Chapter 47
It was bright day again. Zhan Mu had a drowsy dream last night and got up very late today. He climbed out of bed with his tired body and was about to wash up when he received a call from his mother.
Zhan's mother: "Are you up? Come downstairs, I'll pick you up and go see your sister."
Zhan Mu was so frightened when he heard this that his sleepiness disappeared. He nodded in agreement and then said belatedly, "What about my shop's business?"
"Come on! Is your store doing well?" Zhan's father's voice also sounded impatient.
Lu Chao climbed out of his backpack and made an OK gesture to Zhan Mu, indicating that the store business was left to me.
Zhan Mu nodded, washed up quickly, changed his clothes and went downstairs. Sure enough, he waited for his parents in front of his third uncle's barber shop.
After some pleasantries, Zhan Mu got into their family's Chevrolet car. He sat in the back seat. He didn't know if it was because his legs had grown longer, but he felt the space in the car was very cramped.
Zhan's mother: "How are you doing lately?"
Zhan Mu: "Me? Fortunately, I can make a living."
Zhan's mother: "Sure, as long as you can support yourself, we won't bother to bother you that much. Hey, did your grandma come to see you? Did she ask us to pay for her house renovations again?"
Zhan Mu nodded, looking helpless, "Indeed, so..."
Zhan's father said, "Your sister is still in the hospital, and you're asking for money. It's ridiculous. Just because you saw you go back to do business, you think our family is rich? She's already in her 40s and she won't live long. I don't know why we can fix that rotten house."
"That's right. We have a house in the city. Who's going to live there after it's fixed?" Zhan's mother said, "Your grandmother can't call us, but she can't call your third father and his family. They are the real rich people. They bought two houses and cried poor every day. The richer they are, the more they complain. Your third mother spent thousands of dollars on a beauty card at a time. I can't bear to ask me."
“…” Zhan Mu rubbed his eyebrows, feeling a little annoyed by this topic.
"Among our families, the richest is still Lao Wu." Zhan's father said, "They have opened factories in Yuzhou. Let's see if they will come back to Zhang Shi and other poor relatives like you."
"Fifth Dad?" Zhan Mu asked casually.
"I don't know what she's doing, but she doesn't come back often." Zhan's mother said. She turned around and told Zhan Mu, "Next time your grandma asks us to pay for her house renovations, just tell her that we'll pay as much as Third Dad."
"Honestly, I think grandma is too stubborn." Zhan Mu commented, "Honestly, she's almost seventy years old. She should be thick-skinned. She has children anyway, so she should let them support her. She's too lazy to do farm work. She works herself to death in the fields every day, but she doesn't earn much money. Is that necessary?"
"It's not that easy to tell you." Zhan's mother explained to him, "Your grandfather loves to smoke, and your grandmother has a strong personality. Living together as a family is more than just about eating. If there's even the slightest disagreement in living habits, it's bound to lead to arguments. Just ask your third mother why she doesn't take your grandmother to live in town."
Zhan's mother: "I just can't stand your old lifestyle. You're very frugal. You eat a whole vegetable soup for three days. It's annoying to see it. It's not the same as before. You can't be so frugal like that."
Zhan's father said, "Fortunately, your grandparents are still in good health and can do things on their own. If they had dementia and needed someone to take care of them, then there would be a lot of children taking turns to take care of them, and there would definitely be a fight. You can see it from watching the news."
Zhan Mu pursed his lips and said, "Is this true?"
Zhan's mother: "Ask yourself, are you willing to stay with your sister all day and take care of her poop and pee?"
"..." Zhan Mu was stunned by what he said, and then he sighed and said, "I would rather spend a little more money to hire someone for help. Everything that can be solved with money in this world is a small matter."
"Then work hard to earn it." Zhan's father gave him a funny look.
Zhan's mother also reached out and put her hand on Zhan's father's shoulder, smiling and sighing: "You just realized that our Zhan Mu has always been very arrogant when he speaks, as if he is a big shot."
Zhan Muhang sighed helplessly, shook his head and smiled.
At noon, we visited Zhan Miao at the county hospital. The attending doctor said that he was in good condition. The three members of the Zhan family simply bought lunch boxes and ate them. The atmosphere in the family was kind and harmonious, which was rare.
"Mom, I always feel that Miaomiao was harmed by someone and became like this." Zhan Mu suddenly said, with a hint of anger in his voice.
Zhan's father said, "The school has already paid compensation. They told us to make a big deal out of a small matter and let it go."
"That Huang Jiye..." Zhan Mu hesitated to speak, and felt a surge of anger when he thought of that bastard's face.
Zhan's mother said, "Zhan Miao jumped off the building on her own. No one pushed her. What you said can only be considered an external factor. Besides, the young man was quite enthusiastic and said some nice things. Otherwise, those leaders would not be willing to compensate us."
"..." Zhan Mu shut up. He looked at his phone. The police officer Liu who had said that he would tell him if there were any clues in the follow-up case had not contacted him since then.
-
After visiting Zhan Miao, Zhan's parents were going back to Wanzhou in the afternoon, so Zhan Mu called a Didi to return to Laojun Village.
Zhan's mother's instructions and exhortations to her son are still fresh in my ears.
Mom: Work hard. If you want others to respect you, you have to make a name for yourself. If you give up after a short period of enthusiasm when you encounter some setbacks, then you have achieved nothing, do you understand?
Mom: Remember to call your parents. Are you going to stay away from home and never come back? Your dad and I have offended you and we hate you.
Mom: Your third uncle and his family always tell you not to go, because they say you don’t want to fail in business and end up owing a lot of favors to others. Do you understand?
Zhan Mu sighed heavily, with warmth in his eyes, and replied to his mother with several cute cat head emoticons.
When they arrived in the town, Zhan Mu got off the car and walked a short distance, shielding himself from the sun with his arms. His cell phone vibrated, so he took it out and heard a loud voice: TT payment of 200 yuan.
When I arrived at the store, I happened to meet Brother Qiang, who runs a farm, and Sister Hong, who rides a tricycle to plant grapes. They were both standing in front of his copy shop, watching something.
He leaned over and saw Lu Chao working on a photo editing app in front of his computer. The three of them were discussing what they were working on when they were working on a giant banner that read "A Sweet and Sour Summer, Taste the Fresh Grapes."
"Boss Gao." Zhan Mu recognized him and greeted him first.
"Hey, Boss Zhan." Gao Qiang was bald and had a big belly. His skin was tanned to a wheat color, dark yet yellowish. His smile was quite kind and friendly.
His wife, Sister Hong, was shorter and wore a sun hat and sunglasses, wrapped up tightly.
"Sister Hong? Could it be that you own that bar?" Zhan Mu started talking, smiling politely at them.
"Yes, business is not good. I have wanted to put it up for a long time." Sister Hong nodded and continued to watch Lu Chao's operation. It seemed that this was the banner they customized.
"Your kid has good taste. Yours is the only printing and copying shop in this whole town." Gao Qiang suddenly spoke up, trying to get close to Zhan Mu and chatting with him.
Zhan Mu modestly said, "We just opened our business, so not many people have this need."
"Yes, really." Gao Qiang looked around and asked, "A shop like this can even take passport photos and stuff. Why are you doing this too?"
"Great, great. I bought the camera online." Zhan Mu said.
He changed the subject, pointing to the grapes on the tricycle outside, and asked, "Are you planning to take them to the city to sell?"
"That's right, they are all inferior fruits. The buyers from the early batches have already come to pack them in bags and take them away." Sister Hong said after taking off her mask.
After several rounds of pleasantries, Lu Chao finally finished the layout and sent it to Gao Qiang's TT in PDF format. Then he transferred it and waited for half an hour before printing it out on the machine.
One order costs 200 yuan. Although the advertising banner is not big, it is considered a big customer of Master Zhan's small shop.
They left, and before leaving, they kindly gave Zhan Mu a bunch of grapes. Turning back, he picked some grapes and handed them to Lu Chao. Then, realizing what was happening, he asked, "Hey, that's strange. They didn't even suspect you were the data person?"
"I asked, and he also said he wanted to buy the same one." Lu Chao said, and at the same time slapped Zhan Mu's hand away. He said many times that you can't eat liquids.
Zhan Mu laughed twice, humming a little tune, and found the newly bought coffee on the table cabinet. He brewed it and tore off the milk brick, threw it in and stirred it with a spoon.
"You are in a good mood today. Didn't you quarrel with your parents?" Lu Chao asked, looking at his thin energy.
"No." Zhan Mu said, "Maybe he saw that I was quite perseverant and encouraged me. It's okay."
"Today's turnover is 215 yuan." Lu Chao took out a small notebook and tapped his record with the tip of his pen. He said, "You can't expect to have such a big customer every day. If tomorrow's turnover is still around ten yuan, we've worked in vain."
"..." Zhan Mu covered his face in pain, "Staff Officer Lu, stop being so pessimistic and think of a solution!"
"You're right. The school's business is stable, and the breakthrough lies with Teacher Cui." Lu Chao said, "If he's not willing, why don't we go find our introducer, Teacher Yu? He's the director of the Academic Affairs Office."
"Okay, what do we do next?" Zhan Mu immediately rolled up his sleeves and said eagerly, "Let's go to the school gate and block him again."
Zhan Mu did what he said. After dinner, he waited for a customer to copy his ID card. After finishing the job, he closed the door early and waited in front of the gate of No. 2 Middle School before the evening self-study class.
As luck would have it, instead of Yu Wenfei, he saw the angry Cui Yongguang. Mainly because Zhan Mu was deeply impressed by his Audi.
Cui Yongguang got out of the car, looking gloomy and irritable. He looked up at the roof and saw a large pool of white bird droppings. However, class was about to start, so he didn't have time to deal with it. He immediately grabbed his briefcase and rushed to the school.
"Opportunity!" Zhan Mu's mind raced immediately, and he bought two packs of wet wipes from the convenience store nearby. Under the scorching sun, he began to act as a car washer, cleaning the bird droppings off Cui Yongguang's roof.
Passersby witnessed it and looked at him with strange eyes.
Lu Chao was so impressed by this man that he even stood next to Zhan Mu and pretended not to know him, asking, "Aren't you embarrassed?"
"Not embarrassing." Zhan Mu was working very hard and replied, "Respectability requires financial strength, and the process of making money is often not so respectable."
Lu Chao clearly felt that Zhan Mu's movements and postures were filled with a stubbornness and resentment that showed he was unwilling to admit defeat and was not afraid of hardship.
"If you put all that energy into studying, you'd have gotten into more than just a second-tier university." Lu Chao complained, not knowing whether to leave or to help.
"But no university has ever taught me how to make money." Zhan Mu paused, his expression fierce and fierce. He whispered, "I want to make money, it's that simple. If you don't like it, just don't look at it."
"..." Lu Chao blinked, feeling a little suffocated by his criticism. The next second, he started arguing with Zhan Mu, and also took out a wet tissue to help him wipe the bird droppings off someone else's car.
Lu Chao has never done such a shameful thing in his life!
"I'm your bootlicker." Lu Chao said viciously.
-
After the evening self-study class, Cui Yongyuan could not hide his fatigue. When he walked out of the school gate, he met the familiar young man from last time, and noticed that his Audi car had become inexplicably shiny.
"Hello, Teacher Cui, sorry to bother you." Zhan Mu stood upright, his posture still unable to hide his nervousness.
"You..." Cui Yongyuan understood that it was he who helped.
This was also the first time he had encountered such a thing. He was half amused and half surprised. He immediately took out his phone and said, "How about this, young man? Add me and you can contact me anytime if you need anything. Is that okay?"
"Um, Teacher Cui..." Zhan Mu always felt that his words were ambiguous and just superficial.
"Our school is going to hold a sports meet soon. Can you make a banner with red words that says "youth is flying"? Cui Yongyuan was patient and gestured.
Zhan Mu nodded and added his contact information. Cui Yongguang also agreed in front of him and left in a hurry without saying much.
"So is this successful?" Lu Chao was dying and almost out of energy. He fell over as he walked over and looked sleepy.
"I don't know." Zhan Mu actually felt that he was just trying to fool him, but he had no evidence. He said, "How about we go to Hongchang Printing Factory and do an on-site inspection someday? I don't believe that we can't find any fault with him."
"As expected of you, there is no business without fraud." Lu Chao said in a weak voice, "Brother, I'm really exhausted. Carry me home."
"..." Zhan Mu narrowed his eyes, hugged the man tightly, but complained in his heart: This guy's endurance is so poor, even if I want to have sex with him, I'm afraid it won't be satisfying.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
