"Auntie, I'm going to the library tomorrow. By the way, look at this, what does it say?" Tang Long picked up a yellowed book, which was already tattered, and it was covered in traditional Chinese characters.
“I don’t recognize this either. How about this, I’ll take it to the Zhou family. They have a lot of books. Let’s see if they have a Chinese dictionary to translate it for you.”
Qin Xiaoyu chatted with Tang Long until late at night before remembering that she had to go back to the Zhou family. When she said goodbye and left, she gave Tang Long a thousand yuan.
"Longlong, this is for you to collect your things."
"Auntie, no need! I only spent 1.3 yuan on two days' worth of goods. I still have more than 10 yuan left, enough for a while." Tang Long hurriedly pushed it back.
"Listen to your aunt, accept it. This is an investment from your aunt in your business. You can also raise the price a bit, so you'll be more competitive. If you have something good, others will save it for you, understand?" Qin Xiaoyu blinked, and Tang Long nodded repeatedly.
The road home was deserted. But a fire burned in Qin Xiaoyu's heart. Tang Long's matter was finally resolved. No matter what difficulties he encountered in the future, he would take the initiative to overcome them because he had found his direction.
This kid is so persistent; maybe she's grooming him to be a collector.
When Qin Xiaoyu knocked on the door, she was filled with guilt. She knew that the Zhou family had already gone to sleep, and it was probably Xiao Chen waiting for her.
To my surprise, it was Zhou Xing's mother who answered the door.
"Auntie, aren't you asleep yet?" Qin Xiaoyu felt even more guilty.
"I can't sleep if you don't come back." Zhou Xing's mother was wearing a silk bathrobe and had her hair down, looking like she was just waiting for Qin Xiaoyu.
"I was having so much fun chatting with Tang Long that I lost track of time," Qin Xiaoyu said apologetically.
"Is the child alright?" Zhou Xing's mother asked with concern.
"It's alright now. I've found something I'm interested in, and I'm quite excited." Qin Xiaoyu took off her coat and hung it by the door, then casually took out the tattered book and placed it on the coffee table.
Zhou Xing's mother had already turned back to go upstairs, but seeing this, she turned back, picked up the tattered book, and flipped through it.
"Oh my, this is the Collection of Nourishing the Mind. Wasn't it said to have been lost?" Zhou Xing's mother exclaimed in surprise.
"Really? Auntie, I don't understand either. Tang Long took back the books, but he can't understand them. I wanted to bring them back to find a dictionary to help him translate them."
"This was written by Lü Sicheng, a great Confucian scholar of the Ming Dynasty. Only fragments of it survive in other people's books; it has been lost. It's truly a rare find that there's even a fragment." Zhou Xing's mother was delighted with it.
“Auntie, take it if you like it. Tang Long won’t understand it anyway.”
“What are you saying? As long as the child is happy, that’s all that matters. Have Tang Long come over whenever he has time, and I’ll talk to him about it.” Zhou Xing’s mother said earnestly.
"Really? This is too much trouble." Qin Xiaoyu could hardly believe that these were the words of the aloof Zhou Xing's mother.
"Hey, you don't know, these are my favorite things, but look at this place, does anyone discuss them with me? Now that someone likes them, I'm happy to teach them, let him come!"
From that day on, Zhou Xing's mother urged her every day, and Qin Xiaoyu couldn't refuse her, so she had no choice but to bring Tang Long along.
And so, Tang Long found a good teacher, and Zhou Xing's mother found a kindred spirit. The two discussed literature and philosophy and became close friends despite their age difference.
Qin Xiaoyu lent him some books on cultural relic restoration and maintenance, and Tang Long was very dedicated.
"Just leave it here for now. I'll call your Uncle Chen to build a warehouse in the spring."
Qin Xiaoyu originally only asked Captain Chen to build a small warehouse to store some miscellaneous items, but now she realized that a heated warehouse was needed. So, in the spring, she drew up the blueprints and built a heated warehouse next to the main building.
At first, Qin Xiaoyu was worried that it would be awkward to move in, but she soon realized that she was overthinking it.
Zhou Xing's mother's personality changed drastically, and she became a talkative but loving mother, firstly because she almost lost her younger sister, and secondly because her younger sister became a chatterbox.
The child, who used to be so quiet, became a nightmare when he started talking; even Qin Xiaoyu, his own mother, couldn't stand it. But Zhou Xing's mother, for some reason, had incredible patience, answering every question without complaint.
"Sigh, I think there's a reason why I can't have children," Zhou Yue sighed.
"What nonsense are you spouting now?" Qin Xiaoyu glared at her.
"Look at my sister's mouth, if I had a daughter like that, I'd probably strangle her." Zhou Yue rolled her eyes.
"I'll be there soon too." Qin Xiaoyu had just finished speaking when she felt the murderous gaze from Zhou Xing's mother, and the two of them hurriedly fled into the kitchen.
"Come on, let's go upstairs with Grandma. Ignore them, they're all bad people." Zhou Xing's mother pulled her little sister upstairs.
"With you moving in, our house finally feels like a home. Before, every night my dad would stay in the study, my mom would read novels in her room, and Zhou Xing would come home whenever he could, leaving me alone in the living room watching TV. Look how nice it is now," Zhou Yue said with a satisfied smile.
Qin Xiaoyu also noticed that the Zhou family's living room was being used more and more frequently.
After dinner, Commander Zhou and Hanhan snuggled up on the sofa and whispered to each other. Zhou Xing's mother was talking non-stop to her younger sister while holding a sketchbook.
Zhou Yue got the pattern from somewhere, and it was even hand-drawn. She carefully knitted a sweater for her little sister.
However, she was clumsy and always made mistakes while knitting. Qin Xiaoyu, who sat next to her, could tell at a glance that she was wrong, even though she couldn't knit. When she pointed it out, she wouldn't listen, and the two of them would argue quietly.
Zhou Xing suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pulled, causing Zhou Yue's knitting needles to come off, leaving loose threads. All that effort wasted.
Zhou Yue was so angry that she chased after Zhou Xing and hit him, eventually pinning him to the sofa and rubbing him against it.
"Hanhan, little sister, help me!" Zhou Xing shouted exaggeratedly.
Hanhan and her younger sister rushed over to help, tickling Zhou Yue from both sides. The four of them rolled around on the sofa.
Commander Zhou laughed heartily, and Zhou Xing's mother, annoyed, went over and patted each of them, then carefully picked up the knitting needles, afraid they might prick the children.
Qin Xiaoyu suddenly understood; this must be the joy of family life.
"Old Zhou," Zhou Xing's mother suddenly called out to Commander Zhou.
"Hmm?"
“We have three children in our family now,” Zhou Xing’s mother said softly, her eyes glistening with tears.
"Hmm, not bad." For the first time, Commander Zhou didn't criticize her.
Qin Xiaoyu was very pleased; Zhou Xing's mother had completely won against Qing Xiaoxu. In Qing Xiaoxu's marriage, her husband didn't care about her feelings.
Tang Long's career path is clear, but Qin Xiaoyu is a little confused.
She spends her days out searching for business opportunities and observing the city's development. She knows what the future holds, but Rome wasn't built in a day. If she wants to succeed, she must follow the country's policies; otherwise, she'll be taking the wrong path.
The market economy is gradually opening up, but the requirements are still very strict. For example, the number of employees cannot exceed seven. This causes many private industries to fail, restricting their space from the very beginning.
Qin Xiaoyu initially rented the sock factory's premises with the intention of opening a shopping mall, with business hours until 10 PM.
After she transmigrated, she found shopping the most inconvenient thing. All the shops closed after 5 p.m., which was simply unbearable. She believed she wasn't the only one who felt this way.
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