Reborn In The ’80s - Chapter 62

Xu Zhao insisted on not accepting the gloves. He really felt too embarrassed. The people of the Cui family treated him too well. Really too well. However, he couldn’t take advantage of the Cui family just because they treated him well. This was too insincere and shameless. Therefore, since he said he wouldn’t accept it, then he wouldn’t accept it.

Cui Dingchen saw through Xu Zhao’s thoughts. He helplessly smiled and stopped insisting. “Alright. Don’t forget to wear your gloves the next time you ride your bicycle.”

Xu Zhao breathed out a sigh of relief and said, “Okay.”

Cui Dingchen then said, “You should go.”

Xu Zhao stood still, without moving as if he was afraid Cui Dingchen wouldn’t believe him. He then stressed again, “Thank you so much for today, Youngest uncle. I will return the money to you as quickly as possible.”

Always being so polite. Cui Dingchen had a slight smile as he nodded, “Mn. Do well in planting your vegetables.”

Xu Zhao furiously nodded. “I will.”

“Good luck. You can come find me if there’s any problems.” Cui Dingchen reached out to pat Xu Zhao’s shoulder as a sign of encouragement.

Xu Zhao’s smile was clear. “Okay, Youngest uncle. I’m leaving.”

“Be safe on the road.”

“Mn. Bye, Youngest uncle.”

Xu Zhao stepped on the bicycle’s peddle and carried Xu Fan away.

Cui Dingchen stood at the courtyard entrance, watching Xu Zhao’s back. Only when he couldn’t see him anymore did he turn around to return to the main hall. He quickly cleaned up, grabbed the IOU that Xu Zhao wrote, and stared at it for a bit. He continued to stare at it, then smiled and put it close to his body.

Afterward, he got into his black compact car and drove out of the house, following Xu Zhao and Xu Fan in the distance. His speed was as slow as a turtle’s. Numerous thoughts went through his head, regarding Xu Zhao, regarding Xu Fan, and regarding himself.

Then, as if he had figured everything out, his whole body became so much more relaxed. The corners of his mouth immediately raised into an attractive arc and his gaze softened as he watched Xu Zhao and Xu Fan turn and enter the East Street’s vegetable market. He wanted to quickly finish his matters and return to the county town as soon as possible, and so he reluctantly stepped on the pedal and drove away from East Street. Xu Fan just so happened to see him.

Xu Fan immediately shouted, “Daddy, look! Big car!”

Xu Zhao looked back and didn’t see anything. It probably drove away already. He slightly looked down to see the still sleepy Xu Fan and gently asked, “Sanwa, you’re awake?”

“I just woke up.” Xu Fan finally became lively.

“It’s good that you’re awake.” Xu Zhao had a smile on his face. “Don’t sleep anymore or else you won’t be able to sleep tonight. I won’t stay up to be wild with you.”

Xu Fan’s watery eyes gazed at Xu Zhao and said, “Daddy, I’m awake. I’m awake to sell vegetables!”

“…We won’t sell vegetables today.”

“Not not?” Xu Fan tilted his head in question.

“Because we’re going to buy you shoes. After we buy shoes, we’ll sell vegetables tomorrow.”

“Shoes.” Children loved repeating what adults say.

“Yes, we’re buying shoes for you. Look, the shoes you’re currently wearing are almost torn.”

“I-I-I want good looking shoes! I want to look good in them.”

“Okay!”

Xu Zhao smiled and petted Xu Fan’s small head. He took Xu Fan to a shoe shop, and Xu Fan fell in love with a pair of shoes. After trying them on, he wasn’t willing to take them off again, so Xu Zhao could only buy them.

Sitting on the bicycle, Xu Fan was full of joy. His short legs waved nonstop, and he felt that he was a one of a kind beauty in this world. The first thing he did after returning to South Bay Village was to have Xu Zhao stop at Da Zhuang’s house. He was let down, then quickly ran in front of Da Zhuang. He stretched out his little leg and said, “Da Zhuang, I have new shoes. Da Zhuang, look!”

“Looks good,” Da Zhuang said.

“Mn, it looks very good! My daddy bought it!”

Da Zhuang enviously said, “Sanwa, let me wear them.”

Xu Fan immediately said, “No.”

“Let me wear them.”

“No.”

“I let you wear my Lei Feng hat.”

“I-I-I gave you peanuts to eat.”

“…”

The two little guys were boasting again.

Xu Zhao glanced at the cloth shoes on Da Zhuang’s feet, then instructed the two to “don’t fight and don’t run around,” before pushing the bicycle back home and went to the greenhouse. Mother and Father Xu and Da Zhuang were currently using commercial fertilizer on the vegetables. Seeing Xu Zhao arrive, they all went over to ask about the matter of installing a phone.

“It’s done,” Xu Zhao said.

“How much was it?” Mother Xu asked with concern.

“2,600 Yuan,” Xu Zhao answered.

2,600 Yuan. Although they knew that it would cost around 3,000 Yuan to install a phone, hearing the amount of 2,600 come from Xu Zhao’s mouth, Mother Xu was still startled and asked, “D-d-did you borrow it all from the Cui family’s youngest uncle?”

Xu Zhao nodded.

Mother Xu couldn’t suppress her curiosity and asked, “How does he have so much money?”

Xu Zhao smiled and said, “He opened a logistics company. He has around a hundred people under him, so of course he has money.”

“What is a logistics company?” Mother Xu didn’t understand.

Xu Zhao thought for a second before saying, “He transports items.”

“Transporting items can make so much money.”

“His company is pretty big.”

Mother Xu looked shocked and couldn’t figure out how someone who transports items could make so much money. However, since she couldn’t figure it out, she’d just stop thinking about it. Mother Xu continued fertilizing.

Xu Zhao also joined in, and the four people were busy until the evening when they finally finished. They locked the greenhouse door, and the four people return to the Xu residence to discuss the recent growth of the greenhouse vegetables.

Xu Zhao very professionally took out a small book and asked Mother and Father Xu and Da Zhuang’s father about the vegetables’ situations, writing everything down. Once the discussion was over, Mother and Father Xu went to start the fire to cook, and Xu Zhao took out 15 Yuan from his pocket, handing it to Da Zhuang’s father.

Da Zhuang’s father was startled and asked, “Xu Zhao, what’s this for?”

“Wages,” Xu Zhao said.

“Why is it so much?”

“You’ve worked really hard these past few days.” Xu Zhao said with a smile. “Besides, 15 Yuan isn’t a lot. Right now it’s 15, but once our greenhouse production becomes more stabilized, your wages will increase as well. So I hope you won’t dislike this amount.”

“I wouldn’t dislike it, and I don’t want it.”

“Why don’t you want it?” Xu Zhao asked.

“I didn’t really do anything. I can’t take this money,” Da Zhuang’s father directly said.

“Building the greenhouse, plowing, planting the vegetables, fertilizing, didn’t you do all of this?”

“How could I ask for money for doing those things?” Da Zhuang’s father asked.

Usually in the village, you help me plow and I’ll help you carry manure. Those kinds of help had never used money to be paid for and has always been considered a kind of “toil.” However, it was different after working for Xu Zhao, so Xu Zhao seriously said, “Brother Li, that is your work, and work needs to be paid with money. So just take it.”

“I won’t take it,” Da Zhuang’s father was in a bit of a pinch.

“Brother Li, as brothers, we need to keep clear accounts. If you won’t take this money, then I can’t ask you to work for me!” Xu Zhao sternly said.

Da Zhuang’s father was a bit embarrassed.

Xu Zhao stuffed the 15 Yuan into Da Zhuang’s father’s hands and said, “Take it. You deserve it. Go buy Da Zhuang a new pair of shoes. I saw earlier that there was a hole in Da Zhuang’s shoe. And the weather is getting cold, so what would we do if he freezes?”

Xu Zhao knew that Da Zhuang’s shoes were torn? Da Zhuang’s father lowered his head in shame, gratitude towards Xu Zhao flowed in his heart. When he returned home, he handed the 15 Yuan to Da Zhuang’s mother.

Da Zhuang’s mother was shocked and asked, “Where did you get all this money?”

“Xu Zhao gave it,” Da Zhuang’s father said.

“Why did he give you so much money?”

“Wages.”

“So much wages?”

“Mn.”

“It’s too much.”

“Take it. We’ll be working for Xu Zhao in the future.”

Da Zhuang’s father silently squatted in the corner. In fact, he really didn’t think that helping Xu Zhao was anything big. At the fight during the Mid-Autumn Festival, he had given Xu Zhao a lot of trouble because he had gotten injured. Although the two elders from the Xu family had given Xu Zhao money, Xu Zhao still treated him very well.. And now, he was even taking notice of Da Zhuang’s shoes. Da Zhuang’s father, who had always been carefree, was really moved. He secretly decided in his heart that he would work hard for Xu Zhao and help Xu Zhao make a fortune!

Make a fortune!

On the other side of the wall, Xu Zhao was also thinking about earning a fortune. He wrote and scribbled in more than half of his small notebook. Although his handwriting was a bit ugly, he had clearly written all aspects of the crops’ growth as well as his next steps.

It was getting colder and colder, and it would probably snow before long. It was time to earn a ton of money. Xu Zhao sat beside the desk in the main hall writing his plan and a summary beside the kerosene lamp.

At this time, Xu Fan padded over from the kitchen. He lifted his small head and shouted, “Daddy! Daddy!”

Xu Zhao looked at Xu Fan.

Xu Fan used a small hand to hold the leg of the table to steady himself. He lifted his small leg to let Xu Zhao look at his shoe and said, “Daddy, my shoes are dirty.”

Sure enough, there was mud on the brand new shoes. But wasn’t it just mud? He even had mud on his face in the past and never minded before.

Xu Zhao nodded and said, “Mn, I see it.”

“It’s dirty,” Xu Fan’s milky voice said. “Help me brush it off.”

“No,” Xu Zhao said.

“Why not?”

“It’s just a little bit. It’s fine.” After two days, at most two days, who knows how dirty this brand new pair of shoes would become. Besides, there was mud and dirt everywhere in the village. Who wouldn’t have a bit of mud on their shoes?

However, Xu Fan insisted, “There’s a problem.”

“What’s the problem?” Xu Zhao asked.

“I-it doesn’t look good anymore. I-I also don’t look good anymore.”

If the shoes don’t look, he also doesn’t look good? His ability to appreciate things really was ahead of the times.

Xu Zhao smiled and said, “Who says? The shoes look good and you also look good. Everything looks good.”

Xu Fan’s small face stretched taut as he said, “It doesn’t look good.”

“It looks good,” Xu Zhao replied.

“Not good.”

“Then brush it off yourself. Daddy is currently busy.”

“I’ll brush it off myself!” Xu Fan threw out this sentence before leaving.

Xu Zhao continued to read books related to crops. As he read, he suddenly couldn’t hear Xu Fan’s milky mutterings anymore. Xu Zhao curiously turned his head and saw Xu Fan at the kitchen entrance. Through the light from the kerosene lamp inside the kitchen, he saw Xu Fan stick out his small butt, his small meaty hands holding the small wooden stick. He dipped it in the water held in the porcelain basin, brushed his small shoes, dipped it again in the water, then brushed his small shoes yet again.

He tiredly huffed and puffed.

Sweat dripped off of Xu Zhao. He actually was brushing his shoes?

“Xu Fan!” Xu Zhao couldn’t help but shout.

Xu Fan stuck out his small butt and replied, “Daddy.”

“What are you doing?” Xu Zhao clearly knew the answer but still asked.

“I-I-I’m brushing my shoes.”

“Why are you sticking your butt out so high if you’re just brushing your shoes? Be careful of shifting your center of gravity and falling—”

Xu Zhao hadn’t finished speaking yet when a thud sounded. The little plump body curved and completely fell into the porcelain basin.