Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Sister Liu replied earnestly, "If you really have a place to rent out, why not show it to her? Just charge her the market rate for the rent."

Wang Shuanzhu thought for a moment and replied, "I've just finished reorganizing the shop—sold some items and cleared out others. I'm thinking of getting out of the secondhand furniture business and focusing on selling used appliances instead. That'll leave a couple storefronts vacant. I hadn't planned to rent them, but if it’s for Teacher Feng, I figured since we know each other well, I could give her a discount."

Sister Liu knew the location of his property well. The storefront faced a small residential alley, lively but without car traffic, making it both lively and safe—a prime location that's hard to come by these days.

Without even needing to inspect Wang Shuanzhu’s place, she simply suggested a reasonable rental price and headed straight in to talk about the shop with Feng Yanwen.

Feng Yanwen hadn’t expected good news to come one after another.

She had just secured a washing machine, and now a storefront was becoming available.

Sister Liu went over the available spaces she had gathered, and even Feng Yanwen herself favored Wang Shuanzhu’s place. She had seen those two rooms before—they used to store old furniture—both spacious and well-lit, right on the main street. She just hadn’t expected Wang Shuanzhu to be willing to rent them out.

Just then, Wang Shuanzhu came in as well and quickly explained, "I won’t need that much space anymore since I’m switching to selling used appliances. Those rooms won’t be of use, so I figured instead of leaving them empty, I might as well rent them out."

When Feng Yanwen heard it was the two rooms that used to hold furniture, her face lit up immediately.

Even Xu Meng chimed in, "Those rooms are bright and spacious—perfect for classrooms."

Wang Shuanzhu added, "I can also allocate half of the backyard for the kids to use as an activity area."

That made Feng Yanwen even more tempted, and she glanced at Xu Meng.

In their household, it wasn’t Feng Yanwen, the adult, who made the decisions—it was her daughter, Xu Meng.

The neighbors were used to this. Everyone knew Teacher Feng’s daughter was sharp and decisive, while Teacher Feng herself was often indecisive. Whenever she wavered, she simply turned to Xu Meng.

Xu Meng pondered for a moment but didn’t agree right away. Instead, she asked Sister Liu for the locations of the other shops, wanting to inspect them before making a decision.

Once Wang Shuanzhu and Sister Liu left, Smith jokingly rubbed his nose and said, "Feng, your charm is too strong. I’m afraid if I leave, someone else will snap you up."

Feng Yanwen laughed. "Don’t talk nonsense."

After they were gone, Xu Meng carefully considered the matter, going over each location's details. Wang Shuanzhu’s place was still the most suitable—not only did it face the street, but it was also near a residential area, with space for children to play. Most importantly, it was close to the main street, where they'd upgraded the drainage system years ago during road renovations. The public toilets there were better and cleaner than those in the smaller alleys, and the price was reasonable.

She told Feng Yanwen, "Let’s rent Wang Shuanzhu’s place. The only thing is, it’s been used as a warehouse for years, so cleaning it up will take time. You’ll also need to rewire the electricity. Then there’s student recruitment, advertising, and hiring staff. We’ll need someone at home too—someone to handle cleaning and another to manage the shop. With one of us tutoring outside and the other in school, staffing will be a real challenge."

People were starting to realize the importance of learning English, and demand for training would only grow in the coming years. But for someone like Feng Yanwen, running a one-woman tutoring operation, how much could she really earn?

Even with opportunity knocking, one still needed the ability to take flight.

Feng Yanwen noticed Xu Meng lost in thought and went to prepare dinner.

Smith helped knead the dough, while Emma came over, begging to help make dumplings. In her overly formal way, she asked, "May I ask what I can do?"

Then, tapping her little head, she answered herself, "Emma is making dumplings. Is that how you say it? Dumplings, dumplings—these are dumplings."

Xu Meng groaned at her textbook-translated Chinese. The kid had taken phrases straight from her lessons and translated them literally.

Smith had been practicing Chinese with his daughter as his language partner, but it had only confused her—now her spoken Chinese had regressed.

Feng Yanwen, amused and exasperated, shooed her off to play with the youngest child. Before long, both kids came back, clamoring to play with the dough.

Having lived through hard times, Feng Yanwen would never let them play with good flour just for fun.

But Emma didn't care about any of that—she was eager to get involved, stretching out her hands.

"Keep the kids away," Feng Yanwen scolded lightly. "Otherwise, no one gets to eat dumplings later."

That was one of Emma’s favorite foods. Though she had a broad palate, she didn’t love dumplings any more than xiaolongbao. Still, the mere mention of dumplings made her drool, swaying her little hips in a dance while singing a self-composed dumpling song.

As they were happily wrapping dumplings, the sound of a man’s footsteps came from outside.

"Second Sister, are you home?" Feng Yanwu called out at the door.

Smith quickly went out to greet him. Seeing him, Feng Yanwu thought he had the wrong house and immediately turned back to check the door.

After glancing at the house number outside and then at the scene in the yard, he blurted out in shock, "Second Sister, why is there a foreign guy here?"

The foreign guy looked at him and said, "Hello, I’m Smith, Feng’s friend."

He spoke Mandarin pretty fluently.

Feng Yanwu’s face instantly froze in shock. A foreign guy who could speak Mandarin—that meant he might have understood what he just said. Feeling embarrassed, he bowed slightly with an awkward smile and hurried into the yard, carrying large and small bags.

Feng Yanwen finally emerged from the inner room. Seeing Feng Yanwu like this, she knew he had come to the city again to bring her things.

In the past, Feng Yanwu had been reluctant to send goods into the city, worried the Xu family would take advantage. Even if he pitied his sister, he rarely sent anything. Now, though, things had changed—Feng Yanwen had moved out on her own, so only she and Xu Meng would get to enjoy what he brought. Every time he came to the city, he’d bring a large amount of farm produce. Last time, it was a sack of potatoes. This time, who knew what it would be.

This time, Feng Yanwu held a live chicken in his right hand and a bamboo-woven basket in his left. Someone peeked out from behind him. When Xu Meng saw her, she exclaimed in surprise, "Auntie!"

Huang Lingling smiled and greeted her, "Xu Meng, long time no see. How’s your studies?"

Xu Meng replied, "Not bad, Auntie. Why did you come in such cold weather?"

Huang Lingling pointed at the tricycle in the alley and laughed, "Just seeing if I could squeeze it in."

She and Feng Yanwu were from neighboring villages, middle school classmates who had known Feng Yanwen for a long time. Even before marriage, she’d been tagging after Feng Yanwen like a little sister, always calling her "sister." The two had a very close relationship.

After marrying Feng Yanwu, they hadn’t had children for a long time, so they often invited Xu Meng over to play. Back then, Xu Meng was still young and would spend her summer and winter vacations at the Feng household, getting along well with Huang Lingling. Her aunt was the easygoing, cheerful type.

Originally, Feng Yanwu had ridden the tricycle into the city to deliver goods, but Huang Lingling was dead set on tagging along, saying she hadn’t seen her sister-in-law in a while. However, the journey turned out much colder than she expected. Halfway there, her face had turned blue from the cold, but turning back wasn’t an option, nor was going forward. In the end, they gritted their teeth and pushed on to the city, arriving barely alive by the time they arrived.

"It’s so cold—why did you bring her along?"

"I even gave her an extra coat, but who knew it’d be this cold on the road?" Feng Yanwu didn’t feel particularly cold himself, but Huang Lingling didn’t have the same resilience. He had offered to give her his own clothes, but she refused.

Huang Lingling said, "It’s not that I didn’t wear enough—I just can’t stay warm, and my feet are blocks of ice."

Xu Meng quickly went to the kitchen to fill a hot water bottle. "Auntie, warm yourself up."

Huang Lingling’s hands were stiff from the cold—when she first touched the hot water bottle, she couldn’t even feel the warmth.

Looking at Xu Meng, she said, "You’ve grown up well, and you’re sharper than before. Why didn’t you come back to stay this summer?"

Xu Meng in a flash fetched coal from the heated wall and got a coal stove going. "I was busy earning money over the summer."

Huang Lingling glanced at her. "You’ve had it rough."

Yet despite the hard work, she had even filled out a bit—proof that life had treated her well these past six months.

Feng Yanwen quickly ushered them inside, making ginger-brown sugar tea to warm her up. After all the effort, Huang Lingling’s complexion finally improved.

Cradling a large mug of brown sugar water, Huang Lingling took several big gulps and finally felt her spirits return.

She kept eyeing the foreigner talking with Feng Yanwu outside—so tall, must be over six feet. Feng Yanwu wasn't short himself, but standing next to him, he looked like a child. The two were talking past each other, gesturing along the way, and soon the foreigner patted Feng Yanwu on the shoulder.

"Good brother." Wonder where he learned that.

Huang Lingling asked, "Second Sister, who's that foreigner?"

Feng Yanwen replied, "A student of mine—he’s learning Chinese."

But it looked like more than just a student-teacher thing. The foreigner was awfully friendly, Huang Lingling thought to herself.

But she hadn’t come here to gossip. First, the family had bought a motorized tricycle, making trips to the city much easier. Since the two of them were in town making deliveries, she figured she’d drop by to see Feng Yanwen. Actually, the old folks back home had wanted to tag along too, but the journey was too cold, and Feng Yanwu refused to bring them.

"There’s not enough room on the tricycle for everyone. I’ll take Lingling first to scout the way, then bring you all next time," Feng Yanwu had told the old couple.

Who knew the ride would be such a hassle?

Huang Lingling took another sip of the brown sugar water before saying to her sister-in-law, "Mom and Dad are really worried about you. They sent us to see how you’re doing. What’s the deal with this foreigner? Is this going somewhere? They said if you’re thinking of remarrying, you’d better choose carefully this time."

After a pause, she added, "At your age, if you remarry, you’re not too old to remarry and have kids. If you want children, you should find someone soon."

She glanced at the foreigner chatting with Feng Yanwu outside. Smith was animatedly talking to him, both looking happy. Huang Lingling felt a twinge of worry—this guy seemed unreliable, and from a whole other world. If Second Sister remarried, she couldn’t afford another mistake. If she spent years trying for a child, only to divorce and start over, she’d be throwing her life away.

Second Sister probably still wanted her own child, right?

Huang Lingling looked at the foreigner outside, then back at her sister-in-law. If Eldest Sister knew Second Sister had a foreign suitor, she’d probably freak out—but that wasn’t her business to meddle in.

The couple had brought more than just a rooster from home—a bunch of homegrown stuff too. The last batch of potatoes wasn’t even finished, and now they’d brought several sacks of cabbage, radishes, and lettuce.

Fresh veggies were scarce up north in winter, so every household stocked up. Luckily, Feng Yanwen hadn’t bought any yet.

Feng Yanwu carried the vegetables into the cellar and said when he came out, "Share some with your neighbors later. Looks like you won’t need to buy winter veggies. We planted a lot this year—even set up a greenhouse. Prices are so low now, I didn’t bother selling. They won’t freeze in the greenhouse anyway, so we can pick as we eat. When vegetables get scarce later, I’ll sell the rest. I’ll come back in a few weeks with fresh picks so you won’t have to eat stored ones."

Xu Meng noticed how fresh the cabbages were—even better than what vendors sold. They had to be fresh off the field this morning. Normally, cabbages this fresh were rare in winter. Not all cabbages were the same—while winter cabbage could get old fast, freshly picked ones were crisp and sweet, whether stir-fried or stewed.

"Are there a lot of vegetables at home?"

"Plenty." Feng Yanwu sat by the fire, rubbing his hands. "Last year, growing veggies made some money, so this year the whole village switched from crops to vegetables. But as soon as winter hit, the market got flooded with cabbage and radishes. A whole cartload of cabbage barely fetches ten bucks—might as well feed it to the pigs."

A cart held hundreds of pounds. In past years, the price would’ve been at least double. No wonder Uncle said it wasn’t worth selling.

Huang Lingling chimed in, "Your uncle said it’s better to leave them unharvested and eat them slowly. I had him buy plastic sheets to cover everything. This winter’s been harsh—snowed right from the start. Now that prices are rising, he’s itching to sell. I told him to wait a bit longer."

Feng Yanwu was impatient. "But what if all that cabbage goes bad while we wait?"

Huang Lingling stayed firm. "Second Sister, talk some sense into him. A hundred pounds of cabbage was only one and a half yuan, now it’s five. He can’t wait. I say we wait it out a bit longer—prices might peak around New Year’s when fresh veggies are scarce."

Xu Meng, kneading dumpling dough, suddenly remembered something.

In her past life, this year had seen a month-long snowstorm that froze roads and railways. Greenhouses weren’t common yet, so northern crops froze, and southern produce couldn’t be transported. Prices skyrocketed from the shortage—right around New Year’s. Back then, the Xu family’s stored cabbage and radishes had all frozen, and even dried stuff flew off the shelves.

Huang Lingling had come partly to seek Second Sister’s advice—otherwise, the couple would keep arguing about the cabbage at home.

To them, Second Sister was the smart one—she had to know better than them.

"Don’t sell," Xu Meng spoke up. "Wait a little longer."

Huang Lingling gave her husband a smug look. "See? Even Mengmeng agrees with me. Don’t you think prices will keep rising?"

Feng Yanwu scoffed. "What does she know? She’s just a kid. Mengmeng, don’t side with your aunt. Prices are already twice what they were. We ought to cash in now before prices tank."

You see, around the New Year, people generally don’t bulk-buy vegetables.

When harvesting cabbages, every household hoards so much that they get sick of eating them. Who would buy expensive cabbages around the New Year?

With the current prices, Feng Yanwu is already quite satisfied. Selling now would make him twice what he did before. Besides recouping the cost of the plastic film for the greenhouse, the family could also make more than in previous years.

Huang Lingling widened her eyes but couldn’t come up with a reason to refute her husband like he could.

In short, her stance was: "Just don’t sell."

Seeing the two still arguing, Feng Yanwen said, "Listen to what Mengmeng has to say."

The two adults looked at Feng Yanwen as if they’d seen a ghost, completely stunned.

Yet Feng Yanwen had total faith in her daughter: "Back when we sold watermelons at the train station, it was all Mengmeng’s idea. She’s quick-thinking and has a knack for business. It might look like my training business is doing well now, but it was her help that got me started. Whenever I couldn’t make a decision, I’d ask her. If she says not to sell, there must be a reason."

Hearing this, the couple both turned to Xu Meng, feeling that Feng Yanwen’s words were a bit exaggerated.

Feng Yanwen thought to herself, "I haven’t even told them everything. If they knew what’s happened these past six months, it’d blow their minds."