Chapter 1277 - 1149: Just Small-Time Business

Chapter 1277: Chapter 1149: Just Small-Time Business

As soon as Zhou Jiao stepped into the courtyard, she heard voices coming from the main room—sounded like Shi Tou and Mai Sui, the brother and sister.

She wondered if her kid Wu was here or not?

"Who is it?"

Zhou Jiao strode forward and saw the heavy cotton curtain at the hall doorway being pushed; she beat them to it and lifted it up. "Don’t pull, I’m coming in."

The poor cotton curtain was yanked from both sides and almost got torn.

The main hall was quite spacious.

Previously it had been lent to the Women’s Federation for office use; they’d knocked through the living room and the west room, so the space felt pretty open.

Later, when they moved out and she took the courtyard back, the modified layout looked fine to Zhou Jiao, so she didn’t bother spending money to redo the partitions.

A redwood Eight Immortals table with four redwood double benches, and not far from the east room there was a simple coal stove.

Right now her youngest son Wu was half lying on a woven rattan recliner with his eyes closed, resting. Hearing movement, he immediately raised his head and sprang up in delight.

"Mom, you’re about to go to work, how come you came over?"

"I hear you lot have been doing business on quite a scale?"

Wu hurried over to meet her, taking the things from her hands. "Heh, just small-time stuff. Mom, you’re here, are you cold? Come on in and warm up by the fire."

Of course it was cold, so Zhou Jiao didn’t take off her coat; she wasn’t as warm-blooded as these three young ones.

"Auntie."

Zhou Jiao nodded with a smile at Shi Tou and his sister at the side. "Why not set up another stove? I remember you built a heated brick bed in the east room, it’s nice and warm inside."

Shi Tou explained, "People come and go during the day, and some of them like to smoke. It’s not really convenient to let outsiders into the east room."

Zhou Jiao smiled, knowing they didn’t want people climbing up on the kang, afraid it’d get dirty and they wouldn’t be able to rest properly. "Me turning up suddenly, am I interrupting you talking business?"

"How could you be? We’re happy you’re here. Besides, we don’t have much going on. We were just checking how much stock went out early this morning. It’s not enough, we still have to press the printing factory to speed up."

On the side, Mai Sui, quick with her hands and eyes, picked up the kettle from the stove and poured her a cup of hot water. "Auntie, warm up your hands."

"Thanks." Zhou Jiao took a look around. "Business is good?"

"Yeah, busy to death."

Zhou Jiao smiled at Mai Sui who’d spoken, then looked toward Wu.

Wu understood and explained, "It’s getting close to year’s end. There are a lot more markets out in the suburbs. Quite a few people got wind of it from friends and rushed over to buy wholesale."

Zhou Jiao nodded with understanding. "Making money is one thing, but you mustn’t skip your three meals a day."

"Okay." Wu pressed her down to sit on the recliner. "Every noon Aunt Yuan brings food over. Sometimes by evening if we’re hungry, Second Sis will cook some noodles."

Zhou Jiao glanced at the account book on the table not far away and chuckled. "You’re wholesaling firecrackers and New Year prints too? Planning to develop in all directions, huh?"

Wu followed her gaze to the order sheets and immediately laughed. "Just piggybacking. All the dangerous stuff is stored in the side rooms. I’m very careful about safety."

Zhou Jiao wasn’t actually worried about the safety of the flammables; her three sons were more expert at this than she was. So she just gave one cautious reminder.

"That’s good. Wrap things up a bit earlier before New Year, and keep the noise down."

Wu nodded. "Got it. Right now, while the factories can still supply, we’re shipping to our Northeast hometown on one side and wholesaling to Jingjiao on the other. Around the twenty-sixth of the twelfth month we’ll pretty much be done."

Mai Sui looked at him, hesitated, and asked, "That early?"

"Second Sis, it’s not early. Whoever needs wholesaling will have pretty much finished by Little New Year. You can’t ever finish earning money. Second Aunt has to go back home for the New Year. Grandma Zuo also has to get busy with housework. With Sis-in-law alone at home with the kids, it’s not convenient."

"All right, I’ll go with your arrangement."

"And there’s one more thing I haven’t said. How’s that guy you’re seeing? Isn’t it time to make the most of my Second Aunt being here and bring him out for a little walk?"

With Wu teasing her like that, the usually bold and sassy Mai Sui flushed bright red, hurriedly shaking her head in denial. "Who’s seeing who? We haven’t even got a word on paper yet."

Zhou Jiao looked at her with a smile. "It’s winter vacation—he didn’t go back home?"

Mai Sui stomped her foot. "Auntie~"

Zhou Jiao laughed and patted her. "When a man’s grown he should marry, when a woman’s grown she should wed. Nothing to be shy about. If you really fancy him, I have a suggestion: better let your mom see him with her own eyes. You don’t have to tear the window paper and make it official. Just arrange a so-called chance encounter or something, isn’t that fine?"

Mai Sui bit her lip and immediately lowered her flushed face. "I still want to wait till I graduate."

"That’s fine too. A lifetime decision should be handled carefully."

Zhou Jiao shot Wu and Brother Shitou a look as they were about to speak.

No matter how bold and straightforward a big girl is, talking about her own marriage always feels awkward, let alone in front of her "brothers."

"Mom, I’ll take you to see the wintersweet in the back yard. The blossoms these days are wonderfully fragrant. I was just thinking of snapping a few branches tonight for you to take home and put in your bedroom."

"Sounds good. I haven’t been over here for a while." After speaking, Zhou Jiao pointed for Shi Tou and his sister at the sugared roasted chestnuts on the table. "Eat them while they’re hot."

"Thank you, Auntie."

Wu put his arm around his mom’s shoulders as they walked out, laughing. "Quit being polite. Brother Shitou, I’m leaving this place to you. I won’t come back this afternoon."

"No problem. Tomorrow you don’t have to come so early, come a bit later."

Wu waved back over his shoulder. Tomorrow he still had to come early; in a couple of days his two older brothers would be home on vacation, and then he wouldn’t have time to hang around here.

The transplanted wintersweet in the back yard really was blooming lavishly this year.

"Mom, smell that? Compared to the sweet osmanthus you love in August, how is it?"

"Hard to compare. Why aren’t you coming over in the afternoon—Shi Tou doesn’t need to head back?"

"It’s my turn to rest." Wu smiled and reached out to break off a sprig of wintersweet. "In a bit I’ll take you to work on the motorbike, it’s really fast."

"And after that?"

Wu handed her the wintersweet, then reached again but was caught by Zhou Jiao’s hand. "Leave it."

"Heh..." At that, Wu didn’t touch it again. "After that? After that I’m naturally going out for a spin. When you get off work, the two of us will go home together."

"Be careful on the road."

"Okay." Wu nodded obediently. "Mom, this year at year’s end you don’t have to swap meat coupons with people. I’ve already asked a few of the guys who come to buy wholesale to help me sniff out pork."

Zhou Jiao joked, "Looks like you’ve made quite a bit this time?"

"It’s alright." Wu glanced around and lowered his voice. "Mom, it doesn’t look like much, but the profit inside is huge. It’s only been half a month. Guess how much we’ve made altogether?"

Zhou Jiao blinked and held up a hand. "Five thousand?"

Wu laughed and rested his head against her shoulder, chuckling in a muffled way. For a guy over one meter eighty to act like a little kid like this...

"Ten thousand?"

"Heh heh, five different versions. Just the gold-dust couplets alone have netted almost ten grand. Right now it’s like our Northeast hometown province plus the area around Beijing are all our wholesale territory."