Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Making Money
"You little rascals!"
Yun Linhe was so angry he started cursing the moment he saw them.
Yun Chendong and Yun Chenxi: !!!
’Oh no, we lost track of time!’
Selling their wares was surprisingly addictive, and they’d completely forgotten the time.
Only one item was left at their small stall: a wooden dragon carving.
It was more complex and larger than the other carvings, so it was priced a bit higher.
Yun Xiaoqi insisted on selling it for no less than three yuan.
Naturally, the parents who came by with their children bought the cheaper items.
"You kids..."
Just as the four adults were about to lose their tempers, a chubby kid came running over, dragging his parent along.
"Dad, I want that one! Buy me that one!"
"This one’s three yuan! Quick, pay up! The dragon can even move."
Yun Chenbei had crafted the wooden dragon in three segments, connecting each piece with an articulated joint, so its body could twist and turn.
Coupled with the fine carving, it looked exceptionally impressive and had caught the eye of many boys.
But none of them could afford it.
This chubby boy had also fallen in love with it at first sight. He’d told them to hold it for him while he ran off to get an adult who could pay.
This family clearly wasn’t short on cash. The chubby boy’s father picked up the wooden dragon, gave it a look, and decisively agreed to buy it.
And so, the four Yun family adults watched, wide-eyed, as someone bought the wooden dragon for three yuan.
Them: ???
’Wait, what just happened?’
"Oh yeah! Sold out! Time to pack up and go home!"
"What are you kids doing?"
Wang Mei grabbed them to ask. By now, the adults had forgotten their anger, utterly stunned by the sale of the three-yuan wood carving.
Yun Xiaowu tilted his chin up. "We’re selling things. Don’t look at me like I’m just a kid. Right now, you’re standing before a big boss! We’ll decide what to do with our own money!"
The moment he finished his arrogant speech, he got a good whacking from his father.
Yun Chendong said, "We’ll talk about this when we get home."
He was now also curious to see just how much money they had earned.
On the way home, the group of children chattered excitedly, recounting their exceptionally successful plan to set up a stall.
Yun Linhai and the other adults were so shocked they didn’t know what to say.
"How were you so sure that Chenbei’s things would sell?"
Yun Xiaowu replied, "We weren’t sure, but it doesn’t hurt to try. Besides, the facts prove we were very successful."
Yun Xiaoqi nodded, a greedy grin on his face. "I collected a lot of money."
"Hurry, hurry, let’s go back and count how much we made."
As soon as they got home, they eagerly dumped all the money onto the table.
The adults were stunned, staring at the pile of bills and coins on the table.
"There’s so much!"
Some of it was in one-fen coins, and the huge pile they formed looked like a fortune.
"Come on, let’s count the money."
They each took a small pile to count, and even Yun Jiao was given a few bills to tally.
Yun Linhe and the others still hadn’t recovered from their shock, watching from the side with their mouths agape.
Wang Mei exclaimed, "Good heavens, you earned all this money?"
Yun Xiaoqi said proudly, "Of course! Your son was the main force behind the sales. Aren’t I amazing?"
Wang Mei retorted, "If anyone’s amazing, it’s your fourth brother. Didn’t he make all those things?"
At that moment, Wang Mei’s eyes shone as she looked at her second son.
She had always had her reservations about her son tinkering with all those strange things, but there was nothing she could do if he enjoyed it.
For the sake of his carving, he would even go see Old Sun at the edge of the village every other day, sometimes even bringing him food.
Old Sun had come to their village during the famine. He was said to have been a carpenter, but all his relatives had died, leaving him alone.
Only her own silly son would visit him so often, bringing him things.
Life wasn’t easy for Old Sun. Although he was a carpenter, he had injured his right hand and could no longer do fine, detailed work.
After her son got closer to him, he started tinkering more and more, always looking for pieces of wood and stone.
’I never thought it could actually make money!’
"Fifty-seven yuan in total!"
The whole family was stunned by the announcement.
Wang Mei, ever the loud one, exclaimed, "Those things were worth that much?"
All the raw materials were either small stones, seashells, and snail shells gathered from the beach, or things Yun Chenbei had picked up in the mountains or at the scrap collection station.
The only things they’d spent money on were probably the strings and hair clips, and the total cost was less than five yuan.
’They made over fifty yuan from all that?’
HISS...
Wang Mei murmured, "Are the things my son makes really that profitable?"
Yun Chenbei hadn’t expected it either.
He was naturally very excited as well.
’The things I made actually sold for so much money!’
Yun Xiaoqi raised his chin. "Of course, a lot of it was thanks to me. I was the main force behind the sales, you know."
That was true.
Yun Linhai and the others had arrived late and had no idea what role Yun Xiaoqi had played.
"Fourth Brother, this money is all yours. Here."
Yun Chenbei took the money, feeling a little bewildered. ’All this money... for me?’
He stared blankly for two seconds, then looked toward his parents.
Yun Linhe was quick to react.
"Since you earned this money yourselves, you should be the ones to keep it."
This money was different from what they earned by fishing and foraging on the beach.
Yun Chenbei had earned this with his own skills. Plus, he was already sixteen years old; Yun Linhe trusted that his son wouldn’t spend it recklessly.
Wang Mei also nodded. "Keep it."
As a mother, she was delighted that her son could earn money with his own abilities, and of course, children needed encouragement.
Hearing this, Yun Chenbei said, "Then Mom, please take it and buy some fabric. Let’s have new clothes made for everyone in the family."
When Jiaojiao had come to find him this morning, she had said she wanted to earn money to make new clothes for everyone.
That was the reason she had thought of selling things in the first place, and Yun Chenbei certainly wasn’t going to disappoint her.
At this, not only Yun Jiao’s eyes lit up, but Yun Xiaowu’s and the others’ did as well.
The adults looked at Yun Chenbei and his brothers, feeling a mixture of guilt and pride.
They felt guilty that the family was so poor the children hadn’t had new clothes in years.
Their clothes were all hand-me-downs, passed from the older children to the younger ones. When a hole appeared, it was mended with a patch of similarly colored cloth.
Even the older boys like Yun Chen Nan and Yun Chenbei wore their father’s old clothes.
In fact, Shen Yunlian had already been thinking about it. Now that the family had a little money, she was planning to talk to her mother-in-law about buying some fabric to make new clothes for the children once the weather turned cooler.
She never expected the children would find a way to earn the money themselves.
Later, when Granny Yun and Mr. Yun returned and found out, they too were thoroughly shocked.
"Hahaha... Good! The children of our family are all so capable. They’ll all have great futures ahead of them!"
"Whose idea was this?" Yun Linhe asked curiously.
In response, Yun Chenbei, Yun Xiaowu, and the others all pointed at Yun Jiao.
Yun Jiao, who was in the middle of eating a steamed bun with her cheeks puffed out, found herself the focus of all eyes, big and small, at the table.
"Jiaojiao, how did you come up with the idea to set up a stall and sell things?"
Yun Jiao finished chewing what was in her mouth before answering.
"Because Fourth Brother’s things are pretty. Jiaojiao likes them, so other people must like them too."
"We sell them for money to make new clothes for my brothers. Everyone should have new clothes to wear."
Her simple wish, spoken in a childish voice, warmed the hearts of the entire family.
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