Chapter 333: Singing in Harmony
Wen Wan said, "Cooperating with them at the time was just a temporary solution. Now that the policy has changed, my development direction must also change. No one wears the same pair of pants forever. Now that there are policies coming down from above to implement economic reforms, I think it will be like a spring breeze that will soon spread everywhere. Sooner or later, places like department stores will be replaced by individual businesses. Rather than follow them to collapse, it's better to withdraw as soon as possible and do my own thing. Regardless of the profit, at least there will be no pressure."
"I ended my cooperation with them, and now I'm making clothes here, planning to sell them myself. Another reason is that I'm going to be doing an internship this summer, and I don't have the energy to complete the clothes they requested on time as agreed. Terminating the contract is good for everyone."
Xu Qingming nodded approvingly. His sister had always been a visionary and ambitious person. She always had her own opinions on what to do and never hesitated about what to give up. Not to mention girls her age, even many men couldn't even begin to compare to her.
He nodded immediately: "Okay, let's do it tomorrow. The sooner we can finish it, the sooner it will be over."
Zhou Mingli said, "I happen to be free tomorrow, so let's go together tomorrow. I'll take you there."
Wen Wan did not refuse Zhou Mingli because Zhou Mingli had his own car and it was convenient.
Speaking of cars, Wen Wan wondered if she should learn how to drive from Zhang Qianfeng when she had time. Learning to drive, whether or not she could buy one, was a skill. It's always good to have more skills!
Zhou Mingli nodded: "Okay, then it's settled. I'm going to go out for a while. I plan to clean up the house here recently. It's still early now, so I can go over and take a look."
After saying that, he looked at Lu Chun'e and said, "Chun'e, do you want to go with me to take a look? It's not far from here."
Lu Chun'e nodded and said to Wen Wan, "Sister-in-law, I'll go out for a walk and be back soon."
Wen Wan replied, "Okay, go out for a walk, just be back before dark." They were already officially dating, so going out for a walk was fine, as long as they were careful about what they needed to do. She had to be careful about everything, and no one else could watch them all the time.
Zhou Mingli said hello to Xu Qingming and left with Lu Chun'e.
After everyone left, Xu Qingming asked Wen Wan, "What's going on? Are you two set to end it like this?"
Wen Wan said, "It's settled. Not to mention his appearance, just the way he cares about Chun'e is worth it. He's thoughtful enough, and Chun'e is a smart girl. Their future will not be bad."
Xu Qingming frowned: "Isn't it too fast?" Oh, it's sad that Zhou Mingli already has a girlfriend, but he is still nowhere in sight.
Wen Wan glanced at him, her eyes sliding silently over Li Lai Yu. She leaned there quietly, closed her eyes, and didn't speak, as if she was asleep.
"How can others be faster? It's obviously you who are too slow. You should be more careful! Those younger than you already have partners, and some have children all over the place, but you still don't have a partner. Do you want to be single for the rest of your life and end up alone?"
Xu Qingming sighed melancholy, "This isn't something I can just get whenever I want it. Am I not working hard for it? A lover is someone you want to be with for the rest of your life. You can't just pick just anyone. You have to find someone you like before you pursue them. If there's no one I like, or if the one I like doesn't like me, I'd rather live alone forever."
The person he likes doesn’t like him!
He had lived a smooth life without any setbacks, but he never expected that he would fall so hard in love, and so deeply.
Knowing it was a pit that might not be filled, he still jumped in without hesitation. He didn't even realize he was such a stubborn person.
He stood up and went outside. He felt that he should get some cool air to calm down. Zhou Mingli had really provoked him today.
After he left, Wen Wan called out to Li Laiyu, "Is Laiyu asleep?"
Li Laiyu opened his eyes: "No."
"Then, tell me about Guangzhou. What is it like there?" As she spoke, she took out the magazine that Li Laiyu had given her earlier, as well as a stack of postcards that Li Laiyu said were brought back from Shenzhen.
Li Laiyu sat up straight and flipped through the pictures for her. "Look at the clothes they wear. The styles and colors are much more exquisite and fashionable than ours. I think if you really want to make clothes, you need not only imagination but also vision. You need to go out more and see more in order to make good things."
Wen Wan deeply agreed with this.
He sighed and said, "I don't have your courage, otherwise I would also like to go to Yangcheng, but I don't have time later."
Then she asked, "Have you found the right fabric? And you've never been satisfied with the dyeing. Have you found a way to satisfy you?"
Li Laiyu shook his head. "I plan to find some time to go to Jiangsu and Zhejiang. I heard that Jiangsu is very famous for its silk. I want to go and take a look."
If she really couldn't find a suitable one, he planned to raise silkworms, boil silk, weave cloth, print, dye, and embroider all by himself. She wanted to truly make a piece of clothing with her own hands.
It was a long dress with pleated flowers that dragged on the ground. It was the dress her father prepared for her on her sixteenth birthday. However, her father died before she could wear it. In order to become the city lord, she fought through many hardships, her hands were stained with blood, and she never wore girl's clothes again.
I had forgotten it long ago, but I have been dreaming about it in recent years.
Maybe it was the obsession that remained deep in her heart, and she planned to satisfy herself.
Wen Wan said, "If you want to know more about the silk in Suzhou and Hangzhou, I think I should introduce my third aunt to you. I don't mean any other things. She is from there. She likes to wear cheongsams and has a special love for silk. She should be able to help you."
Xu Qingming's eyes suddenly lit up when he came in from outside. He looked at Wen Wan and said, "I haven't even spent the New Year at home. Wanwan, we've settled our affairs tomorrow, so let's go to my house for dinner! Let's go back to the compound and pick up the child."
After saying that, he called Lu Donglin and asked him to go there with Lu Chun'e tomorrow.
Lu Donglin shook his head: "Me? I won't go, right? My sister-in-law can go."
Xu Qingming didn't respond. He turned to look at Li Laiyu and wanted to say something, but was a little hesitant.
Wen Wan finally couldn't bear to see him in such a difficult situation, so she helped him speak up.
"Is Lai Yu busy tomorrow?"
Li shook his head and said, "Not busy, just messing around at home."
Wen Wan took the opportunity to ask her out, "Then tomorrow, come back with me to the compound to pick up Dandan. We've been classmates for two years, and you haven't even been to our house!"
Li Laiyu was somewhat resistant; she simply didn't enjoy interacting with so many people. She knew Wen Wan's family was well-off, and she had a rough idea of where her home was. The people who lived there were no ordinary people. She wasn't afraid, she just thought it was troublesome.
Wen Wan gently coaxed her, "Go ahead, go ahead. You're just sitting around doing nothing anyway. Lai Yu, let me tell you, you should go out more often and interact with more people. You'll realize that there are good people as well as bad people in this world, and there are even more people who share the same ideals as you and you can talk to. If she's truly a friend, she'll only care about you and warm your heart, and won't cause you any trouble."
It was unknown what words touched Li Laiyu's heart, she sighed and said, "Okay, let's go. I haven't seen Dandan for a long time."
Wen Wan quietly made a victory gesture to Xu Qingming.
Xu Qingming thanked her from the bottom of his heart.
Wen Wan wanted to take Li Laiyu directly to her third uncle's house, but it was not convenient to say it directly at this moment. She could only take it one step at a time and do it slowly. If she was impatient, she would not be able to get what she wanted!
Then Lu Chun'e and Zhou Mingli left the yard, went out through the corridor, and walked straight along the alley.
This was not the first time she had walked this road. The last time Zhou Mingli took her there, and that time Zhou Mingli expressed his feelings to her, she panicked and ran away.
So they didn't reach the end of this road the first time they walked it, but this time they were able to actually reach their destination.
Zhou Mingli's house is indeed not far from here. Walk along the alley to the end, turn to the side, and it is next to the canal.
Wen Wan's house was originally rented out, but Zhou Mingli didn't like to interact with people, so the house remained empty.
The most frightening thing about a house is that it loses its vitality when it is left unoccupied. Even a house that is clearly facing the sun will become gloomy and dilapidated quickly after being abandoned for a long time.
Zhou Mingli didn't know how long it had been since he last came here. It was rare that he still had the key to the front door in his hand.
The yard on his side is different from Wen Wan's. There is a courtyard wall facing the door. There is a courtyard wall on the left, but it is connected to someone else's yard on the right. The back eaves of that house are built in their yard, and the water from the eaves is all left over from the roofs of other people's houses. So if people really want to live there, they might have to build another courtyard wall. But then the yard will not be as spacious as before.
As you enter the gate, there is an open space of about 20 square meters. No one has lived there for a long time, and every corner is covered with moss and weeds, looking very desolate.
A large bunch of trumpet creepers mixed with weeds lay on the wall. It was not the flowering season yet, and Lu Chun'e could not recognize what it was.
Zhou Mingli opened the doors of several rooms. The doorframes and windows were covered with dust and cobwebs. It would take a lot of effort to clean them up. Lu Chun'e looked around. There was a room on each side, and the main house had three rooms. It was quite spacious.
Zhou Mingli was a little embarrassed and said to Lu Chun'e: "I shouldn't have brought you here so soon. I should have cleaned up first." To put it bluntly, he just wanted to be alone with Lu Chun'e. The two of them were officially dating, and he always wanted to do something intimate.
Lu Chun'e didn't think of this at all, and asked him honestly, "How are you going to clean up?"
Zhou Mingli looked around and said, "We need to repaint the walls. We need to repaint all the walls. We need to remove the weeds and cement the whole yard. It'll be cleaner. If you want to plant some flowers, you can build a brick fence around it." In a place like the capital, having such a spacious yard is truly remarkable. It's all thanks to the deep love of their parents. If they had it themselves, they might never have been able to afford such a yard.
"The house definitely needs a thorough paint job. I'm not sure if cement can be applied to the walls, so I'll ask someone later. Then I'll follow my sister-in-law's example and paint the walls all over. A whitewash will make them look clean and bright. As for the furniture, the old ones are no longer usable, so I'll have to hire someone to make new ones in advance."
The two of them are not engaged yet, although they are in a relationship now. However, Lu Chun'e has no say in the matter of the house, nor does she intend to. After looking around, Zhou Mingli held her exposed hand in his palm again.
He turned around and hugged her, his nose against hers, feeling her warm breath. The weed-covered yard suddenly became charming and ambiguous.
"Chun'e!" Zhou Mingli called out softly, "Actually, I don't just want to get engaged, I also want to get married."
Lu Chun'e said, "We're not even engaged yet, isn't it too early to talk about getting married?"
Zhou Mingli sighed, "It's not too early, but it's a bit too hasty. How about the end of the year or next year? Once the house and yard are ready, and we're engaged, and I've decided where to go? And then I'll arrange your work, and then we can get married, okay?"
"Once we've set a date, send a telegram home early and ask Dad and Mom to come over, and Uncle and Auntie to come as well. You can marry me in a grand ceremony."
Lu Chun'e gave him a light hammer: "Who are your parents? Don't push your luck."
Zhou Mingli smiled meaningfully: "Now it's the time for my uncle and aunt to get married, so that means my parents are my parents now. I'll greet them and get acquainted with them first."
I can only say that once men get the hang of things, they are really shameless and outrageous.
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