Chapter 4
After careful consideration, Lin Mei opened a small breakfast stall, mainly selling glutinous rice and soy milk.
Many people here like to eat glutinous rice, but there are not many stalls selling glutinous rice in the morning.
It is not easy to make the toppings on glutinous rice delicious, and Lin Mei happens to be very good at making them.
And she can't do business during the noon and afternoon hours.
Tu Chenglin asked her to go home to cook at noon and in the afternoon.
The money to open the stall was given to Lin Mei by Tu Chenglin. He saved some money privately and borrowed some money from his friends.
Tu Chenglin is a man who cares a lot about his reputation. He doesn't want Lin Mei to be a waiter washing dishes and wiping tables. It would make Tu Chenglin feel embarrassed if he was seen by acquaintances. But if she runs her own business, the situation will be different.
For this reason, Tu Chenglin decided to help Lin Mei after failing to stop her.
But this also brought limitations. Lin Mei could only get up early every day to prepare. She opened a small stall in a nearby vegetable market, where there is a large flow of people, and many people buy vegetables in the morning, so there is also a great demand for breakfast.
Tu Chenglin originally wanted to ask Lin Mei to open the stall near Tu Yin Primary School, so that it would be convenient for Tu Yin to have breakfast.
But Lin Mei had also been a student, and she knew that children were very concerned about their reputation.
If Tu Yin's classmates knew that Lin Mei was selling breakfast outside, they might intentionally or unintentionally do something or say something to make Tu Yin sad. Lin Mei did not agree with this idea.
Moreover, the vegetable market is very close to her home, so Tu Yin and Tu Chenglin can have breakfast here and still have time to go to school or work.
The stall only sold glutinous rice, which was too monotonous. It was impossible for Tu Chenglin and Tu Yin to eat it every day. However, the purpose of selling breakfast was to get it "early", and Lin Mei could not go back to make breakfast for them while selling breakfast.
Lin Mei gave Tu Yin some pocket money and told her to come to the stall if she wanted to eat glutinous rice, and buy something else if she didn't want to.
Tu Yin loved it so much. Her usual pocket money was only enough to buy a pen and a notebook. The money Lin Mei gave her was not tied up in a pile of money. She had some money left after eating breakfast. She wanted to save the money to buy a Barbie doll. If she could save more, it would be even better to buy some Barbie clothes.
Tu Chenglin's dissatisfied shouts were stopped by the profit calculated by Lin Mei. It turned out to be a lot of money, more than his monthly salary.
Tu Chenglin used to be the pillar of the family, but now Lin Mei earns as much as he does, so his voice is not as loud as before.
For Lin Mei, this kind of life is a bit tiring, but it is very reassuring. If you live with your palms facing up for too long, you will become numb.
But now she is awake, her heartbeat is lighter than before, and the air she breathes is filled with freedom.
Lin Mei's day starts at four o'clock. She washes rice, steams glutinous rice, and prepares side dishes to go with the glutinous rice. As for soy milk, she buys it from others. She doesn't make much money from it, but it's mainly a bonus to help her sell more glutinous rice.
After selling until around nine o'clock, you can pack up and go home. But after going home, it doesn't mean you can rest. You have to start boiling water and washing the pot. Generally, there are not many leftovers after selling things at the stall. If there are some leftovers, Lin Mei will just fry them together. This is the only time she eats breakfast.
While taking care of Lin Mei, I also had to make lunch.
After Tu Chenglin and Tu Yin returned home and the family had lunch, Lin Mei couldn't sit still either. She had to start preparing to soak the glutinous rice.
Tu Chenglin would clean the house at this time. The division of labor for housework in their family was clear. Sweeping, mopping and wiping the table were done by Tu Chenglin, while buying groceries, cooking and washing clothes were done by Lin Mei.
Now she has to run business in the mornings and buy a lot of things. Every time she buys groceries, Lin Mei buys so much that she can't carry them back. Tu Chenglin can't always come to help her. He has work and occasional social events.
Since she needed to buy a lot of vegetables, Lin Mei directly agreed on the types and quantities she needed with two people who grew vegetables in the countryside and then sold them at the entrance of the vegetable market. They would then deliver the vegetables directly to her home, which was convenient for her and saved the vegetable sellers time.
The only thing Lin Mei needs to buy is meat, which is not easy to store. Fortunately, it is only eaten at home, so not much is needed.
After soaking the glutinous rice, it was almost time to wake up Tu Yin.
After Tu Yin goes to school, Lin Mei will wash any clothes at home. When there is nothing to do, she will sleep with her daughter.
This sleep often lasts for two or three hours. Lin Mei can always sleep well next to her daughter. It seems that as long as she stays next to her daughter, she can always think of nothing.
After getting up, I just heat up the leftovers. If there are not enough vegetables, I will stir-fry another one. I will make the leftovers from lunch into fried rice. Tu Chenglin likes fried rice, so I just need to cook a little more rice.
Although I am tired every day now, I have money to fish in front of me and my life is very fulfilling.
Lin Mei counted her hard-earned money. Tu Mian was now able to speak, but Lin Mei only had time at night, and she also had to teach Tu Yin, leaving little time for Tu Mian to speak. Tu Chenglin also had plenty of time at night, but sometimes he had social engagements, and when he was drunk, Lin Mei would never let him teach her daughter.
Lin Mei plans to save more money and start a new business in the future. If she continues like this, her daughter's education time will be limited, and sometimes she really can't take good care of her daughter.
Although Tu Mian was really well-behaved, she stayed in the baby carrier obediently while Lin Mei was doing business. She didn't cry or make a fuss, but just opened her eyes and looked around curiously. However, this made Lin Mei feel uncomfortable.
How could her child, at such a young age, understand her mother's difficulties? It was because she, as a mother, did not provide her with a good environment.
Thinking of this, Lin Mei always felt guilty towards Tu Mian.
Moreover, once Tu Mian grows up, Lin Mei will not be able to continue carrying him on her back while doing business. Carrying Tu Mian on her back while doing business is already very tiring. As Tu Mian grows up, the weight Lin Mei will have to carry will only become heavier.
But Lin Mei didn't dare to let Tu Mian go. Although there are severe crackdowns now, news of child trafficking can still be heard frequently.
Even in Tu Chenglin's eyes, Tu Mian was a girl with no advantages except for her fair skin and even looked too ordinary, but in Lin Mei's eyes, Tu Mian was a very special child.
She is smart, sensible, and cute... Lin Mei simply can't count all the good qualities of Tu Mian.
In her eyes, Tu Mian is perfect, no, there are also imperfections. Tu Mian was born in a family that could not give her much support, which made Lin Mei sigh often when she patted Tu Mian's back to soothe her to sleep. She had to work harder and not drag her child down.
So Lin Mei held on to her money tightly and would not spend it unless necessary.
Tu Chenglin has a lot of shortcomings, but he also has some acceptable advantages. Even though Lin Mei can make money now, the money Tu Chenglin gives her is still the same as before, and he will not find ways to take money from her. He knows that she will only use the money on her children at most. They both work hard for this family, so there is nothing to calculate.
The life of the Tu family did not change much after Lin Mei started making money. It was not until Tu Mian was over two years old that Lin Mei stopped selling breakfast. She earned enough money to start a new business and planned to open a shop that wholesales snacks.
Now that the country has a one-child policy, and people have extra money, they are more willing to spend money on their children. It is profitable to open a small store in the countryside and sell snacks that children like.
The place where they are now has been approved to become a county town. There are more people coming and going, but there are no snack wholesale stores. Some people who run snack shops in the countryside or schools have to travel far to purchase goods.
This is what Lin Mei heard one time when a customer who came to eat glutinous rice from the convenience store at home complained.
From then on, Lin Mei had an idea in her mind.
On weekends, when business slowed down and Tu Yin and Tu Chenglin were both home, Lin Mei would ask around and find out where to buy goods more cheaply. As long as she opened the shop, many people would definitely come to buy. The prices were the same, but the distance was closer, which meant she saved a lot of travel expenses.
But there are problems when it comes to the money for opening a store.
The Tu family is still renting a house, but this money is enough for them to buy a house in full. It is hard for Tu Chenglin not to be tempted, and so is Lin Mei.
But she still said: "Hua'er's current school is close to our home, and we are not in a hurry. It is better to use this money to start a business. It will be in time to buy a house when Hua'er is in high school. It will be better to buy a house closer to Hua'er High School. What do you think?"
Tu Chenglin raised his own point: "Can you guarantee that this business will be profitable? Will our family really be able to earn enough money to buy a house when Hua'er is in high school?"
Although Tu Chenglin disagreed, he knew that most of the money came from Lin Mei's earnings. At Lin Mei's insistence, Tu Chenglin surrendered.
Although Lin Mei told Tu Chenglin that she would definitely make money, she spent money so quickly on renting a store and purchasing goods, as if the money only stayed in her hands for a short while before flowing elsewhere.
When she first opened the store, Lin Mei was still very worried. No matter how confident she was, she was still unsure without seeing the ready-made money. She could not sleep well at night and could not fall asleep until very late.
But the benefits are also obvious. Now that she has opened this store, she no longer needs to carry Tu Mian on her back. As long as Tu Mian is in front of her, there is no problem. When there is no one in the store, she can also teach Tu Mian more, and Tu Mian can say more and more words.
Thinking that Tu Mian would need to go to school in the future, Lin Mei bought a dictionary and taught Tu Mian to recognize words and read pinyin.
Although she knew that Tu Mian was smart, the speed at which he learned to read still exceeded Lin Mei's imagination, and this was the most comforting thing for her at the moment.
As Lin Mei's partner, Tu Chenglin knew what she was worried about.
On weekends, Lin Mei stayed in charge of the store while Tu Chenglin went to the rural stores to introduce the new snack wholesale store to them, letting them know that the prices were the same as before, but they didn't need to spend more on travel expenses.
This approach was very effective. Gradually, Lin Mei's shop became busy and she gradually lost sight of Tu Mian.
Although she earned money, Tu Mian was more important to Lin Mei.
But the business is also very important now. All their family’s money is invested in this business. After Lin Mei and Tu Chenglin discussed it, they finally decided to send Tu Mian to kindergarten.
The tuition fees of kindergartens in the county are a bit expensive. After all, there are the expenses of three meals a day for children and accommodation fees for naps. Most of the children come from dual-income families without elderly people to help at home, so adults can work without worrying about their children's lives. In addition, kindergartens also teach children to recognize words and common sense.
So Tu Mian, who was less than three years old, also started going to school.
Tu Yin has never attended kindergarten, but she is very happy that Tu Mian is going to school.
Tu Yin doesn't like reading. She suffered a lot from the math in junior high school alone, but she also likes words. She uses all the pocket money she saved to buy all kinds of magazines. She is always moved by the emotions hidden in those words.
Tu Yin sometimes thinks how nice it would be if she could always immerse herself in words. She hates math, but Tu Chenglin can't stand that.
He told Tu Yin directly that if she could not go to high school, he would spend more money to let her go to high school, but the extra money would be deducted from Tu Yin's pocket money, leaving her only enough money to eat. Tu Yin would not have any extra money to buy the books she liked.
After Tu Chenglin said this, Tu Yin didn't want to say goodbye to her favorite books so she started to study hard. However, no matter how hard she studied, she was always far from passing the math test. Forty points was already the result of her hard work.
Is she stupid?
Tu Yin is always very anxious. Is she really the hopeless fool her father says she is?
So when she heard her younger sister was also going to school, Tu Yin found a way to cheer herself up. She thought, "Dad won't just stare at her, right? Let her younger sister bear the brunt of this storm, too!"
She had no idea that adults like Tu Chenglin had a very relaxed attitude towards young children learning knowledge, while Tu Yin was at the age where her parents had to keep a close eye on her studies.
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