CHAPTER 436: CHAPTER 436: SISTER ER YA, LET’S COLLABORATE

"Sister Erya." Gong Ruini specifically went to the village to call Sister Erya over. Although the matter she was considering previously required the adults from Sister Er Ya’s family, she still wanted to ask Erya first.

If Erya’s response was that her family disagreed, then there’s no need to continue discussing it. But if the other party was willing to discuss it, then the adults should step in.

As for the person stepping in, that would be Cai Ming.

No other choice, all the male laborers at home had gone out, leaving Cai Ming as the only man who could support the household.

Erya, oh no, it should be Zhang Wen, upon receiving the message that Gong Ruini was calling her, she genuinely felt puzzled, really not knowing why Gong Ruini would look for her.

However, being sought out by Gong Ruini indicates it’s a good thing. Since the village knew Zhao Gang and his team were going to Beijing to find a house and see if they could sell the herbs along the way, everyone was incredibly excited.

The piles of herbs at home were a big trouble. If they could be converted into cash, that would be the best thing.

Families with far-sighted thinking would consider more, like if this route worked out, they could continue planting herbs, continue collecting them, and then have Zhao Gang help sell them.

The problem is that many people have such ideas, but they dare not speak plainly. They understand that last year’s events made Zhao Gang very dissatisfied, otherwise why did Doctor Zhan rarely help the villagers, apart from the villagers’ initial presumptuousness, it should also be their counterattack.

It’s not easy for the adults to step in; of course, kids can step in to gather information. Otherwise, why would Zhao Guangran be living so comfortably lately with so many people trying to garner information?

No one within the Zhang Family hadn’t suggested letting Zhang Wen find Gong Ruini, but they were also worried if Gong Ruini would be willing to help. In summary, the Zhang Family was just waiting for news, still waiting.

"Sister Erya, you’re here." Gong Ruini’s eyes lit up upon seeing Zhang Wen, quickly pulling her into the house.

Gong Ruini was eager to get things off her chest so she could be at ease, but her haste fell upon Zhang Wen’s eyes as if Gong Ruini was just like before.

"Sister Erya, have some water, I want to ask, how does your family handle the grain harvested each year?" No matter how much one beats around the bush, in the end, the question is inevitable.

Gong Ruini didn’t want to waste effort fussing over this. Having interacted over these days, she knew Erya was a decent person, at least tight-lipped and fairly loyal.

Her family’s grain? Erya certainly knew some of it, that was occasionally her father secretly taking it to the county town and quietly selling it. Now that Gong Ruini was asking, it should be because she wanted to buy grain.

City folks are said to be nice, but Zhang Wen knows that city people’s grains aren’t enough to eat; otherwise, why would her father occasionally go to the county town to sell grain—it’s because there’s a demand there.

If Doctor Zhan and the others really went to live in Beijing, there would definitely be grain issues, and buying from the village was certain, but Zhang Wen couldn’t make such decisions.

Rejecting by saying there’s no extra grain at home sounds too false, especially if their family still wants to do herbal business with Gong Ruini and the team, this cannot be declined.

Furthermore, Zhang Wen didn’t believe Zhao Gang would cheat them. Even if the money offered was slightly less than selling on the black market, it was much safer.

Zhang Wen thought it was a good idea, but her parents needed to agree, "I have to go back and ask my parents."

Gong Ruini had been staring at Zhang Wen, observing her expression. Gong Ruini sensed that Zhang Wen was likely intrigued, but the initiative was in her parents’ hands, they had to decide.

Now Zhang Wen said she would go back to ask her parents, which was already more than enough for Gong Ruini, "Thank you, Sister Erya."

Having said what needed to be said, Gong Ruini wanted to send Zhang Wen home, so she could quickly discuss it with her parents and get results sooner, instead of dangling the issue indefinitely.

"By the way, Sister Erya, when you have a certain amount of grain, we can purchase it all." Gong Ruini didn’t hide, "We can’t finish it and can sell some in Beijing for a bit of profit."

Though the people are many, everyone would help Zhao Gang calculate; it’s impossible for the consumption to exceed too much because of the number of people. Once Zhao Gang begins purchasing more grain, they’ll understand its trajectory. Rather than letting them guess, it’s better to be truthful.

Especially if this leaks, so what, it’s not as if there’s no payment, besides herbs are being promoted for everyone, purely without profit, should they not be allowed to earn a little from the grain?

That’s right, Zhang Wen didn’t understand before why clearly the villagers and Zhao Gang had conflicts, yet they were helping push the herbs.

Anyway, if it were her, Zhang Wen wouldn’t be so generous. But if grain business got involved, it suddenly seemed very normal; herbs were a favor, rice was the earnings.

Seeing Zhang Wen with an expression of "I knew it," Gong Ruini just wanted to say, no matter the time, a smart person is always a smart person, even a hint leads to many associations.

"If things are good over there, we’ll collect preserved meat as well. If you have time, Sister Erya, you could make some preparations," Gong Ruini murmured to Zhang Wen.

With both rice and preserved meat, Zhang Wen was overjoyed; those things were extremely popular in the city. Which family in the village didn’t secretly take these things to the county town for money?

Knowing it’s profitable, yet why is the scale still small? That’s because once caught, it’s a big problem, possibly leading to arrest—such things have happened. So even if they want to earn money, they dare not be bold, else a decent family would be looked down upon.

"Sure." Zhang Wen knew Gong Ruini wasn’t one to make false statements. Though she said she’d go back to ask her parents, she knew they would definitely agree.

Even if Gong Ruini wanted to profit, she wouldn’t leave them without earn.

Villagers said Zhao Gang was stingy, but didn’t they consider how many people would be as generous as Gong Ruini? Originally, a good game was just spoiled by them.

This opportunity Zhang Wen might have missed, last year their family earned a lot from herb-gathering, despite her parents not wanting the money, they felt hopeful. But this year, with more people gathering herbs, the sales weren’t as profit-making. Although her parents said they wouldn’t rely on them for livelihood, having no money on hand made life feel uneasy.

At this moment, Zhang Wen is grateful to Gong Ruini for reminding them to gather more herbs earlier, or they wouldn’t have collected so much.

What puzzled Zhang Wen was whether Gong Ruini already knew they were going to Beijing then? Wasn’t it said that the college entrance exam restoration was supposed to happen in the latter half of the year?