Generally speaking, Li Xiangās house was on the west end of the village, on the outskirts. It wasnāt part of the "core area," so people didnāt usually come by to visit. It was a bit of a walk, and the elderly villagers found the trek tiring.
But today, several elderly villagers, both men and women, had come to visit together.
As the saying goes, people donāt visit without a reason. Granny Li Xiang was a little surprised. She quickly invited them to sit down and brought out roasted chestnuts, along with some melon seeds, candies, and small pastries Li Xiang had bought to serve her guests.
After some simple pleasantries and a bit of small talk, the elders revealed the purpose of their visit.
It turned out they wanted Granny Li Xiang to persuade her grandson to uphold the fine tradition of thrift and frugality passed down from their ancestors and to stop spending money so lavishly.
Even though it was Li Xiangās money and not their own, as elders, they couldnāt just stand by and watch.
It was for Li Xiangās own good.
"You need to have a good talk with Xiang Ya," said a silver-haired old man, who was from the same generation as Granny Li Xiang but a few years her senior. "Heās not a boy anymore. Itās time for him to start saving money for a wife."
Another woman, slightly younger, chimed in, "Thatās right, Auntie. Li Xiang will need a lot of money when he gets married and has children. If he doesnāt save now, what will he do later? Weāre just worried about him, so we came to offer some advice. Please donāt take it the wrong way, Auntie."
The others all chimed in one after another. Granny Li Xiang could only give a wry smile and spread her hands. "XiangāEr is all grown up. He has his own ideas now. He might not listen to an old woman like me."
"Besides, heās earning his own money. So I just let him be." Granny Li Xiang hesitated for a moment but couldnāt resist mentioning that Li Xiang had earned a little money selling mushrooms and nine-steamed, nine-sun-dried Solomon.
"What? Heās earned almost a hundred thousand? For real?"
The elders were stunned. āLi Xiang was so quiet before,ā they thought, āand now heās already started selling things and making money?ā
And this much, too?
They had all assumed that Li Xiang was just draining his savings, spending the money heād accumulated from working in the city.
In reality, Li Xiang had had a miserable time in the big city. In two years of work, he hadnāt saved as much as he had in the two months since heād been back.
The elders were old and didnāt really understand online sales. They only knew Li Xiang was fiddling with it, but they didnāt think heād gotten it off the ground yet. After all, heād only just started. How could he be successful so quickly?
"I see... Earning money is a good thing, but thatās all the more reason to be frugal. You canāt just spend as much as you earn. If you spend it all, how will you ever afford a wife?"
"Weāre still trying to set him up, looking for a suitable match. If he can save a little more money, weāll have more to boast about when we play matchmaker. Weād have more confidence."
Granny Li Xiang heard this and thought it made sense. She quickly smiled and said, "Iāll give him a good talking-to when he gets back. As for finding him a wife, I hope you all will continue to help and keep an eye out."
"Of course. Li Xiang went to college, after all. He should at least find someone who graduated from high school."
"In my opinion, it doesnāt matter if sheās uneducated. The main thing is that sheās virtuous and good for childbearing," another elder suggested.
"I think Lei Laohuās second daughter from Lei Family Gully is a good match. I can help set something up another day, let the young ones meet. Who knows, maybe itāll be a perfect fit?"
Even with nine years of compulsory education nowadays, there were still many students who couldnāt keep up with their studies and chose to drop out. For example, there was one in their own village who attended the first few days of junior high and then refused to go back. She absolutely wouldnāt go, no matter what. Her family had no choice but to wait until she was a bit older and take her to a more developed region to find work.
"Itās still two or three months until the New Year. A lot of the girls havenāt come back yet, so weāll probably have to wait on the matchmaking."
As they were all chatting back and forth, a very luxurious car suddenly pulled up slowly and stopped not far from the doorway.
A burly driver wearing sunglasses got out, opened the back door, and ushered out the boss inside.
The boss was a big man with a thick beard, decked out in jewelry. He was carrying a briefcase, looked to be in his early forties, and strode over with great purpose. He asked in a loud voice, "Excuse me, elders, is this Li Xiangās house?"
Everyone was taken aback. āLooking for Li Xiang?ā
Granny Li Xiang quickly stood up and said, "This is his house, but he went to the back mountain to dig for bamboo shoots. He isnāt back yet."
"No problem, I can wait for him here. And you are, maāam...?" The bearded man was surprisingly polite, despite his appearance and attire giving off a strong "keep away, strangers and riffraff" vibe.
"Iām his grandmother. What business do you have with him?" Granny Li Xiang asked.
"Ah, so youāre his grandmother! A pleasure to meet you! Itās nothing major. I sell coffee over in Yunnan Province. I have a large farm and just opened a new hotel. I happened to be in Rongcheng on a business trip, so I came to pay him a visit and talk about a potential advertising partnership."
"An advertising partnership?"
At these words, not only was the grandmother stunned, but the other village elders present also looked at each other in bewilderment.
"What kind of advertising? Li Xiang can do advertising?" one of the elders asked, puzzled.
The bearded man pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offering one to each of the old men present. He laughed heartily and said, "Of course he can. My friend Li Xiang is doing a great job with his short videos, and he has a considerable number of followers. Most importantly, I have a good feeling about him. I think heās going to achieve great things in the future."
"Oh, I see."
"So whatās he advertising? How much does it pay?"
"Heāll just insert an ad into his short videos to introduce my coffee brand and my new resort hotel. The ads arenāt long, about a minute each. As for the fee, my friend Li Xiang and I agreed on it yesterday. Sixteen thousand for two videos."
"Sixteen thousand? That much?" The elders were stunned. At the same time, they felt a bit awkward. Just moments ago, they were saying Li Xiang was a spendthrift who didnāt know how to save. They were worried heād burn through all his money and have nothing left.
When Granny Li Xiang said heād earned nearly a hundred thousand, they hadnāt really believed her. They just thought she was bragging and exaggerating the numbers. But who would have thought? This man was here with sixteen thousand right off the bat!
It seemed that hundred thousand was real after all.
āIs it really that easy to make money? So spending that ten thousand on some short film wasnāt just him messing around? It was actually a worthwhile investment? Heās really doing serious work?ā
āThis new era... we old folks just canāt keep up anymore.ā
"Itās not that much," the bearded man said with a smile. āThis is pocket change,ā he thought. āIāve got more than that in cash in my briefcase.ā
Even though people usually used their phones for transfers these days, cash was still necessary in many situations. For example... giving gifts.
Besides, carrying a lot of cash and throwing down stacks of it at a crucial moment had a certain... swagger.
"Quick, quick, Auntie, hurry and get Li Xiang back here! Does he have his phone? Maybe I should give him a call!" one of the women said anxiously. A big boss was waiting right here! He needed to get back and talk business! What if the deal fell through?