I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

In the break room, squad leader Hao Jianying and mentor Yang Xiue were astonished. They were doing so well, why did she suddenly resign?

Feng Lin took out two bright red sweaters from the cloth bag.

"Squad leader, mentor, this is for you. Thank you for taking care of me."

"No, Fenglin, where did you get this sweater? It's the latest model from the supply and marketing cooperative."

Hao Jianying dared not accept it. Giving her hair ties and underwear on ordinary days was fine, but a sweater was too expensive.

"Squad leader, teacher, these two sweaters are defective. Look, there's a flower embroidered here, but the stitches are loose. I repaired it at home."

Fenglin pointed out the damaged parts to the squad leader and the master.

"Hey, it really is! I can't tell at all. Where did these defective products come from?" Yang Xiu'e asked in surprise.

"My husband bought it from Shanghai. I'll sort it out and then sell it to others to make some money. That's why I quit my job. I was working overtime every night and my energy was depleted. After weighing the options, I had no choice but to resign," Fenglin said with remorse.

Hao Jianying lowered her voice and asked, "How much is one piece? I'd like to get a few as gifts."

"Class monitor, I gave all the sweaters I had to Sister Sanhua for sales. She sells them for 8-10 yuan each."

Fenglin wanted to lower the price, but was afraid of disrupting the market price.

"Fenglin, can you give me a discount? Eight yuan a piece, can you give me three?" Hao Jianying said hurriedly.

Yang Xiu'e also wanted two: "Fenglin, I want two too."

"Then I'll keep five for you, at seven yuan each, but don't tell anyone else."

"Great, we promise not to tell. Where am I supposed to find you then?"

"I'll bring it to my master and the class monitor when I'm done."

"Oh, Fenglin, thank you so much. But we need to dress presentably before the New Year, since we're going back to the countryside for the holiday."

"Sure, I can repair five or six pieces a day if I quit my job. Once I find an apprentice, I can do it even faster."

"Are you looking for an apprentice?" Yang Xiu'e asked.

"Yes, everyone wants to get the goods before the New Year; we have to hurry."

"Fenglin, my daughter is capable. She's hardworking and quick. Let her go. It doesn't matter how much money she gets, as long as she has something to do," Yang Xiue said hurriedly.

"Does your daughter know how to use a sewing machine?"

"Yes, she worked in the garment factory for two months, but it was too tiring, so she quit. She doesn't like working overtime."

"Sir, let me explain. It'll cost 50 cents to repair a sweater, and I can choose the pattern. I can repair a maximum of four sweaters a day, which is 2 yuan. You can eat with us, and you don't have to work overtime in the evenings. Is that alright?"

"Sure, two yuan a day, sixty yuan a month, and no overtime required. It's much more cost-effective than working in a garment factory." Yang Xiue immediately agreed.

"Then, tell her to come find me at No. 212 Lengjiabao tomorrow."

"Okay, it's settled then, Fenglin, you can't ask anyone else."

"Okay, squad leader, mentor, I'll be going now. I'll bring you sweaters in a few days."

"Hey, Fenglin, come back and visit sometime."

"I'll be back; I still need to buy scraps of fabric."

"Okay, come find me if you need to buy fabric scraps, I'll save the good ones for you," Hao Jianying said reluctantly.

The garment factory was Fenglin's first workplace, and it was the warmth and care of her colleagues that gradually healed the pain in her heart.

It's really hard to leave now that it's time to go.

As Zhao Jintao said, you have to learn to choose. Trying to grasp everything will be exhausting.

When he got home, Zhao Jintao had already packed up everything, even taking the coal stove and a few broken bowls with him.

Zhang Sanhua helped with great enthusiasm, and even though it was late autumn, she was exhausted and covered in sweat.

"Sister Sanhua, thank you for your trouble. Jintao and I will handle it." Fenglin said somewhat embarrassedly.

"That won't do. I have to take you to the new house so I don't lose track of you later," Zhang Sanhua said bluntly.

"Okay, then come with us. You can visit my house sometime in the future."

Although it was a cooperative relationship, Feng Lin regarded Zhang Sanhua as a friend, and also her only friend in the provincial capital.

"It might take three cartloads. We'll take the sewing machine and sweaters over first, and you can tidy up at home later. I'll come back to get the tables, chairs, and dishes."

Zhao Jintao carried the sewing machine downstairs, while Fenglin and Zhang Sanhua carried two bags of sweaters.

Because they were poor, they moved quickly and finished moving in no time.

Feng Lin invited Zhang Sanhua to lunch, but Zhang Sanhua declined, saying the place was messy and there was no food at all, and she would rather go home to eat.

The new house has three main rooms, which are bright and spacious. Fenglin was overjoyed: "Jintao, it's too big. In Dashui Village, our whole family only has five rooms."

"It's better to have a bigger bed, so you don't take up the whole bed. I was half asleep when suddenly something furry next to me startled me. I looked down and it was a sweater. Fenglin, come look at our bed, it's huge!"

Jin Tao led Feng Lin to the bedroom, where an old wooden bed was indeed large and very dirty.

"After dinner, I'll take a good shower; there are cobwebs everywhere," Feng Lin said shyly.

"Don't cook, I'll go to the cafeteria to get food."

Where is the cafeteria?

"Go to the Ministry of Agriculture's canteen. I have meal tickets. You wait here, I'll be back in a bit."

"it is good."

With a bicycle at home, a mile can be covered in just a few pedal strokes.

Fenglin's heart was filled with happiness.

She raised pigs and rabbits in Dashui Village, working hard to earn money, and then she wanted to build a house so she could live separately from her parents-in-law.

Although the house was rented, it fulfilled her dream of having her own home with Jin Tao, a spacious home.

Zhao Jintao ordered five dishes, three meat and two vegetable, which made Fenglin complain, "We still owe you money, how can you eat like this?"

"Making money is to improve our lives, not to continue living a hard life. Fenglin, you're too frugal. You save the good food for me, and you always eat the side dishes."

"The dishes in the provincial capital are tastier than those in Dashui Village; they're more oily."

"From now on, our family will eat meat three times a month. I'll eat it, and you'll eat it too," Zhao Jintao ordered sternly.

"Three times? There's no ransom for that."

"I'll go ask the teacher. He's a minister, and although he's poor, his work unit gives him meat ration coupons. He should be able to get me three jin (1.5 kg)."

"Okay, then we'll eat it three times, one pound each time."

Feng Lin smiled, now that she had actually gotten the hostage back, she was reluctant to waste it.

The two had been busy all day, cleaning the house spotless. Fenglin took out two bags of coats that Yang Zheng had sent, and stared in disbelief: "Jintao, how much did these clothes cost?"

"It's also one yuan per pound."

"But, but these are wool coats. They have some minor flaws in the lining, but the quality is very good. Wouldn't the manufacturer be losing money?"

"Fenglin, I'll take you to Shanghai next time. In our eyes, these are all good things, but in the eyes of Shanghainese, wearing clothes with flaws is a loss of status."

"Aren't there students like Yang Zheng?"

"There are people who need them, like garment factories in Shanghai. These are such big factories; they don't care about some worn-out clothes, nor do they go around looking for sales channels for defective products. And I just happen to help them get rid of these defective products. The ones with minor flaws are bought by the workers."

"Jin Tao, is Shanghai really that good? Such nice clothes, only one yuan per kilogram."

"This is called information asymmetry. Take potatoes, for example. I have potatoes, and you need potatoes. Because of the lack of information, my potatoes are rotting in the ground, while you are looking for potatoes everywhere."

"Don't we have potatoes in our village? It was even mentioned in the newspaper."

"Fenglin, I'm just using an analogy. Why did Uncle Zhou rush to reform Tonggang County? It was to create momentum, to let the whole country know that Tonggang County has potatoes, peanuts, and soybeans. When any province needs these things, wouldn't Tonggang County be the first place that comes to mind?"

Our clothing was the same; information was scarce, and nobody knew the garment factory had clearance items. Once word got out, everyone would be scrambling to buy them. So, I had Yang Zheng sign a contract, ensuring that even if others wanted them, they wouldn't have a chance.

Feng Lin listened attentively, filled with admiration: "Jin Tao, you know so much. No wonder Uncle Zhou and Teacher Xia like you so much."

"Fenglin's eyes are shining, do you think your lover is not bad either?" Zhao Jintao teased.

"It's excellent, extremely excellent. I've found a treasure," Feng Lin said earnestly.

"Fenglin, our lives will get better and better, believe me."

"Yes, Jin Tao, you are the best man in the world."