"I don't think it's important; what's important is whether you want it. Your thoughts are my wishes," Jiang Qingqing said, hugging Zhang Liunian's neck and looking up at him with adoration. Her small face then turned shyly as she leaned against his chest.
"It's important. In my heart, your thoughts are very important, more important than mine," Zhang Liunian's large hand rested on her waist, pulling her close as they pressed together.
Hearing this, Jiang Qingqing's heart pounded like a drum. So this was how they both felt.
It was wonderful. Was this what it meant to be in sync?
Softly nestled in her man's arms, listening to his increasingly rapid heartbeat, she felt as if she would faint from happiness.
Just then, Hua Bao's voice rang out from across them, "Hua Bao wants a hug too."
Hearing the voice, the two immediately released each other, standing awkwardly to the side, one clearing his throat, the other pretending to fix his hair.
After a few seconds, Zhang Liunian stole a glance at his wife's blushing face, his lips involuntarily curving upwards. He turned, bent down, and picked up their daughter. "Is Hua Bao hungry?"
"Hua Bao isn't hungry. Hua Bao wants Daddy's hug." Hua Bao clung tightly to Zhang Liunian's neck, refusing to let go.
Zhang Liunian reached out and gently tickled her little nose. Holding his daughter, he first went to the educated youth dormitory and then to Daming Lake.
"They're already building walls, so fast. Thank you, uncles," Zhang Liunian said, referring to everyone present as his uncles.
The uncles who were diligently working stopped their tasks upon seeing Zhang Liunian personally arrive and turned to greet him with smiling faces.
This job was a rare high-paying one, two yuan a day, only working in the morning and afternoon, going home on time. That amounted to sixty yuan a month, enough to get excited about!
"Liu Shui is still waiting to move in, so we definitely need to put in the effort."
"We've watched you grow up. Now that you're finally building a house, we'll definitely work hard."
"If your father knew you could afford to build a house, he'd be very happy."
"..."
At this remark, everyone fell silent.
Because everyone in the village knew that Zhang Liunian's father, Zhang Wenxue, cared most about his second son who had left the village, then his eldest son, and lastly Zhang Liunian.
It was hard to say when it started, but Zhang Wenxue and his wife had focused all their attention on their second son.
Yes, it seemed to be from the moment Zhang Liuxing got into university. Before that, he treated his three sons the same. But after his Liuxing went to college, things changed.
Thinking of this, everyone felt twelve points of sympathy for Zhang Liunian.
"Well, Liunian! You're doing very well now. Not only can you earn money, but you can also build a new house. You're the first in our village."
"That's right, you're truly the first man in our village to build a house through his own efforts, very impressive."
"You don't need to compare yourself to your second brother. Everyone has their strengths, and you're doing great too."
"..."
The unexpected comfort left Zhang Liunian amused and speechless. "I just want my wife and daughter to have a good life. I'm not thinking about anything else."
You don't need to overthink it.
Upon hearing this, the uncles all laughed to cover their awkwardness.
"How much longer will the bricks last? If it's not enough, I can have more sent over," Zhang Liunian said, changing the subject to avoid further embarrassment.
The oldest uncle replied, "We'll run out by the morning of the day after tomorrow."
"About how many tractor loads will be needed?"
"Five tractor loads should be about right."
"Okay, I'll notify them to deliver the goods tomorrow."
After bidding farewell to the uncles, Zhang Liunian returned home with his daughter and then began preparing for his stall in the county town.
On his way, he thought of a problem: he had to deliver the goods to the South City by 5:30 the next morning, which meant he couldn't set up his stall in the afternoon.
However, he couldn't stand the thought of earning less money.
After much deliberation, he decided to form a partnership with Grandpa Tang.
A consignment sales agreement, since it wouldn't be for long.
With his mind made up, Zhang Liunian rode his bicycle to the construction site.
As soon as the stall was set up, the aroma of braised meat began to waft out.
Workers leaving their shifts immediately bolted towards the source of the delicious smell, quickly surrounding Zhang Liunian's stall.
"Boss, you finally brought braised meat! That's great."
"Give me two bowls. I've missed your meat so much."
"I miss the boss's meat too."
"..." Zhang Liunian was speechless. He thought to himself, "These two comrades, can you please not omit a word when you speak? It's quite alarming, you know?"
"Hurry up! We're waiting to eat!"
"I've really missed the taste of this braised meat. Boss, be quick!"
Hearing everyone urging him on, Zhang Liunian came to his senses and started selling. "One by one, don't rush." In a short while, fifty catties of braised meat were sold out.
After the braised meat, came the crayfish. In less than an hour, two hundred catties of crayfish were also sold out.
As the workers dispersed, Zhang Liunian looked at Grandpa Tang, who was selling noodles. After Tang also finished his work, Zhang Liunian approached him.
"Grandpa Tang, I have a partnership proposition. I wonder if you're interested?" Zhang Liunian put the money in his pocket and leaned closer to Tang Kaiming.
Tang Kaiming's old eyes lit up at the suggestion. He turned and looked at Zhang Liunian excitedly. Just as he was about to say something, he seemed to remember something, immediately pulled Zhang Liunian behind a tree, and asked, "What kind of partnership?"
"I want you to help me sell crayfish and braised meat. I'll pay you ten yuan a day, for one hour at noon and one hour in the evening. Are you willing?" Zhang Liunian probed.
Tang Kaiming was stunned for a moment, confused. "You want me to sell for you? What will you be doing?"
Why would an individual business owner not work themselves but ask someone else? What kind of thinking was that?
Didn't they earn through hard work?
"I have something else to attend to and can't be here, so I want to hire someone to sell for me.
I'll deliver the goods every day, and I'll collect the money an hour or two later. What do you say?"
If not, he would find a trustworthy villager to sell.
Zhang Liunian had already made plans and didn't intend to put all his eggs in one basket.
Tang Kaiming thought about it and felt that it wasn't impossible. After all, the worries would be Zhang Liunian's.
He wouldn't lose anything, and just selling for someone else could earn him ten yuan a day, which was quite profitable.
Moreover, Zhang Liunian had been kind to the Tang family, so helping him sell wouldn't be difficult.
"Okay, I'll do it," Tang Kaiming agreed readily. There was just one issue that might be a bit difficult, and that was how to collect the money.
After thinking for a moment, Tang Kaiming added, "As for the money, if I'm not here, you can come to my house to get it. I can take you to my house now to recognize it. I'm usually at home after I finish selling."
Tang Kaiming was older. All day long, he only sold noodles. Besides selling noodles, he stayed at home.
"Is your house far?" Zhang Liunian still needed to find Mu Mingliang for dinner and feared he would be delayed too long.
But Tang Kaiming smiled and pointed down a small path to the left. "My house is very close, only ten minutes away."
Hearing this, Zhang Liunian pushed his bicycle and followed.
The Tang residence was an old house with blue bricks. The house looked rather dilapidated, but it was quite spacious inside. According to Tang Kaiming, four generations of his ancestors lived there.