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

"Is Yang Xiu'e your master?" Miao Min suddenly asked.

Feng Lin was stunned for several seconds before asking, "Isn't Master Yang your mother?"

"yes."

"You...you don't call me 'Mom,' you call me by my name?"

Fenglin was puzzled. Why did people in the city call his mother by her given name?

"Don't agree to her buying sweaters or coats in the future," Miao Min said calmly.

"Yes? Did I overpay?"

"No, she won't give you money; she'll deduct it from my salary. I work for a month, and she takes all the money. She buys clothes for my uncle and aunt, trying to please them."

"You don't want to work in the garment factory anymore, is it because your mother took your wages?"

"Yes, I work hard for a whole month, and they won't even give me enough money to buy a pack of toilet paper. Look at my clothes, they're all hand-me-downs from my mother that have been altered to fit me." Miao Min said sadly.

"Perhaps your mother has difficulties. You are her daughter, and she must love you very much."

Fenglin comforted her, saying she didn't believe there could be a mother who didn't love her child.

Even though Zhao Jintao's mother was so mean, she still loved Jintao and his younger sister.

"My uncle works for the government, and my mother flatters him, saying she can find a good job for my younger brother in the future. I've been unemployed for two years, and I haven't seen any help finding me a formal job. People look down on our family at all," Miao Min sneered.

"Does your mother favor boys over girls?"

"Of course. I'm an outsider. In a few years, I'll find someone to marry into and I'll receive a dowry. My brother is the real Miao person."

Feng Lin was speechless, unsure how to comfort the young girl.

"I'll give you your salary," Feng Lin decided.

"Give it to me, my mom will want it too. I mend five pieces of clothing a day, can you tell my mom there are only four?"

"Yes, mending five pieces of clothing is hard work."

"I'm not afraid of hard work."

"Okay, I promise."

Feng Lin felt inexplicably sorry for the child in front of her.

Zhao Jintao won't be back for lunch, so it's just the two of them eating.

There was meat, tofu, and vegetables that Zhang Sanhua had brought to the kitchen.

Fenglin couldn't bear to cook too much, so he cut off small pieces of fatty meat, rendered the oil, and cooked a large bowl of cabbage and vermicelli.

More meat and tofu were put into the cupboard; that was meant for Jin Tao.

Miao Min ate two bowls of rice, which shows that she doesn't usually eat well.

"Sister Fenglin, the last time I ate meat was during the Chinese New Year."

Miao Min ate too much and felt a little embarrassed.

"Your family doesn't have any meat ration coupons either?" Feng Lin asked.

"Yes, we get three catties of meat coupons a month, and we have to save them all for my younger brother. He needs to study and grow."

"It's ready, aren't we going to eat together?" Feng Lin found it hard to believe that Chef Yang was so biased.

"Whenever there's meat, my little brother eats it in his little room." Miao Min chuckled self-deprecatingly as she cleared the dishes.

Feng Lin quickly pressed her down: "Minmin, you go and mend your sweater, I'll go wash the dishes."

"Oh well."

Feng Lin broke out in a cold sweat. What if Miao Min discovered that there was still so much meat in the cupboard? Would she become suspicious?

It was clearly our own meat, yet we had a false alarm.

Miao Min is very smart and quick-witted; she is also very good at needlework.

On the first day, under Fenglin's guidance, four sweaters were mended.

Miao Min chose the patterns for some of the sweaters herself.

She was young and from the city, so the flowers she chose were even prettier than those Fenglin had picked.

The only drawback is that the stitches in the pattern are not tight. Given time, it will definitely be a great help to Fenglin.

In the evening, Fenglin fried tofu, made braised pork, and cooked a soup with vermicelli and pork.

"Fenglin, today feels like New Year's Day!"

When Zhao Jintao got home from get off work, he saw the braised pork and quickly grabbed a piece with his hand and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Fenglin's braised pork is still the best, with a hint of sweetness. Shanghai's braised pork is so sweet it's almost bitter," Zhao Jintao praised.

"These dishes were sent by Sister Sanhua. She said she's moving to a new house and we should celebrate." Fenglin served rice to Zhao Jintao.

"Sister Sanhua is such a genuine person. Fenglin, you should eat too."

The two sat down, and Feng Lin asked, "Jin Tao, how much did those two bags of coats cost? How should we price them?"

"Two bags of coats, fifty yuan."

"Fifty...fifty?"

Two large bags, at least fifteen or sixteen items, for only fifty yuan?

"Expensive? That can't be right. It's only one yuan per pound. We'll only give you more, not less," Zhao Jintao explained, not understanding what Feng Lin meant.

"Jin Tao, it's too cheap. Sister Sanhua said it would cost twenty yuan for one. Today, Master came and asked for a coat, and I sold it to her for ten yuan, afraid of losing money. It seems I still made a profit." Feng Lin laughed.

"A sweater costs ten yuan, so a coat at ten yuan is indeed cheap."

"But the purchase price is the same."

"My Fenglin, resources are money too. In business, you have to look at value. If you put a sweater and a coat together, they're both ten yuan. Would you rather have the coat or the sweater?"

"Coat".

"That's right, we shouldn't buy too expensively, nor should we sell too cheaply. If it's too cheap, it loses its value."

"So, how much does one of these coats cost?"

"Eleven yuan it is. As for how much Sister Sanhua sells it for, we don't care." Zhao Jintao made up his mind and added a yuan more. (These two blockheads, a coat at the supply and marketing cooperative sells forty or fifty yuan.)

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

"A coat weighs at least four pounds. The postage is 50 cents, and the labor cost is another 50 cents, so the cost is five dollars. We repair it and bring it all the way from Shanghai. Earning five dollars isn't much."

"Five dollars isn't much?"

"Feng Lin!" Zhao Jintao shouted sternly.

"Yes, not many."

Feng Lin always felt guilty, but in reality, Zhang Sanhua earned more than her.

As they were talking, Zhang Sanhua knocked on the door from outside: "Fenglin, Fenglin..."

Feng Lin got up. It was already dark. Why was Sister Sanhua here?

The courtyard gate opened, and Zhang Sanhua began to scold: "Fenglin, this isn't how you do business! Ten yuan a coat, isn't that messing up the market price?"

"She is my master."

"Fenglin, she's your master. If you give her away, she'll still appreciate your kindness. If you sell her cheaply, she'll still think you've made a lot of money."

Zhang Sanhua entered the room and saw Zhao Jintao eating. She quickly put on a smiling face: "Brother Jintao, I'm sorry to disturb your meal. I came to ask how much your overcoats cost?"

Zhao Jintao raised his eyes slightly and said, "Sister Sanhua, Fenglin and I are honest people, without any ulterior motives. But you should be happy, because only by being honest can we cooperate for a long time."

Zhao Jintao felt somewhat displeased after hearing Zhang Sanhua criticize Feng Lin.

"Brother Jintao is right. If a person only thinks about money and has no feelings, then he's just an animal."

Zhang Sanhua quickly realized she had said the wrong thing. Fenglin was an honest man, and her husband was a college graduate, but he was knowledgeable.

"Fenglin was just discussing this with me, Sister Sanhua. The quality of the coats is much better than the sweaters. They were brought all the way from Shanghai, which increased the shipping costs. We're pricing them at eleven yuan each, so we'll only make a small profit from our hard work."

"Okay, eleven yuan it is. But I also need to sign a contract with you."

"How do I sign it?"

"I've counted them. There are 22 coats. Fenglin sold one, so there are 21 left. These 21 are mine, and you can't buy or sell them privately. I brought the money; I'll pay now to avoid any trouble from Fenglin..."

Zhang Sanhua realized she was about to blame Feng Lin again, so she quickly shut her mouth.

"Sister Sanhua, aren't you being too serious? What if, what if I want one?" Fenglin was confused by Zhang Sanhua's enthusiastic attitude.

"If you like it, you can buy it from me for eleven yuan a piece."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"It's different. When outsiders ask you to buy from them, you'll have an excuse, so you won't feel embarrassed to refuse," Zhang Sanhua said, seemingly making sense.

Zhao Jintao was both amused and exasperated by Zhang Sanhua. Feng Lin bought it for eleven yuan, and if he really wanted to give it to someone else at a lower price, he could still get it for the same price.

Women's thinking is always so peculiar.