Chapter 64
Qin Xue felt wronged by Daya's words, "Sister just wants to be good to you. Sister cooks for you, buys you candies, and buys you nice clothes. Isn't that good?"
Daya shook her head at that moment, "No need, my mother is not dead, my grandma still has money, why should I need others to buy things for me? Only vixen want to be someone's stepmother!"
After saying this, Daya skipped and went to Chunni's house to do her homework.
Qin Xue's face turned pale and she almost couldn't stand still. Didn't she just want to be Aunt Zhen's adopted daughter and recognize Meng Daguo as her adopted brother? How could Daya make such assumptions about her?
She is not a vixen, she is not that kind of person!
Qin Xue was hit hard, but she couldn't give up. She wanted to do something for the Meng family, but Zhen Zhen didn't let her.
Just kidding. If I really did that, I would have a hard time explaining it.
She had finally solved the problems of Cheng Su and Meng Hua, and the house had just been clean for two years, so she didn't want to cause any more trouble.
Life should be lived in a simple way.
Qin Xue saw that no one paid attention to her and felt a little disheartened. Soon she left feeling aggrieved, probably blaming Zhen Zhen for being so unkind.
She grew up with a beautiful appearance and many people wanted to adopt her as their godparent. However, this was the first time in her life that she took the initiative to recognize someone, but was rejected by that person. It seemed like she was being rushed.
After that, Qin Xue didn't come to Meng's house for a few days, and Zhen Zhen was happy to have some free time.
Her shop has been doing good business since it opened. At first, she could make 20 yuan a day, and later she could make 30 yuan a day. On weekends and holidays, the profit would be even higher. However, she could not make this much money every day. Sometimes, the goods could not keep up, and the sales would be less.
Moreover, there are very few holidays these days. The two-day weekend system was not implemented until the 1990s.
They can earn this income partly because the food store is unique in the county and partly because of word of mouth.
One day, Zhen Zhen was tidying up the shelves when she heard Zhao Meilan's voice: "Sister Zhen?"
Zhao Meilan looked at the store in disbelief. She had heard a long time ago that a Good Mother-in-law Food Store had opened in the county town. Her colleagues all came here to buy things, saying that it didn't require a ticket, the food was delicious, and there was a wide variety of products. It was much easier to buy than at the supply and marketing cooperative.
Zhao Meilan was a worldly-wise person and didn't take her colleague's words to heart.
How good can a store in a county town be? It's possible that my colleague exaggerated.
However, after get off work today, several of her colleagues came here to buy peanuts, so she followed them to take a look, and unexpectedly she met an acquaintance.
Thinking about it again, what was there for Zhao Meilan not to understand? A few years ago, she heard that there was a very famous good mother-in-law named Guazi in the cinema, but who knew that it was actually Sister Zhen who did it.
Her husband was right, this elder sister was really not an ordinary person.
Zhen Zhen smiled, thinking that they would meet sooner or later, so she invited her in.
"Huilan, pour a cup of tea for your sister Meilan."
Jiao Huilan smiled and nodded, and brought some snacks to Zhao Meilan. Zhao Meilan didn't hesitate to taste the snacks, and then she realized that there was a reason why her colleagues praised her.
It was indeed unusual that something like that could be noticed by those tall salesmen in the supply and marketing cooperative.
The things in the supply and marketing cooperative were all placed in cabinets, for fear that they would get dirty, so the salesperson had to pick them up before they could be seen.
It's okay if the salesperson is in a good mood, but if he is in a bad mood, the customer will be in trouble.
This food store is different. Everything is laid out clearly and neatly and cleanly. Although only the shelves have been changed a little, it is the purchasing method that has changed.
Besides, these snacks taste much better than those in the supply and marketing cooperative.
Zhao Meilan said excitedly: "Sister, why didn't you come to me when you opened a shop? I could bring people to support you."
This is also a good person. Zhen Zhen smiled and shook his head, "It's not easy for everyone. How can I specially inform you?"
"Why are you being so polite to me? But to be honest, sister, this is the first self-employed business in our county. Now people in the county are talking about it, saying that the Good Mother-in-law Food Store has a very beautiful proprietress, saying that this store is warm and the food is delicious. These are all compliments."
"Just to make a little money to supplement my life." Zhen Zhen is still quite low-key.
Zhao Meilan knew that she made a lot of money. During the time she was drinking tea, several customers came in to spend money. The 50-cent and 80-cent items were indeed not that expensive, but people kept coming in. In business, one is not afraid of making little money, but one is afraid of no one coming, right?
Zhao Meilan was still quite tempted. Her husband had never had a formal job. Although he could make money on the black market, it was unstable. People would often check on him. In the past, they checked whether he was selling things, but now they checked whether he had a license or not. In short, he felt uneasy every other day.
She wanted the man to open a shop too.
But her husband didn't dare to do it, fearing that the policy would change again. Who would have thought that Sister Zhen was already ahead of the policy.
"Sister, how is your business?" Zhao Meilan didn't beat around the bush with her.
Zhen Zhen knew that if others wanted to make money, he couldn't stop them, so he didn't hide it. "Business is good. I bought this house. There is no rent. I can make some money no matter how much I make. I can eat and live here, which saves time on the road. It's not that hard."
Zhao Meilan was deeply moved. "Sister, do you think my man can be a self-employed businessman? He is the kind of person who can secretly run the black market, but if he is really asked to do it, he can't bring himself to do it."
"Why should you be embarrassed? Now that the policy has just been relaxed, many people are prejudiced against self-employed people. After a few years, when everyone knows that working as a self-employed person can make money, they will flock to it. Will it be as easy to make money as it is now?" Zhen Zhen said clearly, "It's because you two are kind people that I'm giving you a few words of advice. If you are worried, you can keep your job first, but your husband doesn't have a job, so what else can't he do?"
Zhao Meilan nodded and decided to go back and discuss it with the man.
"My children are grown up, and my parents-in-law are busy at home. If my husband can do something, they can help, but I don't know what they can do."
"If you cook delicious food, you can open a restaurant, a breakfast shop, or a noodle shop. If you have a storefront at home, you can also open a small store. If you don't want to make a lot of money, you can roast sweet potatoes, fry twisted dough sticks, sell some salted meat and cold vegetables, or even sell steamed buns and some vegetables grown at home! Your man can also go to Guangzhou or Shanghai to resell some electrical appliances and clothes and make some money from the price difference. Information is not well developed these days, so don't underestimate the price difference. If you do it well, you can make a lot of money!"
That’s what Zhen Zhen said.
Nowadays, gold is truly everywhere. It is nothing like the later generations, where it is so lucrative and nothing is easy.
Zhao Meilan thought that reselling electrical appliances would incur costs and it would be difficult to get them back. He could be a middleman, but he was afraid to go out of town to purchase goods. It would be better for him to do as Sister Zhen said and sell some food and vegetables.
"My mother-in-law makes good noodles. There is a small house at the entrance of my yard, which can be used as a small store."
"That's fine too. Put up a few tables to sell noodles and set aside an area on the side for a counter. It doesn't need to be too big. Three or four square meters will be enough to set up a canteen."
Zhao Meilan knew what was going on. She worked in a supply and marketing cooperative, so it was more convenient for her to trade things.
It's quite safe to open a small shop at the doorstep of your home.
The child is older now and can help look after him when no one is around.
Running a business at home gives one a sense of security.
"And, you always think that your job is a stable job, but think about it, now that the policies have been relaxed, there will be more and more stores like mine. By then, there will be convenience stores, food stores, appliance stores, and hotels. They have more things and better services than the supply and marketing cooperatives, and they don't even require tickets. Who will still go to the supply and marketing cooperatives? If all the supply and marketing cooperatives are closed, can you still keep your job?" Zhen Zhen said bluntly.
Zhao Meilan hadn't thought of this. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Sister Zhen's analysis was right. After Sister Zhen's store opened, their food counters were not as good as before. Although it was not very obvious yet, the trend was indeed there.
If it really comes to that, the iron rice bowl will no longer be an iron rice bowl.
Zhao Meilan went back and discussed the matter with her husband. The man was smoking and almost burned his lips when he heard that the Good Mother-in-law Food Store was opened by his elder sister Zhen.
"Is it really my Sister Zhen?" The man came closer.
"Is this true? Look, this bag of snacks was given to me by Sister Zhen. I wanted to give her money but she refused to take it."
The man tasted it and gave it a high evaluation. He didn't dare to do it at first, but when he heard that Sister Zhen had done it, he immediately felt that it was no big deal.
"Then let's do as Sister Zhen said and open a noodle shop and a small shop. Then, are we the second most powerful person in the county?"
Occasionally, there are fellow villagers selling vegetables and peppers on the street, but they are not regular.
It's true that there's only Sister Zhen who opened a shop. If they opened one, it would definitely cause a sensation in the entire county, and people in Zhao Meilan's unit would inevitably know about it.
But it didn't matter. Firstly, the policy had been relaxed. Secondly, her family was still quite poor in the eyes of her colleagues. They all felt that she was supporting the whole family with her own salary, and that her husband was disabled but still living off his wife, and that her parents-in-law still came to make trouble.
It's quite pitiful for a woman.
"I went to my leader and cried about my poverty, saying that my family couldn't make ends meet and I had no choice but to open a shop to supplement the family income. Although this would make you lose a good reputation, at least no one would do you any harm. People would want to help us because they saw that we were poor. If they knew that you and I could earn thousands a year, there would definitely be many people who would be jealous."
The man nodded. His reputation was almost ruined, and it wasn't just a matter of days.
A few years ago, when he went to the black market at night, he told others that he was going to play cards, and people looked at him with strange eyes.
They did what they said. The next day, Zhao Meilan went to the unit and cried about her poverty. When the leader heard that her family was in such a difficult situation and that her husband had to go to the provincial capital for surgery on his disabled arm, he didn't say anything else.
Not only did the leader not stop her, he also specifically told her, "Tell us when it starts, and we will go and show our support."
The unit has been settled and the decoration has been put into progress.
Originally, she had no plan to renovate the shop, but influenced by Sister Zhen, Zhao Meilan wanted to spend some money to open a small shop like Sister Zhen's.
But it doesn't have to be too complicated. Just paint the house white, change the layout, and separate a kitchen and room.
Zhao Meilan went to Zhen Zhen to inquire, and Zhen Zhen conveniently introduced the Meng Dazhu brothers to her.
It has to be said that under Zhen Zhen's training, these two people also know what decoration is.
When he came to Zhao Meilan's house to remodel it, he spoke very clearly and seemed extremely professional.
"We can set up a small shop here, put a glass counter, and open a door under the counter. People can go in and out through the door. It's a little laborious but it saves space," said Meng Dazhu.
"The kitchen needs to be kept cleaner and the table doesn't need to be too big so people can eat and go. There should be a sign on the wall with the prices written on the side, and the window frames should also be painted to make it look brighter," said Meng Dajian.
These were all taught by their aunt, and after practicing for a while, the two of them quickly figured out the tricks.
Zhao Meilan felt that they were very professional.
There were no individual business owners in those days, so naturally there were no such decorators. Zhao Meilan trusted them quite a bit and gave them full authority to take charge.
These two guys are really down-to-earth people. I heard they are my aunt’s friends. They worked really hard and quickly changed the layout of the apartment.
The space is used very well, not a centimeter is wasted.
It looks clean and fresh, yet still has the smoky feel of a pastry shop.
Zhao Meilan smiled and said, "Sister Zhen was right in her recommendation."
The Meng Dazhu brothers also feel a sense of accomplishment.
Zhao Meilan was generous with the money and gave fifteen yuan to the two brothers as agreed.
They worked for seven days in total and each earned $7.50. The two brothers were so happy.
After returning home, the two brothers talked about this matter. Meng Dazhu drank a sip of wine and said happily with a red face:
"My aunt is right. In the future, we will not only accept jobs for building houses, but also for renovation and renovation. Of course, we can't give up the jobs in the fields, otherwise we will have no way out if we fail."
When we make money, the whole family is happy. Can we be happy? Farming alone can only earn less than 200 yuan a year.
If this renovation business becomes big and there is always work to do, I can earn 30 yuan a month, which is 300 to 400 yuan a year. This is more than what I can earn from a stable job!
Zhang Qiaohong was only concerned about the money and had no interest in it, but Zhou Shufen was different.
Zhou Shufen chatted with Meng Dajian before going to bed, "Dajian, what do you think of me selling pork heads?"
Meng Dajian had long seen that she was worried. How could he not know what Zhou Shufen was thinking as they were sleeping in the same quilt?
It was because of this that Meng Dajian felt she was unreliable. Zhou Shufen was good at cooking pork head, but she was shy and would blush whenever she spoke.
At first, Meng Dajian was attracted by this characteristic of her. He thought that a wife who talked less, would not argue with the family, and would lead a quiet life.
Over the years, Meng Dajian was quite satisfied with Zhou Shufen. Even his parents and grandma thought higher of Zhou Shufen than Zhang Qiaohong.
But being shy is an advantage in daily life, but it is different when doing business. Meng Dajian is afraid that she will not be able to communicate with others and will be bullied when she goes out, or that no one will buy things from her and she will be hit.
Zhou Shufen also knew her shortcomings, but still wanted to give it a try.
She felt that she was not as good as Zhang Qiaohong. Zhang Qiaohong had a daughter who was a college student. Her family had three daughters and one son, and they all had no place to go. The income from Dajian's decoration business was not stable either. How could she get rich by farming in the countryside?
Besides, her eldest and second daughters are still unemployed, so the three of them can work together. After making some money, they can just give more dowries to their daughters.
Meng Dajian couldn't stop her, so he asked her to use the seven dollars and fifty cents to buy some pork head to try.
"It doesn't matter if the products don't sell well. Don't feel stressed. I'm still young. I can support you by farming and taking on other jobs."
Zhou Shufen was also happy to hear a man say this.
It was only after taking care of her daughter-in-law during her pregnancies that Zhen Zhen realized that a pregnancy lasts for ten months, but in reality it is only forty weeks, or a little over nine months. Tao Aihong was conceived in winter, so the exact date is uncertain, but she is expected to give birth in August.
There were more than 30 chickens left at home, and ten of them were ready to eat, so she planned to keep them all for Tao Aihong to eat during her confinement.
She also asked Zhao Meilan to save maltose, brown sugar and milk powder for her. Maltose is for postpartum women, who love to eat sweets. Brown sugar is a must. She was also worried that she would need to wash a lot during the confinement period, so she also prepared two bars of soap, two towels and some toilet paper.
There is no need to make clothes for the baby. All the clothes at home are a disaster. Just wear the old clothes of Sanwa.
Zhen Zhen also put snacks such as Sanzi, peach cakes, and green bean cakes into the cupboard, and prepared a whole cupboard of eggs. Not to mention giving birth to one child, even if she gave birth to a football team, it would be enough to eat.
Tao Aihong was also satisfied with her mother-in-law's arrangement. She originally thought that her mother-in-law would definitely not attach importance to the second child. Who would have thought that she had made preparations early.
Taking a less busy day, Grandma Meng and Grandma Meng collected some eels and came to the county town. It was raining today that allowed them to go out, but the business was naturally affected by the rain, and they only sold two yuan a day.
But the old man was still very happy. Two yuan was not a bad amount. He could sell the remaining eels if he could, or keep them for himself if he couldn’t.
Zhen Zhen asked Jiao Huilan to make shirts and trousers for the old couple. She had bought all the clothes for the old couple in the past few years, and they were happier the more they looked at them.
When going back, my steps are bigger than when coming here.
Daya will be in the fourth grade next year. She originally studied in the commune. From the first to the fourth grade, she sat in the same classroom and studied the same content. This resulted in many teenagers taking classes with the little kids. Yingdi from Zhou Shufen's family sat at the same table with her.
That scene was also very funny.
After transferring to the county seat, each grade has its own dedicated teacher and textbooks. Jiao Huilan was worried that Daya would not be able to keep up with the classes, but fortunately Zhen Zhen had been teaching her to read and learn English, so she did not have to worry about her academic subjects at all.
When taking the entrance exam, an oolong occurred. The teacher received the wrong message and thought the transfer student was a junior high school student, so she gave her the first-year junior high school content for the test. Daya thought that all the middle schools in the county were so difficult, so she sat down and started writing with great effort.
After finishing, the invigilator corrected the test paper. He didn't expect that the child had such a good foundation. It happened that Zhen's second brother had finished class and came over to see what was going on.
I picked up the test paper and found something wrong.
"Don't be fooled by this child's height. He will only be in the fourth grade next year," said Zhen's second brother.
The invigilator had not expected such a big mistake to happen. Meng Nan was a relative of Principal Zhen. Fortunately, the child did well in the exam, otherwise he would have been unable to report to the teacher.
The invigilator apologized and explained the whole story. Zhen's second brother didn't blame her, but he also understood what was going on. He went back to discuss with Zhen Zhen and decided to let Daya skip a grade and go to junior high school.
Zhen Zhen refused without even thinking about it.
"Although the child is doing well in school, she is still young and mentally not yet ready for middle school. After going up to middle school, she has trouble managing her relationships with classmates and can't even talk to the middle school kids. All these incompatibility issues will inevitably affect her mental health. I'm thinking of skipping a grade and going to middle school first, and just observing for a while."
In life, what is the hurry? Whether you hurry or not, in the end, you are just running to that place.
What can Daya do if she graduates one or two years earlier? Zhen Zhen thinks there is no need to push the child so hard.
Second Brother Zhen did not force it, but he also specially arranged for Daya to go to the fast class. Children's foundation is really poor these days, and the level of children in the fast class is far worse than Daya.
"Grandma, I want to eat popsicles." Meng Nan came back from Sister Chunni's house, wiped the sweat off his face, and ran to Zhen Zhen's store.
Zhen Zhen was doing the accounting. There was a fan beside her, blowing air. She didn't even raise her head. "Take the money yourself. Remember to keep a record of the account."
"Okay!" Daya took fifty cents.
Zhen Zhen glanced at her.
Meng Nan smiled at her, "Er Ya, San Wa, and Si Ya all want one, and Sister Chun Ni, she just gave me a notebook, I want to treat her to a popsicle."
Zhen Zhen waved his hands, thinking that he would give Daya some pocket money later. To develop a child's financial intelligence, he had to start with pocket money.
Just as she was thinking about pocket money, her lips suddenly felt cold. Meng Nan grinned at her, "I want to treat grandma to popsicles, too!"
This child is really loving and caring. Zhen Zhen took the popsicle and took a bite. There are fewer varieties of popsicles these days, but they are cheap and taste mellow, so they are still quite delicious.
After eating the popsicle, it became cold while being blown by the electric fan, so she turned off the fan to warm it up again. Someone happened to come to buy something, so she weighed out two bags of melon seeds for the customer.
Jiao Huilan steamed pork vermicelli buns and dried vegetable buns. Jiao Huilan is a fan of steamed buns and has been clamoring to steam some and sell them in the store.
Zhen Zhen also has this plan for the next step. It is unrealistic to let Jiao Huilan steam. She has already done enough. It would be better to find a few workers to help.
There is no shortage of people who can make pastries in our country, but don't underestimate those rural women. They are all experts at making pastries. They can make simple dough into something different. If Zhen Zhen really wants to sell pasta, she won't have to worry about the supply.
Several children came over to eat, and Zhen Zhen said, "Go wash your hands before eating."
Several people lined up to wash their hands.
When you break open the pork vermicelli wrap, the aroma comes out. Not only the children, but even Zhen Zhen's appetite is whetted just by looking at it.
While they were having dinner, Sister Qian came with two people. Zhen Zhen thought they were relatives of the Qian family, but unexpectedly, her door was pushed open.
The person who came turned out to be Old Lady Zhen.
It has been a long time since Zhen Zhen last saw his original mother. Ever since Old Lady Zhen came to ask for money but failed and was chased away by Zhen Zhen, the two families have not had any contact since then. Even when Meng Hua was admitted to university and there was such a commotion, she did not come to visit.
But in recent years, Old Lady Zhen has often slandered Zhen Zhen in front of outsiders, but Zhen Zhen didn't take it seriously.
Women should not take their reputation too seriously. If you take those external things too seriously, you will not be comfortable living.
Just say whatever you want. If you curse her a few more times, you will feel better and maybe she will not come to see you anymore.
Sister Qian enthusiastically led Old Lady Zhen inside and said to Zhen Zhen with a smile, "Your mother and your sister-in-law came to your house to look for you and said they couldn't find you after searching for a long time. So, I brought you back."
Sister Qian also had good intentions. When she looked up, she saw that the Meng family members all looked unhappy, especially Zhen Zhen, who didn't smile at all.
Sister Qian thought to herself that this was not good. This must be a case of good intentions going badly, and she felt a little embarrassed.
"That's what she told me. I thought this was your mother, so..."
Zhen Zhen smiled, "It's okay, Sister Qian, have you eaten yet? Do you want to eat something together?"
Sister Qian said, "I've already eaten. If there's nothing else, I'll go back first."
Old Mrs. Zhen had heard a long time ago that her daughter had come to the county town to open a shop, and that she was some kind of self-employed business owner!
It's so embarrassing. I finally gave her to Daguo's father, thinking that this girl could at least become an official's wife. Who knew she would be so useless as to come out and show off!
But how can you make so much money by setting up a stall? You can open such a big shop and eat with a fan!
Wow, look at what we have for dinner!
Steamed sea bass, stir-fried river shrimp, shredded pork with celery, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, mixed-grain porridge to drink, and pork buns to eat.
The smell of this rice made Old Lady Zhen's mouth water!
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