The sales clerk saw him lingering and greeted him enthusiastically.
“This lady’s watch is the newest arrival at the department store, it’s the most popular model right now. Whether it’s bought as a dowry or as a betrothal gift, it’s the best choice.”
These days, not many people have spare money to buy watches for themselves; they are usually purchased during marriage as either a dowry or a betrothal gift.
Seeing a young man looking at women’s watches, he must be buying it for his significant other or as a dowry for his sister. Even if he wanted to gift it to his wife, there was nothing wrong with her previous comment.
But the words she thought were harmless, at this moment sounded like fire in Su Wensong’s ears.
“I… I was just looking, just casually looking…”
He stuttered an explanation and quickly left the counter, feeling his face and neck burning hot.
In the end, Su Wensong still bought a red scarf. There weren’t many options suitable for gifting girls; winter had already set in, and since it was chilly every early morning, buying a scarf for warmth seemed practical.
Thinking this, Su Wensong nervously went to the Bun Shop with the scarf in his bag.
All the way there, he thought about how to give her the scarf—should he give it to her directly or ask Granny Sun to pass it on?
Having Granny Sun pass it on didn’t seem quite right; she was quite a gossiper, and it might lead to misunderstandings.
Besides, thanking in person seemed more sincere.
“Comrade Sun, this is a scarf I’m giving you, thanks for helping my granny out!”
“Comrade Sun, thank you for looking after my granny these past few days, please accept this scarf?”
“Comrade Sun, this is a scarf my granny asked me to give you, thank you for taking care of her these past few days…”
While Su Wensong was muttering to himself, he walked to the Bun Shop, and for some reason, his heart seemed to beat faster as he saw it.
He took a deep breath, repeated the prepared speech in his head, and then stepped boldly into the Bun Shop.
“Sun…”
He couldn’t finish his sentence, as he saw Sun Lanlan inside busy tallying up accounts behind the counter, with the new guy Cai Jun leaning on the counter, apparently saying something that made the girl laugh nonstop.
She looked at Cai Jun with curved eyes and smile; Cai Jun assured her, laughing, “Really, I’m not fooling you, ask your brother if you don’t believe me, whoever lies is a puppy.”
“Forget it, my brother is just like you.”
Cai Jun also laughed.
Just then, Sun Bingnan came over and said to Su Wensong, “Brother Su, were you calling me?”
He had heard Brother Su enter and call out ’Sun’ something.
Seeing Su Wensong somewhat dazed, following his gaze and understanding the situation, he spoke softly, “Brother Su, what do you think of them?”
“What… what do I think?” Su Wensong asked dryly.
Sun Bingnan wasn’t planning to disclose this matter, but seeing his sister and Cai Jun getting along harmoniously these days, even though it wasn’t openly acknowledged, sooner or later they would take a liking to each other.
Moreover, since Su Wensong was not an outsider, he revealed, “I won’t hide it from Brother Su, I plan to have Cai Jun as my brother-in-law. Cai Jun is my classmate, his character is reliable. Originally when I introduced him to work here, it was to let him foster feelings with my sister. I was worried they might not spark, but looking at them now, they seem quite compatible, what do you think?”
Su Wensong pressed the school bag he was carrying, looking at the two people not far away, one talking and the other laughing, “Pretty, good…”
Sun Bingnan also smiled contentedly, “I knew it, my judgment can’t be wrong. I’ve known my sister’s preferences since she was little. Just wait, it might not be long before we can invite Brother Su to drink at the wedding celebration. But Brother Su, keep this a secret for now. I only have this one sister and I don’t want her to feel pressure about marriage. When she agrees to it herself, that’s when it’ll truly be settled.”
“Okay,” Su Wensong replied.
Sun Bingnan then remembered the urgent matter, “Brother Su, did you call me here because you had something?”
Su Wensong shifted his gaze, “No, just came to check how the cooked food at this store is doing. Is the quantity we prepare each day sufficient?”
Sun Bingnan thought for a moment, “It’s okay. The sales volume has indeed dropped a bit from before, but it’s still manageable.”
After Qin’s Cooked Food built its reputation, many customers from the city used to come here. Now that there’s a branch in the city, they go there instead.
“I’ll tell them to deliver a little less here tomorrow. The manager said to try to avoid leftovers.”
Sun Bingnan nodded, “Alright, we don’t have to reduce everything. Just a few fewer smoked chickens will do.”
After finishing the discussion, Su Wensong went straight back to his own courtyard, and Granny Su saw him through the glass.
When he entered the house, Granny Su asked, “Why are you back so early? Did you come especially to thank Xiao Sun?”
Su Wensong primarily worked in the courtyard, and recently, he was seldom seen returning during the day.
Su Wensong took out a scarf from his bag and handed it to Granny Su.
Granny Su looked at the bright red scarf and her eyes crinkled with joy, “This is really pretty, young girls are sure to like it. Are you going to give it to her, or do you want Granny to invite her over?”
His son was shy, and as his grandmother, she could help him out.
Su Wensong responded indifferently, “Granny, it’s better for you to give this to Sun. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to give it.”
“Eh, you silly boy, why wouldn’t it be appropriate for you? Just say it’s you helping Granny to thank her,” she already found an excuse for him.
“That still wouldn’t be appropriate,” Su Wensong insisted, “Granny, Sun might already have someone she likes. Let’s not set them up arbitrarily, to avoid ruining the girl’s reputation.”
Leaving that remark behind, Su Wensong immediately exited the house.
Granny Su wanted to ask more, but he was already far away.
“Eh, why does this child speak only half his mind?”
But if Xiao Sun indeed had someone she liked, it really wouldn’t be right to have her grandson give her this gift; it would truly be returning kindness with ingratitude.
Granny Su sighed, “Why does she already have someone she likes…”
Su Wensong went straight back to the Qin’s Cooked Food courtyard. People inside were busy with their tasks, orderly and efficiently, a large pot bubbled with steaming stewed meat.
Seeing that there might be someone in Lin Chuxia’s office, he asked, “Is the manager in the office?”
Jia Liang, who was deboning pig head meat, looked up and replied, “Yes, she’s been here for a while.”
Su Wensong nodded and directly went to the office.
He knocked on the door and heard a woman’s voice say to enter before he pushed the door, Yuan Bao inside gave a symbolic grunt or two.
Lin Chuxia was writing a letter and looked up, “What is it?”
“I just went around to both stores; we need to adjust the cooked food distribution. The store in the city is doing well, today there were fewer customers than yesterday, but the sales volume seems unchanged. When I was there just now, some items were nearly sold out. Can we increase the stock a bit more tomorrow?”