Make a Fortune and Become Well-off [90] - Chapter 26
Mother Jiang couldn’t understand why Jiang Ning resisted the idea of dropping out of school to work. In her eyes, the opportunity to work in the city and earn a decent wage was a privilege they could only dream of in the past.
What was wrong with working as a waitress in a hotel? Such a job was really good. When she was young, she passed by a state-owned hotel once, and the work there was the envy of many people.
What was the point of going to high school? Eight out of ten of the educated youths who were from the countryside were high school students, but they didn’t have to plant rice or harvest rice.
When it was time for the college entrance examination, Grandmother Jiang’s sister married a college student. He was from a prestigious university, so she was not sent to a farm to do labor work.
Jiang Ning knew that she and Mother Jiang’s views were different. Mother Jiang’s views were already fixed. She couldn’t understand her and didn’t want to talk to her anymore. She just said, “I won’t drop out of school to work. I must study. I must go to college.”
Mother Jiang stopped crying when she heard that. She reached out and slapped Jiang Ning on the back. Jiang Ning, who was hanging salted fish one by one under the eaves, staggered forward. After a few steps, she almost fell.
Mother Jiang raised her eyebrows with a cold face and pointed condescendingly at her, saying, “I have already agreed with Yueqin. When the time comes, you have to go. You idiot. You won’t even listen to me anymore.”
In the evening, Father Jiang came back happily with three empty buckets.Â
“All the crayfish were sold out. People really ate these things,” Father Jiang said happily. “No one bought them at first, so I gave them a sample to try.”Â
Father Jiang praised, “It’s your idea that’s good. It sold for two yuan a pound. This bucket of crayfish sold for more than twenty yuan.”
Father Jiang decided to pick up some more crayfish to sell. The next day was not market day, so he could pick up more and save them. If he couldn’t sell them all, he could ride his bicycle to try more places.
Jiang Ning asked Father Jiang, “Now, no one knows that this thing is delicious so no one sells it. Once you sell it, everyone will know that this thing can make money. At that time, will there be so many crayfish left for you to pick up?”
Father Jiang frowned. He hadn’t thought much about it.
“Why don’t you build a few acres of land just to raise crayfish?”
Before Jiang Ning could finish speaking, Mother Jiang ran out angrily and pointed at their noses, “You dare to do this, unless you want to die.”
Mother Jiang’s anger stemmed from the events of the 1980s when Father Jiang ran a chicken farm that incurred significant debt due to a chicken plague. After years of debt, they had finally managed to pay it off, and life had just started to improve. Her daughter’s suggestion to Father Jiang to engage in a risky venture like raising crayfish immediately set off alarm bells for Mother Jiang, as if she were facing a formidable enemy.
She had never been so angry before, and she waved her hand, hitting Jiang Ning on the head and face. “Have you forgotten the struggles we endured over the past few years? I worked tirelessly to pay off our family’s debts. We could barely make ends meet, and now you’re encouraging your father to jeopardize everything again. Have you forgotten the days when we couldn’t even afford basic necessities? You’re living in such comfort that you’ve forgotten the hardships we faced, haven’t you?”
“I’ll loosen the skin for you if it’s itchy.”
Seeing that she couldn’t hit her, Mother Jiang became even more angry. She picked up the broom leaning against the wall and started beating her.
Jiang Ning ran in front, and Mother Jiang chased after her for several miles.
When the villagers saw what was happening, they all came out to watch and asked what had happened, especially Aunt Jiang, who hurried after Mother Jiang to catch up with her.
But Mother Jiang, standing tall and strong at 1.67 meters, couldn’t be caught up by the shorter and plump Aunt Jiang, who struggled to keep pace. Nonetheless, Aunt Jiang also chased after them, shouting, “Ah Lian, Ah Lian, what are you doing? Put the broom down quickly, don’t hurt the child.”
It was evident to everyone that Mother Jiang was really angry and wanted to beat her.
Brooms in rural areas were all homemade, with sturdy handles.
There was only one daughter in the Jiang family. Uncle Jiang fathered three sons but no daughters, while Mother Jiang also had two sons. Jiang Ning was the only girl in her generation, and Aunt Jiang wished to pamper her every day.Â
She called Father Jiang again, “Why didn’t you stop her?”
Father Jiang, wiping sweat from his forehead, had already chased after them. “I never thought she would hit someone as soon as she said so. Before I could react, the two of them ran far away.”
“Why?”
“It’s nothing. Ning Ning didn’t do anything.”
Father Jiang ran forward to intervene, while Aunt Jiang caught up, panting. Together, they managed to restrain Mother Jiang and bring her back.
Upon hearing Father Jiang’s words, Mother Jiang angrily threw the broom on the ground and cried out, “This girl, who wants to bring disaster upon herself, actually incited her father to raise crayfish. You all know what our family has been through these past few years. We ran a chicken farm and accrued significant debt. It took immense effort to pay it off. Now, just when we were hoping for a better life, she encourages her father to raise crayfish. Isn’t this just throwing money away?”
She pointed to the houses in the area, “Look at the houses around me. Mine is the smallest. There isn’t anyone who doesn’t laugh at me secretly behind my back. I usually don’t say anything. My girl is not sensible at all and doesn’t know how to think about her family. She is just like her father.”
Mother Jiang was truly angry this time; her chest hurt, and she cried bitterly.
Father Jiang, aware of the suffering Mother Jiang had endured over the years, felt a sense of responsibility. Despite his initial happiness at selling the fish, the atmosphere was now somber. He half-pulled, half-hugged Mother Jiang, saying, “Ning Ning spoke without thinking. How could I possibly raise crayfish? It’s not so simple.”
“Don’t even entertain the thought,” Mother Jiang interjected sternly. “She simply doesn’t want to see the family prosper. I gave birth to her just to accumulate debt. I don’t know how much I owed her in my past life. I ended up with such a burden. People have daughters to repay their kindness, but I ended up with one who harbors resentment against me.”
The neighbors nodded in agreement with Mother Jiang, acknowledging Jiang Ning’s wrongdoing. “You can’t pay attention to her nonsense. This crayfish idea is absurd. Even if you catch a lot from the ditch, it’ll never be enough. Who would even want to eat that?”
Some expressed different concerns, directing questions at Father Jiang, “Are you still planning to pick up crayfish to sell? Are there really people interested in buying them?”
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I may have to drop this. I’m getting so angry at Mother (as if she deserves that title) Jiang that I want to beat her. This can’t be good for my soul.