Back To The 80s-Chapter 360 - 370: The Beginning_1
Two days after the engagement banquet, Lu Aiguo and Fang Jing were ready to return to the Capital City with Yueyue, Zhou Siping went with them. Before they left, he once again admonished Bai Xiaolan, instructing her to behave, learn to cook when she had the time and not to meddle in other people’s business or fight.
After seeing off Lu Aiguo and the others, Gu Xiaobei felt that the house had suddenly become much quieter. She smiled at Lu Zhanguo and said, "It would be great if they lived closer, it’s too hard just seeing them once a year."
Lu Zhanguo rubbed her head saying, "It’ll be lively again soon. Li Fengmei and her family are coming over."
Gu Xiaobei excitedly asked, "Really? I thought they were coming in July."
Because of Lu Ruixue was over at the small courtyard, Gu Xiaobei was reluctant to take the children there. Wen Xiuqing came over and made a suggestion: "It’s now June, the weather is good, let’s wean the two children off breast milk, otherwise, we’ll have to wait until autumn."
Gu Xiaobei was somewhat reluctant, but in the end, she realized that only by weaning the children off, she could free her hands to work.
Weaning the children meant leaving them at the small courtyard while Xiaobeid the family compound without seeing them for four or five days.
On the first day, Gu Xiaobei felt that time was passing slower than ever. The pain from her milk coming in and her breast engorging kept her awake at night, she tossed and turned on the kang bed [a traditional Chinese bed that is heated from underneath].
Lu Zhanguo felt sad not seeing the two children after returning home. Seeing Gu Xiaobei like this, he sighed, "How about sneaking over to take a peek tomorrow?"
Gu Xiaobei shook her head, tearing up as she said, "If I hear Mo Wang and Xiaopang crying, I won’t be able to bear it."
Lu Zhanguo hugged her saying, "Then I’ll go and take a look tomorrow, then come back and tell you about it?"
"Ask mom, are they eating well, do they cry at night?" Gu Xiaobei grew more upset as she spoke, she couldn’t help but start to cry.
In order to reassure Gu Xiaobei, Lu Zhanguo went to the small courtyard early in the morning. He found the two children were up and sitting on the kang bed, waiting for their grandmother to feed them their tiny dumplings.
As soon as Xiaopang saw Lu Zhanguo, his little mouth pouted and he started crying. Mo Wang also started crying pitifully on the side.
Wen Xiuqing sighed and said, "Mo Wang is very well-behaved, only grumbled a little when it was time for bed. They drank some goat’s milk and then fell asleep. Xiaopang cried all night long, refusing to eat or drink. Even when your father held him and paced around the room, it didn’t help."
Lu Zhanguo, heartbroken, held his daughter, and felt that Xiaopang had lost weight after just one day apart.
Wen Xiuqing advises, "Is Xiaobei worried? You go back and tell her when weaning off breastfeeding, you have to be firm. If you don’t, it won’t work."
Lu Zhanguo hugged his children, gave them some kisses, hurriedly went back home. He informed Gu Xiaobei that both children were well-behaved, obedient and drank milk before going to bed. This finally reassured Gu Xiaobei.
While the kids were away these two days, Gu Xiaobei went to the Bureau of Industry and Commerce to inquire about company registration. The sheer volume of introduction letters, identity proofs, avenue certificates required made her gasp in awe. Each one needing multiple official stamps.
It took Gu Xiaobei two whole days just to prepare all these proofs, and she was still missing three or four official stamps as the relevant personnel was nowhere to be found. She sighed at how difficult it was to get anything done. The subsequent one-stop services would prove to be much better.
Since the publisher hadn’t disbursed any funds yet, Gu Xiaobei wasn’t in a hurry. She decided to come back the next day with all the necessary documents and head home. She then paused and couldn’t help but feel the desire to sneak over to the small courtyard to catch a glimpse of Mo Wang and Xiaopang. At this time, Mo Wang and Xiaopang should be napping.
Gu Xiaobei quietly entered the courtyard, she immediately heard the sound of giggles from inside. She sneakily peered through the window to see Lu Songyuan laying on the kang bed, acting as a horse for the two kids to ride. Wen Xiuqing was standing by, laughing and helping out. Gu Xiaobei couldn’t help but laugh too, and felt relieved.
After watching for a while, she reluctantly left the courtyard and was preparing to leave when Lu Ruixue called from behind, "Sister-in-law, wait for me."
Gu Xiaobei stopped and turned to see Lu Ruixue standing at the gate of the courtyard. She asked with a puzzled expression, "Ruixue, what’s wrong?"
Lu Ruixue awkwardly walked up to her and said, "Sister-in-law, can you lend me some money?"
Gu Xiaobei looked at Lu Ruixue and smiled, "All I have on me is some change for buying groceries, your brother still hasn’t received his salary for this month."
Lu Ruixue’s face stiffened, she hadn’t expected Gu Xiaobei to be so stingy.
Gu Xiaobei knew that lending money to Lu Ruixue would be as good as throwing it away, and there would be no gratitude in return.
Ruixue showed her backbone, saying nothing else she turned around and headed back to the yard. Gu Xiaobei paid her no mind and went off to find Qin Li so they could discuss what to do regarding inventory procurement after company registration.
Gu Xiaobei planned to become a general agent in the provincial capital first, supplying goods to the urban area of the provincial capital and surrounding cities. Many smaller cities currently source their goods from the provincial capital, which does not have a regular agent.
Some of them think the capital’s prices are too high, so they source goods from the south or larger cities, which then incorporates the cost of transportation. Now they are setting up an agency, signing contracts directly with various manufacturers, essentially creating a wholesale point in the provincial capital.
Qin Li didn’t really understand and hesitantly asked, "Isn’t this going to require a lot of money?"
Gu Xiaobei grinned and said, "No, we are doing consignment. We can ask for base goods, which means we make payment for one batch after selling it. Don’t we not have money right now?" Gu Xiaobei knew the current mode of operation, many state-owned factories couldn’t find an outlet for their products. They were willing to consign their goods.
It was only much later that such a mode of partnering would change to advance payment for goods.
Qin Li nodded and asked, "What should I do then?"
"Let’s find some time to find a warehouse, find a storefront, and also hire people." Gu Xiaobei analyzed one by one, getting things started was always the hardest part so it was best to start preparing as soon as possible.
"Okay, let’s find a warehouse near my uncle’s police station. This way no one will dare to mess with us." Qin Li suggested.
Gu Xiaobei laughed and said, "That’s a great idea, we do need to find a backer. Otherwise, it’s easy to incur jealousy."
The two initially discussed the general plan. This gave Gu Xiaobei the impetus to go and get the remaining stamps for the documents. She planned to go and handle the remaining tasks after Sunday was over.
After enduring for four days, Gu Xiaobei finally saw Mo Wang and Xiaopang at dinner.
Upon seeing their mother, Mo Wang happily rushed into her arms. Xiaopang, however, only pouted. His eyes filled with tears and full of aggrievement. He momentarily held back his tears before finally breaking into a full cry, as if he had suffered a great injustice.
With one child in each arm, Gu Xiaobei was so heartbroken she started to shed tears, but she felt a sense of security from holding them again.
Wen Xiuqing continuously advised her that no matter how much the children cried for their mothers, they weren’t allowed to be breastfed. Toothpaste was to be smeared on the breast, so they would find it unpleasant and wouldn’t want to drink the milk. Otherwise, it would be even more difficult to wean them off the next time. Children were very cunning.
Only after repeatedly admonishing her did Wen Xiuqing finally return to the small courtyard. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
After Lu Zhanguo returned home that night, Gu Xiaobei first bathed Mo Wang and then Xiaopang.
She undressed Xiaopang and put him in a basin of water for his bath. As soon as Xiaopang was undressed, Gu Xiaobei caught sight of a bruise on the inside of Xiaopang’s smooth, white thigh near the crook of his leg.
Gu Xiaobei quickly picked up the wet Xiaopang and sat him on her leg to have a closer look at the bruise. The vivid purple and green was obviously caused by a pinch. Her heart stopped for a moment and tears welled up in her eyes. A feeling of rage rose in her chest and she bellowed towards the bedroom, "Lu Zhanguo, come here!"
