stingy landlady

Chapter 156 Growing Bean Sprouts Together (2)

"I rarely see these granddaughters. They finally come all this time, how could I possibly be reluctant to part with a few melon seeds?"

Seeing the old lady being unusually generous, Guizhi casually grabbed a small handful of melon seeds and ate them, and thoughtfully gave Guiling a few kernels!

Li was speechless for a long time, but couldn't say anything.

The old lady was puzzled:

"What's wrong? Dazhu's wife! How long have you been running the household? Why can't you speak up? Just say it out loud, this stammering is really making me anxious!"

Guizhi quickly smoothed things over, saying:

"Grandma! Don't worry! My mom's coming is a good thing! She'll bring you good fortune!"

The old lady rolled her eyes at Li, shook her head, and thought to herself:

"You're not even as good as a child, you've lived this long for nothing! You're supposed to be leading us to make money, so let's not say anything harsh for now, what if you get angry and run away and stop helping us make money?"

The old lady asked Guizhi:

"Guizhi! What good thing can make money? It's so cold, everyone's staying home to hibernate, who are you going to make money from?"

Li realized what was going on.

"Dad! Mom! Sprout beans! Guizhi, help us sell them!"

The old lady paused for a moment and then said:

"But these bean sprouts are not easy to grow! If you don't do it right, the beans will rot, which is a waste, and nobody will want them!"

Guizhidao:

"Grandma! We do it! Last winter we even made money selling bean sprouts! My grandpa knows!"

The old man chuckled.

"Guizhi! Grandpa kept it a secret for you, but today you've revealed it all to your grandpa!"

Guizhi explained:

“Grandpa! Last year we didn’t sell much, and we relied entirely on selling bean sprouts to make ends meet! This year is different! My dad and mom are thinking that now that we’re doing better, we should at least help out Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, and Aunt!”

The old man was genuinely happy this time.

"Yes! Your dad is thoughtful! He always thinks about us old folks! He's a real older brother! Your dad is really good!"

The old man looked at Li again and said:

"Dazhu's wife is great too! She's not petty at all! Things will only get better from now on!"

The old lady then put down what she was doing and asked seriously:

"What are your plans? Tell us!"

Li called out softly:

"Mother! It's just..."

The old lady raised her hand to stop Li from continuing.

"Alright! Dazhu's wife! Stop calling me 'Mom'! I'm eager to hear it, and you keep nagging! Guizhi, you speak!"

Guizhi held back her laughter, her clear voice ringing out:

"Grandpa and Grandma! In our old house, Aunt Si and my mother used to grow bean sprouts together! The north kang in Grandma's house and Uncle Si's house are both idle! They were used to grow bean sprouts!"

My dad and I will go to the county town tomorrow to find out where the products are going, and then we'll help sell them!

After we earned some money and paid for the soybeans, the wages were split between my fourth aunt, my mother, and Grandma! That way, my fourth aunt could earn some money for the children's daily expenses without having to keep asking Grandma for money!

Grandma lets them use the kang (heated brick bed) and helps take care of the children, and she also gets paid a share of the wages!

What do you think?

The old lady pursed her lips, thinking to herself:

"Not good! All of the money that the fourth son's wife has is mine! But I can't say that the fourth son and I haven't separated our households, and Guizhi still gave us two shares! If I say that I don't give any to the fourth son's wife, then it will definitely be split equally with Li Shi!"

"That Guizhi girl is incredibly cunning! Fine, fine! Giving her to Fourth Brother's wife is for my grandson's benefit! If she dares to give money to her family, I'll deal with her!"

The old lady had quite a lot on her mind, but after only a short while, she said:

"Okay! We'll do as Guizhi says! But we don't need to buy beans, but we still need to buy jars, basins, and things like that!"

"Grandma! My mom will buy them all first! You can pay her back later when she earns more money!"

Seeing that Guizhi had taken charge and settled the matter quickly and efficiently, Li could only nod in agreement.

After agreeing with the old lady to bring the vat and basin over the next day, the three women, including Li, arrived at Sun's room. As soon as Li finished telling Sun what had happened, Sun burst into tears.

"Sister-in-law! You've been through this hardship before! I don't have a penny to my name, and my child is so young! I can't do anything. The money my fourth brother earns from selling firewood is all given to Mother! Mother might give me a few copper coins if she's in a good mood, but I'm scared! Waaah!"

Well! I'm so poor these days, all I feel is misery!

"Fourth Aunt! This is good news! You mustn't cry! If Grandma hears you, she'll think you're talking badly about her behind her back!"

Mrs. Sun quickly wiped away her tears.

"Don't cry, don't cry! Guizhi is right! This is a good thing! Fourth Aunt is happy!"

Li comforted her:

"Fourth sister-in-law! Mother has agreed to give you a share of the money she earns! You should be happy about this, not upset! Guizhi dares to speak up, and Mother agreed in just a few words! I don't have that ability; when I see Mother's long face, I can't say a word!"

Mrs. Sun chuckled upon hearing this:

"Sister-in-law! Fourth Brother always says you're honest! He says you're terrified of Mom! It's alright, sister-in-law! From now on, we'll just do our work. Mom can't eat us alive, can she?"

Li also laughed and said:

"It's strange! She's not usually like this, but she trembles whenever she sees her mother!"

The two sisters-in-law chatted for a while longer, but Guizhi couldn't wait any longer and wanted to go talk to Dazhu.

"Mom! I'm going to the county town with Dad tomorrow, and I need to talk to him! Why don't you stay here for a while?"

Li also stood up and said:

“Let’s all go together, mother and daughter! Fourth sister-in-law! I’ll go back and arrange to buy a vat and basin, and bring them over tomorrow! Tell the fourth brother that the house has been empty for so long, it needs to be heated up!”

"Get him a cartload of firewood first, then we'll pay him later! It'll save him the trouble of running around; it's hard work!"

"What are you saying, sister-in-law? The firewood we collected ourselves is nothing! It's just a matter of putting in some effort! What else can the fourth brother do if he doesn't work hard?"

"But we still have Da Bao!"

"It's alright, sister-in-law! When we earn money in the future, we'll give him a bigger red envelope for the New Year! Da Bao is sensible now, and he works with his fourth uncle every day!"

He doesn't like listening to his second sister-in-law's nagging anymore! He prefers to come over and play with this little one whenever he has free time!

"It's good that you're sensible!"

The two sisters-in-law were reluctant to part, and Guizhi had already led Guiling a long way away.

"Fourth sister-in-law! Hurry back inside! No need to see me off! Those two children are worried, they ran so far! I have to go with them!"

"Sister-in-law, slow down! The road is slippery! Be careful not to fall!"

Before she could finish her sentence, Li tripped and fell flat on her back at the gate!

"Ouch! Sister-in-law! Slow down!"

Sun was about to come over to help her up, but Li had already stood up, brushed the snow off her clothes, and waved her hand, saying:

"It's alright, it's alright! You're dressed warmly! Go back inside quickly! The road is slippery here! You're not dressed warmly enough, come inside!"