MTLNOVEL Chapter 338: 338. Proposal
"How could we let brother handle it alone? Count me in too,"
"I'll also chip in," Hua Yunxiang added.
"And me, and me, I'll chip in too," Xiaosi quickly said.
Though Xiaosi was genuinely not interested in showing filial piety to his maternal grandfather's family, he sincerely disliked them from top to bottom.
He might be a bit carefree and not think too much, but that didn't mean he didn't have a brain. His grandparents seemed to like him and his brother on the surface, but that affection was only skin-deep, just lip service. When there was something good to eat or during the annual New Year's visit, he and his brothers were always lined up after his cousins, which was very annoying.
No matter how annoyed you are, you still have to keep up appearances. As a son, naturally, you follow in your older siblings' footsteps. Anyway, he couldn't spend the small stash of silver he had, so losing a bit was no big deal.
With a slight heartache, Xiaosi thought this through.
Old lady Qi was genuinely surprised to hear that the kids were willing to contribute two taels of lard. A sly joy rose in her heart. No matter what, they were still filial to her as their grandmother. But as soon as this thought arose, the face of her eldest daughter suddenly appeared in her mind, problematically with a big knife in hand. The cold, heartless expression like looking at an enemy made old lady Qi sober up quickly, and she hurriedly pushed the wild chicken she had picked up forward.
She shook her head vigorously, "No, no, how can this grandmother let you children spend money to buy lard? Besides, how much copper can you kids have? Save it for yourself. Grandma has a wild chicken here, let's use it to exchange."
She felt a bit of heartache when handing it over, but when she thought of exchanging it for two taels of lard from her grandson, a wild chicken could only be eaten for one meal, while two taels of lard could be saved and used for a month, she felt it was not a loss.
Otherwise, if she angered her eldest daughter, even the soy sauce and vinegar might be gone, let alone those two taels of lard.
Who would have thought that their grandma would have a day of not taking advantage, it's as if the sun rose in the west; it was really hard to believe.
To the point that the several children simultaneously turned their surprised gazes onto old lady Qi.
Why does it seem so unbelievable! Hua Jin even squinted to scrutinize old lady Qi, his thoughts wandered thinking, could it be that someone took over grandma's body without them knowing?
If not, why did she become so understanding and not continue to be troublesome?
It doesn't quite match grandma's character!
Old lady Qi was finally unable to hold her smile when gazed upon by her grandchildren, her face even turned a little hot.
"What? Grandma not letting you spend money isn't good? Okay, since you're willing to be filial…" obviously frustrated and annoyed.
"Okay, okay, how could it not be good? Grandma cares for us; brother, take note of it." Such a rare moment of understanding, it had to be supported. Hua Jin quickly picked up the conversation and pressed down the pickled chicken on the table, then predictably saw a flash of regret in grandma's eyes, which weirdly pleased Hua Jin's mind.
Although before the disaster he had already vented a lot of anger for his mom, making the uncles and grandma who came by only to gain something go back disappointed each time, thinking of the old days his mom had endured still unsettled Hua Jin.
If the next encounter with grandma's family wasn't about them being too pitiful to be provoked, Hua Jin would have acted already.
This way is pretty good; seeing one's position clearly, being able to clear one's mind not to bother mom makes Hua Jin able to treat them as non-existent, and, for mom's sake, even occasionally showing some filial piety is doable.
Of course, this is on the premise that they are voluntarily willing and not being forced.
Old lady Qi froze, looking at her most despised daughter-in-law, unable to utter a word, reluctantly watched as the wild chicken was taken back by her eldest grandson, and then struggled to put on an unattractive smile.
"Yes, yes, grandma cares about you," she said painfully.
Even so, it still made a lot of people behind envious.
Exchanging things was transparent, with simple calculations of value; generally speaking, old lady Qi still got a good deal out of it. Just those two taels of lard were given by the Hua family themselves, and they couldn't even buy it if they wanted to, plus the soy sauce and vinegar were also considered filial gifts.
The envious glances were tangible, ironically easing old lady Qi's painful heart and even lifting her chin a bit higher.
The items were handed over to Uncle Qi Da and Uncle Qi Er who were trailing behind, looking at their flattering smiles, and the siblings called them uncles a few times to save face for both sides, then watched as they left boldly with the goods.
Fortunately, they were not foolish and didn't say anything improper.
Old lady Qi's family set a good example, being the in-laws of the village chief, everyone else was even more well-behaved.
Unlike the residents of Hua Village focusing on exchanging salt and daily necessities, Wei Dapeng, Li Village, and others were more focused on coarse grain. Of course, salt was also indispensable; however, people subconsciously chose coarse salt because it was slightly cheaper.
Also, fabric, after spending a year and a half in the mountains and enduring extreme cold, the wearable and stackable clothes were almost all worn on them, even the best clothes couldn't withstand it, you could say there's not one presentable piece left, almost all are tattered.
The fabric to be exchanged was all woven by themselves, reasonably priced, even cheaper than what's available in the market before the flood. Those with a bit of silver coin who couldn't weave would grit their teeth and afford a piece.
This time, after over half an hour, everyone got what they wanted either by buying or swapping, leaving with smiles on their faces, truly filled with hope for life again looking at the goods in their hands.
When everything was quiet and cleaned up, the remaining items were moved inside after the morning was just gone as well.
Hua Jin and Xiaosi specifically took stock and surprisingly there was surplus in everything, because with dad's fine salt, the coarse salt, which they thought wouldn't have surplus, was surprisingly left with a few hundred pounds, and even coarse grains were left with several hundred pounds, sweets, sauces, and condiments all had surplus as well.
There were even more items that the villagers used to exchange with, fabric, finished shoes, stitched soles and insoles, cured meats, homemade pickled vegetables, eggs, duck eggs, woven straw mats, rattan baskets, bamboo baskets, all piled together, quite substantial, seeing these gave Hua Jin an idea.
Never thought that during lunchtime grandpa and she both came up with the same thought, proposing the idea of setting up a general store.
With thousands of people in the village, there indeed was a need for a general store. Although one could barter with neighbors, it required personal connections, didn't it?
A general store wouldn't need those, as it belonged to the exchange and trade relationship, without those twists and turns, the main focus was to keep peace of mind, buy whatever you want to buy if available.
The remaining supplies from this haul along with the exchanged items from the villagers were all just enough to set up a general store.
The old man's idea immediately received support from the entire family once proposed.
Additionally, all these items could be displayed upfront, so anyone in need could openly exchange or buy, no longer having to sneak around at night to get what's needed like before.