Back To The 80s-Chapter 441 - 451: Like Water_1

Zhao Honghe was feeling distressed, as prickly as if he’d been scratched by a cat. Ou Ruoshui was already on the train and would probably arrive in the provincial capital the day after tomorrow.

He had not properly assessed the market, but he had already sold the goods on credit without a contract. When Ou Ruoshui gets angry, he might lose his job.

After some thought, Zhao Honghe decided to stall Ou Ruoshui, keeping her from the wholesale market. He would liaise with Yang Tianhua first.

But he never expected that Ou Ruoshui had already arrived in the provincial capital. She wasn’t in a hurry to find Zhao Honghe and didn’t go to the wholesale market to check on the products. She wasn’t interested in any of that. She felt a strange sense of familiarity as soon as she set foot in the provincial capital.

Ou Ruoshui first found a state-owned guest house to stay in, then she took strolls on the streets, feeling excited for no reason.

She didn’t know why she had amnesia. The first person she saw when she woke up was Ou Tiannan, who told her her name was Ou Ruoshui, and he was her distant relative.

Ou Ruoshui, a name she disliked immensely because it sounded too gentle, too weak.

Later, she had worked with Ou Tiannan at the Longdong Coal Mine, ventured into the deep mountains to fell trees, and tasted a lot of hardship.

Then one day, out of the blue, Ou Tiannan announced that they were rich, he wanted to give her a good life and take her away from G Province. She didn’t want to leave, fearing the loss and emptiness she would feel. But she had no one she knew, so she had no choice but to follow Ou Tiannan to Nanhai City.

With money obtained from unknown sources, Ou Tiannan had set up street stalls and done small businesses in Nanhai City, gradually growing his operations to their current scale.

In the early years, they struggled in hunger and poverty. Ou Tiannan treated her with politeness and took care of her in every possible way. She trusted him at that time.

It was in Nanhai City that Ou Ruoshui began to become wary of Ou Tiannan. From his eyes, she saw insatiable desire.

Ou Ruoshui took a deep breath, wrapping her red coat tightly around her body. She didn’t know why she liked the color red so much. Every time she wore it, she would feel an inexplicable warmth in her heart.

Unintentionally, she ended up at the entrance of a primary school right at dismissal time. The children streamed out, chattering non-stop as they ran.

Ou Ruoshui stopped and quietly watched the innocent, radiant smiles on the children’s faces. She couldn’t help but smile too. She loved children, especially little girls. She didn’t know why, but every time she saw a little girl, her heart would feel as if it was tightly strangled by a hair, causing excruciating pain.

"Jin Ming, Jin Ming, the lady just now was so pretty. She even looks a bit like you..." a little girl said to Jiujiu.

Jiujiu blinked her big eyes and asked curiously, "Where is she?"

Her classmate turned and pointed towards the school gate, "She was just standing over there. You two look alike. I almost thought she was your mother."

Jiujiu also turned around but only saw a red figure moving forward amidst a large group of children. She turned back and said, "We better hurry home. My grandma said she was making dumplings for my brother and me at noon. Would you like to come to my house to have dumplings?"

"No, I need to go home to help my dad watch the newspaper stand."

"Why don’t you come to my house on Sunday? No wait, I have to go see my aunt on Sunday..."

The two girls chatted as they quick-stepped their way home.

Zhao Honghe called Ou Tiannan and learned that Ou Ruoshui had arrived in the provincial capital. He cursed this woman for being so troublesome, and hurried to meet Ou Ruoshui.

Ou Ruoshui wasn’t surprised to see Zhao Honghe. She was sure Ou Tiannan had told him where she was staying.

"Ms. Ou, perhaps we should meet our customer Yang Tianhua first?" Zhao Honghe suggested nervously.

Ou Ruoshui glanced at Zhao Honghe’s unease and spoke calmly, "No rush. Is it true that we can’t reclaim the money for that batch of goods?"

"Ms. Ou, sales for that batch have not been good recently. The new year has just ended and nobody has money. In addition, living conditions in the Northwest are generally poor. Pastry like ours isn’t popular here." Zhao Honghe offered a pile of excuses.

Ou Ruoshui didn’t carry the conversation further. She knew there would be a problem when Ou Tiannan agreed to this deal. Besides, she didn’t favor the pastry business.

Seeing that Ou Ruoshui was silent, Zhao Honghe quickly rummaged through his bag and took out the Three Cannon Tea produced by Gu Xiaobei’s company. He presented it to Ou Ruoshui eagerly, "Ms. Ou, this tea is selling really well."

Ou Ruoshui was a bit interested. She took the bag of tea leaves and looked at it seriously. She was originally considering opening a tea factory in the provincial capital, so this might give her some reference.

Seeing Ou Ruoshui so interested, Zhao Honghe suggested eagerly, "Ms. Ou, given that we are not familiar with the local area, it might be good to get a local to help us build connections and all."

Ou Ruoshui had traveled far and wide for many years, so she knew what Zhao Honghe was thinking. But sometimes people like him do come in handy. After some thought, she said, "Okay, set up a meeting and let me know the time."

...

Because of Zhou Siping and Bai Mingzhu’s visit, Gu Xiaobei had to go home to the residential compound every night. Fortunately, the days were now longer, and it was still light outside after dinner.

Little Xiaopang had become clingier to his mom recently because his dad wasn’t often home. Wherever Gu Xiaobei went in the house, Xiaopang would follow step by step, even waiting at the bathroom door when he used the washroom. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

In the evening when he came home, Xiaopang cried and insisted on going with him.

Gu Xiaobei could only sigh, leaving Mo Wang behind and leading Xiaopang home.

With the warm weather, the parents took their children to play in the courtyard after dinner.

Seeing Gu Xiaobei leading Xiaopang back, Tian Yuanyuan said with a smile, "We haven’t seen you guys in a while. Little Xiaopang is getting more and more handsome."

"Lu went out on a mission, so we have been staying in the courtyard all the time. Xiaopang, do you want to play with Jiajia for a while?" Gu Xiaobei bent down and asked Xiaopang.

Before Xiaopang could reply, Jiajia ran over and tried to hand a ball to Xiaopang.

Xiaopang laughed and threw the ball, watching Jiajia run to fetch it while laughing heartily.

Zhao Hongmei was in the distance playing with Erhu in front of a concrete table used for ping pong.

Tian Yuanyuan leaned close to Gu Xiaobei and whispered, "Is Zhao Hongmei’s younger brother also in the same line of work as you?"

Gu Xiaobei nodded. He was more or less in the same line of work.

Tian Yuanyuan made a face, "No wonder. Zhao Hongmei has been boasting in the compound every day about how capable her younger brother is, how he can make money, and how she’s trying to find him a wife. Not to mention anything else, with an elder sister like her, no one would be willing to marry into the family."

Gu Xiaobei laughed. Seeing Zhao Hongmei look over, he said with a smile, "We’ll talk about this at home later. It’s not good to let others hear this in such a public place."

As they were chatting, Zhao Honghe returned with an air of arrogance. Because of the hot weather, he was wearing a low-cut thermal top under his suit. He still sported a red tie atop his bare neck.

Upon seeing Gu Xiaobei in the courtyard, Zhao Honghe felt even more triumphant. Today, not only had Ou Ruoshui met Yang Tianhua, but she had also agreed to invest in a factory and let Yang Tianhua take charge of the market in the provincial capital after its establishment.