Yu Linyun never expected that her father would actually stand up to her grandma for her.
She buried her head in her rice bowl, quietly hiding her red eyes.
Hua Qingqing sat opposite, watching this scene silently.
Yu Linyun usually seemed quite smart. Today she even dared to fight Hu Guihua with a stick. But after all, she was just a young girl, easily tied down by her family.
Yu Jianhai's words had moved her to tears. But had she ever thought about it? The main reason Granny Fang bullied their second branch of the family was Yu Jianhai's foolish filial piety. His unconditional obedience to Granny Fang and Grandpa Yu had made his wife and children suffer all kinds of grievances in the past decade or more.
Yu Jianhai had not fulfilled his responsibilities as a father.
So, what was there to cry about?
Yu Jianhai's situation was even worse than Hua Jia's.
Both of them handed over their family finances to their mothers. But Granny Lin was extremely afraid of her son. Hua Jia always swaggered into the house and came out with his hands full of money.
Granny Lin didn't even dare to say a word.
Yu Jianhai had worked himself to the bone for half his life, but didn't even dare to ask about his own money.
This was the difference.
Yu Jianhai had been a good son, but he had failed as a father and a husband.
Yu Linyun's matter of going to school was finally settled.
Granny Fang was unhappy. The look in her eyes when she looked at the second branch of the family seemed to carry knives that could pierce people through.
Moreover, she was petty. She took out her anger on her own granddaughter. Every day as soon as it dawned, she would make Yu Linyun sweep the floor, wash clothes, feed the chickens and cook.
Even if there was nothing to do, she would find something for her to do.
Hua Qingqing watched from the side without saying a word.
Because these were the jobs the original body used to do, and even more. Besides doing the housework, the original body also had to go out to work in the fields. On the way back, she would also go up the slope to cut some pigweed to feed the chickens.
These things had been done by the original body day after day for more than a decade.
At that time, no one had ever thought of helping her.
Lending money to Yu Linyun was already an act of kindness on her part.
Hua Qingqing didn't have the time to bother with the trivial matters of the Yu family.
As soon as the three - day period was up, she came to the county town to find Yang Wang.
True to his reputation as the "hooligan of Nan County", Yang Wang had actually found several abandoned factories in just three days.
"There are quite a few abandoned factories in Nan County. After some of them went bankrupt, they were occupied by others, and it's hard to get them back. I've found three factories for you. One is near Victory Commune. Oh, this factory is also very close to your Red Flag Commune. It's an abandoned machinery factory. The county once intended to open a machinery factory there. The factory was built and only operated for three years. Then it was relocated to the county town because of some other matters..."
"Oh, and there are two other factories near the county town."
"I'll take you to see the ones near the county town first. They are abandoned wood factories. I heard that the people in the factory left in a hurry at that time, and there was still a lot of wood left inside. But over the years, most of it has been taken away..."
Yang Wang lifted his leg onto his bicycle and was about to leave.
Hua Qingqing called him back.
"Let's go to the one near Victory Commune and Red Flag Commune."
Yang Wang scratched his head with a look of hesitation on his face. "Okay, but there's nothing in that abandoned machinery factory, just a few tables. And it's in a very remote location."
"It's okay. Let's go to this abandoned machinery factory."
Hua Qingqing nodded calmly.
Seeing that he couldn't persuade her, Yang Wang had no choice but to take her there.
No one knew that Hua Qingqing had already had a plan in mind.
The new factory would need employees. There were people in the county town and also in the communes. But obviously, for her, the communes were more cost - effective.
First of all, the factory was located between Victory Commune and Red Flag Commune. So they could reasonably recruit people from these two communes. You should know that having a factory job at this time was what many people dreamed of.
She was providing a job for those who were idle at home and improving their lives. So it was reasonable for her to "reap" some benefits, right? For example, could the factory rent be reduced? Could the factory - running license be obtained faster...
In a short period of time, Hua Qingqing had thought everything through in her head and had arranged everything.
The two of them went to the Zhou family to pick up Zhou Cai.
Zhou Cai was an honest man. He had been a tailor for half his life and didn't know how to do anything else.
If he said a few more words outside, he would surely give himself away.
Hua Qingqing told him her plan.
At first, Zhou Cai was completely confused, but later he was utterly impressed.
"This is a good idea. This is a good idea. It can also save a sum of money."
Yang Wang was standing beside them. He heard these words clearly. It was as if there were firecrackers going off in his head, exploding every now and then.
Who on earth was opening this factory?
The more he listened, the more something seemed off!
Was Hua Qingqing guiding Zhou Cai?
And when Zhou Cai faced Hua Qingqing, he was as obedient as a nodding cat!
It made him a bit confused.
The two of them were opening a factory together. The older one knew nothing, while the younger one had a whole basket of ideas.
Alas, he didn't know if this factory could be opened successfully.
They arrived at the abandoned machinery factory.
Sure enough, as Yang Wang had said, the place was extremely desolate. The main body of the factory was a long, flat - roofed building, with a few small huts beside it. There were also many iron blocks on the ground, which should have been left behind by the machinery factory. There was a large open space in front, where the grass was taller than people's ankles. The factory was surrounded by a circle of rotten wooden fences.
Hua Qingqing fell in love with this place at first sight.
It didn't matter that it was desolate. Once the factory was up and running, there would be more people around.
She could already imagine how bustling this place would be in the near future.
She looked at Zhou Cai.
"Uncle Zhou, what do you think?"
"Not bad. It's really good."
Zhou Cai let out a sigh.
Before coming here, Hua Qingqing had told him to lower his expectations. Now he really thought this abandoned factory was good.
Hua Qingqing smiled. "I also think it's good. Then this is the one. Let's go find someone to ask how we can rent it... Hey, Brother Yang, do you know which side this factory belongs to?"
"This factory was built between the two communes at that time. Both sides claim it as their own."
While looking for the factory, Yang Wang had also inquired about the gossips and intrigues, and he told them all.
"If you want to rent this abandoned factory, you'll have to find the people in charge of the two communes."
Hua Qingqing first went to the office of Victory Commune, but she didn't find anyone in charge. As soon as the people inside heard that they wanted to rent an abandoned factory, they immediately ignored them. They probably thought they were swindlers.
Hua Qingqing didn't expect her first attempt to end in failure, but she wasn't sad. She planned to start with Red Flag Commune.
But by this time, the sun was setting, and it would be dark soon.
Hua Qingqing simply told Zhou and Yang to leave first. She would go to the Red Flag Commune office by herself. With these two "burdens" around, she couldn't even spin her tales smoothly.
"Qingqing, what are you doing here?"
Just as Hua Qingqing parked her bike, she heard someone calling her from the front.
She looked up and saw a familiar figure standing in front of her.
Hua Qingqing was only stunned for a moment, and then immediately showed a warm smile.
"Uncle Lin!"