Chapter 2113: Start a Small Business
Chapter 2113: Start a Small Business
....Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
It was soon winter and it started snowing heavily outside. The children had snowball fights outdoors and built snowmen in the courtyard. These three children only had memories of growing up in Country M. The weather there was mild and it felt like spring all year round and there was no snow at all. This was the first time the children had ever seen snow.
Xu Lan had already retired from the art troupe. Xia He got her wish and took over the position of troupe leader of the art troupe. She was in charge of everything there. Nowadays, she not only had to take care of the business at the photo studio, but she also needed to keep an eye on the art troupe’s various performances. She was very busy every day.
Xu Lan was constantly worried that Xia He’s heavy workload was not good for both her and the baby. Qiao Mei had to keep advising Xu Lan to relax. Back when she was pregnant with Xia Fan and Xia Xing, she even continued working in the fields!
Back then, she had no issue chopping firewood and cooking every day. Anyway, Xia He was very fit and it was actually beneficial to the baby if she did an appropriate amount of exercise every day.
It was time for lunch. During the winter season, everyone felt happiest when they sat around the hotpot at mealtime. Li Gui had prepared a lot of ingredients , As Zhang Wei and the other children were all on holiday at home, there were many mouths to feed. Li Gui had specially prepared three hotpots so that they could eat comfortably.
“Kids! Come in and have your meal!” Li Gui shouted out of the window.
Xia Fan sat inside a pile of snow and said, “Grandma, can I play for a while more? I want to eat only when I’m done playing.”
Xu Lan immediately said, “Tuan Tuan, you can’t change the mealtime at will. Everyone must eat at the fixed timing and you must respect the person who cooks the meal. Cooking is a very tiring chore. If you don’t eat now, you will have to go hungry later!”
“Alright, then I’ll eat first,” Xia Fan said dejectedly.
It was normal for children to like to play. Xu Lan and Li Gui were willing to spoil the children, but not when they wanted to go against the rules.
Qiao Mei got up from the bed slowly. During this period of time, Xia Zhe had to return to the army base to plan the details of his next mission. She was again left alone at home with nothing to do.
After the family had their meal, Li Gui held Qiao Mei’s hand and said, “Mei Mei, I want to talk to you.”
Seeing this, Xu Lan brought the children to the courtyard to play, giving Li Gui and Qiao Mei some space. During this period of time, Xu Lan had been living in the same house with Li Gui and could tell that Li Gui had something on her mind. She had asked Li Gui once before, but Li Gui kept saying that she was fine. Since Li Gui did not want to tell her, she did not probe further.
Xia Mao was always busy in the army. It was really boring for her to live in a big house alone. That was why she preferred to come to Qiao Mei’s house to help Feng Hua and the others take care of the children.
It was better to take care of the children personally. The children would grow closest to the people who brought them up. For this reason, Xu Lan even came to learn how to cook from Li Gui every day. She was now the one in charge of the children’s meals. If she wanted to capture the children’s hearts, she had to do it through their stomachs!
“Mei Mei, I’ve been thinking about something for a long time. I’ve been idle at home for too long, so I want to go out and do some business. However, I’m worried that your mother-in-law won’t like me doing that and then it will affect her impression of you,” Li Gui said awkwardly.
Nowadays, if one ran a small business, people still saw it as being similar to the illegal private business of the old. In recent years, the economy had been opening up, but small businesses and workshops were usually family-run and there was no guarantee on the quality and safety of the products. Due to this impression, it had become a taboo to be associated with a private business. Li Gui was worried that the Xia family would frown on this.
“Don’t worry, my mother-in-law will understand. But what kind of business do you want to do?” Qiao Mei asked.
“Zhang Chao and Zhang Qin keep tellling me that the food in their school canteen does not taste good but there are no restaurants or snack shops near the school. I want to open a small restaurant near the school so that it will be easier for the two of them to have their meals. At the same time, I can also make some money,” Li Gui said.
“Not bad! That’s a good idea!” Qiao Mei said approvingly.
Qiao Mei had also thought about asking Li Gui to open a specialty restaurant. From the way Li Gui managed the Osmanthus Food Factory, it was obvious that she was not good at managing staff. It would be too tough for her to run a big restaurant. The specialty restaurant need not be too big but the most important thing was that the food had to stand out from the rest and be able to cater to the taste buds of the customers!
Li Gui heaved a sigh of relief. She had thought that Qiao Mei would not be interested in a small business and was worried that Qiao Mei would tell her to open a big restaurant and set out to conquer the food and beverage industry in the capital.