Jiang Qingqing genuinely found her husband smart. She touched her large belly, saying expectantly.
Zhang Liunian smiled, his large hand covering her small one. "Like you, beautiful."
"Are you saying the baby in my belly is a girl?" Beauty was used to describe girls. When Zhang Liunian said that, Jiang Qingqing instinctively thought he was hinting at a daughter.
Thinking of a daughter, Jiang Qingqing's expression became complicated because if the child in her belly were a girl, she would surely not receive the love of her grandparents.
Although her in-laws didn't meddle much in their marital affairs, she knew that elderly people in the countryside all loved their grandsons, right?
"No, no matter if you give birth to a boy or a girl, they are all our treasures." Zhang Liunian saw his wife's slightly unnatural expression and knew she was thinking of unpleasant things. He quickly pulled her into a hug to comfort her.
"You know Mom and Dad. Old folks love grandsons. If I have a daughter, will they ignore her like they did Hua Bao!"
With more than two months to go before giving birth, Jiang Qingqing began to worry about the baby's gender.
Zhang Liunian smiled helplessly, pinched her small face, and chuckled, "I'm the one living with you, not my parents. They can't control anything.
Besides, they won't interfere much. They see us less than three times a year. You don't need to worry about their opinions at all. Let's live our lives happily.
Don't worry, I'm here for everything!"
After saying this, Zhang Liunian patted his chest forcefully.
Jiang Qingqing beamed, sighing inwardly again how good it was to have him.
At the same time, in the Zhang Liuhuo family next door, they finally figured out where Zhang Liunian was selling crayfish today.
"He's selling crayfish at the entrance of the new construction site of the machinery factory. Once at noon and once in the afternoon. It's not Zhang Liunian himself selling there; an old man who sells noodles is helping him.
I specifically inquired. A bowl for our meals costs one jiao, and a jin is about fifty cents.
He delivered two hundred jin a day and made one hundred yuan.
My heavens, it's so easy to make money. No wonder he not only paid off his debts but is also building a house.
If he makes one hundred yuan a day, he must be earning several thousand yuan a month.
My goodness, this private business owner is too profitable. We really misjudged him before. We even mocked him for being a private business owner, but now, maybe he was laughing at our lack of foresight."
Zhang Wenjun reported the day's investigation to his family and then, unable to resist, expressed his envy with gritted teeth.
Fortunately, his eldest son had asked him to go and find out, otherwise, their entire village would have been deceived by him. They would have done it even if they were cursed to death for a business that earned one hundred yuan a day!
Zhang Liunian was also cunning, secretly making money behind everyone's back and not clarifying how much he could earn, causing them to waste so much time.
If they had known selling crayfish was so profitable, they would have done it too!
In just a few days, their household would have earned eight hundred to a thousand yuan!
"One hundred yuan a day? My heavens! That's too profitable! We must also sell, we must sell!" This profitable business shouldn't be enjoyed only by his elder brother's family. They also deserved a share.
Upon hearing her husband's words, Zhang Wenjun's wife, Wu Shuicao, immediately covered her mouth in shock and declared that they too wanted to sell crayfish and make money.
Zhang Liuyu, sitting in the corner, heard his parents' words and wanted to say something, but ultimately said nothing.
He had no say in the family yet.
"That scoundrel Zhang Liunian made me lie in bed for three months, yet he's making money and living well. Where is the justice in that?" Unlike Zhang Liuyu's silence, Zhang Liuhuo was furious. Earning one hundred yuan a day had truly astonished him.
As far as he knew, no one in the village so far could match Zhang Liunian's earning capacity.
Not even Zhang Liunian's second elder brother.
This was a daily income of one hundred yuan, monthly income of thousands, an unimaginable sum.
It was no wonder Zhang Liunian was prospering; it turned out he was making so much money every day.
But he wouldn't allow it. No one in the village earning a hundred yuan a day should be Zhang Liunian, because he was Zhang Liuhuo's enemy.
"Scoundrel, coward, he doesn't deserve to make money and live a good life. He should have rotted to death like a maggot in his house, just like before."
Zhang Liuhuo cursed incessantly. The others dared not make a sound when they saw this. After he vented, they heard him say again, "Since selling crayfish is so profitable, let's go sell tomorrow. We must not let Zhang Liunian take all the money."
This statement perfectly suited Zhang Wenjun and his wife, as they thought the same.
They did not want to see Zhang Liunian prosper and even become a ten-thousand-yuan household in the village.
Zhang Wenjun, in particular, did not want to see this outcome. Because since childhood, his elder brother Zhang Wenxue had been smarter than him, his wife was more beautiful than his, he had more sons than him, and most importantly, his elder brother's sons were also crushing his sons.
First, there was the golden phoenix second son, and if another son became a ten-thousand-yuan household, how could Zhang Wenjun show his face in the future? How could his sons show their faces?
"Don't worry, tomorrow morning we'll go to the stinking ditch to catch crayfish and then compete with him for business.
But I'm not confident we can beat him, because his cooking is too fragrant. Our skills might not be as good as his." Zhang Wenjun's biggest worry was this. If their cooking skills were poor and they went to compete with Zhang Liunian for territory, they might lose.
Zhang Liuhuo, as a grown man, naturally didn't understand the matter of skills. In his opinion, as long as it was edible, it was fine! As long as the price was cheap, it was fine!
"We're all grown men, who cares about taste? As long as it's edible, if he sells a bowl for one jiao, we'll sell it for one jiao and a half, and I don't believe we can't snatch his business." Zhang Liuhuo was full of confidence.
But Zhang Wenjun had seen Zhang Liunian's crayfish. They were truly fragrant, and they looked like they had something added to them, not like the ones they shelled directly. He wondered what he had used.
"But his taste is really good. I tried it. It was fresh, spicy, and fragrant, truly more delicious than meat." Zhang Wenjun didn't want to boost the enemy's morale, but he had bought a portion to try today. Thinking about that taste now made him feel it was endlessly memorable.
Zhang Liunian saw his father unconsciously drooling and shot him a sharp glance. Zhang Wenjun shivered and quickly wiped the corner of his mouth.
"That's settled. Tomorrow you all take action. Don't let him pocket the money." Zhang Liuhuo made the decision. This matter was decided.
Seeing his eldest son eager for revenge, Zhang Wenjun made up his mind to do it.
Whether it succeeded or not, they would take to the battlefield tomorrow.