It was exactly 2 PM when Chen Xihua left Jing'an Teahouse. She went straight to the old principal's house. Her calligraphy had improved by leaps and bounds recently, and she had a certain foundation. There was no way around it; Old Man Qin would always be watching her from the side.

In Old Qin's living room, there are two tables: one is the original dining table, and the other was moved over by the old principal, which is just right for Chen Xihua and her brother to practice calligraphy.

"Fifth Sister, you've arrived!" As soon as Chen Xihua entered the door, she saw that Chen Baohua had already arrived and was about to start practicing calligraphy.

When Chen Xihua left home in the morning, she walked, leaving her bicycle with Chen Xiaoliu. Chen Xiaoliu had just worked up a sweat from walking and didn't want to practice calligraphy yet.

"Teacher, didn't you consider going back to Shanghe Village for a few days? Look how hot it is now, it's a good time to go back to Shanghe Village to escape the heat!" Old Qin's current house, although there is a fan in the living room, is a two- or three-story building without insulation, and it gets very hot from all sides.

"What's wrong? You want to slack off? I'll only go back in September when you all start school!"

However, for the next two weeks, you and your brother can come to practice from eight to ten in the morning! Old Man Qin was very merciful, feeling that he was still very good to Xi Ya.

"How could that be! I was just worried about you! You should still take care of yourself, drink plenty of water, and don't go out unless necessary, it's very hot outside!"

"So, starting tomorrow, Xiao Liu and I will come over in the morning?" Chen Xihua felt a little guilty. She really had something to do these past few days. She wanted to go to Zhangjia Village to see how Wang Jun and Sister Xiao Lan's conversation went. The first batch of goods would be shipped out soon, and she wanted to go and take a look.

"Hmph, what are you thinking! Let's begin! Look at your '永' character yesterday, the horizontal hook and the left-falling stroke weren't strong enough! The right-falling and left-falling strokes were also lacking. Today, continue writing this character!"

Old Man Qin decided to start with the simplest characters, the most basic ones, from the very beginning. He hadn't been watching Xi'er closely for years, and many of her strokes were somewhat awkward and unnatural. While she could write with ease, the casualness was too obvious!

Around five o'clock, Chen Xihua and Chen Baohua returned home. Upon entering and seeing Chen Chunhua, they were somewhat surprised, "Big sister, when did you get back?"

"I came back this morning. Didn't Xiaobao tell you?" Chen Chunhua went back to Jiangshi Middle School at the end of July and has been attending classes for half a month. Today the school is closed for two days. She will go back for another half month. When school officially starts in September, there will be no more weekend holidays.

"Fifth sister, you haven't done anything terrible, have you?" Before going to school, Chen Chunhua gave her savings book to her fourth sister, Chen Xiuhua. If the fifth sister needed money, she would have to ask her fourth sister.

Moreover, the old principal had also come to the county, and Fifth Sister would be going to study calligraphy every day. Chen Chunhua was relatively at ease. With the old principal keeping an eye on her every day, Fifth Sister shouldn't do anything that would frighten people.

"Sister, what can I do? I don't follow a set routine every day. I'm learning calligraphy, and Chen Xiaoliu is with me! Ask him!" Can't you at least have some trust in me?

"Big sister, no, fifth sister really didn't do anything. She just went out this morning to talk business with Brother Jun! Second sister and the others all know this!" Chen Baohua was an honest child, but when it came to his fifth sister, he always sided with her. In any case, whatever fifth sister did was reasonable.

"Alright, I'm not going to keep an eye on you all the time. You just have to promise to tell me before you do anything from now on, and then I won't question you about everything anymore." Chen Chunhua felt a little soft-hearted when she saw her fifth sister's feigned sad expression!

"I promise, but big sister, when will that be? You'll be taking the college entrance exam soon!" Chen Xihua's eyes lit up as she flattered her.

"Even if I go to university, I'll still have someone watching you. At least until you're an adult. What you do then, I won't care!" Chen Chunhua glared at her, knowing she was faking it!

"Alright!" I should still ask Fourth Sister to keep an eye on her. Fourth Sister said she admires and respects her, and likes her the most, but it's all fake. She's still the one who listens to her eldest sister the most. She's probably already tattled to her eldest sister. Little traitor.

Chen Xihua felt that the Chen sisters knew she was a bit unreliable with her money and were keeping a close eye on her!

"Big sister, don't worry, I won't let fifth sister spend money recklessly!" Chen Xiuhua, who was standing to the side, was very clever and guessed what was going on.

She didn't want her fifth sister to be too unrestrained, as her fifth sister was still young! That's why she agreed to help her eldest sister guard the money; otherwise, she didn't know what her fifth sister would do with it if she wasn't careful.

Chen Xiuhua would only withdraw money if it was needed in the workshop; otherwise, her fifth sister would never have more than one hundred yuan on her!

Chen Xihua wondered if she should try to win over her second sister, as she planned to visit Haishi later. Right, her second sister would be eighteen in a little over a year, and besides, her second sister wouldn't interfere in her affairs.

That's it, I'll go find my second sister next. The plan is perfect.

After dinner, Chen Lao Er thought it over and over, and finally asked Chen Xihua in a low voice, "Xiao Wu, what do you think about our family opening a branch of a pastry shop in Jiang City?"

"A branch? Sure, Dad, will you open it or Mom? Or should we hire someone?" Although she knew it was unlikely, Chen Xihua didn't object immediately!

"Can't we ask someone?" Chen Lao Er blurted out, as if he had a plan in mind!

"So Comrade Li Yumei is willing to teach the secret recipe to outsiders?" Chen Xihua thought her father was naive!

"How about becoming his apprentice? I can take on several apprentices. At Zhou Family Private Kitchen, there are a few apprentices who specifically apprenticed under Zhou Hongjun! His family has opened a branch of their private kitchen in Jiang City, and one of their senior apprentices, who has already completed his apprenticeship, is in charge of the kitchen!"

"Become an apprentice? Just to learn how to make osmanthus cake and water chestnut cake? You can learn that just by looking at the recipe and knowing the proportions! Dad, how long do you think this apprentice will be able to continue working diligently in our family's pastry shop after learning these skills?" Chen Xihua raised an eyebrow and asked him!

"Then why would the Zhou family's apprentices agree?" Chen Lao Er asked, puzzled.

“The Zhou family has a royal chef’s cookbook, and the chef’s kitchen is full of all kinds of dishes. The ingredients and cooking time are very important. It would take several years to become a master chef! Moreover, after the master leads you in, you need to guide and teach you for a long time. You have to keep studying and doing business!” Chen Xihua slowly explained to him!

"Of course, there is a lot to learn about making all kinds of pastries and cakes, such as innovation. But can Comrade Li Yumei make other pastries and cakes?"

"How much skill is involved in making osmanthus cake and water chestnut cake? It's already quite good to be able to run a small business like this in Gaoyang County, making it a local specialty snack with stable business!"

"Can't you require employees to sign a confidentiality agreement and not reveal the pastry recipe?" Chen Lao Er still didn't want to admit that he had been a bit too naive before!

"Sure, sign it! Open a branch if you want. Anyway, we've just paid off the mortgage on the new house we bought! Do whatever you want! I neither object nor support it!"

Chen Xihua roughly calculated that if he hired workers, one person could make two hundred pastries a day, which would be pretty good. The daily turnover would be one hundred yuan, and the monthly turnover would be around three thousand yuan. Renting a small shop in Jiang City would cost four or five hundred yuan. After deducting the four or five hundred yuan for hiring workers and the cost of ingredients, there should still be seven or eight hundred yuan left to earn a month. It's not that he doesn't have money. It just depends on whether someone is willing to sign a confidentiality agreement and how long that person can stay!

"Alright, I'll think about it some more!" Chen Lao Er was feeling uneasy because of Xiao Wu's indifferent attitude. His previous plan was to rent a small shop in Jiang City, hire people to make and sell pastries, and he could go and check on the shop every few days to earn some money!

Chen Xihua was actually quite happy to see Chen Lao Er (Chen Lao Er) being willing to explore business opportunities. As long as he didn't indulge in drinking, gambling, and prostitution, it would be better if he could focus on serious matters. Moreover, he might be able to develop other businesses, and his small business wouldn't lose too much money.

However, if someone learns the secret recipe for the pastry, Comrade Li Yumei would probably be furious. But now, the methods for making osmanthus cakes on the market are all similar. It just depends on which store has a good reputation for quality and can slowly build up a loyal customer base!

The next morning at 6:30, Chen Xihua remembered what her teacher had said about practicing calligraphy in the morning, so she quickly got up and found her third sister, Chen Meihua, packing things: a schoolbag and a cloth bag for clothes.

"Third sister, where are you going?"

"I'm going to the provincial capital to work! The bus leaves at eight o'clock anyway, and no high school has accepted me!" Chen Meihua said with excitement and anticipation.

"The provincial capital, to work? Who told you to go? Who took you there?" Chen Xihua paused for a moment, then asked calmly.

"I said, Mother sent her there to work as a nanny for a wealthy family in the provincial capital!" Chen Jinhua was most sensitive to changes in her fifth sister's demeanor, and immediately spoke up when she sensed something was wrong! Yesterday at lunch, Mother mentioned that her fifth sister wasn't home!

"Yes, it was introduced by a wealthy lady who came back to the county to visit relatives. She has been to our pastry shop a few times to buy pastries. I met her once before when I went there. Her name is Li Hongmei, which is only one character different from my mother's name! She said that she and my mother are destined to be together. Aunt Hongmei said that she has a relative who is a big boss and needs to hire a nanny. She took me there!"

Chen Meihua was so excited that she poured out all her thoughts. She remembered how beautiful Aunt Hongmei's clothes were and how fashionable she looked with makeup. She thought that when she got her salary, she could buy the same clothes herself. Her face was full of anticipation!

"Nanny! How much is the salary?" Chen Xihua's voice turned cold!