"Jiakai, Yunyun, did you miss your uncle?" Zhao Tianyu asked cheerfully, holding one of them in each arm.

This time, Zhao Tianyu was away on a business trip for more than a week.

While away from home, Zhao Tianyu desperately missed his family, his parents, his sister, and his two younger siblings.

"I miss my uncle." Zhou Jiakai nodded, his face flushed.

People of this generation tend to express their feelings in a more subtle way.

I rarely say things like "I miss you".

Zhao Tianyu asked a direct question, and Zhou Jiakai couldn't very well not answer, but after he did, he felt a little shy.

"Good lad." Zhao Tianyu smiled, his eyes crinkling with delight.

"Uncle, Yunyun misses you too," Zhou Yunyun said in her childish voice.

After saying that, Zhou Yunyun gave Zhao Tianyu a quick kiss on the cheek.

This made Zhao Tianyu burst into laughter.

"Jiakai and Yunyun, come down quickly. Your uncle just got back from his business trip and must be exhausted," Zhao Zhenzhu said hurriedly upon seeing this.

For the past month or so, Zhou Jiakai and his sister have been eating and sleeping well at their maternal grandmother's house, and they have both grown taller and gained weight.

Zhao Zhenzhu was afraid that her younger brother would get tired.

Zhou Jiakai struggled for a moment and then "slid" off Zhao Tianyu.

Zhao Zhenzhu went to hug Zhou Yunyun, but Zhou Yunyun clung to her uncle's neck and refused to let go.

"No, no, I want my uncle to hold me," Zhou Yunyun said coquettishly.

"Yunyun, be good," Zhao Zhenzhu said sternly.

"Sis, just let Yunyun and I be all lovey-dovey. I'm not tired at all. I arrived in town at three o'clock this afternoon and went to work for a bit before coming back," Zhao Tianyu quickly said, protecting her.

"You just spoil them!" Zhao Zhenzhu said with a big smile.

"Who else would I spoil if not my own nephews and nieces?" Zhao Tianyu said with a smile.

After playing with his nephew and niece for a while, Zhao Tianyu started taking gifts out of his bag.

Zhou Jiakai's gift was two comic books, while Zhou Yunyun's gift was a rag doll.

The brother and sister hugged their gifts and shouted, "Uncle is so nice!"

"Jiakai, go finish your homework first, then look at the comic book. Yunyun, you can take your doll inside and play for a while, but don't disturb your brother while he's doing his homework," Zhao Zhenzhu instructed.

"Okay, Mom."

The brother and sister quickly grabbed their gifts and ran into the house.

Zhao Tianyu gave Zhao Zhenzhu and Wu Meiyun gifts: a bottle of face cream and a woolen coat each. Zhao Zhenzhu's was bright red, and Wu Meiyun's was camel-colored. They looked very high-end.

The gift I brought for Zhao Qingshan was a bottle of Moutai liquor.

"Xiaoyu, you bought so many gifts, do you still have money?" Zhao Zhenzhu frowned and asked.

Dolls are considered a luxury item in this era.

Zhao Zhenzhu had seen them sold in the Qingshan County Department Store, but the styles weren't as nice as the ones Zhao Tianyu bought today, and they cost twelve yuan each.

Zhou Yunyun's, Zhao Zhenzhu estimates it will cost at least fifteen yuan.

A bottle of face cream costs around two yuan, while a wool coat costs over thirty yuan. Moutai liquor costs around six yuan, and two comic books cost only a few cents, which is negligible.

Zhao Tianyu spent almost a hundred yuan on gifts this time.

"Sis, I have money. You gave me a 500 yuan commission on that spring clip last time, right? And I got a commission from Lao Xue too. One cent per clip, that's two thousand yuan in total. Sis, wouldn't you say I'm making a killing on both sides?" Zhao Tianyu said smugly.

Zhao Tianyu bought the hair clips that Zhao Zhenzhu used to make hair flowers through Director Xue of the Yanghe City Hardware Factory.

It's quite a coincidence.

Factory Manager Xue and his hardware factory had received a large order and purchased a batch of raw materials. However, before production even began, the customer changed their mind and refused to accept the goods.

Factory Director Xue was so anxious that his mouth was covered in large blisters, making it painful to eat.

That customer was a long-time friend of Factory Manager Xue. Factory Manager Xue trusted this friend a lot, so he bought the raw materials without signing a contract or asking for a deposit.

The factory hasn't even started production yet! But the customer doesn't want the goods anymore. Isn't this putting Factory Manager Xue in a very difficult position?

What's even more frustrating is that Director Xue doesn't dare let his subordinates know about this. The factory isn't a place where Director Xue has absolute authority. There's also a deputy director who's always been at odds with Director Xue.

If the deputy factory director finds out that Director Xue made such a big mistake at work, Director Xue will definitely be in trouble.

However, the factory pays for the raw materials. If they can't find new customers in the short term and turn these raw materials into finished products to sell, this matter will inevitably come to light sooner or later.

Zhao Tianyu's order solved Factory Director Xue's urgent problem.

Zhao Zhenzhu has ordered 100,000 of each type of clip for now. She will place additional orders later depending on the situation.

Zhao Tianyu signed a contract with Factory Manager Xue and paid a deposit of five thousand yuan. He also agreed with Factory Manager Xue that he would deliver ten thousand of each style within a week, and the rest within a month. After all the clips were produced, Zhao Tianyu would go to the factory to settle the payment and pick up the goods.

Factory Director Xue is likely giving Zhao Tianyu a commission because he's aiming to get more orders from Zhao Tianyu later.

After all, Zhao Tianyu's order this time consumed a quarter of Factory Director Xue's raw materials.

Factory Director Xue couldn't wait for Zhao Tianyu to continue his buying spree.

According to the commission structure Zhao Zhenzhu previously gave Zhao Tianyu, he should receive a commission of 7,000 yuan for 200,000 clips.

Zhao Zhenzhu originally intended to pay in full at once, but Zhao Tianyu only took five hundred.

Zhao Tianyu said that it wouldn't be too late for Zhao Zhenzhu to pay him after all the goods from Factory Director Xue's side had arrived.

Actually, Zhao Tianyu didn't want the money at the time, that's why he said that. He was just running errands for his sister; why would he need so much money from her?

However, when Zhao Tianyu later learned that Zhao Zhenzhu's hair accessory business was making several thousand yuan a day, he no longer refused.

Zhao Tianyu knew that his sister wanted to help him make money together!

"You! You can't just squander money. Next time you go out, don't buy gifts for the three of us. Buy them for Mom and Dad instead." Zhao Zhenzhu pretended to be unhappy, afraid that her younger brother would develop a wasteful habit.

"Sis, how can buying gifts for family members be considered wasting money? According to you, you're saying you won't buy me gifts when you go out in the future? Buying me gifts is a waste?" Zhao Tianyu was unhappy.

"That's not what I meant, I just..."

Just as Zhao Zhenzhu was about to explain, Wu Meiyun came out.

“You’re just worried about how hard Xiaoyu works to earn money! Pearl! Mom’s going to criticize you this time. Xiaoyu’s right, it’s not wasteful to use money to buy gifts for family. We’re family, there’s no need to be so strict about the distinctions,” Wu Meiyun said.

"Sister, look, even Mom says I did the right thing," Zhao Tianyu said, glancing smugly at Zhao Zhenzhu.

Helpless, Zhao Zhenzhu had no choice but to remain silent.

Even when Zhao Tianyu was poor and only earned thirty or forty yuan a month, he never stopped buying food for her and the children.

Now that Zhao Tianyu has money, there's no way he'd listen to a suggestion not to buy it.

Besides, Wu Meiyun is right. We're family, there's no need to be so clear about the distinctions.

At worst, she can repay her brother when the opportunity arises.