Chapter 160 Doing Business
Zhou Yi thought, why should I listen? I can still remember clearly the wave of layoffs in my last life.
But he couldn't say that, so he could only nod and say vaguely, "I did hear some rumors, but the situation isn't optimistic."
Zhou Jianguo's face changed drastically. His son was now working in the Municipal Bureau, so naturally he could get in touch with many powerful people. The news he heard must be reliable.
"It shouldn't be your mother's or my turn. After all, we've both worked there for so many years. The factory won't treat us like this."
"No, your mother and I both work. What if the factory says one of us must be laid off?"
"If it really doesn't work out, just let your mother be laid off. After all, my salary is higher than your mother's. If your mother is laid off, she can still set up a stall to sew for people and earn some money to buy vegetables."
Zhou Jianguo was muttering to himself, and his hand holding the cigarette was visibly shaking.
It's not his fault. People of his generation have lived in a planned economy since they were young. Many of them have been working in the same factory and the same position since they started working, and their lives have remained unchanged.
If you suddenly tell them that you are going to be laid off, that you have no job and no more communal meals, most people will be completely stunned and feel like the sky has fallen.
Because they don’t know what to do after they get laid off, how to make money, how to eat, and how to survive at their old age.
Zhou Yi originally wanted to say, "Things may be more serious than you think," but he didn't have the heart to say it.
Holding his father's slightly trembling wrist, he said, "Dad, it's okay. If you get laid off, you get laid off. It's a market economy now. There will be many opportunities to make money in the future."
Zhou Jianguo nodded, but not in agreement. Instead, he said, "Well, luckily you have a good job now, so we don't have to worry about you. Your mother and I can always find a way to tighten our belts, and your grandfather has a pension anyway."
"Will they stop the pension too?" asked my father worriedly.
"The pension is paid by the state and has nothing to do with the factory," said Zhou Yi.
My father nodded repeatedly: "That's good, that's good."
"Dad, that's not what I meant. What I meant was that we should register a company and do business ourselves."
"Ah?" Zhou Jianguo thought he had misheard.
"Son, you have a great job at the Municipal Bureau. Many people can't even dream of getting in. Don't be impulsive. And don't be like your third uncle. He's been a troublemaker since he was a child..."
"Dad, don't worry, I won't quit my job. When I say business, I don't mean me."
"What? Then...who is that?"
Zhou Yi said: "Of course it's you, do you want my mother to do it?"
Zhou Jianguo's head shook like a rattle, and Zhou Yi could even see his afterimage. "No, no, no, no, I only know how to drive a forklift. How can I start a business? At most, I can buy a used truck and haul goods for others. I can make some money."
"Dad, believe me, I have a plan, and I told my uncle about it the last time he came back."
Zhou Jianguo was stunned: "When did you say that? Why haven't you heard your third uncle mention it?"
"It's not important, Dad. Just listen to me. I'm going to take half a day off tomorrow. You can go to the Industry and Commerce Bureau with me and we'll go through the procedures for registering the company first. You can just follow my instructions for the rest of the matter when the time comes."
"Is this... possible?"
"Why, you don't trust your son?"
"No, I just want to run my own business. What do we do then?"
Zhou Yi smiled mysteriously: "Don't worry, wait a few days and if there's a commotion at the factory, tell me and I'll tell you what to do."
Zhou Jianguo nodded, took a deep puff of his cigarette, and suddenly felt that the Zhonghua cigarettes were no longer fragrant, as if they had no taste at all.
"What are you two talking about? The dumplings are almost ready, come and sit down." said my aunt with a smile.
"Okay, Dad, let's go." Zhou Yi called.
The aunt glanced at Zhou Jianguo and said, "What's wrong with you, big brother? You look so bitter and resentful."
"It's okay, it's okay." Zhou Jianguo forced a smile, and did not forget to finish smoking the cigarette and put out the cigarette butt.
The whole family sat around the big round table, having a great time.
"Sister-in-law, my mother said you are studying at Hongcheng University?" Zhao Min asked Lu Xiaoshuang beside her.
Lu Xiaoshuang blushed, hummed, lowered her head to eat dumplings and said, "Just call me Xiaoshuang, your brother and I are not that kind of relationship..."
Zhao Min patted Zhou Yi's arm through Lu Xiaoshuang and said, "Brother, what's wrong with you? Haven't you confessed your feelings to my sister-in-law?"
Zhou Yi patted her head and said, "You don't have enough dumplings, right? Stop talking nonsense. Ask your mom to give you another bowl."
"No, I'm trying to lose weight."
The aunt poked her daughter with her chopsticks and said, "If you can get into a good school like Hongda like Xiaoshuang, your Zhao family's ancestors will be so proud that their graves will be filled with smoke. Your father will wake up laughing in his dreams at night."
"Then I guess this smoke won't come out. Our teacher said that you have to be in the top 20 in your grade to have a chance of getting into Hongda. I'm already outside the top 50. What are you thinking?" Zhao Min said, turning to ask Lu Xiaoshuang, "Sister-in-law, what was your grade ranking when you were in high school?"
Lu Xiaoshuang bit her chopsticks, knowing that the girl was determined to do so, and without further argument, she said, "About the top five."
Zhao Min was startled, her face a mixture of surprise and admiration. "Then my brother is no match for you. He was a mediocre student in high school, not even as good as me. Otherwise, how could he have gone to the police academy? He just couldn't get into a good university. Isn't that right, brother?" She chuckled at Zhou Yi.
At this moment, my aunt suddenly had an idea: "Hey, Xiaoshuang, why don't you give Minmin some extra lessons?"
"Ah, I'm... afraid I won't teach well."
"How could that be? You're a top student from a key university," my aunt said excitedly. "Look, Minmin is Zhou Yi's cousin, so she's your cousin. It's already April, and she only has a little over 400 days until the college entrance exam. You need to hurry up. Give her some good tutoring so she can get into Hongda someday."
Lu Xiaoshuang felt her heart pounding. She turned her head and glanced at Zhou Yi to see his reaction.
Zhou Yi misunderstood that Lu Xiaoshuang was looking at him, and said to his aunt, "Then you have to pay for the tutoring. It's very expensive to hire a good tutor nowadays."
My aunt was stunned: "Ah, you still want money?"
Zhang Qiuxia also quickly spoke up: "Zhou Yi, how can you ask your aunt for money? Aren't we all family?"
Lu Xiaoshuang knew that Zhou Yi had misunderstood, and quickly waved her hands and said, "No money, no money."
Zhao Min grabbed Lu Xiaoshuang's hand and said with a smile, "Thank you, sister-in-law."
Then he pushed the untouched dumplings from his plate onto hers and said, "Sister-in-law, please eat more."
Zhang Qiuxia, who was sitting opposite, looked at Lu Xiaoshuang with satisfaction in her eyes.
Turning her head, she saw her husband was silent and nudged him with her elbow. "What's wrong with you? You look so happy today."
"It's okay, I'm happy, happy." Zhou Jianguo forced a smile.
After dinner, Lu Xiaoshuang took the initiative to clean up the dishes. Zhang Qiuxia refused to let her. After a long argument, Zhou Yi directly brought all the dishes into the kitchen, rolled up his sleeves and said, "Everyone sit down. I'll wash the dishes today."
Zhao Min raised her nose and sniffed: "Brother, why don't you wash yourself first? It's all rotten."
"Come here and work together." Zhou Yi said, and grabbed Zhao Min into the kitchen like a chicken.
Lu Xiaoshuang laughed so hard that her body shook with laughter, and then she followed him into the kitchen: "Let me do it, let Minmin go play."
Zhang Qiuxia took out a bag of melon seeds and started eating them with her sister-in-law.
The two looked at the three people in the kitchen with smiles on their faces.
"It looks like your Zhou Yi and Xiao Shuang have a chance." said my aunt.
Zhang Qiuxia was so happy that she couldn't close her mouth: "Yeah, you think so too."
"Xiao Shuang is such a nice girl, simple, hardworking, and sensible. She's more suitable for your Zhou Yi than that forensic doctor."
"That forensic doctor is a pretty girl, but it's an unlucky job. And I asked Zhou Yi, her father is an official, and he seems to be quite a man."
"Really? That won't do. For a commoner like us to marry an official, we're not a good match. He'll look down on us."
Zhang Qiuxia nodded repeatedly: "That's right, he's rich and powerful. My Zhou Yi can't be someone's son-in-law. Your Zhou family is counting on him to carry on the family line."
The aunt and sister-in-law were talking and laughing, and cracking melon seeds with a ping-pong sound.
In the kitchen, Zhao Min was kicked out by Zhou Yi because she didn't work properly and kept making trouble and playing with water.
Then only Zhou Yi and Lu Xiaoshuang were left.
"Brother Zhou." Lu Xiaoshuang called softly.
"Huh?" Zhou Yi, who was busy washing dishes, turned around.
Lu Xiaoshuang smiled and said, "I haven't been as happy as I am today in a long time. Thank you."
Zhou Yi wiped his wet hands on his body, hesitated for a second, and then reached out to stroke Lu Xiaoshuang's hair and said, "Don't worry, I will do it in the future. I promise."
"Yeah." In Lu Xiaoshuang's eyes, it seemed as if a pool of autumn water was stirred up by the wind.
This little action was caught by Zhang Qiuxia and Zhou Aihua outside the door. They looked at each other with auntie smiles on their faces.
After packing up everything, my aunt's family was not in a hurry to leave. It was Sunday and it was a rare opportunity for them to get together.
When the elders get together, they naturally talk about some trivial matters, especially the second oldest family.
Zhou Yi didn't want to join in their discussion, so he moved three stools to the balcony to bask in the sun.
Lu Xiaoshuang told him that during the days when he was away from the city, she had already reported to the tax bureau and arranged the follow-up matters. The leaders of the tax bureau had been asking her openly and secretly whether she and Team Wu were relatives.
"I told them I wasn't a relative of Captain Wu, but they didn't believe me," said Lu Xiaoshuang.
Zhou Yi smiled and said, "Nonsense. Although he is just an intern doing odd jobs, how many of those who got in through connections can be relatives or friends?"
"Next time someone asks you, just say Captain Wu is your uncle."
"Ah, isn't this inappropriate?"
"It's okay, Captain Wu won't have any objections." Zhou Yi said this because he knew that most people in the workplace would treat people differently based on their abilities, especially within the system. So he simply let Lu Xiaoshuang hold the banner of a powerful person to avoid being bullied.
Zhou Yi turned his head and saw his cousin Zhao Min stretching, looking lazy.
"Minmin, how is school?" Zhou Yi asked.
"School is just like that." Zhao Min said boredly, but there was a glint in her eyes.
"No one bullies you, right?"
Zhou Yi's words made Zhao Min's expression change slightly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
