Back To The 80s-Chapter 373 - 383: Three Cannons_1
Gu Xiaobei sighed inwardly, realizing that there were countless small tasks involved in running the operation which were proving much more tedious than they initially seemed. The workload was far greater than the days when she simply sat in her bright office, clinched big orders with a single phone call.
However, she knew that there was no turning back now. She had to amass her initial capital quickly in order to make a move on other ventures.
Wen Xiuqing and Lu Songyuan took the children to sleep in the east room to prevent them from disturbing Gu Xiaobei’s sleep. Lately, they had all been sleeping together.
After heating the rice, Lu Zhanguo set up the Kang Table, arranged the dishes, and then went to the kitchen to bring in a covered bowl of tea.
Gu Xiaobei, with a hint of curiosity, commented, "I’ve never seen this tea bowl before...did you buy it today?" As she lifted the cover, she saw green tea leaves, wolfberries and dates floating inside. She looked at Lu Zhanguo with surprise, "How did you come up with this?" She was familiar with the concept of flower tea and had seen such covered bowl teas in later times, but did not expect Lu Zhanguo to be so attentive.
"I bought the covered tea bowl, tea leaves, dates, wolfberries, and rock sugar when I returned today. This is called ’Three Brews Stand’ in the Northwest. It is a traditional tea drinking custom of the Hui people," Lu Zhanguo explained.
Gu Xiaobei picked up the bottom of the tea bowl, took a sip from it, and tasted the clear fragrance of the tea mixed with the sweetness of the dates. It was a bit bitter at first but left a sweet aftertaste.
She was suddenly struck with the idea of starting a business of repackaging tea leaves. She finished savoring a bowl of the tea before smilingly asking Lu Zhanguo, "How about I start preparing ’convenience packs’? They will contain tea leaves, wolfberries, dates, and rock sugar in specific proportions, divided into small pouches. When you want to make a cup of tea, all you have to do is pour the contents of one pack in, saving the trouble of having to pick up the individual ingredients."
Lu Zhanguo admired Gu Xiaobei for her quick thinking. He smiled and said, "This could indeed work as a business idea. There are many Hui people in the Northwest who enjoy drinking tea this way, and they have also influenced several other ethnic groups. They especially adore the ’Three Brews Stand,’ which they have before each meal. In the rural areas, when the men return from the farms, they sit cross-legged on the Kang while the women quickly boil water for tea and serve it with some dry grain. They then proceed to make meals. Regardless of their living conditions, tea is an essential part of their life."
Gu Xiaobei was intrigued by his description, feeling that this business idea was plausible. She decided to look into what kind of tea they preferred and any specific etiquette they followed.
Seeing her enthusiastic, Lu Zhanguo fondly touched her face and said, "I can find someone knowledgeable about this and explain it to you in detail later. For now, let’s have our meal."
Delighted, Gu Xiaobei began eating. She was reassured that the company she registered was already licensed to manufacture and process, so once she had sufficient capital, she could embark on this business venture.
After their meal, Gu Xiaobei collected the dishes and started counting the day’s cash and recording accounts.
Lu Zhanguo helped by counting the single notes into stacks of ten, making it easier for Gu Xiaobei to calculate the total amount.
The day’s business brought in just over a thousand, meaning a profit of only around a hundred. Gu Xiaobei sighed at the arduous process of earning this money. It took the constant efforts of many people, along with early mornings and late nights, and numerous relationships to achieve this amount.
Lu Zhanguo reassured her, "Are you complaining about making too little? What you’ve earned in a day matches my monthly salary. This is just a start, it’ll get better."
Gu Xiaobei squinted her eyes and smiled, "Hmm, my target for this year is to earn fifty thousand by the end of the year. Once the spring tea arrives next year, I’ll be able to start the repackaging of the tea leaves."
"Don’t push yourself too hard. Our life isn’t too bad as it is now. We can even afford to eat meat every day," Lu Zhanguo urged, concerned for her well-being.
Gu Xiao Bei, with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes, smilingly requested Lu Zhanguo, "Then why don’t you tell me ’Darling, you’ve worked hard. I love you.’"
Lu Zhanguo blushed and immediately got up from the bed. "There’s hot water on the stove. I’ll fetch you some water for a foot bath." He headed out of the room with his ears bright red, leaving Gu Xiaobei laughing heartily on the bed. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
In early August, the business in Gu Xiaobei’s store stabilized quite a bit, and the two new sales clerks had familiarized themselves with their work. Qin Li, and Gu Xiaobei could now alternate shifts at the store, which gave her brief respites.
Ji Xiangdong planned to return to Shule River in mid-August, which made Wen Xiuqing visibly upset whenever it was mentioned.
Gu Xiaobei also noticed that Wen Xiuqing took surprisingly long to buy groceries when she was at home looking after the children. Sometimes, she disappeared for two to three hours. Gu Xiaobei suspected that Wen Xiuqing was visiting Lu Ruixue and while she understood that a mother’s bond with her child was unbreakable, she left it unaddressed.
Bai Xiaolan pulled Gu Xiaobei aside and whispered, "Your eldest brother told me that there are many jade stones in the Shule River area, but the locals don’t understand their value. Moreover, some of them are located in the mountains or the river and are rarely mined. Therefore, purchasing them depends on luck."
Gu Xiaobei was aware that if everyone knew the value of jade, they probably wouldn’t get a share of it. She reminded Bai Xiaolan, "Keep an eye out then. Are you going back to work?"
Bai Xiaolan shook her head, "Xiangdong says that I don’t need to go back to work for now."
"Then, you should visit the market regularly. If you’re short of money, send me a telegram and I’ll lend you some." Gu Xiaobei thought, once there were a couple of thousand in the reserves, she could spare some cash.
Bai Xiaolan nodded, "Okay, but I’m not short on cash right now. My mom even sent me five thousand. I’m now worth tens of thousands." She gloated at Gu Xiaobei after saying this.
As the two of them secretly chatted, Wen Xiuqing arrived back from grocery shopping, her eyes red and swollen, having clearly just cried.
Gu Xiaobei didn’t ask her; she didn’t want to hear Wen Xiuqing say how pitiful Lu Ruixue was, so she pretended to not notice anything.
However, Bai Xiaolan didn’t know about it and asked in surprise, "Mom, what’s wrong? Did you go grocery shopping? Why have you been crying?"
Caught off guard, Wen Xiuqing started tearing up again. She quickly wiped away her tears and said, "Ruixue was beaten by that beast Chen Dajun. Her eyes are so swollen that they’re slits."
Bai Xiaolan, thinking this had nothing to do with her, casually asked Gu Xiaobei, "Xiaobei, are you eating before going to the store or are you heading there now?"
"I’ll go now and later have a couple of baked rolls with Qin Li at the store," Gu Xiaobei replied. She handed Xiaopang over to Bai Xiaolan and hurried to change clothing and prepare to leave.
Wen Xiuqing sighed. Lu Ruixue wanted to come home today, but judging from the reactions of the two daughters-in-law, they seemed unwilling to bring her up. Moreover, she didn’t know how to bring it up either.
When Gu Xiaobei bicycled to the store, the scorching heat made her instruct Xiao Hong to buy some ice lollies for everyone to help them cool down.
The popsicles had hardly reached their mouths when few uniformed officers showed up. Without saying much, they ordered everyone out and announced that they were going to seal the store.
Gu Xiaobei was indignant, "Based on what? The business license hasn’t returned yet. But the commercial authorities have said that the receipt with a red stamp that I have can act as a temporary permit. Since my operations are legal and all the products I sell are qualified, why do they want us to close the store all of a sudden?"
