Without thinking too much, I called Chen Fei directly. He answered quickly and said excitedly, "Xiuxiu gave birth! She gave birth to a little princess at seven o'clock last night. She weighed 6 pounds and 8 ounces. It was so noisy back then. I only had time to call you this morning to tell you the good news."
"Wasn't the due date in November? How come it's so early?" Counting the days, it seems like it's twenty days early. I don't know if that counts as premature.
"Xiuxiu has always been in good health, but she's probably been too busy lately and went into labor early. The doctor said she's already 37 weeks pregnant, which is considered full term, so we didn't try to prevent miscarriage," Chen Fei said cheerfully.
Shu Yan herself had never given birth. The original owner's two children were at home, and there was no such thing as a due date or check-up. When it was almost time to give birth, they would simply ask the village midwife to come to their home. She really didn't know anything about this.
"It's good that you're full-term. 6 pounds 8 ounces isn't small either. Which hospital are you at?" No matter what, she had to go see a doctor during her postpartum period.
"People's Hospital. No need to come over, we'll pack our things and go home in a bit."
"Okay, I'll come to your house this afternoon to see Xiuxiu and the baby," Shu Yan said with a smile.
Not knowing how to give full-moon gifts in Nancheng, Shu Yan did it her own way: two sets of winter clothes from head to toe, a swaddle blanket, two bath towels, two small hats, and two pairs of cotton shoes. In addition to these, Shu Yan also bought five pigeons, as she heard they were the best for replenishing qi and blood. She asked someone to kill them for her, since Zhang Huaxiu's family had a refrigerator. In addition, Shu Yan also prepared a red envelope, not very big, just 800 yuan, mainly for good luck.
Zhang Huaxiu was in her own home during her postpartum period. Since she didn't have a mother-in-law, she had to ask her mother-in-law to come over. Wu Xiuyue was going to open a shop, so her son also came to live there. Luckily, they had bought a three-bedroom, two-living-room house, otherwise they really wouldn't have enough room to live there now.
Shu Yan knocked on the door, and Zhang Ma opened it. Zhang Ma was overjoyed to see Shu Yan, "Oh, you're so busy, you didn't need to come over."
"I definitely had to come and see Xiuxiu after she gave birth." Shuyan handed the full-month celebration gift to Zhang Ma. "Is Xiuxiu inside?"
"Look at you, you've come all this way, why did you bring so much stuff?" This was definitely a generous gift from Shu Yan. Zhang Ma took the things and put them away, then led Shu Yan to Xiu Xiu's room. The baby was drinking milk, and Xiu Xiu smiled happily when she saw Shu Yan.
The baby's eyes are not open yet, and the face is rosy, but you can tell that the eyes are big and the nose is very straight. The baby will definitely be very beautiful when he grows up.
Shu Yan took out a red envelope and placed it in the baby's arms, smiling as she said, "It's not much, but I wish the baby good health and intelligence."
"Oh dear, I can't accept this." Zhang Huaxiu tried to take it off and return it to Shu Yan.
"With our current income, there's really no need to keep refusing a few hundred yuan in red envelopes. I just want to wish the baby well, so please accept it." Seeing that the baby had finished eating, Shu Yan gently took the child in her arms and looked at her smacking lips, her heart softening.
Wearing a hat, Zhang Huaxiu leaned against the bed, looking at her child with a loving mother's smile. "When my stomach hurt yesterday, I thought I had diarrhea. Then I got scared when the baby stopped moving. By the time I got to the hospital, I was already two centimeters dilated. This child is so considerate; she didn't make me suffer. She gave birth in just three hours."
Speaking of this, Zhang Huaxiu found it funny. She went to the toilet more than ten times yesterday morning, thinking she had diarrhea. It wasn't until the afternoon when the pain got worse that she called Chen Fei. Chen Fei also thought she had an upset stomach. The main reason was that her due date was still about twenty days away, and he really didn't expect it to be so far in advance.
"As long as the mother and child are safe, that's all that matters. Don't think about it too much now. Just focus on your postpartum recovery. I didn't recover well when I had my first child, and I suffered a lot. I recovered a bit when I had my second child, but living in the countryside, the conditions are definitely not as good as in the city." The original owner of this body suffered from many postpartum ailments, but Shu Yan felt better after getting medicine from an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor.
Shu Yan sat down next to Zhang Huaxiu with her baby in her arms, teaching her some tips on raising children. These were actually scientific feeding methods that she had heard and seen in her own world. Zhang Huaxiu was impressed but didn't understand, and humbly asked for her advice.
How do you burp someone?
"I'll teach you." She had seen this at her cousin's place and looked into it, so she actually knew it.
"Wait a minute." Zhang Huaxiu called Chen Fei in and asked him to learn along with her.
Chen Fei studied very diligently, gently patting the baby as he held him, and soon a burp sounded. Chen Fei is truly wonderful; his treatment of Zhang Huaxiu has never changed since their marriage, and he's also good to the child. Zhang Huaxiu has found the right person.
After chatting for a few more minutes, Shu Yan planned to go home, but Zhang Ma insisted on keeping her there for dinner.
"How many times have you come to our house? You never eat. If you leave today, don't ever come again." Zhang Ma held onto Shu Yan, not letting her leave.
Since that's what they said, Shu Yan had no choice but to stay for dinner. Zhang Ma even told her to call her two children over for dinner as well.
"No need, Auntie has already prepared the meal," Shu Yan said with a smile.
While Zhang Ma was cooking in the kitchen, Shu Yan chatted with Zhang Huaxiu, mostly about their children.
The doorbell rang, and Chen Fei went to open the door. Zhang Huafeng and Wu Xiuyue came in one after the other.
Shu Yan and Wu Xiuyue hadn't seen each other for at least half a year. When Shu Yan saw Wu Xiuyue this time, she was really shocked. Her hair was dyed yellow and permed into big waves. Her face was covered in white powder, her eyebrows were tattooed and were a bit thick. She wore bright red lipstick, a shirt and a pencil skirt underneath, red tights, and a coat that reached her calves. She was a completely modern woman, which was completely different from the Wu Xiuyue who used to dress simply.
"Shuyan's here? Why didn't you tell me? I would have bought some more groceries." Wu Xiuyue, carrying fish and meat, smiled as she saw Shuyan.
"No need, we already have plenty of food. Why are you leaving get off work so early today?"
"I've hired someone else, so it's okay if they step away occasionally." Wu Xiuyue put down her bag and sat down next to Shu Yan, a strong smell of cheap perfume wafting over.
Shu Yan rubbed her slightly itchy nose and chuckled, "How come you've become so fashionable after just a few months? I wouldn't recognize you on the street."
"Really?" Wu Xiuyue tossed her hair and laughed, "There's no way around it, when you're in the clothing business, you can't not dress up fashionably."
Shu Yan was speechless. She also worked in the clothing industry, and so did Zhang Huaxiu. Why didn't they dress like this? This kind of celebrity poster look is hard for normal people to pull off. Even celebrities wouldn't dress like this in private.
With a little time before dinner, the two sat down and chatted. Wu Xiuyue, her nails painted bright red, touched them as she asked, "How's your company doing? Is business good?"
"It's alright, just enough to make a living." Shu Yan hadn't told Wu Xiuyue what kind of company she owned, so Wu Xiuyue didn't know about Shu Yan's company. She took Shu Yan's modesty to heart.
"Oh dear, wouldn't it be better to just open a shop and make money? I think you should continue running your clothing store. You could even find another place to open one. When that place makes money, Xiuxiu can also get a share. You could make at least 30,000 to 40,000 a month! Opening a company sounds good, but it's useless if you don't make money," Wu Xiuyue said, feigning concern.
It seems that Zhang Huaxiu did not tell Wu Xiuyue about the store's turnover. Since they started selling high-end women's clothing, after several events, they have a group of regular customers who bring in new customers. Business is doing well now, with a monthly turnover of about 100,000 yuan. After deducting costs and various expenses, she can get more than 30,000 yuan a month.
"I don't plan to open another shop for the time being; it's too much of a drain on my energy," Shu Yan said with a slight smile, taking a sip of tea.
Her company has tens of thousands of yuan in its coffers; opening a clothing store would be putting the cart before the horse.
"That's such a pity. The market is so good right now. If I had your capital, I could open seven or eight clothing stores, hire some employees to look after them, and just go over every day. I'd make a lot of money every month. By the way, do you know about Lin Hui opening a clothing store?" Wu Xiuyue suddenly asked.
"What's wrong?"
"She also opened a clothing store, not far from me. I only found out after she opened it. She's really something. I wouldn't have stopped her from opening a clothing store, but she deliberately kept it from me. If she had told me, I could have given her some advice. Now the store is open, but business isn't very good. She can only sell about ten items a day at most," Wu Xiuyue said with a hint of sarcasm.
Shu Yan raised an eyebrow. She knew Lin Hui's shop. She even helped plan the event. Unlike Wu Xiuyue, Lin Hui listened to Shu Yan's opinions, so she was willing to help. Now they sell high-end boutique women's clothing there. Their silk shirts are priced around 80 yuan. Many students and people from the neighborhood are starting to be scared off by the prices. There will always be some people who will buy from them. As long as there are five or six customers a day, Lin Hui will make a profit.
If it were really as Wu Xiuyue said, selling a dozen or so items a day, Lin Hui might earn more than her in a month.
"I'm not really sure about that; the company has been quite busy lately." This wasn't a lie to Wu Xiuyue; her company really was very busy.
Wu Xiuyue smiled and said, "It's okay that you know. I'm just worried that Lin Hui will lose money. By the way, are there any houses for sale in our neighborhood? I've made some money running my clothing store and I'd like to buy a house. 90 square meters is actually not bad, but I have elderly parents and young children to support, so it would be better for me to buy a 120-square-meter house like you."
"Looks like you've made a lot of money. I really haven't been paying attention to that. Why don't you ask Lao Hu? The one you saw when I moved last time. I even looked up his name when I bought my house." Shu Yan rarely strolled around the neighborhood park and didn't know many people in the neighborhood, so naturally she had no way of knowing these things.
"It's alright, unlike you who have so much money, I can only make a down payment first," Wu Xiuyue said modestly, flipping her hair.
"Dinner's ready," Aunt Zhang called to everyone as they went to eat.
They sat down at the table one after another. Chen Fei served Zhang Huaxiu rice and brought it in first. Wu Xiuyue didn't wait for Chen Fei or her parents-in-law. She picked up her chopsticks and started eating, not treating herself as a guest at all.
Mr. and Mrs. Zhang seemed unfazed, suggesting this wasn't the first time.
In the past, Zhang Ma would have definitely given her a cold shoulder or said something tactfully, but now she didn't say anything at all and even smiled and told Wu Xiuyue to eat more.
Shu Yan finally understood why Wu Xiuyue had become like this. Part of the reason was that she had become arrogant, and another part was due to the attitude of her family.
The saying "economic status determines family status" is absolutely true. Wu Xiuyue, who used to be a housewife, couldn't even speak up at home. Now that she is the highest earner in the family, she naturally stands tall. Even Zhang Ma won't gossip about her or dare to give her a hard time. In fact, since they have retired, the family relies on their daughter-in-law, and some people fawn over Wu Xiuyue. After a while, it's normal for Wu Xiuyue to start fighting back.
After the meal, Shu Yan went to say goodbye to Zhang Huaxiu, and Wu Xiuyue also came in.
"Xiuxiu, you should also try to persuade Shuyan to come back and open a clothing store."
Zhang Huaxiu looked at Wu Xiuyue with confusion, "Why would Shu Yan come back to open a clothing store when her company was doing so well?"
Wu Xiuyue looked at Shu Yan, "Didn't you say it wasn't good?"
Shu Yan was exasperated. She had said it was alright, but not bad. Couldn't she tell she was just being modest?
Zhang Huaxiu felt extremely embarrassed. She said a few words to Shu Yan and was about to get up to see her off when Shu Yan stopped her.
After Shu Yan left, Zhang Huaxiu said helplessly, "Sister-in-law, do you think you're making a lot of money now, that you're really amazing, the most amazing in the whole South City?"
In the past, Zhang Huaxiu could have restrained herself, since she was already married and it was better to mind her own family's business. But perhaps because she had just given birth, her personality had changed somewhat.
"It's not that I'm the best in Nancheng, but I'm definitely not bad in Nanjing University." Wu Xiuyue said unhappily when she saw Zhang Huaxiu's expression.
Zhang Huaxiu chuckled. "I was too lazy to tell you before, but I'll tell you today. My store only has a third of your customer traffic a day, but I can make 100,000 yuan in revenue a month. After deducting costs and expenses, the store has a net profit of over 60,000 yuan. Shu Yan and I can each get over 30,000 yuan, and it will be even more if we have holiday promotions." Seeing Wu Xiuyue's incredulous expression, Zhang Huaxiu continued, "You just looked down on Shu Yan's company. Do you know what her company is called? Yan Xue. Do you know what brands Yan Xue owns? You know Qianxue lingerie, right? It's the most famous lingerie brand in the country, with nearly a thousand franchise stores. Do you know Qian Yan? It's the most high-end women's clothing brand in China, sold in department stores, on par with those foreign big brands. All of these belong to Shu Yan's company. Her company is worth over a billion yuan, and even if Shu Yan only holds a small share, she's worth hundreds of millions. You want her to come back and open a clothing store?"
Not only Wu Xiuyue, but even Zhang's parents were stunned.
"Oh my god! I just grabbed the billionaire and wouldn't let her leave, and even told her not to come back if she wasn't going to eat." Zhang's mother's heart was racing.
"Mom." Zhang Huaxiu glanced at her helplessly, then continued to speak to Wu Xiuyue, "Let's not even talk about Shu Yan, we can never compare to her in this lifetime. Take Lin Hui for example, her shop hasn't been open for long, have you noticed a problem?"
"What?" Wu Xiuyue was still in shock at the fact that Shu Yan was a billionaire.
"All the customers who initially bought clothes from you went to her. Even if she only sold ten items a day, she still earned about the same as you. So I've never understood what you've been so busy with. You're so busy, yet you only earn this little money, and you're always so smug about it, even bragging to Shu Yan..."
The thought of Shu Yan's wealth filled Wu Xiuyue with shame and anger. She had no idea Shu Yan was such a wolf in sheep's clothing, so rich yet so low-key. Wu Xiuyue, for her part, would never admit she was wrong.
Shu Yan, who had already returned home, sighed. "Our values are so different, it's really hard to be friends. Anyway, our relationship has long faded, and we hardly ever contact each other anymore. That's just how it is."
Just then, the phone rang. It must be Fang Zeyu at this hour.
"Want to come over for dinner tomorrow?"
"What day is it tomorrow? Why are you suddenly inviting me to dinner?" Shu Yan teased him on purpose.
“There’s nothing special about it, I just wanted to invite you to have a meal at my place. It doesn’t have to be at Grandma’s house, my own house is all cleaned up.”
Shu Yan chuckled, "Okay."
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