r18novel Chapter 117 We're rich!
Chapter 117 We're rich!
Once the first person takes the lead, the rest of the business will be much easier.
These days, nobody has much fat in their stomachs, so being able to eat a bite of sweet, juicy watermelon on a hot day is like a heavenly treat.
In addition, Li Xiaotao's melons are indeed of good quality; every single one is red when cut open, so there's no need to pick and choose.
"Give me one too!"
"I want two! Weigh them high!"
"Girl, are you selling this half?"
In no time, the cart was surrounded by people.
Li Weimin was so busy that he barely had time to rest. He weighed the items and collected money at the same time, the scales flying up and down in his hands.
"Five pounds and four ounces, that'll cost you fifty-four cents!"
"Eight pounds tall, I'll charge you eight cents!"
Small bills and coins fell into the cloth bag used to hold the money, like snowflakes.
Li Weimin had never seen money come so quickly in his life; his palms were sweaty with excitement.
He used to feel like he was useless at everything and couldn't finish anything he ate.
But now, watching those people scrambling to buy his melons and seeing his pockets swell with money, his once hunched back has unknowingly straightened up.
The sun rose higher and higher, scorching the earth with its blazing heat, while the cicadas chirped in the trees, driving people crazy with their noise.
But Li Weimin felt that this was the most enjoyable morning he had ever had in his life.
His clothes were soaked with sweat and stuck to his body, which was uncomfortable, but he had inexhaustible energy.
When the crowd thinned out a bit around noon, more than half of the truckload of watermelons, which looked like a small mountain, had been sold.
Li Xiaotao handed the last slice of watermelon, which had been cut open as a sample, to Li Weimin: "Eat it quickly, it'll soothe your throat."
Li Weimin took the melon and looked at his wife's face, which was flushed red from the sun, and the fine beads of sweat on her forehead. He felt extremely distressed.
He broke the melon in half and handed the larger half back to her, saying, "Wife, you eat this. You've been shouting all morning, your voice is hoarse."
Li Xiaotao didn't refuse, took it and started munching on it, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the bulging money bag.
"Weimin, let's count! Let's see how much we earned today!"
Like thieves, the two men took the money bag to the back of the cart, avoiding the gaze of passersby.
This count caused Li Weimin's hands to tremble.
"Twenty...twenty-five...thirty-eight..."
In the end, we sold over thirty yuan worth of goods that morning!
That's about forty yuan!
He worked in the production team for a year, and his dividends were only a hundred or so yuan.
This is only the morning's earnings, and it's almost equivalent to half a year's income!
"Wife...we're rich!"
Li Weimin leaned close to Li Xiaotao's ear, his voice extremely low, and exclaimed excitedly, "That's forty yuan! My dad toils in the fields for half a year and still can't save that much!"
Back in the production team, accounts were calculated based on work points, and you wouldn't see much cash all year round.
Although the production has been distributed to individual households in recent years, the melons grown each year are sold to melon buyers, and the total income is only about a hundred yuan.
But to have so many bills in just half a day is quite a shock.
After deducting costs, they can make at least half a profit, which is equivalent to half a month's wages for workers in the town.
Li Xiaotao was wiping the sweat off her face with the towel around her neck when she heard this. She couldn't help but roll her eyes and poked him on the forehead.
"Look at you, so pathetic!"
"This is nothing! You're already this scared after selling just a few hundred pounds of melons? What if you're counting so much money your hands cramp up? You'd probably faint from exhaustion!"
"Counting money until your hands cramp?"
Li Weimin was stunned. The image was too vivid for him to process. "That...that would cost a lot of money! We probably couldn't even fit it under the straw mat on our old kang bed!"
"If it doesn't fit, get a bigger cabinet! If that still doesn't work, build a new house and dedicate a room to storing your money!"
Li Xiaotao tossed the melon rinds she was holding into the bamboo basket beside her with a domineering gesture. "Weimin, you remember this: as long as you work hard with me, this forty yuan is just a drop in the bucket. Our better days are yet to come!"
Provoked by his wife's words, Li Weimin felt a surge of heat rush to his head.
Looking at the woman in front of him, her face covered in sweat yet radiant with energy, he was utterly impressed.
Why did I always think she was a shrew?
This is clearly the Goddess of Wealth descending to earth!
"Gurgle—"
An untimely sound suddenly rang out.
Li Weimin blushed and instinctively covered his stomach.
After a busy morning, it's already noon, and my stomach is starting to rumble with hunger.
Li Xiaotao heard it too, but instead of laughing at him, she sniffed.
It was lunchtime at the market, and the air was filled with the aroma of steamed buns.
It was coming from the stall next door; the aroma was so enticing it went straight into your nose.
"Are you hungry?" Li Xiaotao asked.
"No... I'm not hungry," Li Weimin said stubbornly, but in his heart he was calculating that these meat buns must be expensive.
I just made some money, I can't be so wasteful. Going home and eating two cold cornbread buns is just as good.
"What are you pretending for?"
Li Xiaotao knew his stingy nature all too well, so she took out a two-yuan note from the cloth bag and said, "Watch the stall, I'm going to buy some steamed buns."
After saying that, without waiting for Li Weimin to speak, she turned around and walked towards the large steamer next door that sold steamed buns.
Next door was a stall selling large steamed buns with meat filling. The stall owner was a plump middle-aged woman who was fanning the stove with a palm-leaf fan.
When the steamer basket was opened, plump, white buns were squeezed together, steaming hot.
"Auntie, four meat buns, please! Big ones!" Li Xiaotao walked over and called out heartily.
When the old woman selling steamed buns heard the voice, she looked up and saw Li Xiaotao. Her expression immediately became complicated.
There was a mixture of admiration and concern.
"Oh, it's a young lady."
The old woman deftly grabbed a piece of oiled paper, picked up four buns bigger than her fist, and then added one more. She lowered her voice and said, "This one is for you. I saw it all from the side. You're a brave girl. That Master Ma usually acts like a tyrant in this area, but he's really messed with us today."
Li Xiaotao didn't stand on ceremony. She took the steamed bun, took out some money and handed it over, saying, "I can't accept that, Auntie. It's not easy for you to run a small business. Please keep the money. I'll take this as a gift. Consider it a favor to you."
The old woman couldn't refuse, so she accepted the money, but instead of turning away immediately, she leaned closer and said:
"Young lady, listen to my advice."
The old woman glanced around, as if afraid of being overheard, and lowered her voice to a whisper, "Finish eating and pack up your stall and leave. That Master Ma... is really no pushover."
Li Xiaotao raised an eyebrow, blowing air onto the steamed bun as she casually asked, "What? Could he possibly poke a hole in the sky?"
"Oh, my silly girl!"
The old woman slapped her thigh anxiously, "This Master Ma's real name is Ma Kui. He's been to jail in his old days! He keeps a bunch of shady thugs under his command, collecting protection money in this area. That's not all, the key thing is that he has a sworn brother who's a squad leader at the town's police station!"
The old woman's eyes were filled with apprehension as she spoke. "As the saying goes, the common people can't fight with officials. You embarrassed him in public today and injured his hand. That kind of petty, vindictive man definitely won't let it go. He's probably gone somewhere to get reinforcements right now. If his gang comes, even if you two had three heads and six arms, you'd still suffer!"
Li Xiaotao paused for a moment.
She wasn't afraid of thugs who would openly confront her, but these backstabbing, shady characters were definitely a bit of a problem.
Especially these days, some relationships are so complex and intertwined that if someone is falsely accused, it's impossible to defend oneself even if one is in the right.
But it's just a hassle.
Li Xiaotao wrapped the oil paper tightly, grinned at the old woman, and said, "Thank you for reminding me, Auntie. I understand, I'll go back now."