Su Danhong had brought her in. She gave the children to Mother Ji, and she took a chicken and a basket of eggs for Hong Jie.
Hong Jie had seen a lot in her life and what she saw was really good.
As they sold chickens, they could also sell other fruits and vegetables, which would attract more customers.
Su Danhong didnât fret over these things. She would just let Su Jindang work it out himself. He could go to their motherâs village to collect vegetables, or he could go to her village to collect it. Then, he could sell it. It would be his own venture, and Su Danhong did not intend to join.
Like this, Su Jindangâs earnings would increase.
Su Danhong saw how her second brother seemed more confident than before.
This was something Su Danhong liked seeing.
When Mother Ji came back that night, she said, âThere are not enough chickens on the mountain to sell.â
âTake a break if there isnât enough. Everyone is tired these days,â Su Danhong said, she didnât mind.
It was true that they were a little tired these days. Aside from the work Ji Hongjun and the others did, they also had to work in the fields at home. When it was time to plant the rice seedlings, sweet potatoes and other crops needed to be planted at this time.
Mother Ji said, âWith so much money earned in a month, itâs fine doing some more work. I just donât know what else there is to do on the mountain.â
Su Danhong didnât know how to react, âMother, you and Dad should take a break, and wait for Jianyun. He is learning how to manage the orchard, so wait for him to come back. Itâll get busy then. Mother, go and buy some pork tomorrow, two jin each for Xu Aidang and Ji Hongjunâs families. Consider it a bonus for their hard work these days.â
âThatâs not necessary, is it?â Mother Ji asked.
âItâs all right, just give it to them. They are long-term workers of our family, and they always help father in the mountains. We should be closer to those in our village than outsiders,â Su Danhong explained.
Mother Ji didnât say more. But she told Father Ji about it when she went up the mountain.
Father Ji nodded and said, âListen to Danhong, go and pick out some big and fat pieces of meat.â
At this time, people liked to eat fatty pieces rather than lean meat.
Moreover, Father Ji had no problem with this matter. In his mind, he still felt that the members of Lao Sanâs family were the ones who were going to do great things. How impressive was it that they could win the hearts of others?
Paying a monthly salary was really a lot, but a worker was a worker. This was a typical human relationship between employee and employer. It was also possible to improve this relationship.
He had seen how Xu Aidang and Ji Hongjun were. They never had bad intentions or shirked from their work. If there was work to do, they would do it. If they were asked to do something, they didnât mind doing it. It was the same with their wives. They would usually visit Danhong and help out since Jianyun was not at home.
Father Ji was a man who tried to think of all possibilities. He didnât follow how concerned Mother Ji was with money.
Despite how she felt about the money, Mother Jiis completed this task. She sent two jin of fatty meat to each family, and said some nice things to them. She asked the wives to nourish their husbands and to not be reluctant to use it. They have also worked hard these days. Jianyun was going to come back after a while. It was better to take care of them then tire them out.
Li Yucui, Xu Aidangâs wife, and Wang Honghua, Ji Hongjunâs wife, were very happy.
Both families were once one of the poor families in the village. They relied on living with their other family members, and it was hard to explain how suffocating their lives were.
Now they were in a new environment, and their lives were better. From time to time, they could eat a bit of meat. This life was simply unthinkable in the past when they were simple congee.
It was all thanks to luck that their lives were like this. Everyone in the village knew this without saying it. If the villagers were able to get their jobs, then they wouldnât be so envious.
Their bossâs family had nothing bad to say about them, and they gave them some meat to have another dish during the New Year Festival. The men in the family were really busy these days. They had to go into the town to help, and they had to go to the orchard and water the fruit trees. They also had to work on their familyâs field.
No matter how busy they were, they could eat to their heartâs content. Right when they were thinking about making a meat dish, their bossâs family had sent some.
Both families were very happy.
They invited Mother Ji in, but she smiled and said she had to go back to look after the children. Thus, she politely declined and asked them to visit when they were free.
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When Mother Ji left, Li Yucui and Wang Honghua repeatedly told their husbands that they must work hard! The lives of their entire family depended on them!
Xu Aidang and Ji Hongjun only nodded and joked that they certainly did not want to give up on such a boss. Otherwise, how could they support their family with the small, barren field at home? If they were not dedicated, then there were plenty of people in the village who wanted to replace them.