Chapter 29: Cooperation

The next day, when Jiang Yiyi woke up, Gu’s mother had already prepared breakfast. Gu Yunyang and Gu Yuncan were coaxing Tiantian and Yueyue to play in the yard. The four of them were very quiet, afraid of waking her up.

Last night, after putting the two little ones in Gu’s mother’s room, Jiang Yiyi was worried that they might cry when they woke up in the morning, after all, she had promised to let the two little ones sleep with her. It turned out there was no need to worry; Gu Yunchi had raised the two children very well.

Taking her toiletries outside, she saw the two little ones running towards her with their short legs, calling her “Aunt” and then following closely behind her while she washed up.

Gu Yunyang followed as well.

Seeing them, Gu Yuncan also followed.

Gu Yunyang looked hesitant.

They hadn’t gone to school; today must be Sunday. She didn’t need to guess what Gu Yunyang wanted to say, but she deliberately didn’t ask, calmly washing up under the watchful eyes of the four.

After she washed her face, Gu Yunyang diligently handed her the towel, observing her expression. Seeing that she wasn’t grumpy, he tentatively asked, “Sister-in-law, we don’t have school today. Can my sister and I go see the house you rented?”

Gu Yuncan, who hadn’t considered it before, immediately looked at Jiang Yiyi with longing. She was somewhat shy and didn’t usually speak much at home. She would do whatever she was told; if not, she would help with whatever she could. This was the first time she had shown such longing in front of Jiang Yiyi.

“Okay. Ask Mother to come along, and bring Tiantian and Yueyue.”

Gu Yunyang cheered, and Gu Yuncan couldn’t help but let out a small cheer. The two little ones followed suit.

Gu’s mother, hearing the cheers, poked her head out from the kitchen and asked with a smile, “What’s so exciting?”

“Mother, Sister-in-law agreed to let us go to the county.”

“We can’t go today; there’s only one bicycle, and it won’t fit so many people.”

“I’ll pull a cart. You can sit on it with my sister and Tiantian and Yueyue, and I’ll pull you there.”

Seeing that her son had a plan, Gu’s mother nodded with a smile.

After breakfast, Gu Yunyang eagerly prepared the cart and put Tiantian and Yueyue on it.

Jiang Yiyi let Gu’s mother ride the bicycle, and she and Gu Yuncan pushed from behind. Gu Yunyang pulled the cart, but didn’t need to exert much effort, just steering.

After half an hour, they arrived in the county town.

Gu Yunchi had gone out to deliver the liangpi, and Jiang Jinfeng wasn’t there either. Only Zhou Fen and the widowed Zhou woman were in the workshop.

The courtyard was spotless.

“Sister-in-law, Yiyi, you’re here.”

Zhou Fen stepped forward and picked up Tiantian. She and Jiang Jinfeng had been married for several years without children, so they especially loved children, especially little girls. They couldn’t get enough of them.

The widowed Zhou woman also greeted them and then went back to work.

Zhou Fen said, “We made six hundred portions today. Besides the wholesale orders, there are still quite a few left. Yunchi said she’ll sell them after delivering the liangpi, so she told us not to wait for her for lunch.”

“Your older brother went back to the village to see if our parents have found anyone. Actually, Zhou Auntie and I are enough; we don’t need to hire anyone else.”

Hiring another person means paying another wage.

“The liangpi will only increase, and you and Zhou Auntie won’t be able to handle it.”

Zhou Fen wanted to say they could handle it, they could just stay up late at night and sleep during the day, but seeing Jiang Yiyi pick up Yueyue, she clearly didn’t want to continue the conversation, so she swallowed her words.

Gu Yunyang entered the gate, his eyes wide with wonder. He looked at the spacious courtyard, the large pile of coal in the corner, the ten stoves and ten large pots, and the five rooms, feeling quite shocked.

Even though his mother had told him the courtyard and rooms were large, seeing it with his own eyes, he realized just how large they were—larger than he had imagined.

Gu Yuncan followed behind him, equally amazed. His sister-in-law was so capable; she had rented such a large courtyard.

“Brother, you have to work harder. When you score sixty, we can move here.”

Gu Yunyang nodded frantically, wishing there was paper and pen right there so his sister could give him some problems to solve.

Gu’s mother, having been here before, wasn’t as surprised. She let Gu Yunyang and Gu Yuncan play with Tiantian and Yueyue, reminding them to keep their voices down, and asked Jiang Yiyi, “What are we having for lunch? You go buy the ingredients, and I’ll cook. Let your sister-in-law and the others sleep.”

“No need, Sister-in-law, we’re not tired.”

They went to bed early that night; even if they had to get up in the middle of the night to make liangpi, they weren’t tired, and they wouldn’t let Gu’s mother cook.

Before Jiang Yiyi could answer, there was a knock on the door. Zhou Fen quickly went to open it. Brother Liu, sweating profusely, was standing at the door pushing a bicycle, and said to Jiang Yiyi, “Sister, my brother-in-law needs to see you. Please go to the state-run restaurant.”

Seeing how urgent he was, Zhou Fen’s heart leaped into her throat, and she quickly looked back at Jiang Yiyi.

Gu’s mother’s heart also went up, “What happened?”

“I don’t know. I was at work, and my brother-in-law sent someone to find me, saying he had something to see you, so I hurried over to call you.”

Jiang Yiyi pushed the bicycle out, Gu’s mother wanted to follow, but she stopped her, “If there’s a problem with our liangpi, Manager Huang would have already called Brother Liu over to scold him. Now that he’s sending him to find me, it can only be good news, not bad news, Mother, don’t worry.”

Hearing this, Gu’s mother felt a little relieved.

Brother Liu originally wanted to accompany Jiang Yiyi; if something really happened, he could help her out. Hearing Jiang Yiyi’s words, he thought it made sense, so he changed his mind.

“Sister, I’ll go back to work. If my brother-in-law really gives you a hard time, just have someone go to the aluminum factory to find me.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Yiyi went to the state-run restaurant and went straight to knock on Manager Huang’s office door.

“Come in!”

Jiang Yiyi pushed the door open. Besides Manager Huang, there was another man in the room, about the same age as Manager Huang, holding a cigarette. Seeing her come in, he put out the cigarette in the ashtray.

“This is my classmate. He happened to be in the county on business, and he tried the liangpi and thought it was very good. He wants to talk to you about a collaboration.”

On business in the county? That means he’s not from the county.

Jiang Yiyi looked at the man, and the man was also looking at her. Their eyes met, and neither of them looked away.

The man remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was quite impressed. Jiang Yiyi was the first person he’d seen with such composure at such a young age.

“You are…?”

Jiang Yiyi spoke first. This wasn’t the modern era; many things depended on connections. Although Manager Huang was just the manager of a state-run restaurant, his connections couldn’t be underestimated. She had to give Manager Huang face.

“From the city.”

It was truly effortless.

Jiang Yiyi had originally planned to develop in the city after things stabilized here. Now that the opportunity had come to her, she naturally wouldn’t miss it.

“How do you want to cooperate?”

“You provide the technology, I provide the labor and venue, and the profits will be split 60/40, 60% for me, 40% for you.”

Jiang Yiyi shook her head. Liangpi didn’t have any special technology; anyone could learn it. If the other party learned it, she might lose more than just the city market.

“I can only supply you with goods. You tell me the quantity you need one day in advance, and I’ll have the early morning bus deliver it to you.”

Her stall here wasn’t fully set up yet, so she couldn’t go to open a workshop yet, so she could only temporarily use the bus for delivery.

“I’ll pay for the transportation, the same price as what I give Manager Huang, twenty cents, but you have to provide at least two hundred portions every day.”