So during the subsequent flowering season, long queues formed outside Jingrong Supermarket every morning, all in an effort to buy bayberries.
Because Shen Wuqiu's bayberries have always been positioned as high-end products, becoming the Hermes of the bayberry world, ordinary people can only buy them at affordable prices at Jingrong Supermarket.
Of course, that's a story for another time.
By the end of June, most of the bayberries had been picked, and the flowering season of the Gesang flowers was also coming to a temporary end, so fewer and fewer people came to see the flowers.
So Lao Du withdrew his ticket sellers, leaving only Shen Chun and Miss Ting to manage the ticket office in Jingrong Village.
Actually, according to Lao Du's plan, he intended to turn the Gesang flower base back into a free scenic area. Anyway, not many people come to see the flowers every day now, and the little ticket revenue sometimes can't even cover the labor costs of the two ticket booths. But considering that Ms. Ting and her colleagues are quite enthusiastic about their work, and that it's not easy for people in the countryside to find a job, he thought he would hold on for a few more days.
Old Du meant well, but some shameless people, seeing that Old Du isn't coming here every day anymore, started acting like "when the cat's away, the mice will play."
It was Sunday, around nine o'clock in the morning, when a group of about ten customers came from the other side. Ms. Ting happened to be leading a group of customers when she saw them coming from the other side without any locals with them, so she tactfully reminded them, "Excuse me, but the scenic area here charges an entrance fee."
Upon hearing this, one of the women, who was around forty years old, became impatient: "What do you mean by that? We definitely bought tickets."
Miss Ting didn't think much of it at the time. Hearing the woman's fierce tone, she wasn't angry. Instead, she smiled and said, "I don't know where you bought your ticket. It's like this, this morning..."
"I think you guys are really hilarious!" the middle-aged woman snapped. "We were charged once to come in from that side, and now we have to pay again to come here? Are we going to be charged again to come out from this side?"
"That's not what I meant..." Miss Ting's smile faltered as she watched her sister's aggressive tone. It wasn't that she didn't trust women, but rather that there had been fewer people coming to see the flowers recently, sometimes not even a single person all morning. It was boring for the four of them to stand guard at the ticket booth all day, so they discussed it and decided that since there were fewer people, they didn't need so many people. They could take turns guarding the posts, and they didn't need to guard both sides. Guarding one side would suffice. And this morning, Miss Ting was in charge of this side.
“We did buy tickets here. When we came in, you didn’t say you would give us tickets, you just said we had to pay.” One of the older women looked very kind. Seeing that Ms. Ting was blushing and at a loss, she didn’t make things difficult for her. “How about this, if you don’t believe me, we can show you the payment screenshot. We paid with WeChat.”
Since the person had already said so much, Miss Ting naturally believed that they had bought the ticket. However, she was also very curious about who was behind this, so she asked them to show her the ticket.
On the WeChat bill page shown by the other party, Ms. Ting was also unfamiliar with the recipient's information and did not know who had received the payment.
For a moment, she didn't know what to do. After thinking for a while, she had no choice but to tell the truth: "The QR code here is not ours, but I don't know whose it is either. Is this okay? You did make the payment, and it is indeed our problem that we didn't receive the money. I just wanted to ask if I could take a picture of your payment information?"
The older woman was very kind and seemed to understand the situation, so she readily allowed her to take the photo.
After confirming that the other party had indeed made the payment, Ms. Ting apologized to them again before leading them around the Gesang flower field.
After seeing the two groups of tourists off, Ms. Ting immediately contacted the two people in charge at the entrance. Seeing that they were also confused, she called Lao Du directly, explained the situation, and sent him a photo of the payment.
After Lao Du found out about this, he didn't say much to her, only that he would handle it and that she shouldn't worry about it.
Although Ms. Ting was quite curious about who had done such a thing, she didn't need to come here to manage things in the afternoon or the next day, so she just mentioned it to her husband when she got home and didn't take it to heart.
The next afternoon, Shen Chunhe stormed into her house. Before she could even greet him, Shen Chunhe put his hands on his hips and launched into a tirade: "Zhou Tingting, are you doing this on purpose?"
Zhou Tingting is Miss Ting's real name.
Miss Ting seems quite well-educated and reasonable, but she's not one to be easily bullied. She immediately put on a stern face and said, "I'm not even stopping you, what are you talking about?"
"Ha!" Shen Chunhe sneered, "Stop pretending."
"You're really being unreasonable," Miss Ting retorted, losing her temper.
Shen Chunhe sneered, her face as cold and mean as her mother's. She didn't mince words with her, "Don't think I don't know you were the one who tried to sow discord between me and Boss Du."
She's had a tough time at her husband's house these past few years. She and her husband argue every three days, and have big fights every five. Her mother-in-law used to speak up for her, but now that she's had one miscarriage after another and hasn't been able to have a son, her mother-in-law treats her with hostility. That's why she visits her parents' home every few days. Even when she's back home, she's restless and goes around showing off how well she's doing. She's fooling herself, but the gossipy women in the village have been laughing at her behind her back.
"You're completely unreasonable, like a lunatic."
"Regarding the incident with that group of tourists the day before yesterday, do you dare to say that you weren't the one who filed the complaint?"
Upon hearing her mention it, Miss Ting understood. Looking at her, she found it unbelievable. "So, you collected the fee in advance?"
Shen Chunhe didn't feel ashamed at all. "Don't pretend to be a pure white lotus. Don't think I don't know you haven't done this kind of thing behind our backs."
Miss Ting, of course, refused to admit to such a disgraceful act, and solemnly said to her, word by word, "You'd better explain yourself clearly. When have I ever done such a thing?"
"You're the kind of person who acts like a prostitute but tries to maintain a virtuous image." Shen Chunhe thought he had the upper hand. "If you're so capable, go and gossip to Boss Du. Why don't you also confess the petty advantages you've taken?"
"When did I ever do such a thing! Explain yourself clearly."
"What, are you scared?" Shen Chunhe saw that she was anxious and assumed that she was feeling guilty.
"I think you're really funny." After calming down, Miss Ting found it ridiculous and felt that there was no need to swallow her anger when talking to someone like her. "You shamelessly use your position for personal gain. I'm not like you. Stop making baseless accusations."
"I'm slandering you?" Shen Chunhe felt incredibly righteous. "Don't think that what you're doing in secret is unknown to others. Let me tell you, if you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place."
"I think this sentence should be given to you."
Seeing that she remained unmoved, Shen Chunhe was extremely annoyed. "That day, your sister brought a group of people here, and you deliberately led them in yourself. Don't think I don't know that you also secretly took money from people."
After all that talk, it turns out he was using this as leverage against himself.
Miss Ting breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. "If you think I've taken money from someone in private, then go ahead and complain to Boss Du about me. Let me tell you, Shen Chunhe, if you don't go and explain yourself today, then I'll go and explain to Boss Du myself."
"You make it sound like I'm afraid of you." Shen Chunhe still maintained her pretentious demeanor, but seeing how confident Miss Ting was, she felt a little flustered. "They're all pretty much the same."
"Heh." Miss Ting sneered, "Since you like to turn the tables, then I might as well lay it all out with Boss Du. We've been selling tickets for so many days, and I've only taken my sister and her friends to see the show for free once. But it's different for you, Chen Chunhe. When Boss Du isn't around, you have relatives and friends here and there, and you can go around without any hindrance. You think my sister's friends gave me money behind my back, so I suppose your relatives and friends have given you a lot of money too. Let's go and settle this score with Boss Du."
They were all from the same courtyard. Although Miss Ting didn't have any deep friendships with the people, she thought it was better to avoid trouble and had turned a blind eye to Shen Chunhe's actions before. But now that she had been caught red-handed, and someone wanted to drag her into it, she could no longer tolerate it.
"You're making baseless accusations without any evidence."
"I'm making baseless accusations?" Miss Ting was genuinely amused by her. "I think you're really good at turning the tables. Alright, stop arguing with me. Let's go find Boss Du and confront him right now."
Shen Chunhe couldn't argue with her, but felt even more guilty. She was so angry that she jumped up and down, and could only make a quick getaway.
Miss Ting felt disgusted by her cursing and swearing.
Just then, Er Aizi's mother, Zeng Yuzhen, came in from outside and asked her, "I just saw Chunhe go out. What did she want to see you about?"
Miss Ting also looked down on her mother-in-law and didn't speak to her kindly, saying, "What could have happened? She was just greedy for small gains, got caught, and is taking it out on me."
"She's always been a tough one, but she didn't do anything to you, did she?"
Miss Ting glanced at her and shook her head when she heard her concern for her. "I'm not someone to be trifled with."
“That’s true.” Zeng Yuzhen remembered and added, “What advantage did she gain?”
Miss Ting is not one to gossip about others, and since she didn't know much about the situation, even though she was angry, she didn't add fuel to the fire. She just replied perfunctorily, "It's about selling tickets for Boss Du. I don't know how she sold them."
Zeng Yuzhen wanted to ask more, but seeing that she had returned to her room, she didn't press the matter.
The next day, Miss Ting received a notice that they no longer needed to guard the Gesang flowers, and their wages had been settled. They were only to hire a middle-aged man to come and look after the flower fields from time to time.
Shen Wuqiu was unaware of these matters at first, but a few days later, Su Yunzhi told them about it as gossip at the dinner table.
It turns out that the person who collected the ticket money from that group of tourists in advance was Shen Chunhe's husband. After this incident came to light, the person in charge of collecting the fees realized that back when the Gesang Flower Market opened, Shen Chunhe's husband would bring a group of tourists every day, saying that he was bringing friends to see the flowers. Later, it was discovered that those were not his friends at all. Instead, he would stop tourists who did not drive at the intersection in advance, collect their money, and then take them there under the guise of being friends.
Although the ticket sellers all felt that Shen Chun and her husband had a lot of friends, no one said anything.
If they had just secretly resold the tickets for a little extra profit, they wouldn't have been caught. But who knew that this shameless couple would be so brazen? Seeing that no one was watching, they openly and honestly pocketed the ticket money.
In the end, Su Yunzhi couldn't help but sigh, "It's really a tragedy for Hua Zi to have such a son and daughter."
Mr. Shen said irritably, "You're eating your food. You're always talking too much."
Su Yunzhi sneered, "Why are you taking your anger out on me?"
Although Mr. Shen was not in the right, he still regarded Shen Xianghua as a brother. Now, seeing his old age being ridiculed like this, he felt both helpless and pitying. After thinking for a while, he asked Shen Wuqiu, "I think Pengzi's temperament has changed a lot this year. A few days ago, I saw him going to the construction site to work steadily. Do you think you can arrange something for him to manage?"
To be honest, Shen Wuqiu wasn't very willing. "I'll think about it some more."
"Didn't you say you were going to set up a fishing club at the Dam Reservoir? That'll definitely need manpower. We're family after all, so let's help each other out if we can..."
"Hmm." Shen Wuqiu lowered her head and ate her food, not really wanting to talk about this.
Mr. Shen glanced at her and sighed again, "I know you don't like Pengzi's character, and to be honest, I don't either, but Hua Zi has had a tough time too, and he helped me a lot back then..."
"I understand. I'll talk to them myself tonight," Shen Wuqiu said, putting down her bowl. "I'm done eating." Then she got up and went upstairs.
Su Yunzhi pinched him from the side, and he glared at her coldly.
Mr. Shen didn't want to make things difficult for his daughter, but the thought of Shen Xianghua's rapidly aging face made him feel a tightness in his chest.
Gu Miaomiao quickly finished the rice in her bowl, glanced at her father and mother-in-law, and said, "Dad, Mom, don't worry, Qiuqiu has been under too much pressure lately. I'll go check on her."
"Okay, go and take a look."
As soon as Gu Miaomiao got up, Sanmao, who hadn't finished his meal, also tried to sneak away, but as soon as he turned his head, his tail was pressed down onto the chair by Damao.
The three cats pouted, forced by their eldest sister's tyranny, and had no choice but to continue licking the rice in their bowls little by little.
Lately, everyone in the family has been busy with work, while Zhou Xingxing has been taking the kids out and about, often getting free food and drinks.
Sanmao, this spoiled and greedy cat, was the most popular and knew how to please people, receiving plenty of treats from pretty older women.
She ate too many random snacks and her little mouth became picky. She wouldn't eat her regular meals properly and would instead eat all sorts of random things.
Shen Wuqiu was afraid that she would upset her stomach, so now that she was less busy, she strictly forbade them from eating snacks every day. They had to finish the prescribed amount of food for regular meals, or they would have to stand against the wall and reflect on their mistakes.
So, Da Mao took on the responsibility of supervision again. In short, no one could play unless they finished their food.
For Sanmao, this kind of millet and fish porridge was really too bland and tasteless. She licked it a couple of times and then looked around. When she saw her older sister looking over, she pretended to eat seriously.
After holding on for three minutes, Sanmao couldn't take it anymore. Taking advantage of Damao's inattention, he jumped down and immediately stood up against the wall by the TV cabinet. He straightened up, put his front feet on the wall, and made sure his head and back were in a straight line, obediently facing the wall to reflect on his mistakes.
Stephen Chow and the others were used to it. They glanced at the rice left in Sanmao's bowl and said, "You've made progress today. You've eaten two-thirds of it."
Da Mao glanced at her.
That look was incredibly intimidating, and Zhou Xingxing shrank back. "I really didn't secretly give her any snacks."
Da Mao elegantly licked the corner of its lips, "Meow~"
Stephen Chow felt like he understood the cat's language—[There's no best~]
Chapter 161
After the bayberry picking season in Xishan ended, the weather got hotter and hotter, gradually entering the dog days of summer. The temperature was so high that it was hot from morning till night, and even Dad didn't want to go to his beloved supermarket anymore.
However, in the height of summer, there were few shoppers, and the shelves were filled with nothing but eggs from the chicken farm and fruits and vegetables from Er'aizi's family. When Zeng Yuzhen saw that her family's products had become the main focus of the supermarket, she volunteered to go to the supermarket to help watch over them.
Mr. Shen was happy to have some free time, so he handed over the keys to the supermarket to her. Later, he complained that it was too hot living in the old house and persuaded Su Yunzhi to move to Huashan.
Shen Wuqiu originally planned to start working on setting up a fishing club at the Bashang Reservoir after selling all the bayberries, but seeing that the weather was too hot and he was worried that he wouldn't be able to find workers to help, he simply postponed it and took the opportunity to give himself a break and spend some quality time at home with his wife and kids.
After resting for less than three days, the idle Lao Du came to Huashan to join in the fun, claiming that he was there to calculate the advertising fees for the kids.
It has to be said that Lao Du is a pretty honest guy. He didn't hide anything about how much money he collected from the ticket sales at the Gesang Flower Base, and then he transferred 100,000 yuan to Shen Wuqiu with a wave of his hand.
Shen Wuqiu was a little embarrassed to accept it and declined.
Old Du was displeased instead. "If you don't take this money today, I'll be too embarrassed to associate with you in the future. Besides, this money isn't for you, it's for Sanmao and her sisters. If it weren't for them, would my little garden attract so many people?"
Shen Wuqiu was polite to everyone, but Zhou Xingxing was not. "Boss Du is right. Besides, in order to give tourists a better viewing experience, the kids have sold their bodies quite a bit, especially our little Sanmao, who gets petted 300 times a day."