"Honey, you must be exhausted these past few days. Hurry and rest. I've heated water for you. Sit down, and I'll soak your feet."
"Later, I'll wash the pots and pans. You just rest."
It had been half a month since Chen Yang and Qin Huai's radio shop opened. Today, Qin Yousheng, who had just returned pushing a small cart, sat down on a stool with a smug grin.
The day after Chen Yang's radio shop opened, they went to Jianye to set up a stall.
There was nothing to worry or be afraid of. The leaders of the Jianye Administration for Industry and Commerce had personally invited them, so what more could they ask for?
At first, Qin Yousheng and his younger brother Qin Youshui were a bit hesitant, but as they worked, their pancake-making skills and their calls to attract customers became more proficient.
Business wasn't as simple as helping Chen Yang make pancakes and deliver them, but it also wasn't as difficult as Qin Yousheng and Qin Youshui had imagined.
As they continued, their pancakes became famous among the surrounding schools and factories.
As a result, in recent days, many customers who had been waiting at their stall for them to sell pancakes had come.
Before it got dark, Qin Yousheng had sold out all the dough he had prepared. He had even gone home at noon to restock, otherwise, he would have sold out much earlier.
Business was good, and their wallets were visibly getting fatter.
Each pancake sold for thirty-five cents. Without mentioning anything else, after deducting costs, they could still make fifteen cents profit per pancake. He had sold nearly a hundred pancakes in a day.
Just from selling pancakes, his daily income was nearly ten yuan!
What did this mean? The work points he earned from working with the team all year round were probably less than what he made from selling pancakes for two days.
There were also the tea eggs. They could sell dozens of tea eggs a day, each costing fifteen cents, with a profit of about five cents, which also brought in several yuan.
So, these past few days, every time he came home, he would put the loose change from his pockets in front of his wife.
His wife would happily make him noodles to eat, and while he slurped down his noodles, she would count the money.
After finishing his noodles and sitting down on the stool, his wife would happily bring him hot water to soak his feet.
This was something Qin Yousheng had never even dreamed of. This woman had given him three robust sons, and he had to cherish her.
Watching his wife soak his feet and speak tenderly, Qin Yousheng felt an immense sense of satisfaction.
What was the point of a man earning money if not to spend it on his wife and children? No matter how much hardship or fatigue he endured outside, as long as he had a woman at home who cared for him, all the suffering would vanish. Su Dan Novel Network
He loved watching his wife happily count money more than counting it himself.
"Business today was even better than yesterday. I see we've collected forty-seven yuan. We should prepare more dough tonight, and you should buy more lard tomorrow. I'll render it."
"You say we'll make so much lard, we won't be able to eat it all. How about we set up another stall? I'll steam rice nearby and add some lard and soy sauce to make lard rice. Sprinkle some chopped scallions on top, and it'll be absolutely delicious."
"Honey, what do you think of my idea? Will city kids like it?"
Wang Cuihua was thinking while helping her husband soak his feet.
These past few days, they had already rendered a lot of lard at home to make pork cracklings. They were reluctant to eat it themselves. This lard was fragrant enough to add a little to dishes usually.
Now they rendered new lard every day and just let it sit at home, which was such a waste.
"Pop!"
Hearing Wang Cuihua's words, Qin Yousheng excitedly slapped his thigh, accidentally knocking over the foot basin. The foot-soaking water nearly splashed all over Wang Cuihua.
"You clumsy fool! If you don't like it, just say so. Why are you taking your anger out on me?"
"Now that we're making money, you look down on me, right? After all, I worry about you pushing the cart for dozens of miles every day and eagerly heat water for you to soak your feet."
"And you, you want me to drink your foot-washing water."
Wang Cuihua thought Qin Yousheng was angry with her for speaking out of turn. Business was a man's affair, and she, as a woman, shouldn't interfere. She didn't have any business acumen, so pointing fingers would surely be annoying.
"Cuihua, you are truly my lucky star."
But to Wang Cuihua's surprise, before she could finish speaking, Qin Yousheng, standing barefoot on the ground, swept her up and kissed her soundly on the cheek.
"You shameless old thing, what are you saying?"
"Quick, put me down! If the kids see, what will they think?"
Wang Cuihua was also taken aback by Qin Yousheng's action. They were both in their thirties, and their children were already in their teens. They weren't like young lovers who would embrace each other.
"What's wrong with hugging you? You're my wife, I'll hug you if I want."
"Never mind hugging, I even want to have two more sons. Before, we were too poor to raise them. Now that we can earn money, let's have more children. More children, more blessings."
Qin Yousheng chuckled. Before Wang Cuihua could react, he had already scooped her up.
Having worked in the fields for over a decade, Qin Yousheng could carry several bags of fifty catties of fertilizer. What was holding his wife?
"Your feet are bare, the ground is cold!"
Wang Cuihua playfully punched Qin Yousheng's arm, but didn't say much more, burying her head in her husband's embrace.
"The kang is warm."
...
Half an hour later, Qin Yousheng felt as if he had become ten years younger. His energy levels were almost as high as when he first got married.
Indeed, with money, anything was possible.
Wang Cuihua wiped sweat from her brow and lay in her husband's arms, her body feeling weak.
"Honey, are you serious about what you just said? Do you really think my idea for lard rice can make money?"
Wang Cuihua looked at her husband with a hint of trepidation. She was an uneducated rural woman, and her husband was now a big earner.
There weren't many people in Qin Family Village who could compare to her husband, so she naturally felt a bit of blind admiration.
She had just thought of it on impulse and wasn't sure if it could make money. Now that her husband, who was making a lot of money, had confirmed it, how could she not be excited?
"You saw how our sons devoured the lard rice this morning. It was so delicious, who wouldn't love it?"
"Forget them, I love it too."
"We can also add pickled radish or other preserved vegetables to the lard rice for flavor. I bet there will be many people who will come to try it out of curiosity."
"Now you know, I'm not looking down on you. I truly consider you my lucky star."
"From now on, we'll earn money together, and we'll send these brats to school. Who knows, maybe our Qin family will also have a university student."
Qin Yousheng hugged his wife, his heart filled with ambition.
Now, he felt that a happy life was beckoning him. As long as he worked hard, he was sure he could make his family prosperous.