PR: Jae
“Yeah, he’s out. He’s almost a father, so, naturally, he has to go out and find a job. Money is needed for everything when a child is born, and how can money simply fly to him?” Mother Su said.
As soon as the child is born, there would be more places where they would need to spend money. Also, if the child’s immune system was not strong and it was susceptible to illnesses, fevers, and so on. What if they needed to go to the hospital immediately?
Everything needed money.
“How much does Second Brother earn in a month? It's really tiring to run around like that,” Ji Jianyun said.
Mother Su would not have said anything if it was anyone else, and might have even criticized that person. However, she wouldn’t do that to Ji Jianyun because the orchard run by her son-in-law was famous even in her village.
In the future, he was going to be a man who would do great things, and even now, he had hired people to work in the orchard.
And when he spoke up like this, it was obvious that he wanted to help her son.
“He can only earn 15 or 16 yuan a month. If they live frugally, it's not bad. How can other people in the village get this kind of pay?” Mother Su said.
She was also telling the truth. If she dug through everything, they still couldn’t even save a few dozen yuan for a year. Yet, second brother Su could save almost 100 yuan a year, which was a lot.
Ji Jianyun nodded.
Mother Su said, “Your orchard is not ready yet. Wait until it is and it gets busy. You can ask your second brother for help then. Mother will not mention it to eldest brother or it’ll be disgraceful. But if it’s your second brother, then he is reliable. Go, don’t embarrass Danhong.”
Mother Su relied on her conscience. Her eldest son was gluttonous and lazy, but she knew very well that the second son could do the work, so she tried to promote her second son.
“Okay. Mother, when the second elder brother comes back next time, tell him that I really need more hands next year,” Ji Jianyun said.
They really needed more hands. Next year, they were raising chickens and sheeps, and needed to take care of the fruit trees. Don't think that this was just a little work to do, when in fact, there was endless work every day.
They wouldn’t mind having one more worker.
Moreover, they were going to open a shop in town next year. Even if there were not that many chickens, they could potentially lay more than 200 eggs. They laid eggs diligently, especially after drinking his wife's secret water.
Half of the hens his mother raised could lay two eggs a day, and the others could lay one egg a day. This amount was enough.
If they raised two or three hundred chickens, then they could have hundreds of eggs every day. The price of eggs had also gone up, from 8 or 9 cents to 10 cents per egg. A few hundred eggs was almost 100 yuan.
A little more than 10 yuan a day meant a little less than 1,000 yuan a month! 1
The couple had no time to manage a store, and they must employ someone they trust with such a large sum of money. Also, it was not Ji Jianyun who strained his relationship with his brothers. Whether it was his eldest brother or second brother, both were far inferior to his brother-in-law.
He was a smart and absolutely honest man. He would never play tricks and his wife had a good relationship with Ji Jianyun’s wife.
That’s why Ji Jianyun really had this kind of plan and wanted to show him the shop.
As for his salary, Ji Jianyun was going to discuss it with his wife later.
When Mother Su listened to what he said, she felt better and agreed with him.
“Take these eggs back to Danhong and let her eat as much as she likes. There's still plenty at home. Come back and get some more when you run out,” Mother Su said.
Ji Jianyun didn’t know whether to laugh or feel embarrassed. He said, “Mother, you can leave these eggs for Second Sister-in-law to eat. There are still a lot at home. My mother also raised a lot of chickens. They have laid a lot of eggs for Danhong’s confinement. They lay at least one egg a day. Danhong eats some every day and we’ve saved up a lot.”
Not only did Danhong eat the eggs, but he did too. Yet, they couldn't keep up with how fast the hens were laying eggs.
Hearing this, Mother Su didn’t force him to take any back.
After Ji Jianyun went back, Mother Su went to the kitchen. Second Su sister-in-law was cooking and said, “Mother? Why did Jianyun go back so soon? Did he not want to stay for dinner?”
“He went back. He still needs to go back and take care of Danhong, so he didn’t have any time to stay for dinner,” Mother Su said and took out two jin of pork belly. “Leave one jin, and you can have the other jin. Danhong asked Jianyun to bring it to you. I’ll keep the sugar for now.” Mother Su put the sugar in the cupboard.
Second Su sister-in-law nodded.
“Just now, Jianyun said that he will be short on people to work in the orchard next year. The next time Jindang comes back, tell him to go to Jianyun’s orchard and help him next year. I heard that they get paid a lot over there. Also, with Danhong there, she will take care of Jindang’s meals. He won't have to eat so little,” Mother Su said.
“Okay, I'll tell him when he comes back,” Second Su sister-in-law responded happily.
When eldest Su sister-in-law came in, she heard them talking. She immediately asked Mother Su, “Mother, did brother-in-law come here just now? I think I saw someone like him from far away?”
Her eyes glowed when she saw the pork belly. She was not wrong, he must have come!
“Yes, he did come,” Mother Su replied.
“Mother, Jinjun is also your son, so you can't favor one over the other. Brother-in-law is setting up an orchard, and he must need a lot of manpower. Why did you recommend second brother-in-law to him, but not Jinjun?” Eldest Su sister-in-law remarked.
The eldest son of the Su family was Su Jinjun, the second son of the Su family was Su Jindang, and Su Danhong was the youngest.
“That’s enough from you! I don’t want to be embarrassed. I won't let that sneaky Jinjun go even if he wanted to!” Mother Su criticized lividly.
Eldest Su sister-in-law was dissatisfied and shouted, “Mother, how can you say that? Jinjun is also your son!”
“Fine, you can do whatever you want! When he finishes his work on the field, I will consider whether or not to recommend him to Jianyun,” Mother Su stated and waved her hand.
She was originally quite embarrassed to have her second son work for the Lao Ji family, but that was her son-in-law, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about. It was a difficult problem in her mind, but if her son went there and did a good job, then the Lao Ji family would appreciate her recommendation and wouldn’t criticize her behind her back.
But if her eldest son went, then that old lady in the Ji family would certainly make sarcastic remarks to her.
That’s why Mother Su said what she said and she didn't want her eldest son to go at all.
Eldest Su sister-in-law also recognized her indifferent behavior and was furious.
When she went back, she saw that Su Jinjun was sleeping and woke him up angrily.
Su Jinjun was a little annoyed to be woken up, but when he saw her disgruntled face, he asked, “What's the matter? Who's messing with you again?”
“You still have the nerve to ask? Ji Jianyun came by and you didn’t even go out to greet him. Are you going to act like this kind of eldest brother-in-law? Don’t you know that Ji Jianyun’s orchard is getting set up, so don’t you still want to go to work?” Eldest Su sister-in-law scolded him.
On hearing this, Su Jinjun lied back down and said, “I'm not going. I'm so exhausted, and with Danhong's filial piety, a lot will be given to Mother when the orchard is ready. We benefit from what Mother gets. You don't have to worry that much.”
Eldest Su sister-in-law was exasperated by his lack of self-motivation and nagged, “Mother just told Ji Jianyun that she would ask second brother-in-law to go over there and work next year!”
“If he wants to work, then let him do it. It has nothing to do with us,” Su Jinjun said and waved his hand.
Eldest Su sister-in-law was angry for a long time, but it was useless in the end and she didn't bother with him. In any case, the family had not split up yet. What second brother-in-law earned would have to be turned in for the entire family. If the family decided to split up, then family property would have to be split up. Otherwise, she wouldn't agree to it!
Ji Jianyun didn't know that so many things had happened when he visited his mother-in-law’s house.
When he came back to his wife after completing her request, he told her about the eggs. He had not calculated the potential profit yet, but according to the current prices, if 300 eggs were sold every day, then there would be a profit of 30 yuan a day, or 900 a month. It's almost 1,000 yuan!
“Don't worry. I'll be more free next year and I'll help you take care of it. I'm sure the hen will lay eggs.” Su Danhong raised an eyebrow and looked at her man.
Ji Jianyun smiled. He truly felt that their future was very bright!
Early the next morning, Ji Jianyun took a bus to the college town.
There’s a better explanation of the calculation later. The raw explains it as 10s of yuan a day, so somewhere between more than 10 yuan and less than 100 yuan, but I didn’t know how to explain it… ><