Chapter 607: Seafood
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Old Madam Yang and Yang Xiaoxun followed Su Binglan throughout the village, shocked at everything they saw. Afterward, the duo sat on their beds in the dormitory and felt a little culture-shocked.
They felt like they were dreaming and that everything they had seen was unreal.
When the construction team completed the staff dormitories, Su Binglan considered hiring someone to manage them. She would have them guard the
entrance and maintain the place, just like a modern-day hotel manager. However, the dormitories were unlike the ones in schools, as Su Binglan would not put too many rules in place. Instead, she would make things more convenient for the manager.
The manager she planned to hire would be present to help anyone in need. Therefore, many signed up to be dorm managers.
Afterward, Su Binglan hired Du Xiaoxhuan and Du Xiaoju!s mother to manage the dorms while someone else took shifts with Mrs. Du.
Madam Yang and Yang Xiaoxun even affectionately addressed Mrs. Du as Aunt Du. Mrs. Du understood Su Binglan’s intentions and arranged a twin room for Yang Xiaoxun and her grandmother according to Su Binglan’s request.
Mrs. Du even helped the grandmother-granddaughter duo tidy their room before settling them in.
Mrs. Du explained smilingly, ‘I l just cleaned those mattresses. You have washbasins, towels, and toiletries, which our dormitories provide. Everything is clean, so don’t worry about using them.
“If you need anything else, please let me know. I’ll be in the room on the first floor if you need to find me.”
Old Madam Yang said gratefully, “Thank you very much, Aunt Du.” “Oh, that’s okay. If anything, you should be thanking Miss Su.”
“We’re extremely grateful to her. Honestly, we wouldn’t be here now without Miss Su.”
Mrs. Du said, “Miss Su saved my daughter and gave her a job at the tofu factory. She receives a monthly salary and bonuses. My son also works for the Su family, and his wife is lovely.
“My daughter-in-law is from Su Teng Village, too. She’s a responsible girl and is nice to me. Her younger sister is a promising young girl. She’s studying to be a doctor now.”
Mrs. Du could not help but ramble because she and her family’s lives had improved. She was happy, and everything went well for her.
She also became more willing to talk to people and felt like she could walk around with her head held high instead of feeling inferior as she did in the past.
Mrs. Du was not too busy, even as a manager. She could do her rounds in the dorms in the morning and have free time in the afternoon. Even though she did not have much to do, she could still earn money by being a dorm manager. She also planned to quit her job when Li Mei and Du Xiaoxhuan had a child to stay home and care for them.
Su Binglan knew about Mrs. Du’s intentions and was okay with them since she was looking for a short-term staff initially.
Ultimately, Mrs. Du had an easier job than the full-time employees at the embroidery shop and tofu factory.
Old Madam Yang sighed. “Yeah, my granddaughter’s face wouldn’t have healed if it weren’t for Miss Su. Not to mention we have a new lease on life now.”
Yang Xiaoxun became more daring to go out and talk to people since her face healed. Moreover, she had regained her will to live. She even began sleeping and eating well, and her body felt energized.
The grandmother-granddaughter duo had hope for life again.
After Mrs. Du left, Old Madam Yang touched the blanket on the bed and sighed, “These blankets and mattresses are so thick. It’s obvious whoever made it used good-quality cotton.”
Yang Xiaoxun nodded and said, “Let’s stay here, Grandma. I’ll practice my singing and learn how to act.”
She wanted to repay Su Binglan’s kindness with her talents.
Old Madam Yang added, “l talked to Miss Su on the way here, and she said I can set up a stall at the dorm’s entrance to sell vegetable pancakes.”
She could not forget how incredibly delicious Su Binglan’s vegetable pancakes were since eating them for the first time.
The duo heard Su Binglan speak of many things along their journey. Old Madam Yang considered opening a stall and selling something since her health had improved.
She could not stay idle and wanted to find something to do, so she planned to earn money and make a living. Then Su Binglan suggested that she sell vegetable pancakes and sell them at the staff dorm entrance.
There was a vast piece of land at the dorms’ entrance that Old Madam Yang could use to open her stall.
Su Binglan initially did not have a use for that spot, but Old Madam Yang wanted to make a living, so the former suggested opening a stall there. Moreover, the rent would be cheap.
Su Binglan planned to rent the land for free during the first year. Then she would start collecting rent at an average rate when Old Madam Yangs store became well-established in the second year.
However, Old Madam Yang would not have to pay a cent if she did not want to renew her lease in the second year. Then Su Binglan could simply rent the s.p.a.ce to someone else.
“But, Grandma, I don’t want you to trouble yourself with work”
“Don’t worry about me, Xiaoxun. I’m only making vegetable pancakes, not something too complicated. It’s just like 1 do at home, anyway.”
Old Madam Yang had worked the fields and helped people wash clothes in her
home village. She had done plenty of taxing work to earn money, even if sheonly earned a few copper coins.
Meanwhile, Yang Xiaoxun did her best to embroider. Still, she differed from Ding Wan because the former could not afford to light candles or oil lamps.
‘Xiaoxun used to work hard under the scorching sun during the day. Once it got dark, she would sleep to save money on candles and oil lamps.’
Old Madam Yang smiled when she recalled how hard her granddaughter used to work.
“Things will only improve for us, Xiaoxun. The people here are lovely, too. No one will remember our hardships, and I hope you forget about them and move on. After all, you’re still young.”
Yang Xiaoxun was only nineteen years old and was beautiful. She knew her grandmother was concerned for her and simply nodded.
Su Wenzhe and Liu Yinyin returned home later that night. They were ecstatic when they saw Su Binglan.
“Little Sister, you’re finally home! We missed you so much!”
Su Binglan smiled. “l miss you two, too!”
She even brought gifts for everyone. They were shocked yet thrilled when they saw the jewelry Su Binglan gave to her sister-in-law.
Even Su Xuexuan and Su Xuehai were excited to see their aunt. Su Binglan bought them toys, and the two played to their hearts’ content.
Su Binglan and Luo Jin’an had finally reunited with the family, and they could sit and eat dinner as they did in the past.
The family had a reunion dinner since Su Binglan and Luo Jin’an returned after their long journey.
However, the family often ate dumplings with the same fillings, so Su Binglan revealed a sack of hawthorns, saying, “We’ll use these to make dumplings tonight. We can also make shrimp dumplings.”
No one had eaten hawthorn stuffing dumplings or shrimp dumplings before. The family did not even know what shrimps were.
Su Binglan explained, “Shrimp comes from the ocean. Jin’an and I pa.s.sed by a place and found some by chance. We couldn’t get much, but we can still make a few dumplings with them.”
She could only buy a small amount of shrimp. She placed them in her pocket dimension to keep them fresh for when she returned.
She thought of many seafood products when she saw the shrimp, especially crayfish. Still, people of this era did not know they could eat such things..