"Chunmei, do you want to go home for the Chinese New Year this year?"

“I definitely want to go home for the Chinese New Year. My older sister and younger sister will also be coming back this year. Last year, both of their families had something to do, so I didn’t see them during the Chinese New Year.”

“Okay, then let’s go back as soon as the factory closes for the holidays. I’ll find a scalper to buy four hard sleeper tickets early, so the journey will be easier.”

"Hmm. Jianguo, what do you think? Should we do a promotion before the holiday?"

"I think it's okay, it's just too tiring!"

"That's alright, we'll minimize the losses during the Lunar New Year."

"Jianguo, I'd like to stock up on more lipsticks, eyebrow pencils, face cream, as well as toys, backpacks, and stationery for the kids during this promotion."

“Sure, it’s a good choice to bring home for personal use or as a gift. It’s very presentable. We need to be careful with the wholesalers to ensure quality. Chunmei, tomorrow I’ll have my younger sister and Xiaomin accompany you to the store opening. I’ll go check out the newly opened wholesale market.”

As soon as December arrived, Xia's small supermarket launched a major pre-holiday promotion.

"The bosses are so kind! I was just thinking of going to the city to buy some things to take home as gifts this weekend, but the bosses have already brought back the goods. It's so convenient!"

“Yes, it’s too much trouble for us to go to the city center. We have to transfer several times to find places where things are cheaper, and they’re not even as cheap as here.”

"The boss's prices are already low, and they're on sale. I wonder if they can even make a profit?"

"It's definitely possible to make money, but it's not much. It's hard-earned money, just like ours. On the weekly discount day, the boss's daughter, who is only two years old, stands at the cashier to collect money."

"I wish my son were as smart as her!"

"Over two years old? Really?"

"Of course it's true. Regular customers know this. You might not know since it's your first time here. You can pay at the owner's daughter's table later."

"She can do mental arithmetic very quickly and has never made a mistake; she can do it faster than her father with a calculator."

"The downside is that there are long queues."

Xia Minmin felt the same enthusiasm she had when she set up a stall in town last December. There were just too many people; she hadn't had a break since she opened the stall.

"Boss, could you wholesale some cotton shoes and socks for the elderly, as well as some Shenzhen specialty pastries?"

"Yes, boss. We'd like to take some back with us too."

"Boss, please help us. We want to buy it but we don't know where to buy it."

The scene instantly became noisy. Xia Jianguo agreed, "Okay, okay, I'll look for suppliers tomorrow. If I can find some good quality products at low prices, I'll definitely buy them. You can come back and take a look the day after tomorrow, okay?"

"Thank you, boss!"

"Thank you, boss!"

Xia Minmin experienced for the first time the hardships of migrant workers in the 1990s. They left their hometowns and stayed in factories every day, repeating the same work. In their spare time, they could only wander around the factory area. If they went to the city, they would not know the way without someone to guide them.

The family returned home, ate some noodles, and planned to go to bed, as they had to continue working tomorrow.

Xia Jianguo buys breakfast from outside the community and brings it home to eat. In the morning, there are too many people at the breakfast shops outside the community, and there is nowhere to sit and eat.

"Chunmei, I went to look for suppliers this morning. I asked a few bosses for their business cards before. I can go over and take a look this morning. If there are no problems, I can place an order."

"Little sister, spend more time in the supermarket today. If I'm not there this morning, there might be people trying to take advantage of the situation."

After breakfast, the family went about their own business. Xia Jianguo returned around noon, bringing back a lot of pastries. Everyone ate some pastries with water for lunch.

By the time the store officially closed for holiday on the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, everyone had lost weight.

The Xia family also enjoys a 22-day holiday, and will officially reopen on the eighth day of the first lunar month after the New Year.

On the first day of the holiday, Li Chunmei took her whole family to the mall to shop. She heard that there was a store that sold down jackets that were very warm and not heavy. She wanted to buy one for the whole family because the cotton-padded jackets she brought from home had been worn for many years and were no longer warm.

It has to be said that most women still love shopping. Li Chunmei and Xia Xiaomei are incredibly powerful. In order to appease Xia Minmin, who doesn't like shopping, they even used the new building blocks as bait.

After having breakfast, Xia Jianguo went to the bank to queue up to deposit money. He earned more than 100,000 yuan in his first year in Shenzhen, especially after opening his shop, he earned 100,000 yuan in less than half a year. Today he was going to deposit 100,000 yuan as a one-year fixed deposit.

"Xiaomin, come over and try on this down jacket?" Li Chunmei held up a red down jacket.

Xia Minmin looked utterly resistant. "No, I don't want to wear red! I want black!"

"Wearing red for the New Year is festive!" Li Chunmei looks just like the Big Bad Wolf.

"Sigh..." Since we can't beat them, we can only accept it.

"Mom, just buy a down jacket. We'll only be home for a few days. After washing it, we can hang it in Grandpa's kitchen and it will be dry overnight."

"Okay! I'll buy one, and for the little girl, get a size up."

"OK."

"Hey beautiful, I also have a down jacket that I bought for my husband. It's the wrong size, can I exchange it for another size?"

"Yes, you can exchange it by bringing your receipt."

As Li Chunmei and Xia Xiaomei walked out of the down jacket store, they were carrying six packages. In addition to the packages for the four of them, they had also bought one for each of Xia's maternal grandparents.

Just after leaving the down jacket store, Li Chunmei wanted to go to the cashmere sweater store. She had heard from the residents of her neighborhood about this cashmere sweater store a long time ago. They said that all the cashmere sweaters were genuine, and that there were many styles for adults and children. They were very warm to wear, but the prices were expensive!

Although Shenzhen doesn't have a winter, cashmere sweaters are still very practical for spring and autumn. One cashmere sweater can cost as much as a down jacket. Li Chunmei bought eight cashmere sweaters at once, which made her very distressed.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!