Chapter 8 - Elder brother Liu Heping

Xiaojiu was rather unfamiliar with his elder brother, Liu Heping, because Liu Heping had left for Guangdong to work when he was 18 years old and hadn't been back for two years. At that time, Xiaojiu was only three years old and knew nothing. When he came back, he bought a pack of "Little White Rabbit" candies and a pack of biscuits for Xiaojiu. In the first year, he even sent money home. In the second year, it was said that he was fond of playing cards with his fellow villagers and lost all his money. He didn't send a single penny home for the whole year. Perhaps he had no choice but to come back because he couldn't make a living outside. Xiaojiu noticed that his elder brother stared at the money without even blinking, and he knew that his brother might have his eyes on the money. Xiaojiu immediately zipped up the leather bag and said to his elder brother, "This money was earned by me and has nothing to do with you." Liu Heping smiled and said, "Don't worry, brother won't rob you. But how about lending me some money? You see, brother bought you candies specially when he came back." Xiaojiu considered it for a moment and asked, "How much do you want to borrow?" Liu Heping stretched out one finger. Xiaojiu said, "You want to borrow 100 yuan?" Liu Heping shook his head and said, "Don't be so stingy, little brother. I'm talking about borrowing 10,000 yuan." Xiaojiu never expected that while he might be bold in asking for money, his elder brother was even more so. Xiaojiu shook his head and said, "I don't have it. This money is going to be saved by mom for me to use when I get married in the future." Liu Heping was stunned by this statement and asked Xiaojiu, "How old are you this year?" Xiaojiu replied, "I'm five years old." Liu Heping said, "Little brother, aren't you thinking too far ahead? You're only five years old and already thinking about getting married?" Xiaojiu said, "Why do you care so much? Anyway, I won't lend it to you. If I lend it to you, I'm sure I'll never get it back. I heard you arguing with mom. You earned money and then went to play cards and gamble. Because of you, I couldn't even have meat at home and always had to mooch off other people's meals. Mom said you've embarrassed her so much. Now that I've earned money, I'll have meat every day." These words made his elder brother, Liu Heping, feel extremely ashamed. He also never expected that his mother and younger brother had been living such a difficult life at home. While he had been feasting and gambling outside, he hadn't thought about his family at all. He realized that he was not even as good as his five-year-old younger brother. With a sad expression, Liu Heping said, "It's okay if you don't want to lend me the money." Xiaojiu knew that his elder brother must be in debt, otherwise he wouldn't have set his sights on a child like him. Considering that Liu Heping was his elder brother after all, Xiaojiu thought it wouldn't be right not to help him. Xiaojiu said, "You can have the money, but you must help with the housework. I can help you pay off your debts." Liu Heping asked in surprise, "How do you know I'm in debt?" Xiaojiu put on an adult-like air and said, "Just look at your pitiful state. You must be in debt to others, that's why you're eyeing a child like me for money." Xiaojiu unzipped the bag and gave his elder brother 10,000 yuan, telling him to pay off his debts. He also told his brother to stay at home and not go out to work anymore, and to help their mother with more chores. Xiaojiu patted his chest and said, "I'll earn a lot of money in the future, and I'll give you a share. Don't tell mom about today's matter. Otherwise, you won't get a single penny in the future." Liu Heping happily took the money and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you from now on. From now on, you're my elder brother, all right?" Xiaojiu rolled his eyes. His elder brother was really unreliable. The two brothers reached an agreement. Just as Xiaojiu was about to hide the money, he saw four more people entering through the front gate. Liu Heping stood in front of his younger brother protectively, looking alert, and said, "What do you want?" These middle-aged men said, "Don't misunderstand. We followed Boss Li here. We're here to invite the little mage to our coal mine to help us with some matters." Only then did Liu Heping relax, having thought they were there to rob them of their money. Xiaojiu stepped forward and said, "No problem, as long as you prepare the money. But I need to take a tour of your coal mine before I can give you a price. And don't say that you can't accept the price I offer. You must have come to invite me after seeing that Boss Li has made a fortune. If I go and you can't accept my price, you still have to give me a red envelope, and the minimum amount should not be less than 330 yuan." The bosses immediately said, "No problem." They also asked, "When shall we leave?" Xiaojiu said, "It has to be postponed for a month. Because it will soon be the busy farming season, and I need to help my mom harvest the rice. If you can't wait, you can find someone else." The bosses quickly said they could wait. Each of them took out 10,000 yuan and put it on the table, saying, "This is the deposit. We'll come back in a month." They were afraid that Xiaojiu would refuse. The way Xiaojiu spoke didn't seem like that of a five-year-old child. They didn't dare to offend a master like Xiaojiu, so they gave the deposit first to prevent him from changing his mind. They left in a hurry after putting down the money. Liu Heping stood by and didn't say a word, watching his younger brother's performance with his mouth agape. In just a short while, 40,000 yuan had come in. His younger brother was truly like the God of Wealth descending to earth! Making money seemed so easy for him! If he followed his younger brother in the future, he might really be able to live a good life. He had worked extremely hard in Guangdong for a whole year but couldn't earn more than two or three thousand yuan. He even had to screw bolts until his hands were swollen. He had to work at least fourteen or fifteen hours a day to earn 3,000 yuan. Looking at his younger brother, who had earned 140,000 yuan just by talking today, and the bosses were even eager to give him the money, smiling widely as Xiaojiu accepted it. These people were really rich and naive! Anyway, he had really opened his eyes today. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, who would have thought that his younger brother, who was only five years old, was so good at making money? If someone had told him this, he wouldn't have believed it even if he were beaten to death. Xiaojiu said to his elder brother, Liu Heping, "You'll work with me from now on. I'll pay you 500 yuan a month. That's a high salary, isn't it? I'll give you a bonus depending on your performance later. Don't tell mom about how I make money. If you tell her, it'll be all over. Mom will confiscate all the money and won't even let me go out. So, you should follow my lead in the future. When there's business, just say you're taking me out to play." Liu Heping could only nod. He felt that his younger brother spoke and acted with great confidence. He, as the elder brother, felt like he was the younger one and that he had no sense of presence. Liu Heping was so disheartened that he felt like a useless person, not even as good as one of his younger brother's fingers. Xiaojiu took out 40,000 yuan from the bag and wrapped another 40,000 yuan in newspaper and took them upstairs to hide. He planned to give the remaining money to his mother. After all, it would be hard to explain if he didn't give her some money. At noon, Zeng Wenxiu came back. Seeing the two brothers chatting and laughing, she felt relieved. As a mother, she just hoped that her sons would get along harmoniously and be safe and sound. Zeng Wenxiu called out to the two brothers, and then they realized that their mother had returned. The two brothers quickly went to help their mother carry things. Zeng Wenxiu happily stroked Xiaojiu's head and said, "Mom bought your favorite meat buns and spare ribs for you. I'll cook them for you later. You can have the meat buns first." Xiaojiu took the meat bun and took a bite, half of it gone in one mouthful. While eating, he said, "Thank you, mom." Liu Heping ran to put the things away and poured a bowl of tea for his mother. He told his mother that there had been guests today, and one of them seemed to be called Boss Li. Since he saw that she wasn't at home, he left the things and went away. Taking this opportunity, Xiaojiu took the bag under the table and gave it to his mother. He said to Zeng Wenxiu, "This is the gratitude money from Boss Li." Zeng Wenxiu opened the bag and saw 50,000 yuan inside. Zeng Wenxiu looked puzzled and said, "Didn't Boss Li already give us money? Why is he giving so much again?" Xiaojiu said, "I gave him some information about making a fortune, and he's come to thank us. Now that he's made a great fortune, this amount of money is nothing to him. Just accept it."