Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire
Chapter 357 - Chapter 357 Chapter 346 Familial Love

Chapter 357: Chapter 346 Familial Love Chapter 357: Chapter 346 Familial Love After viewing the house, Wang Xiaojie also calmed down. What could be done? The house had already been purchased, and it was not possible to return it; the thought of the amount of effort and capital invested made the idea of a return even more painful.

Wang Xiaojie said, “Jiaxin, earning money isn’t easy for you either. Don’t buy things for us anymore. If you insist on buying, I will have to start paying you for them.”

To alleviate her guilt, Lu Jiaxin laughed and replied, “Sister-in-law, Master Sun collected some old items for me, and Big Brother Su bought three of them to give away, paying three hundred and sixty thousand Hong Kong Dollars for them. According to our agreement for the twenty percent share, I should give you seventy-two thousand, which is more than twenty thousand in Hua currency. And that’s just a small portion. If I sell everything and give you dividends, it would be far more than the money spent on the house.”

Wang Xiaojie hastily waved her hands, “That’s not how the accounting works. It takes a huge risk to transport those old items to Hong Kong, not to mention the difficulties in passing customs and finding buyers.”

Though that was what she said, the words of Lu Jiaxin truly lessened the feeling of guilt in her heart. She was determined to convince her husband to help Jiaxin take good care of that antique shop.

After viewing the house, Lu Jiaxin was ready to return to the hotel: “Sister-in-law, I called Second Brother and the others at the hotel, but no one answered. I’ll try again tonight. Tomorrow I’m going back for dinner, but if you’re busy, just send Ah Zhang and Zhenzhen over.”

“What about lunchtime?”

“Tomorrow I need to visit my mother’s grave, so I will eat out at noon.”

Thinking about the relocation of the graves she mentioned earlier, Wang Xiaojie said, “Jiaxin, maybe you shouldn’t relocate the graves after all! During the festivals and Qingming, your big brother and I will go to visit your mother’s grave. Even a hundred years from now, there will still be Pingping and Anan to do so.”

Lu Jiaxin shook her head, “How could that be the same? It’s not just my mother’s grave that needs to be moved; my grandmother’s grave needs to be relocated as well. My mother was always upset whenever she spoke of my grandmother, and now her grave is neglected. I am her only remaining kin in this world, and I definitely cannot ignore it once I know.”

Wang Xiaojie was surprised and reminded her, “The Ding Family won’t agree to it.”

“They will agree,” Lu Jiaxin assured.

After escorting Wang Xiaojie home, Lu Jiaxin returned to the hotel. With the cold weather outside, she had no desire to leave and, with nothing to do in her room, she took out a book to read.

Qian Xiaoxiao tiptoed out, and upon seeing Gu Wenfeng about to enter, she shushed him, “Sister Xin is reading. Don’t go in and disturb her.”

It wasn’t until dinner time that Lu Jiaxin came out.

Gu Wenfeng spoke to her, “Jiaxin, I just called the leader. He said he would come to see you after work, but I persuaded him otherwise.”

He knew that Lu Jiaxin didn’t like drawing attention, and if the leader came, it would surely stir the people of the hotel, likely disturbing the next few days.

Lu Jiaxin was not surprised that Xie Kaixiao would seek her out. Even if Gu Wenfeng hadn’t disclosed her situation, merely last year’s donation of twenty million was enough to garner his attention, “I will visit my mother’s grave tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow morning, I will visit Aunt Su.”

The implication was that if Xie Kaixiao had something to discuss, they could meet at home the day after tomorrow. As for what would be discussed, it would depend on what Xie Kaixiao intended. Currently, only three special administrative regions in the Mainland were open for investment, and the inland was not within her consideration.

“Alright,” he replied.

In the evening, Lu Jiaxin called Second Sister-in-law Lu and the others to inform them of her return.

The call was answered by Xiao Qiu, who felt extremely guilty upon knowing that her aunt was staying in a hotel: “Auntie, why are you staying in a hotel? My big brother and sister-in-law have rented a house on Xiushui Street, and if you have many people to accommodate, my parents can stay with my big brother and sister-in-law.”

Jiaxin was unaware of this: “It’s not that there isn’t enough room; I just get cold easily, and it’s warmer in the hotel.” “Don’t overthink it, I mainly came back this time to see my mom, and also to sort out the house situation.” “Yeah, I’ll stay for three or four days and then leave.”

After chatting for a while, Jiaxin hung up the phone.

An hour and a half later, Second Sister-in-law Lu and Second Brother Lu arrived at the restaurant. Jiaxin saw that they were covered with snowflakes and hurriedly said, “Second brother, Second sister-in-law, what are you doing? Didn’t I say I would come over tomorrow afternoon? What if you slipped in this heavy snow?”

Second Sister-in-law Lu handed her the lunch box she had been hiding in her arms: “Here, aren’t you the one who loves mutton dumplings the most? I made them for you.”

“Don’t worry, I specifically went home to learn from your Big Aunt during the restaurant renovation. I didn’t return until Big Aunt said I had mastered her craft.”

Jiaxin felt the small lunch box was as heavy as a thousand pounds, and her eyes couldn’t help but moisten.

Second Sister-in-law Lu urged her, “What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and eat, they won’t taste good cold.”

“No, they will still taste good even if they’re cold.”

Jiaxin had just eaten, but she ate anyway out of appreciation for Second Sister-in-law Lu’s thoughtfulness. After a dumpling went down, she gave a thumbs-up and praised, “Second sister-in-law, these dumplings truly do inherit Big Aunt’s craft, they’re extremely delicious.”

Lu Jiazong stood by, smiling even more brilliantly than Second Sister-in-law Lu: “Yeah, your Second sister-in-law makes really good dumplings, everyone who has tried them praises them, and people even bring their families to eat. The business in the store is doing so well now. We’re so busy that we had to call Shanzi and his wife to help.”

The reason they had to call Shanzi and his wife over was precisely because the business was booming, and the couple couldn’t handle it all on their own. Of their three sons, Shanzi came over to help, Taozi got a job at the railway bureau, and Lu Yun stayed behind to take care of their grandparents. They had also told them that when Big Uncle Lu and Big Aunt come to the capital next year, they should follow them.

Jiaxin was sincerely happy to hear that their business was doing very well.

Second Sister-in-law Lu, holding Jiaxin’s hand, gratefully said, “Jiaxin, we owe a lot to you. If it wasn’t for your advice to use the money to buy the storefront and the house, I wouldn’t have had the heart to borrow money to buy this place. Without this storefront, we’d still be setting up a stall with your second brother.”

After saving such a large sum of money, the couple was in a dilemma; they wanted to buy a small house in the Forty-nine City to settle down, and also considered building a house back home, but they never thought about buying a storefront. Mainly because storefronts were small and expensive, they didn’t feel it was worth it.

Having taken Jiaxin’s advice to buy a storefront, the couple then decided to sell noodles, pancakes, and other griddle cakes. Since the renovation would take more than half a month, Second Sister-in-law Lu went back to her hometown to learn the trade from her mother-in-law.

Unexpectedly, once they opened, everyone loved her dumplings the most. Because the business was particularly good, working for one month now was as profitable as over two months in the past, without having to endure wind, sun, or rain. She had the confidence that with this noodle shop, they could afford to buy houses for their three sons in the Forty-nine City.

Jiaxin dared not take credit for it, the storefront was something the couple earned through hard work and endurance: “Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, working from morning till night is too hard. Take your time earning money–the most important thing is your health.”

Second Sister-in-law Lu, with a smile on her face, said, “Xiao Qiu also worries about tiring us out and took the initiative to hire an auntie. The dumplings are prepared a day in advance and stored in the fridge. Shanzi and the auntie sell in the morning, and your second brother and I sell during lunch and in the evening. It’s not tiring.”

As for Shanzi’s wife, since their youngest was just over four months old and still nursing, she stayed at home to look after the child and cook. As for the clothes, Second Sister-in-law Lu did the laundry herself, not wanting her to be too worn out.