country bumpkin

After the meal, Kong Xiangguang felt that he had gotten closer to his sister and brother-in-law's family.

Especially his nephew Sun Guoqiang and niece Sun Limei, who were not familiar with him. Yun Ya knew him well, but they didn't seem close.

Yunya will always remember the way her aunt came to the old house and pointed at her grandmother's nose, cursing her.

It's all because of my uncle's indulgence. There are plenty of ways for a man to control his wife.

He turned a blind eye, completely siding with his aunt. That's why Yunya didn't like him; she only liked her uncle and aunt who were filial to her maternal grandmother.

In the afternoon, Kong Xiangguang left his bundle at his eldest sister's house and went out for a stroll. He was going to check out the farmers' market near his third sister's house, hoping to find a good business opportunity.

Once on the bus, Kong Xiangguang struck up a friendly conversation with the older men and women on board.

He was incredibly shrewd, and it didn't take long for him to extract a lot of information. It was just that absurd; he went out for a stroll and came back to decide what kind of business to do.

Indeed, cunning and shrewd people are popular wherever they go.

Kong Xiujuan asked her younger brother, Xiangguang, still uncertain, "Is everything you said true? Deciding what to do so quickly seems a bit hasty. Maybe we should think about it again!"

Kong Xiangguang said firmly, "Sister, I'm very sure this business will make money."

Kong Xiujuan was still worried. She advised anxiously, "Observe for a few more days, think it over carefully, don't rush. If you choose the wrong industry, you will not only waste time but also money."

Kong Xiangguang could only stay for a few more days to investigate.

That night, Kong Xiangguang stayed at his elder sister's house with his brother-in-law. Kong Xiujuan shared a room with the children, and she was holding her son on his bed.

Yun Ya and Sun Limei remained unchanged, still sharing a bed. For now, they had no choice but to stay like this.

There is also vacant land to the west of their house, which is a vegetable garden left over from when the house was built.

Sun Zitao plans to save up some money, collect some bricks in his spare time, haul a few cartloads of stones, and build a few more houses.

The remaining vegetable garden still has cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, string beans, and loofah.

The vegetable garden was surrounded by large stones, and on the north side, towards the east, there were rows of red bricks.

These are the bricks that Sun Zitao collected in his spare time. Every time he takes a job, on his way back, if he encounters people demolishing houses, he will pick up some bricks to take back.

Of course, those who can rebuild their houses don't care about the old bricks that are removed.

They were either picked up by villagers or taken home by outsiders like Sun Zitao who were passing by.

Their current house is big enough, but when a few relatives come to visit, there won't be enough room. So building a few more houses is an urgent matter.

Sun Zitao had been waiting for the materials. Once the materials were almost ready, he began digging the foundation and building the house.

This time, he plans to build the house himself. He will ask a few friends to help when the main beam is being laid, but he will do the rest of the work himself.

The next day, Kong Xiangguang went to several other streets to conduct market research and found that every market had vendors doing this business. They were all so busy that demand exceeded supply, indicating that this business had great potential.

He had a bowl of noodles outside at noon and didn't return until it was almost dark.

When I got home, I told my older sister about my discovery.

"Big sister, you don't know, I've discovered that these markets and trade centers all sell chicken and fish, and they're so busy they can't keep up with the demand. They're making so much money."

Kong Xiujuan was not optimistic about this business, saying, "Apart from holidays, who eats chicken and fish all the time? This is not a long-term solution."

Kong Xiangguang retorted in disagreement, "Sister, you don't understand. The future development will be better and better, more and more prosperous. There will be more and more people running restaurants or eateries, and business will definitely be very good."

Kong Xiujuan offered no further opinions, saying, "I don't understand these things either. You can handle it yourself."

After finishing their business, they each went back to their rooms to sleep.

………………

Meanwhile, Kong Xiufang's clothing store was already renovated and cleaned. She was just waiting for the goods to arrive.

The goods we bought included not only finished garments but also some fabrics. We also purchased a Panda brand electric sewing machine.

Electric sewing machines like these were very expensive in the 90s; a new one cost nearly 3000 yuan. But who was Kong Xiufang? She was favored by Director Xu of the garment factory.

She went to the garment factory and found her former boss, who took back a second-hand electric sewing machine. Director Xu only kept 1000 yuan for it.

Everything is ready; we're just waiting for the auspicious day to open for business.

On the sixth day of the ninth lunar month in 1994, the "New Trend Clothing Store" officially opened its doors to the rising sun.

It was only eight o'clock in the morning when many young girls, women, and old ladies who enjoy shopping started to go out for a stroll.

Today is a good day, and many shops are holding promotions to attract customers. Kong Xiujuan also joined in the fun, offering a buy-one-get-one-free deal at her shop.

Buy a set of clothes and get a free short-sleeved shirt with the store's name on it—that's practically free advertising!

Many elderly people, hoping to get a free T-shirt, end up buying an entire outfit for their daughter or daughter-in-law.

The effect of this event was beyond Kong Xiufang's expectations. The short-sleeved shirts given away were even made of pure cotton, which made the elderly ladies who missed out extremely envious.

These old ladies all have this mentality: if they can get something cheap and don't stick it, they'll be at a disadvantage or be foolish. With such a bargain right in front of them, they feel they'd be doing themselves a disservice if they didn't stick it.

Anyway, my daughter and daughter-in-law often buy clothes, so I can bring them back myself. This will also help strengthen the bond between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

If the daughter-in-law or daughter doesn't like the style they bought, they can take it back and exchange it for another style, killing two birds with one stone and not losing out at all.

The store was bustling with customers today, so Kong Xiufang and Lin Junhui didn't have time to go home for dinner.

Unexpectedly, around 1 p.m., my older sister Kong Xiujuan brought the lunchbox over.

Kong Xiufang was both grateful and happy, thinking to herself that it was good to have an older sister.

Kong Xiufang knew that her younger sister's shop was opening today. Her sister's mother-in-law was at home taking care of the children and couldn't come to deliver meals. Her own children were all grown up and she didn't need to worry about them. So she came to deliver meals without telling her.

Kong Xiujuan also wanted to help her sister, but she didn't know how to sell clothes or measure clothes. All she could do was deliver meals, boil water, and help out.

Lin Junhui was very grateful to his older sister for her help, at least he didn't have to serve customers on an empty stomach.

If we're talking about Kong Xiangguang, who's idle at home, he's eloquent and intelligent, making him a good candidate for business.

However, he didn't mean well; he would rather wander around the market than come and help his younger sister.

This shows that he and his wife are the same kind of people: selfish and will never show their faces if they can't get something out of it.

It really proves the saying, "People who aren't family don't enter the same door."