Back To The 80s-Chapter 436 - 446: Stealing Sugar to Eat_1

Gu Xiaobei was walking home with a dejected look. For a moment, she thought about simply giving up as it all seemed too much of a burden. But then she couldn’t let herself give in so easily.

It was warm at noon, and the snow on the roads began to melt. The damp road surface did nothing to improve her mood.

Gu Xiaobei wrapped her large scarf tightly around herself, leaving only her big eyes visible. It wasn’t that cold, and she could have done without the scarf. She was simply feeling down and wanted to bury herself in the scarf, hurry home, hold Little Xiaopang and Mo Wang, only then would she feel at ease.

Her eyes cast down, she accidentally bumped into a passerby as she was focusing on avoid puddles on the road.

Catching a glimpse out of the corner of her eye, Gu Xiaobei was about to apologize, but her words got stuck in her throat. It was Liao Qing.

Liao Qing was in a hurry and didn’t recognize Gu Xiaobei. She moved forward without giving it another thought.

Gu Xiaobei stopped dead in her tracks, staring at Liao Qing’s retreating figure. She wondered if Liao Qing had gained weight or something, but she seemed to be carrying a hint of pregnancy.

After a brief thought, Gu Xiaobei slowed down and followed Liao Qing.

Liao Qing turned into a side alley and entered a narrow lane. After reaching the end and turning once more, Gu Xiaobei felt it was safe to follow. When she got to the turning, Liao Qing had disappeared. However, given that there were only three households in the small alley, Gu Xiaobei assumed Liao Qing must have moved there.

With her curiosity satisfied, Gu Xiaobei turned to go home.

...

In the evening, Lu Zhanguo promptly left after dinner, wanting to take the two kids home.

Wen Xiuqing was a little puzzled, "They’ve just eaten and are still warm. It’s not good for their health to go out and get caught in the cold wind."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhanguo sat down on the Kang bed for less than ten minutes with his daughter in his arms, and then urged Gu Xiaobei to hurry home.

Xiaobei found it odd. Most of the time, Lu Zhanguo preferred to leave the children at the courtyard so that he could bother her without reprieve. His eagerness to take the children home was rather unusual.

The early spring nights were still quite cold, so Lu Zhanguo bundled up the children in blankets. Holding one in each arm, he rushed home.

Once inside, Lu Zhanguo urged Gu Xiaobei, "You should go take a bath quickly. Your hair takes a long time to dry. I’ll change the kids’ clothes."

Gu Xiaobei knew Lu Zhanguo was acting strange this evening but couldn’t understand why. With an air of suspicion, she picked out her clothes and went to take a bath.

When Gu Xiaobei returned to the bedroom after her bath, she saw Lu Zhanguo guiltily hiding something. Little Xiaopang and Mo Wang were sitting side by side, their lips tightly sealed. Both had suspicious bulges in their cheeks.

It dawned on Gu Xiaobei. Lu Zhanguo was secretly giving the kids candy. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

In mock anger, she asked, "Xiaopang, Mo Wang, what’s in your mouths?"

Both children shook their heads, mouths firmly closed.

Gu Xiaobei leaned in front of Xiaopang and sternly said, "Open your mouths both of you, let mommy see if there’s something in there?"

Little Mo Wang tightened his lips even more, his expression serious, and looked stubbornly as if he would never confess that he had something in his mouth.

Xiaopang moved the bulge to one side, opened his mouth wide, and the piece of candy in his mouth fell out.

Upon seeing the candy fall, Xiaopang promptly picked it up and popped it back into his mouth. He completely ignored his father’s whispered instructions not to let their mother find out and to finish eating quickly. He then looked at Gu Xiaobei with innocent wide eyes.

A playful smile broke across Xiaobei’s face. She turned and playfully tackled Lu Zhanguo, "We agreed not to let the children have candy in the evening, yet you still let them have it. And you even conspired to deceive me. Is this how you teach them?"

Knowing he was in the wrong, Lu Zhanguo quietly said, "I did say we should come home early, play for a while after dinner, and then let them sleep. It won’t harm them to have it occasionally."

Gu Xiaobei scowled at him, "There you go again, spoiling the children. People say there should be a strict father and a kind mother. Looks like we’ve got it the other way round. It doesn’t quite suit your image."

Having teased Lu Zhanguo enough, she waited for the children to finish their candy, then ushered them to rinse their mouths. Little Xiaopang swished warm water in his mouth and finding it as sweet as sugar water, he gulped it down.

All these small joys made Gu Xiaobei forget all her worries of the day.

The next day, Zhao Honghe went to Ma De’s store. Ma De enthusiastically closed the shop, took Zhao Honghe to meet Brother Three. Speaking of this Brother Three, Ma De didn’t know him personally. He only knew Brother Hua, Yang Tianhua, as they were from the same village. Yang Tianhua, after leaving his military service and spending some time in the provincial capital, recently, started his own business and hired him to manage it.

Ma De was sharp-witted and articulate, suitable for this job. Although he had met Brother Three only once, he found him deceivingly upright yet cunning. Given his position as a mere messenger, he didn’t even know his employer’s real name, leaving him no choice but to hold his tongues.

When Zhao Honghe met Yang Tianhua, but not the Brother Three that Ma De mentioned, he felt curious. He believed closer interaction with the biggest boss would prove more beneficial.

As if seeing through his intentions, Yang Tianhua, with a cigarette in his mouth, said, "State any conditions you have. If your products can bring us substantial benefits in the Northwest, you can expect considerable benefits."

With everything out in the open, Zhao Honghe saw no point in beating around the bush. Fiddling with his red tie, he cleared his throat, "As you may know, the development of our Nanhai City is at the forefront of the country, so are our products. Therefore, you won’t regret it. I assure you, selling our products will let you reap huge profits."

Yang Tianhua chuckled and tapped off the ash from his cigarette, "Before coming to us, I suppose you tried other channels as well. Why didn’t they work out?"

Zhao Honghe sneered, "That woman lacks foresight. She doesn’t understand the potential for market growth."

When Yang Tianhua heard that Gu Xiaobei had let go of a money-making opportunity, his eyes turned mysterious. That woman had a knack for recognizing good products; the goods she stocked were always in high demand. He suspected that Zhao’s product might indeed be hard to sell.

Seeing Yang Tianhua’s hesitation, Zhao Honghe quickly reassured him, "Rest assured, we can sell our goods on credit. Plus, our company will soon establish a factory here. By then, the products produced will be more suited to the Northwestern market. How could there be any losses?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Tianhua began to contemplate. They didn’t have much money at the moment, and in order to suppress Gu Xiaobei, they were even operating at a loss. If they could align with a larger entity, they could suppress Gu Xiaobei from rising to the top.

Didn’t Brother Three hate the sight of the united and happy family of Lu Zhanguo? Now it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Yang Tianhua, after covertly mulling it over, smiled and replied, "After hearing what you’ve said, it does sound appealing. However, the future is unpredictable. Let’s collaborate first and see how it goes."