Chapter 113 Innocence

Just then, Liu Xuejun rushed out of the house looking anxious: "Mom, are we short of firewood? I'll go to the mountains to collect some."

Zhang Xiuying glared at him: "What are you gathering firewood for! The exam is the day after tomorrow, so stay home and behave yourself!"

Seeing her son's restless state, she sighed again and waved her hand, "Alright, alright, if you're really nervous, you can go out for a walk to clear your head. Come back soon!"

"Why!"

Liu Xuejun felt as if he had been granted a pardon and ran away in a flash.

Watching his flustered figure, Liu Zhixia smiled and said, "I guess he wasn't going to collect firewood, but to see a certain young lady."

Zhang Xiuying smiled and said, "I think Xu Zhiqing's daughter is really nice, a down-to-earth person. I just don't know if her city family would be interested in our fourth son."

Liu Zhixia wasn't surprised by her mother's keen observation and said softly, "Xu Zhiqing is a warm and generous person; her family members are probably similar. Let things take their course."

Zhang Xiuying slapped her thigh, her face lighting up with joy: "That makes sense! If the fourth son has a stable job, it's time to start arranging his wedding. The sooner the better, I need to prepare in advance!"

After saying that, she happily went inside to dig up all the old secrets.

Liu Zhixia sat in the courtyard, watching her mother's back with a smile on her lips.

Her gaze shifted, and she caught sight of a small figure peeking out from the corner of the wall.

"Aren't you coming out yet, Da Bao?"

Once his whereabouts were exposed, Da Bao, like a frightened little rabbit, slowly and hesitantly shuffled out, looking at her with a pitiful expression.

"Auntie...did Da Bao do something wrong?"

Liu Zhixia pulled him into her arms, feeling the little body trembling slightly inside.

"Da Bao only helped her because he wanted his mother to come back, right?"

Da Bao nodded with teary eyes, tears streaming down his face.

"Da Bao knows it's wrong to steal... but Mom seems to really want it, so Da Bao... so... made Grandma angry."

Liu Zhixia's eyes narrowed slightly as she carefully examined the child's innocent face, and a great weight was finally lifted from her heart.

Fortunately, the child hasn't gone astray yet; he's just been misled, and it's still possible to correct him.

In her past life, she was completely deceived by that ingrate Lu Guangyao, and only realized it when she died that no matter how innocent a child pretends to be, he is still just a child, and his eyes will reveal his scheming nature.

So this time, she was more wary of Da Bao.

Fortunately, the child's eyes remained clear and innocent.

"Dabao, remember this: from now on, no matter who asks you to do something bad, even if it's your mother, you're not allowed to do it. If you're scared, just pretend to agree first, and then secretly tell Grandma or Auntie, okay?"

Da Bao nodded vigorously, his voice childish yet firm: "Yes! Da Bao remembers!"

Two days later, the Lu and Shen families had finished pickling their vegetables and were just waiting to open the jars.

Mother Shen circled the two jars a few times, looking dissatisfied: "Eldest brother, aren't these two jars a bit too few?"

Old Shen, picking his teeth, swaggered over and said, "Mom, is this enough to fill a tooth gap? We definitely need to make more! The more we make, the more we earn!"

Shen Hongmei looked worried: "This is our first time doing this, we have no experience. Don't be greedy, what if we lose money..."

"I'll pay you back, my foot!"

Boss Shen slapped her across the face: "Isn't it all your fault, you good-for-nothing! You actually let the Lu family copy the formula!"

Shen Lao Er chimed in, "Exactly! The recipe is the same, so the taste must be the same! The Liu family already has a share of the market. If the Lu family tries to take it from us, how much money can we make from this little bit of pickled vegetables? We have to make more! We have to take over the market before the Lu family does, that's what it means to get rich!"

“But…” Shen Hongmei covered her swollen face, her voice trembling, “I always feel that the steps we took, the ingredients we added, are a little different from what Liu Zhixia did…”

"Different my foot!" Mother Shen glared at her fiercely. "I told you to study more before, but you didn't. Now you're just being hindsight? You brat, if the Lu family steals the business, I'll sell you to some bachelor in the mountains to be his wife!"

Zhang looked worried and said, "But Mother, we don't have any money to buy a jar."

Mother Shen's eyes darted around, and she pointed to the pile of things in the corner: "What do you mean we don't have money? Sell everything that brat brought back from the Liu family! Buy jars instead! Eldest son, second son, go and do it!"

"Alright! We're off!" The two brothers perked up immediately upon hearing this.

Shen Hongmei was horrified and rushed forward to stop her: "Mother! That's our food supply for the next few months! What will we eat if we sell it?"

Mother Chen shoved her away, her face full of disdain: "Short-sighted thing! No wonder you were kicked out of the Liu family! If the business is successful, why worry about not having food? If all these dozen or so jars are sold, that's dozens of dollars!"

She turned to her two sons and urged, "Hurry up! The Lu family is definitely not idle either. If we're late, they'll have snatched all the jars! We must take advantage of the fact that the Liu family doesn't dare to show their faces now and completely seize this business!"

Meanwhile, at the Lu family home, Lu Xiaohui and Li Xuemei were looking at two jars of pickled vegetables with a troubled expression.

"Mother, we've made it, but how do we sell it? With our identities, it's not appropriate to go to the black market, is it?"

Li Xuemei paced anxiously, saying, "The Liu family just got incredibly lucky, getting in touch with the lumber mill. They didn't have to take any risks. If only we had that kind of connection..."

As soon as she finished speaking, she caught sight of Gu Mansheng sitting in the yard, legs crossed, cracking sunflower seeds. His leisurely, old-fashioned demeanor made Li Xuemei's teeth itch with envy.

Once I'm rich, I'll make you kneel and serve me!

Following her mother's gaze, Lu Xiaohui suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"Mother, doesn't my sister-in-law have connections?"

"no!"

Without even thinking, Li Xuemei flatly refused: "Find that little bitch? We'd be making money off her, only to have to put up with her attitude from now on?"

Lu Xiaohui curled her lip: "Then you'll sell on the black market? The black market in the next town was just busted a while ago, and a bunch of people were arrested. If you want to go to jail, go ahead, I'm not going!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xuemei immediately cowered.

In order to avoid going to jail, the two had no choice but to bite the bullet and approach Gu Mansheng.

Li Xuemei forced a smile: "Daughter-in-law, I have a lucrative business opportunity that I'd like to discuss with you."

Gu Mansheng spat out the sunflower seed shells in her mouth, a smug smirk curling at the corner of her lips.

Sure enough, after two days of work, those idiots still had to beg her for help.

After listening to their plans, Gu Mansheng frowned slightly.

"Trying to steal Liu Zhixia's business? That's a good idea, but are you sure the formula is genuine?"

Lu Xiaohui said with a cunning look, "It can't be fake! Shen Hongmei instigated her son to steal it from Zhang Xiuying's drawer. This must be the old couple's retirement recipe that Liu Zhixia left for them!"

Gu Mansheng suddenly realized: "No wonder Shen Hongmei was so determined to snatch it back like a mad dog. Where is it? Is it finished?"

The mother and daughter quickly led her into the kitchen, pointing to the two jars: "Look, they're all here!"

Gu Mansheng was so angry when she saw it that she laughed.

"That's all? You two idiots call this business? How much money can you make from these two jars? Is it worth me using my connections?"