Chapter 167: Resolved
Therefore, Tang Xin could only say in her heart:
I'm sorry, I am not the original owner. You should be saying these things to her.
In the end, one could only say that Lu Liqin and the original Tang Xin were simply not meant to be.
"Let us part ways here and take good care of ourselves. From now on, let us both live our lives well."
With that, Tang Xin hopped onto her bicycle and rode away swiftly, having no desire to become excessively entangled with this man.
Anyway, Lu Liqin was already married to Meng Jia. According to the plot of the original book, they would soon return to the city and build their own business empire.
As for Tang Xin, she also had her own small circle of life, and indeed there would be no need for their paths to cross again in the future.
The weather today was wonderful—clear skies, ten thousand miles without a cloud, and a gentle breeze blowing. The spring air was fresh and fragrant. Taking a deep breath, Tang Xin stood at the entrance of the courtyard, gazing blankly at the peach tree outside.
Inside the courtyard, Mrs. Fang was busy drying sweet potato strips with her two daughters.
She worked at the front, with Li Xihua helping diligently, while Li Xiyue was half helping and half eating.
As she ate, she let out a full burp and sighed, "Mom, I probably won't be able to eat lunch today. Please make sure not to cook anything too delicious."
Otherwise, seeing food she couldn't eat would break her heart.
Mrs. Fang only smiled with indulgent amusement. Li Xihua protested and scolded, "You only know how to be lazy! We are working while you are sneaking food. I'll have Dad spank you later."
Yet Li Xiyue replied with absolute righteousness, "Mom's dried sweet potatoes are just too delicious, so I couldn't help myself. Can you blame me?"
Well, Mrs. Fang was quite helpless too. "So, this is my fault then?"
Mrs. Fang was only joking, but Li Xiyue actually nodded, earning herself another chase and scolding from her eldest sister.
Watching them work and chat, especially looking at the eldest sister who seemed to have shaken off the shadow of her divorce, Tang Xin felt a sense of comfort. The slight discomfort of running into someone she didn't wish to see early in the morning faded away. This was the true center of her life now, the direction for which she struggled and strived.
Because her mother-in-law had made another batch of dried sweet potatoes, Li Kai had quietly taken them to sell in a nearby small town. Surprisingly, the business there was much better than around their own village, and by the end of the day, he had actually earned ten yuan.
After putting their heads together, the family decided that this venture was well worth pursuing.
Spring had only just arrived, and every household still stored plenty of sweet potatoes. By taking just a small amount of coarse or fine grain, one could exchange it for a large quantity.
The female comrades could make the products at home, while the male comrades took them out to sell.
Tang Xin suggested that everyone in the family could do this. At first, Mrs. Fang hesitated because she knew her daughter-in-law had made money selling dried sweet potatoes last time.
However, if everyone else in the family did the same, wouldn't that be stealing her daughter-in-law's business?
Tang Xin told her instead, "Mom, it won't. With more people, we can split up and sell in different directions. Just around here, there are several communes, and we can take the bus to different towns. If we only fix our eyes on one place, people can't possibly eat dried sweet potatoes every day. We need several people to branch out to different places so that we can secure an extra source of income and live a more comfortable life."
Originally, the family lacked the courage for such an enterprise, especially since speculation and profiteering were strictly prohibited at the time.
However, Tang Xin persuaded them: they were not engaging in illegal speculation; they simply happened to possess goods that others needed.
Meeting the urgent needs of others was a matter of helping people with pleasure, and they simply received monetary compensation in return.
This was called helping others while helping oneself.
In truth, Tang Xin knew that money moves hearts. The income Li Kai brought back time and time again was what truly moved the Li family.
At the very beginning of the wave of reform, wasn't it the bold who thrived and the timid who starved? Weren't those who became rich first the ones with insight and courage?
Hearing Tang Xin put it this way, apart from the younger ones still in school, everyone else felt their hearts stir.
Action followed thought. With a batch of dried sweet potatoes already prepared, Li Sheng and Li Kai set out immediately.
Father Li and Gu Laosan went to work in the fields as usual, earning their basic work points because that remained the fundamental livelihood for people in the countryside.
Meanwhile, the group of female comrades stayed home, washing and processing the sweet potatoes before making the dried snacks together. Since they were all family, Mrs. Fang naturally held nothing back.
Within a few days, she thoroughly taught her two daughters the method of making dried sweet potatoes, instructing them to follow it precisely.
As for the finished products, Li Sheng and Li Kai would take them out and figure out how to sell them.
Cough, cough—as for Tang Xin, Mrs. Fang refused to let her do any of this physical labor.
"You are our commander, responsible for directing and arranging our work. How could we let you do these trivial tasks?"
Tang Xin grinned wide and suddenly hugged Mrs. Fang tightly. "Mom, you are truly my own mother. You are even better than my birth mother."
Having had almost no such physical contact with children for several years—especially since Li Jiang and Li Hai were now big boys—Mrs. Fang's body stiffened slightly at first.
Yet, she soon felt the warmth of Tang Xin's embrace and finally tried reaching out to hug her daughter-in-law back.
Indeed, this considerate daughter-in-law was the best; those two blockhead daughters of hers were practically picked up off the street.
Meanwhile, the two sisters still busy drying the sweet potatoes rolled their eyes in unison, thinking:
Vixen! First she stole our eldest brother, and now she's coming to steal our mother!
Father Li, Mother Li, and Li Kai had already tasted the sweetness of doing business, so they worked with utmost composure, leaving everything to the direction and arrangement of Li Sheng and Tang Xin.
Li Xihua was curious, while Li Xiyue was lured by the wages promised by her sister-in-law; both worked diligently.
Although the entire week was filled with hard work and hustle, when Li Sheng and Li Kai finished selling all the dried sweet potatoes across several nearby towns, and returned home,
looking at the stack of bills placed on the table—even though most were just small change of dimes and a few yuan at most—the entire family was overjoyed.
Li Kai had just counted it in front of everyone when he returned: it totaled a hundred and thirty yuan. Even after deducting costs and distributing the earnings according to everyone's respective labor contributions,
the one with the smallest contribution, even someone like Li Xiyue, still received fourteen yuan.
A full fourteen yuan! According to family rules, all earnings should normally be handed over in full.
What did children need money for? Give it all to Mother to save up for the whole family's future use—this was what Mrs. Fang often said.
It was also because Li Sheng had set a good example when he first started working as a driver: every month he handed over his entire salary, including any good items he managed to get on the road.
Because he set such a good precedent, his younger brothers and sisters naturally followed suit.
Even Li Xihua, now that she had a salary, handed it all over to her mother every month to be saved together.
Actually, Li Kai and Li Xiyue had been a bit reluctant. Growing boys wanted to show off, and young girls had little hobbies and vanities that required buying things beyond basic daily necessities.