Chapter 294: Chapter 294
Although the Gong Tao family wasn’t completely certain about some matters, Gong Tao and Cai Meina had already discussed what to do if it turned out to be true. In any case, they would wait for the final results.
Gong Ruini was also in a good mood. Regarding Gong Tao’s claim that Gong Dajiang would keep Zhang Lan in check, she wasn’t convinced.
Would Zhang Lan have become so excessive if Gong Dajiang hadn’t been indulging her all along?
Even if Gong Dajiang had once wronged Zhang Lan, he wasn’t without means to control her, but he simply chose not to.
"The days ahead will be tough." A stroke doesn’t result in death; it’s all about the recovery process.
If Gong Dajiang recovers well and can stand again, then he could live for a long time.
If the recovery is poor and he can’t stand or walk, then Zhang Lan will truly mistreat him in various ways.
Gong Tao was not worried about these matters. He was busy lately making furniture and then checking the growth of the leeks in the cave. This year, the yield for greens would decrease, and whether they have a prosperous year depends on this batch of leeks.
Cai Ming also often accompanied them up the mountain. Although he was a bit of a burden at first, as he became more familiar, he turned into a capable assistant, earning numerous praises from Zhao Gang.
This allowed both Gong Tao and the Cai siblings to breathe a sigh of relief. Although they had previously agreed to divide the shares into three parts, if Cai Ming wasn’t diligent with his work and contributed little, Zhao Gang might disregard him, and Cai Ming would feel embarrassed to take such a share of the profit. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel·fiɾe·net
Cai Ming thought life at home was tough, only to realize it was busier here. Every day he had to move the greens to the window for some sun, then go to the mountain to check on the leeks, without neglecting the underground cave where the leeks continued to grow.
It was the most labor-intensive task for everyone. They had to go down to light the fire several times a day, once at midnight and once at dawn. Although it didn’t grow as well as in the cave, it still sprouted, and the thought of harvesting and selling them for money made Cai Ming excited.
This year, he would receive shares and food, which had him so excited that he couldn’t sleep well for several nights.
Although he occasionally received some food and money from hunting with his brother-in-law, it was never as satisfying as earning money legitimately.
"Uncle." As the day for the brigade’s profit-sharing approached, Gong Ruini noticed her uncle getting increasingly happy, albeit a bit silly.
He would often laugh silly by himself, and she wondered what was so funny. She knew he was excited about the upcoming profit-sharing, but wasn’t that quite normal?
During autumn harvest, even Cai Ming, a teacher, joined everyone in the fields. Though the quality of his work wasn’t great, everyone understood that the labor was the result of Cai Ming’s earnest efforts, and he found great joy in it. Was it really necessary?
Moreover, Cai Ming had occasionally hunted and collected herbs, turning them into money. Though not a lot, he still had a hundred yuan in his hand. Considering the brigade’s year-end profit-sharing wouldn’t be a large amount.
If Cai Ming hadn’t noticed his niece’s expression, he would certainly have given her a few chestnuts for completely misunderstanding the situation.
Cai Ming recalled the disdain from his sister-in-law when he first applied to work in the Northeast. She didn’t believe he could establish himself there and mocked him for potentially returning home in disgrace.
If he wasn’t trying to protect his elder sister’s family, Cai Ming would have considered truly mocking his relatives. Although they were in the Northeast, life was quite enjoyable for them. In contrast, the relatives who believed in having a stable income were living quite differently.
"I think your grandfather’s family is probably going to have a rough year again." Cai Ming used to feel sorry for his parents and wanted to help, but now he no longer feels pity for them.
Just like Ni Zi said, if they hadn’t been indulgent, would his elder brother and sister-in-law turn out this way?
Giving more to their parents would only make them expect Cai Ming to support the entire elder brother’s family. Such expectations were something Cai Ming couldn’t agree with, so he decided to slowly distance himself from them.
Especially since Zhao Gang, even though not his biological brother, has done more than a real brother would.
The life in the Cai Family? It’s worse than in the Gong Family. At least in the Gong Family, Gong Dajiang can somewhat stabilize things. But in the Cai Family, the elders listen to the eldest son, and the eldest son listens to his wife. Whatever she says, they do.
"Didn’t they say that grandmother was already earning money by making paper boxes?" It’s really tough to earn from this, though Gong Ruini never did this in her two lifetimes but heard about its difficulty.
Although life wasn’t that hard, they wanted Cai Guoqing’s family to live splendidly. How could anyone advise against it?
If the Cai Family elders felt happy, then that was all that mattered.
How much money can you earn, "I did this when I was home, but not much." Cai Ming thought about the difficulty of earning money this way, and to be honest, apart from making paper boxes, what could his mother do?
For someone without any craftsmanship skills, having this job was already fortunate, and the more money they earned, the more the eldest brother’s couple would spend.
"Forget it, why bother thinking too much about it? If he shows concern, they’ll either think he wants money or has designs on the family’s property." Just that small house that the eldest brother is so eager for many things.
Cai Ming’s current plan was to earn well with Zhao Gang and his brother-in-law, then marry a virtuous wife who is good to his sister. He would then buy a house next to his sister’s.
It’s like having just two siblings. Sometimes troubling relatives can really disgust you.
Not bad, a sensible uncle, "Uncle, have you started working on those high school test papers?" Matters of the Cai Family were trivial compared to the importance of Cai Ming working on his test papers.
Sigh, if they didn’t bring up this topic, they would have an excellent conversation. But once it was brought up, Cai Ming admitted there was no way to have a cheerful chat.
Cai Ming always thought he was quite smart, having just left school, and felt confident tackling these problems. Yet unexpectedly, the pressure was immense, and despite working on it for so long, progress was slow.
"Uncle, you have to set an example for us." Gong Ruini had gone through those test papers and found them easy. She really couldn’t understand why Cai Ming found them difficult.
Seeing Cai Ming’s troubled expression, she often wanted to ask him, young man, are you sure you’re a high school graduate? Wasn’t that high school diploma bought?
Those words, Gong Ruini could only keep in her head because if spoken out loud, there surely wouldn’t be good consequences.
Setting an example, sigh, it was a tremendous burden. Cai Ming looked at Gong Ruini with resentment, hoping she would let him off.
But Gong Ruini tossed her head and huffed. She was counting on Cai Ming to become proficient in these test papers so that when college exams were reinstated, he could tutor Zhao Gang and others well, helping their parents get into college. That kind of diploma would have substantial value.
The main thing was making connections. Many successful people in the future embarked on new paths in life through college exams. Building networks now would be beneficial for their work and careers.