The area near the food factory’s cooked food store is close, although selling there means competition, it also brings a portion of potential customers. Once you win the competition, these customers will be yours.
“Okay, you handle it as you see fit.”
After Su Wensong left, Lin Chuxia continued writing her letter.
This was a letter to Qin Yang, and before she knew it, she had been back for over half a month. Now with the new store opened, her eldest brother, sister-in-law, and Xiao Wu with his wife were all working there; she wanted to chat with him about all these things.
Sometime along the way, Lin Chuxia had gotten used to sharing these daily happenings with him.
She wrote about all these things across two pages, and by the time she was done, she found it somewhat incredible.
Initially, even filling one page for him felt forced.
The corners of her lips couldn’t help but lift into a slight smile, wondering what he might be busy with now. It was about to start freezing soon, and many of their tasks couldn’t proceed anymore.
Her mother-in-law said that he should be able to come back before the New Year, though it wasn’t clear exactly when he could return.
If he comes back, she would definitely let him see their bun shop.
Lin Chuxia didn’t rush to mail the completed letter. That night, she went home and asked Mr. Qin and Mrs. Qin if they had anything to say to Qin Yang. If so, she would write it in the letter and send everything together.
Mr. Qin and Mrs. Qin were not literate. Mr. Qin attended a literacy class when he was younger, but as he aged, he forgot many of the characters, and his eyesight wasn’t good either.
Mrs. Qin smiled and waved her hand, “No, as long as you all are doing well, your father and I have no concerns. Just let him work peacefully over there. If his unit has no issues, he should come home early for the New Year.”
She now eagerly wished for the two children to be together.
Her daughter-in-law had been back for over half a month already, and she didn’t know whether she was pregnant this time.
If not, she might need to urge her son to try harder during the New Year.
Unaware of her mother-in-law’s thoughts, Lin Chuxia simply responded, “Okay, I’ll mention that in the letter a bit later.”
Mrs. Qin hesitated to speak, prompting Lin Chuxia to ask, “Mom, is there anything else?”
“There is something,” she hesitated a bit, “Today Dalang, your eldest uncle’s son, came to talk to your dad and me. Seeing that Xiao Wu and his wife both went to work at your place, he’s wondering if you’re still short of people. His wife, Lihua, has been staying at home and also wants to find work.”
Before Lin Chuxia could respond, Qin Han slightly furrowed his brows, “Mom, what exactly did big brother say to you?”
“Your big brother didn’t say much, just brought up the topic. Your dad and I thought to consult you both before saying anything. Xiao Wu and his wife are already working at the Bun Shop, and it would be hard to refuse your big brother if he wants Lihua to go as well. We decided to ask Chuxia first before responding to him.”
Qin Han looked at Lin Chuxia, “Sister, don’t feel pressured about this. If you think it’s appropriate, take her on, if not, feel free to refuse. You don’t have to do it; I’ll talk to big brother.”
Blaming himself for setting this precedent initially, Xiao Wu and his wife asked him, and to give him face, the sister allowed Xiao Wu and his wife to work at the Bun Shop.
What if today it’s his eldest uncle’s son, tomorrow his second or third brother? Everyone has multiple relatives; how can she manage the Bun Shop if this keeps up?
Doing well is one thing, but doing poorly means neither keeping nor letting go is suitable, then everyone is unhappy.
Lin Chuxia knew the children from Qin Liang’s family, the eldest son, Qin Jianjun, was there when bonds were initially made. She hadn’t interacted with the daughter, only met her once during the bonding process, a girl of about seventeen or eighteen, quite demure looking.
“No worries, Mom. If Dalang brother comes to ask you again, just agree. Since Xiao Wu is already working at my place, it wouldn’t be appropriate to not let Lihua join. You don’t have to be too definitive with your words, let her come and see if she can handle the job, let the sister-in-law and Wu’s wife guide her for a few days.”
“If you can bring her out, just do it; if not, we’ll talk about it later. At least we have to keep up appearances now.”
Mrs. Qin breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, “Okay,” she was just afraid of these kinds of issues, as long as it didn’t trouble the daughter-in-law.
The next day, Qin Lihua was brought to the Bun Shop personally by Qin Liang.
Lin Chuxia was not there, Qin Han greeted them, she didn’t involve herself in their conversation, anyway, their brothers’ conversations were more casual than hers, who had not been married into the family for half a year.
When she saw Qin Lihua, the young girl was making buns with Zhang Guilan and Zhou Hongmei.
Seeing her coming over, she somewhat timidly greeted, “Auntie Four.”
Qin Yang was ranked fourth in their large family.
Lin Chuxia smiled and nodded, glanced at the buns she was making – not bad, quite decent-looking, she probably could get the hang of it in a couple of days.
“How is it? Are you adapting well?”
“I can adapt, Auntie Four. I cook at home too, just that the buns I make aren’t as good as Auntie Two’s or Auntie Five’s.”
“I was also learning on the spot when I came here. Your buns are much better than mine back then,” Zhou Hongmei said with a smile.
Qin Lihua felt a bit embarrassed, Lin Chuxia also said, “Take it slow.”
At that moment, a customer came in shouting, “Waiter, bring me eight meat buns and two bowls of millet porridge.”
Chen Chunhua was already greeting customers outside, but Lin Chuxia recognized the voice as somewhat familiar. Through the glass separating the kitchen and the front hall, she saw Li Hongmei and Li Dongmei, the sisters, sitting in the lobby.
The two were waiting for their buns while looking around. Li Hongmei mentioned to Li Dongmei, “I’ve heard long ago that this Bun Shop has delicious buns. We should eat more and also take some back for Mom.”
Li Dongmei nodded, “If it weren’t for our older brother being stingy, we would have eaten here sooner. Also, I heard their cooked food is tasty too, look, there’s a queue outside.”
“Don’t even think about the cooked food, and speaking of which, it’s not that our older brother is stingy. He always pampers us, it’s all because of his wife controlling him. I think we shouldn’t have let him marry Lin Jiayi.”
“But if he didn’t marry Lin Jiayi, they would have demanded 300 yuan of bride price from our family. Where could we have gotten so much money? If we really had borrowed it, we might still be suffering from famine now.”
“So what? It’s still better than marrying a home-wrecker. I see Lin Jiayi as a home-wrecker. The other day, she even wanted to find a match for me behind Mom’s back, which really pissed me off.”
…
While they were talking, their orders were served one by one.
Li Hongmei saw a plate of pickles at the table next to them and pointed, “You guys sell pickles too?”
Chen Chunhua explained with a smile, “The pickles are complimentary, available over there. Take as much as you like.”
Both Li Hongmei and Li Dongmei’s eyes lit up, “Free?”
“Yes,” Chen Chunhua said with a smile on her face but disdain in her eyes.
“Wait a moment, I’ll get some,” Li Hongmei and Li Dongmei said and went over to the serving table, took a small bowl, and filled it with a full bowl of pickles.
Chen Chunhua reminded, “Although it’s free, please try not to waste.”
“We know, it’s just some pickles, so stingy.”