“I asked her for help. She’s very skillful; her little hands can wrap things up very quickly.”
The cousin-in-law hurriedly explained, but then thought it was wrong again. She picked up the little girl and put her at the end of the kang (a heated brick bed), saying, "Go play with your brother. But you're so young, why are you making her do chores?"
"Let her do it if she can. I'm just afraid she'll make a mess." Qin Xiaoyu saw that her cousin-in-law didn't respond and knew she had misunderstood. She smiled and said, "Crafts are good for children's brain development. Let her do more. Hanhan can do some too. It's fine."
"Is that so? I didn't know that. Oh, I've got two more little helpers now. When Second Aunt gets paid, she'll buy you some good food." My cousin-in-law laughed heartily.
"What child labor? They've been eating and drinking your food all day long, aren't they being supported by you?" Qin Xiaoyu was grateful to her cousin-in-law for taking care of the two children.
"Why do we sisters have to say such things? You're really something," my cousin-in-law said reproachfully.
"I can't remember what kind of work that was?" Qin Xiaoyu gestured around her neck, and her cousin-in-law immediately understood; she was referring to a fox fur scarf.
"Ding Xiaojie, a sports car driver. I thought Uncle Longlong had high standards and would find someone special, but it turns out he just liked her looks and found a train conductor." My cousin-in-law curled her lip in disdain.
"He looks quite refined, I thought he was a teacher. Which line does he run on?" Qin Xiaoyu was reminded by the words "train conductor," and a thought popped into her mind.
"Guangzhou. It takes a long time to get there."
"Sister-in-law, what local specialties do you think we have? Something you should definitely bring when visiting relatives?" Qin Xiaoyu suddenly changed the subject.
"What's the big deal? Carry two stalks of pickled cabbage? Or a frozen pear? It'll thaw halfway there." My sister-in-law shook her head.
"That's true." Qin Xiaoyu was somewhat disappointed.
"Are you exhausted? Why are you staring blankly at the ground? Here, have some sunflower seeds. These were sent by relatives from the countryside. My sister is going back to her hometown in Shandong with her mother-in-law, and she has to give her half of them. Our Northeastern sunflower seeds are really delicious." The cousin-in-law grabbed a bag of flour, grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, and handed them to Qin Xiaoyu.
Qin Xiaoyu picked it up and saw that the melon seeds were quite large, with clear black patterns on them. Locals called them "black beauties." They were already roasted, and the shells cracked open with a light touch. Biting into one filled her mouth with fragrance.
"This is it!" Qin Xiaoyu suddenly stood up from the kang (a heated brick bed), startling everyone in the room.
"It's in this room. I was looking for it easily." Ding Xiaojie walked in. Qin Xiaoyu and her cousin-in-law exchanged a glance, wondering if something was wrong.
"Come in and sit down, sister-in-law," Qin Xiaoyu greeted her politely.
"I heard you're running a hairdressing school now? My youngest sister from my family hasn't found a job yet, maybe she can go and learn from you?" Ding Xiaojie clearly had something to ask of her.
“Come on, my second sister-in-law’s niece is also studying with me. But she’s not a student; she learns and helps me with odd jobs while she’s learning, and I pay her a salary. Your sister will get the same treatment; we’re all relatives.”
Qin Xiaoyu agreed too readily, which was a bit beyond Ding Xiaojie's expectations. It took her a while to react. She happily went to meet him the next day.
"You know, I heard that business isn't doing too well right now. It's one thing to take in students, but you're bringing in someone who gets paid. Is that really going to work?" My cousin-in-law said worriedly.
"Sister-in-law, don't worry, the school will be popular soon, don't worry." Qin Xiaoyu left her two children at her cousin's house and ran back to make a plan. She wanted to use advertising to promote her brand in the south.
The next morning, Ding Xiaojie arrived with her girl as promised. Qin Xiaoyu glanced at the girl named Ding Xiaoru. Although she was spoiled and pampered, she was much more pleasing to the eye than her sister. At least she was pleasing to the eye, and Qin Xiaoyu was quite satisfied.
"Sister-in-law, I'm entrusting my sister to you. My sports car is convenient for carrying things; if you need anything, I'll bring it for you." Ding Xiaojie was quite sensible.
"That's great, thank you in advance, sister-in-law. I do have a favor to ask of you, but it's not about buying anything, it's about giving something as a gift."
"Send something? What is it?" Ding Xiaojie stared in surprise. This sister-in-law was really something else. That day, her mother-in-law had someone call them back, and all she wanted to do was set an example for them.
For some reason, although her husband grew up favored by his mother, he wasn't close to her at all and had no interest in such things. However, she did glean an important piece of information from the conversation: Wenzhi's daughter-in-law had opened a hairdressing school.
The old lady kept calling her a vixen and a spendthrift woman, but all she saw was a path to wealth. She originally thought it would be difficult to get past Qin Xiaoyu, but she won her over with just a few words.
Now that he said "please," she understood that he wanted something from her.
Qin Xiaoyu had figured it out. Making the school successful using local resources was unlikely; she should focus on advertising. But these days, television advertising wasn't widespread, and newspapers were divided into sections for each city and province, so opportunities to advertise across provinces were scarce. Even if she advertised, it wouldn't be able to reach other provinces.
So she thought of trains. A train that runs from north to south and then from south to north connects most of China. If you advertise on a train, the effect would be too obvious.
She had her cousin-in-law roast a lot of sunflower seeds, and then asked her cousin who worked at a food factory to get some packaging bags. She sealed the sunflower seeds in small plastic bags, without printing the manufacturer or trademark on them. The front of the bags had the address and contact information of her hairdressing school, and the back had a drawing she had made. The person in the drawing had no facial features, and their gender was indistinguishable. Their hair was flowing and beyond modern aesthetics, making it unforgettable.
I must say, Ding Xiaojie is really efficient; she made several trips and got things done quickly and efficiently.
Seeing hundreds of kilograms of sunflower seeds scattered out without any news, everyone except Qin Xiaoyu was starting to get impatient.
That day, she gave her cousin-in-law money for melon seeds again. Her cousin-in-law took the money and asked, "Do you want more to roast? Isn't that enough?"
"No, this is just the beginning." Qin Xiaoyu shook her head with a smile.
"You're too stubborn, it scares me. You don't earn this money easily, are you just going to throw it away like this?"
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Although Qin Xiaoyu said this, she was still a little apprehensive. But people always have to take a gamble. She felt that the direction was right, and how would she know the result if she didn't try?
Tang Wenwen has been coming frequently these days, but there's one less person by her side. Qin Xiaoyu is extremely busy herself and originally intended to ignore it, but she can't help but worry about it.
Where are they?
"He said he was afraid that if people saw us together, they would gossip," Tang Wenwen said sullenly.
You actually believe that?
“What can I do if he doesn’t believe me? To be honest, I don’t like the way he is now. He used to be the one who was brave, saying not to be afraid, that he would let the whole world know he loved me, and that he wasn’t afraid either. I was the one who kept him in check, telling him to act cautiously. Now it’s the other way around. The more I want to take that step, the more he shrinks back…”
Tang Wenwen turned her head, looked at Qin Xiaoyu blankly, and asked softly, "Sister-in-law, what should I do?"
"Let it be." Qin Xiaoyu wanted to sing her a sad song. When a man shrinks back, it means his love isn't enough. Qin Xiaoyu didn't want to see Tang Wenwen get hurt, but the longer it dragged on, the more hurt she would become.
"What do you mean by 'cold dish'?" Tang Wenwen pressed.
"I think your relationship is over."
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