Old Party Secretary Lin, who was enjoying the cool air in the courtyard, swallowed hard.
He picked up the kettle and filled it with water.
"Old woman, where are the mooncakes you bought? Take one out, let's share them." Old Party Secretary Lin suddenly stood up and walked into the main room.
Several red square gift boxes were placed on the wooden table.
Granny Wei was tying the box with rope, muttering something to herself.
"Old woman, didn't you hear me?" Old Party Secretary Lin opened a red box, took out a mooncake, glanced at it, and then threw it back.
Mooncakes packaged like this look nice, but they don't taste good at all.
Mooncakes wrapped in oil paper taste the best.
"Be gentle, these are to be sent back to my parents' home." Granny Wei raised her hand and patted the back of Old Secretary Lin's hand.
This year her daughter got a job in a factory, and she gave her a lot of holiday bonuses.
Only then could she buy gift boxes of mooncakes to send back to her parents' home to save face.
"Didn't you buy any other mooncakes?" Old Party Secretary Lin sat in a rattan chair, took out his pipe and lit it.
Granny Wei smelled the sweet aroma, glanced outside, and muttered to herself.
"Do they think they can make delicious food every day so that the villagers won't know the Lin family is living a good life?"
"Old man Lin, don't glare at me. If it weren't for the aroma, would you be looking for mooncakes to eat?"
Old Party Secretary Lin's face flushed with anger, and he snorted coldly.
"You've been living a good life, using all the holiday money your daughter gave you to feed your parents' family."
But have your nephews and nieces been filial to you?
"I bet they'd avoid you, their auntie, even if they wanted to cook chicken for them?"
Granny Wei picked up a box and threw it at her, hitting her right in the heart.
"Do you have to be so rude just for some mooncakes?" she raised her voice.
The two were arguing so loudly that the sound reached the Lin family's courtyard.
Lin Atai had good hearing; after hearing it for a moment, the corner of her mouth twitched.
Old Party Secretary Lin was good in every way, except that when he was young, he was attracted to Granny Wei's looks, and all his family's money went to the Wei family.
Grandma Lan washed her hands and fanned herself with a palm leaf fan, but she didn't hear what was going on in the backyard.
"When are you going to the temple? I'd like to go with you and pray for peace and blessings," Grandma Lan asked with a smile after taking a bite of a chestnut-flavored mooncake.
Lin Atai glanced at her. "Didn't you say you didn't believe in this?"
Grandma Lan said, "I didn't believe in it before, but now that I'm old, I want to seek peace of mind."
She looked towards the main room, where Lin Ziyan and her younger sisters were packing gift boxes.
The chubby girl sat to the side eating, looking very satisfied, and kept praising how delicious it was.
A glint of light flashed in Grandma Lan's eyes. Some things are better left unsaid than unsaid.
The warship she designed with Lin Ziyan has already undergone sea trials and participated in recent naval exercises, exceeding expectations in performance.
It's still kept secret; outsiders don't know that Lin Ziyan is involved besides her.
Actually, she didn't add her name; the design draft only bore the name Lin Ziyan.
The main framework design of the warship was completed by Ziyan alone; she didn't want to take advantage of the situation.
…
Over the next few days, Lin Ziyan went to the electrical appliance factory to check on the progress of the project, and then went to the seafood market and took a stroll around Hairun.
Lu Qiuying came back once during this period and went with Sister Fang to look at the shop's renovation.
After that, she didn't have time to come over and took a lot of opening vouchers to help distribute them.
Lin Ziyan only arrived at the store two days before the opening to help with arranging the goods.
In just one week, Fangjie opened her shop.
Her explanation was that laying floor tiles and painting the walls was not a big deal.
The custom-made display stand was quick and easy to complete, taking only three days.
"I came in wanting to buy something." Pei Zhuling glanced at the glass display case already filled with goods and clicked her tongue a few times.
Lu Qiuying was too busy to come over, so she asked Pei Zhuling to come and help with loading the goods.
She then helped Pei Zhuling keep an eye on the building materials in the city.
"That's good. You're welcome to come to the store on opening day," Sister Fang said with a smile as she wiped the cabinets.
After Lin Ziyan had the shop assistant arrange the underwear, she pulled up a high stool and sat down.
"Yueji Youpin, what a nice name." Pei Zhuling put down the bag and began to help unpack the packaging.
When she took out several rabbit and pig plush toys, she no longer wanted to put them on the shelf and held onto them tightly.
"You guys really know how to pick merchandise. These girls can't resist buying them..." Pei Zhuling was reluctant to let go, but when she looked at the price tags on the shelves, she thought she was seeing things.
The store's employees are all girls, and they couldn't wait to open the packaging.
Seeing their reactions, Lin Ziyan exchanged a glance with Sister Fang, already anticipating that the opening day would be a huge success.
Each time a package was opened, everyone except Lin Ziyan and Sister Fang exclaimed in surprise.
The store is brightly lit and spacious, and even with shelves, it doesn't feel crowded.
This shop is located in the county, on a street-front shop next to the main road, only a few shops away from the newly opened department store.
The main entrance is a sliding door; you just pull it up to open the shop.
Opening a shop here means you don't have to worry about foot traffic at all.
Across the street are high schools and junior high schools; after school, parents and children crowd this avenue.
Lin Ziyan adjusted the arrangement of the goods in the store. "Sister Fang, take advantage of the high foot traffic these days and place the sachets, hairbands, and other items in a position that is visible as soon as you enter the store."
When she turned her head, she saw that the store employees had already started setting up the shelves.
Sister Fang said, "I also ordered more lanterns, which should arrive tomorrow. I'll sell them during the Mid-Autumn Festival."
…
On the other side
Lu Qiuying was attending a meeting in the city when she heard a project proposal and her brows furrowed slightly.
Xiao Jin sat down next to her and asked softly, "Is there a problem?"
“That land is factory land, and it should have been rented out by now,” Lu Qiuying said in a low voice.
Many people are now focusing their attention on Haixian County, and some are even exploiting policy loopholes by leasing land but not setting up factories, instead trying to change the land's ownership.
Her expression remained unchanged, and her eyes showed no emotion.
These were all things that she and Minister Hai had anticipated. As long as the main planned land was not affected, they would turn a blind eye.
The fact that this project has been submitted to the meeting for discussion means that it has already been approved by higher authorities.
"Minister Lu, do you have any suggestions on this?" Mayor Jiang suddenly asked, and the conference room fell silent instantly.
Buildings and factories are under construction everywhere in Fuzhou. Mayor Jiang is all smiles and very satisfied with the current work status of various departments.
The people in Beijing have called several times to praise him, saying that he is a good leader.
"This project is rejected and will be discussed again later." As soon as Lu Qiuying finished speaking, Mayor Jiang's expression changed instantly.
He's being transferred after the New Year, so the number of projects he gets approved now is crucial to his performance record.
Mayor Jiang thought that the previous suspension had worn down Lu Qiuying's edges, but he didn't expect...
The smile on his lips vanished, and he asked casually,
"Really? What are the reasons for the rejection?"
The atmosphere in the meeting room changed instantly, and everyone lowered their heads, not daring to look at the mayor who was about to explode in anger.
Although this meeting was called a discussion, the projects that could be submitted had already been screened.
To put it bluntly, bringing this up for discussion is just a formality.
"What's wrong? Can't you agree?"
Just then, the door opened, and a tall figure appeared against the light, making it impossible to see his face, but his voice was very familiar.
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