"Isn't that enough?" The cousin was somewhat surprised to see that Qin Xiaoyu wasn't angry.
"This is my fault. I was so busy all day that I was completely overwhelmed. If I had come up with this idea earlier, none of this would have happened. I'll go wait in the kitchen. You two get dressed and come out to talk." Qin Xiaoyu turned and went into the kitchen. Soon, the couple came out dressed.
"I'd already planned this out. These electric heating caps are going to become popular very quickly, and we need to seize the opportunity. Brother, does your factory have any policies regarding contracting out workshops or anything like that?"
"Yes, but our factory has been losing money. We can't sell our products, and nobody wants to buy them. Some people say that if this continues, we won't be able to pay wages soon." My cousin finished speaking and sighed heavily.
"That's easy. Go find the factory manager tomorrow and contract a workshop to produce electric heating caps," Qin Xiaoyu said decisively.
"Production? How many barbershops are there in total? If one workshop produces them all, how many would be made? Who would buy them?" my cousin-in-law asked worriedly.
"We can't just focus on the present. This is a consumable product, not something you buy once and use for a lifetime. So we already have a stable customer base. Plus, there are barbershops in nearby cities and other counties, so we can sell to them too, right?"
“This is a good place. My brother-in-law works at the supply and marketing cooperative in the county town. We can just have him order some goods.” My cousin-in-law’s eyes lit up.
“It looks feasible. But if we only produce electric heating caps, wouldn’t a workshop have too many people?” My cousin was still hesitant.
"We also have electric heating blankets, but that's a bit of a challenge. You'll have to figure it out yourselves. The key is to solve the temperature regulation problem and make a constant-temperature electric heating blanket. It'll definitely sell well. The winters in the north are freezing. You have to get up at night to stoke the stove. Why not lay down an electric heating blanket? It'll give you some warmth in the middle of the night, making it much more comfortable to sleep?"
Qin Xiaoyu quickly helped them finalize the plan, and after chatting for a while, her cousin excitedly ran inside to draw up blueprints.
"I have to go back now, I have to get up early tomorrow." Qin Xiaoyu got up to leave.
"Little sister, I won't be distracted by you anymore, so don't blame me."
Qin Xiaoyu stood up and saw the bright moonlight outside the window. The courtyard was as white as a snow cave. Another snowfall had just occurred, and there was a row of messy footprints on the ground. She understood everything.
Did she say something again?
"That's right. I don't know how he came to my room that day. He saw me sewing electric heating caps and said that you could make a lot of money selling them to barbershops. Your brother got reported by a colleague for making electric heating caps and was fined a month's salary. I was worried about not having any money, so on a whim, I took the electric heating caps to a barbershop to ask about the market price. I didn't expect her to keep them right away and even give me twenty yuan. When your brother came back and heard about it, he argued with me like that. I was so embarrassed..."
“And you still say that, what a shameful thing you did!” The cousin came out with the blueprints and continued his cousin’s wife’s words.
"Hey! Brother, don't just talk about my sister-in-law. I'm telling you this for real today: if you ever dare to lay a finger on her again, I'll never forgive you! How can a good man hit a woman? If you do, I won't call you my brother anymore."
Qin Xiaoyu scolded and reprimanded her cousin in a coquettish tone, making him blush and turn red in the face, too afraid to say a word.
"And Tang Long, listen up, you're not allowed to hit your wife anymore!" Qin Xiaoyu also dragged Tang Long into it.
"Did you hear that? Your second aunt said you're not allowed to hit your wife. Sister-in-law, you'll be in charge of this household. We'll do whatever you say." My cousin's wife's face was full of smiles, and the clouds in the sky seemed to disperse.
The next day, before Qin Xiaoyu and her two children even got up, her cousin-in-law brought them steaming hot steamed buns and porridge, and the ordeal was over.
Before leaving, Qin Xiaoyu hesitated for a moment. It was really cold outside, and her old cotton-padded coat was tattered beyond recognition, with a patch on the sleeve. Plus, it was too big and baggy, letting in a lot of cold wind. After looking at it for a while, she gritted her teeth and put on yesterday's old sweater, along with her heavy blue work clothes. She would just have to make do for one day at a time.
She had just pushed her bicycle over when she saw Grandma Hanhan walking over. As she passed by, she muttered, "Going out dressed like that? It's not like you're naked. What kind of state are you in? What did the Tang family do to you?"
Qin Xiaoyu was taken aback. She had just bought her shoes yesterday, and now she was picking a fight? But upon closer inspection, she realized there was a hidden meaning in her words. She suddenly understood, rushed into the house, put on the new padded jacket her cousin-in-law had made for her, and set off again. Grandma Hanhan saw this in the yard but didn't say anything more.
There was already a regular customer in the shop, and Master Wang was doing her hair curling when Qin Xiaoyu walked in amidst the wind and snow, and neither of them saw her clearly.
"Wow, whose girl is this so pretty?" Master Wang exclaimed when he saw that it was Qin Xiaoyu.
To make things easier, the shop had installed mirrors on two walls. Qin Xiaoyu finally saw several of herself reflected in the mirrors, one inside the other, perfect from every angle – truly a beauty. However, her hair, styled up in a bun, made her look too mature. That was a hairstyle she usually wore to build customer trust, to make her appear older. Today, with the wind and snow, she figured few people would be out, so she let her hair down, braided a thick plait, and put it back up, giving her a more youthful and pretty look, making her appear much younger.
“That’s more like a young lady. You’re always acting like an old woman.” Master Wang smiled like an aunt.
"How old is Ms. Qin this year?" The regular customer added "Xiao" before Ms. Qin, starting to inquire about her marital status.
"Only twenty-five, sigh, the child's life is so hard." Master Wang heard the hidden meaning in his old customer's words.
"Twenty-five is still young. Let's go to another family. Raising a child alone is so difficult..."
Qin Xiaoyu didn't like listening to them talk about this, so she went to the window to watch the wind sweeping the tree branches around. A jeep stopped by the roadside, and a woman in a green military coat jumped out. The coat was too long and tripped her up and down. She ran into the shop.
"Sister-in-law!" Tang Wenwen called out crisply, then froze, calling out again with a hint of disbelief, "Sister-in-law?"
"What's wrong? Don't you recognize her? Your sister-in-law has become beautiful overnight," Master Wang joked.
"It really is true, you knew I was going to take you out to play today, right?" Tang Wenwen pulled Qin Xiaoyu around, looking her up and down, then spun her around in a circle, her eyes glued to the screen.
"Where are we going to play today? I still have work to do." Qin Xiaoyu refused decisively.
“Go ahead, there’s no customer coming today,” Master Wang encouraged Tang Wenwen.
“Exactly, don’t just work without leisure, you’ll become stupid. You need to expand your social circle. Let’s go, we have a car even though the weather’s bad.” Who could argue with Tang Wenwen’s temper? She dragged Qin Xiaoyu into the blizzard. They climbed into the jeep, both sitting in the back. Jing Tian was driving; he glanced at Qin Xiaoyu casually in the rearview mirror and greeted her.
"Is your sister-in-law here?"
After saying that, he suddenly turned around, stared at Qin Xiaoyu as if he had seen a ghost, and then quickly turned back around.
"Isn't my sister-in-law beautiful? Are you scared?" Tang Wenwen smiled smugly. Qin Xiaoyu was embarrassed by their comments and lowered her head without saying a word.
It turned out that they had borrowed the military district's small theater for rehearsal today. The rest of the band members had arrived early, and when they went in, they could hear the sounds of instruments being tuned from time to time.
"Wang Lei, I've completed my mission. I've brought my sister-in-law here." Tang Wenwen pushed Qin Xiaoyu forward, and the small theater instantly fell silent.
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