Chapter 298: The Thoughts of Several Families
Yu Qiao’er, the youngest daughter of the family, was pampered and immediately refuted Yu Qiang’s words with dissatisfaction.
Hearing this, Yu Qiang chuckled indulgently, “None of you three can read or use an abacus, and you want to start a business? Haha, fine, fine! Tomorrow, take the coal mine cart to ask Xiao Luo and see if you can manage it!”
“We have to do it! Father, go call Second Brother’s family back and have them contribute their silver first. If we pool our money together, we should be able to rent a shop. That wretched Yu Luo won’t let me work? Fine! Once our shop opens, I’ll still make money!”
Inside the cave, Liu Lan was thrilled upon hearing the news. She immediately made up her mind to seize this opportunity and get rich in the wasteland. When they returned to their homeland, even with the stigma of being exiled, as long as they had silver, they would still be able to hold their heads high.
“If you want to do it, use our own money! Why are you eyeing Second Brother’s silver? Wear shoes that fit your feet. Besides, doing business in this wasteland means dealing with either exiled criminals or martial artists. Can you handle that? With that foul mouth of yours, just be thankful if you don’t offend people as soon as you step outside. And you want to do business?”
Seeing his wife’s excitement, Yu Shanhai mercilessly poured cold water on her enthusiasm.
Liu Lan was about to retort, but before she could speak, Yu Liang, who had been calculating in his mind, suddenly spoke up.
“I think the eldest sister-in-law is quite bold, but you, Big Brother, why are you so timid? Isn’t Luo City run by Yu Luo’s family? If anyone dares to stir up trouble, wouldn’t they just be thrown out by her people? What’s there to be afraid of? This is our chance to get rich! The wasteland receives exiles from several nations, so there will always be people coming. Besides, those who are exiled are usually former officials—they won’t be short on silver. I even heard that in Feng City, goods are outrageously expensive because there are no other cities in the wasteland providing food and supplies. If we seize this opportunity, we’ll be wealthy in no time! Then you and my grandson won’t need to work as laborers for Yu Luo anymore!”
“Grandfather, you’re right about that, but what kind of business can we do? Even if we don’t worry about the capital, none of us know how to run a business. Even if we want to resell goods, we need a source. Can we, with our status, even leave the wasteland to buy supplies?”
Yu Liang was excitedly imagining their future, but his eldest grandson, Yu Chunmu, poured cold water on him with his words.
Seeing both father and son so discouraged before even trying, Yu Liang sneered, “Hah! Can’t we just get supplies from Yu Luo’s family? We could open a stall selling sesame flatbreads and porridge! Doesn’t Huang’s father-in-law make sesame flatbreads? This is the perfect opportunity to use that skill!”
Huang Xiaoju was stunned, never expecting to be dragged into this.
But as soon as she imagined selling flatbreads and spending all day working alongside her overbearing and foul-mouthed mother-in-law, she instinctively wanted to refuse. She would rather toil in the fields, even with a child on her back.
But this wasn’t something she could refuse. Before she could say she didn’t know how to make them, Liu Lan clapped her hands and settled the matter. She immediately got up and rushed out of the cave, excitedly heading to find Second Brother Yu Shanhe to ask for silver.
Zhang Fen from the second branch, who had the courage to move out of the cave and live in a stone house just to avoid Liu Lan, naturally had the courage to refuse her request.
When Liu Lan realized that even mentioning their father-in-law wouldn’t convince them, she changed tactics and called it a loan instead.
Seeing Liu Lan’s scheming expression, Yu Shanhe immediately waved his hand and rejected her again. “Sister-in-law, just forget about it. If you want to do business, my wife wants to as well. Every time we go to work, we have to leave the kids alone in the stone house, and we worry about them. Now that we finally have a chance, I’d rather set up a business for my wife so she can take care of the children while earning money, and I can keep working.
Our savings from the past few months aren’t much. Your family has three people working, and I heard even Father has been helping for the past two months. You must have saved quite a bit of silver. Why don’t you support us first? Once we make money, we can support your family in return. Besides, your family has no burdens, while we have many children. And didn’t you get a few dozen taels from selling Xiangxiang?”
Hearing Yu Shanhe’s words, Liu Lan was so furious that she laughed.
“Yu Shanhe, do you have no shame? I, as your sister-in-law, am offering you a loan, and you turn it around to dig into my family’s savings? If you’re not lending, just say so! Stop trying to manipulate me! Hmph!”
With that, Liu Lan stormed off in a rage. Watching her resentful back, Yu Shanhe and his wife exchanged a smile and let out a sigh.
“With Sister-in-law’s personality, if she really starts a business, she won’t last a month before closing down. I wonder how many people she’ll offend along the way.”
“Exactly. It’s a good thing we moved out. Otherwise, Father would have taken our earnings to fund her business again. Tomorrow, after we finish work, let’s go to the city and talk to Xiao Luo. I’d like to see what kind of houses her uncles built for them. If we can start a business in the city, at least our children won’t have to suffer in this stone house during the winter.”
“Yes, I heard from the coal delivery brothers that in just a few months, the city has been filled with houses made of blue bricks and black tiles. They’re sturdy, and they even have heated beds for the winter. As long as you and the kids can live comfortably, I’ll be happy.”
“Mother, I heard that Yu Luo’s city has built many shops available for rent, first offered to her long-term workers. It’s a pity we don’t have silver. If we did, we could ask Zhang Yuan or Bai You to help us rent a shop. Even if we don’t start a business, we could at least live in the city. That way, we might even find a chance to ask Yu Luo to release Aunt Lan and Grandmother.”
Yu Xiaoran, returning from a hunt, overheard several families discussing their plans. Curious, he stepped into Zhang Yuan’s cave to listen. Realizing it was a great opportunity, he quickly brought his game back home to tell Chang Huilan.
Hearing this, the light in Chang Huilan’s recently cold and detached eyes flickered for a moment before she continued preparing dinner.
“Second Brother, are you sure? If that’s true, does that mean we won’t have to live in this cave anymore? Living in the city would be much more convenient! We could buy anything we need!”
