Chapter 123: Chapter 123: Arrangement
On the morning of the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the four Mei brothers came together, and none of them came empty-handed. This was a rare sight in recent years. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
So, you say money is a thing, huh!
Although she knew why they had come, Mei Qiuping couldn't help but be happy. 'Come on in, what else did you bring? Have you had breakfast?' She asked as she ushered her brothers into the house, 'Have you got everything you need for the New Year?'
'We're all here!' Feng Zhenchang came out with a cigarette in his mouth, holding a string of firecrackers in his hand, which he set off with a crackling noise.
During the Chinese New Year, it is easy to prepare a table of dishes. Feng Yuxuan went to help, and in no time, she had prepared several dishes and opened a bottle of wine, which the brothers-in-law and their cousins started drinking.
Halfway through the bottle, the eldest uncle mentioned the topic with some embarrassment, 'Brother, sister, when you were having a hard time a few years ago, I couldn't help you at all. I was originally too embarrassed to bring this up, but my wife has been nagging me at home for the past two days, and we've had several arguments. You all have things to do now, but I'm the only one still farming at home. Rongrong and Ruirui are getting older and there are more and more expenses. So, I came today because I want you to help point me in the right direction.'
Feng Zhenchang looked at Mei Qiuping, who was sitting nearby, and said, 'Guosheng, if you don't mind, your sister and I have been thinking about this and we have discussed it. If you can go away, you can go to the province to sell chestnuts. The area where we used to sell them is just right for you to take over.
If you don't go to the province, it's also easy. We are also planning to open a few more noodle shops next year. Yiping said that the noodles bought at the farmers' market are not as delicious as the hand-pulled noodles we make ourselves. Guohua has an oil mill, right? It's perfect. It's cheap to press the oil yourself. The two families can make the noodles together, then dry and pack them to send to the provincial capital.
Our noodle shop can sell two to three hundred bowls of noodles a day. If we open a few more shops, we can easily sell a thousand bowls a day. I'm afraid that the two of you and Dad won't be able to keep up with the work.'
Mei Qiuping said, 'We feel at ease with the noodles you deliver. We pay for the noodles in cash, no credit. It is a bit of hard work, but the income is not bad. Everything is convenient at home, and Rongrong's schooling will not be delayed. We can also find time to plant the fields. What do you think?'
Mei Guosheng's eyes lit up when he heard this. 'This is not bad. Guohua has the oil, but we have to buy the flour separately. What do you think, Guohua?'
After thinking for a while, the third uncle said, 'It's not a problem to get the oil and flour, and the hard work is nothing. It's just that the timing of the dough-making depends on the weather. If it rains during the rainy season, the dough can't be made for a month or two, which will affect the business of the noodle shop.'
'It takes time to open a few more shops. It takes half a year to open a new shop every month, and at least three months to open two shops a month. After you go back, you can start the business first, and put it aside until it's ready. I think you should be able to make enough money this year,' Feng Zhanchang said.
'Well, that's true, but in that case, there will be so many noodles, there will have to be a place to put them, otherwise they will go mouldy, and that will be a problem,' said the third uncle.
'Isn't there a big vacant lot next to your oil mill? It wouldn't be difficult to build a big, airy house there,' said the youngest uncle.
'Yes,' said the eldest uncle, 'if we really want to do it, it would be built in less than half a month.'
'Let's do it!' After a moment's thought, the third uncle made up his mind. Of the four brothers, he was the one who was the most reluctant to leave home. He had the most children, three in total. The oil mill was his entire fortune. Although it seemed that, without his eldest sister and youngest brother making money in the provincial capital, the income was on the low side in the countryside, it was still considered relatively high.
Although the matter that the eldest sister and others were talking about would require some investment, it was considered a stable business. Besides, the noodle business was quite troublesome. If they did well, they could sell some in the countryside, not to mention other places.
'Your wife is staying at home this time, right? That's good, she can help out,' said the eldest uncle to the second uncle.
'No problem,' said the second uncle, 'but, brother and sister, don't you need a lot of chickens for the noodle shop?'
'Haha, I also have three brothers here,' Feng Zhenchang said with a smile, 'it's easy to raise chickens in the mountains here, and we can also ask them to make the pickled vegetables we use for the wheat cakes.'
My second uncle felt a little embarrassed when he heard this. 'It's fine, at most half a year. As Yiping said, we'll figure out everything about the noodle shop, and then it will be easy for you to open another one. As your elder sister, I'll make things clear today. It's not that I don't want to help you open it, but I'm afraid that if I help you open it and the business is not good, then there will be no way to explain it. You can see that it costs 30,000 to 40,000 yuan to open a shop, which is not a small amount for anyone. We don't want to hurt feelings over this,' said Mei Qiuping.
'Er, don't be greedy. After the new year, when my company opens, there will definitely not be enough staff. You can bring a decoration team, I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it all,' said the youngest uncle.
'Yes, yes, this is good, come, drink!'
The four uncles left satisfied. Even the second uncle felt that this arrangement was good. Feng Zhenchang and Mei Qiuping also let out a sigh of relief. As long as they were satisfied, it was a weight off their mind.
Except for the time when Mei Qiuping fell ill, the four younger brothers really didn't help much during the hard times in previous years. But now that they have some means, they only look after themselves and leave their brothers alone. They really couldn't do such a thing.
...
On this day of the 29th, Feng Yiping's house was once again bustling with people. Many people came to Feng Zhenchang to write couplets, and Feng Yiping had to help by running two trips to the village store to buy back most of the red paper his family had stored.
On his second trip back, he walked to the door and heard someone talking in the house, 'Uncle Zhenchang, you have been amazing in the past two years. You were the first in the village to open a store in the provincial capital, and your children have also become successful. Your daughter must be able to help a lot now, and your son Yiping is well-known not just in the village but in the surrounding area. We have a smart child here, the first college student in the village, and it must be him. Keep this cigarette. You must write two couplets for me today, so that I can also share in your blessings and wealth.'
Feng Yiping heard a voice that sounded familiar, but he couldn't think of who it was. When he went inside, he saw that it was the village party secretary, who was arguing with Feng Zhenchang, asking him to take the cigarette.
When he saw him come in, the party secretary smiled and said hello, 'Yiping is back!'
'Happy New Year,' Feng Yiping also said hello. He knew, and his parents definitely understood, that the party secretary was apologizing in disguise.
That time, he had led the village people to collect from the young Feng Yiping. Such things could not be kept secret, of course. When the chestnuts were being collected, Feng Zhenchang had returned once, but he had not stayed long at home. This time, it happened to be just right. During the New Year, even if Feng Zhenchang and the others were angry, they would not say anything harsh. They came under the pretext of asking him to write couplets, so he did not lose face.
After a few noisy days, the Spring Festival finally arrived! This Spring Festival was the most fulfilling one Feng Yiping had ever experienced since his rebirth.
His family was the talk of the village, and it was unlikely that there would be any major changes in the next few years.
His sister had also returned, and the family was reunited. His parents did not have the same regrets as they had last New Year's Eve, so even Mei Qiuping, who had never touched a drop of alcohol, drank a glass of wine on New Year's Eve.