Chapter 146

As usual, the Tang family's restaurant closed the day before New Year's Eve.

Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei still took advantage of this day to prepare some New Year's food at home. Since there is no shortage of food when running a restaurant, there is not much to prepare.

There weren't so many people in the alley after the restaurant closed.

Today, there are only Tang Haikuan, Wu Xuemei, Han Qingtian and Wang Cuiying in the yard, so it seems much quieter than last year.

In the evening when the sun was about to set, Han Lei and Li Lan came over with Han Mengyuan and Han Feipeng. The family of four pushed open the gate and came in. The yard became a little more lively again.

Han Qingtian and Wang Cuiying were very happy to see them back.

Wang Cuiying hurriedly brought delicious food to Han Mengyuan and Han Feipeng.

After Han Lei entered the room, he put down his things and rubbed his hands. Because he was cold, he did not sit down at the table immediately.

He glanced around the room and asked, "Where's San'er? Did he go out to visit friends?"

Han Ting took Chaozi Guogai to the south at the beginning of the year and did not come back for a whole year. Naturally, Han Lei and the others had not seen Han Ting for a year either.

Han Qingtian and Wang Cuiying didn't say anything.

Han Qingtian suddenly stood up, went into the house, took out a letter and handed it to Han Lei.

Han Lei took the envelope and took out the letter inside.

After reading it for a while, he said, "Are you so busy outside that you don't come back for the whole year? No matter what you do, you should go home for the New Year holiday."

Wang Cuiying continued, "Who knows? Every time he wrote back, he only said a few words, saying that he was doing well outside and that we didn't need to worry. He never told us what he was doing outside or how he was doing. I thought he would definitely come back to celebrate the New Year, but he didn't. It's pitiful to think that three of them spent the New Year outside."

After Wang Cuiying finished speaking, Han Mengyuan suddenly said, "Maybe they didn't make any money there, and they felt it would be embarrassing to come back, so they didn't come back."

“…”

Han Qingtian, Wang Cuiying and Han Lei all looked at her.

She quickly smiled and said, "I just said it casually."

It's almost time to make dinner.

Wang Cuiying didn't sit there any longer. She got up and went to the kitchen with Li Lan to cook dinner.

Got into the kitchen and started working.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law chatted, and Wang Cuiying asked Li Lan: "What do you think the south is like now?"

Li Lan was busy lighting the fire and said, "Mom, how would I know? I only heard that they are building a special economic zone over there, but how would we know what it is like? We have never even been out of Beijing."

Wang Cuiying couldn't help but sigh again, "I don't know how San'er is doing there. I worry every day that he doesn't eat well or sleep well. What's wrong with staying at home? Why does he have to go out and make trouble? When he's out there, he doesn't know anyone. How can he have a good life?"

Li Lan comforted her, "Mom, you have to believe in San'er. He won't starve to death wherever he goes."

Wang Cuiying: "You won't starve to death at home. Why don't you marry a wife, have a child and live a good life? How long will it take to be away from home like this?"

Li Lan: "San'er is different from others. He has never been involved in these family matters since he was a child. Su Yun is heartbroken about getting married, so let him go out and try his luck."

Wang Cuiying sighed and glanced into the yard, just in time to see Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan coming back.

She shifted her attention and said, "Why are they here again during the New Year? Usually these two come over quite often, as if the girl is not married yet."

Li Lan looked outside when she heard that.

Seeing Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan walking towards the north room, she said, "Let's not worry about his family's affairs."

To avoid being embarrassed like last year’s New Year’s Eve.

Wang Cuiying was indeed not in the mood to talk to them.

She turned to look at Li Lan and said that her Han Ting had gone there.

***

Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan entered the north room, put down their things and went directly to the kitchen.

It is now early summer and I am already seven months pregnant, but my belly doesn't look particularly big and I don't look bulky. When I wear a loose cotton coat, I just feel like I've gained some weight.

When they got home, they mainly chatted with Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei in the kitchen.

I was a bit busy and didn't come back for the month before the New Year. Chu Xia thought of Uncle Sun and naturally asked Tang Haikuan, "By the way, Dad, did Uncle Sun come again?"

Tang Haikuan said: "No, everyone is busy during this period before the New Year."

Chu Xia nodded and said, "Oh."

Wu Xuemei was more sensitive.

She looked at Chu Xia and asked, "Xia Xia, you seem to be very concerned about your uncle Sun's affairs?"

Chu Xia glanced at Lin Xiaohan and exchanged glances with him.

She said again: "After all, for ordinary people, being laid off is a big deal. Uncle Sun is a good friend of my father. If he encounters such a thing, I will definitely take it to heart."

Chu Xia just said a few perfunctory words and Wu Xuemei was no longer sensitive.

Speaking of layoffs, Wu Xuemei had a deep understanding of it, after all, Tang Haikuan had experienced it before, so the family of four then talked about the topic of workers' layoffs.

Tang Haikuan thought for a moment and said, "If the factory is not doing well and is losing money, the higher-ups will order it to close down, and the workers will be laid off. Will more workers be laid off in the future?"

Chu Xia continued, "In the past, the factory didn't pursue efficiency. Everyone ate from the same pot. Now, if we don't find a way to keep up with the pace of reform, efficiency will decline year after year, or even suffer losses year after year. If we can't afford to support our workers, no matter how big the factory is, it will be eliminated. By then, it's possible that not only the workers will be laid off, but even the factory director may be laid off as well."

Tang Haikuan said: "That can't be the case with the factory director. The factory director is a cadre."

Chu Xia said: "Who can say for sure? Didn't they say before that workers have a stable job?"

There is no worker in their family of four, so naturally this topic is just a casual chat.

After chatting for dinner, we finished washing up and went back to our rooms to sleep.

Because they had not officially started the business yet, Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan kept the matter to themselves for the time being and did not reveal any information to Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei.

The most important thing right now is the New Year.

Spend the New Year happily. As for other things, it won’t be too late to bring them up seriously after things have made progress after the New Year.

After a good night’s sleep, I woke up the next day and started to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

Because Chuxia was pregnant and it was inconvenient for her to do anything, she followed Lin Xiaohan like a little tail and helped with small things that could be done by raising her hand.

I was busy for half a day in the morning and took a break in the afternoon before preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner.

While I was watching TV and taking a break, I suddenly heard someone shouting in the yard: "Brother Haikuan! Lao Tang!"

Hearing the sound, Tang Haikuan opened the door and drew the curtain to look out.

Seeing that the person coming was Uncle Sun, he hurriedly greeted him, "You are at home, come in."

Uncle Sun walked up the stairs and entered the north room.

Wu Xuemei Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan also spoke up to greet him.

After saying hello and sitting down, Uncle Sun drank a sip of hot water and said, "I was so busy before the New Year that I didn't have time to come over."

Tang Haikuan asked immediately, "The factory is about to close down, what are you busy with?"

Uncle Sun looked at him and said, "He's busy collecting wages for the New Year."

This really requires a lot of work. Tang Haikuan asked again: "How is it going? Is it almost time?"

Uncle Sun said, "The people in the factory got together and made a fuss for a while, and barely got some money for the New Year."

I talked to Tang Haikuan about the bad things happening in the factory.

Thinking that it was New Year's Day, he shouldn't say too much and upset others, so Uncle Sun took out the things he brought and said, "I thought Chuxia would be at home today, so I came here. Chuxia, didn't you say last time that you wanted to try the pickles from our factory? I brought some here."

Uncle Sun took out all the pickles.

Chu Xia, Lin Xiaohan, Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei also tasted it together.

The four people's expressions were somewhat synchronized. They frowned after tasting one, and curled their lips after tasting another.

After tasting it, Wu Xuemei was the first to say bluntly: "No wonder it went bankrupt."

Lin Xiaohan put down his chopsticks and picked up the cup to drink some water. "I can't taste anything other than saltiness."

Tang Haikuan also said: "It's no wonder it can't be sold if it's made like this."

Chuxia also put down her chopsticks and drank some water.

She looked at Uncle Sun and said, "Although pickled vegetables are pickled, they are not purely salted vegetables. They are not just salty. It doesn't matter how you pickle them at home, but it is definitely not okay to sell them like this in the factory. There are also problems with the vegetables and sauces used. The cucumbers are not crispy at all."

Uncle Sun said, "That's what I told you. There's nothing good to taste."

Whether you try it or not, it’s like this anyway. This factory is doomed.

Tang Haikuan asked Uncle Sun about the upcoming layoff: "Have you thought about what to do in the future?"

Uncle Sun said, "Let's talk about it after the New Year. We can't really starve to death."

Tang Haikuan comforted Uncle Sun again.

When they talked about how it was almost time to prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner, Uncle Sun got up and went home.

Tang Haikuan was worried that his family would not have enough money for the New Year this year, so he gave him some fish and meat and asked him to take it with him.

Uncle Sun naturally declined, "I'm not that poor yet. Do you think I came to your house to take something?"

Uncle Sun didn't want it, and Tang Haikuan didn't force it on him.

Tang Haikuan took the things back to the house, and Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan took the initiative to help him send people out.

The two men escorted Uncle Sun to the gate and then continued to escort him out of the alley.

Uncle Sun stopped and said, "No need to see me off. I'm just visiting. There's no need to be so polite."

Chu Xia smiled and said to him, "Uncle, we have something to ask of you."

Uncle Sun said straightforwardly: "Just tell me what you have to say." How could he, a man who was about to be laid off, help them?

Chu Xia said directly, "Uncle, this is it, if you are free in a few days, can you take us to your factory for a look?"

Uncle Sun immediately replied: "What's so good about a shabby factory that's about to go bankrupt..."

As he was talking, he suddenly thought of something, looked at Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan, and changed his tone and asked again: "Do you... have any ideas about this factory?"

I asked him to bring some pickles to try before, and now I want to go to the factory to take a look.

Chu Xia said: "Yes, a little, but we need to understand the situation clearly before we can talk about the details."

Uncle Sun looked at Chu Xia and then at Lin Xiaohan.

Although he didn't know what they wanted to do specifically, based on their vision and abilities, he felt that he had to help, so he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll take you to see it in a few days."

After sending Uncle Sun out of the alley, Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan chatted with him about the situation in the factory.

There was no rush to discuss these matters. Chu Xia mainly said to him, "Please keep it a secret for us. Don't let my parents know about this for the time being."

This sounds like family matters.

Uncle Sun didn't ask the reason and answered readily, "Okay."

After sending Uncle Sun to the entrance of the alley, Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan returned.

After returning, naturally, he didn't mention it much. He went straight to the kitchen to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner with Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei, and celebrated the New Year in a lively manner.

In the evening, we sat down to eat the New Year's Eve dinner with the TV on.

Chuxia was the first to pick up the cup of boiled water, stood up and said with a smile: "The new year is coming soon. In the past year, there were many happy things in our family, but the first person I want to congratulate is our comrade Xiaolin. Congratulations to Comrade Xiaolin for getting promoted to a director!"

Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei were stunned when they heard this.

After realizing what was happening, the two of them immediately laughed and looked at Lin Xiaohan and asked, "When did this happen?"

Lin Xiaohan smiled and replied, "It was just a few days ago."

This was truly a happy occasion. Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei also picked up the cups in front of them and said with a smile on their faces, "Then we must congratulate Xiao Lin first!"

Lin Xiaohan was naturally not polite and raised his glass to accept the congratulations from his family.

Chu Xia took a sip of water, put down the cup and said with a smile: "How is it? This son-in-law I found for you is amazing, isn't he? He was promoted to director in just two years."

Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei couldn't stop smiling.

Wu Xuemei smiled brightly and said, "Great! They are all great!"

Their family's life is just like taking off on a rocket, getting better and better.