The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 171 - 167: Talking Business

Chapter 171: Chapter 167: Talking Business

After agreeing with Aunt Liu, Xia Lin went to see Xue Jianian the next day. She went early, fearing that Jianian might have already left home had she arrived late.

Considering it was a new marriage, Xia Lin felt somewhat embarrassed when she checked the time at the doorstep; it was just seven o’clock. She lingered hesitantly outside the door for over twenty minutes before sheepishly knocking.

Xue Jianian hurried to the door with a toothbrush in her mouth, and, seeing Xia Lin early in the morning, likely didn’t expect her. She mumbled, "Jingqiu, come in quickly."

Without waiting for a response, Jianian turned and went to the yard to wash up.

Lu Jingqiu glanced at the entrance, and not seeing Wei Jincheng, stepped inside: "Is your husband at home?"

After washing her face, Xue Jianian smiled at her and said, "No, he went back to the team yesterday. What brings you here so early in the morning?"

Lu Jingqiu nodded and whispered, "My cousin asked me to inquire if you have any rice."

Xue Jianian paused for a moment, and then said, "I do, but I can only spare a little over a thousand pounds. Anything else? Flour, corn?"

"No, we only need rice this time."

"Alright, when does he need it?"

"The day after tomorrow afternoon."

"Like this, the day after tomorrow at ten o’clock at night, tell him to make the trade at the usual place."

"Okay, I’ll let him know when I get back."

After the details were settled, Lu Jingqiu chatted with Xue Jianian and learned she planned to visit the suburbs to check out the land. Jingqiu said hastily, "This year, all the communes are likely discussing dividing the collective property among individual households. The farmers have finally gotten their own land, so they definitely won’t rent it to you."

Jianian replied, "I’ve thought of that. I just want to go and take a look. Even if there’s no land available, I can clear some wasteland myself. It would be even better if I could get a contract for a small hill."

"You’re still in school. Even if you get some land, can you manage it on your own, or are you planning to hire help?"

Xue Jianian had her own plans. Contracting the land was just a cover; a small hill would be ideal for her to sell the products from her space. But of course, she couldn’t tell Lu Jingqiu that and casually said, "Well, that’s just an idea I have. As you said, farmers are rejoicing over their land rights; it certainly won’t be settled any time soon. Maybe by the time I get the land, I’ll almost be graduating."

Indeed, Lu Jingqiu thought, they had four years to go. It seemed so long.

They unknowingly shifted from discussing their livelihoods to personal matters. Jingqiu asked, "How is married life treating you?"

A blush suddenly appeared on Jianian’s face: "It’s okay, but he’s busy and went back yesterday."

Lu Jingqiu was genuinely happy for her. This time, perhaps Jianian’s early arrival had changed some of Wei Jincheng’s circumstances.

"Hey, you came over so early, you probably haven’t eaten yet. Let’s have breakfast at my place today. Do you like Ginger Milk Pudding?"

Lu Jingqiu’s eyes sparkled with surprise as she eagerly nodded and said, "Yes, yes, I like it."

However, she couldn’t just sit around doing nothing. While Xue Jianian was busy in the kitchen, Jingqiu went out to push the cart and queued at the nearby State-owned restaurant to buy some meat buns.

Looking at the silky Ginger Milk Pudding paired with the big Meat Buns, it was indeed quite nice. The taste of the Meat Buns from this time period was definitely better than those in later times.

"Jingqiu, your new place is near here, but I don’t even know where it is. Shall we check it out after this?"

"Sure, let’s go. It’s close, just a seven or eight-minute walk."

The two of them left the house after eating, but every time they went out, they always ran into the neighbor next door.

Before Lu Jingqiu could react, Xue Jianian gave Xia Lin a cold look and walked ahead, bypassing her first.

As if Xia Lin was just air, Lu Jingqiu followed suit.

Xia Lin watched Lu Jingqiu’s retreating figure, a sly triumphant smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

Lu Jingqiu, oblivious to Xia Lin’s inner thoughts, was happily showing Xue Jianian around the new house.

After two days without a visit, the painting was almost done. The woodshed—but now it had been turned into a side room by Lu Jingqiu—had a concrete floor that had already dried.

The kitchen cabinets were almost finished, and some areas had already begun tiling.

Xue Jianian looked around, continuously exclaiming, and pulled her over, "Jingqiu, no wonder you chose to rent this place. The house is really nice, and you’re doing a major overhaul, aren’t you?"

"Yeah."

"Wow, and you’ve done such a great job with this kitchen; I want to make mine like this too," Xue Jianian said, and hastily asked Mud-brick Uncle who was nearby, "Uncle, when do you finish here? Could you come have a look at my place? I want to do something similar."

The uncle said, "We’ll be done here in three days."

"My place is just a seven or eight-minute walk from here. I’ll come find you tomorrow, and take you over to have a look."

"Sure thing."

As Lu Jingqiu thought about the new house she had bought, she also asked the uncle, "Uncle, I have a house where some walls have collapsed. I’m looking to build a new one. Do you or anyone you know do that kind of work?"

One of the uncles laughed, "Yes, yes, there are quite a few young people on our street who are out of jobs. Of course, there are also many who can build houses. You’re interested in my brother and my handiwork, so we can organise something for you. Just how many rooms do you want to build?"

"Two stories with two rooms."

Upon hearing this, the uncles exclaimed in surprise, "Two stories? Uh... For a two-story scaffolding, we might need to borrow from the Urban Construction Bureau, and..."

Lu Jingqiu was stunned, realizing she hadn’t considered all these details, "This, might that be difficult to manage?"

One of the elders said, "I’ve got to go back and ask about this. My neighbor’s son works at the Urban Construction Bureau. Probably, we’ll have to pay a fee to rent their equipment or give them some grain or something."

"You can give grain for that?"

"Yes, we’ve done it before when helping citizens repair their houses. We gave grain."

Lu Jingqiu looked at Xue Jianian and smilingly said, "Uncle, please take care of this matter for us. We can pay with money or with grain."

"Alright, I’ll ask when I get back. If we can borrow the tools and set up scaffolding, then the house can be built."

Lu Jingqiu was quite pleased to hear this news.

Xue Jianian was rather surprised, "You have another house?"

"Yes, I just bought one. But that house isn’t fit for living in now; it needs to be rebuilt."

"Is it for rent?"

Lu Jingqiu pulled her out of the kitchen and laughed, "Yes, I’m planning to build a facade for shops, to rent out to those in business."

Xue Jianian looked at Lu Jingqiu in amazement, "Jingqiu, although we haven’t interacted much, I’ve noticed that you think differently than others."

"How so?" She was suddenly anxious. Had she done something so outrageous that it had revealed her intentions?

"It’s only just opened up, and businesspeople are still watching and waiting. But you’ve already thought of storefronts? Honestly, there are very few people who can think of that."

Lu Jingqiu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly laughed, "I just happened upon the idea. My cousin said that there are many people in business now, but it’s not ideal to always be outdoors. It’s better to have a fixed place which makes it convenient for people to find, and since I have a house, I thought of remodeling it."

Upon hearing this, Xue Jianian considered her own finances, and also thought about buying a place so that she wouldn’t need to bear the daily exposure to wind and sun while setting up her outdoor stall.