The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 170 - 166: Want to Build a House_2

Chapter 170: Chapter 166: Want to Build a House_2

Lu Jingqiu’s eyes shifted as she said, "Second Cousin, you need to prepare a lot of things these next couple of days. I’ll go to Fish Tail Alley and ask around for you about the rice, and I’ll also ask Aunt Liu about the electrical wires in a bit."

"Okay."

Yang Mingchao was genuinely busy. Driving was not very safe on the road due to poor conditions, and there was the occasional risk of being robbed of the cargo. He had just completed a short trip and still hadn’t had a chance to properly rest. This time, for the long haul, he couldn’t take much with him. However, on the return trip, he could bring back some goods from the north.

Seeing that his cousin offered to help, he went back to sleep, feeling very reassured.

As for why he trusted his cousin so much, it was because she really was clever now. Take Xiao Xue, for instance; it was she who had introduced him. Also, during that time in Yangjiang, it was she who came up with the goods.

For this trip to the north, he really couldn’t think of anything to take along, let alone remember the electrical wires.

Lu Jingqiu hadn’t expected her second cousin to agree so readily. With the tasks now upon her, as soon as her second cousin left, she grabbed two apples from home and hurried next door.

"Aunt Liu, are you home?"

"Oh, Xiao Qiu, I’m here." Aunt Liu came out of the kitchen as she spoke. Seeing it was Jingqiu, she didn’t stand on ceremony and hurriedly invited her into the kitchen, "Have you eaten yet? Your dad definitely isn’t home today, so come and eat here with me later."

Students were on holiday at the moment, but most work units could hardly afford to take such long breaks. Aunt Liu’s work unit, for example, only had a two-day holiday, and she had just gotten off work.

When Lu Jingqiu entered the kitchen, she didn’t play coy. She set two apples aside and eagerly began helping Aunt Liu pick vegetables. "Aunt Liu, I’ve eaten already. These two apples, I managed to grab them at the farmers market, to let Xiao Shun and Xiao Yin try them."

"These apples look good. You should hurry and keep them for yourself to eat. Those two kids of mine would gobble up anything in sight."

"I really have to thank you for the electrical wires you got for us last time. The ones sold outside are so much more expensive."

Aunt Liu laughed and said, "Oh dear, we have some discarded short pieces, one meter or two meters long, plenty of them at our factory. I was thinking of getting you those—cheap, and after you join the ends yourself, they can still be used. But Xiao Jiang insisted on the good stuff. How’s the new house coming along?"

"They are plastering the walls these days; after the walls are done, the wiring can begin."

"That’s fast. When it’s time to do the wiring, if you don’t have enough, just come to me. Our factory has lots of wire, if nothing else."

"Aunt Liu, how much wire can one person take out of the factory?"

Thinking that her family might not have enough wire, Aunt Liu laughed and said, "We still need quite a bit at home, I can get about a hundred meters or so. But generally, for acquaintances in the neighborhood who need some, everyone takes those short lengths that cost a few pennies and joins them themselves."

Lu Jingqiu chuckled and moved closer to Aunt Liu. "Aunt Liu, could you get me about a hundred meters of wire as well?"

Hearing this, Aunt Liu suddenly paused, her task at hand coming to a stop, and looked at Lu Jingqiu perplexedly, "Xiao Qiu, does your new house need that much? Didn’t Xiao Jiang ask me to get him fifty meters? Wasn’t that enough?"

Lu Jingqiu hurriedly shook her head, "Aunt Liu, actually, I was thinking of getting some of your factory’s wires to sell outside."

Lu Jingqiu’s explanation was unclear, but Aunt Liu understood what she meant. Recently, many factory employees had been paying out of pocket to get reels of wire from the warehouse, supposedly for their relatives to build new houses.

But everyone knew they were actually selling it privately.

By acting as a middleman, buying low and selling high, one could make a bit of money. Now that business in the city was picking up, one of her colleagues was making a tidy sum each month just by trading toilet paper.

Of course, now that every household in the city had electricity, their factory’s wires were certainly selling well.

That Yang family kid recently managed to get hold of a lot of TVs, and she was aware of that. Now, with Xiao Qiu coming over, it was definitely to get goods for that Yang family kid.

"Xiao Qiu, how much wire you can take? A hundred or two hundred meters should be enough."

"I need a lot, Aunt Liu, do you have four or five hundred meters?"

Aunt Liu stopped her work and pondered, "I’ll ask our warehouse director tomorrow. The last time, for Xiao Jiang, it was one yuan per meter."

"Okay, then I’ll trouble you, Aunt Liu." Saying this, Lu Jingqiu hurriedly pulled out five hundred yuan and handed it to Aunt Liu.

This startled Aunt Liu, who quickly said, "Oh my, child, to hand over so much money as soon as you step through the door... Aren’t you afraid I’ll be tempted by the money and not give you the wires?"

Lu Jingqiu gave Aunt Liu a simple smile and said, "Of course, I know Aunt Liu wouldn’t cheat me. Please take care of this matter for me, Aunt Liu."

Aunt Liu laughed heartily and carefully took the money, "I really won’t stand on ceremony with you; I’ll ask at the factory tomorrow."

"Okay."

Lu Jingqiu had just finished talking with Aunt Liu when Sister-in-law Zhang arrived. She came to take a look at the elder kitten Xiao San Hua. Upon entering and seeing the other kittens had been adopted, she cheerfully said, "Xiao Qiu, sister-in-law saw that it has grown quite a bit; how about I take it home with me today?"

"Sure, Sister-in-law, you haven’t prepared any sand yet, right? I’ll get you some."

"Alright, I had your Brother Zhang make me a wooden litter box for cats some days ago. I really don’t know where to get the sand."

"I usually go to the outskirts to collect sand with Aunt Liu from next door. Next time we get sand, I’ll call you, Sister-in-law Zhang."

"Alright, I’ll take Hua Hua home today, and next time I’ll go with you to get a bag of sand."

Sister-in-law Zhang happily carried off Hua Hua, and Lu Jingqiu felt quite reluctant to let go. Seeing that Zhang had trouble with the sand, she offered to walk her home.

Sister-in-law Zhang’s home was in the tube-shaped building ahead, on the second floor, a one-room apartment with a toilet outside and a separate kitchen, which was communal.

Many people in the brigade were competing to squeeze into this building, but Lu Jingqiu didn’t like it at all. She still thought living in a spacious courtyard was much more comfortable.