Zhang Liuxing clenched his fists, unable to suppress his outburst, "In your eyes, do I even exist as your second brother? The whole village only cares about our third brother, Mom and Dad do too, and so do you. Why are you like this?"
Didn't their third brother just become a self-employed businessman? Didn't he just make some money? Why did the entire village and family change?
Indeed, they were all people blinded by greed. Such people were not worth his even glancing at.
"That's because third brother helped everyone, and you didn't," Zhang Liushui said bluntly, speaking his mind.
"What did he help everyone with? By hiring people? Third brother could have hired others even if he didn't hire villagers," Zhang Liuxing was speechless. Was this what they called helping everyone?
"You're not wrong. Third brother could hire others, but he prioritized our villagers, offering wages that even people in the county town couldn't get. This is help.
Think about yourself, what have you ever done for others? Have you helped everyone?"
"..." Zhang Liuxing was completely at a loss for words.
Why did they all want him to help everyone? He could barely take care of himself, how could he possibly have the ability to help everyone?
He was just a working man, without any power, so what ability did he have to help everyone?
If everyone truly wanted his help, wouldn't they at least wait until he was in a high enough position?
"This isn't my fault. I've only just started working, what ability do I have?" Zhang Liuxing was furious, feeling that no one in the world could understand him.
Zhang Liushui truly couldn't understand. Even someone who farmed could squeeze money from between his teeth to lend to their third brother. Why couldn't their second brother, who earned nearly fifty yuan a month, contribute a single cent to help their third brother?
He finally saw it clearly; their second brother wasn't in the same world as them.
The conversation between the two brothers ended unhappily, with both feeling resentful.
Zhang Liuxing, in particular, after a day of interaction, understood very clearly that his third brother had replaced his influence in the village. He was very unhappy, so he returned to Nancheng the next day, seeing Fang Ru returning to her maiden home, intending to obstruct his third brother from setting up the factory.
Zhang Liunian was unaware that his second brother was also trying to harm him. At this moment, he had just instructed Zhang Qian to buy two hundred jin of meat for him to make braised meat as a gift to the entire village, something he had promised yesterday.
Zhang Qian complied and bought the meat. Zhang Liunian completed the initial meat processing work single-handedly.
In the afternoon, as soon as the meat was braised, Zhang Liunian delivered it one by one.
The entire village was as excited as if it were New Year's. Fragrance wafted through the village, and years later, the people of Zhangjia Village still remembered this day.
Because this day made them happier than New Year's.
"Are you also going to deliver something?" Old Man Zhang, holding the family's cured meat, stopped and smiled upon seeing the villagers, who were also carrying things, heading towards the educated youth's courtyard.
Everyone nodded, indicating they were there to reciprocate.
Since Zhang Liunian had given them meat, they naturally wanted to express their gratitude.
Seeing the entire village coming to give him gifts, Zhang Liunian smiled and refused, "The braised meat is my way of repaying your life-saving kindness; you don't need to reciprocate. Besides, if we keep sending things back and forth like this, it will never end."
"It's all just some household items. If you don't accept them, we won't dare to take your braised meat. You should accept them, so everyone can be at ease," Old Man Zhang stepped forward to speak for everyone.
The crowd behind him echoed his sentiments.
"Yes, meat is so precious, and you made it so delicious. If we don't return a gift, we'll feel uneasy."
"Liunian, you should accept it; it's at least a token of our appreciation."
"Liunian, please accept it."
"Accept it!"
"..."
Thus, Zhang Liunian finally accepted everyone's fruits and vegetables.
These items filled an entire room.
Looking at the room full of local specialties, Zhang Liunian smiled and said he wouldn't have to worry about buying groceries for the next few days.
Three days passed in a blink of an eye. Zhang Liunian finally stepped out of his home, starting to deliver goods while also promoting his crayfish sauce.
His first stop was Grandpa Tang's stall. After delivering one hundred jin of crayfish and ten jin of braised meat, Zhang Liunian also brought out his freshly made crayfish sauce.
"Grandpa Tang, this is the crayfish sauce I just made. I'd like to leave it with you for a trial sale.
The price is a bit high, one bottle for one yuan and fifty cents, with a suggested retail price of one yuan and sixty to one yuan and seventy cents.
If it doesn't sell within a week, I'll take it back. If it sells, regardless of whether you sell it for one yuan and sixty or one yuan and seventy, the portion exceeding one yuan and fifty will be your commission.
What do you think?" Zhang Liunian opened the crayfish sauce and spooned some for Grandpa Tang, offering it to him.
Grandpa Tang hadn't fully processed Zhang Liunian's words when he saw the pure color and chunky texture of the glutinous rice sauce appear before him. He naturally reached out to take it and taste it. "Hmm, it tastes very good. It would be suitable to add to my noodles."
As expected of someone who sold noodles, with just one taste, he knew this crayfish sauce would pair excellently with his noodles.
"This is essentially a dish to be eaten with rice, or as a side dish. It can be added to wontons, noodles, and congee," Zhang Liunian said, his smile brightening as he saw Grandpa Tang's satisfied expression.
"You want one yuan and fifty for a bottle?" The price was indeed high, but it was truly a good accompaniment for rice, noodles, and porridge. Grandpa Tang tasted it a couple more times and even detected a meaty flavor within it. He truly found no fault with the taste.
"There's no other way; the cost is too high." Even the glass bottles accounted for a large portion of the cost. Coupled with labor and ingredients, selling it to him for one yuan and fifty was already due to the fact that he was the first collaborator to actively help with sales.
Otherwise, Zhang Liunian would not have offered such a price; it would have been even higher.
Grandpa Tang examined the glass bottle, which was about the size of a canned good and estimated to weigh about two jin. Thinking about it this way, it really couldn't be called expensive.
After all, Zhang Liunian's crayfish sold for fifty cents per jin, and there were two jin of crayfish, plus a glass bottle. One yuan and fifty was already a relatively reasonable price.
Furthermore, he remembered his father saying that Zhang Liunian had the appearance of great fortune and prosperity, advising him to stick close to him. Therefore, he was determined to make this deal.
"I'll take five bottles to try first!" Grandpa Tang wasn't sure how well it would sell, still worried that the price was too high and it wouldn't move, so he didn't dare to order too many.
"You can pay me after they're sold." Every little bit counts! Zhang Liunian smiled and handed him five bottles, then bid him farewell and headed to the machinery factory.
After successfully delivering the goods, Zhao Zhijie paid close attention to his health.
"What happened to your hand?" Zhao Zhijie asked, looking at Zhang Liunian's bandaged hand with concern.
Zhang Liunian touched his nose and smiled, "Three days ago, there was a heavy storm, and the mud house I lived in couldn't withstand it and collapsed. This hand was injured then."
Zhao Zhijie was startled when he heard that the injury was due to this incident. He stepped forward and asked, "Besides your hand, were you injured anywhere else?"
"No," Zhang Liunian shook his head.
Zhao Zhijie breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that there were no other injuries.
However, his mud house collapsed, and he only sustained a hand injury; this could be considered good luck.