Free Web NovelChapter 112: Chapter 112: Changing Faces
"You... Su Li... You..." Fang Yulan’s eyes turned red with anger. She looked from Su Li to Li Hongqin, then suddenly gritted her teeth.
"You’re all in on this together to trick me! I don’t believe you’re the boss! I don’t believe it!"
She screamed as she stumbled away, still yelling, "I don’t believe it! It’s impossible!"
She screamed that she didn’t believe it, but the very intensity of her denial proved that she did.
Fang Yulan left in disbelief. Beneath the old apricot tree, it was utterly silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
They were all stunned. In their hearts, they felt the same as Fang Yulan—it seemed impossible.
But they weren’t idiots. One moment, Fang Yulan was bragging about how well she knew Li Hongqin, and the next, she was proven wrong. Li Hongqin had instead shown concern for Su Li, even saying she needed to consult her about something...
Anyone with half a brain could figure out what was going on.
They could gossip about Fang Yulan’s bragging for a bit and move on, but the fact that Su Li was the boss of the school uniform business? That was something they couldn’t just get over.
This was too big.
They were completely and utterly dumbfounded.
’A boss! Su Li is an even bigger boss than Li Hongqin!’
If they had found out two months ago that Su Li was the owner of Pinjun Clothing, it might not have meant much to them. They wouldn’t have understood the significance. But now, after these past two months, they knew exactly what it represented.
They didn’t even need to know how much money Li Hongqin herself had earned. All they had to do was look at how much the people in Li Family Village who worked for her were making.
The diligent ones with good skills could earn up to twenty yuan a month! That was almost as much as a city factory worker’s salary.
And that was just for one person. In some households, the mother, daughters, and sisters all worked together, with the men pitching in too. Rumor had it that some families had already earned several hundred yuan.
In just two or three months, two or three families were already planning to build large, tile-roofed houses!
This was the kind of thing so many people dreamed of!
And they had gotten all of this thanks to Li Hongqin!
Li Hongqin had already become the most capable and respected person in the surrounding villages, someone everyone wanted to get on the good side of. And now, Li Hongqin was telling them that Su Li was the real big boss.
She said she didn’t even dare call herself "boss" in front of Su Li. Just how powerful was Su Li?
The people of Xinghua Village would never have imagined in their wildest dreams that while they were desperately trying to curry favor with people from Li Family Village to find some work, the most important person, the one whose word truly mattered, was right here in their own village!
They couldn’t quite put their feelings into words, but one could get a sense of it from their constantly shifting expressions.
Amidst their shock, they felt a wave of relief. ’Thank goodness we didn’t join Fang Yulan in badmouthing Su Li just now!’
When Su Li withdrew her gaze from Fang Yulan’s departing figure and glanced past them, they reflexively broke into smiles.
It was a little sycophantic.
Su Li saw it. She lowered her eyes, a flash of scorn passing through them.
Ignoring Sister-in-law Tang, who was approaching her with a face full of regret, she took Little Tang Mo’s hand and said to Li Hongqin, "Let’s go."
"Okay," Li Hongqin replied, following behind Su Li.
"Teacher Su..."
"Teacher Su..."
Wherever Su Li went, the people of Xinghua Village consciously made way for her, not forgetting to greet her with broad smiles.
The fawning in their smiles was practically overflowing.
Just a few minutes ago, their smiles toward Su Li had been tinged with ridicule.
Looking at the scene now, it was as if that had all been a dream.
These were the people of Xinghua Village. They were just that pragmatic.
Su Li furrowed her brow slightly. Without looking at anyone, she slowly led Li Hongqin away and out of their sight.
The moment Su Li and the others left, the area under the old apricot tree erupted into chaos.
Half an hour later, the entire Xinghua Village was in an uproar.
The Tang Family home was perhaps the only calm place. Although the feeling in Mrs. Tang’s hands and feet had improved significantly, she hadn’t fully recovered and spent most of her day at home.
Because Su Li had rejected Sister-in-law Tang’s request the day before and had even retorted in a way that left Mrs. Tang speechless, Mrs. Tang was once again unhappy with her.
She didn’t dare show her displeasure openly, so she just avoided Su Li and didn’t want to talk to her.
When Su Li and Li Hongqin returned, she was still in bed, not yet up for the day.
Su Li and Li Hongqin discussed business while cooking, with Little Tang Mo bustling about helping them.
"Little Tang Mo is becoming more and more well-behaved," Li Hongqin said, switching to small talk after they had finished discussing business.
"Yes," Su Li nodded.
Lately, Su Li had been paying close attention to Little Tang Mo’s nutrition. Every time she went to the county seat, she would find a way to buy bones and other things to make him soup. As a result, Little Tang Mo had grown quite a bit recently.
"Who was that woman from before?" Li Hongqin asked about the earlier incident, and Su Li briefly explained.
"These people..." Li Hongqin shook her head. She looked at Su Li again. "You didn’t tell them about your business before. Were you intentionally keeping it a secret?"
Su Li thought for a moment. "Not intentionally secret, no. I just never went out of my way to mention it."
"Tsk, tsk..." Li Hongqin clicked her tongue twice. "Just you wait. They’ll be flocking to you soon enough."
On this point, Li Hongqin had the most experience.
"Let them," Su Li said, completely unbothered.
After lunch, Li Hongqin hurried back to her work, and Su Li took Little Tang Mo to class.
That afternoon, Zhao Wenming was absent again.
The other teachers looked at Su Li differently, but not overtly so.
As for the students, nothing had changed.
Su Li spent a peaceful afternoon at school.
Outside the school, however, a whirlwind of gossip swept through Xinghua Village.
The news that Su Li was an even bigger boss than Li Hongqin had spread to everyone in the village.
At the same time, after an afternoon of fermenting gossip, their focus had zeroed in on one question: How much money did Su Li have?
The villagers of Xinghua Village had already found out the prices of the school uniforms before. They hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now, when they thought about those prices, and then about the sheer number of uniforms...
They didn’t dare to think about it too much.
In a single afternoon, rumors began to circulate that Su Li had earned several thousand, or even ten thousand yuan, making her a "ten-thousand-yuan household."
When Su Li came out after school, the way the villagers of Xinghua Village looked at her, it was as if they weren’t looking at a person anymore.
In their eyes, Su Li was money. She was a walking gold ingot!
Mrs. Tang had finally heard the news as well and was waiting in the courtyard for Su Li. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
The moment Su Li stepped into the courtyard, she asked impatiently, "Su Li, is it true? Are you really that Li Hongqin’s boss?"
Before Su Li could answer, she pressed on, "Why didn’t I know about this? When did you start working with them... no, wait. All those times you said you had business in the county seat, was it because of this?"
Meeting Mrs. Tang’s eager gaze, Su Li nodded. "Yes. Tang Yuanxiao knows about it."
Tang Yuanxiao did, in a way, know; she had mentioned it to him in passing before.
When Mrs. Tang heard that Tang Yuanxiao knew, her shoulders relaxed. "Oh, Tangyuan knew..."
Su Li gave a casual "mhm" and was about to enter the side room when Mrs. Tang hurriedly called out to her again.
"Then what about the money you’ve earned? How come I haven’t seen any of it? And why didn’t you let the people from Xinghua Village do the work? Since Li Hongqin has to listen to you, you should have let our people from Xinghua Village make the clothes."
Mrs. Tang spoke with the earnest persistence of a concerned mother.
Su Li listened and gave Mrs. Tang a faint look. "The money I earn is, naturally, mine to keep."
As for the rest of what she said, Su Li acted as if she hadn’t heard it at all.
Mrs. Tang stared at Su Li’s back, her eyes filled with anger. "Su Li, what kind of attitude is that..."
