The Return of the Habit (Revised)
The next day, when Shi Mingzhu was about to go out to work, the neighbor's sister-in-law also came. She came to find Yu Meizhen to take the baby for a walk.
In just a few words, the old and the young decided where to take the child for a walk.
Shi Mingzhu couldn't help but say, "Mom, aren't you tired of holding Yangyang while you take the baby out for a walk?"
Yu Meizhen took out a large vegetable basket and padded it with a thick blanket. Three-month-old Yangyang could fit inside it completely. "I have this. I can put it inside when I'm tired."
“…”
Shi Mingzhu was silent for a moment, but repeatedly reminded her not to put down the basket wherever she went.
Yu Meizhen nodded.
When Shi Mingzhu arrived at the store, she found that Ji Shaoyuan had already opened the door, and she also discovered that there were three more sewing machines in the store.
Ji Shaoyuan waved at her when he saw her, "Sister-in-law, come and help me with some advice!"
"When did you come back?" Shi Mingzhu walked over.
"Last night," Ji Shaoyuan put a stack of papers in front of her, "Help me take a look at the design I drew for the wholesale city. Take a look at what it will look like. I have made a plan. It will be hard work in the early stages. We will start with a production line to make our own clothes. I have also found a sewing machine at a textile factory. We will first attract people to the town, and then remove the production line later."
Shi Mingzhu picked them up and looked at them. The first picture was of a house that looked like a factory. Combining with what he said, Shi Mingzhu felt that Ji Shaoyuan had thought about it seriously.
Ji Shaoyuan stretched lazily: "I went to Pengcheng again in the past half month, had dinner with some factories and people, discussed a few cooperations, and also had dinner with a few people in the county. I think I have done everything. Now I just have to get started!"
"I think the production line doesn't need to be removed in the later stage. It can be moved to other places, or just placed here. With more people, a wholesale city will naturally be built. It can be built on two or three floors, with the first floor being the wholesale city and the second floor being the production line." Shi Mingzhu said, "People in the surrounding towns and villages who want to do business will definitely come to us to purchase goods because Pengcheng is too far away and inconvenient to go."
Ji Shaoyuan thought it made sense, and he smiled and said, "Okay! I'll do as you say!"
"I think we should also do some business with children. There are many children now, and it is easier to do business with children." Shi Mingzhu took this opportunity to tell him what happened in the store in the past half month.
"If you don't know how to make a pattern, I can make one for you and design it yourself." Shi Mingzhu was in the clothing business in his previous life. He started out as a roadside tailor. After his business grew bigger, he did all the work on his own, such as selecting products, sourcing goods, finding factories to cooperate with, and making patterns. Practice makes perfect.
Upon hearing this, Ji Shaoyuan's eyes suddenly changed when he looked at Shi Mingzhu. His pupils dilated with shock, and there was admiration in them.
"Sister-in-law! You can actually do this?! So amazing!!"
Shi Mingzhu smiled. She had a hard life in her previous life, but she felt a sense of accomplishment when she achieved something.
Speaking of which, Shi Mingzhu felt her hands itching, so she found a pen and quickly drew a sample garment design, then found some cardboard and started cutting the pattern.
Ji Shaoyuan saw that she was cutting the cardboard very skillfully, so he leaned over to look at the drawing paper. The more he looked, the more shocked he was. There was a denim jacket drawn on the paper. He thought it looked good just by looking at the picture. He couldn't even imagine how popular it would be if it was made into ready-made clothes.
Ji Shaoyuan swallowed his saliva and asked her, "Sister-in-law, can I take it and find someone to make this dress?"
"sure."
"Thank you, sister-in-law! You must be my benefactor!" Ji Shaoyuan was excited. Regardless of how well these clothes sell, Shi Mingzhu's craftsmanship alone is worth a lot of money.
"Pearl?"
When Shi Mingzhu heard her mother-in-law's voice, she turned her head in surprise. Her neighbor, Jin Tao, also smiled at her. Shi Mingzhu greeted her and asked Yu Meizhen, "Mom? When did you come?"
Ji Shaoyuan also turned his head, "Aunt Yu?"
"Hello..." Yu Meizhen glanced at Ji Shaoyuan obscurely before answering Shi Mingzhu's words, "I just got here not long ago. I came here to take my kid out for a walk, so I came in to take a look..."
Indeed, she had just arrived not long ago. She knew that Shi Mingzhu worked in the mall, but she had never visited. When she was taking her baby for a walk with her neighbor, they heard people on the side of the road discussing a newly opened clothing store in the mall, so they both wanted to take a look.
However, Yu Meizhen did not expect that Shi Mingzhu and Ji Shaoyuan were so close. The two of them sat so close to each other and discussed for a long time. They were so engrossed in the conversation that they didn't even notice them entering the store.
Yu Meizhen couldn't tell what she felt right now. She believed Shi Mingzhu, but she thought of the neighbors next door. People's words were scary. For a moment, she just hoped that her son would come back soon.
Yangyang in her arms saw his mother and twisted his body excitedly.
Shi Mingzhu walked over and held her son in her arms. This action made Yangyang look at her and laugh. Shi Mingzhu also laughed and said to Meizhen, "Mom, take a look and see what you like. I'll buy it for you."
Then he looked at Sister-in-law Jin Tao and said, "Sister-in-law, take a look too. The clothes are very nice."
Jin Tao nodded vigorously. She was dazzled by the clothes in the store and had long been overwhelmed. When Mingzhu spoke, she had already walked to the shelf and started choosing.
Ji Shaoyuan did not stay in the store for long. He took the clothing samples and the pattern and was about to leave. He told Shi Mingzhu, "Sister-in-law, it's the same as before. Please watch the store. If aunt and sister-in-law like any outfit, let them take it away without charging any money."
He was afraid that Shi Mingzhu would charge according to the set price. For the sake of Huo Chengfeng and Shi Mingzhu, he would do a favor and would not make money from them.
After Ji Shaoyuan finished speaking, he nodded to Yu Meizhen who was looking at him, and left.
After he left, Shi Mingzhu didn't stay in the store for long, because Yangyang was asleep and her mother-in-law wanted to take the child back, so she followed her.
"Won't Xiao Ji have any objection to closing the store now?" Yu Meizhen asked.
Shi Mingzhu shook her head and said, "No, he won't mind."
Yu Meizhen opened her mouth and wanted to say something but knew she couldn't ask more questions, so she just stopped talking.
After returning home with the child, Shi Mingzhu listened to the radio as usual.
The good thing is that there is no big news in Yin'an City today. All the news are about factories closing down, workers being laid off, and someone setting up a stall to sell things on which street.
"What do you want for lunch?" Yu Meizhen came over and asked. Seeing Shi Mingzhu fiddling with the radio, she asked calmly, "Why do you keep listening to the news from this place?"
"Listen if you want." Shi Mingzhu said and turned off the radio.
Yu Meizhen said "oh" and went back to the kitchen.
While eating lunch, Yu Meizhen couldn't help but ask, "Mingzhu, Xiaoji isn't married, right?"
"No, he said it last time. Weren't you in the car at that time?"
Yu Meizhen said, "I was so dizzy in the car last time that I forgot what I said."
"I don't know what kind of girls he likes?"
When Shi Mingzhu heard this, she glanced at her mother-in-law and asked, "Do you still want to introduce him to someone else?"
Yu Meizhen shook her head awkwardly. "I don't think he would like the one I introduced. He's the boss now, so he might not like it."
"Then why are you asking about this?"
"I'm just trying to find something to chat with you about." Yu Meizhen cleverly avoided her sharp gaze.
"I don't think so. We didn't have much to talk about before," Shi Mingzhu pointed out directly. Chat? In this life or the previous one, she and her mother-in-law had never sat down and chatted together.
She has seen all kinds of people with her eyes. Some people show what they are thinking directly on their faces, like Yu Meizhen. Combined with Yu Meizhen's abnormal behavior, it becomes obvious what she is thinking.
“……”That’s what I said, but is it necessary to say it directly? Yu Meizhen felt very miserable, but Shi Mingzhu did not play by the rules.
She and Shi Mingzhu looked at each other and then quickly looked away.
The eerie silence in the living room lasted for a minute. Yu Meizhen simply couldn't eat. Every time she raised her eyes, she could see Shi Mingzhu looking at her.
As if waiting for her to speak.
say what? Didn't she see that? Does she really have to say it? Yu Meizhen couldn't help but think.
Yu Meizhen finally gave in. She was still hungry, but she couldn't eat as she was being stared at in such a strong way.
"You and Xiaoji are getting a little close, so you should... avoid suspicion."
Although Yu Meizhen spoke the last three words in a low voice, her pronunciation was very clear.
Shi Mingzhu chuckled. If she said he was afraid of her, he didn't look that afraid of her. But if she said she was not afraid of her, she would look shivering and terrified.
"Are you afraid that I'll cheat on your son?"
Yu Meizhen's face changed drastically, "Mingzhu, don't say such things!"
"Just say it, what are you afraid of?" Shi Mingzhu sneered, "Besides, if I cheated on him, it's none of your business. It's a matter between Huo Chengfeng and me. Why don't you think divergently? Maybe Huo Chengfeng also likes that I cheated on him?" Shi Mingzhu saw that she liked to guess, so she simply gave her a shock.
Yu Meizhen's eyes widened immediately. "How is that possible? His father doesn't have this habit!"
"It's normal for a son to be unfilial to his father and unfilial to his mother." Shi Mingzhu shrugged, looking calm and fearless.
"I..." Yu Meizhen panicked. She tried to defend herself and her son, "I don't have this habit! Chengfeng wouldn't have it either. Our family tradition is very upright!"
Shi Mingzhu said "oh" and looked at Yu Meizhen who was in a dilemma. She smiled and said, "You are asking for trouble by making indiscriminate guesses about whatever you see."
…
On the other side, Huo Chengfeng, who was being talked about by the two men, politely declined Dong Lian's enthusiastic retention, completed the discharge procedures, and planned to leave. He received news that the people who were to pick them up and protect Dong Lian were already in place.
He patted Dong Lian on the shoulder and said, "Brother Dong, I advise you to move somewhere else. It's not safe for you here."
The driver who hit them was a local, and no matter how much they investigated, they could not confirm that he was a suspect.
However, Huo Chengfeng suspected that there were not only people outside who wanted to kill Dong Lian, but also people inside. So Dong Lian was attacked from both sides.
He also heard about the fire in the Yin'an University dormitory in the hospital. When asked about Dong Lian, he found out that he didn't light a fire in the dormitory to keep warm. When he woke up from a sleep, he found that his dormitory was on fire.
It is obvious that someone did it on purpose this time and wanted to create an accident deliberately. Luckily avoided it this time, but what about next time? Will I still be so lucky then?
Thinking of this, Huo Chengfeng became a little worried that if he got too close to Dong Lian, it would affect him. He has become extremely careful about his life now.
Dong Lian looked worried, "Who will protect me if you leave?"
"Someone has come to pick us up. They won't come to see you directly, but if you have any trouble they will help you solve it." This was all Huo Chengfeng could say.
Two months had passed, and Shi Mingzhu must have been angry because she hadn't waited for him to come back.
After returning, he still has to report first. It is estimated that he will arrive home half a month to a month later than the agreed time.
When Huo Chengfeng thought of this, he bought a train and left Yin'an City overnight.
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