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墨書 Inktalez
"Feifei, we came here hoping you could help us," Ye Fanghua said, hesitating to voice her request.
In truth, Feifei already had an inkling of what her cousin wanted, but she didn't rush to respond. When asking for help, one must maintain a certain demeanor.
Ye Fanghua looked at Feifei, waiting for her to speak. Eventually, she couldn't hold back any longer. "Feifei, I heard that your brother-in-law has connections and can get some items without tickets, like iron pots and vegetables. Do you think he could help us out?"
Feifei had anticipated this. Since her cousin had come to her for help, she didn't want to refuse outright. However, she felt it necessary to clarify, "Well, he does know someone at the hardware factory. But getting things without tickets can be quite expensive." She paused before continuing, "Honestly, you don't need to go all the way back from Beijing just for this. No matter where you buy them, they won't be cheap. Why bother carrying them back?"
"Is it really that expensive? Can't it be a bit cheaper? Didn't you say your brother-in-law knows people?" Zhao Dali interjected.
"Of course not. He takes on risks when he gets these items; we can't expect him to help us out for free," Feifei replied bluntly. "If it weren't for the fact that he's familiar with the suppliers, even wealthy people wouldn't get such deals."
Feifei understood that the two of them were trying to take advantage of the situation without spending money. She wasn't naive; after all, they had come empty-handed during the New Year without even bringing a snack for her child. It was hard to believe they expected her to help.
Zhao Dali and Ye Fanghua fell silent. They had heard that Tang Zhicheng, Feifei's brother-in-law, often helped various factories with supplies. The factories would not only subsidize him but also give him some defective items without tickets.
Wasn't Aunt Ye looking for vegetables too?
As for how Ye Fanghua knew about Tang Zhicheng's connections, it was all thanks to Ye Jianguo, her father, who had boasted about it while drinking. Although there was some truth to his claims, it had indeed brought unnecessary trouble upon Feifei and her family.
"Forget it then; we won't bother with the iron pots and vegetables," Ye Fanghua said softly.
Seeing her cousin like this made Feifei feel uneasy as well.
If life weren’t so difficult, who would willingly lower themselves to beg for help? Yet, she truly couldn’t give her vegetables and the iron pot; after all, Aunt Ye had already been met with resistance when she asked. Now, Ye Fanghua certainly couldn’t relent either.
Moreover, they really couldn’t set a precedent here; if they did, what would happen when relatives and friends came looking for them? It wasn’t that Ye Fangfei was stingy; she just feared that in the end, it would be a thankless effort.
“Sister Hua, are you preparing the iron pot to cook for yourself? Aren’t you all still living together?” Ye Fangfei was unaware that Ye Fanghua and the others were planning to build a house and move out on their own.
“Yes, we want to build a house and move out.”
“You don’t know; we’re currently living in a thatched hut. It’s drafty in winter and leaks in summer. It’s really not a place for people to live. Since I’m getting married, my dad gave me some money as a nest egg, so I thought about building two rooms.” Ye Fanghua spoke beautifully, without mentioning that she had asked her parents for money or that her two sisters-in-law at home had been causing trouble for several days over the issue.
Ye Fangfei nodded. “Well, then it’s time to build a house.”
However, building a house wasn’t an easy matter; it required quite a bit of money. Ye Fangfei didn’t know how much money Uncle Ye had given Ye Fanghua as a nest egg, but she guessed it couldn’t be much. The Ye family couldn’t compare to theirs. Her father, Ye Jianguo, was a senior welder, earning more than double what Uncle Ye made in a month.
Aunt Ye wasn’t a formal worker either; she was a temporary worker. However, with her long tenure, many who didn’t know her assumed she was a formal employee. But temporary workers were still temporary workers; their wages couldn’t compare to those of formal employees. Moreover, Uncle Ye’s family had three children, and with two sons married off, expenses had piled up significantly.
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