Gao Baoliang scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, then quickly rubbed his hands together sheepishly and said, "Sister-in-law, there's something I wanted to tell you and the regimental commander in advance. The regimental commander isn't here, so I'll tell you first."
It seemed a little difficult to say, and Gao Baoliang was quite flustered.
Xu Ruantang had a bad feeling.
She paused for a few seconds, then glanced down at Xiaobao, who was squatting on the ground playing.
"you say."
She wanted to laugh, but the forced smile looked worse than a grimace.
Upon seeing this, Gao Baoliang hurriedly stood up, his eyes filled with panic. "Sister-in-law, I know you and the regimental commander treat Xiaobao very well. Xiaobao has always regarded you as her biological parents. When she is at home, she often wakes up and calls for her mother and father."
He tried to recount how good Xu Ruantang and Chen Ji were to Xiao Bao.
Gao Baoliang knew in his heart that Xu Ruantang and Chen Ji had done too much for Xiaobao, even more than he, as the biological father, could.
Gao Baoliang's voice was a little choked up.
Xu Ruantang remained seated without moving. "It's alright, just tell me."
What's meant to happen will happen.
"Next month, my whole family is moving to the south."
Gao Baoliang stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "Xiaoying's uncle has relatives in the south who have opened a factory there and want me to go and help them."
In the past two years, more and more people have quit their jobs and gone to the south, and Xu Ruantang has heard about it too.
Xu Ruantang opened her mouth, but forced out three words: "Is it reliable?"
Gao Baoliang nodded, "Uncle Xiaoying goes over first. Once things are settled over there, we'll go over too."
Gao Baoliang had no choice.
There are two young children in the family. Xiaoying stays at home to take care of the children, while her aunt is in poor health and her uncle also has to take care of her.
He's the only breadwinner in the family, so we have to find a way to earn more money.
Xu Ruantang nodded in agreement, thinking about the wave of layoffs that would occur in two years. "Yes, I will talk to Chen Ji about it. Don't worry."
The family was waiting for dinner, and Gao Baoliang's decision was correct.
"Sister-in-law, it was my fault..."
He always felt that he had let the regimental commander down.
Xu Ruantang interrupted Gao Baoliang, "No, don't talk nonsense."
Gao Xing is Gao Baoliang's biological daughter, and he has more right than anyone else to take care of the child. Besides, they have indeed treated Xiao Bao very well this past year.
Xiao Bao is so lively and adorable, which is naturally thanks to them.
Xu Ruantang ultimately allowed Gao Baoliang to take Xiaobao back.
She sat alone under the eaves for a long time.
When Chen Ji returned, he saw his wife staring blankly at the sunset. Normally, she was most afraid of the sun, but she didn't react at all when the sun was shining all over her body.
"What's wrong? Where's Xiaobao?"
Chen Ji bent down and squatted in front of Xu Ruantang, asking softly.
Xu Ruantang seemed to wake from a dream, and the moment she saw Chen Ji, tears blurred her vision.
"Gao Baoliang said that his whole family was going south, and Xiaobao was leaving."
Her voice trembled violently, filled with helplessness.
Chen Ji's eyes flickered slightly. He reached out to wipe away Xu Ruantang's tears and gently pulled her into his arms.
He was caught off guard by the news, let alone his wife.
"I'll go ask and see if Xiaobao can come with us."
Chen Ji knew that what he was doing was inappropriate, but he could not make rational decisions about everything.
Humans are emotional beings, and emotions are inherently uncontrollable.
Xu Ruantang shook her head in his arms, "No, you can't go. Gao Baoliang is Xiaobao's biological father. If you do this, the child might hate you in the future."
The child has a biological father, so what right do they have to deprive the child of the right to live with his biological parents?
Chen Ji's eyes were slightly red as he reached out and stroked Xu Ruantang's cheek. "Then, shall we visit her more often in the future?"
It only takes one night by train, and they can go when he takes a vacation.
But in reality, with such a vast distance between them, it's not as simple as it sounds.
Xu Ruantang had finally stopped crying, but upon hearing these words, tears started streaming down her face again.
She really couldn't bear to part with Xiaobao.
Chen Ji coaxed her for a long time before she finally managed to fall asleep.
Neither of them felt like eating dinner. After Xu Ruantang fell asleep, Chen Ji brought a wet towel to wipe her face.
He didn't sleep; he just sat down next to Xu Ruantang, holding her hand and looking at her.
......
Xu Ruantang has been in a bad mood these past two days, but she hasn't shown it and continues to run back and forth between the two shops.
When she arrived at the lotus pond that day, she saw Li Shuhe standing with a woman, talking about something to the clothes in the store.
Xu Ruantang walked in, and Li Shuhe turned around and saw her, smiling as she said, "Ruantang, let me introduce you, this is my cousin Wang Qiuhong."
Turning to the woman whose face looked somewhat haggard, he said, "Cousin, as I told you, Lotus Pond was opened by Ruan Tang and me together."
Wang Qiuhong clasped her hands together and hurriedly greeted, "Hello, boss."
Li Shuhe had previously said that her cousin was twenty-eight years old, but the woman in front of her looked more like she was in her thirties.
She looked unwell, probably due to years of overwork and neglect of skincare. She had more wrinkles than her peers, and even her hair was noticeably gray.
In this day and age, it's still rare to see someone with premature gray hair.
Xu Ruantang smiled and said, "Hello, cousin. You don't need to be so polite."
Turning to Li Shuhe, she asked, "What are you talking about?"
"I was talking to my cousin about the prices of the clothes in the store. In a couple of days, my cousin will be running the store by herself."
As Li Shuhe spoke, she turned and picked up the store's ledger, continuing to say to Wang Qiuhong, "Cousin, all income and expenses in the store must be recorded in the books. Every time you sell a piece of clothing, you have to record it in the book."
Wang Qiuhong looked at it seriously and nodded.
He seems to be an honest and upright person.
Wang Qiuhong was paid a base salary of eighty yuan plus commission from selling clothes. The lotus pond business was already quite good, so even though Wang Qiuhong wasn't very proactive in selling, her commission wouldn't be small.
After Li Shuhe finished teaching her, she and Xu Ruantang nestled on a stool and chatted.
The two also silently observed Wang Qiuhong's actions.
Even though she was Li Shuhe's relative, they had agreed beforehand that they wouldn't force her to stay if it wasn't appropriate.
"When my aunt heard about the high salary, she immediately smiled and stopped looking worried and sighing. She urged my cousin to go to work as soon as possible."
Li Shuhe smiled and sighed, "It's clearly that man's problem. My cousin is the victim, so why isn't anyone blaming the man?"
Xu Ruantang thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Perhaps everything will be alright once your cousin can support herself and earn money."
This principle remains unchanged throughout history.
Wang Qiuhong was still in the store, so the two didn't discuss the topic again.
Li Shuhe always felt that Xu Ruantang was in low spirits lately, and there was always a faint sadness between her brows.
She moved a small stool closer to Xu Ruantang and asked softly, "Ruantang, did you have a fight with Chen Ji? You've seemed unhappy lately."
Xu Ruantang slowly curled the corners of her lips. "No, we didn't quarrel. But how is Shen Qingwen doing?"
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