Chapter 36: To the County Town

The Xie family now owned two bicycles – Xie Qingxiao had one originally, and Lin Shan had gifted Lin Xiangyi one as a wedding dowry.

Today, when they were going to the county town, Lin Xiangyi originally planned to ride one herself, but Xie Qingxiao said they could just ride one together, and he would take her.

When Lin Xiangyi got married, she noticed that a large part of the road from Longjing Village to the county town was a mountain road, with rough and uneven terrain, making it difficult to ride a bicycle.

Hearing Xie Qingxiao say this, she didn’t stand on ceremony and let him take her.

It was just right for him to burn off some energy, otherwise he would be like a possessed Teddy Bear all night, thinking about that thing.

Upon arriving in the county town, the two of them rode their bicycles around the town. When it was almost time for dinner, they headed straight for the state-owned restaurant.

They ordered two bowls of pork dumplings. As soon as they sat down, workers and employees getting off work poured in, forming a long queue.

Lin Xiangyi was too busy watching the commotion and grabbed a freshly cooked dumpling to eat. It was so hot that she grimaced and quickly blew on it to cool it down. With a mouthful of food, she said, “The state-owned restaurant is doing pretty good business.”

“Most of the people who come to the state-owned restaurant to eat are workers and employees. They have salaries and get tired of the canteen or don’t want to cook at home, so they come here for a little treat,” Xie Qingxiao said, “Naturally, the business is good.”

He used to be a regular at state-owned restaurants when he was out and about.

“Indeed,” Lin Xiangyi nodded and said, “People need food, clothing, shelter, and transportation to survive in this world. Especially food, it’s the foundation of our existence… How about we start a business selling food?”

Lin Xiangyi suggested, “Although many units now have canteens, and there are also state-owned restaurants for those who want a little treat, these places all require tickets. Workers and employees don’t lack money, but they don’t have many tickets. If we want to sell food, there’s still a market.”

What Lin Xiangyi didn’t say was that she was a food blogger in her previous life, and making food was an advantage for her.

Xie Qingxiao swallowed a dumpling and thought about Lin Xiangyi’s suggestion seriously. He also thought her idea was feasible, but he asked, “What kind of food should we sell? Buns and tea eggs?”

He said while eating, “I saw quite a few people selling buns and tea eggs in the city, especially at the bus station and employee dormitories, unit entrances, and schools in the morning. At that time, people were rushing to catch the bus or go to work or school, and they didn’t have time to buy elsewhere, so they would basically pay for it. These vendors all do pretty good business.”

Lin Xiangyi nodded in agreement. The current Chinese market circulation was particularly closed, and as long as you were bold, you could generally make money doing business.

However.

“Buns and tea eggs have low profit margins, and you earn a lot of hard-earned money,” Lin Xiangyi said, “Let’s take a look first. If there are no other options, we’ll do this.”

Okay.

Xie Qingxiao nodded. Before he could speak, a pair of black arms suddenly wrapped around his neck: “You little rascal, you actually went out! I thought you were going to stay home and cuddle with your wife, you haven’t been out for a while!”

It was Zhang Pengfei. He had his arms around Xie Qingxiao’s neck from behind, smiling with a teasing expression.

Xie Qingxiao was choked and couldn’t breathe. He threw his arms away forcefully: “Are you trying to murder me? Do you believe I’ll make you beg for mercy on the ground?”

“You’re so capable, but I’m not afraid. I have my sister-in-law covering me,” Zhang Pengfei laughed and sat down on the long bench where Xie Qingxiao was sitting, looking at Lin Xiangyi.

The day before yesterday at the banquet, Lin Xiangyi had made a scene at the Lu family, clearing up Zhang Pengfei’s misunderstanding that Lin Xiangyi had married Xie Qingxiao because of Lu Dingyuan. Now, he really approved of Lin Xiangyi as his sister-in-law.

Now he was smiling even more obsequiously: “Sister-in-law, if Brother Xiao beats me up, you’ll definitely help me, right?”

“You’re thinking too much,” Lin Xiangyi still held a grudge against him for teasing her the day before yesterday when he came to pick her up: “If Xie Qingxiao beats you up, of course I’ll help him. Why would I help you? He’s my husband, not you!”

“Hey! You’re actually protecting him?” Zhang Pengfei said incredulously, “Sister-in-law, you’ve changed. You used to hate Brother Xiao the most… Sss! Why are you hitting me, Xie Qingxiao!”

Xie Qingxiao slapped Zhang Pengfei on the head. What nonsense was he talking about?

“I used to not only hate Xie Qingxiao, I used to hate you too!” Lin Xiangyi said.

Zhang Pengfei’s attention was instantly diverted. He asked curiously, “So you don’t hate Brother Xiao or me anymore?”

“Aren’t you talking nonsense? I’m already married to Xie Qingxiao. If I still hate him, wouldn’t that be me going against myself?” Lin Xiangyi chuckled.

But soon, she straightened her face and said, “However, I was indeed young and impulsive back then, and I didn’t understand you two. I did misunderstand you a lot, I’m sorry.”

“No, no, no, Sister-in-law, why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault,” Zhang Pengfei hurriedly said, “It’s all Brother Xiao’s fault. If he wasn’t such a stupid idiot, he wouldn’t have tried to attract… Mmm-hmm?”

“Zhang Pengfei, just shut up. You talk so much, you’re like those aunties at the village entrance,” Xie Qingxiao picked up a dumpling and stuffed it into Zhang Pengfei’s mouth.

Zhang Pengfei was caught off guard, almost choking.

“…” Damn it, Xie Qingxiao, if it wasn’t for the sake of their brotherhood, he would have had a fight with him!

“What are you doing, Xie Qingxiao?” Lin Xiangyi scolded, quickly poured a cup of tea for Zhang Pengfei, and asked, “Attract what?”

Zhang Pengfei struggled to swallow the dumpling, feeling Xie Qingxiao’s warning gaze, and didn’t dare to continue, “Sister-in-law, Brother Xiao is so vain, if I say it, he’ll probably beat me to death. You should just ask him yourself.”

Lin Xiangyi looked at Xie Qingxiao suspiciously.

Xie Qingxiao looked calm, “He’s talking nonsense, don’t listen to him!”

Lin Xiangyi wasn’t a particularly curious person, so she didn’t ask any further.

“Are you alone?” Xie Qingxiao directly changed the subject, asking Zhang Pengfei.

“Yeah,” Zhang Pengfei’s food was ready, and he went to the window to get it. He said, “You just got married, and I don’t want to disturb you two. I wanted to go find Afeng, but his mother knew you got married and wanted Afeng to get married soon, so she took Afeng to meet girls. I’m a lonely bachelor, so I can only come here to eat alone. Who knew I’d run into you and your wife.”

Lin Xiangyi listened from the side, and for some reason, she heard a hint of grievance.

She looked at Zhang Pengfei and thought to herself, maybe she was mistaken. Then she heard Xie Qingxiao say, “My wife and I are going to walk around the county town for a while. Do you want to come with us?”

“No, no, no,” Zhang Pengfei said, “You two go ahead and walk around. I don’t want to disturb your couple’s date.”

“We’re not on a date,” Lin Xiangyi explained, “Xie Qingxiao and I came to the county town today mainly to see if we could do some business. If you don’t mind, you can come with us.”