RGL – Chapter 96

When Su Min was in college, Xue Mian was already able to work and earn money.

Xue Mian had his plans all figured out.

As a man, if he were to graduate at the same time as Su Min, he definitely wouldn’t have much money in hand. If he wanted to get married later, he would still have to rely on money from home, and Su Min would surely look down on him for that. So he had made up his mind to graduate early and start earning money, so that it would be easier to marry a wife in the future.

It was a great plan in theory, but unfortunately, Su Min had no idea what he was thinking. She hadn’t even written him a single letter.

“It’s been a long time since Xiaomin wrote, hasn’t it? I’ve actually been thinking about the steamed buns her mom made. When are they coming over again?” Grandma Xue looked at her grandson, who was sitting on the couch reading old letters, and was reminded of Su Min and Sun Qiufang.

Hearing his grandma mention Su Min, Xue Mian’s eyes lit up. He looked at her and said, “Grandma, they’ve already been here once. I doubt they’ll have much chance to come again. Why don’t we go visit them?”

“That won’t do. You still have school,” the old lady wasn’t confused at this point.

Xue Mian pursed his lips and frowned. “But I’m doing well in school. It’s just for a few days, what do you think?”

Grandma Xue shook her head firmly. “No. Your grandfather wouldn’t agree either.”

Seeing that she had completely refused, Xue Mian knew it wasn’t going to happen. But he kept thinking about Su Min, and within a few days, he got so anxious that he started to feel unwell.

His grandfather noticed something was off and nagged him a bit. Grandma Xue overheard and told him that her grandson was probably thinking of going to see Su Min.

“What a useless boy. No wonder he’s been looking so listless lately. This kid really thinks he’s something—so young and already pining after a girl. And he still hasn’t learned to focus on his studies.”

Although the old man now understood the reason, he didn’t scold Xue Mian too harshly. After all, it was a critical time, and if he messed up the boy’s mood and delayed his studies, that would be worse.

So he thought it over and decided to give his grandson a little reward.

At dinner, the old man said to Xue Mian, “This year for the New Year, your grandma and I will spend it at your aunt’s house.”

Xue Mian had just been thinking about finding an excuse to go to the city, so when he heard this, he was instantly overjoyed. His eyes sparkled. “Grandpa, really?”

“Of course it’s true. When have I ever lied to you?” The old man took a sip of liquor. “But what are you so excited about? I’ve never seen you so eager to see your aunt before.”

Xue Mian grinned, lips tightly pressed. “I just haven’t seen Cousin Zhao Xue in a while.”

In his heart, he was secretly thrilled. He’d get to see Su Min all winter break—hehe!

On the day Su Min’s new shop opened, Xue Mian received a letter from her.

Turns out, ever since Zhao Xue reminded her that day, Su Min remembered to write to Xue Mian. So she quickly wrote a letter and told him everything that had been going on.

Once Xue Mian found out that Su Min had just been dealing with a bit of trouble and that was why she hadn’t written, he felt completely reassured.

Anyway, there was only about a month left before they’d see each other. For now, he just had to study hard and score well, so he could make her happy.

Su Min, on the other hand, didn’t have time to think about Xue Mian. She had specifically chosen Saturday as the opening day of her new store. She and Liao Zhaodi came early to prepare. Once the store opened and the grand opening discount promotion was announced, lots of passersby came in to check it out.

The clothes in the store were this year’s main collection from Sanye. The fabric was better than the previous batches. People who knew quality could tell just by touching them. Seeing that the clothes were stylish, well-made, and discounted, many people couldn’t help trying them on—and once they did, they didn’t want to take them off.

“Sis, you look fantastic in that. So sharp! This style is hot-selling in both B City and S City. Most stores can’t even get this kind of quality. And the knockoffs outside? Their workmanship can’t compare to ours. They might not even be cheaper!”

Sun Yan made full use of her eloquence and left many customers wide-eyed with amazement.

Liao Zhaodi wasn’t as articulate, but she had her own advantage. She was beautiful and looked great in the store’s clothes—basically a walking model. She also seemed gentle and approachable, so many people liked asking her for recommendations.

Su Min stood at the entrance yelling about the grand opening deals and drew a bunch of people in from outside.

The three of them were busy all morning. They finally got a break around lunchtime.

When Sun Qiufang came to deliver lunch, she found the three of them sitting on little stools, completely exhausted.

She glanced around and saw the messy floor. She quickly put the food on the table. “How’s business?”

“Auntie, you should’ve seen the crowd this morning. So many people came. We even had to take turns just to get water!”

“Business is that good?” Sun Qiufang was surprised. “Aren’t there clothing stores in the mall too? But I didn’t see them doing this well.” She had always thought their store location wasn’t as good as those inside big malls.

Su Min smiled. “Mom, malls have their advantages, and we have ours. People generally think mall clothes are expensive, so many hesitate to buy. Stores like ours seem cheaper, so they’re more willing to come in and look. And our clothes are actually good quality, and the prices are fair—of course people like it.”

Liao Zhaodi nodded. “Yeah, and Minzi also did a ‘grand opening buy-one-get-one’ deal for the first bunch of customers.”

“Buy one, get one?” Sun Qiufang was shocked. “Isn’t that selling at a loss?”

“Nope, I raised the prices a little.” This kind of promotion would become common in the future, but for now, it still worked well to impress people.

“You clever little rascal, I don’t even know what to say. All these tricks!”

Sun Qiufang smiled as she laid out the food.

While eating, Su Min told Sun Yan that during the opening days, they’d all be helping out, but once school started, they wouldn’t have time, so she’d have to manage the store. If it got too busy, they’d need to hire another helper.

Sun Yan wasn’t keen on hiring anyone. She wanted to make as much money as possible herself. Hiring someone would mean splitting profits—she wasn’t thrilled about that.

There were fewer customers in the afternoon, but business was still good. Sun Qiufang stayed to help, worried the girls wouldn’t be able to handle it. Watching the store’s performance, she realized her daughter may have said it was just “playing around,” but this business was no joke.

After a few days, the weather turned colder. Sun Qiufang noticed that women in the city, both young and old, were all wearing short woolen coats.

Whether in the malls or small shops, these coats were everywhere.

By the end of the first month, business had been booming. When it was time to split the earnings, Sun Yan was grinning so hard her eyes were nearly shut. She got 320 yuan in profits—much more than she used to earn working.

Liao Zhaodi, who had also helped with sales and kept track, got a dozen or so yuan in profit too.

Now that the store was making money, Su Min wanted to relax a bit. She arranged to go out for lunch with her family on Saturday.

“Second Sister, Brother-in-law.”

Just as the family came downstairs, they saw Li Meng holding her child, about to come up.

Seeing she was alone, and looking quite upset, Sun Qiufang asked in surprise, “You’re by yourself?”

Li Meng nodded. “Just me and Dou Dou.”

Su Min could also tell that something was wrong, but since Liao Zhaodi and Sun Yan were there too, it wasn’t a good time to ask. She said to Sun Qiufang, “Mom, Aunt Meng probably hasn’t eaten yet. Why don’t you stay home and eat with her, and let Dad take us out?”

Sun Qiufang said, “Alright, you go ahead.” She went over to help Li Meng with her bags and the child.

After Su Min and the others left, Sun Qiufang led Li Meng upstairs.

Little Dou Dou had fallen asleep on the way up, so Sun Qiufang laid him down on the couch and poured Li Meng some water. “I’ll go cook something for you.”

“Sis, don’t bother. I don’t have an appetite,” Li Meng said, lowering her head and wiping away tears.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing her crying, Sun Qiufang knew this was serious and quickly sat down beside her.

Hearing the concern in her voice, Li Meng’s heart softened, and she burst into tears. “Sis, Sun Hai is seeing someone else.”

Sun Qiufang hadn’t expected Li Meng to bring this up and was instantly shocked, her face full of disbelief. “That’s impossible.”

“I’m not lying to you, it’s true. I… I’ve seen him with her several times. Sis, what am I and Doudou supposed to do?”

Seeing Li Meng like this, Sun Qiufang couldn’t decide what to think. Deep down, she didn’t believe Sun Hai was the type to do something bad, but Li Meng usually doted on Sun Hai and wouldn’t make something like this up.

“Could it be a misunderstanding?”

Li Meng shook her head. “I know that woman. She’s the one Sun Hai used to date. I heard she got divorced and is now living alone with her kid. Sun Hai even took her out to eat.”

“You mean Liu Li?” Sun Qiufang’s heart sank.

If it were someone else, maybe it could still be a misunderstanding. But Liu Li had almost gotten engaged to her brother back in the day. Now that she was divorced, it wasn’t impossible that Xiao Hai still had feelings for her.

Still, she felt her brother wouldn’t betray his family.

Li Meng cried, “I think the reason Sun Hai didn’t want to come to the city is because he couldn’t bear to leave that woman.”

“Sun Hai, you finally remembered to call your wife and son? If you really cared, why’d you let them come all this way in the first place?” Sun Qiufang said reproachfully over the phone.

Hearing that they were indeed in the city, Sun Hai finally felt a huge weight lifted from his heart. When his mother had come to his shop and told him that Mengmeng had left with the child in anger, he’d truly panicked. Mengmeng didn’t have any family to rely on—who knew where she could go with the baby?

He let out a sigh of relief. “Sis, help me talk to her. She really misunderstood.”

“Misunderstood what? I want to ask you—what’s going on with Liu Li? You two broke up, she turned around and married someone else. Now you’re married too—why are you still seeing her?” Sun Qiufang was angry as soon as the topic came up. She was a woman herself and couldn’t stand it when men kept entanglements with other women. Back when Shao Yun came onto her, she had already had enough. And Sun Hai was dealing with his first love, no less.

Even though she usually stood by her brother, on this matter she couldn’t justify his actions.

Sun Hai replied helplessly, “Sis, don’t you know me? I’m not that kind of person. There’s nothing going on between me and Liu Li. She’s divorced now and raising a child on her own, completely alone. She came to my shop looking for a job. I saw how down and out she was, so I gave her something to eat. That’s what Mengmeng saw, and she misunderstood.”

“Then what about her saying she saw it happen multiple times?”

“It’s not like that. Liu Li and I have a history, so of course I couldn’t let her work at my shop. That’s why I took her out to look for a job elsewhere. That’s what Mengmeng saw and misunderstood. Sis, please help me explain it to her. I’ll sort out things at the shop today and come to the city tomorrow to get her.”

“Alright, come early. I’ll help talk to her. Honestly, you two have a good life—why keep making trouble for yourselves?”

“Thanks, Sis. Sorry for the trouble.”

Sun Hai sounded truly remorseful.

“It’s not a problem for me, but you really do need to change your attitude. You should talk to Mengmeng about things. If you keep her in the dark, of course she’ll misunderstand. Women are petty. Why can’t you understand that?”

Sun Qiufang felt that although this was a misunderstanding, both of them were at fault.

Why even have anything to do with an ex? Can men and women really be just friends? If her husband Changrong acted like that with another woman, she definitely wouldn’t tolerate it.

After hanging up, Sun Qiufang went back to the room to comfort Li Meng.

Knowing it was Sun Hai on the phone, Li Meng nervously asked, “Did he say anything?”

Sun Qiufang replied, “What could he say? Just explained that it was all a misunderstanding. Honestly, I still think you misunderstood him. Sun Hai isn’t the kind to fool around. Besides, Liu Li is in the past. They broke up, so there’s no way they’d get back together now.”

Li Meng looked a little guilty. “He didn’t say anything else?”

“No. What else should he say?” Sun Qiufang asked suspiciously.

But Li Meng didn’t feel reassured. Liu Li had already found Sun Hai—sooner or later, he’d find out the truth. When that happened, he’d definitely pity Liu Li and might even divorce her.

She grew anxious. “Sis, if Sun Hai really wants to divorce me, can you please talk to him for me? Tell him not to go through with it. Doudou is still so young—he can’t grow up without both of us.”

Seeing her mention divorce, Sun Qiufang was startled. “Is it really that serious? Why are you thinking about divorce over such a small matter? You really overthink things. Alright, I’ll make you some noodles. Eat something and rest a bit. Tomorrow when Sun Hai comes, go back with him. What’s there to fight about between a married couple?”

She smiled comfortingly and left the room.

Li Meng lay in bed staring at her son, feeling both worried and wronged.

Even though she had used some tricks back then, her feelings for Sun Hai were sincere. It wasn’t like she forced him to marry her. Now they even had a child, and he was back with Liu Li? That was too much.

She really had cared for him too much, and now he didn’t treasure her at all.

No wonder people always say: marry someone who loves you—then you’ll be happy.

That night, after work, Liu Li came to find Sun Hai, concern written all over her face. “Sun Hai, is Li Meng alright?”

Sun Hai was helping his employees close up the shop. When he heard her ask, he gently shook his head. “She’s fine. She’s at my sister’s place. I’ll pick her up tomorrow.”

Liu Li’s expression turned complicated, though her face showed a faint smile of relief. “That’s good. If my presence caused trouble between you two, I’d feel awful.”

“It’s fine. Li Meng’s not petty. I’ll explain everything to her tomorrow. This morning I was just in a rush to open the shop and didn’t consider her feelings. If I’d cleared things up earlier, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Seeing the guilty look on his face, Liu Li said with some envy, “Li Meng is lucky to have married you.”

Sun Hai smiled awkwardly. “I’m the lucky one.”

After locking the shop’s doors, the workers all said their goodbyes to Sun Hai. He waved to them, and once they left, he turned to Liu Li. “It’s so late—why are you still here?”