Grandma Lu assumed great airs of authority as well. Li Fang Yue knew very well that Grandma Lu did not know her sister was just a concubine. Otherwise, Grandma Lu would make a scene.
Grandma Lu was ruthless, Li Fang Yue had heard that it was Grandma Lu who had forced her Second Son to join the army.
Even though Li Fang Yue did not understand why her mother-in-law was hiding the fact from Grandma Lu, but it was a good thing that Grandma Lu was kept in the dark.
However, Li Fang Yue felt so agitated about this, she just wanted to settle the case once and for all.
Li Fang Yue touched her belly and thought to herself: I must have a son! The Lus will give me and my kid a hard time if it were a girl!
……
Chen Jing had been studying in town, Sino Commercial House had been very popular among his schoolmates recently.
In order to show their identity, many rich kids would buy a few schoolbags and change every few days.
Chen Jing and other kids who were from villages couldn't afford to do so.
Although Chen Jing envied the behavior of the rich classmates, he always looked like he despised that behavior.
Chen Jing rarely paid attention to the Sino Commercial House.
However, Chen Jing didn't pay attention to it, his classmates did and they would tell Chen Jing what they had found out.
Hearing that Chen Xiao Cai was working in Sino Commercial House from his classmates, Chen Jing gave a gasp of surprise.
Chen Jing did not expect that Chen Xiao Cai, that uncouth country mouse was hired in Sino Commercial House now.
Chen Jing was afraid of Chen Xiao Mi but not Chen Xiao Cai.
Chen Jing thought he needed to find some time to talk to Chen Xiao Cai.
……
Lu Lin went to pick up the custom-made pendants and furniture from the carpenter this day. And when he came back, he saw a lot of people surrounding the shop entrance.
A few people gathered at the entrance of the store and chatted. The crowd dispersed after a long while.
Lu Lin knew what had happened from Wan L. Chen Jing came to the shop, asking Chen Xiao Cai to give him a few bags for free. Of course Cai turned him down, Chen Jing abused Chen Xiao Cai verbally, leaving the customers in shock.
When Chen Xiao Mi heard the news, he ran out of the backyard and beat Chen Jing up. Chen Jing threw a tantrum and threatened Xiao Mi that he would report this to the government.
Some people felt that things were unusual and they had actually reported this. However, the officers left the store after giving Chen Jing a warning.
Lu Lin was way ahead of Chen Jing, he had already met the officials and paid them good money before he opened the shop.
Hearing Chen Xiao Mi had given Chen Jing a good beat, Lu Lin walked into the backyard worriedly.
"Are you alright?" Lu Lin trusted Chen Xiao Mi's ability but Chen Xiao Mi now was pregnant after all.
Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Lu Lin and said, "Don't worry, I'm very well. I can kick Chen Jing's ass easily." Chen Xiao Mi had exchanged blows with Chen Jing several times since he was young. He thought that he had already showed Chen Jing who was the boss, but that stupid Chen Jing marched to their store and seek his doom again.
Lu Lin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I know it, you are the best. Chen Jing really deserves a lesson."
Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Lu Lin and said, "Don't worry, I know how far I should go, he is fine. I wouldn't actually hurt him and get myself into trouble. I just kicked him and made him fall on the ground with all fours to humiliate him."
Chen Jing didn't come alone. There were a few classmates with him. Chen Jing must feel embarrassed to be beaten in front of these people.
Lu Lin found an officer to inquire about the details. Several students in the school knew that Chen Jing and Chen Xiao Cai were cousins, so they invited Chen Jing to drink and asked if he could get some bags with discounts. Chen Jing was drank and he really enjoyed the flattery, so he bragged that he could get them free bags instead of discounts.
Chen Jing told these people that Chen Xiao Cai was a member of the Chen family. If the Chen Brothers were living separately from them, the Chen Brothers were still part of the Chen family.
Chen Jing regretted it when he sobered up, but he didn't want to lose face in front of his classmates.
So, Chen Jing went to the shop and ordered Cai to give him a few bags. Naturally, Cai turned him down, Chen Jing just grabbed them from Cai.
Xiao Mi rushed out and beat Chen Jing up when he heard Cai screaming.
Mrs. Secretary-General
"This Chen Jing is so ridiculous!" Lu Lin couldn't help but exclaim.
In fact, Sino Commercial House belonged to Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi. Chen Xiao Cai was of course an owner as well. In this way, Chen Jing came to the store to steal things should be considered as domestic matters to some extent.
However, Chen Xiao Cai himself did not know that he was actually a co-owner of the shop, let alone Chen Jing.
If your family member worked in any store at home, and you just automatically thought you could get free stuff, you were in the wrong then. Lu Lin felt Chen Jing went to school for nothing, he didn't even know how to be a decent human being.
Chen Jing was beaten up by Chen Xiao Mi and he returned home crestfallen, hiding for several days without seeing anyone.
Chen Xiao Mi snorted. Chen Jing studied for years before he finally became a Tongsheng. In Chen Xiao Mi's opinion, Chen Jing was a 'good-for-nothing'. However, Grandma Chen loved him and decided that this idiot was a good talent.
"However, it seems like Lu Cheng Yu is behind this Chen Jing farce." Xiao Mi added.
Lu Lin thought to himself: Compared to Chen Jing, Lu Cheng Yu is more scheming, but neither of them is good.
Lu Cheng Yu found out by chance that Lu Lin was working in Sino Commercial House in town. And Lu Lin had even introduced Granny Shen and Shen Chi to the 'boss'.
Sino Commercial House had a very high reputation in their school. Lu Cheng Yu was so sour when he found out that Lu Lin was a steward in the store he once visited.
Knowing that Chen Jing was going to look for trouble for Chen Xiao Cai, Lu Cheng Yu fanned the flame.
Grandma Chen was filled with righteous indignation when she heard Chen Jing had been beaten up. However, Grandma Chen dared not mess with the big shots who had commercial properties in town.
Since ancient times, the regular people did not fight with officials, and the poor did not fight the wealth.
In the view of the village people, people who could live in the town were not the ones to be trifled with. Perhaps they even knew the officials. She decided to not act rashly. Grandma Lu was still quite rational after all. She knew that her grandson was in the wrong.
On top of that, Chen Shou Ren said that the government's had sent officers to the shop, but they didn't blame anyone in the commercial house. On the contrary, they had scolded Chen Jing. Grandma Chen was more determined to stay away from that commercial house after hearing that.
After a few days, Lu Lin had forgotten about this farce.
After all, Lu Lin had to work on a lot of things every day.
……
Tang was in a good mood after she knew that Chen Jing was beaten up by Chen Xiao Mi. Tang felt so sorry for herself recently. However, she took pleasure in other people's misfortune.
"Son, Chen Xiao Cai is working in Sino Commercial House!"
Lu Cheng Yu nodded, "Yeah, I know that!"
Tang frowned and said, "I didn't expect Chen Xiao Cai could be this lucky."
In Tang's opinion, Chen Xiao Cai was just a brat. It blew her mind that such a brat actually held an important position in the store.
Lu Cheng Yu was also dissatisfied. He found that Lu Lin was the one in charge of commercial house. All the female workers in the store listened to Lu Lin. Lu Lin's words carried considerable weight with the administration,
However, the glorious days of the Sino Commercial House were about to come to an end. As far as he knew, there was a manager in town who had recently planned to open a shop featured bags as well. A few female workers in the Sino Commercial House might have already switched sides.
"Did Lu Lin really make a lot of money? Can you let him spit out a little! This guy should have earned a lot recently," Tang said.
Lu Cheng Yu frowned, asking for money from Lu Lin and his dead father was something that Grandma Lu and Grandpa Lu did, he didn't want to do it.
Lu Cheng Yu professed to be a future scholar. He liked money, but he was too hypocritical to admit it. He was afraid that talking about money would make him less lofty.
Seeing that Lu Cheng Yu was unhappy, Tang didn't mention this anymore, but she had a plan in her heart.
……
Chen Xiao Mi looked at the account book and glanced at Lu Lin. He pouted and said, "Recently, the business in the store has declined."
"There's a similar store on the market now," it was some store which made some inferior products of similar styles. The new stores basically imitated their bags with more advanced and high-end fabric, the price was even more competitive.
Lu Lin originally didn't want Chen Xiao Mi to know his, but Chen Xiao Mi checked accounts every day and naturally he had found it out.
Chen Xiao Mi sighed, "It's happening so fast."
Lu Lin shook his head and said, "There is nothing we can do at this point."
Although he had tried his best to prevent his designs from being leaked, there were many skilled craftsmen here. They could deconstruct one of his bags, studied carefully, and copied all his designs like that. Besides, two of the female workers he hired were poached by the rival shop.
Even though he had separated all the female workers, they were still interacting with each other. It was impossible for him to completely hide the craftsmanship.
Although there were copyright protection laws in the modern society, counterfeit flooded all over the world. In this time and space, imitation was not even considered illegal.
Chen Xiao Mi sighed and said sadly, "It's not easy to make some money!"
Lu Lin smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't starve you and our baby… We can sell many other things besides bags, ups and downs are normal in doing business."
Chen Xiao Mi snorted and blushed.
Chen Xiao Mi felt that he thirsted for more successes now. In the past, he thought that as long as he and his brothers could live an ordinary life, he would be grateful forever, but now he wanted more.
Chen Xiao Mi had heard Lu Lin say that they could consider buying a government official title when they were richer. Chen Xiao Mi thought that Lu Lin was boasting, but now he felt that it might be possible. Chances were he and Lu Lin would own an official title before Lu Cheng Yu.
……
Lu Lin walked out and unexpectedly met Tang.
Ever since he got married, Lu Lin rarely met Tang. When he suddenly met her again, Lu Lin couldn't help feeling uncomfortable.
" Lin, you have made it!" Tang greeted Lu Lin with a benign countenance.
Lu Lin did not expect that Tang would come over to him after all the trouble she had stirred up. Seeing that she was wearing a smile, Lu Lin rolled his eyes. 'It looks like she had changed the strategy, now she is playing nice. It is really unexpected!'
"Auntie, stop flattering me, you're too nice. I'm just trying to make a living, I say my cousin Cheng Yu is the one who has made it, he is the one who has married a lady from an official's family. The first one who is betrothed with an official in our village!"
Tang smiled awkwardly. Tang rarely showed off Li Fang Yue ever since she found out the truth about her sister was just a concubine.
" Lin! I heard that you have two taels of silver per month now. So much money! Is it Chen Xiao Mi who is in charge of money in your house? You are a man after all, he is a Bio, you need to establish your authority in the house! Chen Xiao Mi looks like a freak, I don't think he is even able to carry children. Lin, you need to be smart about your money, don't make all that money for outsiders like his brothers."
Lu Lin glanced at Tang and said, "Outsiders, auntie, you are joking."
Lu Lin secretly rolled his eyes. Lu Lin didn't publicize the news about Chen Xiao Mi's pregnancy but he didn't hide it either. However, the news might not have reached the villagers' ears yet, or because Tang subconsciously felt that Chen Xiao Mi couldn't carry children. It looked like she was completely unaware that Mi was already pregnant.
Tang looked at Lu Lin and said, "Child, your heart is too sincere. This Cai might be a good boy now. When he gets married and had his own little family, he will naturally become an outsider. When that happens, what will become of you? At the end of the day, your family name is Lu, and their family name is Chen.
Lu Lin smiled coldly. He was shocked by Tang's shamelessness. He got married on two pieces of door planks thanks to Tang, but Tang still had the nerve to tell him that she was his family.
Tang looked at Lu Lin and smiled embarrassedly, "Lin! I know what you are thinking, but we had no other ways when we married you into Chen Xiao Mi's family. Chen Xiao Mi is not a good match. You must be having a hard time. When your cousin becomes an official, he will help you to get divorce and we will find you a good wife."
Lu Lin glanced at Tang and said, "This is my business. Don't you worry about a thing, Aunty."
Tang grabbed Lu Lin's arm and said, " Lin, don't leave like this! You and Cheng Yu are cousins, blood is thicker than water. If your big brother becomes an official in the future, you will benefit from that too."
"Auntie, what on earth do you want to say?"
Tang looked at Lu Lin and finally said her true purpose. "You have earned a lot now. Your cousin needs some money to associate with some big shots, he is only a few taels shy."
Lu Lin was rendered speechless, he permitted a dry smile. Tang faintly felt that Lu Lin's smile was a little sarcastic, so she continued, "If your cousin becomes an official, then you will be a relative of an official."
Lu Lin said helplessly, "Auntie, I don't have money. Xiao Mi has all my money. If Cousin Cheng Yu needs money, the family can sell more land! Grandma Lu and Grandpa Lu will do anything that my cousin says."
Tang turned livid, "You are a grown man, how can you let Chen Xiao Mi manage your money?"
"I'm married into his family, have you forgotten about that? He bought me from you!"
Tang knew Lu Lin didn't fall for her playing nice strategy. She stopped coaxing Lu Lin, "Lu Lin, your job isn't very stable after all, don't get too smug! I heard that someone from the Chen family has already made a scene here. Cheng Yu's brother-in-law is Secretary-General. Just a single word from him can ruin your business. Of course he can also help you keep your job."
Lu Lin looked at Tang and smiled with indifference.
Lu Lin didn't know how to deal with Tang when she played nice. Now that she showed her true colors, Lu Lin let out a sigh of relief.
"Secretary-General is a very capable official he is highly respected. However, there is something very strange. I wonder if Aunty can help me!"
Tang looked at Lu Lin and felt a little uncomfortable. "What do you mean?"
"I heard that the wife of Secretary-General is a beauty, but the strange thing is that this lady's surname is Ji. This is strange. Isn't the wife that big brother married surnamed Li? Why is that? Could it be that the Li family's young lady used her mother's surname?"
Tang glared at Lu Lin and said with bravado, "You must be mistaken."
Lu Lin smiled and said, "Maybe. After all, no one can tell whether the rumors are true or false."
Tang glared at Lu Lin fiercely and turned away swearing at Lu Lin.
Lu Lin looked at Tang's retiring figure and shook his head.
Fancy there were people in this world who can be shameless to this extent.
Chen Xiao Mi saw Lu Lin coming back and raised his head. "Where have you been? "
"I met Tang on the way, so I wasted some time," Lu Lin said casually.
"Why is she looking for you?" asked Chen Xiao Mi.
Lu Lin shrugged and said, "She heard that I've made some money, so she wanted to borrow some, I turned her down, so she swore at me Fortunately, Tang thinks I'm making 2 taels per month. If she knows we earn a few hundred taels a month, she would go crazy."
Chen Xiao Mi rolled his eyes and said helplessly, "Shameless."
Lu Lin thought to himself: I can't agree more!
Meeting Qin Yi Again
When Tang returned home, she went off to sulk in her room.
Li Fang Yue knew that Tang had gone out to ask Lu Lin for money. Seeing that Tang was back, she followed Tang to her room, wanting to ask Tang about the situation.
After she was pregnant, Grandma Lu and Grandpa Lu had high expectations for Li Fang Yue, they wanted a great-grandson, Li Fang Yue held her head up high in front of Tang.
Tang was indignant that Lu Lin just caught her on the raw. She felt that her family married Li Fang Yue was really a bad decision.
Tang was so angry when Li Fang Yue asked her whether Lu Lin had given her money that she started arguing with Li Fang Yue and hit her a few times.
Li Fang Yue had been treated nicely by the elders in the family, she was shocked that her mother-in-law dared disobey the elders' instructions, she struck Tang back.
The two of them argued loudly, Grandma Lu rushed to the scene. Li Fang Yue left Tang's room sullenly not long after Grandma Lu arrived.
Grandma Lu looked at Tang and said discontentedly, "Tang, what's the matter with you? Why are you venting your anger on Yue, she is pregnant with your grandson! What if, heaven forbid, anything happens to the unborn baby!"
Tang hit Li Fang Yue when she was utterly discomfited. She felt she went too far when she calmed down.
Grandma Lu glanced at the door and said sullenly, "What if she goes to her sister to complain, what if the Secretary-General get mad at us?"
When the old lady mentioned the Secretary-General, Tang felt even more bitter. She wished the Secretary-General got mad at her for mistreating Fang Yue, but unfortunately the Secretary-General didn't care about Fang Yue.
Tang didn't have the heart to tell the old lady the truth, she just kept nodding when she was scolded. Tang was pissed deep down.
……
When Lu Cheng Yu came back from the school, he heard about his mother and wife had a fight.
"Mother, why did you argue with Fang Yue? You've even hit her?" Lu Cheng Yu did not like Li Fang Yue, but he cared for their baby.
Lu Cheng Yu was not exactly young in the village. Some villagers who were at his age had already had two or three kids.
During this period of time, the Lu family had been fighting endlessly. Lu Cheng Yu felt humiliated that they were reduced to the laughingstock.
Tang said hatefully, "That damn girl, how much money we have spent to marry her, but she just wants to embarrass me."
Lu Cheng Yu wanted to hide the fact about Fang Yue's sister was just a concubine. Several days ago, Li Ru organized a meetup for Lu Cheng Yu and Secretary-General. The two of them chatted happily, and Secretary-General also agreed to help him, which improved Lu Cheng Yu's attitude towards Li Fang Yue.
Seeing his mother mentioning it again, Lu Cheng Yu said unhappily, "Mother, why are you bringing this up again?"
Although Li Ru was just a concubine, as long as she gained grace from the Secretary-General, it wasn't a big deal whether she was a wife or concubine. Lu Cheng Yu didn't want to admit that his choice was wrong.
Tang said sullenly, "I went to Lu Lin's to borrow money today. He didn't agree. He seems to know Li Ru is a concubine."
Lu Cheng Yu looked so flustered, he asked with disbelief, "Lu Lin knows? Mother, are you sure? What exactly did he say?"
Tang nodded and said bitterly, "He said, why is Secretary-General's wife's surname is Ji instead of Li?"
Lu Cheng Yu suddenly clenched his fists, his face stained with embarrassment and indignation, he dreaded to think what if Lu Lin had really found out the truth.
"Where did this damn bastard hear the news?" Tang gnashed her teeth.
Lu Cheng Yu frowned, he had to admit that Lu Lin had been very different recently. He was managing a lot of things in Sino Commercial House. He had even see Lu Lin walking into a restaurant together with a few respected managers and shop owners in town.
Lu Cheng Yu was secretly panicked. 'If Lu Lin knows about it, maybe many people know about it as well.'
……
In the backyard of Sino Commercial House.
Chen Xiao Mi's eyes widened as he saw the pile of bags, "There are so many of them."
"Because we pay our workers by the piece, everyone's enthusiasm is very high."
At the moment, there were 15 employees in the shop. However, Lu Lin didn't mind the workers taking the cloth back home and handing the finished products after they were done.
This way, the staff who received the cloth would ask their relatives to help out as well. Therefore, although there were only fifteen employees in the store in name, ther were actually more than that.
In order to make more money, all the employees had mobilized their families to join them and make more bags.
Lu Lin pondered for a moment. Those workers were afraid that they would suddenly lose their jobs now that there was a rival shop, that was why they were working so hard like there was no tomorrow, it looked like unemployment was a timeless problem!
Recently, wage had taken up a huge part of expenditure.
Chen Xiao Mi looked at the bags and said, "It seems that we need to slow down now. We are seriously overstocked."
Lu Lin nodded and said, "It seems like this."
They were indeed overstocked at the moment, Lu Lin figured he could either ask the workers to take a break or rent a shop in the neighboring town and expand their business. Even though there were peddlers who bought bags from him and sold them in the neighboring town, it couldn't solve the problem once and for all.
The more Lu Lin thought about it, the more he felt it was feasible, and he told Chen Xiao Mi about it.
"Go to the neighboring town!" Chen Xiao Mi vaguely felt that it was feasible, but he also felt that the journey might be a little too far.
If they were to go to the neighboring town, they would have to leave in the early morning, and chances were they still couldn't make it back home at night on a rainy day or so.
" There are many styles that can't be made, how sad!" Chen Xiao Mi sighed, he sounded a little worried.
Lu Lin had designed many styles of bags, but a large number of them couldn't be made for various reasons. The most common reason was zipper. There was no good substitute for zipper. A few days ago, Lu Lin had ordered a batch of fancy fabric. Lu Lin decided to wait for a while before he asked the workers to use the new fabric.
"It's fine, opening a new shop is not something we can rush. We can afford to have a rough patch. We've made a large amount of money anyways." Lu Lin said.
Chen Xiao Mi thought about it and nodded. They had already earned more than 100 taels so far. It would take them forever to earn so much money if they were still in the village. However, they shouldn't be complacent and cease to advance. After all, they had so many workers who relied on them nowr.
Lu Lin counted their savings and said, "There are 150 taels left."
Chen Xiao Mi blinked and said, "That's a lot. Is most savings from selling wine?"
Lu Lin shook his head and said, "No, mainly from selling bags."
Recently, he has gradually reduced the frequency of selling alcohol. Sweet Potato Wine was not easy to make and they didn't have enough ingredients now. and Lu Lin didn't want to sell the alcohol in his convenience store. When he met Manager Wang a few days ago, Manager Wang wasn't happy that they didn't do business with him as often as they used to.
Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi fell asleep as they chatted about opening a new branch.
……
Lu Lin got up early and walked into the shop He saw Chen Xiao Cai biting the pen with a thoughtful expression.
"You are up already?" Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiao Cai and thought, 'This child is really working hard, isn't he! He got up so early. Kids in modern society would sleep till noon on a non-school day.'
Chen Xiao Cai glanced at Lu Lin and said, "It's not that early. The rooster has crowed already."
Lu Lin was speechless, " The rooster has crowed, that's true. There was no need for you to get up right after the rooster crow though. Anyways, what are you doing?"
Chen Xiao Cai glanced at Lu Lin and said, "I'm checking our account book. Business has been less great recently, but wages are increasing, and the fabric is not cheap. If it carries on like this, we will end up losing money sooner or later."
Lu Lin was surprised to hear that from a child, he asked, "Do you have any solutions?"
Chen Xiao Cai nodded and said, "I still have to find a way to sell more bags or the business will fail."
Lu Lin pouted and thought to himself, 'Don't worry, our business won't just fail like that! Child, stop overthinking.'
" Lin Gege, the shop is losing money. Will the Big Boss be upset and fire us?" asked Chen Xiao Cai care-laden.
"The Big Boss went out on a business trip. He doesn't know whether we are losing money or not, we are safe for now," Lu Lin said.
Chen Xiao Cai breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good news! However, I still feel that losing money is not good."
"Alright, alright. Follow me."
"Where are we going?" asked Chen Xiao Cai.
"You'll know when we arrive."
Lu Lin led Chen Xiao Cai towards the market.
Chen Xiao Cai followed Lu Lin and said sullenly, "Lin Gege, why are we going to the market?" He was so confused, he had no idea why they were going to the market.
"Of course we are buying snacks on the market."
"What are we buying?" asked Chen Xiao Cai.
"Let's see what's on the market. Maybe we can buy a hen, hen soup is very nourishing."
Chen Xiao Cai shook his head on hearing that, he had been worried sick about the business yet Lu Lin took him to the market to do grocery shopping, but chicken soup was indeed very yummy. Chen Xiao Cai couldn't help but lick his lips.
Lu Lin thought to himself, 'It is getting hotter and hotter. Xiao Mi has a poor appetite. He is suffering severe morning sickness, I should cook something nice for him.'
Lu Lin walked to the town and saw a group of people surrounding a man.
A young master shouted, "This bear, sixteen taels, my final offer."
"Twenty tales! At least! " The man shouted back.
" Don't be too greedy, hunter. Your bear's fur is seriously damaged, I'm doing you a favor by offering you 16 taels. Others won't even offer 12 taels."
"Twenty! At least!"
……
The arrogant young man looked at the hunter with anger filled in his eyes.
Lu Lin squeezed into the crowd to see what was going on. He was a little surprised when he saw the hunter, "Uncle Qin, it's you!"
Qin Yi was also a little surprised when he saw Lu Lin. His son Qin Lang's eyes lit up when he saw Lu Lin, and then he stared at Lu Lin like he had seen a savior.
Lu Lin spent twenty taels buying Qin Yi's black bear in the end.
Qin Yi was very grateful and he insisted on sending the black bear back to Lu Lin's house.
Lu Lin asked Qin Yi where Qin Ming—his second son—was. Qin Yi told Lu Lin that they trapped this black bear days ago, but unfortunately Qin Ming broker his leg when he approached the trap.
After Qin Yi found a doctor, the doctor said that they needed to prepare at least twenty taels of silver to treat his injuries. Therefore, Qin Yi insisted the young master should increase his offer to 20 taels.
Knowing what happened to Qin Yi and Qin Ming, Lu Lin couldn't help but sigh in his heart that the mountain people had it the hard way! They were literally risking their lives when they went hunting, and he felt like maybe Qin Yi had met a greedy quack who was only looking for money.
Hiring Qin Yi
Knowing Qin Yi's situation, Lu Lin asked Qin Yi to bring Qin Ming to his house to better take care of him.
Qin Yi was grateful and sorry at the same time, all the good doctors were in town, but staying in the inn in town was too expensive. Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi were sincere, so Qin Yi brought Qin Ming over.
Although Qin Yi had 20 taels of silver from Lu Lin, the silver was to treat his son. Qin Yi was actually broke.
There were three servants rooms in Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi's house, one for the Wan family, one for Granny Shen and Shen Chi, and the Qin family took the last one.
Qin Yi didn't even have a village house. He felt so restrained when he suddenly moved to big house in town. Even if it was a servant's room, he was still a little unaccustomed and didn't dare touch anything in the room.
Lu Lin went to ask Yang Heng Zhi for help. Yang Heng Zhi introduced them a doctor with high medical skills who charged relatively cheap fees. The doctor charged eight taels for treating Qin Ming and putting splints on the leg with a fracture.
Qin Ming's leg was injured and he couldn't move around to help out around the house. Lu Lin comforted him and asked Qin Yi to take good care of him.
Qin Yi felt so grateful. Wan Li told Qin Yi that the house owner went out for a business trip and he had asked Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi to take care of the house and the shop.
In Qin Yi's opinion, Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi were not exactly the house owners. It was inappropriate for them to lend the house to strangers like him, but Qin Yi didn't have many options at this point. Furthermore, Lu Lin said that Qin Ming needed to rest otherwise the fracture would worsen.
Qin Yi sold the black bear for 20 taels to treat his son. Now that he spent 8 taels, Qin Yi felt that he had taken advantage of Lu Lin, so he wanted to return the money to Lu Lin. Lu Lin met him halfway, he took four taels of silver from Qin Yi in the end.
……
Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi circled around the big bear in the kitchen.
"This is a bear!" Lu Lin licked his lips and thought to himself, 'I have never expected that I would have a chance to eat a bear paw! In modern society, bear paws are priceless. Wild adult bear paws cost at least 3,000 yuan each, and those under 1600 yuan on the market are all from old bears!' And that was when he was a child, as he grew older, the government had introduced new legislation on animal protection, and people were more environmentally aware as well.
"Let's take the guts first. That is good stuff. I'm sure we can sell them for eight taels of silver to the herbal medicine shop."
Lu Lin nodded and said, "Okay." Bear guts had a high medicinal value and its fur was very valuable as well.
Although the bear fur was a little damaged, it could be made into gloves. Bear skin was also a rarely seen on the market, Lu Lin was optimistic that the gloves would sell well.
Lu Lin bought this bear in the hope to help Qin Yi, but he thought he might end up making money.
Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi skinned the bear skin and took the paws.
The bear that Qin Yi caught was more than 200 pounds heavy. That was a lot of meat. Lu Lin preserved most of the bear meat.
Chen Xiao Mi looked at Lu Lin and asked, "Are you thinking about cooking honey bear paws?"
Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes!" Honey was very expensive in this time and space, Lu Lin hadn't been very generous when he used honey.
Chen Xiao Mi licked his lips, his eyes sparkling, he heard honey bear paws was a famous dish.
At night, everyone gathered around and enjoyed a nice dinner with relish.
Chen Xiao Mai enjoyed it so much, he dived in from the start, forsaking table manners whatsoever.
Lu Lin had invited the Qin family as well, but Qin Yi and Qin Lang politely refused him saying that they needed to take care of Qin Ming. Lu Lin didn't force them, he understood that they wouldn't have a great appetite. Instead, he asked Yun Niang to cook some delicious meat congee for them.
……
" Lin Ge, thank you," Qin Lang thanked Lu Lin as soon as he saw him.
Qin Lang had worried sick about his brother when he first suffered the fracture. Qin Lang finally could let out a sigh of relief now that his brother was doing much better under the doctor and Lu Lin's care. Now he deemed Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi as their family's savior.
Lu Lin stroked Qin Lang's head and said, "I'm glad I can help, don't mention it. Is your brother feeling better?"
Qin Lang nodded and said, "Much better." Qin Lang was a little angry at his brother's recklessness when he just walked to the trap, but he didn't have the heart to see his brother suffer.
" Lin Ge, tell me what your favorite meat is. I'll go into the mountains and hunt for you."
Lu Lin looked at Qin Lang and said, "You are willing to hunt for me, that's so sweet of you! "
Qin Lang quickly replied, "Lin Ge, I'm willing to hunt for you forever. You have done a great favor to my family. "
Lu Lin thought to himself 'He is a good boy, maybe I can offer him and his father a job.'
It was going to be win-1in, he needed reliable people to work for him, the Qins needed money.
……
"Open a new branch?!" Chen Xiao Cai looked at Lu Lin with surprise.
Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes, the market is saturated in this town. However, there are still a lot of rich people in the neighboring town." Their business was on the downhill, they were seriously overstocked now. Lu Lin had to consider selling them out.
Chen Xiao Cai looked at Lu Lin and said, "Lin Gege, do we have money to open a new branch?"
Lu Lin glanced at Chen Xiao Cai and said, "You are underestimating me, Cai."
Lu Lin did not intend to buy a new store. Instead, he planned to rent one in the neighboring town. Renting was much cheaper than buying. He would rent it for two years first. If the business was great, he could consider buying it then.
Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiao Cai and said, "I plan to give you this glorious and arduous task."
Chen Xiao Cai widened his eyes in surprise, "Me?"
Lu Lin nodded, "Yes."
Chen Xiao Cai asked reluctantly, "Can I?"
Lu Lin shrugged, "Haven't you been helping out in the store recently?"
Chen Xiao Mi was pregnant, both Lu Lin and Xiao Cai insisted that he should stay in bed and rest. He was so bored that he had been teaching Xiao Cai, Shen Chi, Xiao Mai, and Xiao Fan mathematics.
Chen Xiao Cai and Shen Chi were very good at learning. Wan Xiao Fan was a quiet boy, his parents had already told them that Fan had been a bit special since he was abused by their former master. But Chen Xiao Mi found that Xiao Fan actually was very bright. Although he didn't say much, he had all the right answers in his heart. However, he was the youngest, he couldn't solve advanced questions like Chen Xiao Cai and Shen Chi.
Chen Xiao Mai's case was a bit different. Although Xiao Mi spent most time teaching him, he didn't seem to be interested in this and he was always absent-minded, but no one blamed or judged him for he was indeed a special child.
To return to Chen Xiao Cai, Chen Xiao Cai blinked and said, "That's true, but… I'm just an assistant!"
"Don't you have confidence in yourself? Do you want to stay at home and be an assistant your whole life?"
"No, I will support our family one day! " Chen Xiao Cai raised his head and roared. Suddenly, he thought of his aspirations that he had since he was a little boy. In the past, when he saw Big Brother's venturing his life in the deep mountains to better provide for him and Mai, he wished to grow up sooner and take care of his family.
Lu Lin smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's not that I will ask you to manage a shop alone."
Chen Xiao Cai was only a ten-year-old child, but then again, people in this time and space were more early-maturing. People generally considered teens as adults. Many people got married when they were thirteen or fourteen, and Chen Xiao Cai often looked like a young adult.
……
Lu Lin went to talk to Qin Yi after he convinced Chen Xiao Cai.
Qin Yi was an honest man. He always felt that it was inappropriate to be a freeloader, so he had been trying so hard to help out.
Qin Yi was mountain people who could hunt a bear. Even if he was not as dexterous Chen Xiao Mi, his skills must be quite great.
Although Qin Lang was still young, but you could tell he would be a great hunter in a few years just by looking at his frame.
"Father, what did Lin Ge say to you just now?" asked Qin Lang.
Qin Yi scratched his head and said, "Your Lin Ge just said something strange."
Lu Lin told Qin Yi that the Big Boss asked him to open a new branch in the neighboring town recently, so he would like Xiao Cai to be the new shop's manager and he'd like to hire Qin Yi to escort Xiao Cai there. Lu Lin promised to pay Qin Yi one and a half tale per month. Qin Yi thought to himself that although the profit from hunting was high, the risk was too great. Lu Lin's offer was different, it was safe and stable.
What was more, Qin Yi felt that he wasn't as healthy and strong as he used to be. It was fine now, but in a few years, hunting would become more and more strenuous for him.
If he fell down, his two sons would suffer for sure.
If he had a job, at least it wouldn't be a problem to support himself and the two kids.
Qin Yi told Qin Ming briefly. Qin Ming looked at Qin Yi and said, "Father, this is a good thing!"
Lu Lin also told Qin Lang that he needed a boy to run errands for him. He asked if Qin Lang was willing to do it, he would pay him six hundred cents per a month. The pay would only go higher as Qin Lang grew older. Six hundred cents wasn't what made Qin Lang want this job. Lu Lin said he would provide him full board and lodging. The Lu family's food was really good, including the porridge made for the servants.