The Lu family felt sour about Lu Lin’s good fortune, and the Chen family felt even worse about it.
“Laosan[mfn]Third son[/mfn], did you find any work?” Grandma Chen asked anxiously when she saw Chen Shouren come back.
Chen Shouren shook his head and said a bit embarrassed, “Not yet.”
The old woman was very envious that Lu An, the fourth son of the Lu family, had found a job in town. Farming depended entirely on the weather for food. If there was drought or flood, it could really kill people. Having work in town was different, it guaranteed income no matter what.
Lu An got that job because the boss in town owed Old Man Lu a favor, so he managed to get it. Although she was envious, there was nothing she could do about it. But Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi were different.
Grandma Chen always thought Chen Xiaomi was a cursed troublemaker who brought bad luck to his family, a freak who should have been burned to death. But somehow, Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi both found jobs in town, and their wages weren’t low either.
A few days ago, Chen Shouren asked her for a few taels of silver, saying he wanted to grease some palms to find work in town.
Although she was reluctant to part with the silver, she thought that if her third son really found a job, the family would have a steady income from then on. So she gave him the silver and let Chen Shouren go. But after several days, Chen Shouren still hadn’t found a suitable work and had spent most of the silver.
“Did you find out where Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi work?”
“Seems like it’s at Huaxia Trading Company.” Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi kept a low profile, but many things still needed them to handle personally. Chen Shouren wandered around town every day and managed to find out some information. Huaxia Trading Company had become quite famous recently for selling bags. Chen Jing had also bought a bag there.
Chen Shouren had applied there but was told they weren’t hiring. The cold-eyed manager didn’t help.
Grandma Chen grumbled, “What kind of judgment does the boss of Huaxia have, actually hiring trash like them? The boss is so confused, I bet the business won’t last long.”
Chen Shouren said gloomily, “Those two guys, who knows what kind of luck they had.”
Chen Shouren originally thought that if people like Chen Xiaomi and Lu Lin could find work in town, maybe finding work in town wasn’t as difficult as he imagined. But when Chen Shouren looked around, he only found physical labor jobs, and the wages were all very low. He realized that finding work in town might not be so simple after all.
Feeling frustrated, Chen Shouren went to the gambling house and lost most of his silver. He didn’t dare tell his mother.
Grandma Chen looked at her son and said angrily, “You’re such a grown man, yet you can’t even compare to two kids.”
Chen Shouren didn’t think there was anything wrong with his abilities at all. He said somewhat aggrieved, “Mother! Those two guys just had good luck.”
Grandma Chen snorted and said, “You only know how to make excuses, why don’t you think of some solutions.”
Chen Shouren smiled awkwardly to appease her, his eyes moving around as several thoughts flashed through his mind.
“Lin-shao[mfn]Young Master Lin[/mfn].” That evening after closing, Wan Li approached Lu Lin.
Lu Lin looked at Wan Li’s expression. “Did something happen at the shop?”
“Lin-shao, recently someone has been coming to the shop to badmouth you and Young Master Chen.”
Lu Lin was surprised. “Oh, what did they say?”
The villagers often badmouthed Chen Xiaomi, and Lu Lin knew about it. But people in town basically didn’t know much about him and Chen Xiaomi’s affairs. Why would some villagers come specially to badmouth him and Chen Xiaomi?
Wan Li hesitated. “They said you have bad character, that you’re ungrateful and unfilial to your parents. The person spreading these rumors had come to the shop looking for work before, but I turned him away.”
Lu Lin understood. Huaxia Trading Company was his property, he knew this clearly, but other people didn’t. His claim in the village that he earned two taels of silver a month in town had made people jealous. So that person badmouthing him wanted to squeeze him and Chen Xiaomi out?
“Do you know what that person’s name is?” Lu Lin asked.
“I believe his name is Chen Shouren.”
Lu Lin curled his lips and thought to himself, Chen Shouren, so it’s this guy. The grudges between the Chen family and Xiaomi could fill a thick stack of papers.
Lu Lin glanced at Wan Li and said, “He’s just a clown, don’t pay attention to him.”
Wan Li nodded and said, “Understood.”
Chen Shouren wandered around town for another half month but still couldn’t find a suitable job.
The long journey between town and village every day made him complain bitterly.
There were inns in town, but staying at an inn was expensive. Chen Shouren stayed in town for a few days and spent most of his remaining money, so he went back.
Chen Shouren really couldn’t understand why, even after he had said all those things, the boss of Huaxia Trading Company still didn’t fire Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi. After looking for work for a while, Chen Shouren became less and less confident. Later, he didn’t even want to look for work anymore, he just wanted to ruin Chen Xiaomi and Lu Lin’s jobs, but he didn’t succeed.
With Chen Xiaomi pregnant, the couple visited the village less frequently.
Following the bookbags’ success, Lu Lin designed more different styles of bags and put them in the shop for sale. The shop had various styles of bags, and because they were well-made with diverse designs, sales were very hot.
Some wealthy ladies in town had nothing to do all day. When they heard about a place like Huaxia Trading Company, they would come by from time to time to take a look.
There was one unremarkable old lady who came once and directly bought more than ten expensive handbags. She could be considered a shopaholic of this era.
Wan Li couldn’t handle everything alone, so Lu Lin sent Chen Xiaocai to help out, which was also training him in advance.
Chen Xiaocai looked good, and because he was young, when ladies and madams came to buy bags, they would often pull Chen Xiaocai aside to ask about the pros and cons of various bags.
Chen Xiaocai was often looked down upon in the village, so he had never experienced such attention. He was at a loss at first.
But after a while, he got used to it and could handle customers properly.
Lu Lin encouraged Chen Xiaocai, saying that a good salesperson was very important to a shop, which made the young boy blush.
Still, Lu Lin wasn’t exaggerating. In a cosmetics shop, the skill of the sales staff could make or break sales. A top-notch salesperson could bring in hundreds of thousands in extra revenue a month, with commissions fat enough to line their pockets.
When Lu Lin walked into the room, he saw Chen Xiaocai chatting with Xiaomi.
When he saw him come in, Chen Xiaocai blushed and left.
Lu Lin clasped his hands behind his back, watching Chen Xiaocai’s flustered retreat with amusement. A couple of days ago, the boy had walked in on him and Xiaomi being intimate. He probably saw something he shouldn’t have. No wonder he’d been avoiding him since.
Lu Lin looked at the rice cake in Chen Xiaomi’s hand, blinked and said, “Where did the rice cake come from?”
“Xiaocai bought it for me.” Chen Xiaomi couldn’t help feeling a little proud about his filial younger brother. “He seems very happy lately.”
“Because this guy feels like he can finally help out.” Being idle all the time would make anyone feel empty after a while. Chen Xiaocai had also lived through hard times, so he always carried that lingering sense of insecurity. Making this guy feel like he could earn a lot of money was also encouraging.
Lu Lin had Wan Li keep track for Chen Xiaocai. If the boy sold a bag worth more than five hundred wen, he would get a five wen commission as pocket money.
Chen Xiaomi hesitated. “Is it really okay to have Xiaocai sell bags in the shop?”
Lu Lin looked at Xiaocai helplessly and sighed, “Xiaocai isn’t young anymore. In a few years, we’ll need to find him a wife. We can’t keep him hidden away forever. Besides, your bad reputation isn’t your fault, there’s nothing shameful about it.”
If the Chen family dared to come to their shop and make trouble about Chen Xiaomi being unfilial, he could go to the academy and expose how the Chen family wanted to sell their cousin to raise money for Chen Jing’s school fees. Chen Jing was a scholar after all, he should care about face. Lu Lin glanced at Chen Xiaomi and sighed inwardly.
Chen Xiaomi didn’t pay much attention to his own affairs, but he seemed overly concerned about his brother. But there was no helping it. After all, the three brothers had gone through the most difficult times together, and as the eldest brother, he had taken on responsibilities that should have been their father’s.
But too much coddling would spoil the kid. So if someone had to play the bad guy, it’d have to be Lu Lin.
Inside, Grandma Shen stitched book bags while Shen Chi sat beside her, weaving decorative knots.
Shen Chi made decorative knots with rich patterns. To encourage him, Lu Lin had provided him with all sorts of wooden beads, hair ribbons, and fabric scraps.
Shen Chi recently specialized in making bag accessories. When many people bought bags and saw the pretty accessories on them, they would beg the shop to give them an extra one. Although they weren’t valuable items, many wealthy ladies felt like they had gotten a great bargain when they received a free accessory.
Grandma Shen was very satisfied with Shen Chi. Although decorative knots were small items, when done well they were a selling point. As far as she knew, quite a few people really liked the decorative knots her grandson made.
“Grandson, have you been studying arithmetic lately?” Grandma Shen asked.
Shen Chi nodded. “Yes. Brother Xiaomi mainly teaches Xiaocai, I just learn along.”
“Good, good. The more you learn, the better,” Grandma Shen said approvingly.
Being able to do arithmetic was considered a great skill by villagers. Grandma Shen still hoped Shen Chi could learn more. If he had arithmetic skills, it would be easier for him to find work at shops in the future.
Shen Chi nodded. He knew this was a rare opportunity.
He started later than Chen Xiaocai and couldn’t understand many things at first. But sometimes Chen Xiaocai would tutor him, and he was gradually catching up.
“Xiaocai’s been helping at the shop these days,” Shen Chi mentioned.
Grandma Shen nodded and smiled. “That boy Xiaocai looks promising.”
Grandma Shen glanced at her grandson, and some strange thoughts flashed through her mind. Shen Chi was a Shuang’er, and it was hard to say what kind of match he could find in the future. Most villagers didn’t really like Shuang’er, and there weren’t many Shuang’er who could marry well. Grandma Shen naturally didn’t want her grandson to suffer.
Before, when they were in the village, Grandma Shen was close with Chen Xiaomi’s family, and Shen Chi often played with Chen Xiaocai. Grandma Shen had also considered Chen Xiaocai. But now Chen Xiaomi’s family was doing better and better, while their family… an orphan and a widow, they really couldn’t be considered a good match.
Grandma Shen figured that when Chen Xiaomi wanted to find a wife for Chen Xiaocai, a bunch of matchmakers would come forward. She didn’t dare hope for that anymore, and could only wait a few years until Shen Chi was older to see what would happen.
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