"Dear Grandpa, this is Linlin. Please ask my grandma or my second brother to answer the phone."
"Linlin, have you struck it rich? I heard you opened your own fast food restaurant, and business is booming." On the phone, Liu Chunmei didn't call for help first, but instead asked He Wenlin about her business.
"If we really made a fortune, that would be great."
"Your grandma and second brother both came to your place, didn't they make a fortune?"
“My second brother is idle at home. We’re worried that if he stays at home too long, he’ll hang out with those idle people who don’t do any proper work. There are many factories here, and my mom and dad are here too. It’ll be easy for him to get a job and learn a skill. In another two or three years, my brother will be looking for a wife. If he doesn’t have a proper job, what girl would want to marry him?”
At this time, the common thinking among adults regarding children who weren't going to school was to learn a skill, then find a stable job in a factory, and when they reached a certain age, get married, have children—everything proceeded step by step...
"You think about things quite a lot, kid."
"Can't we not think more about him? If my second brother had a mother, we wouldn't have to worry about him. Uncle, could you please go and call my grandma and second brother for me?"
"Yangyang went to call him, don't rush, wait a moment."
After waiting for about two minutes, Grandma and my second brother rushed over in a hurry.
He Wenlin could hear them panting on the phone.
"We bought tickets for tomorrow, and we'll leave for the city this afternoon. We'll stay at your great-uncle's house tonight, and our tickets are for nine o'clock tomorrow morning," Grandma said.
He Wenlin's hometown is in the countryside. At this time of year, the roads are still dusty and full of potholes. To get from her home to the train station in the city, she had to transfer in the county town. The journey, including the transfer, would take at least three hours.
The earliest minibus departs from urban areas at 6:40 AM.
So, for the 9 a.m. train, they had to go to the city to stay the day before.
Fortunately, my great-uncle, who had retired from the procuratorate, lived in the city, so they could stay there for the night.
"Then please be careful on the road. The bus leaves tomorrow morning and should arrive around 5 a.m. the day after tomorrow. I will pick you up then."
"Linlin, if you're busy in the morning, you don't need to pick us up. We'll take a bus ourselves. Just tell me your address."
“This is Liyueren District, Caijiang Village. My mother’s clothing factory is called Bosi. There are red banners hanging around my shop. I’m here to pick you up. If I don’t come, my dad will come.”
"Okay, that's all for now. Phone calls are expensive, so I'll hang up now and we can talk again the day after tomorrow."
...
After hanging up the phone, He Wenlin returned to the store and told her father, "Grandma and my second brother's car is tomorrow, and they should arrive around 5 a.m. the day after tomorrow."
He's father ignored He Wenlin.
This treacherous father is still holding a grudge against He Wenlin for forbidding him from taking money.
He Wenlin was speechless, but she was not prepared to apologize.
He Wenlin started cutting the meat. There were quite a few boxed lunches to make today, so she had to help prepare everything in advance to avoid being flustered later.
"Linlin, something terrible has happened..." He Shan rushed back in a panic, "They've started selling sticky rice over there too?"
That's obviously referring to He Xing!
Where did he learn that?
Mr. He immediately became anxious. The reason their business was so good was because the glutinous rice balls had attracted a lot of customers. If He Xing's side also sold glutinous rice balls, it would definitely steal a lot of business!
Lin Fei said, "After you all went back yesterday, he came to me and asked me to teach him how to make crispy pastries. He offered me three hundred yuan as a reward, but I refused outright."
"How could he do this? He made me a spy before, and now he's after you, even though you're a relative. It's so unfair of him. He's always trying to take advantage of Linlin." He Shan felt indignant on behalf of He Wenlin.
He Shan then continued, "His glutinous rice balls only sell for 1.2 yuan. I just heard Xixi's mother promoting them at the Bosi factory. It won't affect our business tomorrow, but it will definitely affect our business afterward."
It's three cents cheaper.
"Bastard!" Father He angrily threw down the vegetables in his hand. "I'm going to find him!"
“Dad, what’s the point of talking to him? Fight him? Even after the fight, he’ll still sell. What we need to do is focus on improving our own business. More and more people will be doing business in the future; we can’t compete with them all by fighting.” He Wenlin pulled her impulsive father back, then asked He Shan, “Did he say anything about his glutinous rice?”
What's inside the rice ball? He only met with Lin Fei last night; there's no way he could have learned how to make crispy rice in just one night.
Even if Lin Fei knew how to make crispy snacks, He Xing wouldn't have learned it so quickly.
Selling it for such a low price, He Wenlin suspected that his glutinous rice balls didn't have any crunchiness inside at all.
He Shan: "I don't know, but are there any differences?"
“He sells boxed lunches just like us, but he’s not cheaper. Why are his glutinous rice balls so much cheaper?” He Wenlin said. “Logically speaking, the market for glutinous rice balls has already opened up, so he doesn’t need to sell them so cheaply. Therefore, his rice balls must be different from mine. Shanshan, when you go to get orders, you can tell the customers that his rice balls don’t have any crispy filling.”
The crunchiness is the soul of sticky rice.
"Okay, I understand." After saying that, He Shan ran back to the Bosi Garment Factory.
Ruan Min pouted and scolded, "How annoying this person is! He copies our store in everything, can't he do it himself?"
"People are naturally inclined to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. More people will learn from us in the future, so we must keep innovating and learning. If we stay at the forefront, we will never be replaced. There's a saying: 'Always imitated, never surpassed.'"
Unlike He Wenlin, He's father didn't have such a good attitude; the more he thought about it, the more he couldn't swallow his anger.
Then he rushed to He Xing's house.
He Wenlin couldn't be stopped even by pulling her.
Upon seeing He Xing, He's father angrily swung his fist and punched him, yelling, "You bastard! Stealing my family's business!"
He Xing was caught off guard and took a punch, nearly falling over.
"What do you mean, 'your family business'? There are plenty of options, everyone can go their own way. If you can do it, so can my family!"
Mr. He angrily retorted, "This business was clearly started by my family. Even if you want to do it, you should go somewhere else. You're just copying us. Do you have any conscience? Qianqian worked for Linlin. Did Linlin pay her less? You took advantage of Qianqian's experience at the stall. Customers recognized her and didn't even greet her before you made her quit to sell boxed lunches for you. You stole the business that originally belonged to my family. You stole the peaches that my family grew!"
Mr. He had been holding this in for a long time.
"So what if I picked them? Go ahead and pick them back if you dare! From now on, I'll follow you wherever you go!"
“You…” Father He struggled, determined to beat him up again, but Ruan Lingfeng and Lin Fei held him back tightly.
He Wenlin said, "Uncle is right. Anyone can do business, but I will remember your attempt to steal my family's crispy recipe."
Do you really think He Wenlin is some kind of saint who won't get angry?
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