Make a Fortune and Become Well-off [90] - Chapter 135

When they reached, Jiang Ning introduced them to He Xiaofang, “This is my grandfather, and this is my second brother, whom you’ve already met.”

He Xiaofang greeted them politely. “Hello, Grandpa Jiang, and hello, Ningning’s brother.”

Feeling a bit shy, she set the hot water bottle down and was about to leave when Jiang Ning stopped her. “Why not stay and eat with us?”

Jiang Ning had ordered three dishes: two portions of braised pork, one of fried lotus root slices, and one of Chinese cabbage.

He Xiaofang hesitated. She didn’t want to impose, thinking she’d be eating someone else’s food, a concern common in their rural area. She smiled, waving her hands, “No, no, I need to get back to do some papers.”

The school gave them one paper per subject every Friday, and there were seven subjects to cover.

He Xiaofang worked slowly, so if she didn’t start early, she’d struggle to finish in time.

Jiang Ning had her own test papers to review in the afternoon, plus homework for her competition class. That was why she couldn’t spend more time with He Xiaofang.

High school teachers aimed to occupy every minute of the students’ time. Jiang Ning hadn’t been a genius in her past life, and she wasn’t one in this life either. Her experience had given her more understanding, but she still needed to put in a lot of effort to study.

Jiang Bai also had to study that afternoon. Therefore, Jiang Ning suggested closing the shop or letting Grandpa Jiang handle it, but both opposed the idea.

“It’s finally the weekend, and you want to close the shop when we could make money?” Grandpa Jiang and Jiang Bai both thought Jiang Ning was being silly.

Jiang Bai, though tired, was happy. Business on that street hadn’t been great before, but now he was thrilled at how much they were making.

He’d always wanted to earn money, and though he had to stay in school, finally being able to make money filled him with joy. It was a lot of money, and the shop was bustling.

Jiang Ning’s shop had brought business to the entire street. Customers who bought clothes at the shop would also visit nearby stores.

Most of the businesses on that street sold inexpensive goods, catering to students. The chicken cake shop next door, for example, was now constantly busy. The owner’s fragrant and soft cakes were irresistible.

When they were cooking, the aroma filled the entire street. People passing by would buy two just to try it out.

The owner had been smiling non-stop for the past few days, her cakes selling out as soon as they were out of the oven. Both she and her husband, who had once led leisurely lives, were now bustling with weekend customers.

Around five in the evening, Jiang Ning returned to the shop, bringing rice bowls, and announced the shop would close soon. Jiang Bai, however, didn’t want to stop and suggested staying open until seven, when students from No. 1 High School would arrive.

Jiang Ning, eating as she listened, was speechless. “Don’t you have evening study sessions starting at six?”

When Jiang Bai finally closed the shop after serving the last customer, he sat on Grandpa Jiang’s bed to count the money.

He was filled with an indescribable happiness, his eyes shining, even though the money wasn’t his. He decided that after taking the college entrance exam, he wanted to make money—not by working for others, but by running a business.

The joy he felt from selling that day was overwhelming. They had sold more than 300 pieces of clothing, earning over 300 yuan.

They earned three hundred yuan in a day.

If he had a tail, it would have been wagging with excitement. His joy was so palpable, it could’ve been seen in his entire demeanor. He counted the money over and over, with Grandpa Jiang sitting nearby, watching his grandson with equal joy and disbelief.

Although Grandpa Jiang had witnessed the shop’s growing popularity over the past week, he hadn’t known how much they were earning. In the past, earning twenty or thirty yuan a day had seemed like a lot, but that day, the shop had made three hundred yuan in a single day.

“Oh my God,” Grandpa Jiang muttered.

Jiang Ning, smiling as she ate and watched the happy pair, silently calculated the actual profit, multiplying it tenfold in her head. A black-hearted capitalist at heart, Jiang Ning pulled out a ten-yuan note and handed it to Jiang Bai as his day’s salary.

Jiang Bai was stunned by Jiang Ning’s sudden generosity, his eyes wide with disbelief. She had given him ten yuan. His eyes, already large, now looked like those of a puppy. Jiang Ning had to stifle a laugh.

He held the ten yuan, turning it over and over to appreciate it. As if afraid Jiang Ning might regret it, he quickly slipped the money into his pants pocket and pressed it with his hand.

Ten yuan a day was 300 yuan a month.

Jiang Bai looked at Jiang Ning with his round, dark eyes, wishing he could graduate immediately and work for his sister.

He asked, “Can I come back next Sunday?” Worried that business might not be as good then, he quickly added, “It doesn’t have to be ten yuan, five yuan is fine.”

Five yuan a day, that was twenty yuan a month.

Jiang Ning shrugged noncommittally, “As long as your grades don’t drop, you can come. I’ll still pay you ten yuan a day.”

Jiang Bai’s eyes brightened even more. Jiang Ning had never seen him this happy before.

Jiang Bai had always been more mature and sensible than his peers. His early maturity made him seem like a little adult, indifferent to everything around him.

Jiang Song had been raised by Father Jiang and Mother Jiang, while Jiang Ning and Jiang Bai grew up with Grandpa Jiang. When they were children, Jiang Bai often looked after her. They were only two years apart, and back then, she was his little shadow, following him everywhere. He would take her running across mountains and fields.

Their relationship only began to cool after Jiang Bai was taken away by Father and Mother Jiang at the age of seven.

In her previous life, Jiang Ning had to repeat a year in junior high, so by the time she reached high school, Jiang Bai wasn’t around. If he had been, she wouldn’t have gone through the darkest moments of her youth, including school bullying.

Her brother had always protected her at school, making her feel safe. Of the three siblings, Jiang Bai was the one most influenced by Mother Jiang.

Because Jiang Ning was often beaten and scolded by Mother Jiang, she developed a vague conviction early on: she didn’t want to be like her when she grew up. So, subconsciously, she took a path opposite to Mother Jiang’s. But Jiang Bai was different. Though he claimed that Father and Mother Jiang were only Jiang Song’s parents, not his or Jiang Ning’s, he secretly longed for their love, like a bird full of hope. When Mother Jiang beckoned, he followed.

Mother Jiang had a saying: “No one comes into this world without suffering.”

This ingrained in Jiang Bai a pessimistic view of life. From a young age, he accepted suffering as inevitable, believing that life was inherently full of pain.

He couldn’t appreciate the beauty of the world. Perhaps, to him, the only bright spot was Grandpa Jiang.