Back To The 80s-Chapter 429 - 439: Transformation_1

Gu Xiaobei laughed and waved his hand, "No hurry, I don’t have anything to do."

"Go inside, it’s cold outside." Li Fengmei said while handing an eraser to a student.

Gu Xiaobei laughed, "You go ahead with your work. The snow has stopped now; it’s not that cold."

Once most of the students had left, Gu Xiaobei entered the room, stood by the furnace in the corner to warm his hands, and asked Li Fengmei, "How’s the business going lately?"

Dadong, being attentive, moved a stool over for Gu Xiaobei.

While counting coins, Li Fengmei said with a smile, "The New Year holiday just ended, and the kids have some red envelope money. During the first few days of school, business is booming. Sometimes, we can sell up to two or three hundred." Afterward, she put all the collected money into the drawer and locked it.

Xiaodong complained, "Mom, you see, everyone is spending their New Year money, but you took mine and my brother’s."

Li Fengmei playfully messed up her younger son’s hair, "Isn’t it because I’m afraid you’ll waste it? It’s not good for a child to handle money."

Xiaodong sulked, "The other day you were saying it would be great if these classmates could spend their New Year money, business would certainly be better."

Li Fengmei patted Xiaodong’s head in amusement, "Go get four bowls of ramen and four baked cakes from the cafeteria next door with your brother. I’ll pay the bill later." After speaking, she moved the stool next to Gu Xiaobei and sat down. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Gu Xiaobei laughed, "Xiaodong is right. Why did you confiscate his New Year money?"

"If they have money, they would squander it. I don’t want them to develop the habit of being wasteful. Normally, I always keep the drawer locked for fear that the kids might secretly take some coins. Loose change is not often counted, and they might develop bad habits. You see, there are two game parlors that have opened near the school. I heard there is a coin-operated slot machine inside, and a lot of boys Dadong’s age hang out there. Those who have money play a few rounds, and those who don’t just stand by and watch." Li Fengmei was full of complaints. Why was no one managing those game parlors, especially ones located near a school?

Gu Xiaobei agreed with what Li Fengmei said, the government was lax in managing those game parlors, "They should be managed more strictly. Teenagers can’t resist temptation."

Li Fengmei nodded, "Right? How come you have the free time to come over today?"

"I had to handle something at the city government office. Your place was on the way on my bus ride, so I dropped in."

While they were talking, Dadong and Xiaodong came back carrying bowls of ramen. Dadong also had two baked cakes in his hand. He put them down on the counter, "Mom, you and Aunt can eat in the shop. We will eat in the cafeteria."

Li Fengmei laughed and chided, "Go ahead, after eating hurry back and do your homework. Don’t hang out over there watching tapes."

Dadong and Xiaodong ran out like whirlwinds while answering.

Gu Xiaobei and Li Fengmei started to eat leaning against the counter.

"By the way, I ran into Li Juan." Gu Xiaobei, in the middle of eating, suddenly remembered that he had bumped into Li Juan.

Li Fengmei was somewhat surprised, "Li Juan is in the provincial city as well? What is she doing?"

"She’s selling pork in a market in Hedong District with Wen Dong’s parents. The business seems to be doing well."

Li Fengmei sighed, "I used to not like Li Juan at all. She was gossipy and ungrateful. But after Wen Dong’s passing, she did something that earned her some respect."

Gu Xiaobei nodded, "Looking at their interactions, their relationship doesn’t seem bad."

"Wen Dong’s parents are also miserable. I will go see them when the weekend comes." Li Fengmei had disliked Li Juan in the past, but now that Li Juan was supporting Wen Dong’s parents, Li Fengmei was darn impressed.

After having lunch, the two chatted for a while. When she saw that Dadong and Xiaodong had not come back yet, Li Fengmei went next door to the cafeteria and dragged the two kids back by their ears.

Seeing that the two boys had homework to do, Gu Xiaobei said goodbye to Li Fengmei and set off for home.

The distance was not far. Taking a bus would require a transfer, so Gu Xiaobei decided to walk. Along the way, she could think about her plans. If the wholesale market kept declining and she did not transform her business, she could only wait for death.

If, like she previously thought, she was to open a factory and prepare convenient Three Cannon Tea bags, she would have to first register a trademark, then choose a factory, and learn how to blend the tea to create a tasty Three Cannon Tea.

Along the way, every time she came up with a new idea, a fresher idea would immediately undermine the previous one. Before she could figure things out, she had already reached her front door.

The yard was quiet. Presumably, the two little ones were taking a nap. She silently entered the western room. Bai Xiaolan was sitting on the Kang stove learning to knit. Her clumsy appearance made Gu Xiaobei chuckle, "You’re clumsier than I was when I first learned."

Bai Xiaolan was anxious as she struggled to thread the needle. Hearing Gu Xiaobei’s teasing, she glared, "You’ve shot my enthusiasm. You come and finish it."

After taking off her down jacket and removing her scarf, Gu Xiaobei came over to Bai Xiaolan and asked with a smile, "Who are you knitting this for?"

"For Mo Wang. I’m a novice, so I’ll knit a smaller one first to practice. Then, I’ll knit one for Xiangdong, then for our child." Bai Xiaolan had the plan perfectly lined up.

Gu Xiaobei took the beginning of the sweater from Bai Xiaolan with a laugh, remembering her own first time knitting, "Come on, I’ll teach you. Although I’m not great at it, at least I can cobble together a sweater."

The two huddled together, starting to explore the knitting process.

When Mo Wang and Xiaopang woke up, Wen Xiuqing brought the two children over.

Gu Xiaobei quickly got off the Kang and took off the shoes of the two little darlings, then held them up onto the Kang.

Wen Xiuqing, sitting on the edge of the Kang, chuckled, "Our Mo Wang learned a new word today. Mo Wang, tell mom what you learned."

Mo Wang, having just woken up, blinked her sleepy eyes, looked at Gu Xiaobei, and utter unclearly, "Pangpang, momo."

Gu Xiaobei laughed, hugging Mo Wang, "It’s Sister Pangpang, not momo."

Wen Xiuqing asked Bai Xiaolan with a smile, "Did you tell your mother about your pregnancy?"

Fearing that the knitting needle might hurt the child, Bai Xiaolan packed up the needle and thread and got off the Kang to put them on the top of the cabinet.

Upon hearing Wen Xiuqing’s question, Bai Xiaolan said, "I didn’t tell my mother. I will wait until the weather warms up. Otherwise, she’ll have to endure the cold on the journey."

Wen Xiuqing nodded, "True. When the weather warms up, she can come and stay longer. Shouldn’t Xiangdong arrive soon too?"

Bai Xiaolan shook her head, "If everything goes smoothly, he should have arrived. But if it snowed heavily and closed the road, it would delay him for a few days."

Wen Xiuqing sighed, "Walking for over ten days, they really had a hard time. Hopefully, they can be transferred back soon to save the commuting."

Xiaopang grabbed a pillowcase and came to Bai Xiaolan, her little face excitedly saying, "Mommy, hide and seek, hide and seek."

Receiving the pillowcase, Bai Xiaolan hugged Xiaopang and gave her lots of kisses, gleefully saying, "My little Pangpang daughter is so good."

Gu Xiaobei was surprised, "When did she become your daughter? You’ve even called her mother?"