"I really didn’t. I just said so other things, and Xue Yue is so smart, she must have figured it out."
He Daqiang sighed. "He Lang and his wife are good, decent people. Since they figured it out, how could they say no? Look at what you’ve done. You’re just causing trouble for them, aren’t you?"
Li Gaihua bit her lip. "Well, since they’ve already offered, let’s just let Tie Dan go. I’m not saying he’ll be as successful as Little Chen soday, but it’s got to be better than staying here and farming his whole life. We don’t have the skills or connections. I can see how our lives will end, and I don’t want Tie Dan to live that way too."
He Daqiang said, "We’re farrs. We don’t go hungry anymore, so what’s so bad about our lives? We have food to eat and clothes to wear. I think you’re just getting jealous of what other people have."
People are never satisfied. A few years ago, when they couldn’t get enough to eat, all they wished for was a full belly, warm clothes, and a slightly larger grain ration each year to last them until the next autumn harvest.
But now that their basic needs were t, they started thinking about going to the city for a better life. In theory, there was nothing wrong with that. But could you really succeed at sothing that was beyond your abilities?
Li Gaihua looked at Tie Dan. "Son, didn’t you say you wanted to go to the city and try to make sothing of yourself? This is your chance. Your uncle and aunt are capable people. You can’t go wrong if you follow them."
He Daqiang remained silent, just watching Tie Dan, waiting to see what he thought.
Tie Dan hesitated. He wanted to go, but he also felt he didn’t have any skills. ’Farming is easy enough,’ he thought, ’but what could I possibly do in the city?’
"I—"
Seeing his son’s indecision, He Daqiang said, "I’ll go have a word with your Uncle He Lang."
Afraid he would turn down the offer, Li Gaihua grabbed He Daqiang’s arm. "Da Qiang..."
He Daqiang patted her hand and walked out.
***
"He Lang, you ho?"
When He Lang saw He Daqiang enter, he smiled and nodded. "Brother Daqiang, co on in."
"Alright."
"Sister-in-law."
Xue Yue greeted him, "Brother Daqiang."
Seeming to understand why He Daqiang had co, Xue Yue excused herself to let them talk.
Watching Xue Yue leave, He Daqiang turned to He Lang. "Tie Dan ca ho and told us. He Lang, let’s not beat around the bush. I’ll be direct. Tie Dan is my only son. I want him to have skills and a good future, but my wife and I have limited ans to help him. That’s just the reality of it, and Tie Dan has to accept his lot in life. Not many people have left our village, and you’re the one who’s done the best. My wife, she likes to take shortcuts, and she has a loose tongue. Did she say sothing to your wife?"
He Lang smiled. "We understand your wife’s thinking. We all grew up together; we know each other well. There’s nothing shaful about her wanting Tie Dan to work in the city. To be honest, Brother Daqiang, I’m not so big shot, but I do have a small business. If Tie Dan cos with , I can’t promise he’ll get rich, but finding a job for him is simple enough. You and your wife don’t need to worry about it."
"You’re sure it’s no trouble?"
He Lang nodded. "It’s no trouble at all."
He Daqiang nodded. "Alright. Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease. I know my son. He’s an honest kid. When he’s with you, just put him to work however you see fit. We won’t have any complaints."
"Okay. If there’s work to be done, I won’t hold back."
He Daqiang said, "Good. Then I can rest easy."
Xue Yue ca back in after He Daqiang left.
"Was that about Tie Dan?"
He Lang nodded. "He was probably feeling uneasy and ca over to ask about it."
What Xue Yue hadn’t expected was that Li Gaihua wasn’t the only one with this idea. Whenever He Lang went out, many people would see him and ask, "Are you still hiring? What about my son? Or what about ?" Everything they said hinted at wanting to follow He Lang to Beijing City.
So people even went to Mr. He, who just brushed them off. "I’m just living out my days, waiting for the end. How would I know anything about his business? Businesses can make money or lose money. It’s fine if they’re making a profit, but if they take a loss, they can’t even afford to pay their workers."
"But aren’t your grandson and Shitou doing well with your third son? How could he be losing money?"
Mr. He sighed. "They made so money a few years ago, but now too many people are in business. Everyone’s taking a slice of the pie, so of course it’s gotten harder to make a profit."
Although the villagers were skeptical, they had to admit that what Mr. He said made sense.
He Lang, unlike his father, didn’t bother with reasoning. He had always known how to play the rogue. The mont anyone brought it up, he’d refuse them flat out, then start crying poor, and finally try to borrow money from them, which scared them all off.
Xue Yue couldn’t help but laugh when she heard about it. ’That’s He Lang for you,’ she thought. ’If it were , I’d be too embarrassed.’
It wasn’t that they didn’t value their village ties, but they understood that a business staffed entirely with relatives and acquaintances was impossible to manage. You couldn’t scold them or discipline them.
If they set a precedent, there would undoubtedly be more trouble down the line. They were all from the sa village; they might even end up as enemies.
Shitou ca over and said that people had been asking him, too. They were all asking how much he was earning now and if there were any job openings.
"I just pretended I didn’t understand or changed the subject."
He Lang nodded and then told him about Tie Dan.
Shitou nodded. "Da Qiang and his wife are decent enough people. Tie Dan looks pretty sturdy. He could work as a security guard."
He Lang thought that was a good idea.
"Alright, let’s have him start as a security guard. We can see about other things once the hotel is finished."
So people wanted to leave the village, but others, like Xiao Yang, didn’t.
"Can you believe soone actually asked how much my brother makes in Beijing City?"
Little Chen looked at him. "What did you tell them?"
Xiao Yang tilted his head and pursed his lips. "Of course I didn’t tell them. I’m not an idiot. That would be like telling them exactly how much money our family has, wouldn’t it?"
"Honestly, these people. What’s the point of asking all this? It’s not like we’re going to give them any money, no matter how much we have. Why be so nosy?"
Gao Cuiyun thought for a mont, then said to them, "They probably saw that Little Chen and Shitou are making good money with your uncle, so now they want to go too."
Just look at Shitou’s family, for instance. Shitou followed He Lang to Beijing City, married a wife—a city girl, no less—and had a son. And then there was Shitou’s mother. She left wearing coarse hospun clothes, and now? She was decked out in a down jacket and leather shoes. When they returned, the whole family seed out of place among the villagers. So many people were green with envy, all gossiping about how much money they must have made.
Xiao Yang scoffed. "Uncle Shitou and Third Uncle grew up together since they were practically toddlers. They were always together. That’s a special kind of bond. How can other people even compare?"
Little Chen asked him jokingly, "So, do you want to go to Beijing City?"
Gao Cuiyun and Wang Chunlan also looked at him.
Xiao Yang thought for a mont, then nodded. "Yeah, I want to. Everyone says Beijing City is the Capital, so it must be amazing. But not right now. When my daughter gets a little older, I’ll take her and my wife to Beijing City for a visit. Then when I co back, I can say that I’m a man who’s been to the Capital."
"Hahaha! Wow, Second Brother, you’ve really got ambition," Xiao Ming said with a laugh.
Xiao Yang laughed along with him.
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