“You two teaming up? To do what?”
Ning Xin felt that whatever drowsiness she had left had been completely chased away by her brother’s words.
Wasn’t Xu Shaonian working at the grain depot? That was one of the most desirable jobs in this era.
If the two of them were going into business together, was Xu Shaonian planning to give up his job?
Her sister’s surprise was something Ning Yi had expected.
He lowered his voice, leaned his head closer to Ning Xin, and said mysteriously, “Aside from his job at the grain depot, Shaonian is also running his own business on the side. He wants me to partner with him, naturally, it’s to go into business together.”
Ning Xin immediately sat up straighter. “What kind of business? Tell me about it. Do you have enough capital? Should I lend you some money?”
With memories of the future, Ning Xin didn’t think there was anything wrong with going into business at all.
Moreover, from their interactions today, she could tell that Xu Shaonian was quite capable.
And the bond between him and her brother was genuinely close, far from superficial.
So when she heard that Ning Yi wanted to go into business, her first reaction was to offer him money. It never crossed her mind to object.
In her view, no matter what he chose to do at this time, he would already have a head start. As long as he was willing to put in the effort and wasn’t afraid of hardship, there would be a future in it.
Besides, she would be there as a backup.
Since there was a safety net, why shouldn’t her brother do what he wanted to do?
“You haven’t even heard what I’m going to do yet.”
Ning Xin’s reaction left Ning Yi momentarily at a loss for words.
He had originally thought that if he told her he was going into business with someone else instead of helping her, his little sister would still throw a tantrum.
Even if she didn’t throw a fit, he didn’t expect her support.
What he never imagined was that after he finished speaking, his sister’s first reaction, without even asking what the business was, would be to offer him money?!
Ning Xin waved her hand. “Of course I want to hear. But you’re a grown man, don’t you already know what you want to do? Besides, Xu Shaonian doesn’t seem like an unreliable person. If you’ve already talked it over, it must be feasible.”
With that, she opened the drawer and took out the envelope containing their money.
“Brother, Auntie Wang gave us eight hundred yuan the other day, plus the five hundred in compensation from Dad. Not counting living expenses, our family currently has thirteen hundred yuan. We spent a hundred today, so we have twelve hundred left. I’ll give you six hundred…”
As Ning Xin spoke, she began pulling out the money, but Ning Yi quickly grabbed her hand.
His face flushed bright red, and beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. “No need! You keep that money.”
“How can there be no need? Going into business always requires capital. If it’s a partnership, it wouldn’t be right to let Xu Shaonian be the only one putting in money. Besides, this isn’t just my money, why should I keep it all? Since we’re both going into business, we’ll split it half and half.”
In business, there were bound to be both gains and losses.
By all rights, Ning Xin shouldn’t divide the money so readily; she should set aside a portion as the family’s risk fund.
But she didn’t want to do that.
First of all, in her view, her restaurant didn’t require much of an investment.
The space was already there, and the spirit spring water cost nothing. The tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks she had bought hadn’t amounted to much money either.
She was confident she would earn it all back.
Losing money simply wasn’t a possibility for her.
But that wasn’t the most important reason she wanted to split the money evenly with her brother.
The moment he said he wanted to go into business on his own, she suddenly realized that the closer siblings were, the more they needed to keep their finances clear.
She knew that Ning Yi was genuinely, wholeheartedly devoted to his sister, without a trace of pretense. He would sacrifice himself for her without a second thought.
Ning Xin didn’t know whether the original owner had felt any psychological pressure with a brother like that, but she certainly did.
She felt that if her brother’s and her genders were swapped, there was no doubt that his behavior would be exactly the kind of thing people in the era she had come from despised and condemned, the “brother who sacrifices himself for his sister.”
Even without swapping genders, if he didn’t change this mindset, Ning Xin felt that he would have a hard time finding a partner in the future.
Even though the one Ning Yi sincerely cared for was her, Ning Xin didn’t think that was necessarily a good thing.
She wasn’t helpless, why should she cling to her brother and let him sacrifice everything for her?
In Ning Xin’s view, the most important thing for this brother right now wasn’t even making money, it was correcting his mindset.
She wanted him to understand that even between siblings, each person should have their own life and take responsibility for their own path.
Otherwise, even if she had no ill intentions, if Ning Yi never changed his mindset, then even if he eventually got married, his future wife would end up resenting her to no end.
Wouldn’t that be incredibly unfair for her?
So, Ning Xin decisively decided to use this opportunity to split the money.
Not just this time, from now on, their money should be kept separately, each managing their own finances.
At most, they could contribute to household expenses, but they shouldn’t pool everything together anymore.
Ning Yi had no idea how much his sister had been thinking about in such a short time.
Or that, in her mind, she had already begun to separate her finances from his.
He said earnestly, “Really, there’s no need. I’m just going with Shaonian to buy grain from the countryside and sell it in the city. He’s been doing it for a while now and already has all the channels set up. He just needs someone he can trust to help out.
How much money could buying some grain cost? I still have a little in my pocket, it’s enough.
Besides, most of the time we don’t even need to pay upfront. Shaonian said there are plenty of places willing to buy grain. Take Director Zhang we met today, his cafeteria is actually short on fine grains. As long as we can find a source and make the connection, they’re willing to pay first and have us deliver later.”
Only then did Ning Xin understand why Director Zhang had been so deferential to Xu Shaonian, he needed something from him!
She had previously assumed the director and Xu Shaonian’s family were old acquaintances.
Now, thinking back, she realized she had been mistaken.
Hearing her brother’s explanation, Ning Xin understood that rather than Xu Shaonian inviting him to go into business together, it was more like he was asking him to come help out.
But that actually put her more at ease.
In Ning Xin’s mind, her brother was honest and kind-hearted but not particularly quick-witted. Without any existing connections, it would be impossible for him to take on full responsibility right away.
Even though it seemed like he was just running errands for Xu Shaonian at the moment, wasn’t Xu Shaonian also helping him in return?
Once he had been at it for a while and was familiar with everything, Ning Xin believed that things would only get better in all aspects.
She forcefully pressed the six hundred yuan into Ning Yi’s hand, said a few words of encouragement, and unceremoniously pushed him out of her room, ignoring his protests entirely.
The next morning, Ning Xin got up early.
Because they had brought the items back late the previous night, she wanted to get up early to wash the thermos buckets, pots, and bowls.
But to her surprise, Ning Yi had gotten up even earlier, and he hadn’t gone to work.
By the time she got dressed and came out of her room, her brother was already in the courtyard scrubbing the pots. The thermos buckets, bowls, chopsticks, and the family’s glass cups had all been washed clean and set aside.
Ning Xin yawned and walked over. “Brother, didn’t you say you were going to quit your job today? Why are you still home?”
Ning Yi smiled. “Quitting a job doesn’t require going that early.”
He pointed to the side. “Go wash up. The water’s already poured for you.”
Ning Xin glanced over and saw a washbasin sitting on a square stool, with her face towel soaking inside. Beside the basin was her tooth cup, and across the top of it rested her toothbrush, toothpaste already squeezed on.
She blinked, momentarily at a loss for words.
Even in her first life, during the time she was most cherished, no one had ever taken care of her like this!
She looked at Ning Yi, her heart filled with a jumble of emotions.
It took her a long moment to finally say, “Brother, I’m grown up now. You don’t need to do these things for me anymore.”
“No matter how old you get, you’ll always be the little one to me. It’s no trouble, I want to do it.” Ning Yi gave a simple, honest smile, then bent over and continued scrubbing the edges of the pot with a rag.
Ning Xin didn’t say anything more. She bent down and washed up at the basin.
But in her heart, she had already made up her mind: today, she would cook something really good for her brother, something he had never eaten before!
The day before, at the herbal pharmacy, Ning Xin had bought some good-quality Hangzhou white chrysanthemums. So today, in addition to the mint tea, she planned to make a hundred-flower cooling tea.
This was also commonly known as “baby tea.”
The ingredients for this hundred-flower cooling tea were actually quite simple: chrysanthemums, jasmine, and lotus flowers.
But its ability to relieve heat and cool the body was excellent.
It was called baby tea because, despite its effectiveness, its medicinal properties were gentle and not overpowering, even children could drink it without issue.
On top of that, the tea had a sweet, fragrant taste and a very beautiful color.
Both adults and children loved it.
However, this tea was highly time-sensitive, it had to be made at just the right moment.
If her uncle hadn’t sent so many lotus flowers and leaves yesterday, Ning Xin wouldn’t have been able to make it today.
With two large thermos buckets, brewing two types of tea at once was essentially effortless for Ning Xin. And since her brother was home, she didn’t even have to worry about boiling the water. So she thought she might also make a dessert to sell alongside the tea.
But most importantly, she wanted to make something for her brother and grandmother to enjoy.
But what to make?
Just as Ning Xin was mulling over recipes in her mind, Old Madam Ning hurried in from outside.
As she walked, she called out, “Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi, go get me a basin. There’s someone outside selling fruit, let’s buy some for your sister.”
“What kind of fruit?” Hearing that there was something good to eat, Ning Xin rushed out even faster than her brother.
She met her grandmother before the old lady had even reached the courtyard.
Seeing her, the old lady gave her a look. “Why are you up so early? You were exhausted yesterday, why didn’t you sleep in a little longer?”
Ning Xin was left speechless.
She was probably the last one to wake up in this household, wasn’t she?
Glancing at her brother, who was still scrubbing away at the pot, she decided not to argue with her grandmother about double standards.
Instead, she simply ignored the comment and continued asking, “Grandma, what kind of fruit? Where is it being sold?”
Reminded by her granddaughter’s question, the old lady remembered why she had rushed back.
“Hurry, hurry! There’s someone at the mouth of the alley selling mulberries. Lots of people are grabbing them. Go get me a basin!”
Hearing that it was mulberries, Ning Xin turned and dashed toward the kitchen.
In this day and age, getting fresh fruit really depended on luck, if you ran into some, you absolutely couldn’t miss it!
She grabbed a basin and a bamboo basket for vegetables, then hurried to the alley entrance with her grandmother. There, squatting by the roadside, was a man with two willow baskets in front of him.
One basket held mulberries, and it was nearly empty. The other basket’s contents, however, seemed largely untouched.
Around him, several elderly women were squatting with bowls and basins, picking through the fruit.
Ning Xin’s eyes were glued to the basket that hadn’t sold much. Already, her mind was sketching out the dessert she wanted to make.
She quickened her pace.