Chapter 227 The New Year is Coming

Old Qiu's wife hesitated.

Li Banxia continued, "Aunt Qiu, I'd like to ask for your help long-term. You see, the third son is getting married soon, and the young couple will definitely have a child in a year or two. The eldest son's two children will be starting kindergarten at three years old, and we'll need someone to pick them up and drop them off. There are only a few of us in our family, and everyone has their own things to do. I have my own things to do and can't stay home all day. The eldest son and his wife won't be home much either, and the third son and his wife have to go to the countryside to check on goods, so they're even less free..."

Li Banxia sighed, looking worried.

“I will definitely ask someone. If Aunt Qiu doesn’t agree, I will have to ask someone else. To be honest with you, I don’t need money right now, but I need someone I can entrust my child to. I can’t trust anyone else. Right now, I only trust you.”

After Li Banxia put it this way, Old Qiu's wife was somewhat moved.

But thinking of the man at home, she sighed, "How about this, I'll go back and think about it, and then I'll give you an answer?"

“Okay, there are still a few days until the New Year. You can go back and have a good New Year. If you'd like, you can come directly after the Lantern Festival. If you think there's a problem with my price or rest time, we can discuss it further.”

Li Banxia hurriedly said, then, as if remembering something, added, "When I say long-term, I mean at least ten years. We'll see what Auntie thinks after ten years..."

Li Banxia actually wanted to use the retirement offer as bait, but she had already said too much and made too many promises, fearing it would backfire, so she had to hold back.

Aunt Qiu looked at her in surprise, "Ten years?"

Li Banxia nodded.

"Okay, I understand. I'll go back and discuss it with my husband. I'll definitely give you an answer before the fifteenth of the first lunar month," Aunt Qiu said.

You could tell she was somewhat tempted, but still had some reservations.

In the afternoon, Li Banxia gave Aunt Qiu the red envelopes she had prepared, along with the New Year's gifts she had prepared in advance, and also gave Arno a red envelope.

Su Laosan had booked a taxi for the two of them in advance, paid the fare, and asked the driver to take them home safely.

On the 22nd and 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the family begins a thorough cleaning to prepare for the Little New Year.

Suddenly, there were more and more people asking Su Laosan for chickens, ducks, geese, eggs, goose eggs, river fish, and the like. Su Laosan and Fang Erniu were so busy they barely had time to breathe.

Business is so good that we can't keep up with the demand.

Su Laosan directly brought over several of his great-uncle's cousins, paid each of them a wage, and had them help with inspecting, receiving, delivering, and collecting money.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, they only had a quick meal before rushing off to the countryside to buy goods. They didn't return home until late at night, and then went out again before dawn the next day.

After a few days, she visibly lost weight, and her padded jacket, which had been covering her belly, became loose and wobbly.

He was busy until almost noon on New Year's Eve before he finally delivered the last batch of goods to the customers who wanted them and took Fang Erniu home. He rushed home before noon.

I passed a phone booth outside the street, and the phone kept ringing, but unfortunately the door was closed and the owner wasn't there.

He stared longingly at the phone, muttering to himself, "Who knows, maybe one of these calls will be someone asking me for goods. I'll miss out on becoming a millionaire..."

When I got home, I learned from my family.

The eldest son, holding his youngest daughter, said to his wife, "Mom is so good at this. Look at our third son, he never looked like he was going to make money before. Now he's so hardworking and capable."

The eldest son's wife nodded repeatedly.

He added, "He's also very good at social skills. My sister-in-law called and praised him endlessly, saying that the child's third uncle is a capable man, and it's a shame he wasn't made a gatekeeper; it's such a waste of talent. Oh, and..."

The eldest daughter-in-law looked at Su Laosan and said, "My sister-in-law said that the New Year's gift set you sent this time was very popular with the people in their office. You can't buy that much stuff at the same price in the market, not to mention that you also sent sausages and dried vegetables to each person. They all think that your things are good and the price is reasonable. My sister-in-law said that after the New Year, she will make an appointment with the person in charge of the canteen to see if you can get the food supply."

Su Laosan's eyes lit up.

"Sure, sister-in-law, our sister-in-law is so generous! Brother, when you visit relatives with your sister-in-law, remember to take me with you. I must properly toast our sister-in-law."

Old Su laughed heartily.

The family was busy preparing the New Year's Eve dinner, watching TV and staying up late to welcome the new year. They listened to the sounds of firecrackers going off outside and lit the firecrackers that stretched all the way to the gate of the courtyard. For a moment, the crackling sound echoed throughout the entire courtyard.

The family sat around the main room, celebrating the Lunar New Year in a lively atmosphere.

Before picking up her chopsticks, Li Banxia made a brief summary, mentioning next year, she said, "Next year I plan to find a suitable shop and open a medicinal cuisine restaurant to help people regulate their bodies through food."

Su Laoda and his wife exchanged a glance. Su Laoda smiled and said, "My wife and I plan to study hard next year and try our best to get into Tsinghua or Peking University for graduate school..."

The eldest son's wife nodded in agreement.

Su Laosan, who was grinning from ear to ear, suddenly changed his expression.

He scratched his head and said, "...Next year I'm thinking of opening a shop, having a place to stay, so people know where to find me. If possible, I'll also get a phone line. In the last two weeks before the New Year, I've already spent almost a hundred yuan just on phone calls. Oh, and..."

As he spoke, he suddenly got excited and started gesturing with his hands.

"I want to stock some new things in the shop, like wild fruits from the countryside, wine made from wild grapes, wild boar and rabbit meat, some dried vegetables from the villagers, and some snacks that you can't get in the city, like mulberries, Xiangmanjiang (a type of fruit), and sweet potato root..."

"And another thing, I'm going to marry Erniu next year!"

The last sentence was spoken with exceptional grandeur and power.

Two little babies lying in the crib cried along with him.

The whole family laughed.

Li Banxia picked up her glass, smiled, and said, "Then let's all wish for our dreams to come true, cheers!"

"cheers!"

The family chatted and laughed, clinked glasses, drank, and ate their New Year's Eve dinner.

Su Laosan pulled Su Laoda to play rock-paper-scissors. Su Laoda didn't know how, so Su Laosan played rock-paper-scissors with him. Su Laoda was no good at anything else, but when it came to rock-paper-scissors, he was like he had a cheat code, with incredibly good luck.

Su Laosan lost nine games in a row and downed a whole cup of wine, while Su Laoda was still winning.

Su Laosan cried out anxiously, "Impossible! I don't believe it! Let's try again..."

Watching the two brothers bickering, Li Banxia saw her eldest brother's wife come closer to her, lightly touching her with a glass of juice. "Mom, I'll toast you. Thank you for loving and caring for me so much. Marrying Brother Guo was truly the best decision I've ever made in my life! Mom, I'll drink this, you can drink as you like."

She tilted her head back and drank the whole glass of juice.

Li Banxia couldn't stop her, and seeing her gulping down the drink, she felt both sorry for her and amused.

Just as they were about to say something, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

The group paused at the same time, looked at each other, and thought they had misheard. Who would come knocking on the door during the New Year?

The next second, the knocking sounded again.

Li Banxia frowned, thinking of Su Youfu, and her eyes darkened. "You guys eat first, I'll go check on him."

“Mom, I’ll go with you.” Su Laosan stood up.

The mother and son arrived at the gate one after the other. Su Laosan opened the gate and saw a doctor in a white coat standing outside.

Both mother and son were stunned.

Upon seeing Li Banxia, ​​the man quickly asked, "Are you Comrade Li Banxia?"

"I am, you are..."

"I'm Dr. Gao Da's assistant. To make a long story short, do you have a daughter named Su Hongying?"

Li Banxia's heart tightened immediately, a bad premonition rising within her. "...Yes, what happened to her?"

"She's experiencing severe postpartum hemorrhage and has been issued a critical condition notice. Her in-laws want to save the baby. Dr. Gao asked me to come and tell you, please go and see her quickly, or it might be too late..."