After everyone was seated, it was time to eat.
Shen Mingzhi picked at the rice in her bowl, while Jiang Qing asked Jiang Shaochen how he was feeling.
Jiang Shaozhen was somewhat reluctant to talk about it, "It's all in the past, why bother talking about it... Let's eat first."
He understood that Jiang Qing wanted to steer the conversation toward having another child, but Jiang Shao Chen didn't want to engage with that.
Just then, the phone rang in the room.
To avoid Jiang Qing's questions, Jiang Shaozhen quickly got up and went inside.
Outside, Shen Mingzhi's mouth was stuffed full of food, bulging out.
When Jiang Qing spoke to her, she spoke unclearly, leaving Jiang Qing with no ideas.
Jiang Shaozhen looked out the window and heard that it was his friend who did the order calling. His brows furrowed. "You're here so soon? Have you had lunch? We're still eating. Hmm... are you in a hurry? Okay, I'll tell her."
After hanging up the phone and coming out of the house, he told Shen Mingzhi, "The purchasing agent wants you to go to the factory right away. He doesn't have much time; he has to catch an afternoon flight. He only has half an hour left."
Shen Mingzhi quickly put down her chopsticks, glanced at Jiang Qing, and got up to walk into the house. "Mom, I'll be back as soon as I'm done talking. I promise it won't take up too much time."
Jiang Qing had a lot to say but nowhere to say it, so she looked at Jiang Shaozhen, who immediately looked away. "I'll take her to the factory."
As he spoke, he picked up his coat from the chair beside him and said to Shen Mingzhi, "They said it would be best to finish the negotiations today so he can take the goods and leave immediately, and finalize the contract as soon as possible. What are your thoughts?"
“I’m fine, but the children—” Shen Mingzhi came out of the house with her bag and saw that the two children were already staring at her.
"Mom, can you watch her for a bit?" Jiang Shao Chen passed by Niannian and reached out to pinch her cheek. "Can Mom watch her for a little while?"
Niannian reached out and grabbed his trouser leg, tilting her little face up, "Daddy...hug!"
Zhouzhou also watched Shen Mingzhi with longing eyes. Whenever Shen Mingzhi picked up her bag, the two children knew in tacit understanding that she was going to be out for a long time again.
Just as Jiang Qing was about to step forward, Aunt Wang suddenly poked her head out from the kitchen, "Madam, the crucian carp soup simmering on the stove has boiled!"
Shen Mingzhi was reluctant to leave him, so she didn't go over to him. Instead, she said to him, "Sweetie, Mom will bring you a sugar painting when I come back."
The little dumpling pouted, and two puffs of tears welled up in its dark, round eyes.
Jiang Shaozhen picked up his daughter with one hand and his son with the other, saying, "Take them with you. Maybe... when the overseas buyers see that we're starting a business with our families, they'll take all your goods with them."
This time, Jiang Qing did not refuse.
The child was reluctant to leave... but Shen Mingzhi's work couldn't stop either.
What could she do?
As the car pulled into the Baoli factory, the two little devils were putting on a full-blown fight in the back seat.
Shen Mingzhi held down her son, but couldn't hold down her daughter.
When she got off the bus, she was panting heavily. "This is it, we're both doomed from now on. Look at them, they're like martial arts experts..."
Jiang Shaozhen took Zhouzhou from him, a smile in his eyes, "Maybe it was just a joke."
The two carried the child into the office.
Zhang Qu, the purchasing agent, stood in front of the desk with a teacup in hand, his gold-rimmed glasses slipping down to the tip of his nose in surprise. "Deputy Factory Director Shen... why did you bring your child with you?"
"A typical day in a dual-income family." Shen Mingzhi wiped the sweat from her forehead and hugged her still-fussy daughter tightly. "I'm sorry to have you laughing at me, shall we begin?"
The office was transformed the moment those two troublemakers sat on the table.
Niannian clung to the filing cabinet, climbing here and there, while Zhouzhou scribbled on the letter paper with a pen.
When Zhang Qu adjusted his glasses for the third time, the ink from his pen splashed all over Zhouzhou's face.
He was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears of fright.
Jiang Shaozhen didn't even notice until it was too late.
His face was completely blackened.
Shen Mingzhi looked over, and her originally serious face broke down, and she burst out laughing.
"How about..." Director Sun said, looking embarrassed, "I'll take the kids to the warehouse to play, and give them a bath while I'm at it."
Five minutes later, a heart-wrenching wail erupted from the warehouse. When Shen Mingzhi and Jiang Shaozhen arrived, they found them fighting with the other children from the factory.
The two little ones are only one year old, yet they dare to hit even three-year-olds.
Jiang Shaozhen apologized to the parents, and Shen Mingzhi, holding the child, slapped each of them on the bottom.
As Zhang Qu followed him into the warehouse, he saw a number of products and his eyes lit up. "Is this your new packaging design for cosmeceuticals?"
Zhang Qu picked up the sample box. "3D relief carving? Waterproofing test done too?"
Jiang Shaozhen grabbed his son by the back of his collar and looked at Shen Mingzhi.
Shen Mingzhi explained, "The 3D anti-counterfeiting pattern is something we just developed. Look at this peony pattern; when you run your fingernail over it, you'll feel a raised texture..."
“I’d also like to take this to Hong Kong and Macau to try it out. What do you think?” Zhang Qu said. “This product is also very advanced, and the packaging is beautiful. Let me tell you, the reason our goods can’t leave the country is because foreigners think our packaging is too cheap!”
Shen Mingzhi nodded as he listened to him talk about the situation abroad.
As the negotiations continued into the evening, the two little devils finally snuggled up in the cardboard box and fell asleep.
On the way home, Jiang Shaozhen asked while driving, "Do you want to attend the Canton Fair next month...?"
"Bang!"
The car suddenly jolted, and a heavy thud came from the back seat as something fell to the ground.
Jiang Shaozhen hurriedly turned around and saw Zhouzhou sprawled on the foot mat, stunned for two seconds before letting out a loud wail.
Startled awake, Niannian grabbed a rubber duck and smashed it over her brother's head.
Jiang Shaozhen held the steering wheel with one hand, watching Shen Mingzhi hurriedly lift Zhouzhou up from the ground.
The car traced a daring arc at the entrance of the alley, its headlights illuminating a familiar figure—Jiang Huanyu.
"What's wrong with him?" Shen Mingzhi scolded angrily.
"Deputy Factory Director Shen, you're home so late?" He approached the car, his tone tinged with anger. "I heard you're planning to turn unsold goods into exports instead of domestic sales?"
When Niannian saw him, she frowned.
Shen Mingzhi sensed that her daughter disliked him, but still said, "Comrade Jiang is very well-informed. What's wrong? Is it bothering you?"
Jiang Shaozhen carried the exhausted Zhouzhou to the front seat, staring at him with a hint of displeasure in his eyes.
"No, not really. I'm just curious why you think our products can go abroad. I'd like to give you a piece of advice: I tried that idea last year, and it didn't work." Jiang Huanyu felt that she was avoiding their conflict by doing this.
He wanted to fight Shen Mingzhi, but Shen Mingzhi switched to selling overseas, which was tantamount to admitting defeat.
This made him lose interest in her again, and he felt very bored.
"Whether it works or not, you'll only know after you try. If it doesn't work for you, it might not work for me, right?" Shen Mingzhi said with a smile.
Jiang Huanyu frowned, but his tone was very sincere. "I am sincerely advising you that you should use your energy on me and deal with me instead of doing business with foreigners. Foreigners look down on our domestic products, thinking that our products are cheap, toxic, and not good enough for them."
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