Chapter 61 Blessing

Inside the car, Lin Qiao was still checking the medicines that Mr. Gu was going to take with him, and did not notice the situation outside the car.

"There are mattresses on the bus. I'll get one for you to sit on. Please control your emotions for a while and don't get too excited."

Gu smiled and nodded, rubbing his heart, "It took a lot of effort to find it, and I don't want to scare anyone."

Ji Duo thought about it and felt that taking care of the elderly was more important now, so he put his hand in his pocket and said, "You guys go first. I'll go buy some firewood."

At this time?

Lin Qiao turned around unexpectedly, and the man had already strode to the side of the road. He closed the shop door that had been opened by someone else, and said, "Give me a box of matches."

Inside the store, Ji Ze was still arguing with the salesperson with his back to the door. The salesperson obviously didn't buy his talk, "If you don't want to sell it, you don't have to."

I didn't care whether he looked good or not. "Are you done? We'll close the store if you're done."

Ji Ze wanted to say something else, but he heard this familiar voice and turned his head, "Uncle?"

Just when he turned halfway, someone grabbed his neck and said, "Your aunt is outside."

Ji Ze frightened for a second and quickly turned his head back, even moving behind the wall before he dared to peek out secretly, "Why are you and my aunt here?"

"I was just about to ask you why you are here." Ji Duo looked normal. He let go of him, took out a two-cent bill and put it on the counter.

The man was wearing a military windbreaker, was tall and serious, and he looked very imposing just by standing there.

The salesperson was able to read the expression on Ji Ze's face. He changed his attitude from when he was talking to Ji Ze just now, and without saying anything else, he quickly took out a box of matches from the counter.

Ji Ze noticed it and looked unhappy. He wanted to say something, but Lin Qiao's voice came from outside the window, "Shall we go in first?"

It was very close, so close that as long as he put his head to the window, he could look Lin Qiao in the face through the glass at a distance of less than two meters.

He quickly swallowed his words and raised his hand to gesture towards the window.

, signaling his uncle to send the man away quickly.

Ji Duo didn't even look at him. He took the match and took out a cigarette from his pocket. "You go first. I'm too conspicuous."

Since they were going to take a secret look, it would indeed attract some attention for a military officer like him to stand there, so Lin Qiao supported Mr. Gu and walked inside first.

It was not until the two figures, one old and one young, completely disappeared from the campus that Ji Ze came out from behind the wall and said, "I was scared to death."

"If you had told me earlier, this wouldn't have happened, right?" Ji Duo glanced at him, lit a cigarette and walked out of the store.

The store was indeed about to close at this time, and someone outside had already started to board up the windows. Ji Ze calmed down, knowing that he would not be able to come to any conclusion if he continued to reason, so he simply followed and walked out, "Uncle, you came at the right time, I was just about to go to you to settle the bill."

Then he said with some embarrassment, "There have been some problems with the business recently. The accounts may not look good. Can you help me explain it to my aunt?"

When Ji Duo heard this, he remembered what he had just said, "Did the salesperson hide the things on purpose instead of selling them properly?"

"Yes. At first, I just left it there randomly. If someone asked, I would sell it by one pound. If no one asked, I would not mention it. All salespeople in state-owned stores are like this, you know."

It has been a long-standing problem that salespeople in state-owned stores are not very active in selling goods and are indifferent to customers.

After all, whether the store makes a profit or a loss, they are paid the same salary. If fewer people buy goods, they can do less work.

So Ji Ze went to the store to negotiate the wholesale of liquid soap. Although the negotiation went smoothly, the products did not sell well after entering the store. In some places, no one even knew that the store still sold liquid soap. When his salesmen went to deliver the goods, people stopped their cars and asked them why they were not selling.

"Yandu is so big, and my own sales staff can't handle the sales. I saw that this was not a big deal, so I talked to the sales staff of those stores and gave them a commission of one yuan for each barrel sold."

"And the sales clerks at other stores who could have sold the products also deliberately hid the products, hoping to get their commission from you?"

Ji Duo hit the nail on the head, and Ji Ze nodded awkwardly, "I've been to several stores these past two days, and they're all like this. I don't know who told them this."

"Who told them this? Do you really think there is an airtight wall in the world?"

Ji Duo found that his nephew still lacked experience. It was not that the method of giving commissions was not feasible. He proposed to give a share to the old employees under him, which greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of the old employees. A while ago, a sales champion system was created. The selection was held once a month, and the top three salesmen in sales volume could get bonuses, which increased sales a lot.

But bonuses and commissions can be given to top salesmen, but they cannot be given to those who do not work actively just because sales are not good. Isn’t this teaching others not to work hard?

I guess Ji Ze has suffered a loss this time and has understood it. He touched the back of his head and said, "I'll go back and think about it. Uncle, please help me talk to my aunt."

I don't know whether she is afraid of him as her uncle or she is more afraid of Lin Qiao as her aunt.

Thinking of Lin Qiao, Ji Duo suddenly thought of the small shop run by Lin Qiao’s friend, and his heart moved.

But before he could say anything, Ji Ze had already got on the bicycle parked on the side of the road and said, "I'll leave first. I'll give you the account and money tomorrow."

He even glanced inside the school gate, as if afraid that Lin Qiao would suddenly come back, and then he rode away on his bike.

Ji Duo frowned at this reaction, but thinking that he would come to see him again tomorrow, he said nothing more and turned around and followed him into the school.

Downstairs in the dormitory, Lin Qiao had already asked someone to go up and call Yue Hua. Mr. Gu was sitting under a tree not far away, sitting on the pony that Lin Qiao had brought, his eyes and brows completely enveloped in the night.

After watching the person go up, she turned back to look at the old man, and felt relieved only after making sure that he was fine.

Not long after, Yue Hua came down. The young girl, in her early twenties, was not very tall, but she looked very energetic, with a relaxed brow and a smile in her eyes. It was obvious that she was living a good life.

She was a little surprised to see Lin Qiao, "Why are you here? I went home during the summer vacation and heard that you got married."

"Yes, I got married and moved to Yandu." Lin Qiao deliberately took a few steps in the direction of Mr. Gu before moving the things that had been placed on the roadside. "It just so happened that I went back and ran into my aunt. My aunt asked me to bring you some apples and pears."

Yue Hua knew at a glance that it was something from his hometown, and his eyes narrowed, "My mom is really something, she asked you to bring it to me from such a far distance."

This smile, his eyes and brows were full of shadows of his childhood. Mr. Gu was watching quietly not far away, and the little kid back then seemed to reappear in front of him, calling him Grandpa sweetly and tenderly.

And Shao Ping, who had such poor skills, insisted on braiding his sister's hair himself. Every time Shao Zhen resisted but didn't know how to refuse...

Some past events are so clear that they seem to have happened just yesterday. Mr. Gu lifted the brim of his hat, wanting to see more clearly, but a gust of wind blew the tweed hat with a tongue away.

He subconsciously reached out to grab it, but missed it. Lin Qiao also quickly stepped forward to take it.

Unexpectedly, Yue Hua was the closest to it, and he caught it quickly. He looked around and saw Mr. Gu not far away.

She took a few steps forward and said, "Old man, is it your hat..." She suddenly stopped in the middle of the sentence, "What's wrong with you?"

The old man in front of her had almost completely white hair and wrinkles all over his face, which showed his old age. When he looked up and met her gaze, tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.

Mr. Gu looked at his granddaughter, whom he had not seen for thirteen years, almost greedily.

She had grown taller and fatter. She no longer had the timidity that came from losing both her parents when she was young. Her eyes were still as soft and caring as before. He had a lot to say for a moment, but in the end he just pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and said, "It's a bit windy today."

"Are you blinded?" Yue Hua waited patiently for him to finish wiping his eyes before handing him the hat.

"Thank you, my little granddaughter." Mr. Gu put on his hat tremblingly, and his eyes unconsciously fell on Yue Hua's face again.

Yue Hua always felt that the old man's eyes seemed to be looking at her, or at someone else, as if he had a thousand words to say, or as if there was only silence, so she couldn't help but ask again: "It's so windy, who are you waiting for here? Do you want me to go up and call for you?"

"No need." Mr. Gu looked at her and smiled, "Grandpa, I've been waiting for you. I'll just sit for a while and then go back."

Hearing him say that he would go back after sitting for a while, Yue Hua felt relieved. He thanked Lin Qiao again and went upstairs with the apples and pears that Lin Qiao brought.

Mr. Gu kept staring at her back as she disappeared through the door, without moving his eyes for a long time.

Lin Qiao did not go forward to disturb him until the old man slowly stood up and put away the stool he was sitting on. Then she followed him. Then she raised her eyes and saw Ji Duo standing in the dark further away.

The man had obviously been there for a long time. He did not ask them whether they had seen anyone. He just walked forward silently and took the sarong from Mr. Gu's hand.

None of the three spoke for a while. When they were almost at the school gate, Mr. Gu whispered, "Her adoptive parents took good care of her."

Ji Duo said "hmm", and his old gaze fell on Lin Qiao who was supporting him. "I remember you said before that the reason you could remember it was because another fake one appeared."

"That's true. We saw that you were in the hospital and were afraid that you would be further stimulated, so we didn't tell you." Lin Qiao did not hide it.

Mr. Gu slowed down his pace and said, "Now tell me, is there anything else going on here?"

His tone was solemn and calm, not at all like the emotional old man who had just shed tears.

However, if he was really just sentimental and fragile, he would not have been able to fight his way through the vast enemy ranks and reach his current position.

Lin Qiao whispered what had happened. After hearing what he said, Mr. Gu groaned and said, "It seems that you are really afraid that I will investigate the cause of Shao Ping's death." He raised his head and glanced at Ji Duo.

"That person is already looking for him." Ji Duo said, "And now we have found him, but the other party doesn't know about it. The initiative has been passed to us."

Mr. Gu was not in a hurry to bring the person back. On the one hand, he really wanted to give Yue Hua and the Yue family some time to accept the situation. On the other hand, he also took this into consideration.

If they find it and put it in the open, they will lose this

If you take the initiative, the other party may remain silent and not reveal any flaws. On the contrary, if you keep silent and continue to look for clues on the surface, the other party may continue to make stupid moves and reveal more flaws when they are forced into a corner.

Only by removing the firewood from the bottom of the pot can they truly get out of the passive position and no longer be led by the nose by the counterfeits that pop up one after another.

Old Gu smiled and patted Lin Qiao's hand, "I don't know if it's Xiaoduo's blessing to marry you, but it's definitely a blessing for our Gu family."

The news could be hidden from others, but not from Su Zheng. He came to find Ji Duo the next day and said, "I finally found her. You didn't marry her in vain."

Ji Duo frowned under his military cap when he heard this. "You're the one who called me 'baby'?"

Su Zheng's eyes widened. "How can I call you if I can't? Didn't you say before that you don't treasure her?"

Ji Duo didn't want to talk about this topic. He raised his wrist and looked at his watch. "If you have anything to say, please tell me now. I have to go home for dinner."

"I've never seen you so enthusiastic about going home before." Su Zheng couldn't help but complain again. Seeing that he was really leaving, he straightened up and said, "We've been looking for her for so many years, and finally found her. I have to say thank you to her for myself and Shao Ping."

The affairs of Shao Ping and Shao Zhen are Ji Duo's thorns, and it is also Su Zheng's. The reason why he chose to be a public security officer is related to these things that happened back then.

Ji Duo didn't say anything else. The two of them got into the jeep parked on the side of the road and went back to Ji Duo and Lin Qiao's residence together.

Seeing Su Zheng, Lin Qiao immediately understood his purpose and raised an eyebrow with a smile, "It's a rare guest, so you can't just say thank you as soon as you enter the door."

"That's still something I have to say." Su Zheng looked very sincere, "I will always remember this. If anything happens in the future, even if Ji Duo has wronged you, I will still beat him up."

This remark immediately earned Ji Duo a meaningful glance, which made Su Zheng pause, "Although I may not be able to beat him."

Lin Qiao was amused at the time, remembering that after returning from Su Zheng's house that day, the man asked her several times in a roundabout way what Su Zheng had said to her.

In fact, Su Zheng had a strong desire to survive and never told her about Ji Duo's embarrassing moments. The two of them had discussed it and deliberately behaved like that to see if Ji Duo would confess something.

As a result, Ji Duo was particularly patient and had not explained anything until now. However, Su Zheng always felt a little uneasy when he was looked at by him.

"By the way, I also brought you something." Su Zheng picked up the bag he brought with him and took out a pair of thousand-ply soles and several pairs of embroidered insoles from it. "These were all made by Chen Zhaonan, and she insisted that I bring them to you. She usually doesn't even dare to talk to me, but she took the initiative to ask me several times about this."

Whether it is sewing shoe soles or embroidery, it is a laborious job. The designs sent by Chen Zhaonan are exquisite, with fine stitches, showing his attentiveness.

“And this.”

Su Zheng took out a few more pieces of paper, this time with crooked pinyin and Chinese characters written on them. When Lin Qiao saw them, she was happier than when she received the shoes. "She went to class?"

Su Zheng nodded. "I think she took your words as an imperial decree and actually asked around for a nearby elementary school to audit classes."

For Chen Zhaonan, taking this step required a lot of courage. After all, she had been beaten before and was afraid of people. She was nervous when she saw people. As an older student, she was destined to be watched by people.

But she knew to seek help from the police station and tried every possible way to escape. She is a very tough and unyielding person by nature.

The last and best news is, "I went to help Mr. Gu to be discharged from the hospital this morning. He asked me to bring the patient to him. He probably wants to keep him."

For Chen Zhaonan, as long as he doesn't go back, everything is good news.

But it is understandable that Mr. Gu would do this. He has a good heart. Because of Shaozhen's disappearance, he donated most of his salary to charity. No matter what, Lin Qiao was able to think of Yue Hua because of Chen Zhaonan. In order to accumulate merit for his grandchildren, he would not push him back into the fire pit.

"She should be relieved now." Lin Qiao recalled Chen Zhaonan's pleading eyes and the injuries all over his body. "She and that man didn't even get married in the first place."

Chen Zhaonan was only seventeen when she was sold, which meant she was not old enough to get a marriage certificate. The customs there were not good either, as they only allowed marriage after giving birth to a son.

However, without a marriage certificate, they are not legally considered husband and wife, so she can choose not to go back. If the other party hits her, it is not domestic violence, but intentional injury.

"It's a pity that she didn't understand, and no one was in charge there. Otherwise, given the seriousness of the situation, she would have been detained at least."

Lin Qiao was somewhat helpless. Unexpectedly, Su Zheng suddenly glanced at Ji Duo after hearing this and said, "He has been detained for several days."

This made her look at the man, but Ji Duo looked calm as usual. He took the shoes and insoles from her hands and sent them back upstairs, "Let's go eat."

"Then I'm leaving. I have to go to work this afternoon." Su Zheng didn't plan to stay any longer. Before leaving, he called Lin Qiao, "I'll treat you next time when you find a time."

Seeing him walking so fast, Ji Duo suddenly thought of Ji Ze yesterday and said to Lin Qiao, "My friend's business has not been going well recently."

When it came to his share, Lin Qiao's attention was immediately drawn back, "What happened?"

"It's the salesperson in the store." Ji Duo briefly explained the situation. "Because of this, the sales have declined recently."

This was a situation that was completely impossible to encounter forty years later. Lin Qiao had seen all kinds of marketing methods, and had often felt that the salespeople were too enthusiastic and unbearable, but he had never seen anyone who didn't sell goods properly like this.

It is indeed a special product of this era. She thought of Guo Yan's shop, "You...your friend has never considered opening a small shop by himself?"

Once again, I thought the same thing as him without any guidance.

This feeling was quite good. When Ji Duo received the account from his nephew in the evening, he did not frown at the not-so-good numbers on it.

He also told his nephew about the solution they came up with. Ji Ze's eyes lit up at that moment, "Yes, state-owned stores don't sell well, but it's definitely not the case for small stores opened by individuals. They earn all their own money."

After all, he had been in business for a while, so he quickly drew inferences from his experience. "When the time comes, put up a sign at the door of the store saying 'Muzi Liquid Soap Designated Sales Point', and I'll help them promote it. If it can boost other businesses in the store, the wholesale price might be able to be raised. Who would still give wholesale to those state-owned stores?"

After saying that, he looked at Ji Duo excitedly, but he saw Ji Duo looking at him and frowning, "Muzi liquid soap? Which Muzi?"