Wang Wen didn't know what the two were going to talk about, but guessed it was something his mother-in-law had told him, so he nodded and said, "Okay, brother, you and Lanlan go talk. I'll help clear the table."

Liu Dinglan pulled her brother into her new room and plopped down on the bed: "Phew, finally I can rest for a while."

"Brother, please sit wherever you like and chat with me for a while."

Liu Xu had nothing to say to his sister; what he had just told Wang Wen was merely an excuse to help Liu Dinglan avoid labor.

If she didn't say it that way, Liu Dinglan would definitely have to help clear the table and wash the dishes. She couldn't let her mother-in-law do all the work by herself, because at that point, she wouldn't care whether she was the bride or not.

Liu Xu looked at his sister, who had spread out on the bed in a large, unraveling manner, and shook his head with a smile: "You really are as lazy as ever."

Despite saying that, Liu Xu actually approved of his sister's behavior. His sister rarely did any housework at home, so why should she have to do housework on her wedding day? Besides, there was Wang Wen outside, so it wouldn't hurt for a grown man to do a little more work.

"Hmph, I call this being clever. Luckily you came, brother, otherwise I wouldn't know what excuse to come up with," Liu Dinglan said smugly.

"Then I hope you can stay this smart. Don't try to do things that aren't your responsibility, and don't be lazy about what you're supposed to do," Liu Xu instructed with some concern. He was actually a little worried that his sister would be disliked by her in-laws because she was too lazy.

Once you're married, you're family. It's impossible for you to stay home and act like an empress dowager without doing any housework. No one in the world can spoil you like your parents do.

Liu Dinglan nodded haphazardly in agreement. She knew her place; after all, she had her own job and wouldn't spend all her time in the man's kitchen.

Liu Dinglan sat up in bed and looked seriously at her older brother, saying, "Brother, don't you have any ideas?"

Liu Xu was puzzled and asked in confusion, "What thoughts? Should I have any thoughts?"

Liu Dinglan looked at him with exasperation: "Oh dear, I just can't reason with you, you blockhead. I'm four years younger than you! I'm already married, and you're not worried at all."

I've never seen anything like this before. Nowadays, when children get married, it's usually done in order of age, with the older ones getting married first before the younger ones. It's really disappointing that Liu Xu let his sister, who is four years younger than him, get married first.

"I'm not in a hurry. You're already married, so it's best to have a child soon for your parents to take care of," Liu Xu said in a very Zen-like manner.

He's completely given up. His parents might be pushing him a lot during this time, but once his sister gets pregnant, their attention will definitely be focused on her.

Liu Dinglan was so angry at her own brother that she was about to die: "..."

So the purpose of her having a child is just to distract her brother? Her future baby isn't some kind of tool.

——

Song Ze, who was far away in Beijing, was also busy during the winter vacation. He and Yuan Xin made their chili sauce business a great success.

After Song Ze started his winter vacation, the two planned to make a big splash, but as the weather got colder, it became difficult to catch small fish and shrimp in the river, and Yuan Xin was able to get less and less.

It's obviously impossible for the two of them to give up this lucrative business temporarily. They finally have a holiday and some free time, so if they don't seize the opportunity to make money, when will they ever get another chance?

Later, Song Ze had a sudden inspiration and tried using pork instead of small fish and shrimp to make a spicy meat sauce. Unexpectedly, the taste was no worse than the previous small fish sauce.

People prefer this meat-based chili sauce to the small fish chili sauce because it contains real pork.

Who wants to eat small fish and shrimp when they can enjoy delicious pork?

At this time, it was common for families to go a month without meat. Pork was hard to come by; you needed both money and meat coupons, and you had to go to the grocery store early in the morning to queue up and buy it.

So, many families don't eat meat not because they can't afford pork, but because they simply can't buy it.

The chili sauce made by Song Ze and Yuan Xin contains at least half a bottle of meat. Although it is a bit expensive, if you eat it sparingly, one bottle of chili sauce can last a long time.

When I don't feel like cooking or am going on a long trip, I just scoop out a spoonful of meat and chili sauce. It's delicious with rice or steamed buns.

After delivering the last batch of chili sauce, Song Ze and Yuan Xin returned to the courtyard to calculate their income for the period of time.

Neither of them had an easy time lately. They had to prepare all the ingredients themselves, chopping chili peppers and mincing meat every day, and their hands would cramp up from making chili sauce.

Song Ze sat on the stool, rubbing his sore arms, and looked up at Yuan Xin: "Xin, I'm about to start school, so let's put this business on hold for a while? I want to rest for a bit."

Upon hearing Song Ze say he wanted to rest for a while, Yuan Xin, who was engrossed in counting money, nodded vigorously: "I think it's perfectly fine. I've been exhausted these past few days."

Making money is great, but you can't sacrifice your health for it; health is the foundation of everything.

Song Ze glanced at him; he looked energetic and didn't seem tired at all.

The two had a division of labor when they went into business together. Yuan Xin often had to go out to pick up and deliver goods, while Song Ze did most of the work, such as cutting chili peppers and chopping meat.

After counting the last stack of money, Yuan Xin wrote a number in the ledger, and then wrote and calculated some more in his notebook.

Seeing that he hadn't finished calculating after a long time, Song Ze asked impatiently, "Xin, you're so slow! Have you finished calculating yet? How much did we make?"

Yuan Xin had just finished calculating the total amount, and in response to Song Ze's urging, he said unhurriedly, "It's a total of 1874 yuan, and each of us can get 937 yuan."

"Not bad, not bad, this month's hard work wasn't in vain," Song Ze said, his face full of satisfaction.

This total is their net profit after deducting costs. In less than a month, the two of them actually earned nearly two thousand yuan.

Don't underestimate this amount of money; it's several years' wages for an average worker.

It looks like money is easy to make, but not everyone can succeed in this business.

First, you need a source of goods to buy the ingredients needed for chili sauce. Second, you need a sales channel; otherwise, you don't know when you'll ever be able to sell them all by selling them one bottle at a time.

Song Ze and his team mainly sell chili sauce through wholesale, with a profit margin of about 50%. Each person can earn nearly 1,000 yuan, which is pretty good. It's worth it after a month of hard work!

Yuan Xin suddenly remembered that there was something he had forgotten to tell Song Ze.

She turned her head to look at Song Ze and said, "Ze, didn't you ask me to help you find a house last time? There's a two-courtyard house for sale in the south of the city, but the house is a bit dilapidated. Do you want to go take a look?"

Song Ze was delighted to hear about the available properties: "Of course I'll go! My girlfriend is coming back in a couple of days, so Qingqing and I will go together."