The First Volume 11. The Farmer and the Snake

  The experiences of his own family and that of his second aunt reminded Li Yifan of the primary school textbook, "The Farmer and the Snake".

  In 1993, the city's woolen textile factory was poorly managed and on the verge of bankruptcy. My father and mother gritted their teeth and decided to venture into business at that time. In order to open this small restaurant, Li Lisheng and Zhang Shu had to grit their teeth and sell the collectively-owned house they received from the factory, raising 30,000 yuan to open this seafood store.

  At that time, my second aunt's family was also having a hard time. However, my second aunt was always kind and gentle, which made her very likable to both Grandma and Grandpa. So, they put aside their parental authority and insisted that my parents bring my second aunt's family along when opening the restaurant.

  But the second aunt did not sell their house, instead she took out her own savings and added a 10,000 yuan borrowed from here and there to invest in this restaurant.

  Zhang Shu, as the eldest sister, is also a kind person in the family. When running this restaurant, she has always taken good care of her second sister. Even during the annual dividend distribution, she would give more money to Ermei's household, which made Li Lisheng even more dissatisfied with bringing Ermei to open the restaurant.

  You were originally opposed to entering the stock, but you had to come. This seafood restaurant is supported by Zhang Shu and her husband, who are in charge of cooking, buying vegetables, preparing dishes, and doing all the hard work. However, Erni (the second aunt) sits at the counter every day, doing some accounting work, which is a relaxed job. Even when it's busiest, she just helps the waiters deliver food at the front desk.

  But every time the year-end dividend is distributed, she gets almost as much as Zhang Shu, which naturally makes Li Lisheng dissatisfied. However, considering his wife's attitude and his parents-in-law's thoughts, he finally endured it.

  Usually, Er Yi's husband goes to work at his unit and after getting off work, he brings Wang Guang from their home to the restaurant to eat and drink for free. After finishing dinner, he leaves with a flick of his hand. This kind of situation can be tolerated once or twice, but who wouldn't get annoyed if it happens all the time?

  Have they really forgotten who was the big boss of this restaurant?

  Li Liqiang is normally taciturn, and indeed has some shortcomings in his interpersonal relationships. Whenever he's unhappy, it often shows on his face. His dissatisfaction with Er Yi's family, especially Wang Hu, the husband of Er Yi who had been slippery and cunning for decades in the government unit, was obvious to see.

  Additionally, Li Lijiang had also scolded Er Yi several times before, so it's likely that from then on, this family has been harboring resentment and planning to separate their restaurant from them.

  It is often said that those who commit murder and arson will wear a golden belt, while those who build bridges and repair roads will have no skeletons in their closet. Good people will be rewarded, but this saying does not always come true.

  At that time, Er Yi was taking advantage of the closure and renovation of the old store to manage the restaurant's accounts. She withdrew all the funds from the two joint accounts, which were around 150,000 yuan. Moreover, she had long been slandering her own parents in front of relatives and friends. At that time, Li Liqiang wanted to take legal action to get back the money, but his mother was strongly opposed to it. Originally, they had already been slandered by Er Yi's family and were speechless in front of their relatives. If they were to take legal action to get the money back, wouldn't they be ridiculed and scolded by their relatives and friends?

  What face will they have in their hometown and among relatives in Bin City from now on? In the end, Father could only compromise again with a sigh of helplessness.

  My second aunt's family opened a seafood restaurant at the other end of Wuyi Street, relying on years of accumulated relationships and with the help of my younger uncle-in-law and other relatives and friends. Their business was doing well, even expanding over time. After several years, they not only bought two new residential buildings for themselves but also saved up to buy two street-facing storefronts.

  Looking back at Li Yifan's family, because they had already paid the rent at that time, they could only wait for half a year. They waited until the landlord renovated the new store and reopened it. Moreover, when renovating again, they could only pay out of their own pocket. The savings from previous years were almost gone in an instant.

  Although the business was not bad afterwards, the hard work of my parents in the past decade was all in vain, and our family was once again facing a poor and empty situation.

  Although their family business was not bad afterwards, Li Yifan went to college, his older brother got married and other things that required a lot of money came one after another. Then the era of soaring housing prices began, so even if they waited until their mother worked hard and fell ill before she passed away, she still couldn't live in a house of her own again.

  Every time he thought of it, Li Yifan would feel a pain like a thousand snakes biting his heart when he remembered that his mother had died unjustly and he was unable to fulfill his filial piety. The scene of his mother's departure would often replay in front of him over and over again, and every time it replayed, he would lose sleep. That unspoken pain once almost drove him mad.

  In his eyes, his own mother was the kind farmer, while Erniang was the venomous snake who didn't know gratitude. This life, he was destined to be reborn to slay demons and evil spirits. If they didn't come to provoke him, it would be fine if they just kept a low profile. But if they really dared to plot against his family again, he would definitely make them pay a hundredfold price.

  "Mom, is our restaurant going to pay rent now?"

  A gentle breeze blew in, and the night was quite cool in Bin City. At this time, there were not as many cars on the road as there would be later, and the air was still very fresh. A family strolled along the streets of Bin City after drinking, looking at the ever-changing city. Zhang Shu felt great, but she didn't expect her son to suddenly ask such a question.

  "Yes, the rent is due at the end of July. But the landlord came over to discuss with us a couple of days ago. You know how old and run-down this restaurant building is - there are many leaks in the roof. He wants to do some repairs during this period. Your father, your second aunt, and I were all worried about it. This is peak tourist season, the best time for business all year round. If we close down now, it will have a big impact on our profits this year."

  Feeling that her son had grown up, Zhang Shu also stopped hiding and told the annoying things of the past few days. This matter had been suppressed in her heart for several days, and Li Lisheng and his wife were both worried about this matter.

  "That day, I heard Second Aunt secretly discussing with Second Uncle, saying they wanted to rent a house on the east side of Wuyi Street. What's going on? Is our family moving?"

  Li Yihua knew that if she told her mother now, her mother would not believe that Er Yi's family wanted to betray them, so she might as well give her a hint and let her prepare mentally.

  "How is that possible? On the east side of Wuyi Street, there are indeed two shops for rent, one of which has a very good environment and a large area. Moreover, it's closer to the city center and the train station, and there are many hotels in that area. However, the rent is not cheap! Our shop at the end of the street pays 15,000 yuan per year, but I heard that the rent on that side is 30,000 yuan per year, and you have to pay for three years with a one-year deposit. The landlord came to our house for dinner and we chatted with him, he's very tough, no negotiations below this condition. How can we afford such expensive rent?"

  Zhang Shu didn't think much and started talking about a fact, changing places to do business, she had thought about it before, the location on the east side of Wuyi Street was indeed very good.

  There are currently two stores available for rent, one of which is a dilapidated bungalow with an environment similar to the current restaurant, but with a smaller area and higher rent.

  Another one is a renovated old villa with a good environment and large area, but the rent is even more outrageous.

  The couple Zhang Shu, who have run a small restaurant for their whole lives, can't bear to spend more than double the current rent to rent a house somewhere else.

  "Am I not saying that? What I mean is, are Second Aunt and them thinking of striking out on their own?"

  Seeing that his mother had never thought that Er Yi would betray, Li Yifeng was somewhat anxious and directly reminded her. As soon as he spoke, the parents on the side immediately changed their faces.

  Father's expression was somewhat strange, while mother's face was filled with anger.

  "What are you talking about, kid? Your second aunt would never do such a thing! Our two families are doing well together, how could we possibly split up? Besides, running a restaurant on your own is not as easy as you think!"

  Zhang Shu was very angry. Li Yifeng shouldn't have said that about his second aunt. He's just a kid, and it's not up to him to get involved in grown-up matters.

  Looking at her mother's angry face, Li Yifeng sighed in his heart. His mother was still the kind of person who would never think ill of others. It was precisely this kind and merciful attitude that had harmed herself in her past life!

  To know, a heart that harms others must not exist, but a heart that guards against others must not be absent!