Being nagged by Xiaoqi's Grandma Li Fengjiao every day, Su Youfu and his wife Sheng Juanhua had no choice but to go into the city together to sell bamboo baskets today.
Even so, Li Fengjiao still had more to say. She felt that for just selling a few bamboo baskets, it was unnecessary for the daughter-in-law to tag along with the old man, wasting money on transportation fees. And they would surely spend more money on meals when they go out.
Sheng Juanhua knew her mother-in-law's temperament - no matter what you do, she will always have something to say, with a mouth that never stops. So she paid no attention.
Feeling sorry for her husband's lame leg, yet he still had to carry a heavy load, she added some extra money to hire Driver Dayong to drive them directly into the city early in the morning. External license plates could still enter the city at this time.
They had done this several times now. It was much more convenient and faster this way. Otherwise it would have taken Su Youfu over an hour to carry the bamboo baskets there.
Today, having sold the bamboo baskets under pressure from her mother-in-law, the couple did not make many. Bamboo basket prices had increased substantially, several times that of winnowing baskets. But the level of difficulty had also increased. In the past one could make several winnowing baskets a day, but bamboo baskets had higher requirements for both workmanship and bamboo quality. Su Youfu was a very sincere man, unwilling to cheat people. With the higher prices, he worked even more conscientiously. Occasionally there would be one or two damaged ones, which the family kept for themselves, never bringing them out to sell.
So although the unit price was higher, they did not actually earn much more money.
But it was still far better than before, over seven hundred yuan. The couple had planned to save every five hundred or thousand yuan they earned, depositing nice round figures into the bank.
With just over seven hundred, they could deposit five hundred.
Originally the two intended to save up a little more, to one thousand yuan before making another deposit. But with the grandmother pestering them every day about the great uncle's upcoming birthday banquet, if they did not contribute at least a little money, she would probably become impossible to deal with regarding any other family matter.
"It's still more comfortable being Yellow Boss, just having to sit in her shop receiving and selling goods." Sheng Juanhua sighed as they left the shop.
Another woman, Yellow Boss was quite ordinary looking herself. But she just looked so carefree, already having morning tea prepared to leisurely drink while opening her shop early in the morning. It gave off an air of comfort.
Su Youfu also said longingly, "Of course. She has a storefront. The rent on storefronts is expensive. We could never afford one, let along the transfer fees."
"If we had a small shop, with you making bamboo baskets and other little crafts, do you think there would be buyers? I see that Yellow Boss takes all you make each time we come. Everything you sold last time is gone. It seems to sell pretty well."
"Maybe someone buys them. But those are probably regular customers for her business." Su Youfu did not linger on this topic, but was slightly moved in his heart.
Over these last few times when his daughter-in-law accompanied him to sell bamboo baskets, she was the one who helped carry everything, unwilling to burden him due to his lame leg. Yet on these city streets, every woman they passed was dressed up brightly, clutching a small purse and strutting in leather shoes.
Only his daughter-in-law helped carry a heavy burden for him.
In the end it was because he was useless.
In Su Youfu's eyes, Sheng Juanhua was much more beautiful than those women on the streets.
The two arrived together at the bank counter to deposit money. Su Youfu knew the ropes by now, going in to take a number and lining up.
When his number was called, the couple went to the window together. Su Youfu sat down and crammed in the five hundred yuan cash and his bank book, foolishly saying, "Deposit money, deposit five hundred."
The tellers were now familiar with this lame old man who regularly came to deposit money.
Nowadays very few people actually came to deposit money. Making large deposits, sure, but small ones could easily be handled through mobile transfer, no need to come to the bank.
Additionally, the first time Su Youfu came he understood nothing, needing a bank employee to walk him through the process step-by-step. He also had a significant identifying characteristic, the limp leg. And every time he came to this same branch to deposit money. So the tellers all knew him, having heard that he was saving money for his daughter in university.
There was always a bit of a sour taste internally that accompanied handling his transactions. They had heard the old man proudly say that his daughter attended the prestigious Enhua University. These bank tellers were at least university graduates themselves. They felt this old man's daughter must be an ungrateful type. Her physically disabled father worked hard to earn money, certainly not easily. He always came carrying a shoulder pole and sacks - just imagining the scene of a poor peasant painstakingly carrying whatever little things his family grew at home to sell.
Such bitter toil, yet his daughter attended a private university. The tuition at Enhua was high enough for four years at an ordinary university! This was not attending university, this was sucking blood from her parents!
Today the teller processed his deposit as usual, but still could not help complaining internally.
But when she swiped open the bank book he handed over, she froze. Swiping it again in disbelief, she opened it up and looked at the number, counting it twice. There was astonishingly a seven digit figure of over one million yuan in the account!
She thought the bank machine must be malfunctioning, but that was impossible.
She called over her supervisor.
Familiar with this elderly customer and his significant physical handicap, the supervisor assumed something was wrong when the teller noisily called her over.
The supervisor came over unhurriedly and glanced at the bank book, then she also froze.
But her experience was clearly more abundant.
She did not display any particularly odd reaction.
Sitting outside the window, Su Youfu and Sheng Juanhua were quite unsettled by the teller's demeanor.
"What's the matter, comrade? Is the bank book damaged?" Su Youfu asked.
"Bank books can be damaged?" Sheng Juanhua supplemented. "It was just opened recently. Or is the amount inside wrong? Is it less? It being off by a small amount would be normal, our daughter spends it."
If the total had been tens of thousands, the teller would not have cared at all about a minor discrepancy. Who interferes in customers' family matters?
But given this old man's appearance and situation, it was clearly impossible for him to have so much money.
The head teller opened her mouth, "It's not less money, but far more. Elder brother, has your daughter mentioned anything happening lately?"
Maintaining a responsible service attitude, she still asked the question. Although a customer's account balance was not the bank's affair, sometimes tellers benevolently tried to stop elders about to mistakenly wire transfer money to scammers.
Su Youfu and Sheng Juanhua looked at each other, then Su Youfu said, "There is something. My daughter participated in a competition, was even on TV. She said there was a large bonus that would be deposited into her account. Could the money have arrived?"
The teller relaxed upon hearing the explanation. Well that's fine then.
But she still felt baffled, passing the bank book back to the old man.
Su Youfu and Sheng Juanhua craned their necks together to take a look. Indeed the several zeros first blinded them, not reacting at first. After a moment Su Youfu shakily counted with his fingers. It was in the millions.
Even as his legs trembled counting, the lame one even tingling and going numb, Su Youfu kept in mind that the teller was still speaking to him. "It's this much. My daughter said she broke some marathon record and won prize money. If you've seen our local TV station, they did a piece on my daughter. Comrade, so the money is deposited OK?"
The teller had forgotten about the five hundred yuan cash, distracted by shock.
Glancing at her supervisor standing beside after calling her over, she hastily tried processing the transaction properly, first running the cash through the counting machine.
The head teller politely apologized, "Sorry for the trouble caused by our new trainee here still learning the operations."
Su Youfu and Sheng Juanhua repeatedly shook their heads to indicate no problem at all.
After their previous experience with the foundation, the couple held a bias against banks and funds, feeling them all to be powerful figures. Such gentle, polite treatment made them quite uncomfortable.
With the five hundred yuan deposit processed and bank book in hand, looking at the sum, the couple felt dizzy.
Instead of leaving immediately, they sat in the bank lobby chairs.
Su Youfu had Sheng Juanhua pinch him, then yelped softly before covering his mouth. Then he whispered, "I've never even seen this much money before. I wonder how long it would take to count it out when withdrawn."
"How could you withdraw it? Taking it out, wouldn't you worry about it being snatched away? It's safest leaving it in the bank." After whispering back and forth a while but having no good ideas what to do with the money, they eventually agreed unanimously not to touch it. Their daughter had earned it. With no worries about food and clothing for themselves, no debts, they had no use for money.
The couple discussed quite a while before finally leaving the bank. Sheng Juanhua tucked the bank book into her innermost garment, even clutching her belly as they walked.
It was nerve-wracking to go out.
Although it was still early, the two decided not to eat and to go straight back and take the bus.
When they got to the bus stop, Su Youfu bought two scallion pancakes and took them on the bus with him.
On the bus, Sheng Juanhua took a seat, and Su Youfu stood next to her to look after her.
Others who saw thought this couple was very loving - the husband's leg was lame, yet he still gave up his seat for his wife and was willing to stand.
In reality, normally Sheng Juanhua would have let her child's father sit, but today she was also nervous and afraid, covering her belly, scared that the bankbook might somehow fall out.
It was an exceptionally long few stops, but they finally saw driver Dayong's car, and both let out a breath, sitting at the roadside outside the car, each with a pancake, nibbling away at them with the water they had brought.
