CHAPTER 417: CHAPTER 417: MIXER EVENT

Most of the Spring Festival couplets were quite similar, but this one she alone could make. She wasn’t afraid of others copying it, as each year was different. The ideas in her mind were beyond anyone’s reach. This advantage gave her a head start. By the time this small venture took off, she would have already made enough money to move on to other things.

In Qin Xiangnuan’s view, selling Spring Festival couplets was not just about making money, the most important part was seeing a family bonding over it, and everybody was in it for the joy.

This time, Qin Xiangnuan did not bother to calculate how much money she earned. However, it was thousands of yuan for sure. Nowadays, thousands of yuan no longer caught her attention. There’s no helping it, she would handle millions each year, especially from the Internet cafe which was very profitable. Earning so much made her head spin sometimes.

Thus, she handed over the matters of the Internet cafe to Jian Zhiqing.

In this world, if she couldn’t even trust Jian Zhiqing, then there was no one left she could trust.

Jian Zhiqing would manage the accounts well and then transfer the money into her bank account. Therefore, as of now, Qin Xiangnuan actually didn’t know how much money she had in her account. Anyway, she was not short of money anymore and surely wouldn’t return to her former destitude.

Their family had a lively celebration this New Year. People from the Internet cafe came over to their house for meals. Granny Lu loved having a house full of people. As soon as guests arrived, she’d be happily bustling around, taking care of all the eating and drinking, and everyone eased from their initial restraint to active participation over time.

Most of the staff Qin Xiangnuan hired were physically disabled, so Granny Lu pitied these young kids and treated them like her own children.

She genuinely cared for others, and naturally, they did the same.

Except for those ungrateful ingrates from the Qin Family.

After the New Year, spring returned, bringing life anew. It was time for sowing. Qin Xiangyang had risen early to prepare the fields. Jian Zhiqin brought many classmates who hadn’t farmed before. Despite being treated like young masters at home, they adapted impressively, fearlessly engaging with the dirt and hardships.

Qin Xiangyang planted their usual vegetables, and also corn, which once sown, required little care.

Now, Qin Xiangyang had more time than when he was studying; he was a military school graduate, teaching English and computer science. The school had recently launched a computer science program, and Qin Xiangyang proudly became one of its instructors.

He took his job very seriously for fear of failing his students. So, every winter and summer break, he would take courses to improve. When he came home, if not helping in the fields, he’d be assisting in the Internet cafe. Qin Xiangnuan now realized that managing the fields had become a problem. It used to be Qin Xiangyang with his classmates managing them, but most have gone to join the army elsewhere. Only Qin Xiangyang and Li Dongsheng in the Capital City remained from his group, the others had gone their separate ways.

Therefore, managing the fields started to feel beyond their capability, so Qin Xiangnuan thought it should be contracted out. After all, they owned the land, and it was convenient to grow their own vegetables, similar to how Granny Lu was used to plucking greens directly from the land.

She discussed this with Jian Zhiqing who had also considered this issue. Since Qin Xiangnuan brought it up, it couldn’t be delayed since the spring planting had begun.

He personally went to a nearby village and hired some people to farm the land. They worked as he instructed, and the deal included watering, fertilizing, and pest control. They would be paid 300 yuan per mu per month; such easy money was naturally desirable.

All it took was a bit more help in the fields, and soon, a family took on the responsibility.

That family was quite fortunate. The family had three brothers, all balding, and now grown up. The eldest and second did not complete their schooling and returned home to farm. The third was still studying but also helped at home. The issue was that their own land was too little for their energy.

With this opportunity, farming these five mu of land would effortlessly bring them 1000 yuan per month. They could easily handle this work.

With the farming taken care of, Qin Xiangnuan felt relieved. She always thought it best to pay others to farm; their family truly lacked the energy for it, since her schooling wasn’t demanding, she had plenty of other tasks to handle upon returning home; such as the school’s intercollegiate conference, planned together with other schools.

Though it was called a conference, comparisons were bound to occur.

So, under the guise of the conference, the covert competition for rankings was intense.

Jing University’s momentum had been unstoppable in recent years, and other schools likely sought this opportunity to undermine Jing University’s leading position, which, if unchecked, might soon rank it among the nation’s top universities. Although Jing University’s reputation was already significant, some schools were still unimpressed.

At this time, the art department’s presentation involved a fashion show. Qin Xiangnuan did not seek to stand out, so she quietly stepped down and provided assistance behind the scenes. She had noticed a trend where upperclassmen often bullied the new ones. One first-year student designed a garment that was outstanding, albeit a bit immature, but clearly talented.

Qin Xiangnuan paid close attention to this student. The student had a fair, charming face and was short, dressed ordinarily, indicative of a modest family background. They had a bright smile, shy and not very talkative, but the designs were somewhat inspired.

However, the student’s design was later discarded by their classmates, but then Qin Xiangnuan saw Liu Xiaohua produce a garment with a strikingly similar design, merely altering it slightly by changing a short sleeve to a long sleeve. Despite these changes, it was essentially the same idea. Qin Xiangnuan recognized it as the work of Mo QiQi, a first-year student. Liu Xiaohua made these changes and passed it off as her own work without a hint of embarrassment, still carrying herself haughtily, as if she were a born genius.