Chapter 100 This is life
Autumn has arrived in the blink of an eye.
The leaves haven't turned very yellow yet, but the wind in the early morning and evening already carries a chill.
Wen Xiaoxiao removed half of the summer clothes from the store and put on early autumn clothes instead.
Wen Xiaogai has only been in first grade for a month, and her parents have already been called in twice by the teacher.
The first time was during nap time when he pulled down the pants of the little boy in front of him, saying he wanted to see "what the little brother looks like".
The child cried so loudly that the whole classroom was in chaos.
Wen Xiaoxiao was invited to the school and had to put on a smiling face and say all sorts of nice things in the teacher's office. When she got home, she was so angry that she picked up a broom handle and wanted to beat Wen Xiaogai.
The little rascal, sensing something was wrong, darted behind Zhou Lanying and cried out, "Grandma, help me!"
Zhou Lanying protected Wen Xiaogai: "The child is young and doesn't understand, just talk to him and it'll be fine..."
"Auntie, you can't keep spoiling him like this!" Wen Xiaoxiao was so angry that her chest hurt.
Finally, Zhao Fei spoke up: "Wen Xiaogai, come here."
Wen Xiaogai was most afraid of his father, so he shuffled over slowly.
Zhao Fei didn't hit him, but just made him stand in the corner: "Stand for an hour and think carefully about where you went wrong."
The second one was even more outrageous.
During recess, Wen Xiaogai pulled the braids of the little girl in front of him, making her cry loudly.
The teacher asked him to apologize, but he retorted defiantly, "My sister pulled my hair too!"
The teacher was so angry that she called the store directly.
That day, Tian Xiaoxiao went to another city to buy goods; it was Han Manjuan who went to the school.
When they returned, they repeated what Wen Xiaoxiao had said, leaving the two of them both speechless with amusement.
"This little devil is really something else; he'll climb onto the roof and tear off the tiles if you don't discipline him for three days." Wen Xiaoxiao rubbed her temples.
After Yidi started school, she began living at the school. The senior high school at the Experimental Middle School is strictly managed, and she can only go home once a week.
Without her older sister keeping things in check, Wen Xiaogai became even more unruly.
But Yi Bao doesn't indulge him.
That evening after dinner, Wen Xiaogai threw a tantrum on the living room floor, refusing to do her homework.
Yizhen gently persuaded, "Xiaogai, be good, finish your homework before watching TV."
"I won't write! I won't write!" Wen Xiaogai threw her workbook on the ground.
Yi Bao came out of the room, walked over without saying a word, and slapped him on the back of the head: "Pick it up!"
Wen Xiaogai was stunned by the beating and burst into tears: "You hit me! I'm going to tell Mom!"
"Go tell on me!" Yi Bao said, hands on her hips. "Mom said she's not here right now, so I don't care about you. Hurry up and do your homework, or I'll hit you!"
Yizhen quickly intervened to break up the fight: "Yibao, be gentle... Xiaogai, be good and hurry up and write."
Wen Xiaogai picked up her workbook with a sob and huddled in a corner of the table to start writing.
While writing, I kept glancing at Yibao. When I saw her glaring at me, I quickly lowered my head.
Zhou Lanying was tidying up the dishes in the kitchen when she heard the commotion outside. She shook her head and smiled.
It's true that everything has its counter.
That afternoon, Liu Shuhua arrived.
Her leg had long since healed, and she still walked with a slight limp, but you couldn't tell unless you looked closely.
Carrying a net bag of apples, I stood at the store entrance for a while before pushing the door open and coming in.
"Aunt Liu!" Wen Xiaoxiao was sorting goods when she looked up and saw her. She was both surprised and delighted. "What brings you here? Please come in and sit down!"
Wu Jia didn't know Liu Shuhua, but seeing her age, she politely greeted her, "Auntie, please sit down. Let me pour you some water."
Liu Shuhua placed the apples on the counter and looked around the store: "Xiaoxiao, your store... is getting better and better."
"It's all thanks to everyone's help." Wen Xiaoxiao helped her sit down. "Your leg is completely healed?"
"It's all better now," Liu Shuhua patted her leg. "It's just a little sore from the cloudy and rainy weather. It's nothing serious."
"Then..." Wen Xiaoxiao asked tentatively, "would you still be willing to come back? Xiao Gai is in first grade now. She goes to school during the day, so she only needs someone to look after her in the afternoon and evening. Sister Ma mainly helps with cooking and cleaning now. If you come back, you can also take care of Xiao Gai."
Liu Shuhua waved her hand and smiled: "Xiaoxiao, I appreciate your kindness. But I'm not coming back."
"Why?" Wen Xiaoxiao asked, puzzled. "Is it because you think the wages are too low? We can discuss it..."
"It's not about the money." Liu Shuhua took her hand and gently patted it.
"Firstly, they're doing just fine, what would it look like if I came back? Secondly, I'm getting old, and it's hard for me to go up and down stairs. Xiao Gai is in school now, and doesn't need someone to follow her around all day like she did when she was little."
She paused, then said gently, "Sanlai, Xiaoxiao, now that your business is growing, you need younger, more agile helpers. An old lady like me can't be of much help anymore."
Wen Xiaoxiao felt a pang of sadness.
She recalled how Liu Shuhua helped her take care of her children and how she lent a helping hand during her most difficult times when she first opened her tailor shop.
"Aunt Liu..."
"Don't be like that." Liu Shuhua smiled and patted her hand. "Seeing you get back on your feet makes me happier than anything. Really."
The two talked for a while longer.
Liu Shuhua inquired about the children's situation and, upon hearing that Yidi had been admitted to a top high school, exclaimed, "She's promising!"
Hearing that Wen Xiaogai was mischievous, he laughed so hard he almost fell over: "Boys should be a little tough."
Before leaving, Wen Xiaoxiao insisted on giving her two newly arrived wool sweaters: "Aunt Liu, it's getting cold, you'll stay warm wearing these."
Liu Shuhua couldn't refuse, so she had no choice but to accept it.
She walked to the door, then looked back at the shop.
"Xiaoxiao," she whispered, "live well."
"Mmm." Wen Xiaoxiao nodded emphatically.
After seeing Liu Shuhua off, Wen Xiaoxiao stood at the shop entrance, watching the old man's slightly limping figure gradually disappear into the distance.
An autumn wind blew by, swirling up a few fallen leaves. She suddenly realized how quickly time had passed.
Back in the shop, Wen Xiaogai's crying could be heard from upstairs.
When Wen Xiaoxiao went upstairs, she found that Yibao was supervising her younger brother's homework.
Wen Xiao's rewritten words were crooked and twisted, like a swarm of drunken ants crawling on the paper.
"What did you write?" Yi Bao pointed at the notebook. "The horizontal stroke of the character '天' (sky) has flown all the way to the sky!"
Wen Xiaogai pouted: "That's how I write it..."
"Even a pencil with a piece of dog meat tied to it would write better than yours!" Yi Bao was furious. "Erase it and rewrite it!"
Wen Xiaogai was devastated. She burst into tears, threw down her pencil, jumped off the chair, and tried to run away.
Yizhen quickly stopped him: "Xiao Gai, don't run away, write properly..."
"I'm not writing anymore! I just can't write well!" Wen Xiaogai cried her heart out. "My sister scolded me! You're all bullying me!"
Wen Xiaoxiao stood at the top of the stairs, watching the chaotic scene unfold, and suddenly laughed.
This is life.
Zhao Fei's pork cannery ushered in its first sales peak this autumn.
When the first batch of products hit the market, he personally took samples to the wholesale markets for non-staple foods in several surrounding cities.
Relying on the connections he had built up from his previous pig farming experience, coupled with the fact that the canned food was of good quality and reasonably priced, he quickly opened up sales channels.
The production lines are now operating at full capacity every day.
The workers worked in two shifts, and the machines ran from morning till night.
Trucks lined up at the factory gate to pick up goods, and the accountant in the finance department worked overtime every day to calculate the accounts.
Zhao Fei became even busier.
He often went to the factory before dawn and didn't return until midnight.
But he was full of energy. This was a factory he had built himself. Watching it transform from a wasteland into what it is today gave him a sense of accomplishment that money couldn't buy.
Wen Xiaoxiao's wholesale business is also booming.
Han Manjuan has now mastered the skills; she has a loud voice and quick hands and feet, and she can always protect her sister-in-law and fight her way out of the encirclement.
"Xiaoxiao, your sister-in-law is really good at business," a familiar business owner said privately.
Wen Xiaoxiao nodded with a smile.
She knew in her heart that without Han Manjuan, this business wouldn't have grown so big.
My income is doubling every day.
The numbers on her savings account grew longer and longer, but Wen Xiaoxiao wasn't in a hurry to deposit them like before.
She began to plan her next steps: rent a warehouse, hire two helpers, and completely separate wholesale and retail.
Wen Xiaoxiao opened the ledger and looked at the densely packed numbers on it, feeling very at ease.
These are the days she earned little by little.
Wen Xiaoxiao closed the ledger and stood up. It was time to make dinner.
Upstairs came the sound of Wen Xiaogai reciting a poem, halting and stumbling: "The bright moonlight shines before my bed, and then frost falls on the ground..."
Yi Bao corrected him: "It's 'doubt'! Not 'therefore'!"
Yizhen's gentle voice: "Xiao Gai, take your time, read it again."
As Wen Xiaoxiao listened, the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.
(Greetings to all the lords, may you be blessed~ There are only 10 chapters left, which will explain the fates of the characters. Zhao Qingda will appear in the final chapter.)
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