Chapter 37: Thinking of What Business to Do

“You want to do business?” Zhang Pengfei asked eagerly, “What kind of business do you want to do?”

“We don’t know yet,” Xie Qingxiao said, “We need to look around more.”

“Okay, go ahead and look,” Zhang Pengfei said, “Just let me know if you need any help. I’m just sitting around with nothing to do anyway.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t hesitate to ask for your help if I need it,” Xie Qingxiao said.

Zhang Pengfei patted Xie Qingxiao on the shoulder.

In the end, Zhang Pengfei didn’t follow Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi to look around.

After Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi finished eating, he urged them to leave.

“Why do I feel like something is weird between you and Zhang Pengfei?” Lin Xiangyi asked curiously, hugging Xie Qingxiao’s waist as she sat in the backseat.

“You’re not wrong,” Xie Qingxiao replied, looking ahead as he pedaled the bicycle.

Lin Xiangyi perked up her ears. There’s a story here?

“His family situation is a bit special,” Xie Qingxiao explained, “You probably don’t know this, but Zhang Pengfei is actually from the same village as me.”

“There are people with the last name Zhang in our village?” Lin Xiangyi said. She had chatted with Xie’s mother after dinner and they had discussed the surnames in the village, but she didn’t remember any Zhangs. Had she forgotten, or had Xie’s mother missed it?

“That’s the special part,” Xie Qingxiao said, “Zhang Pengfei is the only one with the last name Zhang in our village because he was brought over by his mother after she remarried.”

“…” Lin Xiangyi didn’t expect that Zhang Pengfei, who was so carefree, had such a past.

“Does he not have a good relationship with his family?” she guessed.

Earlier, when Zhang Pengfei mentioned that Xie Qingxiao was getting married and his other brother was also being set up on blind dates by his family, he had self-deprecatingly called himself a lonely bachelor, and Lin Xiangyi noticed a flash of disappointment on his face.

“You guessed it?” Xie Qingxiao was surprised, “He really doesn’t have a good relationship with his stepfather’s family. His stepfather doesn’t like him very much, and his mother is a timid person who often ignores him. He doesn’t go home much now, and he rarely goes back to the village.”

Xie Qingxiao spoke concisely, but Lin Xiangyi had already imagined a dramatic family melodrama. However, she didn’t continue to ask.

Xie Qingxiao wasn’t a gossip either. He told Lin Xiangyi about Zhang Pengfei because she would be with him in the future and would have more interactions with Zhang Pengfei. There were some things she needed to know. Seeing that she didn’t ask further, he didn’t say anything more. She would learn what she needed to know in time.

The two of them rode around on their bicycles. The afternoon sun was too hot, so they went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy two bottles of soda and sat in a shady spot for two hours. When the sun wasn’t so scorching, they went out to look around again.

They visited the staff dormitories of various units, the bus station, and the health center, all places with a lot of people.

They found that there were quite a few bold people in the county who had already started small businesses in these places with high foot traffic.

They sold food and necessities, with more food vendors. For example, they sold chickens and ducks raised by themselves, vegetables and fruits they had grown, or things like rice and sesame seeds.

The steamed buns and tea eggs that Lin Xiangyi and Xie Qingxiao had discussed were also being sold by someone.

The two of them spent a whole day looking around but still couldn’t figure out what kind of business to do. They felt like any business was feasible, but something was always missing, so they couldn’t make a decision.

“It’s almost five o’clock, let’s stop looking,” Lin Xiangyi said.

“Should we go home then?” Xie Qingxiao braked and put his foot down, turning his head to say, “What do you want to eat tonight? Should we buy some meat and cook it? I have meat coupons.”

“Let’s buy some duck meat. I wonder if they have it? The state-run butcher shop is right ahead, let’s go take a look?” Lin Xiangyi said.

“Okay,” Xie Qingxiao said, heading straight for the butcher shop fifty meters ahead. He parked his bicycle outside and went inside with Lin Xiangyi.

This was the time when residents of the county came to buy vegetables to cook dinner, so the butcher shop was quite crowded.

“Master, I want half a duck,” Xie Qingxiao said to the stall selling duck meat.

The master quickly took a freshly plucked duck, immediately cut open its belly, and quickly removed the innards in three strokes, throwing them on the chopping board. He cut the duck meat in half, put it on the scale…

Lin Xiangyi was attracted by the innards. A pile of unprocessed duck innards formed a small mountain.

Were they not selling these innards or were they unsold?

Lin Xiangyi asked, “Master, are you not selling the innards?”

“What’s wrong? You want the innards?” The master was sweating profusely and took a moment to look up at Lin Xiangyi, saying, “These innards haven’t been processed, if you want to buy them, it’s one cent per pounds, no ticket needed.”

So they were unsold!

Lin Xiangyi smiled knowingly, “Then give me five pounds.”

“Why buy innards?” Xie Qingxiao asked, “These innards aren’t good to eat. If people could buy meat, no one would buy innards. If you feel like half a duck isn’t enough, we can buy more meat. I have meat coupons.”

“That’s not the reason,” Lin Xiangyi said, “I’ll tell you later.”

It was too crowded to talk here.

The master, upon hearing this, seemed afraid that Lin Xiangyi wouldn’t buy them. After weighing the duck meat, he didn’t even bother weighing the remaining innards. He simply grabbed two handfuls for Lin Xiangyi with his hands, wrapped them in newspaper, and threw them to her.

Lin Xiangyi weighed them in her hands and estimated that there were about six pounds.

She wanted to buy some duck heads, but unfortunately, duck heads were sold together with the duck meat and couldn’t be bought separately. So she gave up.

After leaving the butcher shop, Lin Xiangyi told Xie Qingxiao, “I think I know what kind of business we should do. Don’t negate me yet, you can judge after I make it tonight. Now, let’s go to the supply and marketing cooperative. I need to buy some more things.”

Xie Qingxiao, hearing her say this, didn’t ask further.

So, they went back to the supply and marketing cooperative, making a detour. Lin Xiangyi bought a lot of things, and when they went back, she was already carrying a big bag of stuff.

At the Xie family’s house, Xie’s father and Xie’s mother had already returned from work.

Pushing open the door, they saw the quiet house and Xie’s mother was surprised, “Have the two of you been in the county all day and haven’t come back yet? Is there so much to look at in the county?”

There were no markets in the county now, and people basically went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things. There were also very few entertainment options, so there wasn’t much to see.

Xie’s mother couldn’t imagine what Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi had been looking at all day in the county.

“They probably went to see friends,” Xie’s father guessed.

“Spent a whole day playing with friends?” Xie’s mother thought about this possibility and became a little angry.

Everyone was busy working for a living, but this couple was just playing around. Were they expecting their old parents to support them? Or were they waiting to starve to death?

“Old Xie, we must force Ah Xiao to work tomorrow!” Xie’s mother said with unprecedented determination.

“But doesn’t he have to accompany his wife back to her family tomorrow?”

Xie’s mother: “…” She had almost forgotten that Xiangyi was going back to her family tomorrow.

“Then let’s postpone it for another day…”

Creak!

Xie’s father and Xie’s mother were still talking when the courtyard door was pushed open, and Xie Qingxiao and Lin Xiangyi came back.

“You’re back?” Xie’s mother went over, saw the big bag of stuff in Lin Xiangyi’s arms, and went to help her take it, “What is this?”

“Meat.”

Xie’s mother: ???