Chapter 224: King of Morning Grumpiness

Chapter 224: Chapter 224: King of Morning Grumpiness

Song Yao smiled and waved her hand dismissively.

"Mom, don’t worry! Who’s going to travel hundreds of miles to give us trouble over eighty cents? If they really wanted to make a big deal out of it, they’d be exhausted before they even got here."

Wei Guilan nodded while chewing on a wonton.

"So... are we coming back tomorrow?"

"Of course! When we get home this afternoon, I’ll rush to make the bangles and earrings. Mom, you’ll be in charge of stringing the bracelets. We’ll divide the labor and set up our stall again tomorrow, same as today!"

"Let’s make more and sell more. Business will only be this good for a few days. If we’re late, it won’t be our turn anymore."

"Why?"

Wei Guilan spooned up some soup.

Song Yao wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"The second people see we’re making money, they’ll immediately copy us. They saw the long line at our stall today, so tomorrow there will be three more stalls, and the day after, it could be five."

"Other things might be harder, but stuff like bracelets and hairpins don’t need a master craftsman to teach you. Anyone can take them home, fiddle with them a couple of times, and figure it all out. Cut the copper wire, bend it into a circle, thread the beads, and twist the end shut. Once you get the hang of it, you can string a whole bracelet in ten minutes."

"Once they all set up their stalls, how can our business possibly stay this good?"

As Wei Guilan listened, the spoon in her hand froze mid-air. She didn’t even have the presence of mind to blow on her steaming hot pork wontons to cool them down.

"Then... I’ll stay up an extra hour tonight and string a few dozen more!"

"Everyone will be rushing to buy from us. By the time the others follow suit, no one will even pay them any mind."

Song Yao nodded.

"Right, let’s stock up!"

She was calculating in her head.

Once everyone swarmed in to set up their own stalls, she would become their supplier.

After lunch, they took two bus transfers to get back home.

Song Yao plopped down by the coffee table, spread out the coins and bills to count them, and then announced the total.

"Two hundred dollars and eighty cents!"

"Lunch and sodas cost a dollar eighty, so we’re left with one hundred and ninety-nine!"

Wei Guilan, who had been sorting colorful beads with her head down, shot up and rushed over when she heard this.

"How much? Say that again!"

"One hundred and ninety-nine!"

"Oh my heavens, you earned this much in a single day?"

"Back home, your big brother and the other strong laborers work a whole year and don’t even make this much! After a year of harvesting wheat and picking cotton, once they trade their work points for grain and then cash that out, they barely make eighty dollars in total."

"There are still more opportunities in the city."

"As long as you know what you’re doing and are willing to work, the city is definitely better than the countryside. The streets are wide, there are lots of people, and if you’re sharp-eyed and quick-handed, you can just go for it when you spot an opportunity. Once you succeed, you keep at it. No one stops you, and no one asks if you have a license."

Wei Guilan immediately turned, sat back down on her little stool, and her hands started moving even faster.

"I’ll rush to make a few more strings!"

Song Yao rubbed her shoulders. Her arms were a bit numb.

"Mom, take a break. We’ve been busy for half the day, your back must be sore."

The older woman waved her hands frantically, her palms slicing back and forth through the air, wrists trembling slightly.

"You go take a nap, I’m not tired! Really, I’m not!"

Though she said she wasn’t tired, she even started humming a little tune.

Anyone could see how thrilled she was.

Song Yao, unable to persuade her, gave up and turned to head into the back room.

"I’ll go lie down for a bit then."

"Go on, go on! You get your sleep, I’ll take care of all the work!"

The older woman’s reply was loud and clear, and her hands moved even faster as she strung the beads.

By the time she woke up from her nap, it was already 3:30 in the afternoon.

A small mountain of beads, all sorts of colors mixed together, was piled up in front of Wei Guilan.

Seeing Song Yao come out stretching, the older woman immediately asked.

"Why didn’t you sleep a little longer?"

Song Yao let out a long yawn, her mouth opening wide.

"If I sleep too much now, I’ll just toss and turn tonight and won’t be able to fall asleep."

Wei Guilan quickly scooped up a handful of finished products to show her. With a light shake of her wrist, a dozen or so bracelets clinked softly against each other.

"Look! I’ve already made almost forty of them!"

"Mom, you’ve really worked hard."

Song Yao took a few steps closer, reached out to count them, then looked up and noticed the beads of sweat on her mother-in-law’s temple.

Wei Guilan shook her head, her fingers picking up a new bead and skillfully threading it onto the string.

"What’s so tiring about this? It’s not like I’m hoeing fields or carrying manure. I’m just sitting here moving my hands."

"Just thinking about how this will turn into money tomorrow really lifts my spirits!"

After saying that, she buried her head in her work again, holding the knot steady with her left hand while her right hand threaded beads, wrapped the wire, and tied it off.

Song Yao washed a plate of apples and pears, cutting them into evenly sized pieces.

The two of them chatted for a bit as they ate.

Then they started working together.

They divided the strings, sorted the beads, and each spread a clean towel out in front of them.

Just before dinner, Li Hanchen stepped through the door, and Wei Guilan immediately went up to greet him.

"Do you know how much Song Yao earned today?"

Li Hanchen shook his head.

Wei Guilan slapped her thigh, her palm making a sharp SMACK against her knee.

"Guess!"

Li Hanchen saw his mother’s ecstatic face, her eyes shining astonishingly bright, and said tentatively, "A hundred?"

Wei Guilan shook her head like a pellet drum.

"A hundred and twenty?"

She shook her head again.

Song Yao, standing behind her, quietly held up two fingers, pressed them down, and blinked.

Li Hanchen froze on the spot.

It took him a long while to force out a sentence.

"T-two hundred?"

Wei Guilan grinned so wide she couldn’t close her mouth.

"That’s it, that’s it! A full two hundred dollars!"

She slapped her thigh again, her right hand tapping twice in the air, her eyes sparkling.

"Not a single cent less, all neat and tidy, in cold, hard cash!"

"That’s more than your entire monthly military ration subsidy!"

She turned to Li Hanchen, her tone teasing.

"I asked Old Zhang, and the stipend he got last month was only one hundred and eighty-two."

Li Hanchen: "..."

"That Song Yao has such a sharp mind! Marrying her was the best thing that ever happened to you!"

After saying this, Wei Guilan jutted her chin in Song Yao’s direction, the corners of her eyes crinkling.

Li Hanchen nodded. He had nothing to say to that.

The moment dinner bowls were put down, the workforce instantly grew.

Now there were three of them working together.

「The next day, at the crack of dawn.」

Li Hanchen had just pushed open the door to his room when he saw Wei Guilan already sitting on the edge of her bed, putting on her shoes.

"Whoa, you’re up early today, aren’t you?"

Li Hanchen asked casually.

He lifted a hand to slide the door bolt back into place and, while he was at it, adjusted the slightly crooked strap of the cloth bag on his shoulder.

"Oh, please! Back home, I always wake up at this hour!"

she said, tying the drawstring of her pants.

"Besides, I want to take advantage of the quiet morning to make a few more bracelets."

Li Hanchen chuckled.

"Alright, but please be quiet. Song Yao is still lazing in bed. Don’t wake her up."

Wei Guilan waved her hands repeatedly.

"Don’t worry! I’ll be quiet as a cat. You hurry up and get to your own business!"

She poured rice into the pot, added water, and lit the stove.

She then grabbed a small stool, sat down by the door, and started stringing beads.

The porridge had just started bubbling when she turned off the fire.

A few minutes later, Song Yao shuffled out in her slippers.

Wei Guilan hurried over to her.

"Song Yao, how about we have the steamed buns your grandma made? They’re still warm!"

Song Yao was brushing her teeth with a toothbrush hanging from her mouth, which was full of foam. She gave a muffled grunt in response.

A classic case of someone who’s grumpy in the morning. Enough said.

Wei Guilan ate as if she were in a race, even though the congee was still steaming.

She just picked up her bowl and took a big SLURP.

"Mom, slow down. We don’t have to catch the first bus, and if we go too early, we’ll just be waiting around."

Wei Guilan nodded while continuing to shovel food with her chopsticks, pushing the very last grain of rice from her bowl into her mouth.

"I know, I know... but I just feel so anxious to get going!"

She finished in a few quick bites, pushed her bowl and chopsticks aside, and turned to wipe the table with a rag.

Then she skillfully brought out the carrying pole.

The first time they set up the stall, it was like crossing a river by feeling for stones—she even had to look at her notes to remember how to tie the knots. The second time, she was already brave enough to call out to customers.