For several days in a row, Lao Xu's grocery store was crowded with people. As soon as they heard that eggs were being given away, everyone bought everything they should and shouldn't have, afraid of missing out on this benefit.
The happiest person was Old Xu, who beamed with joy as he looked at his drawer full of loose change.
"Oh my, I've never received so much money in my life, my eyes are about to blur." Old Xu looked at the money in the drawer and reached out to grab a handful.
"What are you saying? You've never received this much money at once before. Your savings must be more than that now." Granny Liu glanced at her husband. Since he started working as a cleaner, he only hands over half of his salary. Unlike before, when he had to give her every penny for groceries.
"Oh, I know, you must be eyeing my secret stash of money."
"Dad, you still have some secret stash of money? Won't Mom confiscate it?" Chen Xuemei teased with a smile.
“No way, I’ve already given him half, it’s not unreasonable for me to keep the other half!” Old Xu looked at his wife with a straight face.
"Not at all, not at all." Anyway, she knows the password to the passbook, so it doesn't matter who has it.
Xu Minghan rubbed his aching arm and reminded him, "Dad, will you need to hire someone to deliver goods for you in the future? I can't help you for long."
These past three days have exhausted Xu Minghan. He's been bent over, carrying things up and down constantly. He hasn't been this tired in a long time.
Old Xu slapped his forehead. "Oh right, we need to hire another person. My old arms and legs can't take this kind of trouble."
Zhang Xuemei smiled and said, "You know what, ever since Dad started offering home delivery, everyone seems to be even more enthusiastic about buying things."
Old Xu smiled smugly, "I knew that no one would resist taking advantage of something that's free."
"That's right. They said they usually deliver large items like washing machines and refrigerators, who would have thought that rice and flour could also be delivered to their door?"
“Yes, if you make things convenient for them, they will naturally buy things from you. If you were in their shoes, you would do the same.” Zhang Xuemei thought about how the grocery store next to her old home used to deliver rice, flour, and oil to her door, which was very convenient for women with small arms and legs.
In the days that followed, Old Man Xu and Granny Liu made their grocery store a great success. The outgoing Old Man Xu would stroll around the market whenever he wasn't busy, chatting with customers at different stalls, except for He Guixiang's—he held a grudge.
During dinner that day, he was still complaining at the table that there was a strange old lady who came to the store several times a day. Each time she went in, she didn't buy anything, she just looked around and touched things. Old Xu wanted to kick her out, but he was too embarrassed to say anything.
Zhang Xuemei, thinking a bit more deeply, paused while picking up her chopsticks and asked, "Dad, could it be someone sent by the He family's general store?"
Granny Liu glared at her. "You never know. If she comes again tomorrow, I'll definitely kick her out."
Xu Minghan added, still a little worried, "Mom and Dad, you can say whatever you want, but please don't hit them."
"Of course we can't let her cling to us."
...
Spring came and autumn went, and in the blink of an eye, it was 2008. In this year, there was a major event: Beijing was going to host the Olympic Games.
In their past life, Xu Minghan and Zhang Xuemei didn't have the chance to go to Beijing to watch the Olympics, but this time they're determined to make up for it.
"Mom and Dad, I'm taking you to see the Olympics." Zhang Xuemei had been planning to take her whole family to see the Olympics for a long time, and she was currently writing and drawing on paper.
Looking at her excited daughter-in-law, Granny Liu hesitated and said, "How about we don't go? There will be no one to manage the shop for so many days, how can we do that?"
“Yes, it’s the same as watching it on TV,” Old Xu quickly added.
Zhang Xuemei continued to persuade her husband, "Oh, it's fine if it's closed for two days. It's a rare opportunity. Let's leave the shop to Xiao Wang."
“That won’t do. No matter what, Xiao Wang is an outsider. I don’t trust him with the money.”
Old Xu flatly refused, saying that they only accepted cash, and who could say for sure how much they would accept, and who knew if it would be embezzled.
"What should we do? I already told my parents they were going with us. You know, when they take photos in Beijing watching the flag-raising ceremony, and you don't get to see them, won't you feel bad?"
After Zhang Xuemei's suggestion, Granny Liu was indeed tempted and hesitated before saying, "How about we go for a few days and come back quickly?"
"Then who will look after the store?" The question has come full circle.
“My older brother and the others are all going. Even those who aren’t going have their own things to do. After thinking about it, the only one who’s free is my younger brother’s wife, Le Rong. How about I have her watch over things for a couple of days?”
My younger brother Xueshan and Lerong run an online store. Their work is quite flexible, so I'll help them watch the store for a few days. I don't think there will be any major problems.
"That's a good idea, but is she available?" Granny Liu felt that Le Rong was like family, and she and her husband would feel at ease if she helped them watch the shop.
"I'm definitely free, so it's settled then." Next up was grabbing tickets. Luckily, Zhang Xuemei paid extra to get several tickets for her family of four. A total of eight tickets were obtained for both sets of parents, which was quite a lot of money.
When the time came, Zhang Xuemei and her group happily headed to Beijing.
Le Rong then began her task of minding the shop.
That day, a woman of similar age came in and kept staring at her.
"Are you Le Rong?" the woman asked uncertainly as she stood in front of Le Rong.
Le Rong looked the woman up and down, then hesitated before asking, "Who are you?"
"Me? Xiao Fen, Wang Yu Fen, don't you remember me? I'm from your front yard." The woman became a little anxious when she saw that Le Rong didn't recognize her.
Upon hearing this, Le Rong remembered her. "Ah, you're Sister Yu Fen, who lives in the front yard of our house, right?"
“Yes, it’s me. I felt you looked familiar as soon as I came in. Do you work at this store now?” Wang Yufen sat down next to Le Rong.
Le Rong shook her head. "No, I was just helping my husband's sister-in-law watch the shop for a while. They had to go out."
Wang Yufen looked at Le Rong with some envy, "You're so lucky. Looking at your clothes and appearance, you must be living a very comfortable life."
"No, it's not as good as you say. It's just about making a living. Hey, Sister Yufen, do you work here?"
"Yes, you can earn some money working in a factory. By the way, you didn't know your sister-in-law had a son!"
Le Rong replied calmly, "The year I was born, my eldest sister called me and said that they had finally gotten what they wanted."
"You don't know, what do you mean by 'getting what you want'? The child has a problem. He's over five years old this year and still can't speak! They say that wise people speak slowly, but anyone with eyes can see that there's something wrong. Xiao Rong, you have to be careful. I'm afraid your older brother and sister-in-law will try to take advantage of you again."
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