MGASC -Chapter 84 Possessive to the Max

Shouldn’t she at least praise him a few times?

But he waited and waited—nothing.

Left with no choice, he gave an awkward laugh. Just then, the two new employees he’d just hired arrived.

One of them would be going on business trips with him. The other, he introduced to Zhang Qiao. “This is Xiao Wu—Wu Hongfei. From now on, if there’s any errand-running or grocery shopping, just call him. Xiao Wu, this is your sister-in-law!”

“Hello, Sister-in-law!”

Zhang Qiao sized him up. Xiao Wu was tall and broad-shouldered, almost as big as Lin Tianyue. His looks were average, but he clearly had strength—the kind who could really work.

After seeing Lin Tianyue off, Xiao Wu didn’t leave.

He asked Zhang Qiao, “Sister-in-law, is there anything you need me to do right now? Carry water, start a fire, move things—I can do all of it!”

Zhang Qiao looked around the courtyard. “Nothing for now. How about you head back first?”

They’d already hired two helpers at home—Sister-in-law Li and Sister-in-law Xu—both very diligent. For the moment, there really wasn’t anything for him to do.

But it was Xiao Wu’s first day on the job. His mother had told him that when you go out to work, you must be proactive—if there’s no work, find some yourself.

Afraid he might lose his job, he picked up a broom and started sweeping the courtyard when Zhang Qiao didn’t assign him anything.

After sweeping, he pulled weeds in the vegetable patch. When he saw Zhang Qiao heading out, Xiao Wu hurried to follow.

“Sister-in-law, where are you going?”

“To Yingzi’s place. Xiao Wu, you stay busy here.”

“That won’t do. The factory director said that for the next few days, wherever you go, I have to go too. Sister-in-law, I’ll walk you there.”

Zhang Qiao: ???

Was this… a bodyguard she’d been assigned?

No wonder he was built like this—one guy who could probably fit three of her!

But the crackdown had just ended, public order wasn’t bad. Why would she need a grown man following her around?

“Xiao Wu, how about—”

“Sister-in-law, please let me walk you there. If not, the factory director will think I didn’t complete my task and won’t want me anymore!”

This big, burly guy somehow sounded a little aggrieved by the end.

What did Lin Tianyue say to scare him like this?

With no choice, Zhang Qiao let him follow.

And honestly, with such a gate-god at her side, wherever she went, people automatically kept their distance.

When they reached Yingzi’s stall and Yingzi saw Xiao Wu sticking close to Zhang Qiao, she teased him. “Xiao Wu, I heard you can do anything. Then can you help me sell fish?”

Xiao Wu scratched his head, thinking the factory director hadn’t told him to sell fish.

So he put on a straight face. “No.”

“Tch! I’ll report you to your factory director when I get back!”

“Huh?”

Xiao Wu took it seriously. Zhang Qiao had to smooth things over. “Your Sister Yingzi is just joking. You’re tired too—go find a place to rest.”

Only after Xiao Wu left did Yingzi lean in and whisper to Zhang Qiao, “What’s this—Brother Yue doesn’t feel at ease, huh? He even arranged someone to keep an eye on you. Makes sense. You’re just too pretty. They say pregnant women get ugly, but Xiao Qiao, you haven’t changed at all—you’re even prettier.”

Zhang Qiao felt a little uncomfortable. Lin Tianyue can’t be that possessive, right?

He even found someone to watch her—what, was she going to run away while he was gone?

Then she suddenly thought of those domineering-CEO romance novels she’d seen before. Those overbearing CEOs used every trick in the book to lock down their delicate wives—including confinement…

Lin Tianyue wouldn’t be that perverted… would he?

Yingzi laughed. “Hey, I’m kidding. Brother Yue must just be afraid you’ll get tired. Xiao Qiao, have you heard? Wang Yan’s mom was scared out of her mind. Look, their family didn’t even set up their stall today. They say ever since she came back from the execution ground, she’s been talking nonsense—seeing any woman on the street and insisting it’s her daughter. Sure, the Wang family was awful, but ending up like this… it’s still kind of pitiful.”

Wang Yan’s mom went crazy?

Zhang Qiao shivered, unease flashing through her heart.

She looked across the street. Sure enough, the Wang family’s stall was nowhere to be seen.

Well, someone died in the family—who would still have the mood to do business?

Forget it. Let this matter end here. From now on, she and Lin Tianyue would have nothing to do with the Wang family—bridge to bridge, road to road.

With her belly getting bigger, Zhang Qiao couldn’t sit still. She took another walk around the market.

Just as she’d expected, seeing how well their pickled-fish dish was selling, copycats had already started appearing.

After all, the dish wasn’t technically difficult. Even if others couldn’t replicate the flavor 100%, as long as it was close enough—and cheaper—it would still sell.

Thankfully, the promotional cards she’d used earlier had retained a group of repeat customers. These days, the fish sold out quickly every day.

But in the long run, as more imitators popped up, business would only get harder.

Zhang Qiao’s worry was exactly Yingzi’s worry.

“Xiao Qiao, look—there are already four stalls on this street selling pickled fish. I heard several more are planning to do it too. I had people secretly taste them. They’re not as good as ours, but they’re not bad either. Once it’s everywhere, we won’t have any edge. How about you come up with a new dish?”

Zhang Qiao thought for a moment. She remembered how, in her own time, pickled fish had spread all over the country. That alone proved the dish suited most people’s tastes.

Rather than letting competitors figure it out on their own, why not strike first?

“Yingzi, I have an idea. Since everyone wants to open one and learn it anyway, why don’t we seize the initiative and open franchises?”

Yingzi looked completely lost. “What… what’s a franchise?”

“It means if they want to open one, they pay a training fee, learn from us, and we manage them uniformly—ingredients, distribution, everything. Oh, and we should register a trademark first. What should we call it?”

Zhang Qiao’s brain was already spinning at high speed. “Yingzi, look—you’re surnamed Zhang, I’m surnamed Zhang too. How about ‘Zhang’s Pickled Fish’?”

Yingzi couldn’t keep up with her brainstorming at all—trademarks, franchises—she hadn’t even fully understood yet.

“But if everyone learns it, what will we do then?”

“You’ll keep this place as the flagship store! Yingzi, you don’t plan to run a street stall forever, do you? When you and Chen Gang get married and have kids, won’t you need money everywhere? Once we collect franchise fees, you can rent a proper storefront. In the future, state-run restaurants will only do worse and worse—our springtime will come!

“Of course, you and Chen Gang will also need to hire a solid chef—pay a high salary, preferably someone skilled in multiple regional cuisines. Then pickled fish will just be one signature dish to draw customers. Real success will depend on more refined dishes and better service.”

Zhang Qiao wasn’t daydreaming. She’d seen the service attitude at state-run restaurants before.

In the past, everyone lived on rations and meal tickets, so they had to tolerate that kind of behavior. But as the economy opened up, those ‘lordly’ service styles were destined to be淘汰—phased out.

As the economy grew, more people did business, entertaining over meals increased, and demand for high-end restaurants would rise accordingly.

If you wanted to make money, you had to make money from the rich.

If Yingzi could ride this wave and open an upscale restaurant, once the reputation was established, she might not become filthy rich—but at least she’d be comfortably well-off, never worrying about food or drink.

Zhang Qiao shared all this business thinking with her because she wanted to bring her in as a partner. Opening a restaurant, running franchises—there was too much work for one person alone. Sharing some profits wouldn’t hurt her at all.

On the contrary, Yingzi was a business partner with strong execution.