The next morning, when Zhu Yun Xuan woke up, he found that Li Rui, who had been sleeping far away from him the night before, was now hugging the same quilt and sleeping next to him.
At this point, there was no reason to be angry with him. Zhu Yun Xuan yanked the quilt over and patted Li Rui’s soft little face. “Time to get up!”
It must be said that Li Rui, who didn’t get much sun, had much better skin than him!
“So early?” Li Rui was still not used to the Zhu family’s routine. Wasn’t it still dark outside?
“Early to bed and early to rise makes you healthy! Health is the foundation of everything!” Zhu Yun Xuan grabbed some clothes and began to change. Li Rui also pulled out his clothes from his bag to get dressed.
The Zhu family didn’t have a bathroom. Even upstairs, there were no faucets. They washed up at the faucet in the courtyard.
There was a towel for adults, a towel for children, and two enamel cups with toothbrushes on the stone slab below, serving as cups for brushing teeth.
“Rui Rui, did you bring a towel? If you didn’t, you can make do with Xuan Xuan’s.” Jiang Yue Xiu poked her head out of the kitchen.
“Auntie, I forgot to bring one,” Li Rui smiled, showing his white teeth, but then his smile faltered because Zhu Yun Xuan had reached out and pinched his waist.
Jiang Yue Xiu naturally didn’t notice this. When she saw the two kids were awake, she specially made noodles with chicken soup. Little green vegetables, water bamboo shoots, and chicken were placed on top of the noodles, making it look very appetizing!
After Zhu Yun Xuan and Li Rui finished eating, it was still very early, so they went back upstairs. Zhu Yun Xuan worked hard to solve problems to get his brain working, while Li Rui worked hard to make the story he had once written even better.
At 7:30 AM, Xiao Hui came to pick them up. Jiang Yue Xiu folded the clothes she had made for Zheng Xiao Qing and packed them in a large plastic bag, then handed it to Li Rui.
“Goodbye, Auntie!” Li Rui bid farewell to Jiang Yue Xiu. He had made up his mind to treat her well.
“Come again next time,” Jiang Yue Xiu also liked Li Rui. Not only was the child polite, but he had also spent the whole day at her house, working hard and writing a lot. Having him around was no bad thing for Zhu Yun Xuan. It was certainly better than having Zhu Yun Xuan play in the mud and climb mulberry trees with the village kids, running around crazily.
“I will,” Li Rui said obediently with a smile. This morning, Jiang Yue Xiu had him brush his teeth with Zhu Yun Xuan’s toothbrush cup and wash his face with Zhu Yun Xuan’s towel, and it actually felt quite nice.
Xiao Hui also greeted the Zhu family before taking Li Rui back to the town.
She was a nanny specially hired by Zheng Xiao Qing to take care of Li Rui, so she wasn’t someone randomly chosen. Her father was Zheng Xiao Qing’s driver, and after graduating from middle school, she worked as a general laborer in Zheng Xiao Qing’s company for three years, so she was someone Zheng Xiao Qing knew well.
Previously, when they were in Hangzhou, she had been called to take care of Li Rui. She felt pity for the quiet child, but now, she was somewhat puzzled. When Li Rui was with Zhu Yun Xuan, he spoke a lot, so why was he so distant in front of his parents? If it was to spite his parents, there was no reason for it, and he had even actively come to such a small town…
However, no matter what, Li Rui’s matters were none of her concern. Her job was just to take care of him and report to Zheng Xiao Qing once every day.
When she first started as a nanny, her parents had worried that her life would be hard. In reality, she was living much more comfortably than she had in Shanghai. Back home, she had to take care of her younger brother, do the housework, and also work. Now, she only needed to take care of Li Rui. Li Rui was easier to take care of than her brother, so every day she had plenty of free time, even able to watch TV and knit at the same time.
Her salary wasn’t much, but here, she didn’t need to spend her own money to live a good life. She could save up all her salary, and after working for two years, she would probably have enough for a generous dowry!
Li Rui didn’t know what Xiao Hui was thinking, but he was deeply troubled about how to bring up the idea of starting a factory to his father.
In his previous life, his father, Li Yue, repeatedly opened factories, only for them to close down. This had made him afraid. If Li Yue acted the same way this time, ignoring advice and opening a factory just because it was trendy…
To avoid that outcome, starting a garment factory now seemed like a good idea. As long as the clothes were of good quality and they secured a good position in his mother’s mall, sales wouldn’t be a problem. Furthermore, his father probably wouldn’t be like he was years later, refusing his mother’s help while leaving behind a mess for her to clean up.
“Son!” As soon as Li Yue saw Li Rui, he called out and immediately picked him up.
“Dad,” Li Rui greeted. In the past, his father rarely showed him this much affection because he had his grandparents, cousins, and when his dad came back, he would always hug his cousin and talk to others, leaving him behind. But now, without anyone else around, Li Yue was being much kinder to him.
“How’s it going? Did anyone bully you? Do you feel out of place?” In the past, when he had entrusted his son to his parents, Li Yue had always thought they would treat him well. Who would have thought his own parents would be harsh with his son? If he couldn’t even rely on his own parents, how could he trust anyone else?
People always sympathize with the weak. Just thinking about how his son, who was only six, was living all alone in a small, undeveloped town made Li Yue’s heart ache terribly.
Li Rui shook his head. Over here, Xiao Hui would never dare to bully him. The elementary school was strict, and even speaking in the local dialect would get you points deducted. If you cursed, you’d be sent to the office to be scolded by the teacher. So, naturally, no one would bully him.
“Is there anything you don’t understand? Are the lessons difficult?” Li Yue asked again.
“I understand everything,” Li Rui answered, somewhat surprised that Li Yue was asking so many questions. In his previous life, Li Yue had never paid attention to his grades or studies.
Before, when his son was cold or hungry, or when anything else happened, Li Yue never thought about it, because he believed his parents would take care of him. But these past few days, he had been thinking about his son constantly. It seemed like he had finally developed a father’s sense of responsibility, albeit belatedly. “So, would you like to tell Dad about school?” When his son was willing to talk to him, Li Yue felt content.
“There’s nothing much happening at school…”
The father and son exchanged a few words, and Xiao Hui went out to buy groceries. When the conversation was about to come to an end, Li Rui took out a few clothes that Jiang Yue Xiu had made.
Li Yue wasn’t particularly interested in the clothes. He didn’t even plan on looking at them, only preparing money to give to Xiao Hui so she could take them to Jiang Yue Xiu tomorrow.
“Dad, what are you and Mom doing in Shanghai?” Li Rui thought for a moment and asked. He knew that from the start, Zheng Xiao Qing had been using her connections to engage in some buy-and-sell business. Later, she started working in industries like real estate and manufacturing, and only more than a decade later did she venture into emerging industries. For example, the company she had him manage at that time was one that specialized in developing games.
“Mom and Dad are building houses in Shanghai. When the houses are done, would you like to move into a big house?” Li Yue coaxed his son.
At this time, the Pudong area was undergoing rapid development, and the entire Shanghai was bustling. As soon as building materials arrived, they would be bought up. Countless ships passed through the Yangtze River, and Shanghai was changing every day! Zheng Xiao Qing was busy buying land and building houses.
“Okay… But why don’t you build houses here?” Li Rui asked.
“It’s not profitable to build houses here.” Li Yue, although not particularly gifted in business, was a meticulous and serious person. He handled all the miscellaneous tasks for Zheng Xiao Qing.
“What about selling meat? Or fixing cars? Dad, would you fix cars here?” Li Rui asked seriously, looking at Li Yue.
Seeing his son look at him like that, his eyes full of hope, Li Yue’s heart softened. He knew that Zhu Yun Xuan’s father fixed bicycles, and his grandfather and uncle sold meat. This child probably wanted him to stay with him. But he had graduated from university, how could he possibly do something like that?
“Rui Rui, Dad doesn’t know how to fix cars.”
“Then Dad, can you make clothes? Auntie said the fabric is cheap. How about you make some clothes here and sell them in Shanghai?” Li Rui asked again.
Jiang Yue Xiu makes clothes… This child… How come he didn’t realize before that his child could be this cute? “Rui Rui, Dad only knows how to build houses. What should we do?”
“Well, then there’s nothing we can do…” Li Rui said with a disappointed look.
For the rest of the time, Li Rui didn’t say much more. Even when Li Yue brought up a bunch of extracurricular classes and asked him if he wanted to attend, Li Rui just shook his head and declined.
Li Yue didn’t insist. Although Zheng Xiao Qing thought it was important for a child to learn some piano or other skills, he felt that a child this young should just focus on learning the knowledge from school. Plus, there weren’t any good extracurricular classes in Wende Town, if they wanted to learn music or anything, they’d have to go to the city. That would be too exhausting for the child.
After saying a few words in a somewhat spoiled manner, Li Rui started answering questions very briefly, which disappointed Li Yue a bit. However, when he drove back to Shanghai that evening and saw Zheng Xiao Qing running around busily, he felt proud again.
After all, today Li Rui had spoken quite a lot to him, and those innocent, childish words had been very interesting to hear.
“Xiao Qing, you don’t know, but Rui Rui actually acted spoiled today and wanted me to stay in Wende Town. He asked if I wanted to stay in Wende Town and fix cars.” Li Yue made a cup of tea for Zheng Xiao Qing and animatedly talked about what Li Rui had said.
Zheng Xiao Qing listened while casually unfolding the clothes that Jiang Yue Xiu had made. At first, she didn’t have high hopes for these clothes, but when she opened them, she was pleasantly surprised.
The style of the clothes was a bit different from what was popular nowadays. Some of the pleats and details clearly made the clothes more flattering when worn, while the pieces meant for older people were designed to hide the belly.
Zheng Xiao Qing was somewhat surprised. She had originally thought that the clothes Jiang Yue Xiu made would only be suitable for country folks, but she didn’t expect Jiang Yue Xiu to make such fashionable clothes. Moreover, she had initially asked for summer clothes, but one of them was actually a black wool coat with large matching buttons sewn onto it. It was the kind of thing people would look at and immediately like.
Zheng Xiao Qing tried the clothes on, and they fit perfectly and were beautiful… If she were told that these were made by a high-end brand, she would believe it! Starting a clothing factory?
Actually, opening a clothing factory in Jiangnan is a good idea. The raw materials are cheap, and even if they can’t produce beautiful clothes to sell, making clothes for foreign brands would be no problem. After all, it’s been many years since the reform and opening up, labor costs here are low, and many people have opened factories here. Foreign trade can also make a lot of money.
However, her available funds are limited right now, and starting a clothing factory…
“Li Yue, would you consider opening a clothing factory in Wende Town, the countryside?” Zheng Xiao Qing remembered that Li Yue had mentioned wanting to open a factory on his own, rather than depending entirely on her. She also knew that with Li Yue always following her, people would gossip. If he could really manage a factory well, perhaps he wouldn’t be looked down upon by her father and brother in the future? Plus, he could also take care of Li Rui.
Wende Town is in Jiaxing, which is very close to Shanghai. Li Yue wouldn’t have to stay in the factory all the time. It would be convenient for him to come back to her.
“Open a clothing factory?” Li Yue was a bit surprised. He had never been involved in the clothing industry and immediately rejected the idea. “I’m afraid I can’t do it.”
“How could you not? Opening a clothing factory isn’t that hard. At the start, the scale doesn’t need to be too big. You could look into buying an existing one. If you can’t acquire one, you can buy some machines and hire female workers. It’s possible,” Zheng Xiao Qing said. “And I was already planning to have the construction workers and female workers from the mall wear uniforms, which could also serve as the first business for the clothing factory.” She had originally planned to order a batch of uniforms, and now that she had a small clothing factory, it made sense to produce them herself. Plus, if the factory is small, even if it doesn’t work out, the losses wouldn’t be too significant.
Making money from the Pudong development isn’t sustainable. Starting a clothing factory… A few days ago, she had seen a self-made man who got rich by helping Americans make pillows. Food, clothing, shelter, and transportation are things everyone needs.
“Really?” Li Yue was a little tempted, but after thinking about his own abilities, he hesitated again.
“Of course. This way, you can also take care of Rui Rui, and the assistant job you’re doing with me is wasting your talents,” Zheng Xiao Qing said. She was happy to have Li Yue by her side. She liked having him around, but even if she was willing, she knew he wouldn’t want to be by her side forever. Then there’s Li Rui…
“I’m afraid that if I’m not around, others won’t take good care of you.” Li Yue was touched. He had always thought that Zheng Xiao Qing was too dominant and never gave him a chance to develop. His parents had also urged him to find a way to start his own factory and be in charge, but after what happened with Li Rui, he had buried that thought. Now that Zheng Xiao Qing had brought it up, he realized that he had misunderstood her in the past, and he shouldn’t have.
“It’s okay. Also, Wende Town isn’t far from Shanghai. As long as you don’t mind the fatigue, you can commute back and forth every day,” Zheng Xiao Qing said. The government had planned to build a highway connecting Shanghai and Hangzhou, but it hadn’t started construction yet. Once it’s completed, traveling would be more convenient. Even now, the distance between Shanghai and Wende Town is less than 100 kilometers, and a two-hour drive is enough.
Li Yue saw that Zheng Xiao Qing was rubbing her temples tiredly and embraced her from behind…