Chickens and dogs fly in chaos and rebirth

Chapter 10

They insisted on making furniture for Zhang Chunhua.

The couple didn't say anything!

Zhang Chunhua remained silent, picked up the broom, and went inside to sweep the floor.

The younger uncle looked a little embarrassed, but quickly put on a nonchalant expression. The eldest and second eldest sons pretended nothing was wrong, and the grandparents' bedroom door remained tightly shut.

Shanglin sighed silently, "This place is truly uninhabitable!"

Money Making Plan

A few days after the bed board incident, one evening, Qiu Jianguo went out to play cards, and Xia Lin, who was following him around, also left, leaving only Zhang Hongwei and Shang Lin at home.

Zhang Hongwei leaned against the bed, sewing shoe soles. Qiu Jianguo had a very modern eye for people and things, and was open to new culture and ideas. However, when it came to shoes, he insisted on wearing coarse cloth shoes made by his own family. He said that cloth shoes with many layers of soles were comfortable to wear, breathable, and didn't make his feet feel tired. Even after standing next to the machines in the factory all day, his shoes wouldn't smell bad when he took them off.

Lin voted against this—the smell from his shoes was simply... lingering for three days...

Whenever she pinched her nose and complained about her father's smelly feet, he would chuckle and flick Shanglin on the head, saying, "Go smell the other employees' homes; the stench will linger for over three years!"

After getting married, Qiu Jianguo's shoes were all made by Zhang Hongwei, who would sew the soles stitch by stitch and buy coarse cloth from the market. Although the style was ordinary, the quality was excellent and they were indeed comfortable to wear. Shang Lin seriously considered whether to make old-fashioned cloth shoes for farmers to sell. When visiting neighbors, he saw that each of the older women in the neighborhood had a pair, and then he realized that he was living in the late 1980s, not the 21st century, a time of returning to simplicity.

By the light of the lamp, Shanglin scribbled and drew on the paper. Zhang Hongwei would occasionally glance at her, pleased with her eagerness to learn, and though he was also astonished by her extraordinary intelligence, he couldn't hide his pride. This pride manifested in many ways.

While chatting with other female workers at the factory, they inevitably talked about their husbands and children. Zhang Hongwei didn't have much to say about Qiu Jianguo. He was just average-looking, not particularly talented, and not as eloquent as her brother-in-law. Only when people talked about their children would she break her silence and become very talkative. She would tell them how many words her daughter had learned, what dishes her daughter had cooked, how her daughter had made a paper crane curtain for the family, and how her daughter had drawn pictures on paper and pasted them on the wall. The female workers who knew her well were surprised. In rural areas, it was traditionally a preference for sons over daughters. Not long ago, when talking about her daughter, Zhang Hongwei had only said that raising a girl was a waste of money, that she would eventually marry into another family, and that she wouldn't put much effort into raising her. How could she have suddenly changed her attitude?

Zhang Hongwei just smiled. Daughters are so wonderful. Daughters are like warm cotton-padded jackets for their parents. They are not only warm but also considerate in every way, always thinking of you and making things convenient for you.

Now, everyone in the village praises Shanglin for being smart, sensible, and filial.

When she turns eight, I'll send her to school, and I'll make sure she goes to university and becomes an official's wife! Zhang Hongwei thought happily, and couldn't help but peek at the paper Lin was writing on. This glance was enough to make her ask in surprise:

What does this say?

With one cent, two yuan, and thirty yuan, I drew a table, filled it with numbers, and recorded every expense, income, and expenditure.

Shanglin looked up, his eyes still burning with fervor.

"Wow, this is my grand plan to make a fortune!" His eyes sparkled.

Money, money, money everywhere! Every single cell is filled with money, all of which are the goals she will strive for in the future!

Grabbing Zhang Hongwei's hand eagerly, she said, "Mom, let's move out!"

Zhang Hongwei was startled, his fingers trembled, and the needle pricked Shanglin's delicate little finger. He quickly brought it to his eyes and asked, "Does it hurt? Does it hurt?"

Shanglin didn't react much, which made her feel very distressed.

Qiu Shanglin was now obsessed with money and didn't care about any bloodshed. He glared at her and asked, "Okay, let's move out!"

Zhang Hongwei sighed, looked around the cramped room, and said, "Do you think I like living here? Everyone wants to live alone, but you still need somewhere to go!"

"The printing factory, my dad's factory dormitory!" Shang Lin's eyes gleamed.

She playfully slapped Shanglin on the back: "Don't talk nonsense! How can we live in the printing factory's buildings!"

"Why can't I live here? Factory dormitories are for workers! Isn't my dad a permanent employee? Many temporary workers live here. My dad is a permanent employee, and you're a temporary worker, so why aren't you considered a factory employee? Of course you can live here, you definitely can!"

Living alone is an essential part of Qiu Shanglin's grand plan to make a fortune. Otherwise, living with the whole family like this, doing everything under the watchful eyes of others, would not conform to the principle of making a fortune quietly.

Zhang Hongwei chuckled at Shanglin's eagerness.

“They’re all relatives of the factory leaders, or they’re employees who are not from the local area and are having difficulties. Our family’s difficulties are nothing! Besides, your dad doesn’t allow it, right? Your uncles live at home. Even though we’ve separated the family, if we go to live at the factory, people will laugh at us and say that we’re not on good terms!”

“It’s alright, it’s alright—our family has its difficulties too. Look at our small house, with so many people in it, and the factory is far away, making it inconvenient for us to go to and from get off work. You can’t take care of us either. Also, when it rains heavily outside, it drizzles inside, making the house wet and damp, unsuitable for living at all. And also, we didn’t move out because we don’t get along, we just wanted convenience, right? Living in the factory dormitory will make it easier for you to get to work, and it will be easier for me and Xia Lin to go to school in the future! We can even go to the factory’s kindergarten, which is about time for us to start kindergarten too!”

In contrast, the printing plant was closer to the primary school.

After hearing his reasoning, she couldn't help but be moved. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "I'll discuss it with your dad when he gets back."

"good!"

Shang Lin readily agreed.

As long as Zhang Hongwei agrees, Shang Lin is confident he can persuade Qiu Jianguo. Putting everything else aside, just mentioning the convenience of schooling is enough to convince Qiu Jianguo!

He flicked the papers in his hand and said mysteriously, "Mom, guess how much money I made a few days ago?"

After she finished explaining, she had already bent down to pick up the shoe soles, and casually asked, "How many cents did you earn?"

"Twenty yuan and two mao!" Shang Lin said smugly, waving the paper in his hand.

Zhang Hongwei was startled upon hearing this: "Twenty yuan and two mao!"

In just five days of sales, Shanglin earned more than four yuan a day, more than her father, which shocked Zhang Hongwei.

When Shanglin saw that she didn't believe him, he recounted the details in detail.

On the first day, he sold fruit for two yuan and thirty cents. On the second day, since it wasn't market day, he earned less, only a little over one yuan. On the third day, Shanglin became more cunning and went to sell fruit at the middle school gate. On the fourth day, he sold it at the elementary school gate. On the fifth day, it was market day again. He made a lot of money each day, but his business was booming, especially on the two days at the school gate. Shanglin made a deal with the older kids in the village, and they would help transport the fruit juice to the school gate. Shanglin would pay them one yuan. These kids would make three trips a day!

This was originally a highly profitable business. The only expenses were for buying saccharin and paying the children's wages; the remaining twenty yuan and two mao were pure profit.

She explained the situation to Zhang Hongwei in detail, but when she still couldn't believe it, she simply jumped off the bed, crawled under her own bed, and groped around for a while before pulling out a malted milk powder tin. She opened it, unfolded the plastic sheet covering it, and then unfolded another layer of oil paper. What appeared in front of Zhang Hongwei was a stack of small bills and coins.

With her mouth watering, she counted the bills one by one, finding them increasingly unbelievable, her eyes growing brighter with each count.

Shang Lin smiled as she watched her mother's shock. A light gradually appeared in her eyes as she thought to herself, "Zhang Hongwei is actually very quick-witted, but she lacks the opportunity and proper guidance. With the right guidance, she is definitely a natural at doing business!"

But... seeing her sticking her index finger in her mouth to moisten it with saliva while counting money, Shang Lin frowned. He was determined to get rid of this bad habit of hers; it was so unhygienic! Money was the dirtiest thing, and of course, the most tempting thing!

Twenty yuan and two mao—looking at the money in his hand, Zhang Hongwei was so moved he almost cried.

It wasn't that she had never seen so much money before, but the fact that a four-year-old child from Shanglin had earned so much money in just five days was something she found hard to accept and hard to believe.

But the money was right there in front of her, clearly laid out before her. She had no choice but to believe it!

Without Shang Lin even needing to remind her, she started imagining things—what if she quit her temporary job at the factory and started selling this juice? Twenty yuan in five days, forty yuan in ten days, four hundred yuan in a hundred days, and over a year…

She unconsciously began to calculate aloud, and Shanglin, sweating profusely, immediately called for a stop:

"No, no!"

When Zhang Hongwei turned around, he shook the paper in his hand and slowly analyzed, "Juice is only sold for its freshness. Once everyone has tried it, no one will be willing to spend money to buy it anymore. Especially now that it's summer, there are more people buying it. Once the weather turns cool, very few people will buy it!"

Unable to bear the obvious disappointment on her mother's face, she said, "So, we need to do other business!"

He leaned closer to Zhang Hongwei, unfolded the paper, and gestured as he said, "I heard that there's a kind of soda sold in the city. It's sweet and sour and tastes great. You can drink it cold in the summer and hot in the winter. Kids love it. The production process is also simple. As long as you buy that kind of machine, plug it in, and prepare the ingredients, you can sell it anywhere. You don't have to worry about the number of customers decreasing. Unlike juice, everyone loves to drink it. You can have a cup every day!"

She was actually referring to the low-quality soda that was widely available in rural China in the early 1990s.

Saccharin, coloring, and water are mixed together to create so-called "soda" that comes in various colors. It's not good for your health. Of course, Shanglin can't say whether it's harmful or not, since she and her brother drank a lot of it and grew up safely and healthily.

It was simple to make and easy to do. Later, it sold for 50 cents a cup. Now the economic level is not as high as it was then, so it can be sold for a lower price. Small profits but quick turnover... Don't look down on this small business. Every industry has its unique value. In special times, special things are popular. Although the profit is small, it can accumulate into a considerable amount of wealth over the years!

She knew the original vendor who made his first fortune selling this soda. After the soda, he opened the town's first video arcade and the first game arcade, and only reluctantly withdrew the 'soda' from the market in the mid-1990s.

Shanglin once calculated a sum of money for him.

He sells a cup of soda for 50 cents, and the production cost is at most 10 cents. He can sell at least 50 cups a day, with a net profit of more than 20 yuan a day. What about a week, a month, or a year?

And don't forget, he doesn't sell fifty cups every day!

This was just a small, introductory business. Shang Lin's plan was to start acquiring equipment and manufacturing popsicles herself once she made a little money. Her former college roommate's family made and sold popsicles in the late 1980s. A single popsicle cost only three cents at the factory. Within a year, her family bought the first motorcycle in the area, and the following year, they had all sorts of the latest household appliances. By the third year, they had built a small villa. As times changed, the cheap, low-quality popsicles were phased out, but the initial profits were still considerable.

During a night shift chat in college, my roommate recounted all the childhood memories she remembered, including the process of making popsicles. Shanglin remembered it very clearly: all you needed was to buy a few pieces of equipment, which wouldn't cost too much money, and hire a few people.

She slowly told Zhang Hongwei about her plan. Zhang Hongwei was initially delighted, but then became suspicious, wondering how she could know so much!

Shang Lin felt embarrassed. Luckily, she hadn't told her about the rest of the plan yet, and she was already suspicious. She casually brushed it off, saying, "I heard an old lady selling popsicles on the street complaining that there are no popsicle factories in our town, so they have to go to the neighboring town to buy wholesale. That's when I remembered."

Zhang Hongwei was skeptical, but he quickly turned his attention to the big plan to make money. The more he thought about it, the more restless he became. In the end, he simply put down his work, gave Shang Lin some instructions, and ran to find Qiu Jianguo to go home.

Before she left, Shanglin called out, "Mom, don't tell Dad it was my idea..."

Facing Zhang Hongwei's suspicious gaze, he chuckled and said, "Otherwise, he'll say I'm neglecting my duties and only know how to eat, drink, and have fun..."

Zhang Hongwei chuckled and waved his hand to indicate that he understood.

Ever since Qiu Jianguo saw Shanglin's progress in literacy, he had high hopes for her studies and was determined to get her into university and get a doctorate!

I'm not enthusiastic about going into business—what's the point of going into business? We're not starving! Our monthly salary is a bit tight, but isn't everyone struggling? There are plenty of families worse off than mine!

New home

When the autumn winds first began to blow, Qiu Jianguo's family happily moved into their new home—but "happily" isn't quite right, as Zhang Hongwei was quite dissatisfied with the location of their new home.

Yes, next to the toilet.

Tong Qiu Shanglin's memory was correct; his family still lived next to the outhouse at the beginning.

At this time, Zhang Hongwei ignored everyone's advice and quit his temporary job at the printing factory to start a stall business.

With Shang Lin's occasional guidance, she bought the town's first "soda machine," producing yellow "soda," and ten days later bought a second one, producing red "soda." In just one month, she not only paid off the loan for the "soda machine," but also saw a three-digit balance in her bank account for the first time.

Don't underestimate these three figures; this is the first time they've had real savings since they got married.

Looking at the numbers in her bankbook, Shang Lin felt even more confident about her plan and was enthusiastically arranging to borrow money to buy equipment for making popsicles! This was no small sum of money, and many people doubted her ability to repay it. Although they all knew that her 'soda' business was booming, most of them did not know the profits involved and therefore could not predict how much money Zhang Hongwei could actually earn.

As for the popsicle factory... how many people can they possibly eat, and how much money can they make! Is your sister-in-law just obsessed with money?

These words came from Zhang Chunhua. Her family was wealthy, and Zhang Hongwei originally wanted to swallow his pride and ask her for a loan. However, before he could even ask her, and only asked his child's uncle for money, Zhang Chunhua, who was standing nearby, made sarcastic and malicious remarks.

Alright, there's no need to even mention it!

The Qiu family hesitated, unwilling to readily agree, as it was no small sum, and no one's money was earned by simply gathering leaves with a rake. Shanglin's grandfather had originally offered to lend her two hundred yuan, but Zhang Chunhua made a scene after finding out, so Zhang Hongwei simply returned the money to the old man in front of everyone.