Chapter 74 The Yangtze River's back waves push the front waves forward.

Tang Mingli and Fu's mother served tea to the guests, temporarily interrupting everyone's chatter.

Or perhaps they weren't really talking about anything in the first place, which is why their arrival interrupted their conversation.

So many people, yet they sat there without saying a word, only smiling to express their gratitude when they received the tea. To be honest, this atmosphere was more oppressive than an argument.

Fortunately, this situation only lasted a few seconds before Fu Caiping started a conversation with Madam Fu again, seemingly casually saying, "Fu Ci and Mingli have been married for five years now, haven't they?"

Madam Fu's smile faltered for a fleeting second before she accurately corrected, "This is the fifth year."

There is a difference between five years and the fifth year, but for other people, whether it is five years or the fifth year, it is the same concept, which is that they have been married for several years.

Upon hearing Fu Caiping's words, Tang Mingli immediately understood what this aunt was trying to say.

The implication is that they've been married for so many years but still don't have children.

Sure enough, whether in the future or now, there are always some relatives who like to talk about topics like marriage and having children.

In her past life, Tang Mingli didn't understand, and never even considered trying to understand, the psychology of such a person.

However, in this lifetime, she has come to understand some of it.

In this era, regardless of gender, their lives are actually dominated by marriage and childbirth from the time they become aware of things.

We are taught as children and are expected to do the same as adults. After raising our children with great difficulty and working hard for most of our lives, we finally have some free time, only to find that we know nothing but how to take care of our children. So we expect the same things of our own children, otherwise we will have nothing to fill the lonely and empty second half of our lives.

She glanced at Fu Ci, who clearly understood his aunt's unspoken meaning.

Adhering to the principle that whoever is a relative should handle things, Tang Mingli remained silent, sat down next to Fu Ci, picked up her own teacup, and took a sip of hot tea.

Drinking coffee followed by tea actually made the tea taste better than usual.

Fu Caiping did not disappoint; she indeed brought up the question of why she had not yet had a child.

However, feeling sorry for the two children, Old Madam Fu interrupted with a cold face, saying, "They will handle these matters themselves. We shouldn't be the kind of elders that people dislike."

However, Fu Caiping did not understand the old lady's good intentions. She clicked her tongue and said with a hint of reproach, "That's not how it is. Young people are ignorant. Should we, as elders, also act recklessly?"

Madam Fu was not happy to hear this. Although she always gave in to her sister-in-law, it did not mean that she had no principles or bottom line.

She stopped laughing and retorted, "Is it only considered not ridiculous if Gu Lin's in-laws are so eager to have a grandchild after only a few months of marriage?"

"no……"

These words really hit Fu Caiping where it hurt.

Putting herself in her shoes, she felt terrible and angry when her granddaughter was being pressured by her in-laws. Now, by asking them such a question, she was doing the same thing.

Considering that she had already been somewhat impolite to arrive with so many people today, she was afraid that if she continued to point fingers and criticize, she would really upset her good-natured sister-in-law and offend the young couple, Fu Ci and his wife.

After thinking it through, Fu Caiping shut her mouth and did not defend herself.

But deep down she didn't think she was wrong.

Gu Lin and Fu Ci are in different situations. Gu Lin has been married for less than a year, while Fu Ci has been married for several years.

But since her sister-in-law and the others aren't in a hurry, why should she, a married daughter, meddle in their affairs?

A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup; her descendants will bear the surname Gu, not Fu.

Tang Mingli never expected things to develop this way; it was her grandmother who stepped in and resolved the issue with just a few words.

Sure enough, the older people get, the more reckless they become... Uh oh, I should say that experience is the best teacher.

Fu Caiping was sensible, and Madam Fu also knew how to give her a way out, so she took the initiative to open up the conversation that her sister-in-law was hesitant to make.

"Alright, let's not talk about that. Tell me why you brought them here today. It's not really just to see your two old men, me and your older brother, is it?"

The last joke, delivered in a lighthearted and humorous tone by Madam Fu, immediately eased the atmosphere.

When asked about it, Fu Caiping felt embarrassed but also relieved.

From the moment she entered the door, she had been struggling with how to bring up the subject.

She glanced at the frank and open-minded Madam Fu and decided to be honest as well.

"Actually, they came here today mainly because they heard that Fu Ci was no longer working at the company, and they wanted to hear his feelings about leaving the company."

In fact, some of them had been begging her for a long time, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

But right now everyone is really struggling to make ends meet, and her relationship with her older brother's family has improved somewhat, so she thought she should lend a hand if she could.

Tang Mingli and Fu's mother exchanged a glance.

Now I understand why so many of them came to our door.

I guess they know that Fu resigned and started his own business, and they want to know more about the process.

It was somewhat unexpected, yet not entirely unexpected.

Although the year has been filled with promotion of reform and opening up, not everyone has the courage to give up a stable job and venture out on their own. Especially those who have lived a stable life for most of their lives, Tang Mingli believes they wouldn't think of starting their own business unless absolutely necessary.

But since this idea has come to mind, the only possible explanation is that some factories may be facing difficulties beyond what outsiders can imagine.

Soon, an older man spoke first, which answered Tang Mingli's question.

"For over a year now, for some reason, the socks produced by our sock factory just won't sell. With socks not selling, this huge factory is only going out and not coming in every month, and it's unsustainable after a while. Since August of last year, we haven't been paying individual bonuses, and wages haven't been paid on time either. We're seeing that our production materials are almost gone, but most of the socks we've produced are piling up in the warehouse. I'm really worried that if we still can't sell the socks after we run out of the last of the materials, the factory will be forced to shut down."

However, Tang Mingli was almost dumbfounded after hearing this.

Socks are piling up in the warehouse because they can't be sold, yet they still insist on producing them every day?

She has never been a capitalist, but even from the perspective of a working-class person, it doesn't seem right.

They've already accumulated mountains of unsold stock, and instead of finding ways to expand sales channels, they keep producing?

Tang Mingli was very confused, but Fu Ci didn't seem very surprised.

He had been traveling frequently throughout the year and had contact with many state-owned factories, so he was used to this kind of situation.

It's one thing if they can't sell them, but if production stops, the workers will be out of work, which will create anxiety.

Sure enough, Tang Mingli couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering her.

The man replied matter-of-factly, "How can we not produce? Everyone in the factory can't be without work."

Logically, there's nothing wrong with what he said, but the problem is huge.

This is a classic example of addressing only the immediate confusion without solving the fundamental problem.

Tang Mingli laughed in anger.

In the ensuing conversation, Fu Ci naturally became the main character.

Several people surrounded him and asked him many questions, which he answered with great patience and detail.

They chatted more and more enthusiastically, but Tang Mingli's head was buzzing.

Fortunately, when I checked the time, it was almost 11 o'clock, and it was time to prepare lunch, so I volunteered to get to work.

The guests were genuinely embarrassed and quickly said they didn't need lunch. There were too many of them; cooking for so many people would be too much trouble.

Tang Mingli said with a faint smile, "We have all kinds of dishes, and they're not difficult to cook, but they might not suit everyone's taste."

Madam Fu understood their embarrassment and said, "Since you're here, we definitely have to have a meal together, otherwise it wouldn't be right."

With the eldest person speaking, naturally no one refused.

Having already gone to their door so shamelessly, it's impossible for them to just sit for a while and then leave, and skipping lunch is indeed impractical.

Feeling that she couldn't get a word in edgewise, Fu's mother got up and offered to help with the cooking.

Upon entering the relatively small kitchen and closing the kitchen door, Mrs. Fu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"To be honest, I really couldn't understand what they were talking about."

She was completely confused by the terms "profit margin" and "net profit."

Tang Mingli knew these things, but she was still confused by them.

While the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were busy in the kitchen, Grandpa Fu and Fu Cheng'an, who had gone out for a morning walk, finally returned.

Seeing a room full of people chatting enthusiastically, the father and son were both a little stunned.

When Fu Caiping saw Grandpa Fu, she stood up somewhat awkwardly and called out "Big Brother" with unease.

Madam Fu smiled as she watched them, and after they sat down, she jokingly asked, "Where did you go this morning?"

"us……"

Just as Fu Cheng'an was about to answer, he was glared at by Old Master Fu.

Grandpa Fu interrupted, saying, "Nowhere, just wandered around."

Fu Cheng'an nodded with a hint of helplessness in his smile: "That's right, we just took a walk."

The last three words were pronounced a bit too heavily.

I spent the whole morning walking with my father near the bus stop; he was also showing filial piety.

Seeing that the others had stopped chatting after he returned, Old Master Fu raised his hand and tried to sound kind and gentle, saying with a smile, "What were you talking about just now? Continue, don't mind me."

So the group gathered around Fu Ci and started chattering away.

Grandpa Fu's face remained kind, but he felt a little bitter inside, thinking that no one really cared about him.

However, seeing himself as the center of attention in the crowd, he felt a little smug.

Although the older generation surpasses the younger generation, how could one not be proud of this outstanding young talent who is actually one's own grandson?

-

The meal was ready in less than an hour.

Originally, Tang Mingli intended to serve the food in two large basins, but considering hygiene issues, she simply divided the food into large bowls and placed a large bowl of clear broth hot pot in front of each person.

This was the first time they had ever seen this way of eating, and everyone was a little confused.

However, after taking the first bite, I found that it tasted very good and went very well with rice. Moreover, the large bowl was mostly filled with meat, so I was quite happy.

This is probably how upper-class families eat.

That's great, no need to fight over it, and we can all learn from this in our own homes in the future.

After lunch, the group chatted with Fu Ci for a long time. Seeing that it would be dinner time soon, they reluctantly left.

Several grown men were reluctant to part with a young man; the scene was quite novel.

-

Although Fu Ci spent most of the day chatting with the guests, Tang Mingli, Fu's mother, and Madam Fu all felt very tired, so they took a shower and went to bed early.

A miracle occurred half an hour later.