"Is Xue Mingfang the one sent from the capital to help you with the 271 project, Little Xue?" Yan Zhao asked Chen Meilan.
Chen Meilan suppressed a laugh and murmured, "Mm-hmm."
She hadn't expected Xue Mingfang to not only be handsome, but also so capable. He had already swept the courtyard, wiped the windows, hung out the laundry, and was now bustling about in the kitchen. As soon as he entered, there was a clattering of pots and pans as he got to work.
Throwing open the window, Xue Mingfang said with a smile, "Hello, Colonel Yan. We've fought in the same formation before - I manned the artillery for you in the rear. Tonight I'll be cooking, Henan style. Would you like to try it?"
Yan Zhao couldn't refuse and simply nodded.
He then busied himself taking apart the wet bedding. The spring air was humid, and these things wouldn't dry outside. He'd have to run the air conditioner at full blast to dry them quickly, otherwise there'd be no place to sleep that night.
When Yan Zhao got to the piano, he ran his hand over it and realized some mischievous child had splashed water on it.
This was the most valuable item in the house. He quickly found a new towel from a drawer and carefully wiped it down. Just as he finished, Chen Meilan finally got Little Wang's homework dried, sighing in relief, "Thank goodness it wasn't too wet, or Little Wang would have been in tears."
The wet pages with fountain pen ink were all smudged and would need to be rewritten, but the rest could probably still be used. Hopefully the teacher wouldn't be angry.
As Yan Zhao reached for the homework, Chen Meilan, who had been standing on tiptoe in front of the air conditioner for so long that her legs were weak, sat down right in Yan Zhao's lap as she relaxed.
At that moment, Xue Mingfang lifted the curtain to enter, saw Yan Zhao holding Chen Meilan in an awkward position, and quickly retreated, saying, "Colonel Yan, am I interrupting an intimate moment?"
Normally, Deputy Chief Yan wouldn't even dare walk next to his wife in public, but being caught like this by a former subordinate made his face flush. Still, he managed to reply, "Yes."
"Should I let you two finish before coming to eat?" Xue Mingfang scratched his head outside.
Despite selling adult films, the most intimate he'd ever been with Liu Jingjing was holding hands. He'd never experienced embracing a woman.
Chen Meilan struggled, "Let go."
Yan Zhao held Chen Meilan tightly, his week-old stubble and the smell of hospital disinfectant clinging to him. He stared at her for a moment, then suddenly rubbed his stubble roughly against her forehead. His own face was red and his neck flushed. Chen Meilan saw Xue Mingfang just outside the window with his back turned, but feared he might look back at any moment, making her heart race.
She grew angry and pushed him away, and Yan Zhao finally released her.
The couple entered the kitchen, dumbfounded.
Xue Mingfang had made a huge pot of Henan-style noodle soup and fried a large batch of fist-sized dumplings, each golden brown and plump. When bitten into, they revealed a filling of vermicelli, chives, and tofu.
There were enough dumplings to feed the family for three days.
In front of everyone, he presented Chen Meilan with a basin full of noodles, saying, "The commander needs to eat well to lead us to victory. You're too thin, here, eat more."
Yan Zhao immediately glanced at his wife, noting that she did seem a bit thin.
But this wasn't a matter of eating more - she couldn't possibly finish such a large portion.
So Yan Zhao took the basin meant for Chen Meilan and handed her the small bowl that Xue Mingfang had prepared for him.
Xue Mingfang felt this wasn't right - the commander needed to eat more to fight.
But just as he was about to speak with a smile, Yan Zhao suddenly thrust the basin at him, his eyes narrowing and his voice turning hoarse: "Eat."
When he first arrived, Xue Mingfang hadn't even recognized this tall, thin, dark-skinned but refined and reserved man as the fearsome "King of Hell" who could strike terror into the enemy's heart with just a glance on the battlefield.
But Yan Zhao had been a colonel in the elite assault unit, a soldier who had engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy and personally stabbed foes in the gut. There was a difference between such soldiers and others. At his command, Xue Mingfang immediately wiped the grin off his face and picked up the bowl.
The meal was so filling that even Little Lang felt stuffed. The leftover dumplings served as breakfast for the next three days, showing just how large the portions had been.
That night, Xue Mingfang slept with Little Lang and Little Wang, who wanted to hear his stories from the battlefield.
He was a great storyteller, and he had even brought a toy tank to teach the boys about how tanks work. He recounted the dangers he'd faced on the battlefield. Though his experiences probably paled in comparison to Yan Zhao's legendary feats, he had a knack for storytelling that kept the boys enthralled, eliciting gasps, exclamations, and eager questions of "What happened next?"
Yuanyuan had an audition tomorrow and was practicing singing with Chen Meilan. The laughter from next door kept making her forget the lyrics, frustrating Chen Meilan who grabbed her little hand and gave it several light slaps. The little girl pouted, getting her first taste of the loneliness Little Wang used to feel sleeping alone.
Yan Zhao was also jealous, and unlike with Chen Meilan, he didn't try to hide his jealousy towards other men. He was always direct, so when Chen Meilan came to bed, before she could even undress, he asked, "When is Xue Mingfang going to the factory? He should be staying there, right?"
"I'll send him tomorrow, but he says 500 people are coming soon. Comrade Yan Zhao, I ask you, what am I supposed to do with 500 people?" Chen Meilan asked.
Yan Zhao methodically went about his routine of examining her breasts, his movements as gentle as always. His speech slowed and his voice softened: "Just assign them work and let them do it. They have an indomitable fighting spirit, tireless energy, and unwavering obedience to orders."
This was precisely the spirit of Chinese soldiers - 500 warriors who would attack wherever directed.
"I can't take 500 people at the start. At most, I can only take about 80. Once the machines are running, we can slowly bring in more people, but no more than 200. And those 200 people will need to be paid," Chen Meilan said, letting out a heavy breath in response to Yan Zhao's touch.
Yan Zhao's hand paused for a moment. After a long while, he gradually tightened his embrace around Chen Meilan.
Money - the one thing in the world that the fearsome "King of Hell" Yan Zhao was afraid of.
With money, they could have bought more special medications not covered by insurance and continued chemotherapy. Sun Nutao could have lived at least two more years. But doing so would have exhausted all their savings, and he would still have died in the end, leaving his wife and daughter with endless debt.
For this reason, he had resolutely refused further chemotherapy and chosen to face death.
Money, it all came down to money.
...
Chen Meilan continued, "Starting a factory isn't that easy. A demobilized soldier gets 300 yuan a month. For 200 people, that's 18,000 yuan in wages for just three months. The 271 factory makes labor protection equipment, but it can be converted to make clothing and shoes. However, the current inventory, except for leather, can only be used for trimmings. We'll need to buy large quantities of various fabrics and leather. Even if we can get the products planned and on the market within three months, logistics and inventory costs will be 300,000 yuan. We'll need another 200,000 yuan to ensure operations. Deputy Chief Yan, I need at least 700,000 yuan to get 271 up and running, and that's assuming our products sell as soon as they hit the market."
Her words fell like a massive boulder on the chest of Yan Zhao, who was already burdened with the recent loss of his comrade!
In the 1990s, private enterprises were springing up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
Everyone was a contractor, and anyone could open a factory or start a sales business. Production was trivial - the real skill was in selling the products.
Workers depended on the market for their livelihood, not on Chen Meilan.
This was the only time Yan Zhao crawled into his wife's blanket without doing anything else, simply holding her quietly.
Extraordinarily, he slept holding Chen Meilan for half the night without returning to his own bed.
Chen Meilan was used to sleeping alone and found it uncomfortable being held. She woke up in the middle of the night and, unable to bear it any longer, asked Yan Zhao, "Aren't you going back to your own bed?"
"I don't want to tonight," Yan Zhao said.
Chen Meilan, half-asleep, asked again, "Didn't you say you couldn't control yourself if you slept with me?"
"If I can't control myself, why should I try?" Yan Zhao unexpectedly countered.
After all, they were husband and wife. It wouldn't do to argue over sleeping in the same bed - how would that be any different from before? Yan Zhao didn't drink or smoke, so he had no unpleasant odors. Chen Meilan didn't find his scent repulsive, but she was used to being alone and didn't sleep well that night.
The next day, Chen Meilan had to take Yuanyuan to her audition.
Because they needed to borrow a studio from Xiping Film Studio for some shots, the production team was set up next to the studio.
The play required six children - three boys and three girls. An advertisement was placed in "Popular Film" magazine to recruit young actors. Qin Yu, who was most interested in the entertainment industry and wanted to groom Ningning as a child star, brought Ningning to the audition as well.
However, Ningning and Yuanyuan were auditioning for different roles.
Qin Yu and Chen Meilan were fine, but there was another woman with a little girl auditioning for the same role as Yuanyuan. Somehow, she had heard that the audition would involve a crying scene, so she was pinching and scolding her daughter, trying to force her to cry in public.
It's hard for a child to cry on command in public. After the woman had been pressuring her daughter for a while without success, she suddenly kicked her daughter's bottom, saying, "You're so useless, always embarrassing me."
"If she doesn't get the part this time, there will be other opportunities. There are plenty of productions recruiting on 'Popular Television'. Why are you hitting the child?" Qin Yu couldn't help but scold the woman.
The woman immediately turned around and retorted, "I gave birth to her, I can hit her if I want. It's none of your business!"
"Some people are just not fit to be parents," Qin Yu rolled her eyes and said to Chen Meilan.
Chen Meilan also shook her head in disapproval. Public beating and scolding was nothing compared to what she had heard - some parents would even deliberately give their children growth-stunting injections to keep them from growing up, all for the sake of maintaining their child star status.
Acting should be left to fate. Before going to university, Yuanyuan's main focus must be on her studies.
Soon it was Yuanyuan's turn to go in. Recently, she had practiced almost all folk songs from "Mountain Lilies Blooming" to "Ten Farewells to the Red Army". She had learned the lyrics, singing style, and vocal techniques by imitating Li Guyi's recordings on the tape recorder, achieving the most authentic folk song flavor.
After she went in, singing could be heard from inside shortly after.
A while later, Yuanyuan came out. She first whispered something to Ningning, then rushed to Chen Meilan: "Mom, the director asked me to tell you that your hard work hasn't been in vain. It's really good."
This meant she had been selected.
And Yuanyuan had indeed worked hard for it, so it wasn't just a case of getting in through connections.
The old director had his pride. Although Chen Meilan was the financial backer, and he was surely grateful in private, he didn't give Yuanyuan any special treatment in this situation. Reportedly, they had thoroughly tested everything from singing to crying scenes and dialogue delivery. It was only after several assistant directors had agreed that Yuanyuan was suitable that Zhou Yu nodded his approval.
As they were leaving, Chen Meilan deliberately waved her hand outside the window for a long time, indicating that she was about to leave.
Zhou Yu didn't look at her much, just waved his hand to signal her to leave quickly and not disturb his work.
Even so, Chen Meilan felt very satisfied. The fact that he wouldn't even give her preferential treatment proved that Zhou Yu must have selected based on merit, which meant the TV series would surely be well-made.
What was even more delightful was that Ningning had also been selected.
Currently, they were filming the adult scenes. The children's scenes wouldn't be shot until July, which would coincide with the summer holidays and wouldn't interfere with their studies. The two little girls had become good friends after being selected by the same production.
As for Chen Meilan, after the children started school, she had to seriously deal with public relations at Factory 271.
Two hundred demobilized soldiers - it was a nightmare. What was she going to do with them?
Given the current market environment, even Xue Mingfang, who had come with grand ambitions to run the factory, was at a loss.
Factory 271 used to produce old-fashioned pure cotton military uniforms, belts, and shoes. While the production lines could still be used, nowadays people pursued branded clothing. With clothing factories of all sizes springing up like mushrooms after rain, no one wanted their products even at discounted prices. How should they produce clothes, and how could they sell them once produced?
"Chief, isn't this task a bit too challenging?" The more Xue Mingfang thought about it, the more his scalp tingled with anxiety.
Chen Meilan raised an eyebrow: "Isn't it?"
"Those five hundred people..."
"First, call in twenty or thirty of them. Take out the unsold clothes from the factory and set up stalls at the entrance of various shopping centers. Put up a sign saying 'Clearance Sale'," Chen Meilan said.
Clearance sales weren't common yet at this time.
It was a trendy thing to do.
People are always looking for bargains. As long as they hear about discounted products, even if it's just eggs that are one cent cheaper but require two bus trips costing twenty cents, they're willing to go. First, they needed to sell off some inventory to get some cash flow, get the factory moving, and then she would slowly figure out how to find the startup capital.
Since Xue Mingfang had sold adult films before, he must know how to handle sales.
Military orders were absolute. He immediately saluted: "Yes, Chief!" and left at a run.
Today was the first day of school. Chen Meilan had transferred Little Lang to a new school, paying an extra thirty yuan per semester to move him to the Dongfang Group's kindergarten. However, she still had to go to his original kindergarten.
To confront Wang Yuhan.
That little troublemaker, she had to confront him.
But this time she was even more frustrated because Wang Yuhan had also transferred schools and wasn't attending this semester.
This meant that the child who had bullied Little Lang before was now like a needle in a haystack in this city of nearly 2 million people. Unless she actively searched for him or happened to bump into him by chance, she wouldn't be able to find him.
Chen Meilan was already quite annoyed, and when she returned to the village entrance, she ran into Yan Xishan, who was chatting with Yan Sanye.
Yan Sanye was poking Yan Xishan with his cane: "Look at your centipede legs and ant waist, don't you know how to fatten yourself up a bit?"
Yan Xishan was yelping in pain from the poking, constantly explaining: "The doctor said my liver isn't good, that's why I've already quit drinking. Don't worry, old man, I'll fatten myself up soon."
Seeing Chen Meilan from afar, he first thoroughly admired her white suit, woolen coat, and leather shoes before walking over with a grin: "Meilan."
"Get lost," Chen Meilan said.
Yan Xishan neither left nor got angry. He still enthusiastically said, "I've recently negotiated for two mines, the total purchase price is fifty thousand yuan. Qi Songlu won't give me the money, you need to say something about this."
Chen Meilan then answered, "Alright." The mines bought now also belonged to Yuanyuan, and each additional mine meant one more investment in safe production. There was money in the account anyway, and this money could be spent. Chen Meilan would talk to Qi Songlu about it.
"I also want to buy a Great Wall microcomputer," Yan Xishan added.
Chen Meilan nodded readily: "That's fine."
Seeing Chen Meilan in a good mood, Yan Xishan smiled and said, "Meilan, look how well off you are now, with a son and a daughter, while I'm still single. We used to be a couple, and you know my character better than anyone. Can you help me arrange a match? I'm thinking of formally talking to Qi Songlu."
This statement made Chen Meilan pause: "Really?"
Currently, Qi Songlu's situation was like this: after gaining fame on television, her parents were willing to acknowledge her, but she didn't pay them any attention. Wang Ding'an also frequently harassed her, even absurdly hoping to remarry her, but she didn't pay much attention to him either. If it was about introducing someone, Chen Meilan could pass on the message, but she instinctively felt that Qi Songlu wasn't interested.
Yan Xishan suddenly lifted his shirt to show his waist: "Haven't you noticed something missing from my waist?"
When it came to cunning, Chen Meilan was no match for Yan Xishan. His mind worked too quickly, and if you weren't careful, he could sell you out in a heartbeat.
"Recently, our Xiping City has cell phones now. One isn't expensive, just twenty thousand yuan. If you approve the money for me to buy one, I'll talk to Qi Songlu about dating," Yan Xishan added.
Chen Meilan suddenly understood. Yan Xishan had no real intention of dating Qi Songlu. Knowing that she was concerned about Qi Songlu's marriage prospects, he first used the prospect of dating to make her happy, but his real goal was to spend tens of thousands of yuan on a cell phone.
"You just wait then," she said, walking past Yan Xishan towards her home.
"You must approve the money, you know. All the other nouveau riche in Xiping City have cell phones, I must have one too," Yan Xishan shouted, following behind her.
Right at her doorstep, Chen Meilan encountered two more people.
It was an odd combination: one was Qi Songlu, and the other was Yan Wei.
Yan Wei was in a white shirt and black pants, looking like an old cadre, while Qi Songlu also wore a white shirt and black pants, resembling an old accountant.
Qi Songlu had come to report accounts to Chen Meilan after she got off work, and while waiting for her, she was picking vegetables at the garbage station.
Yan Wei had already found employment in the Propaganda Department of Xiping City. He was currently a staff member, usually living in the unit's dormitory in the city, but would come home on weekends and stay overnight at One Brigade.
He was observant and hardworking. Seeing Qi Songlu picking vegetables, he voluntarily helped her.
Surprisingly, their appearances had a particularly harmonious and compatible feel.
A thought crossed Chen Meilan's mind that these two might make a good match.
However, Yan Wei was a government leader, and he might look down on Qi Songlu, who was just a working girl.
Qi Songlu briefly reported the day's accounts, as well as the outstanding payments and settlement times for Xishan Company, before returning next door to cook for herself.
After Qi Songlu left, Yan Wei asked, "Is she your neighbor? She seems quite introverted. I asked her a couple questions, but she didn't say a word."
"She has a good temperament, she just doesn't like talking to strangers. She's excellent at bookkeeping and very meticulous in her daily life," Chen Meilan first praised Qi Songlu, then asked, "It's not the weekend, why did you come, Second Brother?"
Yan Wei got straight to the point: "Gu Xiao said he's coming back. The city assigned me the task of hosting him."
Chen Meilan was opening the main door when she dropped the lock with a clang: "Really?"
Yan Wei picked up the lock and opened the door: "Father heard about it in the capital and was furious. He called to say if I dare to host him, I'm no longer his son. But how can I not host him? Our department has quotas for attracting investment now. Each person has to bring in hundreds of thousands in foreign investment annually. If we don't meet the target, the section chief, who's three years younger than me, can berate me in front of everyone. What am I supposed to do?"
Working as a civil servant in the government, the lowest levels are the hardest.
Every leader can scold you, the tasks are heavy, the salary is low, and mainly, you have to suffer abuse.
In the army, Yan Wei was a leader, respected by others.
But now that he's transferred to civilian work, starting from the bottom, he's the lowest-ranking soldier in the unit.
And now, it's an era when all parts of the country are vigorously pursuing development, creating wealth, opening their doors to welcome compatriots from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and striving to attract foreign investment.
The urban mantra is: Only by looking towards money can we look towards the future!
The rural mobilization slogan is: One person going out to work can ease the whole family's finances.
The national slogan: Poverty is shameful, wealth is glorious.
The propaganda slogan for Yan Wei's department is: Foreign investors are benefactors, merchants are family. As long as drinking doesn't kill you, drink till you drop. As long as investors are willing to invest, we're not afraid of drinking till we get gastric prolapse.
The provincial leaders heard rumors from somewhere that a big foreign investor from Singapore was coming to Xiping City, and they also heard that he had some roundabout connection with Yan Wei. The leaders used threats, enticements, and intimidation to make him secure the deal, not letting the investor leave without investing at least 700,000 or 800,000 in Xiping City.
Yan Wei had recently spoken on the phone with Gu Xiao's side, though he hadn't talked to Gu Xiao personally. But from the secretary's tone, he could tell that Gu Xiao didn't have a good impression of any of the three brothers.
He was only coming to pay respects at Su Wen's grave.
Moreover, he made it clear that among the Yan family children, he would only see Yan Zhao and no one else.
Under these circumstances, how could Yan Wei ask Gu Xiao for investment?
Furthermore, Yan Wei disliked Gu Xiao just as much as Yan Zhao did. Asking him to grovel and beg Gu Xiao for investment funds was something Yan Wei simply couldn't do.
Now, all departments use signed vouchers for entertainment expenses. Many people take these vouchers and bring their parents, wives, and children out to eat. They enjoy good wine and food together, then sign the bill and leave, with the government footing the bill. Some people have gotten tired of the good food, so they order a whole table, eat a few bites and leave, wasting large amounts of meat and fish.
At first, Yan Wei couldn't stand it, but gradually he was assimilated. Since wasting food and drink on entertainment had become the norm, he thought he might as well take the kids out for a good meal today. After all, the department could reimburse it under the name of "entertainment expenses"!
As Yan Wei was rambling on, he suddenly heard Yan Zhao ask solemnly from behind: "What entertainment expenses?"
Yan Wei turned around with a smile and said, "Our department's entertainment budget. Let's go have a meal. I heard a restaurant recently added some great dishes, all high-end specialties."
"Aren't entertainment expenses meant for hosting foreign guests? You're taking us out to eat, are we foreign guests?" Yan Zhao retorted.
Yan Wei smiled and said, "You could change clothes and pretend to be a bodyguard, Meilan could be the manager. That's what everyone in our department does. It's government money, why not eat it?"
"Just because everyone does it, does that make it right?" Yan Zhao confronted his brother.
Yan Wei was left speechless by Yan Zhao, but fortunately Yan Zhao didn't scold him further. He handed the vegetables to Yan Wei: "Hulutou. This is the best specialty. Come cook with me."
The 2,000 yuan borrowed when Sun Nutao was sick had finally been reimbursed, and Zou Jie had given it back to Yan Zhao.
Because Chen Meilan had been talking recently about wanting to eat hulutou paomo, but was afraid the water was too cold in early spring and outside vendors wouldn't clean the hulutou thoroughly, she hadn't dared to eat it. So Yan Zhao went to the market and bought pork intestines, stomach, pork, and chicken frames, planning to go back and make the soup himself. He also specially bought the flatbread from the alley behind the Public Security Bureau, the chewiest bread he'd ever eaten. The sugar garlic was pickled by himself a while ago.
Self-washed intestines are clean, the pickled garlic has no artificial sweeteners, and the bread is chewy.
What makes a good dish? Isn't this it?
"Let's eat at home. No extravagant waste outside," Yan Zhao said as he tossed the intestines into the basin.
When Yan Wei saw the hulutou, he was also happy. This was something he had become fond of since returning to Xiping City. After accompanying clients and drinking all day, eating a bowl of hot hulutou was much more comfortable than those expensive dishes like pangolin or turtle soup in restaurants.
The two brothers washed the intestines together. Yan Wei originally wanted to talk to Yan Zhao about Gu Xiao's matter.
But looking at Yan Zhao seriously scrubbing the intestines with rolled-up sleeves, he could only sigh in his heart.
Yan Zhao seemed to have lost a lot of weight recently, making his features appear even more defined. His crew cut, thick hair stood up distinctly strand by strand. As a child, this brother was also like this - quiet, not very likeable, with extremely strong self-esteem. He never took any abuse from anyone, whether verbally or physically, and always sought to thoroughly conquer the other party, both morally and physically. There was a reason why Gu Xiao said he would only see Yan Zhao when he came, and just for one meeting before leaving. Wang Gebi had been in continuous correspondence with Gu Xiao for many years, and in his letters, he had portrayed their father and sons as complete devils. So Gu Xiao was particularly averse to them, but they didn't know exactly what Wang Gebi had told Gu Xiao.
This made things even more troublesome.
Yan Wei was afraid that once his brother met Gu Xiao, the two might come to blows.
But today they were having a good meal, so Yan Wei decided not to bring this up yet. He'd find time to talk to his brother about it tomorrow.
Speaking of which, Chen Meilan seemed happier today than during Yan Wei's previous visits. She was calculating accounts on a calculator, occasionally biting her lip and smiling.
She wore a white suit jacket with a camel-colored wool coat over it, teal slim-fit trousers, and slip-on high-heeled leather shoes. With fair skin and a youthful appearance, she exuded a particularly healthy and vibrant energy. This was completely different from the constantly sickly Mi Lan, and also unlike Zhou Xueqin, who always glared at people as if everyone owed her something.
Yan Wei sincerely felt that his brother had found a good daughter-in-law for their family. Seeing her smile, he asked Yan Zhao, "Is there some good news in your family? Meilan looks so happy."
Yan Zhao also smiled: "Nothing special. Second Brother, go get some flour, I need to scrub the intestines."
However, halfway through his sentence, he stopped smiling, and looked at the doorway with confusion. His hand tightened on the intestines, and with a slippery sound, the vinegar sauce splashed onto Yan Wei's trouser leg.
Yan Wei looked up and saw Xue Mingfang walking in from outside with Yuanyuan on his back, Little Lang in his arms, holding Little Wang's hand, and carrying a basket of vegetables in the other hand.
"Oh, what a coincidence, I also bought intestines, planning to make hulutou," Xue Mingfang said, looking at the Yan brothers.
Yan Zhao questioned him one sentence after another: "Didn't I help you move a bed? Weren't you supposed to move to 271 to live tonight? Such a big factory, we've already withdrawn the police security. If you don't watch the gate, what if things get stolen?"
Under Yan Zhao's suspicious gaze, Xue Mingfang put Little Lang into Chen Meilan's arms, then set Yuanyuan down as well. He smiled and said, "As it happens, I have a few veteran comrades in Xiping City who want to work with us. I recruited them to the factory in advance. Sister-in-law, just because the kids like me, I have to stay at your place for a few more days."
"Yay!" The children were delighted.
The courtyard was full of people, with several men vying to help, aiming to produce a pot of clean, steaming hulutou.
Only Chen Meilan was biting her lip, wondering how she could get 700,000 yuan in investment from Gu Xiao.
