"Little sister, you're here? Have you said hello to Xiao Li?"
When Lao Du returned home that night, he saw his sister-in-law selling goods at the counter, with Du Chen helping out. Du Bin hadn't returned from school yet.
"Brother-in-law, you're back from get off work. Everything is settled at home. My sister asked me to stay here for the next few days and come back with Xiao Li on Sunday."
Ren Suping said somewhat restrainedly. After all, these were decisions made by her sister, and she didn't know what her brother-in-law was thinking.
"Okay, I discussed it with your sister yesterday. You and Xiao Li can just stay here and relax. I'll go in and help your sister cook."
Comrade Lao Du noticed that Ren Suping was a little nervous, so he comforted her and prepared to go into the inner room to save his sister-in-law from embarrassment.
"Brother-in-law, let me go in and help you. You take a rest..."
"No, no, it's just a good opportunity for you to adapt!"
Comrade Lao Du quickly waved his hand to refuse.
"Wife, I'm back."
After entering the house, Comrade Lao Du said to Du Chen's mother.
"Oh, by the way, Lao Du, you can stay in the hotel tonight. I'm worried about my little sister staying here alone."
"Okay, by the way, my little sister said she'll go back home on Sunday and come over with Xiao Li?"
Comrade Lao Du was a little confused.
"Ah, yes! I have nothing to do if I go back now, so why don't you help me here first? On Sunday, you can drive me back and let me and Xiao Li pack up those things. Then you can bring the kids over."
"By the way, what's going on at the repair shop? Have you told your boss?"
Du Chen's mother explained and then asked Comrade Lao Du.
"Well, we've already submitted a report today. We had a section committee meeting this afternoon, and it was approved. Now we're entering the public notice period, which lasts three days. If there's no objection, we'll officially sign the contract and take over the repair shop!"
In the afternoon, the section committee had approved Comrade Lao Du's contract report, but there was still a three-day public announcement period.
"Will anyone object? By the way, how much is the contract fee?"
Du Chen's mother asked with some concern.
"It's okay, just a formality. Others who contract this have to be capable of doing it! The contract fee is not expensive, only two thousand a year!"
Comrade Lao Du boasted a little about himself.
"Two thousand isn't too expensive, that's good. When will the payment be due? We have just enough cash right now."
"After the public notice period, I'll be ready to pay the money and sign the contract. But I'm not sure how many years I'm going to sign for. I'm worried I won't make any money and will still be stuck."
"I think a longer term is better. Haven't you noticed that prices have been rising over the past two years? Aren't your salaries going to increase?"
"We can take advantage of the low prices now and sign a longer contract. I'm telling you, our store is making this much net profit every month!"
As she spoke, Du Chen's mother made a two-sign gesture towards Comrade Lao Du.
"Two thousand? That's so much! Wasn't it only six or seven hundred?"
Comrade Lao Du asked in surprise, lowering his voice.
"My son is really the best! He listened to Chenchen, and now the rental of supplementary books and tapes every month is the biggest expense!"
"We rent out 40 to 50 books every day now. How much do you think we make in a day? Adding in other miscellaneous items, we can easily make 50 or 60 yuan a day."
Du Chen's mother also spoke excitedly. She had never thought that opening a store would be so profitable.
"But Chenchen told me that we still have two off-seasons every year, one winter vacation and one summer vacation."
Du Chen's mother said with regret.
"Come on, why don't you just say you make money nine months out of the year?"
Comrade Lao Du said unhappily.
"This summer I want to take my children on a trip to Beijing, to see Tiananmen Square and watch the flag-raising ceremony!"
Du Chen's mother said with anticipation.
"It's up to you. If you want to go, go. We don't need that little money now. Let's go for a good stroll. Life is tight over there, and I didn't say I'd take you out for a walk."
Comrade Lao Du said to his wife guiltily.
"Okay, okay, life is getting better day by day! Let's work hard for another two years and buy a house in the city."
Now Du Chen’s mother’s wish is to buy an apartment in the city and become a city dweller.
"Well, let's make good money in the next few years!"
"By the way, how much do you think is a reasonable monthly salary for your sister and Xiao Li?"
Comrade Lao Du didn't intend to get involved in this matter. If he got involved too much, he would be upset, and if he got involved too little, his wife would be unhappy. Let her figure it out on her own.
"I was just about to tell you. I've been thinking about it all afternoon. How about giving my sister 150 yuan a month and Xiao Li giving me 350 yuan first? That would be almost as much as your salary."
"And I asked my younger sister this afternoon. Xiao Li used to make 350 yuan a month at the cement factory, but now he only makes 300 yuan a month doing odd jobs, and sometimes even less."
"Okay, let's just use this for now. We'll see how the repair shop performs once it opens. If business is good, we'll give Xiao Li a raise. What do you think?"
Comrade Du considered it for a moment. He wasn't sure what the repair shop would look like in the future; he was just running on a whim. No one else could predict what the future would hold, except Du Chen, who was confident.
"Lao Du, you cook first. I'll tell my little sister first to prevent her from having any wild thoughts."
"Okay, go ahead. I'm busy here."
Comrade Lao Du waved his hand and told his wife to go out quickly.
While having dinner in the evening, Ren Suping suddenly said to Comrade Lao Du.
"Brother-in-law, I don't want money. It's great that you can help me! Besides, Xiao Li still earns the same amount as before, which is enough for us."
"Little sister, what are you talking about? You can see that the store is a bit busy right now. We are very happy that you can come and help! Besides, Linlin won't be able to go to school next year, and the expenses will definitely be higher than in the village. Listen to your sister!"
"Once the repair shop is contracted, if business is good, I'll have to give Xiao Li a raise! Just do your best!"
Comrade Lao Du was afraid that his sister-in-law would have a psychological burden, so he quickly tried to persuade her.
"Okay then, we'll listen to you! Xiao Li and I will do our best!"
Ren Suping said with emotion.
…
The next day at noon after school, Du Chenzheng and his fourth aunt were selling goods in the store when the old doorman came into the store with a letter.
"Du Chen, there's another letter for you. I saw you haven't come to get it in the past two days, so I brought it to you!"
"Ah, thank you, sir. Come in and sit for a while!"
Du Chen was a little surprised that there was a letter from him. His manuscripts were very stable now, with a letter basically every two weeks. This time it was only one letter a week, so it was not a letter from the magazine.
"No, my wife has prepared dinner, I'm going back to eat!"
After the old man at the door finished speaking, he walked towards the school gate across the street.
Du Chen took a look around the store and found that Fourth Aunt and Liu Yi were still busy, so he took the envelope and took a look. Yes, it was from the editorial department of Longcheng Magazine.
"That's strange. Why would the magazine write to me?"
Du Chen muttered to himself, but without slowing down, he tore open the envelope.
He took out the letter inside, which was just a simple letter. Du Chen glanced at it and his heart beat faster. He could hardly control his emotions.
"Hello, classmate Du Chen..."
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