1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 86: If you had to choose, who would you pick?

"Only three sets?"

Hu Jing's eyes darkened, a hint of regret in them.

"How many sets do you want, sis?"

My cousin wouldn't let such a money-making opportunity pass by, and immediately said, "If you need a lot, I'll go to the warehouse again tomorrow and prepare the goods specifically for you."

I need it.

Hu Jing counted on her fingers: "Thirty-six sets."

The proprietress looked surprised: "Why do you need so many?"

"Our school participates in the choir competition at the Youth Palace, and we have to wear matching outfits."

Hu Jing explained with a smile, "This outfit is a refreshing white and green combination, and the price is reasonable. The principal will definitely agree to buy it."

"Is your older sister a teacher?"

When my cousin heard that a big business opportunity had come in, she said sweetly, "No wonder you have such a different air about you; you can tell at a glance that you're a cultured person."

"Thirty-six sets of clothes, is that okay?"

Hu Jing blushed a little after being praised by her.

"Thirty-six sets is a bit too many, I can't guarantee it."

My cousin deliberately kept me in suspense, not giving a definitive answer: "What's the latest you need it? If we don't have it in the warehouse, I'll apply for a transfer and get it from somewhere else."

"At most one week."

Hu Jing counted on her fingers again: "The choir competition is in early July. We need to try them on after we buy them. If the size doesn't fit, we'll have to alter them."

"A week is no problem."

My cousin readily agreed: "We don't have any in Jinan, so we'll get them from Shanghai. There'll be enough time."

The shop owner looked slightly surprised: "You're really selling Shanghai export clothing?"

"Absolutely, it's export-to-domestic sales; otherwise, the price wouldn't be so low."

My cousin answered without batting an eye, and if Lin Xiyu didn't know her well, she would have believed it to be true.

"Then it's settled."

Hu Jing's eyes lit up with joy: "Shall I pay you a deposit first?"

"Need not."

My cousin flattered me, saying, "You're the boss's friend, which means you're my friend too. We're family, so there's no need to be so polite. Just come and patronize my business often from now on."

"I can't accept this."

As Hu Jing spoke, she took out fifty yuan from her bag.

"What's there to be embarrassed about?"

My cousin wouldn't accept it and insisted on putting it back in her hand: "If you insist on giving it to me, it means you look down on me. Do you think I'm not qualified to be friends with a teacher because I didn't go to university?"

"Don't say that."

Hu Jing was both amused and exasperated: "I never thought of that."

"The young lady is a social butterfly, she knows how to handle things."

The proprietress remarked sincerely, "She's so young yet already knows how to do business; she'll definitely have many friends in the future."

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, boss lady."

My cousin generously cupped her hands in a gesture of respect, displaying the demeanor of a night market boss.

-

"Tsk tsk, this woman is something else, she's a natural at doing business."

In the shop just a stone's throw away, Liu Ye looked out the window and exclaimed in amazement: "It's a pity to be setting up a stall at the night market. With this talent, you should take over a shop and open your own clothing store."

How much money can you make by opening a clothing store?

Wang Fan rubbed his eyes with an egg, dismissively saying, "You'd be better off coming with me, starting a company, and doing renovations."

"You really want to get into the renovation business?"

Liu Ye's eyes lit up, and he perked up.

"Do it, why wouldn't we do it?"

Wang Fan confidently stated, "Urban renewal will be a major trend in future urban planning. The more buildings are constructed, the greater the demand for home decoration. We must get a piece of the pie in the home decoration market."

"Okay, Wang Fan."

Liu Ye admired him from the bottom of his heart: "You really are a shrewd businessman. You always go wherever there's money to be made."

"This isn't something I came up with."

Even with his thick skin, Wang Fan couldn't bring himself to take credit in front of the person in question: "It was Gu Bin's precise analysis of the future segmented market of the construction industry."

"What, what market segment?"

Liu Ye didn't understand and looked completely bewildered.

"I don't understand, so forget it."

Wang Fan teased him with a laugh: "With your pig brain, you still wouldn't understand even if I explained it a hundred times."

"Tch, who do you think you are?"

Liu Ye complained indignantly, and was about to retort, but then his eyes lit up and he changed his mind.

"Brother Bin, if you guys are really going to get into the renovation business, can you take me on as a team?"

He shamelessly approached Gu Bin and called him "brother" in an incredibly affectionate tone.

"I only provide the capital; I don't manage the operations."

Gu Bin's burning gaze followed the graceful and charming figure outside the window, not even deigning to glance at her.

"Bin-ge's saying that means he agrees."

Liu Ye, shameless as ever, said to himself, "Wang Fan will provide the money, and I'll run the business. The three of us brothers will start a company together."

"roll."

Wang Fan was annoyed and wanted to kick him again: "Why should I pay for you to get something for free? If you're not sincere about cooperating, get the hell out of here."

"I'll pay, I'll pay, okay?"

Liu Ye quickly dodged the offer and began to bargain: "You get 70%, I get 30%. I'm not like you. Your family is in the building materials business, so you're very wealthy."

"That sounds nice, but if you want to join, you need to bring 100,000 first."

Wang Fan didn't want to waste words with him and directly asked for the money.

"I want it now?"

Liu Ye was a little dumbfounded: "100,000 is not a small amount. I'm a bit short on cash lately and can't raise that much money in a short time."

"If you have no money, get lost."

Wang Fan looked at him with disdain: "You don't even have this much money, yet you want to follow us?"

"Give me ten days, ten days is fine."

Liu Ye grinned shamelessly: "I guarantee I can raise the money within ten days."

"to make."

Wang Fan's lips curled up slightly, revealing a triumphant smile: "Seeing how sincere you are, I'll give you a chance, ten days at most, and then it's over."

"Brother, from now on you're my real brother."

Liu Ye fawned over him, then scurried to the shop next door and bought chilled draft beer and soda.

Wang Fan picked up the draft beer and gulped it down in one go.

Gu Bin, taking advantage of the situation, brought three bottles of soda and delivered them to Lin Xiyu and her two nephews.

"Tsk, tsk."

Looking at his attentive and considerate manner, Liu Ye couldn't help but click his tongue twice. Just as he was about to say something more sarcastic, Wang Fan stuffed his mouth with the leftover beer glass.

-

"Haha, we made a fortune today! All fifty pieces of clothing sold for 150 yuan each. We made a total of 150 yuan. If this continues, making 2000 yuan a month is not a dream."

With Lin Xiyu as a living advertisement, the clothes she brought were sold out before 10 o'clock.

My cousin divided the 150 yuan into three parts, giving one part to her and one part to her uncle.

Lin Xiyu didn't mince words; she happily stuffed her 50 yuan into her pocket, her greedy little expression making everyone chuckle.

Gu Bin reached out and pinched her cheek.

Its soft, smooth texture is incredibly alluring and makes one's heart flutter.

He pinched it once but wasn't satisfied, so he couldn't resist reaching out again to pinch it a few more times.

"You want to climb Mount Tai like this?"

Lin Xiyu didn't let him succeed. She glanced at the bruise on the corner of his mouth and slapped his hand away in annoyance.

"This little injury is nothing," Gu Bin said dismissively. "Collisions are common in basketball; everyone gets a bone or two from time to time."

"You can do it."

Lin Xiyu was angry that he still wouldn't tell the truth: "Stay away from me tomorrow, don't mess with me, I don't want my classmates to gossip."

"Isn't this a bit too much?"

Gu Bin didn't take her words seriously and teased her on purpose: "It's just a bruised lip, is it really necessary to avoid suspicion like this? Are you really afraid that people will think you're a little wildcat and that you bit someone?"

"Pah, you're the one who bites."

Lin Xiyu was both ashamed and angry. She pushed the person away with some force and jumped onto her uncle's tricycle.

"I'll pick you up from your house at 4 pm tomorrow."

Gu Bin didn't stop her, waved to her, and said goodbye with a smile.

Lin Xiyu ignored him and urged her uncle to drive.

The uncle, being an experienced man, could easily see through the trickery. He slammed on the gas pedal, started the tricycle, and sprayed a mouthful of cigarette ash into Gu Bin's mouth.

"Cough cough."

Gu Bin was both annoyed and amused. He watched the electric tricycle rush out of the noisy crowd, turn into the alley and disappear from sight before reluctantly turning his gaze away.

-

Another fulfilling and meaningful day has passed.

My cousin works a regular job and sells clothes at her stall, which takes a lot of mental energy. Surprisingly, she didn't complain about the hard bamboo mat. After a quick wash, she lay down and fell asleep immediately.

Lin Xiyu also had a good sleep and replenished her energy.

The next morning, she first went to her cousin's classmate's house to restock for two days. On her way back, she made a detour to the supply and marketing cooperative to inquire about the prices of insulated boxes and folding beds.

The folding bed wasn't cheap, costing 70 yuan. She didn't have enough money with her and was hesitating about whether to go back to get more when her aunt called out to her from behind.

My aunt works as an accountant at a supply and marketing cooperative, so it's not unusual to run into her at the mall.

Lin Xiyu wanted to mend the relationship between the mother and daughter, so she tried her best to speak well of her cousin, praising her cousin's achievements in selling clothes at the night market over the past two days.

"This kid just keeps causing trouble."

When my aunt heard that she had made money, her expression softened a bit. Although she still complained a lot, she was already somewhat tempted.

"Auntie, I came to buy a folding bed for my cousin."

Lin Xiyu played the family card: "She's not used to sleeping on the floor and hasn't had a good night's sleep for two days."

"She's just shameless; she brought it on herself."

My aunt glared at me and got angry again: "Why don't you sleep on the bed at home? You insist on sleeping on the floor."

Lin Xiyu gave an awkward laugh.

These words sound familiar; my grandmother said the same thing. No wonder they're mother and daughter.

"Don't buy her a folding bed."

My aunt felt bad about the money, and said, "She has to suffer a bit. She won't know how good her parents are to her if she doesn't experience hardship."

"Aunt."

Lin Xiyu wanted to try again, but seeing her aunt's face turn from white to black, she could only shut her mouth in embarrassment.

-

After noon, Grandma helped Lin Xiyu pack her bags.

"There are a lot of mosquitoes when hiking at night, so bring some Tiger Balm and paracetamol. Just in case you get a headache or a cold, one tablet will do the trick. Also, bring a few Band-Aids, it's always good to have a few on hand."

Lin Xiyu listened patiently to her grandmother's nagging and put the necessary items into her backpack in an orderly manner.

"Bring your needle and thread too."

Seeing that she was well-behaved and obedient, Grandma smiled lovingly and took out a set of needles and thread from the drawer and handed it to her.

"You need to bring this too?"

Lin Xiyu looked at the dazzling steel needles, and the corners of her mouth twitched involuntarily.

“Be prepared.”

Grandma, drawing on her own experience, advised her: "Anything can happen when you're out and about. Don't take chances. Don't underestimate this little gadget; it can be very useful in a critical moment."

"Ok."

Lin Xiyu was used to listening to her grandmother, and fearing that she would prick herself with the needle and thread, she put it in the outermost layer of her backpack.

"Xi Yu, are you ready? It's time to go."

Gu Bin picked her up at exactly 4 o'clock.

"All right."

Lin Xiyu was overjoyed to hear his voice and ran out of the house with her bag on her back.

To make climbing easier, she didn't wear a skirt, but a grass-green short-sleeved t-shirt paired with knee-length blue denim shorts, which made her look exceptionally refreshing and pleasant.

Gu Bin's outfit was somewhat similar to hers, a black T-shirt paired with loose-fitting military green pocket pants.

A vibrant young couple, a sight to behold.

Grandma watched them with a smile through the window.

"Grandma, let's go."

Gu Bin held Lin Xiyu's hand and said goodbye to the elderly woman.

Lin Xiyu's ears turned red; she was too embarrassed to shake the person off in front of her grandmother.

"Go."

Grandma fanned herself with a loving expression: "Go play, have fun."

"Goodbye, grandma."

Gu Bin politely said goodbye to his grandmother, then pulled Lin Xiyu and ran out of the courtyard.

As soon as the two stepped out of the courtyard, Lin Xiyu's expression changed immediately, and she forcefully shook off his hand.

"what happened?"

Gu Bin was puzzled: "What did I do to offend you? You gave me a hard time as soon as we stepped out the door."

Did you get into a fight with Wang Fan?

Lin Xiyu was deeply resentful and felt uncomfortable if she didn't vent it.

"Cough cough."

Gu Bin was surprised that she still remembered this matter. He touched the corner of his mouth and coughed awkwardly twice.

"Do you remember what you told me, that you would handle it and that it wouldn't affect your relationship?"

Lin Xiyu was indignant: "And this is how you handle it? Is fighting really that fun? Are all men like this, resorting to their fists to solve problems when they're unhappy?"

"That kid deserves a beating."

Gu Bin's expression was somewhat unnatural.

Without revealing the truth, Wang Fan admitted to him that he liked Lin Xiyu.

The two fought, and the loser gave up.

"You're making me feel really guilty."

Lin Xiyu, unaware of the inside story, had tears welling up in her eyes, feeling guilty and uneasy: "I don't want you to have any rifts because of me."

"You don't need to feel guilty."

Gu Bin couldn't bear to see him cry, so his attitude immediately softened: "Business is business, and women are women. We can keep it separate. Even if we really part ways one day, it's none of your business."

Lin Xiyu suffered a heart attack: "Your words make me feel even worse."

"The two of us"

Gu Bin glanced seemingly casually at the taxis parked at the door, and tentatively asked, "If you had to choose one, which would you pick?"

"Of course it's you."

Lin Xiyu answered without thinking.

"That's okay."

Gu Bin smiled with relief: "There's no point in us arguing back and forth. The key is you. Who you choose is the most important thing."

Lin Xiyu laughed in exasperation: "Since you understand, why did you still fight?"

"I will not do it again."

Gu Bin patted her shoulder reassuringly and opened the car door: "Get in the car, or we'll be late for the train station."

As soon as the car door opened, Wang Fan was seen lounging in his seat with a cigarette in his mouth, looking anything but serious.

Lin Xiyu paused, an awkwardness instantly spreading throughout her body.

(End of this chapter)