Song Ze's assurances did not reassure Zhang Hongyan. She couldn't just let Song Ze take advantage of her daughter simply because he was her boyfriend.
Since we already know that this business has no future, why would we let people invest their time and energy into it? Wouldn't that just be a waste of their time and energy?
However, without the help of Yuan Xin and Song Ze, Zhang Hongyan was unsure whether she and Xia Heping could continue their business.
That year, the family made a fortune from the chili sauce business, which also allowed Zhang Hongyan's ambition to quietly take root and sprout.
If she had ever considered going back to her hometown to farm if she couldn't make it in Beijing before coming here, that thought has now completely disappeared.
Who would be willing to continue working hard in the fields after earning only a few hundred dollars a month? You can't earn as much in a month as you would in a year.
Xia Heping had no idea of his wife's ambition. Seeing her frowning and seemingly lost in thought, he gently patted her shoulder and comforted her:
"Honey, don't worry. How could I, a grown man, let my wife and children go hungry? I'll start looking for work tomorrow."
Then he turned to Xia Qingqing and said, "Qingqing, you should also keep an eye out for me and see if there are any suitable jobs. You are more familiar with Beijing than I am. Even though I am over forty, I still have a lot of strength."
"Okay, I'll keep an eye out," Xia Qingqing replied casually.
However, although she verbally agreed, she had no intention of actually letting her father go out to work.
First of all, given his level of education and age, it would be very difficult for him to find an easy job. Even if she could find a way to get Xia Heping into a factory office, he wouldn't be able to do those kinds of jobs.
Secondly, she was worried that Xia Heping would feel a sense of loss. He used to earn at least one or two hundred yuan a month, and suddenly he was going to do a job that only earned twenty or thirty yuan a month. Xia Qingqing didn't believe he wouldn't feel a sense of loss.
Even if her parents were willing to do those jobs, Xia Qingqing didn't want them to.
This is the 1980s! You can easily make a living by setting up a breakfast stall on the street, which is better than working a regular job.
Zhang Hongyan glanced at her watch and reminded her, "Qingqing, it's getting late. You should go back to your room and get some sleep. You have to get up for school tomorrow."
"Then I'll go back to my room first. Mom and Dad, don't worry, things will work themselves out," Xia Qingqing said casually.
Zhang Hongyan smiled and pushed her out the door: "Okay, Mom and Dad aren't in a hurry, you should go back to sleep."
After closing the door, Zhang Hongyan did not rush to bed.
Instead, she looked very seriously at the man sitting on the bed and asked, "Heping, do you think we should continue this chili sauce business? I mean, should we do it ourselves?"
"We'll make it ourselves?" Xia Heping asked in surprise.
"What about purchasing and sales? We can't handle that."
Although he had run a chili sauce business in the countryside before, back then Xiao Hui was in charge of both purchasing and sales.
Xia Heping knew very well that Xiao Hui was willing to partner with them in the past because of his daughter, and now Yuan Xin and Song Ze were also willing to cooperate with them because of their daughter.
Otherwise, no matter how delicious Zhang Hongyan's chili sauce is, they won't have any way to sell it, or they simply won't know it can be sold.
“How will you know if you don’t try? Even if you can find a job in the future, can you be content with earning only twenty or thirty yuan a month? To put it bluntly, our family’s monthly expenses are more than twenty or thirty yuan,” Zhang Hongyan said in a calm tone.
If you only consider buying vegetables and grains, it definitely wouldn't cost twenty or thirty yuan. But if you include household necessities and other things that Xia Qingqing brings back from time to time, it might cost more than twenty or thirty yuan.
After all, my daughter is generous with her money, and the things she buys are never cheap.
Zhang Hongyan had previously offered to reimburse Xia Qingqing for the expenses, but she firmly refused.
Xia Heping was speechless at his wife's words, and his expression became somewhat dejected. Was he too useless?
Having lived with him for over twenty years, how could Zhang Hongyan not see through his thoughts? She smiled and said:
"What nonsense are you thinking about again? This family doesn't just belong to you. If we want to live a good life, we all need to work together. How can we expect to rely on just one person?"
She wasn't saying nice things to comfort Xia Heping; people are different.
If you compare Xia Heping with those workers, or even office leaders, he would definitely seem useless.
However, Xia Heping has a greater advantage when compared to the men in Shihe Brigade.
He could earn full work points and support his wife and children.
In terms of character, he was honest and kind. He had never been seen arguing with his wife. All the women in the village praised Xia Heping as a good man.
"Wife, you are so good," Xia Heping said, hugging Zhang Hongyan tightly. How fortunate he was to have met such a wonderful wife.
Zhang Hongyan laughed and scolded, "That's enough, aren't you ashamed of your mushy talk?"
Xia Heping shook his head: "Where is it cheesy? I'm just telling the truth."
"Wife, I'll listen to you about the chili sauce business. I'll do whatever you tell me to do, and I'll learn if I don't know how," Xia Heping said with a determined look in his eyes.
......
Song Ze looked at Yuan Xin sitting opposite him and said, "Alright, I respect your decision. I will talk to Uncle Xia and the others about this."
“Aze, I know you’re in a tough spot, but nobody’s too rich, right? If there’s a more profitable business, why waste time and energy on this one?”
Yuan Xin didn't look too relaxed either. He couldn't understand why those two people were going against them, trying to steal their business and even starting a price war.
The worst part is that they really did steal all the customers away, and now only a few people are still getting goods from them, but it's unclear how long that will last.
Now they only have two options: either lower prices and compete with rivals, or find other sales channels.
For Yuanxin, lowering prices is definitely a lose-lose situation. He has other businesses that can make money, so why fight to the death with the other party?
If you lower your price by one cent and I lower mine by two cents, how will we make a profit?
Finding other sales channels isn't easy either. Why not use that energy to find a more profitable business? You only make a few cents on a bottle of chili sauce.
“I know what you’re thinking, but Uncle Xia and the others value this business a lot, and I don’t want to let them down,” Song Ze said earnestly.
He also knew that doing other things would be more profitable. Transporting a batch of goods from Guangzhou and selling them could multiply the profit several times over. This might be difficult for others, but since they had connections, their elders would turn a blind eye as long as it wasn't too outrageous.
Song Ze could certainly bring Zhang Hongyan and the others along to do other business, but he was afraid they wouldn't be willing.
Ultimately, Song Ze and Xia Qingqing weren't actually married, so how could Zhang Hongyan and her husband possibly take advantage of someone else?
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