Back To The 80s-Chapter 468 - 479: Too Similar_1

Gu Xiaobei hesitated a bit: "A daughter, huh? It’s not easy to be a stepmother. If her daughter, who’s already three or four years old, doesn’t accept Li Juan, it’ll make their lives difficult in the future."

Li Fengmei analyzed, "That teacher’s daughter is living with her grandparents in their hometown. If things work out, Li Juan can bear a son to stabilize her position in the family. After all, the young girl is only three or four. As long as she treats her kindly and sincerely, it should work."

Gu Xiaobei disagreed. Remembering the numerous TV dramas depicting the difficulties of stepmotherhood, along with the many stories of neglected ’little cabbages,’ he shook his head, "I think it’s not a good idea. The daughter might grow resentful thinking that her father abandoned her for her stepmother. Negative comments from family members about stepmothers could get to her. She might see her stepmother as a thief who stole her father away. This match-making is tricky. Even though Li Juan is a widow and a capable woman, she’d be better off marrying a country boy than being someone’s stepmother."

Considering his words, Li Fengmei sighed and responded, "I thought that since he’s a teacher and a non-farm household, Li Juan’s life would be better with him. If she marries someone from the countryside, she’ll have difficult in-laws to deal with."

"I’m just providing a comparison. Let’s continue looking for other options. Or perhaps ask Li Juan for her opinion." Gu Xiaobei suggested.

"I’ll think about it some more. Let’s just hope our matchmaking effort won’t make us the bad guys," Li Fengmei sighed, acknowledging Gu Xiaobei’s valid points.

Gu Xiaobei agreed that matchmaking can easily lead to good intentions gone awry.

With the store’s business weighing on her mind, Li Fengmei left in a hurry after their brief discussion. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Gu Xiaobei put Xiaopang and Mo Wang to bed for their afternoon nap, with Xiaopang insisting on hearing a story from his mother.

Left with no choice, Gu Xiaobei retold the much-recounted story of Snow White, which nearly sent herself to sleep, yet the kids listened with rapt attention.

Finally, when the kids eventually fell asleep, Gu Xiaobei prepared to do the dishes. Just as she left the bedroom, Zhanguo returned home.

"Why are you back so early today?" asked Gu Xiaobei quietly.

"Are Xiaopang and Mo Wang feeling any better?" Zhanguo lowered his voice.

"Much better. They don’t cough much during the day anymore, only when they are asleep. But why are you back so early?" Gu Xiaobei asked again.

Zhanguo, whose eyes twitched, had been extremely busy with veteran repatriation issues recently and always returned home late. Since it was Saturday, he intentionally came back early to accompany his mother, yet he was continuously interrogated by his wife, "I don’t have much work today, so I came back to see you."

Approaching Zhanguo with a smile, Gu Xiaobei suggested, "Let’s make dumplings together tonight. We can also involve Xiaopang and Mo Wang."

Zhanguo was a bit skeptical. He feared that Xiaopang and Mo Wang’s runny noses would end up making the dough, rendering her idea undesirable.

As Zhanguo feared, while making dumplings and allowing the two little rascals to sit at the other end of the coffee table, each playing with a piece of dough, as soon as Xiaopang’s nose started to run and before Gu Xiaobei could use a handkerchief to wipe it, Xiaopang used his sleeve and continued to play with the dough.

Gu Xiaobei burst out laughing, "Xiaopang’s dumpling skin is surely going to salty." Zhanguo, who was wiping Xiaopang’s hands and face with a wet towel, too couldn’t help but laugh.

Xiaopang also joined in, giggling. Helping out with parents brought him immense joy.

In order to break the impasse, Ou Ruoshui decided to sell the factory and start over. She had weathered multiple hardships over the years and this was going to be no different.

Not many people could afford to buy a factory for tens of thousands of yuan, especially without any advertising. Ou Ruoshui had no choice but to seek help from the investment promotion office in her provincial capital.

Ji Xiangdong spotted Ou Ruoshui dressed in a red coat, and his eyes flickered. He composed his reaction and continued gazing at her.

"Director Ji, hello. I am Ou Ruoshui, the factory director from Fuqing Ming Tea Factory. I apologize for the sudden disturbance," Ou Ruoshui politely greeted Ji Xiangdong with a smile.

Ji Xiangdong stood up to offer his seat and replied with a smile, "Nice to meet you, Director Ou. It’s an honor for our G Province to have your investment."

Ou Ruoshui sat across Ji Xiangdong and thanked him for his compliment. "I am here to sell my factory," she stated her purpose of the visit frankly.

"Sell your factory? What happened?" Ji Xiangdong was taken aback.

"You may have heard that there was an issue with our tea leaves a few days ago. We’re now facing financial difficulties. Selling the factory seems like the only viable solution. It appears I’m not cut out for this business," Ou Ruoshui sighed.

Ji Xiangdong observed Ou Ruoshui and suddenly asked, "Where are you originally from?"

Ou Ruoshui was taken aback, "I am from Shaanxi."

"Shaanxi is a good place. Couple of years back, didn’t UNESCO designate Chang’an a World Historical City? It’s also a place where heroes were born. Is your hometown far from Chang’an City?" Ji Xiangdong asked with a slight smile.

Ou Ruoshui didn’t understand why Ji Xiangdong was suddenly asking about her hometown. After all, she had no memories of her actual hometown, having heard about it only from Ou Tiannan. When Ji Xiangdong asked about it, a confused and lost expression appeared on Ou Ruoshui’s beautiful face.

Ji Xiangdong glanced at Ou Ruoshui who seemed lost and distracted, but he remained silent and started going through the documents on his desk.

He had met Jiujiu before and noticed that Ou Ruoshui looked uncannily similar. He didn’t believe this resemblance to be a mere coincidence.

Ji Xiangdong intentionally asked which province she hailed from. Even though he had spent a brief time in G province, he could still identify the accent. While Ou Ruoshui’s accent sounded southern, she still pronounced many words with a G province intonation.

A while passed before Ou Ruoshui composed herself. Looking at Ji Xiangdong who was engrossed in the documents, she softly said, "I came in primarily to sell the factory. I’m not sure if you could help find suitable buyers?"

"When encountering a business setback, selling the factory may not be the only solution. Have you thought about other possible ways to overcome the current predicament?" Ji Xiangdong suggested.

Ou Ruoshui shook her head, "My initial lack of knowledge about the market led to this failure. It was to be expected."

Ji Xiangdong capped his pen, wanting to ask her about Jin Jiadong but found it too abrupt. After a moment of silence, he said, "I can introduce you to a colleague from the same industry. You can share your experiences, and this may change your viewpoint."

"A colleague in the same industry?" Ou Ruoshui was slightly surprised. Apparently, colleagues generally serve as rivals. What solution could a conversation possibly propose? Besides, she had made up her mind to sell the tea factory, return Ou Tiannan’s money to him and settle all debts.

However, Ji Xiangdong emphasized, "At times, colleagues don’t necessarily have to be rivals. They could also be collaborative partners. Only by complement each other can they make progress."

Unconsciously, Ou Ruoshui nodded her agreement. "Okay."

"Do you have some time later?"</p