A journey of several dozen miles couldn’t be covered in an instant.
"Brother Jia Ming, do you think there’s anything else around here we can do to make money?"
Zhou Gu’er suddenly asked Sun Jiaming. Her mory of the village was a bit fuzzy, but Sun Jiaming had always lived here and seed to be doing well for himself, so she wanted to learn more.
"Make money?"
Sun Jiaming frowned slightly.
"You know what life is like in our village. Other than that one guy who works at the hardware store in the city, everyone else is the sa. We all get by on farming. There’s nothing else to make money from, really."
Sun Jiaming thought this was sothing everyone knew. He didn’t understand why Zhou Gu’er was asking him about it.
"Is it the sa for you, Brother Jia Ming?"
Zhou Gu’er was still puzzled. ’If everyone is the sa, why does Sun Jiaming have money to buy things while other families are having such a hard ti?’
Sun Jiaming fell silent.
"Hehe, Brother Jia Ming, I just blurted that out. I’m going crazy thinking about how to make money, so please don’t mind ."
Zhou Gu’er was no fool. She imdiately realized there must be sothing Sun Jiaming couldn’t easily talk about. ’It’s not easy to make money these days. If soone has a way, why would they tell ? I was too blunt.’
"It’s nothing, really. You know my situation at ho—I can’t really be away for long, so I didn’t go look for work in the city. But on my own, I don’t have many burdens, so I’m able to save a little. A few years ago, I scraped together so money and started a small business in the city with two friends. They usually manage it, and I don’t interfere. I just go once a month, and they give a cut of the profits. It’s not a lot of money, but it’s enough to get by."
Sun Jiaming decided to tell her anyway. He knew Zhou Gu’er ant no harm, but he also knew his path wasn’t suitable for her.
Zhou Gu’er looked at Sun Jiaming in surprise. She truly hadn’t expected him to be partners in a business with friends from the city. ’In the future, he’d be considered a small business owner! This guy’s got a good head on his shoulders.’ But Zhou Gu’er also knew his path wasn’t for her. She had no capital and no connections; partnering up with soone was impossible. Besides, doing business wasn’t sothing you did out in the open these days—it was all done secretively. Businesspeople had a low social status, and many people looked down on them.
"That’s great. You’ll definitely have a bright future, Brother Jia Ming."
Zhou Gu’er said it sincerely.
Sun Jiaming glanced at Zhou Gu’er, a little stunned. ’She doesn’t think it’s bad? She doesn’t think I’m not doing honest work? Because he refused to get a job in the city and went into business instead, his parents had given him a tongue-lashing. They said he wasn’t engaged in proper work and that he was good-for-nothing. According to them, only by finding a good job in the city could he find a good city wife, establish himself there, escape the countryside, and beco a city person. Only then would his descendants have a bright future.’
’Sun Jiaming wanted to be successful too. People strive to climb higher; who doesn’t want to live better than others? But that didn’t an that having a decent job and a city wife automatically ant a better life. Take his older brother, for instance. He had found a job in the city and married a city woman, but so what?’
’His sister-in-law’s family was very ordinary, her parents were just scraping by, and she wasn’t much to look at. Yet, in their ho, she acted all high and mighty, showing no respect for his parents. No matter how much his parents did for them, she showed not a shred of gratitude. Instead, she treated them like a burden, as if having such relatives was an embarrassnt. It was like she wished the Sun Family would never step foot through their door ever again.’
’His older brother had no say in his own ho and had to listen to his wife most of the ti. His parents couldn’t even hold their heads high in front of their daughter-in-law. Was this the so-called "good life"? If that was what it ant, he’d rather not have it. He’d prefer to earn a little money, live a quiet life in the village, marry a village girl, and live happily and peacefully.’
’But these days, so many families envied city dwellers. If they heard a young man had a job in the city, they were willing to marry their daughter to him, regardless of his other qualities. Zhou i, for instance, had co to his house several tis to ask about his prospects for a city job, acting far more eager about it than he was. He could tell the Zhou family really wanted him to work in the city—especially Zhou i. It was like she wished he would drop everything at ho and leave for the city imdiately. This Zhou Gu’er, though... she seed different from them.’
Zhou Gu’er didn’t know what Sun Jiaming was thinking. She knew that in the future, the ones who would get rich and beco successful were the forward-thinking people, those who dared to take risks and forge their own path. Right now, getting a city job was prestigious and sounded impressive, but ’who would even want a so-called "iron rice bowl" in the future? People would think clinging to one dead-end job was a sign of having no ambition.’
"You don’t want to work in the city?"
Sun Jiaming asked Zhou Gu’er, a glimr of light in his eyes.
"Who wouldn’t want to work in the city if they could find a job? But my family doesn’t have those kinds of connections, so it’s not an option for ."
Zhou Gu’er answered casually. ’These days, you could forget about finding a job if you didn’t have connections.’
Sun Jiaming could tell Zhou Gu’er was being honest, but it didn’t seem like she particularly longed for that life.
In truth, Zhou Gu’er wasn’t that interested. Back when she was working to save up for her daughter’s down paynt on a house, she had to work three jobs a day. She really had no passion left for "work" in the traditional sense.
"Are you going into the city again tomorrow?"
Sun Jiaming changed the subject from work. Zhou Gu’er needed to earn thirty yuan, which ant she had to take advantage of the ti before the garden vegetables were ready for harvest to sell wild vegetables in the city.
"Not tomorrow. I need to go up the mountain to gather wild vegetables tomorrow. I’ll get a lot this ti and go the day after. You don’t have to worry about , Brother Jia Ming. I’ve morized the route, I can go by myself."
Zhou Gu’er understood the implication of his question.
"Alright then. If you need anything, just say the word."
Sun Jiaming nodded. He had only gone today because he happened to have business in the city. He only made the trip once a month and couldn’t possibly accompany Zhou Gu’er every ti. He had his grandmother at ho to look after. Every ti he left, he had to ask a neighboring auntie to look in on her; he couldn’t possibly ask for that favor every day, as she had her own things to do.
Besides, he and Zhou Gu’er didn’t have that kind of relationship. Helping out once in a while was fine, but helping her all the ti would raise eyebrows.
"There are a lot of wild onions over by my house. I hardly ever go there because it’s out of the way, so no one gathers them. You should pick so when you’re out gathering your other vegetables."
Sun Jiaming added.
"Okay, thank you, Brother Jia Ming."
Zhou Gu’er agreed. She realized that ever since she’d gotten to know Sun Jiaming, she was constantly thanking him. ’He’s really helped so much. I’ll have to repay this kindness in the future.’
The two made small talk as they walked toward the village. By the ti they reached the village entrance, the sun was nearly setting. Although it wasn’t dark yet, it was getting late.
"Brother Jia Ming, let take the cart. You head into the village first. I’ll go in after a little while. I’ve really troubled you today."
Zhou Gu’er stopped and took the handle of the cart from Sun Jiaming’s hand.
As her hand closed around the handle, she felt a lingering warmth from where Sun Jiaming had been holding it.
"Alright then, I’ll..."
Before Sun Jiaming could finish, he saw several people approaching from the village.
Zhou Gu’er saw them too. Her eyes narrowed, because she recognized one of them.
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