CHAPTER 163: CHAPTER 162: GIVE A MAN A FISH, TEACH A MAN TO FISH

Yu Xiaolian finished delivering the braised meat to Zhang Zhihe and then asked him about the progress of the custom-made bottles and jars she ordered.

Zhang Zhihe knew she was eagerly waiting to use them, so he had been rushing to complete the work these past few days as well, but crafting tinware is a meticulous task, unlike ceramics where many pieces can be fired in a kiln at once.

He had to make each piece one by one and then polish them individually. Yu Xiaolian had ordered too many, and the styles were all ones he hadn’t made before.

His shop was small and didn’t employ craftsmen for tinware; for years, it had just been him and his father working, with the entire family relying on this tin shop for their livelihood for decades.

In recent years, business for them had become increasingly poor, often going days without selling a single piece of tinware. His two uncles and the cousin had already abandoned tinware crafting, shifting to other trades, leaving him, as the eldest grandson of the Zhang family, struggling to maintain his ancestral business.

Upon first hearing the quantity Yu Xiaolian ordered, Zhang Zhihe suspected he had heard wrong. So many wine bottles and tea canisters, what’s the purpose?

Moreover, tinware is costly due to its intricate production process; usually, people buy one or two pieces, why did the Yu Family order so many?

In the past few days, Zhang Zhihe also heard that a miscellaneous goods shop was opening next door, but everyone who buys wine typically comes with their wine gourd to fill it. Who would buy such expensive wine packaged with tinware?

Other miscellaneous shops place tea leaves in a large tin container, and whoever wants to buy, the shopkeeper wraps the tea in oil paper, then the buyer takes the tea home, removes the oil paper, and places the tea in their tea canister at home.

Zhang Zhihe felt that the Yu Family’s shop seemed overly lavish and might struggle to make money in the future.

So when Yu Xiaolian came to deliver braised meat, Zhang Zhihe subtly mentioned it to her.

Yu Xiaolian understood the implication in Zhang Zhihe’s words, laughed, and explained that her family’s shop would be selling high-end products, different from other ordinary miscellaneous goods shops.

Before leaving, Yu Xiaolian smiled back, "Brother Zhang, when my shop opens, come and have a look. I guarantee it’s different from other miscellaneous goods shops."

Zhang Zhihe nodded. Yu Xiaolian’s confidence made him somewhat look forward to it.

When Yu Xiaolian arrived home, dinner was already laid out. On the table were a big bowl of steamed buns, a large bowl of braised meat, and a big plate of beans stewed with potatoes.

Yu Xiaolian had been eating these common dishes so often lately that she felt her palate had grown bland; she wanted something spicy, really spicy.

Grabbing a bun casually to eat, she thought to herself, tomorrow she would definitely cook a spicy meal for herself to satisfy her craving.

After the meal, Grandma Sun saw Little Tiger grabbing buns to take them to the dilapidated temple and immediately snatched the buns away.

"Sending a couple of times is just about right for charity. These are white flour buns; we couldn’t even have them ourselves before. Why can’t you manage your life, boy?" Grandma Sun took the buns she snatched away.

Little Tiger looked at Yu Xiaolian.

Yu Xiaolian asked, "How many people are there in that dilapidated temple? What kind of people are they?"

Little Tiger tilted his head to think, "Many people, many!"

Every time he went to the temple, the faces he saw were different.

Su Jingyue looked at Yu Xiaolian, "Those temple people are transient; they don’t seem to settle in just that one temple, there must be other places."

Yu Xiaolian sighed, "I’m not stopping you from being compassionate, but there are poor people everywhere. Some genuinely deserve sympathy, but some don’t. If you want to help others, you should know how to discern right from wrong; you can’t just help everyone."

Yu Xiaolian earnestly delivered a moral lesson, telling the story of Mr. Dong Guo and the Wolf, explaining that while benevolence is important, it must be rightly applied, and that teaching someone to fish is better than giving them a fish.

If someone capable of working chooses to beg instead, then your help isn’t aiding them; it’s ruining them.

So how should we teach someone to fish?

It requires you to study hard, find answers in books. Look at those learned scholars or court officials who govern people; which ones aren’t well-read and knowledgeable?

Moreover, educated individuals are respected wherever they go, and their words carry more weight than others.

In summary, at your age, you should focus on studying hard, not thinking about other matters. However, if someone sincerely asks for help, that’s a different story.

The children nodded in vague understanding, secretly remembering Sister Xiaolian’s saying to give emergency aid, not poverty relief.

Yu Xiaolian temporarily acted as the group counselor, giving a moral lesson to the children, and then received praise from her grandmother.

Grandma Sun commented that a few meals of rice and white flour had made them forget their roots, commending Yu Xiaolian’s teaching and management, saying the kids listened to her and suggested she keep guiding them well in the future.

Yu Xiaolian thought about watering the chili sprouts, gave a perfunctory reply to Grandma Sun, and ran back to her room.

Back in the room, she watered the chili sprouts, then dragged the wooden basin to a sunny spot to let the chili seedlings soak up some sun.

After tending to the chili sprouts, Yu Xiaolian was about to go inside the store to grab some soap boxes, when she heard Little Tiger calling her from outside, "Sister Xiaolian, my dad brought home pork intestines, he asks how to clean them?"

Yu Xiaolian went to the neighbor’s place and instructed her uncle to use salt, vinegar, and flour for cleaning, advising to wash them several times, and after washing, turn the intestines over and wash them again.

Yu Xiaolian loved eating pork intestines but couldn’t stand the smell, so she pinched her nose, stood afar, and guided them, and once done, she quickly ran off.

She went into the store and swept soaps and essential oil soaps onto the floor, then sat down to unwrap them, and once done, she took them to Zhao Erya’s room to wrap in oil paper and affix labels.

Zhao Erya was already very skilled at this task, identifying various scents like red pomegranate, rose, and sea salt for the essential oil soaps, and then attaching the corresponding label.

Yu Xiaolian gathered various hair ties, handmade hair clips, barrettes, titanium steel earrings, and various brooches from the store.

She took these items to the shop and placed them in small compartments.

Zhao Erya, carrying a basket filled with packaged soap, asked, "Where should I put the soap?"

Yu Xiaolian pointed to the right shelf, "Put daily necessities on this side and food on that side."

Zhao Erya placed the soaps and asked Yu Xiaolian if there was anything else to put up?

Some items, Yu Xiaolian was still hesitating to display, momentarily lost in thought, and only when Zhao Erya asked again did Yu Xiaolian respond.

"Come help me unwrap candy wrappers!"

Yu Xiaolian fastened the shop’s door panels, lit a candle, and began unwrapping fruit candy wrappers together with Zhao Erya.

Once there was a large porcelain bowl full, Yu Xiaolian stopped.

Unwrapping candy wrappers was tedious.

She pushed the fruit candies to Zhao Erya, "Get those kids to help you unwrap; there’s strength in numbers."