TPW – Chapter 75

“Cough cough—let me explain, I swear I’m explaining, not making excuses!”

Li Hongjun was flustered, wiping the sweat from his face. “From now on, I’ll live honestly! Just sell clothes properly! I won’t try to be clever anymore… Brother, sister-in-law, please don’t blame me, I really didn’t mean to… I’ve learned my lesson, truly, absolutely, one hundred percent, without a doubt I’ve learned my lesson!”

But as he spoke, he still couldn’t help running his mouth—frankly speaking, it was like the saying: a dog can’t stop itself from eating shit.

Still, knowing Li Hongjun’s character, he probably wouldn’t dare make such a mistake again.

“As long as you’ve learned your lesson, that’s what matters. I just worry you haven’t. Don’t pull these little tricks next time. We earn our living with real skills.” Xu Haizhou cast him a mild glance, then carried his son and walked toward the Public Security Bureau’s entrance.

“Okay! From now on, I’ll only use open and honest methods!” Li Hongjun grinned. Seeing that neither Xu Haizhou nor Qiao Lu scolded him, he felt relieved.

Inside the Public Security Bureau hall, more people were being escorted in, handcuffed by the police. Everyone instinctively followed the officers’ movements with their eyes.

“They finally caught one. Is this the guy smuggling imported trash?”

“Yeah, but the ringleader escaped. This one’s an accomplice. There are still a few buyers we haven’t nabbed. We’ll stake out again next time.”

“Got it.”

Hearing this, Li Hongjun turned to glance at the criminal a few more times. He didn’t recognize the young man.

“Hongjun, what are you staring at? Let’s go already,” Yu Fan called back to him.

“Oh, coming!”

By the time they left the Public Security Bureau, it was nearly six o’clock. The sky was darkening, and even state-run restaurants were about to close up for the day.

Feeling guilty and wanting to make amends, Li Hongjun decided to cook for everyone that evening. But first, he needed to go back to Baiyun Street.

The two men brought their goods home first, then headed to the market to buy groceries. After shopping, they all went together to Li Hongjun’s place.

It wasn’t far from Xu Haizhou’s courtyard—less than two kilometers away.

This was not only Yu Fan’s first time at Li Hongjun’s place but also the first time Xu Haizhou and Qiao Lu had visited.

The courtyard was similarly structured—a three-sectioned compound.

Li Hongjun, being from out of town, rented his place. This was the best rental he could find.

However, his unit was located in the innermost and most remote section, even more cramped than Xu Haizhou’s place. The paths were lined with miscellaneous items, barely leaving space to walk.

It took some effort to squeeze into the house. Though the room was small, about fourteen or fifteen square meters, it felt much more spacious than the cluttered courtyard outside. The wall had a small window fitted with a single pane of glass, so it wasn’t too stuffy.

Despite seeming a bit unreliable, Li Hongjun was actually quite clean and organized.

He kept the little room neat and tidy, with the concrete floor scrubbed until it shone, almost looking better than tile.

“It’s not as spacious as your place. Sit wherever—on the bed or on the stools, whatever works.”

The three adults and one child sat down. Qiao Lu, having grown up with good habits, avoided sitting on others’ beds to keep them clean.

“Small as it is, everything you need is here. It’s enough for one person.” She looked around and smiled.

Scratching his head, Li Hongjun poured water for everyone. He brought out some brown sugar that had been sitting for months and made sugar water.

There were no water cups in the house. Normally, he drank from bowls. But aside from the large bowls used for dishes, he only had two small ones.

So he went next door and borrowed three more bowls.

He chuckled awkwardly. “Not many people come here. Occasionally one or two friends. But today there’s three of you and a kid, so I had to borrow from the neighbor.”

As he spoke, he handed over the sugar water.

Xu Haizhou took it and thanked him. “It’s fine. Buying too much would be a waste anyway.”

Li Hongjun grinned and pointed outside. “You all relax for a bit. I’ll go out and wash the vegetables and start cooking.”

There was a small well in the yard where he usually fetched water to wash vegetables.

The small kitchen, like Xu Haizhou’s, was built in a corner of the courtyard—a makeshift setup, since housing space was tight for everyone back then.

Yu Fan gulped down the sugar water in two swigs, patted his pants, and chased after him. “I’ll help. Two people will be faster.”

“Sure.”

The two of them went off to the kitchen, while the couple walked around the courtyard with their son.

Ever since “getting out of jail,” the little guy had been extremely attached to Xu Haizhou, sticking to him like glue. He clung to him, sweetly cooing, “Daddy, Daddy~”

Qiao Lu looked at him with amusement and thought to herself: her son was really born with the wrong gender—this soft and clingy temperament was more fitting for a daughter.

“What’s wrong, son?” Xu Haizhou smiled and kissed his chubby little cheek.

“Daddy, let’s never be apart, okay?” The child hugged his head, nose to nose, and whispered softly.

As he watched his son melt into a puddle on his shoulder, Xu Haizhou smiled gently and patted his back. “We won’t be apart. At least until you’re an adult, Daddy will always be here.”

“Then after I grow up, you won’t be here anymore?” The little one lifted his head and stared at him with concern.

“When you grow up, you won’t be here anymore,” Xu Haizhou said, tapping his nose.

“Why would I disappear? I don’t want to disappear.” Qiao An was a little nervous. He clung tightly to his father’s neck and rubbed against him uneasily.

“When you grow up, An’an, you’ll become an adult. Adults have their own responsibilities. By then, you won’t be able to stick to Mom and Dad like you do now. You might have to go to another city for university or for work, understand?”

After thinking for a bit, Qiao An nodded. “I understand. Just like Dad — your hometown takes three days to reach by train. You’re far away from your parents too.”

Xu Haizhou smiled and nodded. “That’s right.”

The little guy’s voice noticeably softened. “Then in the future, can I… can I just work here? I don’t want to go somewhere far away from Mom and Dad.”

Xu Haizhou chuckled. “Of course. It’s up to you — go wherever you like.”

That simple answer made the child beam. He grinned, grabbed Xu Haizhou’s face, and kissed him several times.

“I like Daddy. I’ll stay with Daddy.”

In the kitchen, Li Hongjun and Yu Fan were bustling about preparing the meal.

Yu Fan’s parents had passed away when she was nine, so she’d grown up independent and had become quite good at cooking. After all, she was used to doing this kind of work.

“Dinner’s ready!”

Over an hour later, Li Hongjun came back into the room carrying a big pot of lamb soup. The small table was already set, with bowls and chopsticks neatly arranged by Qiao An, who had eagerly volunteered to help.

“Dinner time, Daddy!” Xu Haizhou rubbed his son’s head, stood up, and carried him to the table.

The lamb was tender and firm — a type of meat that usually has a strong, gamey smell — but Li Hongjun had made it fragrant and rich, without a trace of that earthy odor. Paired with white radish and tofu puffs, the flavor was exceptional.

“Not bad at all. You’ve got real skill,” Yu Fan praised.

“Yeah, quite impressive. I wouldn’t have guessed you could cook like this.”

The lamb was still a bit hot right out of the pot. As Li Hongjun ate, he grimaced slightly from the heat, but still smugly raised his eyebrows at the two women. “Of course! Definitely better than Haizhou’s cooking.”

Qiao Lu laughed and looked at him. “How do you know it’s better than his?”

Li Hongjun snorted, picking up a tofu puff. “Haizhou has you, doesn’t he? You cook for him every day, so his skills can’t compare to mine — a single guy’s! As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. If you don’t cook, how can you get good at it?”

Qiao An immediately spoke up to defend his father: “My daddy can cook! Daddy’s cooking is yummy! He makes breakfast for Mommy and me every day!”

He and Mommy got to sleep in every day — Daddy was the best!

“Well, well! You sure dote on your wife,” Yu Fan said with admiration for the couple.

She usually opened her shop at 9 a.m., got up half an hour early, and grabbed breakfast on the way — a few buns or steamed bread from a street vendor.

But every time she arrived at Baiyun Street, Xu Haizhou was already there, and the goods were all neatly arranged.

There was no way to sort through all that inventory in under half an hour, and biking from the courtyard took at least an hour, which meant he had to finish breakfast prep by 7:30 a.m. at the latest. Assuming breakfast took at least 30 minutes to make, he had to be up before 7.

Wow. If she had that kind of time, she’d just buy breakfast from a restaurant. Why bother cooking? Wouldn’t it be better to sleep in?

Qiao Lu scratched her son’s chin with a teasing smile. “Well then, looks like I should let him cook more often. Maybe one day his skills will surpass yours.”

As she spoke, she nudged Xu Haizhou’s arm with her elbow. “What do you say?”

Caught off guard, Xu Haizhou paused, then smiled at his little wife. “Sure. If you like my cooking, I’ll make dinner for you when I get back in the evening.”

He really had a great temperament. As long as something could be done, he never refused her.

Breakfast was already his job, and now dinner too — that only left lunch for Qiao Lu to cook. Thinking of this, she shook her head. “I was just joking. If we wait for you to come home and then start dinner, it’ll be bedtime by the time we finish eating.”

At home, there was only one stove. No running water, no rice cooker, and no spacious countertop — cooking was a lot of work.

“I like Daddy’s cooking, and I like Mommy’s too. I like whoever cooks!” Qiao An shouted happily.

“You’re not picky at all,” Li Hongjun pinched his cheek.

Everyone laughed, and the meal became increasingly lively. The conversation gradually shifted from daily life to work — and the mood turned serious.

“Right now we can’t use false advertising, but the moment knock-offs hit the market, our revenue drops by half. If this continues, we’ll lose our competitiveness. What should we do in the future?”

Speaking of this, Li Hongjun was so frustrated he could punch the counterfeiters.

And the clothing vendors on Baiyun Street — not only did they copy their clothes, they even copied their marketing strategies!

If they just copied it and left it at that, fine. But the problem was that their customer base was getting poached in large numbers. Who could ignore that?

“What do you think?” Qiao Lu couldn’t think of a solution right away and turned to ask her husband.

After chewing two bites of lamb and swallowing, Xu Haizhou thought for a moment and said, “If we can’t beat them — then we join them.”

Qiao Lu raised her eyebrows, vaguely guessing his plan. “You mean…”

“We should also find a manufacturer to process our orders, lower our costs, and improve production efficiency.”

Having a regular factory source meant they wouldn’t run out of stock when sales were hot — a major revenue killer.

“You mean, we give our designs to the factory and have them produce our clothes?” Li Hongjun paused in the middle of picking up food and asked.

“Yeah.” Xu Haizhou nodded.

Li Hongjun’s eyes widened. “Where are we supposed to find a factory these days? Let alone producing clothes just for us — even buying their ready-made stuff, they might not sell to us.”

“Find the same place that the counterfeiters use. If they can sell to Meng Guoan, they can definitely sell to you guys,” Yu Fan chimed in.

Xu Haizhou glanced at her and nodded. “Exactly. We can look into where Meng Guoan gets his stock. If they can supply him, they can supply us too. And now that the country is gradually opening up, many state-run factories are starting to cooperate with private merchants. Not to mention, private factories are on the rise. We’ll find something eventually — no rush.”

Qiao Lu knew he read the newspaper daily and was probably well-versed in the national policies. She looked at Li Hongjun and nodded. “This could work. You two should take shifts — one watches the shop, and the other goes looking for a factory. Take turns.”

“No need to line up, let Haizhou go. I may have a glib tongue, but I can only deal with people on the same social level as me. I’m no good with high-level leaders.”

As he spoke, he gave an embarrassed laugh. “Don’t laugh at me, but I’ve always been like this. Back in school, I was scared of the teachers. After entering society, I worked in a factory for a while, but I was afraid of the supervisors and hated that kind of caged-in, repetitive lifestyle. So I quit and went out on my own. But even now, I’m still scared of authority. When I have to face those factory bosses or leaders, I get nervous.”

Stage fright can be embarrassing: “If I lose face, it’s just not worth it. So it’s better for Haizhou to go.”

Xu Haizhou was steady, articulate, polite, and intelligent. He was the best choice to negotiate this.

“Alright.” None of the three objected, so Xu Haizhou was appointed to handle it.

“There’s one more thing,” Qiao Lu suddenly thought of something. “Piracy can’t be completely stopped, but there’s a way to reduce our losses.”

“What is it?” The two men asked in unison, even Yu Fan looked over curiously.

Her gaze swept over everyone’s faces as Qiao Lu said word by word: “We create our own brand.”

The two men looked surprised, but also clearly intrigued, staring at her intently.

“When you think of baijiu, what’s the first brand that comes to mind?” Qiao Lu asked.

“Moutai?” they said together.

“Exactly.” She snapped her fingers and continued, “What about bicycles and sewing machines?”

“For bicycles, it’s got to be Flying Pigeon, Forever, and Phoenix! And sewing machines—definitely Butterfly! I just bought one for my mom last year when I went back home. I remember Haizhou got you a Butterfly too, right?” Li Hongjun rattled on.

“Butterfly, Mama, our sewing machine is a Butterfly~” Even little Qiao An knew the name.

“That’s right.” Qiao Lu patted his little head and chuckled. “See, that’s the power of branding. Once your brand becomes well-known, even if other brands come along, they won’t shake its place in consumers’ hearts.”

Xu Haizhou nodded in full agreement. “Exactly. If we can build the best clothing brand, even if other brands pop up later, ours will still be the first people think of.”

Li Hongjun’s eyes instantly lit up.

“Brilliant! The solution was right under our noses, but we never saw it!”

However, such a beautiful dream—even many large state-run factories can’t achieve it. Can they really pull it off?

Amid the excitement, a sense of worry lingered.

Forget building a brand—right now, they were already stuck on the first step.

Where should they even look for a garment factory? And which one would be willing to collaborate with them?

“How about this—starting tomorrow, whether it’s clothes, pants, or bags, as long as we make it ourselves, we’ll sew on our own brand logo.” Qiao Lu thought for a moment and added, “I’ll go home tonight and sketch out the logo, then polish it up tomorrow.”

“Great idea, totally onboard!” Li Hongjun raised both hands and feet in agreement. “But what should we name it? Are we going to sew Chinese characters on the clothes? Some people might be illiterate!”

“What do you think?” Xu Haizhou looked to Qiao Lu.

It was thanks to her that their little clothing stall had grown to this point.

Without her, they could have made money, sure—but without her, there’s no way they’d be dreaming of creating a brand by 1984.

With just Li Hongjun and Xu Haizhou’s drive, maybe one day they’d get there, but not this soon.

So she deserved to decide the name.

“Hmm…” Qiao Lu munched and pondered.

Coming up with a name was easy, but coming up with a good one? That took serious brainpower.

By the time they’d nearly finished eating, Qiao Lu still had no good ideas.

“Mama, are you naming the clothes?” The little one was smart and had been listening to the adults. Amazingly, he understood.

“That’s right.” Qiao Lu smiled and gave her son a piece of lamb tripe.

“Clothes need names too?” the child asked innocently.

“Of course. You have a name, so how could clothes not have one?” Li Hongjun laughed.

“Then let’s call it ‘Pretty’—because the clothes Mama makes are so pretty!”

Pfft—

The room burst into laughter at the child’s innocent words.

“That name’s cute, but maybe not quite suitable,” Li Hongjun said with concern.

“Then, then…” The little guy scratched his head, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration: “How about ‘Little Bee’? Our clothes are made with a Butterfly machine, and butterflies are insects. Bees are insects too! They’re friends!”

You had to admit—four-year-old Qiao An had an impressive vocabulary and a sharp mind. The name actually sounded quite legit.

“But isn’t ‘Little Bee’ a bit too childish?” Yu Fan asked.

“Well, ‘Butterfly’ is childish too, and they still sell sewing machines with it.” Li Hongjun grinned.

“Fair enough.”

After thinking it over, Qiao Lu decided to let Qiao An make the final call.

Since her son liked it, then they’d go with Little Bee. It was cute, simple, and memorable.

Having been given the right to name the brand, the little guy was thrilled. For the first time, he felt useful!

He actually got to help Mama and Papa name their clothes, and the name was going to be sold for money. From now on, all their clothes would be called Little Bee!

What a meaningful thing!

How cool!

Setting aside the small hiccup of almost being locked up, everyone was in high spirits tonight. All the adults except Qiao Lu drank a little.

Li Hongjun insisted on letting Qiao An try baijiu. He tricked the little guy by saying it was tasty. Qiao An stuck out his tiny tongue and took a lick—bam! It was so spicy it made him cry on the spot.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry, Uncle’s a meanie. Quick, go tickle him as punishment,” Qiao Lu said, both amused and exasperated. She’d told him not to try it, but he couldn’t resist. Well, he got what he asked for.

This kid was getting mischievous now.

Hearing Mama’s words, Qiao An, still crying, went over and started tickling Uncle Li’s waist.

Li Hongjun was ticklish but didn’t dare dodge. He laughed so hard he teared up—his cackling could probably be heard by the neighbors on the other side of the wall.

The room was filled with the laughter of one big and one little person.

The child giggled happily, then returned to gnawing on bones.

After dinner, Qiao An was so full he couldn’t walk, so Xu Haizhou carried him.

As he snuggled into his father’s arms, he waved at Li Hongjun: “Goodbye Uncle, thank you for hosting us. I had a great time today.”

“I’m glad! Such a sweet boy. Oh, this little face is so soft… Come on, give Uncle a kiss!”

The little guy dodged swiftly, burying his face in Xu Haizhou’s shoulder. “No, no! You’re still not allowed to kiss me!”

“Hahaha—You little rascal! Fine, fine, go on then. No kiss it is. I’ll just kiss my own kid in the future.”

Unexpectedly, Qiao An solemnly waved his little hand: “Then Uncle, you better hurry and have a baby!”

That way, he wouldn’t keep trying to kiss him anymore.

“Hahahaha—”