“Brother Xiaoman, what are you saying? Building houses and opening inns are everyone’s own decisions. Even if we lose money, let alone not making money, does anyone have the nerve to blame you?” Qingshan spoke first.
Their family and Jiang Xiaoman had the same idea. Qingshan's mother and eldest sister were still living in their old house, which they had originally planned to demolish and build a new one next year. Now, it was perfect, as they could join the village's tourism development company.
Qingshan's blind trust in Jiang Xiaoman's abilities had escalated to superstition. If his wife hadn't forbade it, he would have even secretly put up a picture of Jiang Xiaoman at home and offered incense to her morning and evening.
As soon as the meeting ended, Qingshan rushed home like a monkey that had escaped from the zoo. His wife made all the important decisions in their family, and as for what constituted an important matter? He'd have to ask his wife first.
When they got home, Lang Ying, the pregnant woman, was already asleep, hugging her pillow.
In the late stages of pregnancy, lying down to sleep became very uncomfortable. Qingshan's mother was worried about the synthetic fiber cotton she bought online, so she specially bought this year's new cotton and made two pillows of different sizes. The longer one was for Langying to hold in her arms so that it could support her belly and make it more comfortable to sleep on her side. The shorter one was for her to lean against the chair when she was working.
Strangely enough, when Lang Ying had her first two daughters, she encountered a kind-faced but cruel mother-in-law. Even while pregnant, she had to cook for the whole family and do their laundry, so she wasn't so delicate. But when she was pregnant with this child, her husband and mother-in-law were taking care of her, and all sorts of discomforts started to come her way.
First I had morning sickness, then it stopped, but my legs started cramping. Now that I'm more pregnant, I can't even sit up!
Fortunately, Qingshan learned quickly and took on most of the work for her. Otherwise, if she had this child, at least half of the career foundation she had worked so hard to build would have been destroyed.
Starting a business is already difficult for women, and it's even more difficult for women with families to support. If Lang Ying had married someone else, her powerful in-laws would probably have used the excuse that she was too busy with work to take over the business she had worked so hard to build.
Fortunately, Qingshan's mother was an upright person. She came to take care of her pregnant daughter-in-law herself, and let her son help Lang Ying run errands. Lang Ying always made the decisions on important matters in the cooperative and the factory herself.
Not to mention the factory, even important family matters, Qingshan would rather his wife make the decisions.
It wasn't that he was afraid of his wife, but rather that Qingshan had gradually learned through experience after marriage that a family is only happy when the wife is happy. If the wife is in a bad mood, she'll be throwing pots and pans all day, and no one, adults or children, will have a peaceful time.
He married Lang Ying because he wanted to live a good life with her, so why make his wife unhappy over such a small matter?
Hearing that Qingshan even had to ask Xiaoman whether his in-laws should join Xiaoman in running the inn business, Langying's lips twitched twice, and she wished she could smash Qingshan's head in!
My mother-in-law is sitting in the yard. Can't she make her own decisions about her own family matters? Why should her daughter-in-law agree? Are you trying to sow discord between us by asking this question?
Luckily, Qingshan's mother was killing a chicken in the yard and didn't hear it. Langying pinched Qingshan twice, then turned around and smiled at her mother-in-law, saying that the village was planning to set up a tourism company. If the family wanted to join in, they could contribute some money if they didn't have enough to build a house.
That was a beautifully said statement, but unexpectedly, Qingshan's mother put down the old hen she was plucking and picked up the small stool under her buttocks, ready to beat her son.
Qingshan was chased all over the yard by his mother, but in the end, it was his beloved wife who saved him.
"Mom, please don't hit Qingshan. I said those words, it has nothing to do with him. Please calm down and let me explain." Lang Ying held her pregnant belly with one hand and reached out to pull her mother-in-law with the other.
Qingshan's mother was being held by her daughter-in-law's arm, and she didn't dare to move, afraid that if she used too much force, she would drop her daughter-in-law. Although it was the women in their family who carried on the family line, the one in Langying's belly was different.
Qing Shan's mother firmly believed that a child's intelligence followed their mother's. Lang Ying was so smart, so the child in her womb must be just as brilliant. If she could give birth to a college student, regardless of gender, it would be an incredible stroke of luck. She had to treat the child exceptionally well!
Lang Ying didn't lend money to her in-laws to invest in the inn simply because of her husband.
"Mom, listen to me. I vaguely heard Xiaoman mention a while ago that the homesteads in the village are becoming more and more valuable, and it might be harder to get them approved in the future. Think about it, if it's hard to get approvals in the village, what will happen when that film and television base over there in our old mountain valley opens? Won't those homesteads be more valuable than those in the village?"
"So I thought, while everyone's eyes are on this little corner of the village, let's take advantage of the opportunity of the tourism company being established, join in, and by the way, turn our old house into a guesthouse."
“I think Xiaoman is right. If we have guests after the inn is renovated, we can make money from it. If we don’t have guests, such a big and nicely renovated building, can’t we just live in it ourselves?”
"Mom, you and my eldest sister earn quite a bit every year now. You've worked hard for most of your lives. Don't you deserve to live in a nice house and enjoy life?"
"Besides, if we don't hurry up and repair this old house, what if the town takes it back one day? Wouldn't our family suffer a huge loss?"
"Oh dear! Yingzi, why didn't you say so sooner?" Grandma Qingshan ignored her son and hurriedly helped her daughter-in-law into the house to sit down, asking her to explain it to her in detail.
My son may be unreliable, but my daughter-in-law is super reliable!
Grandma Qingshan is now willing to listen to her daughter-in-law. Lang Ying is no longer the housewife who only knew how to wash clothes and cook. She manages the affairs of three cooperatives in the village by herself. Even some trivial matters require strong communication and coordination skills.
Even Sun Zheyuan praised Lang Ying, saying that her current level of competence is probably something that many young people in the system who have been working at the grassroots level for two years might not be able to match.
It's not that young civil servants at the grassroots level are incompetent; the main issue is the difference in their roles. Civil servants work for government agencies, and each position is filled by a specific person, so they just need to do their job well.
But Lang Ying is different. She is the secretary-general of the cooperative, the director of the food factory, and the general manager of the wild mushroom planting cooperative. As a boss, her way of thinking is definitely different from that of the employees.
Lang Ying felt relieved to see that her mother-in-law was willing to listen to her. She didn't want Qingshan to go home and compete with her eldest sister for the family property. On the contrary, she hoped to help her mother-in-law and aunt live a better life.
The logic is simple: Qingshan has essentially married into her family. Only when his mother-in-law and sister-in-law are doing well can Qingshan feel at ease living with her behind closed doors.
Lang Ying's idea was to take advantage of the fact that the first batch of people recruited by the newly established company would definitely enjoy the best policies, and seize the opportunity to demolish and rebuild the old house of the Qing family.
In the village, when each household builds a house, they definitely have to treat the village officials to a meal and give them some gifts, otherwise they are likely to encounter trouble when building the house.
But this time it's different. According to Jiang Xiaoman's plan, the village will also have a stake in this tourism company. In other words, if they sign up to become one of the first batch of guesthouses under the company, they won't have to argue with the village. In order to get the new company's business going, the village will provide them with all kinds of conveniences and help them build the guesthouses as soon as possible.
"What I mean is, we'll see if the new company imposes any restrictions on the inn. If there are no restrictions, then of course the more rooms we build, the better."
“This is a rare opportunity. If we miss it this time, we don’t know if we’ll have another chance. We don’t have enough money at home, but Qingshan and I can chip in some money first. Let’s get this important matter done first.”
"Once the house is built, when the children grow up, at least when Qingshan and I go back home, we'll have a place to live. Mom, don't you think that makes sense?"
"Hey~ hey! I'll listen to you, Yingzi. Mom knows you have a good heart. In our Langshan area, which family that has a son-in-law marrying into the bride's family is like you? You even accompany Qingshan home for holidays. I don't know what good deeds he did in his past life to be able to marry such a good wife like you."
Grandma Qingshan grew angrier and angrier, and shouted into the yard—
"I'm talking to your wife right here. Qingshan, go and gut that old hen and put it in the pot to stew! Your wife needs to eat tonight. Honestly, you're such a grown man, and you can't even do a little housework! I'd rather raise a piglet than you!"
Qingshan, huddled up by his mother's scolding, grabbed the wooden basin containing the hen and ran to the river to wash its entrails.
My wife is pregnant and can't smell these fishy-smelling offal, so let's wash them clean by the river before bringing them back.
As for the renovation of the old house at home?
His wife has already spoken up, so why would his mother object?
Chapter 259
That evening, many families in Langshan were discussing whether or not to sign up to join the village's tourism development company.
Grandma Qingshan was indeed persuaded by her daughter-in-law and decided to demolish and rebuild her old house, building an inn according to the village's requirements. Lang Ying and Qingshan gave Grandma Qingshan 300,000 yuan.
When Qingshan's eldest sister heard that her younger brother had only been married for less than two years, she asked his wife for 300,000 yuan to help the family build a new house, and almost punished her brother again.
Later, he still insisted on writing Lang Ying an IOU for 300,000 yuan.
Lang Ying, who had difficulty moving around, took the IOU from her elder sister and handed it to Qing Shan, asking him to keep it.
Qingshan took it and glanced at it, only to find that his name wasn't on it. He was such an idiot; he actually asked about it.
Sister Qingshan sneered, "Yingzi earned all the money in this family, what's it to you?"
Qingshan: "..."
Whose older sister are you anyway?
Your heart is practically siding with your armpit, isn't it?
He's so angry!!!
Seeing her younger brother acting like a rebellious teenager, Qing Shan's older sister blushed with embarrassment.
This guy is so immature, and he's so clumsy in taking care of his pregnant wife. What did Lang Ying see in him?
Not only does he live off his wife, but he also drags his whole family into it. Luckily, his sister-in-law is kind and generous; if it were someone more petty, she would have kicked him out of the house long ago!
...
Jiang Xiaoman himself did not expect that he only mentioned it once, and the next day someone came to him to ask what conditions needed to be met to join the travel company and how much investment was required.
"We still need to discuss this with the village. Everyone, please go back and wait for further notice. Once the company's articles of association are finalized, we will definitely post a recruitment notice at the village committee entrance and hold a meeting for everyone to register. Then you can decide whether you want to participate." Jiang Xiaoman persuaded the people to leave with a wry smile.
If this had happened a few years ago, would the villagers have been able to come up with tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan to build a guesthouse?
It's already a good thing if they don't kick you out.
It's clear that the villagers have really made money in the past two years, otherwise they wouldn't have rushed over to join the franchise before even registering the company.
However, to his surprise, Grandma Jiang also came to him, wanting to inquire about how much it would cost to build an inn.
Jiang Xiaoman was stunned.
"Great-Grandma, please don't build a house. When Cancan becomes successful in the future, she will definitely take you and Yueyue to live in the city. No one will live in this house in the countryside!"
"I...I'm not building this for Cancan and Yueyue, I'm building it for my eldest granddaughter Cuicui." Grandma Jiang tremblingly took out a brand new bank card with the protective film still intact, and fumbled to stuff it into Jiang Xiaoman's hand.
“Xiaoman, there’s something I need your help with. My eldest granddaughter, Cuicui, was married off to someone in the neighboring town of Caishi by her heartless father. Sigh! It’s my fault for not being able to control my son. He took eight thousand yuan as a bride price and married Cuicui off. Who knew that her husband was such a scoundrel, beating her every few days.”
“Cui Cui ran home twice, but her father chased her back both times. That old woman there is really mean. She said that if Cui Cui wanted to go back to her parents’ home, she would give them 10,000 yuan and send Cui Cui back. You know my son, sigh! Even his own mother can’t get money out of his pocket!”
"Thank goodness my Cancan has made something of herself these past two years. Xiaoman, I reckon there's at least seventy or eighty thousand yuan in this card. Could you please make a trip to Caishi Town for me and redeem my Cuicui?"
As she spoke, Grandma Jiang's old face turned bright red with embarrassment.
“This house was built with money earned by Cancan. I can’t let my second granddaughter help my eldest granddaughter. This card is full of money that Cancan gave to me as a filial son. I’ve been saving it all and haven’t spent it yet. You can take it all! I heard that if you do business in the inn in the village, you can buy a plot of land in the village. Xiaoman, why don’t you buy a plot of land for your Aunt Cuicui?”
As Grandma Jiang spoke, cloudy tears streamed from her eyes. Her old, withered hands gripped Jiang Xiaoman's arm as she sobbed, "Xiaoman, your Aunt Cui Cui has suffered so much in her life! Great-Grandma doesn't want to see her beaten to death by that man. You... you have to help her!"
What's going on, Sister Can Can?
Jiang Xiaoman did know that Jiang Cancan had an older sister, but she had married out a long time ago. When Grandma Jiang was almost starving to death with her two granddaughters in their hometown, Jiang Xiaoman heard that Cancan had an older sister, and she felt a little uncomfortable at the time.
As a grown man, he certainly couldn't speak ill of others behind their backs. But his two younger sisters were practically starving to death, and the eldest sister didn't even bother to look after them—how could she do that?
But judging from Grandma Jiang's words, it wasn't that Cuicui didn't want to come back, but that she simply couldn't come back.
That would be a serious matter.
Jiang Xiaoman had heard Sun Zheyuan mention Caishi Town, but Director Sun had used it as a negative example when he spoke to him about it.
If Langshan ten years ago was a place where "poor mountains and bad waters breed unruly people," then Caishi Town, more than a hundred miles away, was definitely a place where "barren mountains and wild ridges breed bandits."
However, Caishi Town was indeed richer than Langshan Town in the past. By blasting mountains for quarrying, it caught up with the good times when cities across the country were building houses like crazy, and the people there were all well-off.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent eight thousand yuan on a bride price to get married.
Years ago, not many families in Langshan could afford this amount of money. No wonder Can Can's shameless father would sell his eldest daughter for eight thousand yuan.
Quarrying is a business that can be described as having no capital. Rural labor is very cheap. As long as you blast open the stone mountain, break the big stones into small stones, hire people to carry them onto the truck, and sell them, you can make money.
According to Jiang Youliang, many people from Langshan used to work at the quarries in Caishi Town.
However, this kind of money-making business requires little skill, so naturally many people covet this lucrative opportunity. Those who can hold onto this "gold mine" are either Jiang Xiaoman's jinx or they could almost all be classified as "gangs involved in organized crime."
At that time, Sun Zheyuan used Caishi Town as an example to explain the impact of the rural entrepreneurial environment on entrepreneurs. The first place to be ruled out was Caishi Town, which was known for its "numerous criminal gangs".
Starting a business in a place like this will only lead to two outcomes.
Either you don't make money, you invest your money and are gradually squeezed dry by local criminal gangs, eventually going bankrupt and leaving.
If you unfortunately make money, it's really easy for things to turn "unfortunate"—at best, local thugs will buy up your lucrative business at a low price and kick you out. And if you dare not cooperate? Forget about protecting your assets; your family could be destroyed.
With so many barren mountains in Langshan, why did Jiang Xiaoman's tea cooperative stop at Caishi Town when it was expanding? In the end, neither Sun Zheyuan nor Jiang Xiaoman himself had the confidence to deal with the local criminal gangs.