"I’m already at this age, why should I learn to read?" Xu Po felt awkward for a moment. He couldn’t understand why his big brother was so determined, even learning how to read. Every time he looked at those words, he felt painful.

"Dad, you should keep learning as long as you live. If you can’t read, and someone fools you, you wouldn’t even know it." Xu Tao rolled his eyes. Whenever his dad needed to check something, he and his sister had to read it for him.

Back in the day, Xu Po had also attended the brigade primary school for two years, but so many years have passed, he had long forgotten what he learned.

"Don’t I have you brother and sister? Who could fool me?" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Xu Jiaojiao looked at her dad speechlessly. Forget it, if he doesn’t want to learn, then so be it. She and her brother were there to keep an eye on things, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

Xu Mumu and the others didn’t stay long in the countryside and went back in the afternoon. They came back in a rush, and nothing at the old home was prepared properly.

On the way back, Madam Chen shared many tips on how to raise children with Xu Mumu. After all, Xu Mumu was also getting ready to have children, so it was only a matter of time.

Xu Mumu listened somewhat helplessly, but obediently anyway. Grandma had given birth to many children and raised so many grandchildren, this was all experience talking.

After returning home, Xu Mumu realized that Madam Chen was just too idle every day, bored with nothing to do.

"Grandma, you have nothing to do every day, why don’t we start a small business?" Xu Mumu asked Madam Chen.

"I’m already at this age, what business could I do?" Madam Chen waved her hand with a smile.

Now, there are several people working at home, each one is very busy. The old couple just needs to look after the little grandson. Life is indeed a bit dull, but the leisurely life in the city is something others can only dream of.

"We can! We could make a small cart, boil some tea eggs to sell outside the school, and fry some potatoes. Making buns and steamed buns is too much trouble. Selling these things could definitely earn us some money." Besides making money from small stalls, selling milk tea could also earn money. However, milk tea was not suitable for grandma, this was more convenient.

"Sis, if Grandma doesn’t go, we can go. I want to." Xu Minglei immediately said, wanting to earn some pocket money. His bigger amounts of money were deposited by his dad in a savings account, and he was running out of the small change he had.

"Okay, let’s give it a try. Later, we can buy some potatoes and various seasonings, then make a small cart. We can sell outside the school or factory when school finishes or when people get off work." Xu Mumu said with a smile, planning to find something for grandma to do. They believed that once they started earning money, Grandma would become motivated.

Regarding the small cart, Old Xu was there. His craftsman skills weren’t the best, but he could handle the basics. Xu Mumu gathered the wood and instructed him on what to do, and in just a couple of days, the small cart was ready.

On Xu Mumu’s side, all the materials were prepared. They couldn’t cut potatoes into spiral shapes, so they had to just fry them. Besides that, they had cold noodles and tea eggs. There weren’t many options, so they decided to start with the simplest ones.

In the past few days, Xu Mumu had been frying potatoes at home. After Madam Chen and the others tasted it, they were very fond of the fried potatoes. The cold noodles were good too, but a bit cold to eat in winter.

The tea eggs were also quite tasty. Madam Chen felt confident that the tea eggs could earn them a good amount of money.

The small cart was ready. With the coal stove on top, they set out — the little boy was placed on the cart and was very happy.

They headed to the area outside the cotton factory since schools were on holiday and there wouldn’t be any business outside the schools.

The tea eggs had been simmering for a while. Aside from them, there was only one vendor selling meat buns, and the rest were selling vegetables from their own gardens.

The aroma of tea eggs, even with the lid on, spread far and wide. Xu Mumu and the others attracted several curious glances from nearby vendors.

"Big sister, your vegetables look good. Give me a couple of stalks." Just as they set up their cart and were waiting for the workers to get off work, Madam Chen’s eyes fell on an elderly lady’s stall next to her. Her vegetables looked pretty good, definitely nice to fry up for a meal.

"Young lady, you have a good eye. These are grown in my own private plot. My husband takes really good care of them." The vegetable-selling granny immediately started chatting with Madam Chen. Her vegetables weren’t selling much either. It was only during the rush hour after work when they’d likely sell out.

Madam Chen was eager to buy, and the granny was very enthusiastic.

While buying vegetables, Madam Chen engaged in casual conversation with the neighboring granny. Listening to them chat, Xu Mumu was impressed by her grandma’s skills. In just a short conversation, she almost fully understood that granny’s family situation.

This granny’s surname was Feng. Her son died a martyr, and her daughter occasionally supported the elderly couple. Now that they could do some business, relying on their gardening skills, the couple’s life had improved somewhat.

Looking at Madam Feng, Xu Mumu was momentarily touched. This granny had a tough life. Others had children and grandchildren around, enjoying family bliss, but her family was just the two elderly folks, having outlived their own child.

Madam Chen felt the same complexity and ended up buying more vegetables from her stall. She had several filial sons, grandchildren, and a grandchild-in-law who would occasionally slip her some money. She felt she was quite a wealthy old lady, much happier compared to this elder sister.

The potatoes were already frying in the pan. Knowing how to add spices was straightforward, something Madam Chen had long mastered.

Before long, people started getting off work one after another.

Xu Minglei was tasked with helping collect money. Old Xu watched over the cart, making sure everyone paid. Xu Mumu and Madam Chen handled selling the food. Madam Chen fried potatoes, and Xu Mumu prepared cold noodles.

The aroma of the tea eggs was enticing, and soon someone came over to inquire.

The prices of these items had already been discussed by Xu Mumu and the others. Xu Minglei was not at all shy in introducing them; he’d seen larger crowds before, so he enthusiastically engaged with the customers.

The customer decided to buy a portion of fried potatoes and two tea eggs. With Yin Yang’s help, the containers were already prepared, and Madam Chen swiftly assembled the order.

The customer took a bite and found the taste quite decent.

Seeing this person eat so eagerly, others couldn’t resist either, especially with the tea eggs smelling so good.

People who worked in the factory typically weren’t short of small change. Xu Mumu and the others had set reasonable prices, so there were quite a few willing to spend money.