Wang Hongwei also felt it would be a pity not to buy, and how could he bear to give away the land he had cultivated for three or four years to someone else? "Then I'll go back and ask and come back."
"Let's go together."
They all walked out together and ran into Li Baoguo and Li Weiguo who were coming in. Everyone pretended not to see these two people.
"Tian Jing." Li Weiguo called out Tian Jing's name.
Tian Jing pretended not to hear. In the past three years, after Li Weiguo moved in, he always found opportunities to talk to her, intentionally or unintentionally seducing her. Hah, did he mistake her for Zhang Fangcao?
Every time she refused him outright, this person would always put on a familiar or deeply affectionate demeanor.
Who didn't know who was who?
If he wanted to ruin her reputation, he should first consider her decisive actions in Kushan. Did he think she was a weak cat because a tiger hadn't roared for three years?
"Tian Jing." Li Weiguo raised his voice.
Tian Jing didn't even turn her head, "Did you hear a dog barking?"
"I heard it."
Captain Ouyang's voice was even louder, "It's a beastly creature. Ignore it. When it gets in the way, just kick it aside."
"You're right. Sometimes you can't give people face. If you do, they'll think their face is big enough and not even look at what they are. They're polluting the air. Let's go, it stinks."
They walked away, talking as they went.
Li Weiguo's expression flickered.
Captain Ou and Secretary Yang exchanged glances and shook their heads. With the example of Li Aiguo before them, they didn't believe Li Weiguo would have a good end.
...
Not long after Wang Hongwei returned home, Brother Wang and Sister-in-law Wang came.
"Tian Jing."
"Brother Wang, Sister-in-law Wang, why didn't you say anything in advance if you were in trouble? If you don't buy the homestead now, it will definitely increase in price later. It's difficult to afford these expenses now, and the future increase will be beyond your reach. The commune is indeed giving preferential treatment to our Kushan."
Sister-in-law Wang sighed, "It's our bad luck to encounter such a sister-in-law. We didn't dare to ask for a loan, so my sister-in-law directly told us to borrow from you, saying we two families were close. If we came to borrow, it would be exactly as she predicted."
Tian Jing persuaded, "This bit of face is nothing compared to future appreciation. I still have eight hundred yuan here, is that enough?"
"It's enough, it's enough. We can buy another six fen of land, which is plenty."
Six fen of land? Brother Wang's family didn't have much less than their own. They still had six or seven fen of land left. "Go borrow some from Ouyang Meihua and buy it all. If you plant watermelons for one year, it will all be paid back."
"Ah? If we grow them, we won't be able to sell them?"
"Ouyang Meihua and my elder cousin plan to take over Little Hu's business model. They will help the members sell vegetables and watermelons."
"Okay, okay, I'll go borrow now. If Meihua doesn't have it, I'll borrow from someone else. Six more fen of land means over a thousand jin of watermelons."
Sister-in-law Wang quickly pulled her husband to borrow, "Go borrow from Meihua first. You write the IOU with me."
Soon, three people, no, four people, came to the Li family again.
The extra person was Li Jianguo.
Li Jianguo also wanted to borrow money. The two hundred yuan he owed was paid back, and the money he had left wasn't even enough to buy the homestead he was living in.
"Cousin Jianguo, wait for Li Zhengguo to come back before we talk. We've lent out all the money we have on hand. See if he can help you find a way to borrow from somewhere."
"Oh, okay, I'll come to find him in the evening."
Ouyang Meihua took out five hundred yuan and gave it to Brother Wang, "Here you go. If it weren't for Tian Jing asking me to lend it, I wouldn't. Just say you borrowed it from Tian Jing."
Tian Jing was displeased, "Why should I take the blame? Then when you pay it back, pay it back to me."
"If you pay it back, you pay it back to me. I don't want the members to think I'm easy to talk to. I'm not soft-hearted like you. My heart is even harder than my words."
"Alright, go contact Ouyang Lei. Don't wait until he sells the big truck."
"He wouldn't dare." Even as she said this, Ouyang Meihua still hurried away.
Brother Wang wrote two IOUs and gave them to Tian Jing, then busied himself with buying the homestead.
Seeing that those who were close to Tian Jing had bought land, the members were secretly anxious but couldn't come up with much money.
They wanted to go out and borrow, but after finally holding their heads high for three years, were they going to beg again?
People were restless and had no mind to make reservations for watermelon seedlings.
Captain Ou visited every household, and then many people rushed to reserve watermelon seedlings.
Tian Jing recorded the reservation quantities for each household and asked how much land others would use to plant, not supporting planting too densely.
She also advised the members to focus on quality rather than quantity, leaving only one or two melons per vine, otherwise, the taste would not be good and the size would not be large, making it not worth the effort.
The members nodded quickly. They could farm, but they weren't as good as Li Zhengguo and Tian Jing when it came to planting vegetables and melons, especially the seedlings Tian Jing nurtured, which grew very well.
After a busy afternoon, she had tallied the reservation quantities and then went to make dinner.
Dama had already prepared it.
"You child, didn't I say I would wash the vegetables? You should try not to touch cold water."
"Next time, next time. Cousin-in-law is too busy."
"You, if you don't care for yourself, others won't either."
"I know, I know."
Dama was also afraid of her cousin-in-law's nagging skills. Her mother would nag about the same topic repeatedly, while her cousin-in-law would use obscure principles to nag. Both were equally loved and hated.
What was Dama afraid of? How could Tian Jing not understand? She couldn't help but chuckle. Such a lively and down-to-earth life, she was becoming more and more addicted.
...
Sister-in-law Niu came to deliver an IOU and talked about her peculiar sister-in-law, "She actually came to borrow money from me. I said I also borrowed money, and she said I bought too much and wasted it. What business is it of hers whether I buy a lot or a little?"
"I don't know what's wrong with her. After giving birth to a daughter, she no longer 'incubates.' My mother-in-law really dislikes her."
Tian Jing asked, "Didn't your mother-in-law lend her money?"
"No. After the division of the family, and a quarrel over adopting land, my mother-in-law dared not make any more random suggestions. Who told her to believe her younger sister-in-law's words, saying they would adopt after giving birth? Now how many families regret it? And how many families are rushing to grab good spots to cultivate?"
When it came to sowing discord, Tian Jing didn't care about the time. If she wanted to sow, she would sow. "You shouldn't believe your mother-in-law entirely. In short, just take care of her food and lodging in her old age. Don't think about anything else."
"Yes, that's what my Da Niu's father said."
...
At dinner, they discussed matters as usual.
Hearing that all the family's money was spent and borrowed, Mother Li couldn't help but laugh, "You spent it all and can still lend it out?"
Her mother-in-law's words surprised Tian Jing, "Mother, don't you think I'm extravagant?"
Mother Li shook her head, "Extravagant about what? The homestead is family property, and you are acquiring more property. As for borrowing money, Da Niu's mother has always supported you, and the Wang family has always helped us. Suo Zhu and Min Min are even more so."
"Besides, that money was earned by you and Zheng Guo. Spend it as you please. This year's watermelons will bring back money."
Tian Jing looked at Li Min and Chen Suo Zhu, "What about you two? When you said you wanted to join, you each got one tenth, and your wages were calculated separately. Grandfather Chen's wages haven't been paid yet either."
Li Min waved her hand, "We're just starting. Let's get the household affairs in order first, then talk about dividends and wages."
"Suo Zhu, you say." Tian Jing looked at Chen Suo Zhu.
Chen Suo Zhu shook his head, "Our family of four eats here every day, so how can we calculate wages? Just calculate dividends. We didn't invest any capital."
Tian Jing agreed, "Alright then, wages and food expenses will offset each other. After dinner, we'll calculate the dividends, and after deducting what you borrowed today, the money will stay with us. For important matters like buying land and property today, you can just ask."
"If there are other investment projects, you can also discuss them with us to see if it's suitable to invest money."
"And Grandfather Chen's wages must be calculated. He is he, and you are you. You shouldn't make decisions for him, nor should he make selfless contributions for you."
"No, no."
Grandfather Chen waved his hand, "I insisted on helping. Just provide me with food and lodging."
"No, no."
Tian Jing mimicked Grandfather Chen's speech, "I hired three people to work, and they all get twenty yuan a month. Grandfather Chen should be the same, right? When you have money in hand, you feel secure."
Grandfather Chen was taken aback. Listening to these words, his heart seemed to be truly full.
"Then, I'll accept ten yuan a month."
"No, no." Tian Jing still refused, "Among the three hired people, one is your subordinate. Your wages shouldn't be lower than his, should they?"
Finally, Grandfather Chen's wages were set at twenty yuan a month.