Chapter 116

Chapter 116

This time, Huzi's mom only planned to split the order among her sisters, intending to take a hundred bags herself.

Now that they'd tested the waters and everyone knew how well the product sold, she set a benchmark and reduced the purchase price by ten cents per bag, taking the profit cut from her own end while handling the delivery herself.

Being close relatives with deep ties, even if they knew she was taking a bit more profit, they understood and accepted it. Since she was the one who provided this money-making opportunity and their relationships were strong, no one made a fuss. After discussing the next steps, they all went their separate ways.

Huzi's mother tucked away the 750 yuan and headed to Xuefu Road.

The store wasn't open for business yet, and Zhang Mingqing was inside, busy crunching numbers on the second floor.

When she saw Huzi's mother arrive, Zhang Mingqing was slightly surprised but politely invited her upstairs.

This was Huzi's mother’s first visit to the shop. To reach the second-floor office, she had to pass through the first-floor dining area, then the private rooms on the second floor before finally arriving at Zhang Mingqing’s office. Along the way, Huzi's mother’s eyes nearly popped out—the scale of this hot pot restaurant was truly impressive.

Indeed, Zhang Mingqing’s shop had expanded further, and you wouldn't be exaggerating to call it the largest restaurant on Xuefu Road.

Huzi's mother had only imagined the scale of this place before, but seeing it firsthand was downright amazing. It left a deep impression on her—now she had bragging rights for real.

"Please, come in," Zhang Mingqing said, ushering her into the office. She was about to pick up the thermos to make tea when Huzi's mother stopped her.

"You’re actually the owner of this shop, aren’t you?" Huzi's mother asked. "Last time, I was really sorry to trouble you with delivering the goods personally."

Zhang Mingqing still poured her a cup of plain water. "What brings you here today?"

Huzi's mother snapped back to reality, digging out the money from her pocket with an ear-to-ear grin. "This is the payment for the last 300 bags. Today, I’d like to pick up 500 bags."

Only three days had passed, and she was already placing a second order!

Zhang Mingqing’s face lit up.

Xu Meng had previously told her how capable these people were, but she hadn’t thought much of it. Hot pot base wasn’t like maps—almost every tourist in Beijing would buy a travel map, but what was the selling point of hot pot base? Her shop wasn’t particularly famous in the city, and pushing it as a specialty item seemed like a stretch. Originally, she had intended to sell it as a seasoning to penetrate the local market. Unexpectedly, wholesale didn’t take off, but retail turned into a goldmine.

"Taking 500 bags this time," Zhang Mingqing said, now properly inviting her to take a seat with a bright smile. "How soon do you expect to place the next order?"

————

After all, Huzi's mother was only placing her second order, and the sales volume was still limited, just putting a dent in the inventory temporarily.

But Zhang Mingqing saw hope. Selling 300 bags in two days was the highest monthly sales volume her shop had ever achieved.

In just one week, Huzi's mother had taken away 800 bags. At this rate, the inventory of 12,000 bags wouldn’t take long to deplete. With reduced inventory pressure and substantial profits, both of them were looking at a nice payday.

At noon on the weekend, Xu Meng blew off lunch and went straight to Han Jiming’s house.

She arrived just in time for their previously agreed meeting and was greeted with good news—Han Jiming was returning to Beijing soon.

Xu Meng was so excited she could barely stay still. "When are you coming back?"

Han Jiming’s voice was also cheerful. "The flight is scheduled for next Friday. I’ll pick you up after school that evening. Don't get too worked up about it—focus on your studies."

Xu Meng scoffed. "Who’s thinking about it all the time?"

Han Jiming had things to do, so after just a few minutes, he hurriedly hung up.

Still, it was enough to put Xu Meng on cloud nine. For the past month, there had been no news at all, and she had been so worried that she couldn't focus on studying.

But since they reconnected last week, she'd been in much better spirits.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Meng went straight to Zhang Mingqing's shop to catch up on how things went this week.

Business was picking up, and Huang Xiaoying was busier too, but by noon, most of the work was done. Seeing Xu Meng arrive, Zhang Mingqing let Huang Xiaoying clock out early.

"Hey, I gotta tell you, the person you introduced is really great. She’s already come back for more—500 bags this time, totaling 800 bags so far. That’d take me at least three months to move in my shop," Zhang Mingqing said excitedly.

Even with all their pull, the Li family could only pressure a few small wholesalers to freeze her stock and block promotions.

But they couldn’t touch the retail market. She heard those women used to sell goods at stalls and were now hitting up the two train stations and tourist areas. Her inventory was selling fast, yet the Li family were still in the dark.

Xu Meng also breathed easier.

Back then, she had approached Huzi’s mother just because of her offhand comment, "If there’s a good opportunity in the future, take care of your old neighbors." She never expected her to gather so many people and move so much product. While they were still talking, the phone in Zhang Mingqing’s office rang.

The voice on the other end belonged to her former supervisor.

Zhang Mingqing gestured for Xu Meng to wait and made small talk first.

Director Zhao sounded taken aback over the phone: "There are several people selling hot pot base at the train station—is that from your shop?"

Though the capital was vast, the circles were small. Zhang Mingqing hadn’t hidden her hot pot shop venture from acquaintances, and with sales booming at the train station, word got around fast.

Her first instinct was that something had gone wrong. While the station usually ignored street vendors, she hadn’t informed them about her business there. Still, given their familiarity, her tone softened immediately: "Some of my distributors are handling it. Why do you ask?"

Yeah, right—‘distributors’, but it sounded better that way.

Zhang Mingqing’s mind raced. If this was about trouble over selling hot pot base, the security department should’ve been involved. But Director Zhao was in logistics—had he switched roles during her leave?

Director Zhao chuckled on the other end:

"Someone in our unit bought your hot pot base and said it tasted pretty good. I’d like to try some myself."

Not trouble after all!

Zhang Mingqing played it cool: "We’re old colleagues—don’t even mention paying. I happen to be heading that way today. I’ll swing by to see you and bring some for you to try."

Director Zhao insisted politely: "I can’t take it for free. Charge me the proper price. Bring ten bags first, and I’ll square up later."

She definitely couldn’t accept money. The fact that he asked was already a big deal.

"It’s not worth much. And given our friendship, a few packs of hot pot base shouldn’t be a matter of principle. Will you be in the office this afternoon? I’ll come by after work starts."

Building a good relationship with Director Zhao was her foot in the door.

Back when Zhang Mingqing worked in the passenger transport section, she had frequent dealings with him—he was in charge of procurement for onboard sales.

"Peanuts, melon seeds, mineral water"—these were all railway-operated perks under Director Zhao’s control. For a position like his, people were lining up to suck up to him, let alone wait for him to ask.

Zhang Mingqing got an idea. She grabbed several packs of hot pot base from the cabinet, wrapped them in an inconspicuous bag, and waved Xu Meng downstairs with her.

Xu Meng had overheard the call and sensed Zhang Mingqing’s enthusiasm. At first, she thought the station authorities had gotten wise to their hustle, but seeing Zhang Mingqing’s excitement, she realized it wasn’t the case.

Downstairs, Huang Xiaoying had just finished her work for the day and was helping out.

She had fit right in with the shop staff. Everyone knew she was paid by Xu Meng—helping wasn’t her duty, but she did so willingly. Being the youngest, she received a lot of care, and soon, she became part of the team.

As soon as Xu Meng came down, Wang Xia patted her shoulder and reminded her: "Your cousin’s here."

A nudge to leave with her.

The two of them rode Xu Meng's bicycle and made their way back to Changchun Alley together.

Meanwhile, Zhang Mingqing hurried off to her old workplace with that bag of hot pot base.

————

Spring was in full bloom, and the temperatures were steadily rising.

A while ago, the family’s vegetable patch had been cleared out, and Xu Meng, along with the kids, had tilled the soil a few times before the late spring chill set in.

This was something her uncle had taught her—a good freeze could kill off the insect eggs underground.

Once the soil had dried out enough, they started debating what to plant. As soon as Xu Meng entered the yard, she heard the kids bickering.

The younger one insisted, "Let's plant watermelons! Watermelons are delicious."

But the eldest firmly believed they should grow greens: "Homegrown greens are so handy."

The younger one dug in their heels: "Watermelons are tasty too. If not, then let’s plant tomatoes."

When they saw Huang Xiaoying return, they all turned to her, begging her to pick a side.

Over time, they’d all grown close, and the kids clearly felt more comfortable around Huang Xiaoying.

Xu Meng said, a little jealously, "Guess kids really do click better with kids, huh?"

It wasn’t just the three children who were closer to Huang Xiaoying—even Huang Xiaoying herself rarely sought Xu Meng out to play.

Huang Xiaoying batted her eyes and said, "Cousin—"

Xu Meng was usually buried in her books, so they probably spent even less time together than Huang Xiaoying shared with the kids.

They all crouched by the pond, checking out the fresh green sprouts.

The bok choy they’d planted days earlier had already started growing.

Huang Xiaoying explained, "For now, greens are our only option. Let’s plant last year’s onion harvest and sow the rest with greens. We can start planting tomatoes... and watermelons around May or June—that’s the right season for watermelons."

The younger one chimed in again, "And cucumbers! Cucumbers are delicious too."

Huang Xiaoying happily agreed.

Even with just ten square meters to work with, careful planning could yield a variety of crops. The bok choy planted last winter hadn’t died off—they’d been thinning them out and nibbling here and there, pulling a few every now and then. It was a blast, and now that the kids had discovered the joy of farming, they were even more enthusiastic about gardening.

Just as they were chatting, Feng Yanwen returned.

She was genuinely busy these days, especially on weekends. Even though she had already hired four teachers, the tutoring center was still short-staffed.

While recruiting more teachers, they were also expanding the classrooms.

Teacher Feng was noticeably more cautious than others when it to hiring. Not only did candidates need solid English skills, but their character had to be decent—those with dubious qualifications had no chance of joining her tutoring center.

During this period, the place was undergoing renovations, including old Granny Huang’s place next door.

The original buyer of Granny Huang’s house, annoyed by the relatives causing trouble, had hinted at wanting to negotiate a lower price.

Around that time, Wang Shuanzhu was planning to marry Feng Yanwen, and with Xu Jiefang’s situation unfolding, he had initially intended to buy a commercial property and move into a new home. However, he didn’t want to leave Feng Yanwen behind, so he simply bought Granny Huang’s house instead.

The price remained at 38,000 yuan.

Ever since the purchase was finalized, Grandma Huang moved to a good nursing home she had chosen.

Moreover, Wang Shuanzhu declared: if the old lady was still alive ten years later, he would cover her nursing home expenses.

But by then, the old lady would be nearly ninety. Even if she were still alive, how much longer could she really last? And that was a decade away. Nowadays, in Changchun Alley, who wouldn’t praise Wang Shuanzhu for his decency? Even if Tang Hui wanted to stir up trouble, could she come up with ¥38,000 or dare to promise that she’d pay for the nursing home if the old lady was still alive ten years later?

No matter how much of a troublemaker Tang Hui was, she couldn’t just barge into the nursing home and demand money.

Meanwhile, Wang Shuanzhu ended up with a whole row of houses. It must be said that buying this house was the most suitable choice for him. After reorganizing both sides, not only did Grandma Huang’s original courtyard become larger, but his own unit also became better and more orderly than before. With both sides undergoing renovation, he simply replaced everything that needed replacing.

These days, urban buildings also have renovation regulations, but his house wasn’t a historical structure from the Ming or Qing dynasties, so it wasn’t under protection. As long as no illegal extensions were built, a thorough renovation was allowed.

To outsiders, however, it didn’t seem cost-effective—buying the house only cost tens of thousands, but the renovation would require spending tens of thousands more.

You might as well buy a new place instead.

For Xu Meng, who knew the trends of the coming decades, those who thought themselves clever were likely the ones who’d suffer the biggest losses in the end. Changchun Alley was one of the few areas that never underwent demolition, reputed to be the prime location—where even 5 million yuan could only buy a "shabby" space of barely ten square meters.