"Haha, no, you're overthinking it. Xiaowei just went back to school, and I just miss him a little." She quickly explained with an awkward laugh.
"Really?" Li Zhenhua raised his eyebrows.
"Sigh, you still figured it out. Xiaowei, I'm not trying to be mean, but I told him to go meet that girl, and what did he do? The girl ended up running away crying." Afraid that her husband would question her, she quickly brought up the matter again.
"There's more? What's going on?" Li Zhenhua frowned.
"Xiaowei, he's still not grown up. He doesn't know how to please girls, and he speaks without thinking. Actually, it's not a big deal, but I'm worried about him. Tell me, he's still not getting it. When will we ever get a daughter-in-law?" Yu Huimin started talking nonsense.
She would rather shift her husband's attention entirely to their son than have him question her further.
She was careless; she had been living a leisurely life for too long and lost the vigilance and precaution she should have.
Even when she tried to shift the blame to her son, she subconsciously tried to prevent her husband from thinking that their son had done anything wrong, attributing it solely to his "lack of understanding."
As for their daughter-in-law, the two seemed to have forgotten that they actually already had one. If you really think about it, Zhao Qinglan was already their second daughter-in-law.
Sure enough, Li Zhenhua, who was rather rough around the edges in this regard, burst out laughing when he learned that his wife was worried about this matter.
"Xiao Wei is still so young. If he hasn't figured things out yet, so be it. Boys, once they do, they're quick to catch on."
Yu Huimin chatted with her husband for a while longer, and only after he went to bed and didn't bring up the previous incident again did she feel a little relieved.
She will be extremely careful from now on. Oh, and that person too, she needs to find a way to keep him away from the capital, preferably so that he can never come back.
In this way, no one in the capital knew or was aware of her past.
Since it's all in the past, let it all remain buried until she takes it to her coffin.
...
Upon entering the city again, and finding no trace of Qian Hongxia, Zhao Qinglan's growing suspicions finally disappeared.
Their shop is now almost fully prepared.
Originally, finding the source of flour and meat filling for making wontons was a major problem.
However, Zhao Qinglan also took care of this.
There is a meat processing plant in the city.
Every year, meat processing plants actually sell some meat privately without requiring ration coupons.
Of course, this meat, which doesn't require tickets, doesn't easily reach the hands of ordinary people.
Since the price of meat without ration coupons has not changed, this is naturally a great benefit for families who usually have limited meat supplies and are short of meat.
But Zhao Qinglan wouldn't rack her brains to take advantage of this, and besides, she doesn't have that kind of connection right now.
She simply tried to find a manager at the meat processing plant and offered to pay extra for the meat.
At first, the person in charge was dismissive of her, until Zhao Qinglan gave him an unexpected price and said that the demand would gradually increase in the future.
The person in charge of the meat processing plant did the math in his head and suddenly got excited. The money might not seem like much each day, but if it accumulated, it would add to the plant's funds and allow them to provide more benefits to everyone.
These days, the best way to make workers appreciate you is to pay them more wages and provide more benefits.
Raising salaries is something that can't be done easily, but providing more benefits is something that capable and resourceful leaders can certainly do.
He intended to be the kind of capable leader that the workers would be grateful to.
Since the meat processing plant has a certain amount of meat that doesn't require ration coupons every year, and this is something that the leaders of various units know about and tacitly approve, then it's acceptable for them to supply a smaller amount each year and use it to benefit the employees.
This is what he calls reasonable application within the rules.
As for those who used to get meat without tickets, it was a secret that they didn't want anyone around them to know. Even if they got less meat, the meat processing plant could just give them an explanation, and no one would dare to cause trouble.
Zhao Qinglan chose to spend more than double the price to buy meat from the meat processing plant, both for stability and to ensure the legality and legitimacy of the ingredients in her store.
At that time, meat ration coupons were limited for each household, and only special units such as state-run restaurants had special quantities. If this small shop could suddenly supply so many fresh meat and bone broth wontons, it would naturally be noticed by people with ulterior motives, who would then make a fuss about it.
At first, she considered buying meat on the black market, but after careful consideration, she rejected the idea and instead spent some time getting in touch with the person in charge of the meat processing plant.
Now that the deal has been finalized, the person in charge is happy, and she is happy too. It's a great deal that benefits both parties.
The meat processing plant workers who will receive benefits in the future will be even happier, so why wouldn't she be happy to accept it?
Zhao Qinglan used the same method with the source of flour.
After getting everything sorted out, Zhao Qinglan checked again and found that the snack shop was only missing one thing: a signboard.
What food vendor can do without a signboard?
To have a signboard, you first need to come up with a shop name.
Therefore, Zhao Qinglan discussed the matter with her whole family.
She didn't even spare the three youngest children.
"Big sister, how about we call it Zhao Family Snack Shop?" Zhao Qingzhu suggested.
"This is bad." Upon hearing the name Zhao family, Zhao Qinglan immediately thought of the place she and her sisters had finally managed to escape from.
Although she and her sisters all share the surname Zhao, she naturally doesn't want to have this name.
Upon seeing her expression, Madam Sun understood what was going on.
Soon, Zhao Qingzhu and Zhao Qingju also had the same idea.
"Let's call it delicious!" Erwa boldly suggested.
Anyway, he thinks everything tastes good.
They really do live up to their reputation; all they know is how to eat.
Zhao Qinglan and her son, Da Wa, both wore the same helpless expression.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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