First spoiled, then love

Chapter 600 A Minor Debate

Tang Xiaoru's request was rejected by Chen Qingrong and the others without a second thought.

Are you kidding me? She's only been out of confinement for a short time! What kind of experience is she going to have now? We don't need her to make money.

Around 2 a.m. the next day, while the sky was still bathed in a deep blue-purple hue, Chen Qingrong quietly got out of bed.

He got dressed, quietly left home, and walked towards his parents' house across the street from the apartment complex, facing the cool night breeze.

Even before Xiaoru had given birth, Chen Jinrong had already bought an apartment for his parents in the neighborhood across the street.

Although children need their parents to take care of them, there aren't that many empty rooms in the house, so neither the parents nor the in-laws live at home.

Needless to say, since Mom and Dad are now selling breakfast, they definitely can't do it in Chen Qingrong's little house. Otherwise, the clattering and banging as they get up to prepare every morning would wake up Tang Xiaoru and the baby.

Inside the house, the lights were warm and bright, and Chen Qingrong's parents were already busy preparing the ingredients for today's meal.

Dad was cutting fresh pork, while Mom was washing vegetables beside him. The two worked together skillfully and in perfect harmony.

"Dad, Mom, I'm here." Chen Qingrong yawned as she walked into the kitchen, greeting her parents with a smile.

"Hey, Qingrong, you're here so early." His father looked up at him, his hands still busy. "Come on, help Dad cut this meat."

Chen Qingrong responded, took the knife from her father, and began to carefully cut the meat.

As he chopped the ingredients, he chatted with his parents: "Mom, what are you planning to make for breakfast today?"

"Same as always, steamed buns, fried dough sticks, soy milk, and some side dishes," Mom replied while washing the vegetables. "Oh, and Qingrong, go and prepare the soy milk maker later, we'll start making soy milk in a bit."

"Okay!" Chen Qingrong readily agreed, and his hands moved even faster.

The three of them worked for more than an hour and finally prepared all the ingredients.

They loaded the ingredients into the car and drove together toward the breakfast shop.

Upon arriving at the breakfast shop, Chen Qingrong and her parents got busy again.

They brought the ingredients into the store and started making breakfast.

Chen Qingrong was in charge of grinding soybeans to make soy milk. He added soybeans and water to the soy milk maker while keeping an eye on how the machine was running.

Meanwhile, Dad was wrapping buns on the side, his skillful hands quickly shaping each one.

Mom was in charge of frying the dough sticks. She cut the kneaded dough into strips and put them into the oil. Soon, the golden dough sticks emitted an enticing aroma.

At four o'clock sharp, the breakfast shop opened for business.

As soon as the door opened, customers walked in.

Some of them ordered steamed buns, some ordered fried dough sticks, and others ordered a cup of hot soy milk.

Chen Qingrong and her parents were busy as they served customers and quickly prepared breakfast.

"Boss, five steamed buns and two cups of soy milk, please!" a customer shouted.

"Okay, almost done." Chen Qingrong replied, quickly putting the buns into a bag, then poured two cups of soy milk and handed them to the customer.

As time went on, the number of customers increased, and Chen Qingrong and his parents became increasingly busy.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads, but their hands did not slow down at all.

Lin Yue arrived at the breakfast shop at this time. Seeing how busy Chen Qingrong and his parents were, she immediately rolled up her sleeves and joined in.

She helped clear the tables, wash the dishes, and occasionally served breakfast to the customers.

"Mom, you're here too." Chen Qingrong greeted Lin Yue with a smile when she saw her.

"Yes, I'm here to help. I was supposed to leave earlier, but my stomach hurt a bit, which made me late," Lin Yue replied, and quickly got to work.

Chen Qingrong said with concern, "Mom, since your stomach hurts, you should go back and rest. I can take care of things here."

Lin Yue smiled and said, "It's alright, it's alright, it's all better now. Besides, business is so good, you can't help with everything."

With the combined efforts of the four, the breakfast shop became increasingly prosperous.

They were busy until 1 p.m., and all the breakfasts were finally sold out.

Chen Qingrong, his parents, and Lin Yue were all panting heavily, but their faces were filled with satisfied smiles.

"Finally finished." Chen Qingrong wiped the sweat from his forehead and breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Yes, business is really good today," Dad said with a smile.

Chen Qingrong looked at his parents and Lin Yue, and a feeling of gratitude welled up in his heart.

He had never known before how difficult it was to sell breakfast, but after experiencing it firsthand today, he truly understood their hardships.

He secretly resolved to work harder in the future so that his parents could have a better life.

Chen Qingrong said sincerely, "Mom and Dad, thank you for your hard work today."

"Silly child, why are you thanking me?" His mother smiled and patted his shoulder. "We're family, we should help each other out."

"Besides, you've had a tough time too."

Lin Yue then asked him, "How are you doing, Qingrong? Are you tired from helping out here? Can you handle this intensity?"

Chen Qingrong said helplessly, "To be honest, it's probably because I've been sitting in an office for too long. I really can't handle this kind of workload."

Wang Xiue said, "That's normal. You're not really suited for this kind of work. Don't come next time. You should save your energy for the company and take good care of Xiaoru."

Chen Qingrong said, "No, no, I will still make time to come and help you every now and then. There's nothing seriously wrong with the company, so it doesn't matter whether I go or not. But the breakfast shop is too busy, so I have to come and help you."

After finishing his business, Chen Qingrong was starving.

He stood behind the cashier, rubbing his stomach, intending to call his parents and mother-in-law to go out for dinner together.

At this moment, my parents and mother-in-law also came out of the kitchen, with tired but satisfied smiles on their faces.

"Finally finished, time to eat." Old Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a smile.

"Yes, I've been busy all morning, and my stomach is growling," Chen Qingrong chimed in with a smile.

The four of them arrived at the restaurant, where a sumptuous meal was already laid out on the table.

Braised chicken rice, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, cucumber salad, and a bowl of steaming hot tomato and egg soup—it all looks so delicious it makes your mouth water.

Chen Qingrong plopped down in the chair, picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a piece of chicken, and put it in his mouth.

The chicken was tender and juicy, with an irresistible aroma, which made him exclaim repeatedly, "Wow, this braised chicken is so delicious!"

As he spoke, he ladled out another bowl of rice and began to eat it in large mouthfuls.

He looked like he hadn't eaten for days. His parents and mother-in-law couldn't help but laugh when they saw him eating.

"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you," Wang Xiue reminded her with a smile.

"Yes, Qingrong, slow down, don't choke," Lin Yue said with concern.

But Chen Qingrong didn't care about any of that; he was just too hungry.

While eating, he took out his phone, snapped a picture of the braised chicken rice, and sent it to Tang Xiaoru.

"Look, honey, this is our lunch, braised chicken with rice, it smells so good!" Chen Qingrong wrote on WeChat.

A moment later, Tang Xiaoru replied: "Wow, it looks delicious! How many servings did you eat?"

"Two portions!" Chen Qingrong replied smugly, adding a grinning emoji.

"Two portions?! Are you an idiot?!" Tang Xiaoru replied with an eye-rolling emoji.

Chen Qingrong couldn't help but laugh when he saw her reply.

He knew that Tang Xiaoru was joking, but in reality, she still cared about him a lot.

After finishing his meal, Chen Qingrong patted his stomach contentedly, feeling as if he had come back to life.

He looked at his parents and mother-in-law, his heart filled with gratitude.

They sacrificed so much for this family, for him and Tang Xiaoru.

"Dad, Mom, thank you so much. This business is really too hard. You're both so old and you still have to make money. I'm so unfilial," Chen Qingrong said sincerely.

"Silly child, what nonsense are you talking about? It's your father and I who want to contribute our remaining energy. What does that have to do with whether you're filial or not? Besides, don't we know whether you're filial or not?"

Wang Xiue smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Yes, Qingrong, you must treat Xiaoru and the two babies well in the future, and we will be satisfied," Lin Yue said with a smile.

Chen Qingrong nodded, his heart filled with a sense of responsibility and mission.

He knew that as one of the pillars of this family, he had to work harder to give his family a better life.

"Dad, Mom, I'll go home to check on Xiaoru and the two babies first. You two should rest this afternoon and not be too busy," Chen Qingrong said.

"Okay, go back now, drive carefully on the way," Old Chen instructed.

"Okay, Dad, you guys go after you've eaten. Go for a walk, have some fun, don't go back to the shop, there won't be any customers in the afternoon anyway."

Chen Qingrong smiled, then stood up, greeted his parents and mother-in-law, and left.

Driving home, Chen Qingrong felt much more relaxed.

He thought about the busy scene in the morning, and then about the feeling of satisfaction now, and couldn't help but feel a lot of emotions.

He understood that although life was not easy, it was all worth it as long as he had the company and support of his family.

Isn't this the power of family love?

When she got home, Chen Qingrong gently pushed open the door, afraid of waking Xiaoru and the two babies who were sleeping.

He went into the bedroom and saw Xiaoru sleeping soundly on the bed, with the two babies sleeping peacefully in the crib next to her.

A warmth filled his heart, and he couldn't help but walk over and gently kiss Xiaoru on the forehead.

Then, he sat on the edge of the bed, quietly watching Xiaoru and the two babies, his heart filled with happiness and contentment.

He never dared to imagine that he would have such a happy and fulfilling family life, but now he truly has it.

Looking back on the past 30 years, Chen Qingrong feels as if it has all happened in the blink of an eye, like a dream.

After a while, Xiaoru woke up.

She saw Chen Qingrong sitting on the edge of the bed and asked with a smile, "You're back? Were you busy this morning?"

"Busy, but quite fulfilling," Chen Qingrong said with a smile. "Look, I even took a selfie while having lunch, I just forgot to send it to you."

As he spoke, he took out his phone and showed Xiaoru a photo.

Seeing the way he ate, Xiaoru couldn't help but laugh: "Look at you, eating like a starving ghost! By the way, were you tired this morning?"

"Not tired, it's alright," Chen Qingrong said pretentiously. "It's not as tiring as running around doing business when I was in Chenzhu."

"Hmph, you're just bragging." Xiaoru rolled her eyes at him, but her eyes were full of concern and heartache. "I know you must be tired. Go and rest."

"Okay, then I'll lie down for a while," Chen Qingrong said with a smile, and then lay down next to Xiaoru.

He closed his eyes, feeling the warmth and love around him, his heart filled with gratitude and happiness.

Chen Qingrong slept until evening. When she woke up, she heard the sounds of chatting and laughing, mixed with the baby's cheerful chirping.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes, sat up in bed, and wondered who had come to make the house so lively.

He walked out of the bedroom and saw Ni Shengnan holding his son Chen Ning in his arms, playing with him in the living room.

Little Ningning giggled and waved her little hands and feet, looking extremely happy.

"Shengnan, you're quite skilled at holding a baby!" Chen Qingrong teased with a smile. "It's good for you to practice now so you won't panic when you have a baby in the future."

Ni Shengnan blushed and gave him a reproachful look: "Brother Chen, please stop teasing me. I don't even know if that day will ever come."

Seeing her shyness, Chen Qingrong changed the subject and asked, "Shengnan, when did you get here? Why didn't you call me?"

"I just arrived a little while ago, and seeing you sleeping so soundly, I didn't have the heart to wake you," Ni Shengnan said with a smile. "Besides, Sister Xiaoru and I are busy right now, so we don't have time to bother you."

"Oh? What are you all busy with?" Chen Qingrong asked curiously.

"It's all because of the pricing of sanitary napkins that we had a bit of a disagreement," Ni Shengnan said. "Xiaoru thinks we should price them higher to ensure quality; I think we should price them lower to focus on volume. Brother Chen, what's your opinion? Who's right?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qingrong, with her high emotional intelligence, said, "Well, you both have valid points on this issue. However, I think we need to consider it comprehensively. First of all, quality is definitely not something we can sacrifice; that's our bottom line. But the price can't be too high either; we need to make consumers feel that it's worth the money."

"So how exactly should we decide?" Ni Shengnan pressed.

“I think we can do some market research first to see how price-sensitive consumers are. Then, based on our cost and profit targets, we can set a reasonable price,” Chen Qingrong said. “This way, we can ensure quality while also making it acceptable to consumers.”

"Xiaoru, what do you think?"

Tang Xiaoru glanced at him. "You've already said it, what else can I think? Of course I agree."

"So if we follow this approach, we'll need to hire a few more salespeople to cover the market."

At this point, Tang Xiaoru looked at Ni Shengnan and said, "Shengnan, why don't you post a job ad on 58.com? There aren't any special requirements. Priority will be given to those who have experience in marketing or sales. As for the salary, we can discuss it in person."

(End of this chapter)