Chapter 128: Two in One

Chapter 128: Two in One

Qin Yao was busy with the release of the inaugural issue, and throughout May, she was overwhelmed with work. As the general manager and chief editor, everything required her review. Although Zhang Feng was a good overseer, this was his first time venturing into entrepreneurship, and he lacked experience. Whenever he was unsure, he had to consult Qin Yao.

Exhausted to the point of muscle cramps, Qin Yao thought that this kind of overseer work should eventually be delegated to someone else, while she would just steer the ship and make high-level decisions. The specific tasks should be handled by others.

However, they were currently short-staffed, and one person had to do the work of three. She was so busy that she felt dizzy.

Gu Cheng saw that his wife had lost weight and felt both heartbroken and resigned. "Your personnel management is in chaos, and the efficiency is low."

"I know, but what can we do? None of us have experience. The entire editorial department is like a sieve, leaking everywhere. When we fix one thing, another problem arises... Once everyone gains more experience and we go through this a few more times, there will be fewer issues."

Unable to sit idly by, Gu Cheng still helped her reorganize and plan some personnel changes, and called two clerks to assist in training the staff. This took some pressure off Qin Yao, and things began to fall into place.

Barring any accidents, their journal would be released on schedule.

Just as work had calmed down a bit, Qin Yao took a break when she found a window of time. She still had to write a serial novel at home related to the educated youth taking college entrance exams. Unfortunately, their small, unknown magazine couldn't secure contributions from big-name writers, so she had to do it herself.

Serial novels were captivating and could boost magazine sales. Qin Yao didn’t trust others to handle it, so she took on the task herself.

While Qin Yao was writing at home, Zhang Shihong, like a fly drawn to the scent, immediately came knocking at the door. "Xiao Qin, I've finally caught you. I've been looking for you several times but couldn't find anyone. What have you been busy with? Could you be busier than me, a busy bee?"

"Ever since I became the building manager, oh dear, I've become a big overseer, a super busy bee. I have to manage all the family matters, and various responsibilities are weighing on me, but I never complain or cry about the hardships. It's all for the convenience and comfort of the families, and it's worth it no matter how tired or hard I work."

Zhang Shihong, with one hand on her waist and the other pretending to wipe the sweat from her forehead, always claimed to be willingly contributing for the entire building's families, not afraid of hardship or fatigue.

Qin Yao had seen through this person. She made a big fuss for every little effort she put in.

After becoming the building manager, Zhang Shihong did accomplish quite a bit, but she also reaped many benefits. She secured a light-duty job in school administration, earning fifty to sixty yuan a month with additional subsidies.

However, Zhang Shihong was always bustling around the family building, claiming to be mediating here and offering condolences there, all while neglecting her logistics work. Yet, no one could criticize her. She worked laxly but still received her salary and was praised as "serving the public, unafraid of hardship or fatigue."

She was a seasoned slacker, a master at dodging work, and it was precisely these kinds of people who thrived the most. They shirked work under various pretexts, passed the buck to others, yet occupied the moral high ground, loudly proclaiming their own hardships. In reality, they slacked off and fished around, accomplishing little but reaping both fame and fortune.

Others might harbor resentment but found it difficult to criticize her.

"Xiao Qin, you've been here for a while, so why don't you socialize more? It's fate that we've met and live in the same building. Our husbands are fellow veterans, and we're like one big family."

"As family, we should keep in touch and participate in more activities. Last time, we had a really fun picnic, and everyone had fun, but you didn't come."

Qin Yao said, "I've been busy with work these two months."

"Busy? Can you be busier than me? Don't shirk your responsibilities or be passive about participating in organizational activities. Look, Qiao Jie went, but you didn't."

"We're preparing another cultural performance, and I've signed you up without your consent. You must perform a program!"

"A cultural program?" Qin Yao almost wanted to curse inwardly. If it were for Women's Day, she could understand, but it was almost Children's Day, and even for the upcoming July 1st, it was too early to prepare. What kind of cultural performance was this?

First, a spring outing, then a picnic, and now a cultural performance. Couldn't Zhang Shihong just settle down? And she insisted that every family member participate. Wasn't this just creating unnecessary work?

"I don't have time to prepare a program."

Zhang Shihong immediately said, "Make some time to practice. With your looks, if you don't perform, who will? Everyone is waiting for you to show off your skills."

"You must perform a program!"

After being pestered several times, Qin Yao finally agreed to a program. She planned to do a solo singing performance just to get by.

"I'll do a solo singing performance, but I won't attend the rehearsals. I'll rehearse on my own. Sister Zhang, I need some peace and quiet. I have to get back to work."

Qin Yao closed the door, shutting Zhang Shihong out. Zhang Shihong grumbled a few times and muttered in a low voice, "I don't know what she's busy with, not knowing how to enjoy her good fortune."

Zhang Shihong didn't mind coming to find Qin Yao a few more times. To her, Qin Yao was a convenient tool. She had visited Qin Yao several times but always missed her, which gave her an excuse to "evade work."

Whenever asked, she would say that Qin Yao, as a family member, wasn't cooperating, and she was doing everything she could to persuade Qin Yao to participate and promote family unity.

It was Zhang Shihong who spread the reputation of Qin Yao being unsociable.

Qin Yao didn't have the time to deal with Zhang Shihong. Her top priority now was the release of the inaugural issue of the journal. Once the journal was on track, her burden would ease. However, she had no idea how many copies of the journal would sell.

Gu Cheng helped her review manuscripts at night. Now that Qin Yao was busy, the heavy responsibilities at home fell on Gu Cheng's shoulders. Gu Cheng was in charge of three meals a day, as well as dropping off and picking up the two kids from kindergarten.

In the line of parents picking up children from kindergarten, Gu Cheng stood out as a unique presence. Standing among the families, Gu Cheng's cold demeanor kept people from approaching him to joke around.

Gu Cheng dropped the children off at kindergarten early in the morning and picked them up in the evening. Rui Rui and Mingming were used to being picked up by their father.

While Dad didn’t smell as good as Mom, he made up for it with his strength. When the children got tired, they would hang on their father, turning into two little "burritos" on the way home.

Sometimes Gu Cheng walked with the two children, and other times he rode a bicycle. In the evening, he usually walked and took the opportunity to jog with the two children, kicking a football in the grass before heading home.

"Little Gu, you're really a dedicated father."

"Taking care of the kids every day, what a good dad."

"Both children are well-raised..."

...

Because of this, Gu Cheng had a good reputation at the school and was regarded by the families as a "rare" good father.

Gu Cheng took the two children to play in an obstacle course and then went to the grocery store to buy daily necessities. When they returned home, Qin Yao was already back, busy organizing manuscripts in the room. Gu Cheng put down the groceries and began to put on an apron to cook.

The main door of the house was open, and the two children were playing outside. Mingming shouted, "Dad, I want to eat eggs for dinner!"

Gu Cheng said calmly from the doorway, "If you come and help Dad wash the vegetables and beat the eggs, I'll make it for you."

Mingming: "..."

Weighing his options with a sullen face, he decided to go to the kitchen to help out as a little assistant, washing and picking the vegetables.

Seeing the little one scurrying to the kitchen, Gu Cheng's usually cold, handsome face softened slightly at the corners of his eyes with a hint of a smile.

After calling the older son back home, Gu Cheng closed the front door. "Mom is busy, don't go and disturb her."

Rui Rui nodded obediently, "Dad, I want to eat steamed buns."

"Come in together."

The door to Unit 301 closed, while the door to Unit 304 remained open. Qiao Jie's home was right across the way, and from afar, she could see Gu Cheng in a kitchen apron at the Gu family's front door.

Does Qin Yao’s husband really do all the cooking at home?

She had also heard that the children were picked up and dropped off at kindergarten by Gu Cheng every day... Thinking of what she had heard from Meng Xian about Gu Cheng's background and capabilities, it was surprising that he also helped with household chores.

On the last night of May, almost everyone in the editorial department couldn't sleep. Tomorrow, June 1st, was the big day for the inaugural issue. They had printed 60,000 copies, but no one knew if they’d sell. Everyone was on edge, fearing the worst. This journal was the culmination of everyone’s hard work over the past few weeks.

*

Zhang Feng: "Tomorrow I'll head to the train station to hawk sales. I've already talked to the folks at Yangcheng train station, and I've recruited a few train attendants to try and sell on long-distance trains..."

Máo Lìna: "I've also made arrangements with the newsstand, Manager Qin. I followed your suggestion and made an advertisement—well, an advertising billboard."

Qin Yao took a deep breath: "Good, everything is ready. We just have to wait for tomorrow to see the results. If we hit 100,000 copies next month, we're golden."

Máo Lìna blurted out: "100,000 copies?! That means we'll need to reprint!"

Qin Yao nodded: "I've already spoken to the printing department; they're ready to reprint at any time, depending on tomorrow's sales."

Zhang Feng gave a bitter smile: "Well, it's always good to be prepared in advance..."

He felt Qin Yao was being overly optimistic. Actually, selling 50,000 copies would already be quite an achievement. The possibility of selling more existed, but this type of journal had never been released before, so it was still unknown whether anyone would buy it.

Qin Yao smiled: "Let's have a bit more confidence, everyone. If we sell 100,000 copies, everyone will get a prize."

Máo Lìna asked in a low voice: "Manager, will it just be a tin mug? Should we pre-order them, with the editorial department's name printed on them, as a future memento?"

Máo Lìna had some relatives who worked in factories, where tin mugs were common prizes. Tin mugs were nice, but having the unit's name printed on them would allow one to show off a bit.

Qin Yao: "...Don't think of the unit as being so stingy. If we sell 100,000 copies, we'll give you something much better than a tin mug."

If they sold 100,000 copies, there would be a significant profit, allowing Qin Yao to quickly recover her costs and give out prizes to the employees without any difficulty.

Direct cash rewards weren't allowed, but treating everyone to a meal at a government-owned restaurant and handing out material prizes would be within regulations.

"Is that a bicycle voucher?" Máo Lìna's eyes lit up. Back then, you needed a voucher just to buy a bike; without one, it would cost an extra 100 to 200 yuan.

Qin Yao chuckled: "So you want a bicycle that much? If we sell 100,000 copies, the unit will reward you with a bicycle."

"Ah!" A bicycle! With a bicycle, she would be a person with a "private car."

Máo Lìna was still very young. Last year, she failed the college entrance exams and had nothing to do at home. Her family helped her find a temporary job as a dishwasher, which she wasn't happy about. At her age, she didn't want to wash dishes for the rest of her life and was still preparing to take the college entrance exams.

Later, she received information from Zhang Feng and got the opportunity to become a "temporary worker" at the editorial department. Now, apart from Manager Qin, everyone in the editorial department was a temporary worker.

Tomorrow's sales would determine their future—success or failure. If the journal couldn't be sold, all the temporary workers would be out of a job. But if the journal could continue operating, they would have the chance to become permanent employees.

Máo Lìna had no intention of going back to washing dishes.

Máo Lìna's eyes were full of anticipation, and Qin Yao's heart was similarly filled with expectation. She hoped they could sell at least 100,000 copies. On the night of May 31st, she tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Her husband pulled her into a workout session.

This time, her endurance was super long, and even after it was over, she couldn't fall asleep, vaguely lying on Gu Cheng's chest.

Qin Yao thought that starting a business required a big heart. This felt like waiting for the results of the SATs, with her mind racing, unable to relax. She lay in bed, unable to settle down, no matter how hard she tried.

Qin Yao held on until 6 AM on June 1st. She finally drifted off from sheer exhaustion as the sun rose. Gu Cheng looked at the woman sleeping beside him with a helpless smile; his eyes softened with concern.

He leaned down and kissed her eyelids, listening to her hum softly twice, unwilling to wake her. He got up to prepare food for the two little ones.

"Shh, get dressed quietly, don't make any noise. Mom is still sleeping. Today, Dad will take you out to eat."

As soon as Mingming heard they were going out to eat, he was about to jump up in excitement, but just as he started to leap, his father pulled him into his arms, covering his mouth. They quickly got dressed and slipped out for breakfast, bringing back a basket of baozi and six shrimp dumplings for Qin Yao.

Qin Yao slept until noon that day. The baozi and shrimp dumplings brought back in the morning were reheated and became part of lunch. The baozi weren't as tasty after being reheated, but the shrimp dumplings were steamed for a few more minutes and remained delicious.

Qin Yao loved eating shrimp and pork wontons or dumplings. The combination of shrimp and pork made them more delicious than plain shrimp or pork dumplings.

After finishing her meal and drinking a large bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup, Qin Yao sighed, feeling both excited and anxious. Should she call to ask about the sales?

She had deliberately slept in, and if it weren’t for her biological needs, she would have loved to sleep for three more days to find out the result immediately.

"Let's go out together later," Gu Cheng knew what she was thinking. "Today is Children's Day, and the kindergarten is closed. We'll take the kids out to play."

"Where to?"

"To the train station."

Qin Yao silently thought: *A bit of a downer, taking the child to the train station on Children's Day.*

Before leaving, Qin Yao opened the lower section of the refrigerator and took out the ice cream she had prepared for the kids. No matter how busy she was, she hadn’t forgotten to celebrate Children's Day with the little ones.

The family of four ate ice cream on their way to the train station. Upon arriving, Gu Cheng asked Qin Yao to watch the kids while he went to buy a magazine.

"One copy of *Southern Living Journal*, please."

"I'm sorry, sir, it's sold out."

Gu Cheng was stunned for a moment. "Sold out."

Seeing Gu Cheng approaching with empty hands, Qin Yao asked hurriedly, "What happened?"

"I tried to buy the magazine for you, but it was sold out," Gu Cheng's face was expressionless, and his tone gave away no emotion.

"Sold out? How could it be sold out?"

Gu Cheng couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, they’re all gone. Go call Zhang Feng and ask how many were sold."

"Now you don’t need to worry, they’re sold out here at the train station!"

Qin Yao was overjoyed and quickly called Zhang Feng. "How many were sold?"

"Manager, do you even need to ask? I'm already urging another print run. We've found another printing house... Yes, I think an additional 50,000 copies isn’t enough; we need 100,000!" Zhang Feng said into the phone, exhaling deeply. Selling 100,000 copies meant their editorial department was safe, the magazine was secure, and their jobs were safe.

This temporary unit wouldn’t be dissolved.

Qin Yao said, "Make it 200,000 copies instead of 100,000."

Seeing the sales were so explosive, Qin Yao decisively chose to print 200,000 more copies. Yangcheng Train Station had a massive flow of people, and selling there gave them every possible advantage. Their feature article was about long-distance trains. If they didn’t seize this opportunity, when would they?

Selling 60,000 copies on the first day, Qin Yao didn’t believe they couldn’t sell 300,000 in a month. She went ahead and ordered 200,000 more copies!

"200,000!" Zhang Feng's eyes widened in surprise.

Wow, what an amazing number.

After hanging up on Zhang Feng, Qin Yao floated home in a daze. This meant her first entrepreneurial venture was a success. Even with all her future experience, the fact that her first business succeeded was still unbelievable. She was too excited! The taste of success was so sweet!

Closing the door behind her when she got home, Qin Yao felt unstoppable. She was so energized that she jumped and wrapped her arms tightly around Gu Cheng’s neck, clinging to him like a monkey. "This is amazing, this is amazing, this is amazing! My business succeeded!"

Gu Cheng, with a doting smile, stood still without moving.

The two kids followed suit, jumping to hug their father from both sides. Qin Yao jumped in the middle, and the two little ones each hugged one of Gu Cheng’s sides.

"We did it, we did it, we did it!"

Gu Cheng swayed slightly before steadying himself, with his wife and children clinging to him, feeling both frustrated and happy.

His wife brought him happiness, but the children were his trouble.

Without hesitation, Gu Cheng shook off the two "little rascals" named "sons" and carried his wife to the corner, lowering his head to kiss her lips. The couple kissed, their backs turned to the kids.

Qin Yao gently pushed him away, feeling it was a bit inappropriate, but she was too happy to protest, so she let him kiss her. "Let's go to the bedroom."

Being intimate in front of the children made Qin Yao uncomfortable. In the past, they had only ever kissed on the cheek in front of the kids.

With a smile in his eyes, Gu Cheng was just about to carry his wife into the bedroom when the two little ones screamed.

It turned out that the younger son, Mingming, had imitated his brother and suddenly kissed Rui Rui on the lips, causing Rui Rui to cry, "Waaa..."

Qin Yao was stunned by her older son's crying and quickly went to hug him. "It's okay, Rui Rui, what's wrong?"

Rui Rui cried between hiccups, "Mom, I have a baby..."

Qin Yao was confused and asked carefully before learning that the boys had recently picked up a strange idea at kindergarten, thinking that kissing would make you have a baby.

Rui Rui thought that being kissed by his younger brother meant he would have a baby.

Qin Yao felt helpless. "Don't be afraid, there won't be a baby. Only when a man and a woman are together can they have a baby, like Dad and Mom. Two boys can't have a baby, and kissing won't make one. But Mingming, you shouldn't kiss your brother's mouth. You can kiss his cheek, like this..."

Despite feeling overwhelmed, Qin Yao gave the two kids a basic lesson on physiology, determined to be a good mother.

Mingming said regretfully, "I thought I was going to be a dad."

Gu Cheng sat cross-legged on the floor and rubbed the little one's face, saying with a smirk, "You really have the guts to say that."

How could he have a kid like this, his own son, who looked just like him?

"Did you kiss any other kids at kindergarten?"

Mingming shook his head honestly. "Not yet."

But he had been planning to. He thought being a dad was great and wanted a bunch of sons.

Gu Cheng raised an eyebrow. "Not yet?"

"Not yet, still preparing. Dad, you said you need to be patient and stick with it," Mingming said in his baby voice, clearly only four years old but already quite audacious.

Gu Cheng's forehead twitched.

"Dad! I want to be a dad like you!"

Gu Cheng's forehead twitched again, struggling to resist the urge to scold him. He used to believe in modern parenting, thinking children shouldn't be hit, but this kid was testing his limits.

"You think being a dad is great? Then you can try being a dad for a day. You cook in the kitchen, and you wash the clothes. I'll be your son and supervise you!"

"And from now on, you won't eat your snacks. I'll be the son and eat your snacks!" Gu Cheng said coldly, as he quickly finished one of Mingming's ice creams from the fridge.

Mingming was speechless.

Qin Yao couldn't help but laugh.

Rui Rui: “……”

Just as Gu Cheng was about to open a syrup can, Mingming quickly hugged his father's leg, speaking in a cute and obedient tone, “Dad, I'm your good son, Mingming loves Dad the most.”

“That's more like it.” Gu Cheng opened the syrup can and continued scooping out the contents to eat. Usually, he didn’t like eating these things, but to tease the little kid, he was enjoying it.

After finishing the syrup can, he moved on to a popsicle, which left the two kids looking heartbroken.

“Mom, you have to stop him, he’s going to finish everything!”

Qin Yao couldn’t help but laugh. “Now you know the difficulty of raising sons. Still want to be a dad?”

Rui Rui: “Can I find a few more dads then?”

Just when Gu Cheng thought his younger son was a handful, he realized his older son wasn’t much easier to handle. “Don’t be so silly. How did a genius like me end up with two dorks like you?”

“Get into the room and stand there. It’s time for a lesson from your old man.”

……

What was supposed to be a romantic moment turned into a father-son lecture, with Qin Yao sitting nearby, munching on sunflower seeds and eavesdropping.

*

The additional 200,000 copies sold out in less than a week, and the editorial department was overwhelmed with constant reprints. The magazine’s sales were extraordinarily good, and they had started receiving reader letters, many of which requested pen pal information.

Every day, letters poured in like snowflakes, many from the same city or province, delivered quickly, with an increasing number of out-of-town envelopes, some even brought directly to the editorial department.

Opening reader letters became one of the highlights of the editorial team’s day. Mao Lina and the team worked their regular shifts and did fieldwork during the day, but in the evenings, they stayed in the office, even sleeping there to keep up with the workload. At night, they remained in the office, eagerly opening reader letters and crafting thoughtful replies.

This unpaid overtime, working from 9 AM to 9 PM six days a week, even scared Qin Yao.

“Go home and get some rest. If we’re short-staffed, we can always hire more people—no need to burn yourselves out.”

“It’s fine, Manager Qin. We’re all too hyped up to sleep anyway, so we might as well stay here and write back to the readers.”

“Absolutely, Manager Qin! Reading the readers' letters is such a blast!”