The next day, thanks to being prepared in advance, the sales were pretty good. By the end of the day, nearly over 40 yuan were made. Now, Qin Xiangyang had taken up a new activity—counting money. He would stack the money they earned pile by pile, afraid that even ten cents might be missing.
They sold for a few days, with the income nearly the same each day, around thirty to forty yuan. It couldn’t compare to before the Lunar New Year though. After the 15th, Wendi arrived, seeming in a good mood. The money was taken back home, and there was no longer any worry there.
After the 15th, there were more people at the bus station, and the shops had to start working overtime. Though it got a bit hectic, at the end of the day, they were able to make over 100 yuan. Just like that, after a few days of earning money, Qin Xiangyang had to start school. He was extremely reluctant but still had to go and register.
Qin Xiangnuan prepared a school bag for him that wasn’t too flashy. The bag had quite a few hidden pockets and could be used as a pencil case. The registration fees plus the cost of books added up to less than 5 yuan.
Qin Xiangyang reluctantly went to school, frowning all the way on his first day.
Qin Xiangnuan and Wendi continued to run the shop. They were still the only store around so the business was quite good. However, after the New Year, some people got smart and there were more food stalls set up. But there were few who could afford to rent such a storefront.
Their family’s business wasn’t much affected, and they would always make around 50 yuan a day.
There was another troubling issue after the New Year, such as right now. Qin Xiangnuan had been practicing her calligraphy for a few hours, and she was already exhausted. She had just fallen asleep when she heard cursing outside her door.
She sat up and walked into the courtyard.
The voices were louder now, and certainly clearer.
It was Hu Li and Hu Li’s mother. Qin Xiangnuan had long committed the voices of these two to memory; it was about those land disputes again. As soon as spring started, Uncle Hua and his family began farming on that patch of land, which led to a dispute with Qin Guohua’s family that lasted half a day. Originally, Qin Guohua couldn’t farm all that land alone, since he was the only able-bodied worker—Qin Pengfei was going to be a college student, and one couldn’t expect him to work in the fields. Besides, he had never worked the land before; he couldn’t carry on his shoulders or lift with his hands. One could tell he was a delicate scholar just by looking at him, fair and clean—a pretty boy amongst the villagers, who, even if resembling a city person, wasn’t looked upon favorably by the rural folk.
So, with the excess land, Qin Guohua couldn’t manage it all, and now he regretted cutting ties with Qin Xiangyang in a moment of folly; otherwise, he would have had another pair of hands to use. All the land he had couldn’t possibly be farmed, even if it killed him with exhaustion.
Hu Li came up with a plan—let her own family come over and farm the land. She was considered the best match among her sisters, although her first husband had died, she later married Qin Guohua. Qin Guohua was indecisive, and the control over money was all hers. Whatever the household needed to buy, it was all up to her, and whenever she returned to her parents’ home, she would bring lots of gifts, making her sisters, who had once looked down on her, almost pop their eyes out with envy.
Now, with the extra land, it was better to let her own family farm it. They could earn quite a bit of money in a year.
Finally, after clinging persistently to Qin Guohua and bickering for months, Hu Li convinced him. Her own brothers and sisters came to farm the land, and the people from the Hua Family in the village came over as well.