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墨書 Inktalez
I originally planned to take everyone on a nice tour during these days, but now opening a local specialty shop has turned the sightseeing and shopping trip into a frantic search for storefronts. Of course, Yezhi, the "pregnant woman," was ordered to stay behind.
Madwoman led everyone in searching for three days, becoming more and more frustrated.
Aunt Ren Er returned, clutching her dwindling wallet and complaining, "This Province is really not the place for us. In just a few days, I've spent several months' worth of expenses at home."
Zhou Village Head was also shocked by the high rent of the shops. "Yezhi, you have no idea that a tiny place costs us thirty yuan. Isn't this highway robbery?"
"If I had a place like this, why would I work? I'd just lie back and count money!" Zhou Zhang's biggest takeaway from these days was that buying property in this Province would be profitable.
"What a good idea!" Yezhi actually started to consider buying a house, but where would the money come from? The unclaimed treasures beneath Zhoujiatun had all been dug up by her. Did she really have to rely on Cosmic Mall and selling ginseng?
Just when everyone was at a loss, Uncle Huang, who was helping them gather information, brought news: there were old houses available for rent along the street near the school. The place wasn't big, but the rent was cheap. Since it wasn't far away, Yezhi decided to go check it out.
At first glance, Yezhi thought the place looked pretty good. The old house for rent was located at the corner of a side road across from the school.
Behind the old house was an old neighborhood; although there were people living on both sides, there was a small convenience store nearby. The best part was that it was just across the street from a gradually developing new area.
The landlord was a middle-aged man who first boasted about how popular his house was and then told them that the rent was fifteen yuan and not a penny less, plus they had to pay six months in advance.
"Little brother?" Aunt Ren Er spoke up, but he impatiently interrupted her, "Didn't I say no bargaining?"
"I'm not bargaining; I'm just saying your place is too small!" The man looked disdainfully at Yezhi, who had interjected. "If you think it's small, can you afford a bigger one?"
"This house is divided into sections; isn't there another room in the back? If you rent both rooms to us, we'll give you twenty-five yuan a month."
"Paid every six months?"
"Sure!"
The Landlord's attitude took a complete 180-degree turn.
Zhou Village Head and Aunt Ren Er no longer mentioned the high price; they had seen places asking for even more in recent days.
The Landlord eagerly circled around and opened the partition door from the inside.
Once inside the partition, Yezhi was even more satisfied, surprised to find that it was larger than the outside. "Is anyone living here?"
The Landlord, fearing she might not rent it, explained, "This was originally my brother's room; he went into the army, so it's empty now."
After everyone finished writing the lease according to Yezhi's wishes, Zhou Village Head painfully took out the money. Yezhi said nothing, but when she returned home that day, she instructed Xiaobinzi to go to the bank.
"Uncle, take this."
"What does this mean?"
"Uncle, we haven't told the villagers about opening the specialty store yet, but we've already rented the storefront. Since it's still Everyone's money, anyone would have thoughts about it."
Zhou Village Head fell silent. He had thought of this too; opening a specialty store was a good thing, and he couldn't manage everything. The root of the issue was still blindly trusting Yezhi.
Aunt Ren Er thought for a moment and agreed with Yezhi. If this matter wasn't handled well, it would cause division among Everyone. "Village Head, you keep this money for now. Once Everyone agrees, we'll return it to Yezhi."
The storefront was rented. Zhou Village Head and the others couldn't stay in Provincial Capital any longer, while Yezhi and Madwoman busied themselves organizing the storefront.
Lin Haitao brought Fu Xiaobing to help paint the walls. Yezhi first bought 5 meters of red silk and then used gold powder bought from Cosmic Mall to paint several artistic signs saying "Zhoujiatun Specialty Products, Welcome!" It was because of her eye-catching banner that many people came to take a look and also bought some Mountain Goods. After a month, they earned 286.2 yuan, even with insufficient supply.
The resident of Zhou Family Village, having tasted the sweetness of profit, was filled with thoughts of what could be sold. One Gun Brother brought his homemade snake wine to the Provincial Capital.
Yezhi, who had developed an interest in selling at the Local Specialty Store, set aside the snake wine, fearing it was made from a dead snake. She refused to sell it, but Madwoman insisted on selling it. One Gun Brother's snake wine was infused with various ingredients such as Angelica, Codonopsis, Goji Berries, Eucommia, Safflower, Five-Leaf Ginseng, and Royal Jelly. It had a vibrant color and a rich aroma.
The old man who knew how to live bought two cups for a dollar and mixed it with the white liquor sold at the nearby convenience store. After drinking a small cup daily for less than a month, his rheumatism improved by eighty percent.
Thus, Zhoujiatun's snake wine inadvertently gained fame. Even Professor Lin Haitao from their courtyard came to buy some, and some people even offered high prices to buy an entire jar, but Yezhi naturally refused.
As the weather gradually warmed up, Yezhi's "pregnancy" entered a stable period. She needed to return to Zhoujiatun; if she didn't go back soon, she heard that the Village was about to erupt in conflict.
Speaking of this matter made Yezhi angry. The originally harmonious Zhoujiatun had become chaotic due to the outsiders who had married in over the past two years.
Wasn't it just an opportunity to work at the Provincial Capital's Local Specialty Store? Hadn't they said that young people from the village would take turns working there? Why did it matter who was the first to go? This competition seemed pointless and trivial.
Another reason for the disharmony was that more people in the Village could read. Some policies were now accessible through newspapers and radios, leading those who wanted to go solo or felt unfairly treated to start voicing their opinions.
Handing the key to the Local Specialty Store to Xiaobinzi, she said, "Make sure to keep an eye on it when you have time; don't tire yourself out." She added unnecessarily, "Your health is my happiness and support." After saying this, she leaned into Xiaobinzi's embrace.
This woman became soft as jelly whenever her husband was around; using her sisters' words from the 21st century, she was always in a state of heat.
Yezhi was indeed feeling affectionate, but Xiaobinzi did not share that sentiment; he was primarily concerned about hurting the child. Their interaction turned somewhat unpleasant due to her unfulfilled desires simmering inside her.
In the morning when Yezhi left, she was particularly aloof. Madwoman busily scolded Xiaobinzi and continued to comfort her on the long-distance bus.
As soon as they got off the bus, Zhang Dou and Cart Master approached them, prompting Yezhi to reveal her second smile. Why a second smile? She couldn't possibly give her mother-in-law a sour face.
When they returned home, Yezhi was first embraced by the tearful Black Treasure, and then Niu Niu's small body jumped up to her.
Little Fan kept shouting that she wanted to touch it.
Zhou Xiaowu, who came to buy liquor, immediately remarked that Yezhi had gained weight, which was quite annoying. After Zhou Xiaowu realized that his father-in-law had arrived, he took out a bottle of Five Plus White from Madwoman's bag and said, "Take this!"
"Oh, this is good wine." The Chinese Five Plus White is brewed by a local distillery, infused with fifteen medicinal herbs including five-needle ginseng, angelica, and codonopsis. The liquor is clear and transparent, with a rich aroma and a sweet, smooth finish. The back of the bottle even states that it has calming and nourishing properties.
Yezhi thought about bringing back five bottles for her grocery store. Upon reflection, she realized that transporting goods to sell in the Provincial Capital and then bringing items back made her look like a "shady dealer." This line of work would face severe crackdowns after 1987, which is why Yezhi was reluctant to go solo and insisted on involving Everyone. Besides, "speculation" was looked down upon.
"Yezhi, do you think I could go to the Provincial Capital with you to sell things?" Yezhi didn't respond.
Holding the wine, Zhou Xiaowu added, "I'll listen to you." Yezhi dismissed his comment as nonsense.
"Don't doubt it! Besides, what difference does it make who goes first?" Yezhi was getting a bit angry now. "What’s wrong with your Winter Ear bouncing around?"
Zhou Xiaowu's face turned slightly red. "She... she just really wants to go to the Provincial Capital."
"She really wants to serve our community, right?" After saying this, Yezhi couldn't help but laugh. Zhou Xiaowu nodded foolishly, "Yes, she can't wait to serve everyone."
Meanwhile, Winter Ear, who was eager to serve everyone, was whispering to her mother, "Mom, once I figure out the key inside, we can open our own place."
"My dear daughter, your brother and I are counting on you." With that, both mother and daughter laughed in unison.
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