It rained last night, and it’s finally not so hot and humid anymore. The refreshing morning makes people vaguely smell the breath of autumn.

After lunch, Li Hongjun came to visit, carrying a large net bag with a large watermelon weighing at least seven kilograms in it.

When he came, all the kids in the compound were excited and surrounded their uncle. But when they heard that he was another friend of Qiaoan's father, they became dispirited.

"How come Qiao An's father is rich, and his friends are also rich? I have seen uncles sending delicious food to Qiao An's family more than once!" The following are the angry remarks of little Chen Jingkang.

"Because Qiaoan's father is a street vendor, my mother said that street vendors can get to know a lot of people!"

"How many people are there?"

“Too many.”

Qiao An diligently took a kitchen knife from the kitchen and handed it to Li Hongjun.

Li Hongjun cut the cake into evenly thick triangles with a few clicks, and bit off the core in the middle. It was sweet and crispy. Li Hongjun said it was just taken out of the freezer, and after eating it, the whole person felt cold. It was so delicious!

It's just, uh... a little garlicky.

"Where did you come from? Is it from Bingzhen?" Qiao Lu sighed comfortably.

"It was given to me by Li Yu. His father-in-law got a foreign exchange certificate from somewhere and bought a refrigerator for the family. He froze three big watermelons in it. It just so happened that I had something to do with him today, so he gave it to me."

Qiao Lu sighed as she ate the watermelon: "Brother Li is so generous to give you such a big watermelon for free."

Li Hongjun laughed cheerfully: "Well! That's why we call each other brothers. If I go to Haizhou, I will give it to you."

After finishing two slices of watermelon amid the sound of children swallowing their saliva outside, Qiao Lu found a basin in the kitchen, put the remaining watermelon in it, and handed it to her son.

"An An, take it out and give it to your good friends."

He quickly bit off the last piece of red flesh and shook off the juice on his hands: "Okay~"

At this moment, Qiaoan was like a saint. As he walked towards the children with a large basin in his arms, a shining holy light shone from his whole body!

The kids all stood up and surrounded him. Chen Jiamei also joined in the fun: "I'm a kid too, Qiaoan, give me a piece too."

When there are advantages, she becomes a child, and when there are no advantages, she says she is an adult. Just for some food, Chen Jiamei really has no shame.

Zhang Hongyan didn't understand why she gave birth to such a dirty girl.

"Aunt, didn't you say you are an adult? This is our watermelon, you can't eat it!"

Chen Jiamei covered Chen Jingkang's mouth with her hand: "You are the only one who talks too much!"

"For sister." As obedient as Qiao An was, she gave her a slice of watermelon in the end.

Chen Jiamei smiled with her teeth showing and rubbed his head: "Oh Qiao An is so nice. If you were my nephew, you would definitely be more popular than Chen Jingkang."

"Who cares if you like it!" Chen Jingkang spat a watermelon seed at her and snorted proudly: "Qiao An doesn't want to be your nephew."

After eating the watermelon, Qiao Lu went to the well to draw water to wash her hands. She also rinsed the empty basin and washed her son's hands and face.

"Okay, the watermelons have been divided and our hands have been washed. An An, while everyone is here, tell the children a story. Didn't your mom tell you a lot of stories in the past? Share them with everyone."

"Telling stories? I want to listen to stories!" After eating and drinking enough, I can still listen to stories. It's a heavenly life!

"I want to hear it too!"

“I want to, too!”

"Look, everyone wants to listen. How about you tell us about it?" Qiao Lu looked at her son, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

The incident happened a little bit suddenly but not so suddenly. His mother had long suggested that he tell stories to everyone, saying that it would help him improve his language organization skills and increase his courage, and he would become a brave child in the future.

After tangling his fingers for a while, he nodded: "Okay then."

"Today I will tell you the story of the race between the tortoise and the hare."

Qiao Lu returned to the room with peace of mind and discussed the matter of opening a store with Xu Haizhou and Li Hongjun.

Things were a bit tricky. The landlord of the shop that Qiaolu had chosen refused to rent it out. But she said she could rent it out to the public or a state-owned enterprise.

"Do you know what people say?" Li Hongjun imitated the landlady's tone of voice and exaggeratedly raised his orchid finger: "At this time, you are just looking for trouble! Didn't you see in the newspaper that a screw seller in Li'an was arrested last week? Aren't you afraid that we are unlucky?"

Qiao Lu really didn't expect this: "Uh...what should I do?"

In fact, if she couldn't rent a house, Qiao Lu wouldn't be in a hurry. After all, she knew the course of history. Even if the current environment was not good, she would definitely be able to rent a house and open a store by 1986 at the latest.

Now...it's still early, the worst that can happen is that I can just continue to set up the stall, it will be a bit hard and tiring, but it will only be like this for one or two years.

"If it really doesn't work, let's go to Baiyun Street." Xu Haizhou suggested.

Baiyun Street Small Commodity Market was actually established around 1981, but it was located in a remote area, bordering Li'an and the neighboring Kowloon City. As for the customer flow... Anyway, Xu Haizhou had inspected it several times before and felt that the response was mediocre, so it was better to set up a stall by himself.

This year, the crackdown was severe and the urban management did not allow small vendors to set up stalls everywhere in the city, so the small commodity market suddenly became popular.

The female landlord also suggested that Li Hongjun open a shop on Baiyun Street, saying that many small vendors have gone there now and that area is a "no man's land", officially called a "special economic zone". The largest "trade center" in Li'an City is actually just a temporary name so that these small vendors have a place to go without causing chaos and affecting the cityscape.

If all of them are abolished, it will affect social stability to a certain extent. After all, people who don't have a stable job rely on this to make a living. The government is thinking of a solution. Why not just set aside a small piece of land to accommodate these small vendors who rely on business for a living? Wouldn't that improve social stability?

"Yes, I've been there too. It's more lively now than before, but I don't know how much I can earn."

Qiao Lu: "Is that a street stall or...?"

Xu Haizhou: "It is a store, but it is a row of metal sheds connected together, with a board separating each room. Each room is a storefront."

At that time, it was called a shop, but compared with later generations, it was definitely not a shop, but more like a market.

"It's better to have a shed than being exposed to the wind and sun." Qiao Lu nodded.

"But it's far from here. It takes about an hour to ride there by bike," said Li Hongjun.

"Wouldn't it take two hours to go back and forth?" If that's the case, I won't be able to go home for lunch...

But it’s quite close to Nanhu Garden Community, and it only takes about half an hour to ride a bike there. If you can buy a house in that community, you can save half the time.”

Whether from the perspective of commuting time or independent bathrooms, Nanhu Home is a must-have!

Unfortunately, I haven’t saved enough money now.

But when I think about it, it seems like I suddenly got the upper hand.

Hurry up and make some small money!

"Okay, let's go to Baiyun Street..." Qiao Lu thought of another question: "What about the goods? Where can I get them?"

The clothes produced by Li'an Garment Factory are only supplied to major shopping malls or public stores, and they are not even bothered to supply to individuals.

Xu Haizhou: "Don't worry about the goods, I'll go find Yang Lidong."

He has been in this business for four years, but he no longer has a stall in Li'an. Instead, he has a stall in a small county town under Li'an. The demand there is no less than in Li'an, and the competition is not as fierce, so he makes a lot of money.

"Okay, let's go to the small commodity market for a few days to see how the customer flow is. If it's good, we'll stay here regularly. It doesn't make sense to keep fighting guerrilla warfare."

Xu Haizhou was about to reply when Qiao An, who was telling a story in the yard, suddenly ran in, crying as she ran:

"Woo-woo-woo--Mama, Mama, I don't want to tell stories anymore--"

The three of them looked at each other in confusion. They were fine when they just went out.

"What's wrong? You were so happy just now. Who bullied you?" Who made them cry again?

Qiaoan's face turned red from crying, and every feature of her face was filled with grievance: "Mom, I told everyone the story of the farmer and the snake, and Xiaomai said that the snake was bad and didn't know how to be grateful. I told her that the snake was bad to begin with, and that the farmer was wrong to put it in his stomach, and Xiaomai said I was stupid and that I was talking nonsense."

Xiao Mai is the youngest daughter of Tian Jianzhong's eldest brother. She is five years old. The family now lives in a welfare house allocated by the unit. Sometimes the child will come to the big compound to play with other children. She has also played with Qiao An. She is a lively and a little bit more genuine child.

Looking at her little baby's serious yet sad expression, Qiao Lu could only smile helplessly.

In fact, in the worldview of children, good is rewarded with good and evil is punished with evil. If we change the story of the farmer and the snake from the perspective of children, it is indeed the snake that is wrong. The farmer clearly saved the snake, but the snake actually repaid his kindness with hatred. The snake is too bad! How could the farmer be wrong? The farmer is just kind, he did nothing wrong.

With this idea in mind, Tian Xiaomian and Qiao An had an argument, which led to the current situation.

But if we really want to debate, we can't say that Xiaomai is wrong. We are all kindergarten-age kids. It's Qiaoan who sees things too clearly. It's normal that Tian Xiaomai finds it difficult to accept his point of view.

"What about the other kids? Do they all think you are wrong?"

The boy said aggrievedly: "No, everyone said I spoke well, except Xiao Mai, who said I was stupid and a liar."

"That's it. Xiao Mai is only one person after all, and the majority of people support you, so we don't need to care about that small minority, just ignore them. Besides, some people don't like the RMB, can you expect everyone to like you?"

After thinking for a while, Qiao An nodded: "I hope everyone likes me."

This was not a good idea. Qiao Lu was about to educate him again, but she saw Xu Haizhou suddenly hold his son on his lap and teach him patiently.

"An An, as a person, you can't just look at praise, and you can't just look at criticism. The former will make you proud and complacent, and the latter will easily make you lose confidence... We should take the essence from each other and listen to the useful things. Why should we care too much about other people's thoughts? Like mom said, some people don't even like money, so does that mean they will definitely like An An?"

Qiao An was stunned: "Dad's explanation is so profound, An An doesn't understand."

Xu Haizhou rubbed his head and said, "You will understand. You will understand slowly."

I don't know why, but when I smelled the scent of my father and listened to his deep voice, I suddenly felt calm.

"My little baby, are you still sad now?" Li Hongjun asked him with a smile.

"Well, as long as Mom and Dad comfort me, I won't be sad." After saying this, she smiled sweetly. Then she realized that the Red Army uncle was also here, and she shyly snuggled into Xu Haizhou's arms.

Xu Haizhou smiled and tapped his nose: "So you're just here to seek comfort?"

Qiao An smiled shyly, her voice soft and grandma-like: "I hope that every time I am sad, my parents will comfort me, then I won't be sad anymore."

"Brother Kang Kang's mother never comforts him. Once, a ball thrown by an older brother hit him on the head, and a big bump appeared on his head. It hurt so much. Then Aunt Lin scolded Brother Kang Kang, saying that he was clumsy and couldn't look at the road. Then Brother Kang Kang would be sad for a long time. But An An wouldn't do that. As soon as An An came home, his mother would comfort me, and I would not be sad anymore!"

"What if your mother is not by your side one day when you are sad? Who will comfort you?" Qiao Lu asked him.

"Well... Dad." Dad was also very gentle and would comfort him, but when Mom was around, Qiao An always tended to lean towards her arms.

"What if mom and dad are not around?" Xu Haizhou asked.

"Well... then... what should I do?" He has never completely left his mother, he is always by her side.

"Then An An must find a way to regulate herself, digest the situation by herself, and make herself happy." Xu Haizhou said.

"I can't." Qiao An pursed his face.

Qiao Lu smiled: "Yes, Mom believes in you. You can adjust without us. This means that our An An has grown up."

"Ah? Does this mean you've grown up?"

"yes."

The boy's eyes lit up: "Okay! Mom, I get it. I won't be angry with Xiao Mai anymore. If I can't win over them in an argument, I will just beat him to death!"

Hahaha--

Li Hongjun burst into laughter without mercy.

The couple looked at each other and couldn't help laughing. How could they have raised such a silly little pig?

"It's ignoring, not dying suddenly." Qiao Luzhen said.

"Well, I ignored him and ignored him!"

"My son is awesome. It's not worth it to ruin his health."

"Yeah!" She got down from Xu Haizhou's arms, held Qiao Lu's face and kissed her: "Mom, I don't want to be angry. I want to laugh every day."

"Okay, that's all right, go play!" Qiao Lu patted his little butt.

"I'm going to go play with Brother Kang Kang!"

He turned around and went to look for his friends happily.

Xu Haizhou raised his eyebrows: "You're not sad about this?"

"Hmm." Qiao Lu curled her lips.

"You are quite good at coaxing your son."

Qiao Lu put her elbow on his left shoulder and smiled at him: "If you get angry next time, I guarantee I can calm you down in a few minutes."

"Really?" Xu Haizhou laughed. There was no reason for him to get angry just because she coaxed him.

"uh-huh."

"Okay, let's wait for an opportunity." Despite this, Xu Haizhou responded seriously.

The author has something to say:

There is one more update, I will post it later, typing...