Even though a 27-year-old is considered an older candidate for the college entrance exam, it sounds a bit unusual, but the adult college entrance exam is naturally for adults. Many people his age are also taking it. He needs to obtain a somewhat decent diploma to apply for self-study exams. The road ahead is long. If he doesn’t give it a shot, he’ll feel something is missing in his life. A diploma might not be the most important thing, but you absolutely can’t do without one. It’s not like he lacks ability, so why not take the exam?

The kids are growing up, and after the New Year, Wen Fang planned to find a job at a pharmacy to start with, and she could help pick up the kids as well.

As for setting up a stall, the parents can also lend a hand. They didn’t all live together before, but now they are united like a rope, saving money to repay the mortgage, and sooner or later, they’ll get their life on track.

So, in this first New Year in N Province, it began with such a plan.

The difficulty of the adult college entrance exam, even without studying, Liang Quan is confident he’ll pass, so it doesn’t matter whether he reads the books for it or not.

The reason he’s determined to take the exam is also because many professional certifications require an associate or bachelor’s degree to apply.

To catch up, he bought a set of self-study materials and studied at home during the day. At 3 p.m., he started preparing ingredients, and at 6 p.m., he went to the newly rented night market to sell spicy strips.

The new night market is near Changnan University, and there’s a snack street. To get this stall, they spent quite a bit of money. In the end, the owner sympathized with their situation and gave them the spot, considering there were many competing for the auction. Getting a stall was indeed a stroke of good luck.

Going out alone to set up the stall, it’s still 300 pounds every day, neither more nor less, because selling 300 pounds each day is already a pretty decent income.

The mother and wife continue preparing the next day’s ingredients at home.

They must also occasionally pay attention to online requests for help, and after verifying their authenticity, the whole family would post messages online. Then, enthusiastic netizens and relevant departments help investigate the genuineness, and donations are made to ensure every cent reaches those in need.

After the Liang Family’s spicy strips gained media coverage, business was booming. Selling 300 pounds daily was far from enough, but Liang Family members weren’t greedy and didn’t seek immediate profits. They only handled what they could manage: just 300 pounds, no more, and they didn’t accept pre-orders, selling on a first-come, first-served basis.

Moreover, they didn’t raise prices arbitrarily. It was ten yuan per pound, and each person could only buy one pound. If they wanted more, it would be fifteen yuan per pound.

Once the price increased, fewer people wanted to buy more. However, there were still wealthy outsiders willing to spend, as the spicy strips were genuinely delicious. Some even suggested mass production, vacuum packaging, and mailing them to friends outside, but Liang Quan felt that if they expanded, the whole family would have to work like three people per person, and he didn’t have such ambitious goals.

In the spicy strip industry, there are already established giants. No matter how delicious he makes them, they can’t compare to enterprises with decades of experience. Furthermore, it’s a small family workshop, so how could they ensure hygiene standards?

These are edible goods, and if you buy them on the spot, you can eat them immediately without any additives, so they can’t be stored for long. But if vacuum packaged, you must guarantee the optimal consumption period. Can you preserve them without food additives?

So, the Liang family wisely gave up that path and focused on their small stall. Earning one to two thousand yuan daily was enough for the family’s living expenses and mortgage payments. Whether Wen Fang worked or not, the pressure wasn’t great.

The children were already attending school here on a transfer basis. Although they paid twenty thousand yuan for the transfer fee, securing a place was already quite difficult, so they didn’t dare to expect much else.

After Wen Fang officially started working in April, their family had an additional regular expense. The mother-in-law was already retired, and the father-in-law needed a few more years. The elderly couple received a monthly pension, which they didn’t save but wanted to spend on the family, but Liang Quan refused.

He said the snack stand was already profitable enough. They worked during the day and had to help take care of the children at night. Song Ge’s health wasn’t too good, and even though the children weren’t home during the day, it was still very laborious for her to make beef tendon noodles little by little with the mixer and the noodle machine. He hadn’t paid them a salary and didn’t think it was right to ask them to support the household too.