Chapter 106

Chapter 106

In her previous life, Xu Meng had not had an easy time. After her mother passed away, she fled her home, too ashamed to reach out to old friends or the Feng family relatives. She felt guilty toward her mother and everyone else, and she couldn’t face her grandmother or uncles. At that time, she was only eighteen and had never even left the city except to visit her grandmother’s house.

She worked hard but struggled, often putting in twice the work for half the payoff.

Later, she realized the harder she pushed, the more it drained her.

This life was different. Not only did she have her mother by her side, but she also had a whole network of friends and family.

From meeting her first big break, Zhang Guifen, and starting to sell watermelons at the train station, she began trying to form connections with the people around her.

Like Zhang Mingqing, for example. At first, she was just a customer who came to her mother for tutoring.

If they hadn’t taken their relationship a step further at some point, Zhang Mingqing might still just be a student’s parent to this day.

But now things had changed. They weren’t just emotionally connected; they were also bound by shared goals—friends, family, and business partners. When Xu Meng wanted to make hot pot seasoning, she knew it wasn’t something she could succeed at alone.

She had the recipe and the ideas, but she lacked capital and connections.

Zhang Mingqing had money, but she didn’t have a plan for expansion.

By combining their strengths, perhaps they could create something special.

Zhang Mingqing raised an eyebrow and asked the question that had been bugging her the most: "But what if it affects our restaurant’s business?"

She had considered making hot pot seasoning before, but back then, they couldn’t even keep up with the demand at their own restaurant. She’d have been crazy to sell it elsewhere. And there was another concern—what if selling it outside cut into their restaurant’s profits?

But now things were different. If Huang Xiaoying could work six hours a day at the restaurant, they’d produce five or six times more.

What would they do with the extra hot pot seasoning? They couldn’t just give it all away.

"But think about it—how much can one restaurant really make? If we break into the seasoning game, how much more could we achieve?"

One restaurant, jam-packed at peak hours, made a monthly profit of around ten thousand yuan.

For most people, that would be enough.

When she got divorced, she received a hefty divorce payout. Her ex’s aunts and busybodies looked at her and said, "You only had a daughter, but at least you’ll be taken care of in your old age. Just hold onto that money, and as long as no one cheats you out of it, you’ll live the high life for the rest of your life."

To them, Zhang Mingqing was only worthy of a comfortable life.

When her husband’s business was just starting, she had called in every favor at the station to secure logistics.

In those days, getting access to railway freight cars could make all the difference.

Zhang Mingqing had worked at the station for nearly twenty years—her contacts were legit.

But now that the business was thriving, everyone forgot how much they had once relied on her. They saw her as a kept woman, someone who should be grateful for the hundreds of thousands she had and just coast on her cash.

She didn’t start working again just because she was bored—she had something to prove.

"So, what do you suggest we do?"

Xu Meng had been thinking a lot these past few days, even before coming over. She had scoped out various markets selling seasonings and shared her thoughts: "Don’t think of hot pot seasoning as cannibalizing your sales. Plenty of people cook at home, but restaurants haven’t all gone out of business. How many customers can your restaurant really serve? But the market for hot pot seasoning is nationwide—not just in Beijing, but eventually even farther. If we want to succeed, we have to stay ahead of the curve. First, register the trademark. I don’t know what permits are needed for food sales, so you should figure out the red tape. Once that’s settled, we can discuss the details."

In her past life, Xu Meng had sold small goods for a long time and knew exactly how profitable they could be.

A small item might seem cheap, but when sold in bulk, the margins stack up. To seize the market, they had to establish their brand early. In her previous life, many hot pot restaurants launched their own branded hot pot seasonings—did that hurt their in-house sales?

As they talked, they became more engrossed, and Zhang Mingqing grew increasingly fired up.

She felt it was doable.

So they went for it—food inspections, various procedures—since she was in the industry, she naturally had connections.

Meanwhile, Xu Meng was responsible for product development. Now that she didn’t have to spend all her time in the kitchen, she had plenty of time to research better flavors. They chatted until the afternoon, wrapping up the conversation on a high note.

Zhang Mingqing was now pumped: "You just focus on your studies, and leave the rest to me."

"Deal. I’ll have my cousin come over later."

By now, Huang Xiaoying had already gotten to know everyone in the shop.

When Xu Meng called her, she was reluctant to leave, dragging her feet for a while before waving goodbye to Song Xia and the others.

At this point, Xu Meng became even more certain that Huang Xiaoying needed something to do. Sitting around at home wasn’t cutting it—she needed to plan a career path for her.

She was only sixteen. Normally, she should be in high school.

But at such a young age, plenty of kids her age were already factory workers.

After leaving the shop, Xu Meng asked Huang Xiaoying, "What have you thought about the studying I mentioned earlier?"

Huang Xiaoying pouted. "Studying’s not my thing."

She got what her aunt and cousin were driving at—she liked reading novels, but that didn’t mean she loved studying.

Even with self-study, college was a long shot. She was from a neighboring province, not a native of the capital, so the admission score was much higher.

And even if she managed to get in, how many years would she have to rely on her aunt?

Right now, Feng Yanwen covered her living expenses, and she couldn’t bring herself to ask for more.

If Feng Yanwen slipped her some cash, she’d take it, but there were times when she couldn’t rely on her.

Even if her aunt was kind-hearted, she couldn’t stomach mooching off her for another seven or eight years. But lately, both her cousin and aunt had been pushing her to study, piling on the guilt—as if not studying hard would let them down. Yet deep down, she knew that as long as she lived off others’ support, she couldn’t truly enjoy school.

She understood why her cousin had brought her out today—to show her how hard service industry work could be.

But she didn’t find it hard at all. In fact, she admired how they stood on their own two feet.

Xu Meng sighed softly. "Studying’s no golden ticket, but it might make your life easier..." Teachers had drilled this into her head countless times, but not everyone truly understood it.

That’s why, after her rebirth, studying was her one constant.

Though she wished someone could help her, she hated to see Huang Xiaoying grind so hard.

But what if she worked for a while first? Maybe after experiencing hardship, she’d want to study again. No harm in keeping her options open.

"Alright then, let me talk to you about something. The owner of that hot pot shop, Zhang, is my friend. She gave me some shares in the shop, and I’m in charge of the hot pot base. Since you don’t want to study, I’ll show you the ropes with the hot pot base. If you can take over smoothly, you’ll work here for most of the day from now on."

"And then?"

"Since you’re so eager to earn your own money, give it a try. But don’t give up on studying—learn as much as you can while I can still teach you. Education will be useful later." Xu Meng took a deep breath. "You’ll start at 300 yuan a month. Come in at 8 a.m., and you can leave after the lunch rush at 2 p.m. You’ll head straight to the shop. Later, I might have more collaborations with Zhang. If you’re willing and capable, I’ll raise your pay."

Six hours a day—that was the schedule she had calculated. She planned to produce a small batch of hot pot base first, test it in the shop, give some away, or sell it on a small scale to test the waters.

Another thing—she was already skilled, but Huang Xiaoying might not be. At first, she’d need time to find her footing.

This would require hiring more people, and with her energy levels, she definitely couldn’t take on more.

"Three hundred?"

"Hmm?"

"Only six hours a day?"

"Don’t dismiss those six hours. The kitchen’s nothing like working outside—it’s tough. Do you know how hot it gets in there during summer?"

"I know, of course I know!" But she’d done her fair share of that kind of work at home.

In the mornings, she had to go out to wash clothes, and during the day, she had to work in the fields. There was always endless work from dawn till dusk, yet no one ever paid her for the hard work. Her parents even griped about her eating too much without bringing in money.

Earlier, while hanging around the shop, Huang Xiaoying had already asked the waitresses about their wages—they only pulled in three hundred a month. She wanted to be a waitress, even though she knew how exhausting it was, working ten-hour shifts back-to-back.

Her cousin was giving her the same pay, but she only had to work half a day.

Huang Xiaoying didn’t jump to agree right away and instead confirmed with Xu Meng, "Really?"

Xu Meng glanced at her. "Check it out yourself. If you think you can handle it, I’ll talk to Mom for you."

Huang Xiaoying didn’t hesitate—she agreed right away.

But unexpectedly, the plan the two sisters had agreed upon faced strong pushback from Feng Yanwen.

"How old is your sister? She’s starting work already?" Feng Yanwen shot the idea down immediately. "She’s still so young. What will I say to her mother if her family finds her later?"

Huang Xiaoying muttered under her breath, "My mom wouldn’t care about that."

Her head was already spinning at the thought of earning three hundred a month—she was too excited to sleep.

Three hundred! Even county officials didn’t pull in that much. It was like hitting the big leagues.

"Auntie, it’s what I want to do."

"Xu Meng, how old is your sister? And the two of you—the two of you!" They’d made plans behind her back before even telling her!

But Feng Yanwen had been to college herself and simply couldn’t accept the idea of a child not studying. In the past, she’d even clashed with Xu’s family over Xu Meng’s schooling, going as far as divorcing for the sake of her child’s schooling.

Huang Xiaoying held her hand. "Auntie, you’ve seen it yourself—lately, I just can’t concentrate on studying. Instead, I want to earn some money. I’ll only feel secure when I’ve got money in my hands. And you know my household registration isn’t local. Unless I go back to my hometown, I can’t even attend school here in the capital. I promise I’ll study on my own—I won’t let work interfere with my learning. Look, I finish work by two in the afternoon!"

Feng Yanwen’s breath quickened, but in the end, it was Huang Xiaoying’s words—"I feel anxious without money"—that got to her.

She could give the child money, but could Huang Xiaoying survive on handouts forever?

Even if she was willing to provide now, what about later?

Huang Xiaoying didn’t want to live with her palm upturned, relying on relatives for money. Hadn’t she been the same back then?

She relented.

In the days that followed, Xu Meng took Huang Xiaoying to the shop to adjust.

At first, she needed someone to show her the ropes, but she quickly got used to the environment. Initially, her workload wasn’t heavy—she just had to prepare what the shop needed for the day. Any extra time could be spent helping with other tasks.

Only after she had gotten the hang of things did Zhang Mingqing gradually increase Huang Xiaoying’s workload.

With this off her plate, Xu Meng could finally focus on her studies without having to run to the hotpot shop every week.

In the last two months of the previous semester, she was completely worn out, without a moment to rest, but now she had more time to review.

As soon as the new semester started, things picked up right away.

At first, it took her a little while to adjust, but she got used to the rhythm in about a week.

This semester was even busier than the last. Occasionally, Xu Meng would go home and listen to Huang Xiaoying talk about her experiences at the shop—how she was doing, what friends she had made. Among the young waitstaff, a few had grown pretty close to her, and they even made plans to go shopping together. Zhang Mingqing gave her one day off every week.

Clearly, she was becoming more cheerful and confident, and even Feng Yanwen smiled more often.

Starting in March, Zhang Mingqing's shop began giving away hot pot bases as complimentary gifts.

Depending on how much customers spent, they would receive a small hot pot base. Additionally, she even distributed some at her former workplace.

Contrary to her expectations, she had thought making hot pot bases might affect the shop's business, but instead, it helped promote the brand. Some customers even came just for the little freebie. After about a month of preparation, Zhang Mingqing obtained all the necessary materials for the hot pot base to officially launch.

Before closing time, Zhang Mingqing drove straight to the school, intending to personally share the good news with Xu Meng.