RYEY -Chapter 309 So That’s How It Is

Zhao Hui put the money in Cheng Qiao’s room and went to the kitchen to eat. Seeing the kitchen stocked with rice, flour, oil, eggs, and various cured meats hanging on the beam, his eyes lit up.

“Cheng Qiao, I’m going to take some meat back with me later so your aunt can cook noodles for me.”

“No need. Your aunt has plenty here. By the way, you should stay here for the next couple of days; there’s no one over there.”

“Ah? Why?”

“You’ve been gone for almost a month. Aunt went to Huacheng to bring in a batch of spring clothing and various daily necessities. She left three days ago.”

“You found a shop?”

“Yes, right at the north gate. She spent four thousand yuan to buy three shop fronts. She’s already combined two of them to sell clothes, and the remaining one is for daily goods.”

“My wife is fast. After we eat, take me to see the shops. By the way, do you want to get a few shop fronts for yourself?”

Cheng Qiao nodded. She did plan to get a few shops, but not for clothes—they were intended for a pharmacy. However, with many policies still unclear, she wasn’t in a hurry.

Mother Li felt a little anxious. If Cheng Qiao opened a shop in the capital, what would she do? Should she stay to manage the Chun Cheng grocery store or go to the capital?

“Qiao, maybe—”

“Mom, don’t worry. Just focus on the Liming grocery store. This is our old Li family business. Plus, there’s the wholesale market—we hold half the shares.”

Hearing Cheng Qiao call the grocery store the old Li family’s business, her heart melted. Even though she provided all the money and could have called it the old Cheng family’s business, her daughter-in-law firmly recognized it as belonging to the Li family.

“Tomorrow’s Saturday. Why don’t we go out for a bit and see if there are any good shops to buy? But Qiao, if we’re short on money, don’t buy yet. We can wait until the funds return.”

Zhao Hui smiled. How could Cheng Qiao ever run out of money? Her sister’s dowries were worth a fortune. Selling those rare treasures abroad could easily bring in hundreds of thousands.

But he knew Cheng Qiao would never sell her late mother’s belongings. These were treasures accumulated by generations of the Zhao family—meant to be passed down, not sold.

Now, Cheng Qiao had five children. Setting aside Xu Hui, who would get these treasures? Most would probably go to Xiao Cheng Li, since they shared the Cheng surname. Xiao Nuan would surely receive her share too, being the only daughter. As for Ye Jing, Ye Jun had treasures no less valuable than theirs.

The most unfortunate was Li Ming. But seeing Cheng Qiao support Li Huan’s business efforts, those items were likely reserved for him. Still, that boy didn’t seem suited for business—military service might suit him better.

It didn’t matter. These things weren’t his concern. What he needed to focus on was what kind of man Qijun would eventually marry, and for Qiming—he didn’t know if he’d ever return. Sigh.

Cheng Qiao and Li Huan, meanwhile, were completely unaware that Zhao Hui was imagining all this while eating. They were discussing investment strategies with Ye Jun. Currently, the commune only provided the land; they supplied the funds. Purely this way, the contract wasn’t very profitable.

If the commune sold the land, and they bought it, they could gradually expand. That would be the proper investment strategy:

“Buying land now is cheap. If the county sells land, it also increases fiscal revenue. If you propose this now, it would definitely be approved.

Coupled with our annual taxes, it’s foreseeable that in the next ten or twenty years, the wholesale market will become one of the county’s largest taxpayers.”

Li Huan nodded repeatedly. His wife truly had a business mind; he couldn’t keep up. He had to study more books to catch up.

“By the way, have we decided on a name for the wholesale market?”

“Yes. Originally, we planned to call it Liming Wholesale Market, like our grocery store. But now that your uncle is involved, we need his input.”

“Right. Shouhou contributed 10,000, we put in 90,000, and you keep 10,000 as the grocery store’s reserve fund. My uncle contributed 100,000. Let’s see how much the land costs, and then we’ll allocate accordingly.”

As the two of them discussed eagerly, Mother Li listened, smiling. Though she didn’t understand much, she was happy seeing her son and daughter-in-law get along so well. Just then, there was a knock at the door.

“Cheng Qiao, open the door.”

“Mom, it’s Qijun.”

“Oh, it’s your cousin. I’ll open it.”

Mother Li quickly went out and opened the door. Outside stood five people. She couldn’t help but smile, never expecting to see Qian Longkun and his siblings, and Zhao Xiaobao and his sibling, in the capital.

“Auntie, you’re here!”

Qian Longkun smiled at Mother Li. By chance, they met again. Cheng Qiao came out and saw Qian Longkun standing beside Qijun, and she seemed to understand something.

“What brings you here today?”

“I heard Qijun’s dad returned, so I came to see him.”

Cheng Qiao was stunned. She had only met Zhao Hui for two hours, yet Qian Longkun already knew. But seeing Qijun’s slightly flushed cheeks, it seemed father and daughter had already communicated.

“Dad, why are you so dark?”

Entering the living room, they saw Zhao Hui wiping his mouth with a handkerchief. Whoever cooked this meal, it was so delicious he almost swallowed his tongue.

“After traveling far and wide, how could I not be tanned? Oh, the young master and young miss of the Qian family are here too.”

“Hello, Uncle Zhao.”

“Dad, you can’t joke like that.”

“Ah, my daughter’s grown up and can’t be kept at home anymore.”

Qian Longkun’s face turned red. He and Qian Longxin put the items they brought on the table—gifts for Ye Jun, Cheng Qiao’s four children, and mainly for Zhao Hui.

“Little Qian, how are your parents now?”

“Restored to their former posts. They’re back at Jing University in their old positions.”

“Your father is a principal again?”

“Yes, but only as a deputy.”

Still a demotion, but no matter. Qian Longkun’s father, Qian Xueyuan, was a shrewd man. At the most dangerous time, he volunteered to teach in the border regions and even signed up both kids for rural assignments, ultimately securing his house.

So this time, Qian Xueyuan returned first. Unfortunately, the principal position had been taken, but both children got into Jing University—a source of pride for the parents.

“Uncle Zhao, I once bet with Qijun sister that if I got into Jing University, she’d be my sister-in-law. Now that I did, she has to fulfill her promise.”

Only now did Cheng Qiao understand why Qijun smiled so brightly when hearing about Qian Longkun and Qian Longxin’s acceptance—his feelings had long been there, finally ready to bloom.

Zhao Hui knew the Qian family well enough, but now that Qin Yue wasn’t around, his agreement counted half. He merely nodded slightly, indicating his approval.