Chapter 150: Sanctuary

Li Kai now regarded his eldest sister-in-law as his lucky star. In the past, he used to feel that he was living in a muddle, never able to accomplish anything and having no idea what he could do in the future.

Yet now, his sister-in-law had told him that everyone has their own greatest strengths.

Once you find the right direction, things will go smoothly and you can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Sure enough, had his sister-in-law not helped him find the direction for his work, he would not now be able to earn money to support his family.

Li Kai was immensely happy, and he resolved even more firmly to help out his sister-in-law with chores around the house and to keep her younger brothers and sisters in line.

Being in such high spirits, Li Kai could not help but get up at the crack of dawn the next day and head to the back hill.

It truly seemed that his luck had turned, for he actually caught a large, plump wild rooster.

Mother Fang did not begrudge it at all; she had half of it braised in soy sauce and the other half made into soup in a single meal.

Even though there were many children in the family, this chicken yielded plenty of meat—two drumsticks, two wings, and plenty of other cuts. Therefore, she purposely picked out several choice pieces from the start, filled a large bowl to the brim, and brought it directly to Tang Xin.

Tang Xin simply picked out the chicken wings. "I'll just have the wings; those are my favorite."

Chicken wings were so tender, and she had loved them since childhood. Although it was impossible to make grilled wings out here, her mother-in-law was a skilled cook, and even boiled ones turned out fragrant and delicious.

Since Tang Xin did not want the drumsticks and it was hard to divide them among all the children, the eldest sister took charge and decided that their parents should eat one drumstick each.

Her parents tried to decline, but Li Kai chimed in, "It is only right for us to show filial piety to our parents. Besides, life at home is getting better and better, and we'll have plenty of opportunities to eat chicken wings in the future."

Hearing this, the elderly couple was so touched that even before taking a bite, they felt this chicken drumstick tasted better than any they had ever eaten before.

Seizing this rare opportunity to accomplish something significant, Li Kai was full of momentum. Furthermore, it happened that the production team had a rest day tomorrow with no farm work, allowing him to openly head to the county seat.

Li Kai knew his parents all too well. His sister-in-law could go stroll around the county seat without issue, but if he were to skip work and ask for leave to go there himself—

Heh, he might as well wait for the old man to fly into a rage and break his legs!

Chen Liguo was also a man of ambition. Upon hearing Li Kai's proposal, his heart was immediately stirred.

Of course, Li Kai would not mention that this idea came from his sister-in-law, nor that the source of the goods was provided by her.

Similarly, Chen Liguo did not ask about the details. Doing this kind of thing was bound to be clandestine; everyone should keep a low profile and make a fortune quietly.

Each immortal crossing the sea shows their own divine powers; as long as one could live a good life, it was a matter of individual capability, and no one else could manage so much.

And so, that evening when Li Kai returned home, he was mysteriously carrying a large bag in his hand.

Upon opening it, the bag was packed to the brim with apples.

Every single one of them was large and blushed red, looking immensely appetizing.

Even Mother Fang, upon seeing them, could not resist teasing her second son, "Oh, how rare! You actually know to bring back something good to honor your father and mother?"

Mother Fang was naturally joking. With so many apples, even if they were placed right in front of her mouth, she would have begrudged eating them.

Li Kai shook his head repeatedly, glanced outside to make sure the courtyard gate was shut tight, and then pulled his parents down to sit with him, whispering, "Didn't I make a friend outside? The one who is the good brother of our eldest brother in the county seat. He gave me an idea: these might just look like apples, but if they are packaged nicely and taken to the department store to sell, the price will be entirely different."

Before Mother Fang could speak, Father Li was the first to be startled. He frowned and said, "Nonsense, you are engaging in speculation and profiteering."

Fortunately, before speaking, Li Kai had already arranged for Li Xihua and Li Xiyue to take the younger siblings outside to play. If the children were to find out about such notions, Father Li really would beat this disobedient second son to a pulp.

Having already been successfully brainwashed by Tang Xin, Li Kai was not discouraged by his father's criticism. Instead, he continued, "Dad, don't put it that way. This is serving the people. Some people need these things, and he is able to provide them. When both sides are satisfied, what's wrong with that?" Then Li Kai added, "This matter is mainly being handled by Brother Chen and the others; I'm just helping out to add some income for the family."

Of course, he could not say this was his eldest sister-in-law's idea, nor that both he and his eldest brother were involved.

Flying the banner of merely being a hired helper meant that although he would earn less, the associated risks and responsibilities would be relatively smaller. Li Kai believed this would make it easier for his parents to accept.

Li Zhirong's brows remained tightly knitted. Why did his second son always come up with sudden schemes, and why did this whole thing seem so unreliable?

Li Kai pressed on with more persuasion, "The fellow finds it inconvenient in the city, and knowing that Dad has fine craft skills, he thought of asking for my help. Dad, won't you teach me how to make them? Just weaving those small baskets we use at home for vegetables. If you can weave them a bit nicer and add a little decoration, he'll pay me thirty cents for each one."

Thirty cents?

Not to mention Li Zhirong, even Mother Fang was dumbfounded.

She knew how to weave those small baskets too. To say the least, weaving two or three of them during her spare time in a day was absolutely no problem.

Thirty cents for one? Two would be sixty cents, and three would be—ninety cents?

Oh, my goodness! Mother Fang glared at the old man, but turned a benevolent, smiling face toward her second son.

"Right, what you said is spot on. That Chen boy is indeed serving the people. Though our family lacks such grand abilities, we all have hearts willing to serve the people and should pitch in to help."

Li Kai curled his lips. Forget it; the old lady was clearly swayed by those thirty cents, yet she spoke with such high-sounding righteousness.

"High-sounding righteousness" was a phrase his sister-in-law had taught him just a few days ago, and he had not expected to use it so soon. Li Kai genuinely felt that after learning from his sister-in-law, his whole person had become much more cultured and elevated.

Li Kai grinned from ear to ear as well and said, "Dad, Mom, how about this: I'll be following Brother Chen to learn the ropes and run errands. As for the basket weaving, I'll have to ask you two to help out, and you can keep the money you earn yourselves."

Keep it for what? Life at home was still hard, and the younger ones were not yet settled down.

There would be plenty of places needing money in the future, so of course the money had to be saved.

However, Mother Fang did not dwell on that for now. After consulting with the old man and their second son, they decided this matter must be kept from the younger ones.

Including Li Xiyue—that little chatterbox was completely unreliable, and what if she let the secret slip?

Li Zhirong felt it should apply to all of them; since they were keeping it from the younger daughter, it was best not to tell the eldest daughter either.

Yet Mother Fang felt it was better to give the eldest daughter a heads-up. After all, among them all, the eldest daughter was probably enduring the hardest time right now.

Both Li Sheng and Tang Xin had good intentions and had already stated they welcomed the eldest sister back, even if she stayed at their parents' home for the rest of her life.

Still, Mother Fang believed that a woman ultimately needed a proper destination of her own.