Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Chapter 99 Lin Qin's Plans

Lin Qin nodded, pointed to the water tank next to her, and seeing that there were still two fish that hadn't been cleaned, asked, "Does my cousin-in-law know how to clean fish?"

Huang Yuezhen nodded, "I know a little. When the village built fish ponds before, they would let us take away some small fish and shrimp. We could handle them after a simple treatment, but we thought they had a strong fishy smell and didn't taste good."

Lin Qin immediately took a knife and taught her, "Do this: make a cut from the belly of the fish, but don't cut through the internal organs. Clean out all the internal organs, then scrape off the scales and cut off the fins. That should do it."

Huang Yuezhen watched intently and said with a simple smile, "In the past, we were only given small fish. One snip of the scissors would pierce their internal organs, so we couldn't handle them this well. It seems like you can kill fish quite easily."

Lin Ying laughed heartily, "Of course! That's what they do for a living, practice makes perfect! By the way, what are you and your wife planning to do in the city?"

Huang Yuezhen shook her head, somewhat confused. "I don't know either, but many people in the village have gone out to work. The first ones to leave last year all came back with money at the end of the year. My parents-in-law were tempted when they heard this. They also wanted us to save more money, since we still have three children to raise, and we'll need money to get married in the future."

Lin Ying deeply agreed, "That means we have to work hard to earn money. I have two boys, and I'm worried about that too! But right now, the most important thing is to build a house. Only when we have a house can we think about anything else."

The three women chatted as they prepared a table full of food.

When the dishes were served, Huang Yuezhen kept praising Lin Qin's cooking skills, saying that she had broadened her horizons.

Lin Yi looked radiant with pride and was extremely happy when his daughter was praised.

When it comes to working...

Seeing that Hong Weimin had no idea, Lin Yi persuaded him, "You guys stay here for a couple of days. There will be more job openings after the 15th. If you feel uncomfortable staying here, you can help me with the farming these few days. Aqin wants to plant fruit trees on the hillside, which requires digging a lot of holes and accumulating fertilizer. There's a lot to do, and it'll be tough for me to manage all by myself!"

Hong Weimin and his wife already knew that the entire Nanyu Island belonged to Chen Wenjun, and they also knew that what Lin Yi said was true, so they readily agreed.

With the two of them added to the lively atmosphere of Nanyu, Lin Ying's family, who had originally planned to return on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, insisted on staying until the sixth day.

Before leaving.

Lin Qin slipped three hundred yuan to Lin Ying.

Lin Ying immediately became anxious, "What are you doing? What are you going to do with this money?"

Lin Qin said in a low voice, "This money is Dad's. He knows you want to build a house and is worried that you won't have enough money. He's telling you to take it first and pay him back when you have more money after the house is built. If you don't have the money, that's fine. Anyway, it's just the two of us sisters, so I don't care. You don't need to worry about it either."

"You can bring A-Jian and A-Kang to stay with us during summer vacation. We have plenty of food and entertainment, and we can even take them out to earn some pocket money. It's much better than them staying at your place."

Lin Ying was tempted and immediately took Lin Qin's hand happily, "Then I'll thank you on their behalf! I'll send them over as soon as the holidays start, so I can focus on building the house."

It's said that the house will be built after the first month of the lunar calendar, but there's still a lot of farm work to do after that. By the time the farm work is finished, the construction will be delayed until autumn due to the persistent and changeable weather in late spring and early summer. By the time the weather stabilizes, it will be summer.

Lin Ying really didn't have much time to take care of the two mischievous boys. Since the children were sent to Lin Qin's place, Lin Yi could look after them, so at least they wouldn't have trouble finishing their summer homework.

After Lin Ying's family left, Lin Qin and Chen Wenjun resumed their busy lives of making money.

Just as everyone had almost finished eating the ingredients they bought before the Lunar New Year, the couple went to Nangang to buy a boatload of seafood. As soon as they arrived at the market, people who had heard about it rushed to buy it. It was the couple's first time doing business during the Lunar New Year, and they didn't know if prices had gone up, so they sold it at the usual price.

After selling almost everything, I realized that prices hadn't recovered yet and wouldn't return to normal until after the Lantern Festival.

In other words, the two of them sold at a loss.

Fortunately, the couple were easygoing and didn't hold it against each other. After returning from the market, they took a nap and then set off again in the afternoon to Nangang to wholesale a boatload of seafood to Guoxing Hotel.

Zheng Guoxing's restaurant opened on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, and quite a few people have come to eat there in the past few days. However, the ingredients are scarce and expensive, so he was too embarrassed to go to Nanyu to find Chen Wenjun. Instead, he wandered around the various vegetable markets on his own.

Just when he was worried about not being able to buy anything good, Chen Wenjun and Lin Qin brought him seafood.

At that moment, Zheng Guoxing seemed to see a long-lost relative and threw himself at Chen Wenjun, saying a bunch of mushy things.

Lin Qin got goosebumps listening to this.

The waiter came over to help, first unloading the items from the cart, and then Chen Wenjun had to go back to load the second cart.

Zheng Guoxing casually said, "I think you should switch to tricycles! Spend a little money to buy a tricycle, it will be more convenient whether you're delivering goods or setting up a stall, at least it will save time and effort."

Chen Wenjun took out a cigarette and handed it to Zheng Guoxing, "Do you have any connections over there?"

Zheng Guoxing grinned, "Even if I don't have it, I have to get it for you! This is related to my business!"

Chen Wenjun and Lin Qin exchanged a smile.

"Then I'll leave to Brother Zheng. I'll go first, and Aqin will stay and reconcile the accounts with you."

While Lin Qin was busy, Huang Wenlong brought a few people over for a meal. When he saw the seafood, he was particularly excited. "Sister-in-law! I was just looking for you! Guoxing said you got a lot of fresh seafood. Could you send some to the construction site too?"

"No problem!" Lin Qin agreed, but then asked, somewhat puzzled, "But this project seems to be almost finished!"

Huang Wenlong shook his head vigorously, "Originally, it was supposed to be done until this summer, but a few days ago I chatted with some people from the municipal department and they said there's another auxiliary road, so I'll have to work on it for another year."

Lin Qin thought for a moment, then stood up and discussed with Huang Wenlong, "Boss Huang, my husband runs a seafood business. Originally, I was thinking that the project was almost finished, and I would work for a few more months before quitting. Now it's going to be a year, and I'm afraid I can't do it for that long. Can you hire someone else? I can wait until you find someone suitable before I leave."

Huang Wenlong's face fell instantly. "Sister-in-law, this news is a real shock to me. To be honest, if I could have found a suitable candidate, I wouldn't have had the nerve to ask you for help. Could you help me find out and recommend someone suitable?"

"Sure, sure," Lin Qin readily agreed, thinking she could give the job to Huang Yuezhen.

So she carefully explained Huang Yuezhen's situation to Huang Wenlong, "She is my cousin-in-law. The couple only started looking for work this year. My cousin-in-law has been cooking these past few days, and her skills are decent. If Boss Huang is willing to hire her, I will quickly teach her how to cook some seafood."

(End of this chapter)