Li Xiangdong sighed inwardly; it was truly a case of "the tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease."
In the end, it's the ordinary people who follow the trend and participate in this kind of speculation who suffer losses.
After the incident with the five-needle pine bonsai, Li Xiangdong lost interest in his original idea of making a fortune in the "clivia incident".
"Sister Zaohua, you and Fifth Brother, take Guoqing and Yuxi with you."
"Huh? You're not going? This, this... can the few of us handle this?"
Li Xiangdong laughed, "How could you not do a good job? You were responsible for many things yourselves before."
"But that's because you were there!"
"You can do it without me, so go for it!"
Li Xiangdong swayed comfortably in the recliner, holding a calico kitten that had lost its mother at birth in his arms.
As Li Xiangdong gently stroked its fur, the kitten closed its eyes and meowed softly in comfort.
Chen Zaohua glanced uneasily at Zhou Hongsong.
Guo Haiguang and Li Jinshan, who were sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) next to her, looked at Chen Zaohua with encouraging eyes, "Zaohua, you can do it, give it a try!"
Zhou Hongsong also advised her, "You planted the flowers, Changchun is your hometown, and you've sold five-needle pines before, what are you afraid of?"
What's there to be afraid of?
Hearing the same comments from those around her, Chen Zaohua was filled with enthusiasm. "Alright! I'll go then!"
Li Xiangdong sat up. "Sister Zaohua, I trust you with your business, but I have two more things to tell you."
Chen Zaohua said seriously, "Go on."
"First, don't chase the highest selling price. We have plenty of Clivia plants, so just sell them at a price that's about right."
Second, if possible, sell to Hong Kong businessmen.
After giving these two instructions, Li Xiangdong let the others go about their business.
He held the purring calico kitten in his arms, gazing out the window.
The sky was overcast with dark clouds, and it looked like it would snow soon.
Li Xiangdong didn't know if the five-needle pine bonsai incident and the clivia incident had a common mastermind, but he always felt that there was a lot of connection between them.
In his past life, he believed that the Five Needle Pine Incident was a money laundering scheme initiated by the Eighth Prince to protect his own assets.
In retrospect, he was naive.
This is clearly a trap set by someone to seize the family fortune of the Eight Kings after they were arrested.
Now, because of his intervention, the Eighth King has not fallen, and has even made millions from him.
It's such a coincidence that the clivia incident in Changchun broke out two years ahead of schedule.
If you say these two things are unrelated, Li Xiangdong would never believe it, even if you beat him to death!
With the Chinese New Year approaching, Bai Yulong and Luo Yonggang's convoy was busy, but they still spared two large trucks to help transport the clivia.
Li Jinshan specially had a blacksmith weld iron supports to fix the flower pots, and cotton quilts were used to secure the area around the carport and the roof to keep it warm.
Before leaving, Li Jinshan and Guo Haiguang gave the clivia plants a final application of fertilizer. Now, the leaves of each clivia plant are thick and dark green, and several large, swollen flower buds are growing on the flower stalks.
After loading the flowers onto the truck, Guo Yuxi and Li Guoqing asked Li Xiangdong about them.
"Second brother, you're really not going?"
"Yeah, second brother, can the few of us manage?"
Li Xiangdong patted them on the shoulders, “You can do it! We’ve got so many businesses, and I’m not Nezha with three heads and six arms. In the future, we’ll all have to rely on you to keep an eye on one of them!”
Guo Yuxi puffed out her chest and said, "Second Brother, I definitely won't let you down!"
Li Guoqing was still a little reluctant, "I..."
Li Xiangdong interrupted him, "Let's go quickly, or we'll miss the auspicious time."
Zhou Hongsong muttered, "It's not like we're getting married and picking up a wife, why are we delaying the auspicious time!"
A group of people chatted and laughed as several large trucks sputtered and billowed black smoke, heading towards Changchun.
————
A few days ago, Li Lan took over three old houses in the county town, did some simple renovations, painted the walls white, added tables and chairs, and opened a hot pot chicken restaurant.
The hot pot chicken is spicy and numbing. After you finish the chicken, you can use the broth to cook cabbage, bok choy, glass noodles, tofu, and duck blood.
Li Lan's prices aren't high; her restaurant only charges for the chicken in her hot pot, and the other side dishes are provided free of charge.
Several large plates were placed against the wall, containing clean vegetables and neatly cut tofu.
There are also tongs next to it, so customers can take as much as they want, and as long as they don't waste food, the supply is unlimited.
It's winter now, and the weather is cold, especially lately. Every day is gloomy and damp, making your bones ache from the cold.
Therefore, the hot pot chicken restaurant is extremely popular.
Every day from noon onwards, the store is packed with people, and every table is occupied.
When Li Xiangdong had nothing to do, he would go to the shop to help out, serving chicken, adding soup and charcoal, and serving tea and water.
Sometimes, he would sit at the counter and be in charge of collecting money.
At first, someone recognized him and quickly stood up to greet him. Li Xiangdong told him to sit down and just eat in peace, as he was just there to help out at the store.
On the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, it snowed heavily every day, and everything was covered in white. Li Lan originally thought there would be no customers!
Unexpectedly, as soon as I opened the door, I saw two people outside, their necks hunched and their hands tucked in, waiting!
Li Lan quickly ushered them in and served them a pot of hot jujube tea.
After the two of them drank three cups of tea, their faces, which had been frozen blue, finally warmed up, and their fingers became more nimble again.
They stared at the menu for a long time before finally ordering a pound of three-yellow chicken and a pound of flatbread.
The waiter looked a little unhappy; these two young men had only ordered such a small amount of chicken and pancakes, barely enough to fill their teeth.
They were clearly after the free side dishes.
Seeing that the waiter was unhappy, Li Lan looked at the menu again and wondered if there was anything else she didn't understand.
She pulled the waiter behind her, straightened her face, and said, "Didn't I tell you? You have to be polite to every customer who comes into the store. Why are you still sulking like that?"
The man protested, "They're just trying to take advantage..."
"It's just some vegetables, right? Look at what they're wearing, their clothes are so thin, they must be from poor families or they're going through some kind of hardship."
"If you're not rich, why are you eating at a restaurant!"
Li Lan had no choice but to teach the boy slowly, as he was a distant relative of hers and too young to be helped.
"Although we make money by running a restaurant, one shouldn't be so focused on money that one's eyes are glued to it! It's only natural to lend a hand when you see someone in trouble, and it's also a matter of conscience!"
The waiter stiffened his neck and said, "They've come more than once; they've been coming every day for the past seven or eight days!"
Just then, Li Xiangdong lifted the curtain and came in. "What are you two arguing about?"
The waiter addressed Li Xiangdong as "cousin" based on their kinship, saying, "Cousin, my older cousin is so kind-hearted! Those two freeloaders are here again, and I want to kick them out!"
Li Xiangdong looked outside curiously, and lo and behold, there were Wei Changrong and Xu Lixin!
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