Make a Fortune and Become Well-off [90] - Chapter 109

Jiang Ning cried, wiped her tears, and said, “But I’m worried about you. It’s raining and slippery now. You have to patrol the mountain. If you fall, there won’t be anyone around to help.”

What Jiang Ning said was not unfounded. Grandpa Jiang himself had fallen while patrolling the mountain. He had rolled down the mountainside into the ravine and lay there for a long time before recovering.

There were no people in the mountains, only jackals and wild animals. Grandpa Jiang was alone in the mountains, and he worried about whether he would meet a jackal or a wolf.

Or one day, he may die in the mountains without anyone knowing.

But what could be done?

A few years ago, his younger son’s family owed a lot of debt. Although the debt had been paid off, the two children were still studying. He was also afraid that he would have no income and salary and would have a hard time at home.

Thinking of his young daughter-in-law’s temperament, Grandpa Jiang would really rather be alone in the mountains in peace and quiet than listen to their quarrel.

Jiang Ning held Grandpa Jiang’s hand and cried, “Grandpa, can’t you live in Wucheng? I promise I will support you and provide for you in your old age.” 

Jiang Ning took out the Zhiyin readers and other magazines she had brought over and said, “It was only after my manuscript was published in a magazine that I learned that not only did it competition give me prize money, but since the essay was also included in the magazine, they also gave me a manuscript fee. I submitted two more manuscripts, and both were accepted.”

She took out two hundred yuan and said, “Grandpa, look, this is the manuscript fee that the magazine sent me. I write well, and every manuscript is published in the magazine.”

Grandpa Jiang went back to his hometown with extremely complicated emotions.

The mountain road was slippery and very muddy. While walking on that road on a rainy day, yellow mud would be thrown all over his legs. 

He had walked that road for many years. When he was young, he had a job as a mountain patrol. Everyone envied him. He also relied on the salary from the mountain patrol to support his family and educate his two sons.

But as his body got older, he did become a little helpless in the work of patrolling the mountains. Someone had already been eyeing his work, waiting for him to die suddenly or retire one day so they could take his job.

The leaders of the brigade had talked to him about it, but it was only because he was an old ranger who had been patrolling the mountains for many years that they kept him. If he was not willing, the brigade headquarters did not force him to leave, so he had been doing it for so many years.

Over the years, he had been working hard and never slacked off.

In all the years he had been guarding the forest, there had never been a single wildfire.

As he walked, he looked at the familiar scenery on both sides of the mountain road.

The scenery that once seemed too ordinary and tiresome now seemed to occupy all his memories from these years.

The mountains were filled with memories of his time with his grandchildren, their laughter echoing as they picked thorn plums and wild hawthorns in the hills.

He pushed open the door of the hut he had lived in for many years. Inside, there were still many tattered clothes from his grandchildren’s childhood. Some were so worn they could no longer be used, so he had turned them into rags, planning to keep them for his great-grandchildren in the future.

He sat on the old recliner at the door, and the chair swayed gently. Outside, the mountain forest was quiet on the rainy day.

Jiang Ning was not in a good mood either. She knew very well that her behavior was a form of emotional blackmail toward Grandpa Jiang.

She was exploiting her grandfather’s affection for her to pressure him, ignoring his desire to keep his job, and forcing him to give up the work he had devoted most of his life to, all so he could stay with her.

It was a very selfish act.

She saw her grandfather’s reluctance and resistance.

Sometimes, when we force others to do something in the name of helping them, they themselves may not feel that it was good for them.

Jiang Ning knew all of that. But she did it anyway. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing her grandfather.

Countless days and nights, whenever she thought about not having the chance to be filial to her grandfather, not seeing him during his last days, and when he finally passed without anyone around, she felt a sharp pang in her heart, so intense that she couldn’t bear to think about it.

That kind of pain and regret couldn’t be undone.

She returned to school and continued her classes as usual.

By the weekend, the clothes and shoes sent by Uncle Wang Yong finally arrived. Wang Yong helped collect the packages and brought them directly from the post office to the shop. They were two very large packages. One was packed in a large snakeskin bag wrapped in several layers, and the other was packed in a big cardboard box.

Because all three evening self-study classes were dedicated to competition preparation, Jiang Ning had to spend more time studying and less time writing. She temporarily stopped submitting short stories to several magazines like Reader Youth Digest. Instead of providing contributions, she focused her thoughts and energy on The Catcher in the Song Dynasty.

She didn’t have time to write during the week, so she could only go to an Internet café on weekends, spending an entire morning typing out 16,000 words, and then writing another 16,000 words on Sunday.

With her speed, it wasn’t impossible to write more, but that level of output was already her limit for a single day. If she forced herself to write more, she would be completely drained.

A volume of 32,000 words per week was considered very productive among the many authors of martial arts works.

Wang Yong saw how serious she was about her studies, and how willing she was to sacrifice her weekends to write the manuscript. During the weekdays, she was at school, so he couldn’t help much. But since he was in Wucheng with nothing else to do except rushing her for the manuscript, he went to Jiang Ning’s shop every day to install clothes rails and hangers with the landlord.

Because his uncle ran a clothing factory and Wang Yong had been to the factory before, he knew how the clothing shops in Guangzhou were arranged. He gave instructions to the landlord based on what he had seen there.

The landlord, thinking the young man was opening the shop himself, naturally followed his suggestions.

Jiang Ning was unpacking the packages with Wang Yong at that time.

The packages were enormous. Uncle Wang Yong’s factory was already producing spring models, so he sent a lot of goods that had been overstocked in the factory.

In fact, he wanted to send everything in one go, but that was unrealistic.