Chapter 91 Cloud Cake

Lin kicked Qiao Mancang hard, but Qiao Mancang just rolled over and continued snoring.

She was even angrier and made up her mind to teach Qiao Mancang a lesson tomorrow.

On the other side, Chunsheng's mother also couldn't sleep. She grabbed Meng Dayong, trying to stop him from sleeping, saying, "You heartless bastard, your son is in such a state, how can you still sleep?"

"What else can we do? Even if the sky falls, we still have to sleep."

Meng Dayong yawned, his eyes drooping with sleep. "Besides, it might just be your son's unrequited love. Sanhua might not even be interested. Wangchun's mother is right. It's no use guessing. We should go over and ask him directly. That will make that brat give up."

“You make it sound so easy. Then go talk to Zheng Ming.” Chun Sheng’s mother didn’t want to go.

"I'll go, I'll go. Go to sleep. Everyone gets emotional when they're young, it'll pass in a few days." Meng Dayong had just turned over when his wife pinched his arm.

"Then tell me, who were you thinking about when you were young?" Chun Sheng's mother leaned over her.

"Ouch, that hurts!"

Meng Dayong cried out that he was wronged, "You are my childhood sweetheart. I've known since I was a child that you are my wife. Who else would I miss? Of course, I miss you!"

His wife pinched him, and he lost his sleepiness, so he simply turned over and pinned her down.

"Meng Dayong, what are you doing?"

“Since you’re not going to sleep, then let’s have another little brother for Chunsheng!” Meng Dayong said with a smile.

Middle-aged couples may occasionally be affectionate, but they are more often unable to perform at their best.

A moment later, Chunsheng's mother pushed away the limp person, "Alright, go to sleep. You want to give Chunsheng a little brother? What a spoilsport!"

After a night of disappointment, Meng Dayong, who had failed to display his prowess, went to the Zheng family with dark circles under his eyes.

Upon learning that Zheng Ming and his daughter had gone to the firewood shop, they inquired about its location and, still yawning, went to find it.

The Zheng family's firewood shop was located near the end of the street. Meng Dayong looked up and, after hearing Zheng Sanhua's voice, went inside.

"Congratulations, Brother Zheng! Your business is booming!" Meng Dayong said, seeing the various firewood piled up in the yard, at least fifty loads, not even including the firewood in the back warehouse. He had no idea the Zheng family could run such a business until he saw it for himself.

"It's Brother Dayong! Are you here to buy firewood?" Zheng Ming pulled Meng Dayong to sit down. "Thanks to everyone's support, our firewood shop is what it is today. Don't you have plenty of firewood?"

Meng Dayong is skilled in carpentry, and he saves every scrap he finds for his own use, so he doesn't usually need to buy firewood.

When Zheng Ming asked him this, Meng Dayong became a little hesitant. When it came to the question, he couldn't bring himself to say it. Instead, he said, "We don't need to buy firewood when it's hot, but as the weather gets colder, we're burning more firewood at home, and we don't have enough of those odds and ends, so we're buying some."

"So that's how it is. Sanhua, pick out the good ones, and I'll take them to your Uncle Meng." Zheng Ming led Meng Dayong to the backyard.

Zheng Sanhua was calculating the money for the woodcutter, "The ones in the warehouse are all good. You can take Uncle Meng to choose them yourself, and I'll calculate the money for them."

After calling out, Zheng Sanhua started fiddling with the abacus again, "Here's today's money. Take it. Go back and tell the uncles and elders in the village that they can send me any good money they have."

She had told the woodcutters that for each village's firewood, only one person needed to deliver it each time, and Zheng Sanhua would pay the delivery person separately, so the villagers wouldn't need to pay anything.

When the villagers heard that she wouldn't have to bring firewood to the city herself, they were all willing to do so. After all, bringing it themselves would take up most of the day and incur toll fees to get to the city.

However, Zheng Sanhua also stipulated that she could pay the person who delivered the firewood, provided that the firewood was of good quality and the truck was fully loaded.

Otherwise, if the villagers just fool her, how will Zheng Sanhua make money?

These are all experiences that Zheng Sanhua has gradually learned step by step. In the beginning, she suffered losses before she slowly developed these rules.

On the other side, Zheng Ming picked out a few bundles of firewood for Meng Dayong. Since no one was around at the moment, he and Meng Dayong each carried two bundles and delivered them to the Meng family together.

When Chun Sheng's mother saw Zheng Ming carrying firewood, she thought there was good news. But when she heard Meng Dayong asking her to give him money, she knew that the man was useless and hadn't said anything.

She went to get the money, saying, "Thank you for making the trip. Sit down and have a cup of tea."

"It's no trouble at all. You've been supporting my business, so I should be thanking you." Zheng Ming was thirsty, so he took the teacup and drank it all in one gulp. Just as he was about to leave, Chun Sheng's mother poured him another cup.

"Oh dear, it's rare for you to come to my house, don't be in such a hurry to leave." Chun Sheng's mother winked at Meng Dayong. Meng Dayong went to the door to check and made sure no one was there before Chun Sheng's mother said, "Your Sanhua is really capable. She's a young lady, and she's followed you from hawking in the market to now running a firewood shop. It's really not easy for her."

“Yes, she’s much more capable than me, her father,” Zheng Ming said.

"That's because you guided her into the industry, which saved her from many detours," Chun Sheng's mother said with a smile. "Speaking of which, San Hua will be fifteen after the New Year. Is she getting married like her older sisters?"

Upon hearing this, even Zheng Ming, who was slow to react, realized why the Meng family wanted to keep him for tea.

However, neither he nor Jiang had made up their minds about this matter. Now that the Meng couple had asked, he couldn't give a clear answer. "Sanhua is still young, we haven't thought about this."

"She is indeed still young, but we can start planning. Whether it's getting married or having someone marry into her family, we need to look into it carefully beforehand to understand the situation clearly."

Chunsheng's mother smiled and said, "As parents, we all want our children to have a happy and fulfilling life, don't you think?"

Yes, yes.

"Then I'll just ask directly, is your family considering letting Sanhua get married?" Chun Sheng's mother's intentions were quite clear at this point.

Zheng Ming paused slightly, his mind racing. It was good to arrange a marriage with the Meng family, but of the three daughters in the family, Sanhua was the most capable, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her the pillar of the family.

Secretly, he wanted to keep Sanhua and have her marry into his family. But since she was also a daughter, he wanted her to marry well, and he was afraid that if he forced her into marriage, she would resent them later.

“Well…it depends on what Sanhua thinks,” Zheng Ming said. “But she’s still young, and we haven’t talked to her about this.”

With his first two daughters already married, there was no reason for him to forcefully keep Sanhua at home.

The Meng couple understood that the Zheng family had not yet considered Zheng Sanhua's marriage, and that was all they could say for today.

Zheng Ming went home first, pulled Jiang Shi into the house for a chat, and then went to the firewood shop. "Sanhua, come with me."

"What's wrong, Dad?" Zheng Sanhua asked, noticing her father's grave expression. "What's wrong? Is it because you're not satisfied with the firewood someone delivered? Or is it because you don't have enough money?"

"It's not a business matter."

Looking at his daughter's disheveled temples, Zheng Ming suddenly felt dizzy. "Sanhua, it's because your father is incompetent that I make you do men's work."

"Oh dear, what are you saying? Why are you bringing this up out of the blue?" Zheng Sanhua said anxiously. "If you have something to say, just say it. Don't give me this nonsense. I like doing this, I love making money!"

She enjoys the pleasure of earning money. Compared to her previous life of working hard at home but not earning much money, she feels that life is much better now.

Zheng Ming wiped away his tears. "It's like this, the Meng family talked to me today. From what I heard, they wanted to know if our family would let you marry into their family."

Why would they ask about this?

“Silly girl, Chunsheng is about to get engaged!” Zheng Ming said. “Given their family’s situation, they definitely don’t want Chunsheng to marry into their family. So they asked us in advance what we think. If you marry out of the family, the Meng family should come to propose marriage. Sanhua, your mother and I have discussed it. Both of your older sisters are married out of the family, so there’s no reason for you to marry into their family. Our opinion is that we will listen to you.”

They can't provide their children with a comfortable life, and now it's even more inappropriate for them to pressure their children into marriage. "If you're willing to marry Chunsheng, we'll let the Meng family know. Chunsheng doesn't talk much, but he's honest and lives close to us. Your mother and I are both willing."

Zheng Ming told his daughter to think it over carefully, "No rush, take your time."

"No need, Father."

Zheng Sanhua was very clear about what she wanted: "I don't want to get married; I want to find a husband who will marry into my family."

“You…you should think this through carefully. A husband who marries into your wife’s family might not be as good as Chunsheng.” Zheng Ming told his daughter to think it over. “You don’t need to give an answer right away. Even if you don’t marry Chunsheng, you can still look for other families later.”

Zheng Sanhua said she understood very well, "Dad, you know I've always been different from my sisters. Especially now that I'm out earning money, you want me to go back to being a wife and mother, I absolutely cannot do it. If I get married, which family would want to see me working like this?"

It's better to have a son-in-law marry into the family. She's in charge of the family business now, and she likes that feeling. She doesn't want to live a life of serving a man, taking care of children, and looking after her mother-in-law. If she has a son-in-law, she can continue running the family business. If the son-in-law is unhappy, she can just find someone who listens to her.

Zheng Ming was stunned.

“I’ve thought it through very clearly. I want to marry into the family. You don’t need to worry that I’ll regret it. My requirements are very simple: he can take care of the family, he won’t interfere with my earning money, and he shouldn’t be deformed,” Zheng Sanhua said. “Is there anything else? Then I’ll go and get busy.”

"You...you really don't like Chunsheng?"

“I don’t like it!” Zheng Sanhua and her father shook their heads, picked up a bundle of firewood and went out, tossed it onto the handcart, filled it to the brim, and she went to Qiao’s Food Shop.

"Auntie, I've brought firewood!" Zheng Sanhua carried two bundles to the backyard, and Qiao Mancang and the others saw her and came to help.

Soon, the entire truckload of firewood was unloaded.

It wasn't lunchtime yet, so Qiao Mianmian still had time to chat with Zheng Sanhua. She pulled Zheng Sanhua upstairs and brought her some cloud cake and mung bean soup.

"My mother told me you'd be delivering firewood today, so she specially saved this for you." Qiao Mianmian also broke off a small piece of cloud cake to eat. It was sweet, soft, and chewy, and after being sprinkled with osmanthus flowers, a faint osmanthus fragrance lingered in her mouth. "How's business lately?"

"At first, we didn't make much money, but we didn't lose money either," Zheng Sanhua said, adding that sales were still not enough. "We don't lack firewood, but now it's a matter of sales volume."

“You can hire people. Your father isn’t very good at talking, so if you’re the only one selling, the sales volume will definitely be limited. Your business isn’t what it used to be. You must have quite a few woodcutters delivering firewood every day now, right?” Seeing Zheng Sanhua nod, Qiao Mianmian continued, “Hire two experienced people, preferably those who know customer resources, so that your firewood can be distributed to more people.”

"But where can I find people? The kind you're talking about, you can only poach people from other places, but where would I get the money for that?" Zheng Sanhua had used up most of her money and could barely keep the shop afloat.

Qiao Mianmian said it depends on timing. "If you observe carefully, those people come and go, and you'll eventually find the right one. When doing business, don't be too hasty."

"Uh-huh."

After finishing her cloud cake and drinking mung bean soup, Zheng Sanhua was about to leave when she remembered what her father had said and couldn't help but sigh. She then spoke of the Meng family's affairs, "Actually..."

"You wouldn't say that you actually have good feelings for Chunsheng, would you?" Qiao Mianmian saw Zheng Sanhua pause and helped to say what Zheng Sanhua hadn't said.

Zheng Sanhua nodded. "He's contacted me several times recently, and I feel a sense of security with him."

“Your parents also said they don’t want you to marry into their family,” Qiao Mianmian said.

"So, am I just going to marry Chunsheng like this?"

Zheng Sanhua shook her head. "I do think Chunsheng is quite nice, and seeing him makes me happy. But it's not like I can't live without him. Life isn't just about husband and wife; there are also relationships between parents and children, and siblings. First of all, I am myself; secondly, I am my parents' daughter and my sisters' older sister."

She hopes her parents can enjoy their later years in peace and is willing to take on the family responsibilities for her sisters.

Qiao Mianmian was moved and hugged Zheng Sanhua's arm, "Waaah, my dear Sanhua, you're so kind."

"Haha, you're great too. I can only say this to you. Sister Mianmian, we all have to work hard. Only by working harder than the men can we avoid putting so many shackles on ourselves!" Zheng Sanhua clenched her fist.

"Yes, Sanhua, you should work hard. Your sister Mianmian doesn't actually have much ambition. I'm content with having enough money to eat and drink and living a life of luxury," Qiao Mianmian said.

"Sleeping on gold and silver? They don't even have ambition?"

"Oh, it's just a little bit." Qiao Mianmian laughed. "You make more money, and I'll invest in you in the future. You can take me to live this good life."

"Okay, okay, I'll try my best." Zheng Sanhua chatted with Qiao Mianmian for a long time, but when she heard that the food stall was starting to get busy, she had to leave. "I'm going back now. My father can't handle the matter with Chai Xing alone. I'll try my best and pay you back next month."

"No rush." ​​Qiao Mianmian saw Zheng Sanhua off and felt sorry for the young girl pulling a cart.

"Mianmian, the customer ordered sweet and sour pork," Qiao Mancang said as he came over.

"Okay, Dad, I'm off to the kitchen." Qiao Mianmian had just arrived at the kitchen when another order came in. Noon was the busiest time for her family's food stall.