Chapter 80 Shopfront
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"Mom, what are you planning to do?" After returning home and putting down the things she brought back from the store, She Ning picked up the little puppy that had been circling around her feet and asked She Hongmei.
Under the peach tree, She Hongmei was whittling wood with a machete. Beside her was a hoe with a broken stick. Hearing this, she didn't even look up. She stuffed the whittled stick into the hoe and secured it with nails. She said, "It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. Since he wants it, let's go along with it and trap him like a turtle in a jar."
She Ning gently stroked the puppy's chin, and the puppy nestled comfortably in her arms, whimpering. Hearing She Hongmei's words, it nodded, "Okay, it's good that you both know what's going on. What do you want to eat tonight? I'll make it now."
After cleaning up the dishes at the restaurant, she saw Chen Xiuxiu and She Hongmei talking on one side of the restaurant. She Hongmei looked serious, while Chen Xiuxiu looked ashamed and apologetic. Curious, she went over to listen.
Although I only heard the latter part, I could roughly guess what was going on.
Chen Xiuxiu has an ex-husband who abandoned his wife and daughter. Recently, he somehow found out that she works at the most popular She Family Restaurant. Although they had already divorced, he came to her door and waited for her every day, putting on a show of a prodigal son returning home. He would kneel down and slap her, always pretending to be sincerely repentant.
Chen Xiuxiu had long been aware of his opportunistic nature. In order to find out his purpose, she pretended to be moved by him and softened her attitude when facing him. Soon, the man revealed his true colors.
Tell her to steal the She family's braised food recipe.
When she realized his intentions, Chen Xiuxiu was so angry she felt like she was going to die. She wanted to slap him twice, but fearing that he would cause trouble at the restaurant later, she pretended to agree and then turned around and went to find She Hongmei.
Before going home, Chen Xiuxiu told She Hongmei about this.
The barefoot are not afraid of those wearing shoes. She Ning was originally worried that the person would hurt She Hongmei, but now that she knew that she had a plan, She Ning was relieved.
She believed that She Hongmei could handle it well.
Sure enough, a few days later, She Ning was attending classes at Xiahe Middle School. Not far from the school gate, she heard people on the roadside discussing gossip about the most popular She Family Restaurant.
In broad daylight, someone dared to enter the store and steal money and recipes. He was caught red-handed by plainclothes police officers who were eating in the store and arrested on the spot.
I heard that when the thief was taken away, he kept shouting that he was innocent and that someone had framed him.
"Pah! A coward who dares to do something but doesn't dare to admit it," a gossiping passerby said disdainfully.
"But the She family restaurant is really popular. It's always packed with people, and there's never a seat," a young passerby remarked.
"Their food is delicious and reasonably priced, so it's normal for it to be crowded. Also, their recently popular braised food canned goods are produced in cooperation with a cannery, making them the perfect gift," a passerby in a blue work uniform nodded and said.
Their conversation gradually veered off course, and She Ning slowly pushed her bicycle away. Later, She Ning received a more detailed version of the story from She Hongmei.
Whether out of overconfidence or sheer stupidity, Chen Xiuxiu's ex-husband waited at the restaurant for a few days, and then brazenly showed up at She Hongmei's door while she was away.
After entering the restaurant, he probably thought he had Chen Xiuxiu under his control. He went straight to the kitchen and openly took the braised food recipe that She Hongmei had specially left in the cabinet. Before leaving, he pushed away Chen Xiuxiu who was collecting money at the cashier.
The cashier's drawer was scattered with a number of coins of various denominations. Seeing that Chen Xiuxiu did not stop him, he grabbed several handfuls and put them into his pocket in full view of everyone, smiling smugly as he did so.
His brows were full of sarcasm towards Chen Xiuxiu; what a foolish woman, she could be charmed into being completely devoted to him with just a few words.
It's a pity that she lost the She family's braised food recipe and the money; it's questionable whether she can stay at this shop any longer.
Now that he has this braised food recipe, he will have a steady stream of money.
If she dares to mention divorce to him, he will kill her, leave her with no way out, and only a miserable end will satisfy his hatred.
Chen Xiuxiu's ex-husband squinted and emptied the drawer of money, thinking viciously as he did so.
Driven by lust, he didn't notice Chen Xiuxiu's feigned fear and helplessness in front of everyone. It wasn't until he was detained by plainclothes police and looked up to see She Hongmei in the crowd and the coldness in Chen Xiuxiu's eyes not far away that he realized what was happening.
He was framed and framed, and he cried out that he was innocent, but no one believed him.
His theft had an extremely negative impact, involving a huge sum of money. The value of the braised food recipe was calculated based on the equity ratio provided by the cannery. In addition, he also stole from the drawer. Chen Xiuxiu's ex-husband was severely punished, his property was confiscated, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
When the verdict was announced, Chen Xiuxiu set off several rows of firecrackers in front of her house, as happy as if it were Chinese New Year.
The summer winds grew hotter and hotter until they finally cooled down a bit in the evening.
"Ah Huang, go." Among the peach trees, there were pink and tender peaches, about the size of an adult's fist, peeking out from among the green leaves. She Ning sat on the stone bench below, raised her hand and tossed something out, a round disc flew out, and then a yellow thing rushed towards the disc.
"Woof woof woof..." The little puppy, which had grown quite a bit since it first arrived, brought back the plate and placed it on the ground. Its little tail wagged vigorously, and its round eyes sparkled as it excitedly barked at She Ning.
Master, this is so much fun! Let's do it again! Let's do it again!
With the animal communication potion, She Ning could understand its meaning, and she reached out her hand to the puppy.
Little Yellow's round eyes lit up again and again.
The owner usually stays in her room, and she always sits next to a tall wooden table that the puppy can't climb. When the puppy wants to play with its owner, the grandmother will always come out and take the puppy away, saying that the owner is studying and she shouldn't disturb her.
Woof woof~
Rarely having the chance to play with its owner, Little Yellow immediately lowered its head, picked up the disc that had been thrown on the ground, and carefully placed it in She Ning's hand.
Prosperous, prosperous...
Come, come...
Hearing its hurried and excited cries, She Ning raised her hand and threw it. At the same time, Little Yellow shot out like an arrow and then ran back quickly.
That day, She Ning played with the puppy for a long time, throwing frisbees, until She Ni came home from school. Only then did she give the frisbee to She Ni so that she could play with the puppy.
"Xiao Huang has good physical fitness and comprehension," She Ning said, turning to Chen Shengnan, who had arrived earlier.
In future generations, there will be dog sports skills competitions. If Xiao Huang participates, even if he doesn't get first place, he should at least be in the top three.
Chen Shengnan nodded. She had seen many military dogs, and Xiao Huang's speed was among the best she had ever seen for its age.
Moreover, it is very spiritual.
Chen Shengnan came this time to keep her promise to come during her break. She had already told She Ning at noon, so She Ning started preparing dinner early after returning from school.
Chen Shengnan's favorite cabbage and pork dumplings were a must. On the way back, She Ning saw someone selling mantis shrimp by the roadside. The shrimp weren't very big, so she bought some to make salt and pepper mantis shrimp.
She steamed a grouper for Chen Yuzhen and She Ni, made a sauerkraut fish dish that Chen Shengnan hadn't been able to eat last time, killed a chicken she raised herself to make poached chicken, stewed a five-finger peach pork rib soup, and finally stir-fried a dish of bok choy.
When She Hongmei returned, they had dinner. There were five dishes and a soup. They sat at the octagonal table in the main room and had a lively dinner together.
Before sunset, Chen Shengnan rode her bicycle back to town.
She lives in a dormitory and usually eats at the institute's canteen. The She family gave her a lot of homemade cured meat and sausages, which the canteen could help steam. Since she often stays up late, they also gave her a lot of their own dried chrysanthemums and told her to make tea with them.
After Chen Shengnan left, her family closed the gate to the courtyard and went out for a walk.
Crows flew in the air following, and a little squirrel recently came down the mountain to play with She Ning. At this moment, it was holding a pine cone and standing on She Ning's shoulder. Little Yellow was racing with She Ni, while She Hongmei and Grandma She followed slowly behind.
The She family's life was getting better and better, and they were living a prosperous life. After dinner, many villagers came out for a stroll and looked at the She family members, who now had rosy complexions and were much fuller-figured.
I don't know how much money their canned food and restaurant make, but they can afford to eat meat every day. Some of them used to go to the She family's house in the morning, and the She family always ate meat in the morning. Their life was even better than that of dual-income families in town.
Everyone was eager to learn about the She family's situation, but they didn't dare to go up and inquire, as the lessons learned from Lin Xiufen and Luo Xiaoling were still fresh in their minds.
Luo Xiaoling was also among the people taking a walk. When she saw She Hongmei and the others come out, she turned her head and walked in the opposite direction, fully implementing her earlier vow to turn around and leave as soon as she saw the She family.
Unaware of what the villagers were thinking, She Ning and her companions walked to the edge of the village and then turned back home.
After everyone had finished showering, the four members of the She family gathered in the west wing. It had been a long time since they had held a family meeting, and She Hongmei had something to announce today, so she specially convened the meeting.
"Mom, what you're about to announce seems to be excellent news." She Ning said with a smile as she sat on a small stool in front of the bed.
“I think so too. Mom’s smile is so good that even mosquitoes could see the wrinkles around her eyes.” Sitting on a small stool next to She Ning, She Ni nodded and said very seriously.
"It's good news! Do you want to guess what it is? There's a prize for the right guess." She Hongmei smiled, her eyes crinkling, and held a notebook in her hand, feigning mystery.
The reward didn't matter; She Ni loved guessing games, especially the feeling of guessing correctly. Hearing She Hongmei's words, her eyes lit up, and she immediately began.
"Found money?" No, found money should be handed over to the police, so She Ni rejected the first guess. "Did the cannery split the profits?"
"Did Aunt Guan bring us something delicious?"
...
She Ni made a lot of guesses, but She Hongmei shook her head.
"Sister, come on, I'm defeated," She Ni said listlessly. She had been talking for too long, and her throat was a little dry. She took a sip of water and said.
"Is it to buy the She family's small restaurant?" She Ning asked softly.
"How did you guess?" She Hongmei looked at her in surprise.
After experiencing She Ni's barrage of guesses, She Hongmei thought that She Ning would have to guess at least a few before getting it right, but to her surprise, she guessed correctly on the first try.
She Ning gestured with her chin toward the notebook in her hand. She Hongmei looked down and saw that the notebook contained the transfer documents for the shop.
"Oh well, it turns out I was the one who gave myself away," She Hongmei said with a smile and shook her head.
"Sister is amazing! Mom, what's the reward?" After happily jumping around while hugging She Ning's arm for a while, She Ni turned to She Hongmei and asked.
"Here, these. You and your sister each get one." She Hongmei pulled out a thick stack of exercise books from a cloth bag beside her, her eyes crinkling with laughter.
She would no longer have to worry about buying her children even an eraser or a pen because she was short of money.
"Mom, you're the best." She Ni gave her a thumbs up. She had just finished her workbook and was worried about not having any homework to do. She Hongmei's workbook was a timely help.
She Ning flipped through the workbook a few times, glanced at the questions inside, and wondered, "Did Director Xia get this?"
“Nothing can be hidden from you. Most of yours was brought over by Director Xia, and the rest, including Xiao Ni’s, I bought from the bookstore owner.” She Hongmei looked at She Ning approvingly and said softly.
"Director Xia has talked to me about the materials. These materials include those for senior high school students and university students." After meeting Director Xia at school last time, Director Xia talked to her about her future review plans. Coincidentally, her good friend who teaches at a university came over that day, and Director Xia took the opportunity to introduce her to She Ning about her identity and academic achievements.
That teacher teaches at F University, which is ranked among the top three in the country, specializing in mathematics. She led the team to the IMO competition abroad in previous years.
These materials were sent by Director Xia's good friend, so She Ning recognized them at a glance.
"Meizi, tell me about the shop." Sitting on the bed, Chen Yuzhen watched them chat with a smile, but noticed that their conversation was getting more and more off-topic, so she quickly spoke up to bring it back on track.
"Okay, okay," She Hongmei replied, realizing that the topic had gone off-topic.
The dividends from the cannery arrived a few days ago, and she suddenly had more money in her pocket. She took the money to the bank and deposited it. When She Hongmei saw the final balance in her passbook, she was astonished.
She actually earned quite a bit of money during this period by setting up a stall and running a small restaurant.
With more money, she started to get restless. At that time, She Hongmei had her eye on the shop at the train station, which could be rented or sold. She didn't have enough money to buy it, so she could only rent it. Now that she had the money, she rushed to buy the shop.
There was a small bungalow upstairs from the shop, which She Hongmei bought as well. She uses it as a rest room so she can go up and rest when she's tired during the day.
The shop is getting busier and busier, and She Hongmei is planning to hire another employee to help out.
This matter was unanimously approved at the family meeting.
As night deepened, the lights in the She family's house gradually went out, and the sounds of voices slowly turned into the soft breathing of sleep. In the courtyard, Ya Ya stood with her eyes closed on the tall lychee tree, and everything became quiet.
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