Born in the 1980s, she was remarried and became a stepmother; a cold, rough man doted on her, pinchi

Chapter 22 An argument leads to a big business deal!

Jiang He was already furious, and seeing Wang Xiu speak up only fueled her anger. She glared at Wang Xiu and said irritably, "This is none of your business, so stop pretending to be a good person. My sister and I are talking, what right do you have to interrupt? It's our family's business, what right do you have to interfere?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiu also became angry. She put her hands on her hips and raised her voice, saying, "How come this has nothing to do with me? Sister-in-law Jiang Man and I are family. We run this breakfast stall together. By belittling this business like this, you're just saying we're useless. What great skills do you have? All you do is nitpick. If you have so much free time, why don't you do something worthwhile?"

"Hmph, whether I do anything worthwhile is none of your business. Anyway, I'm definitely better than you. You can just stay here and live your lives like this mess."

Jiang He retorted, showing no intention of backing down.

Those around Wang Xiu nodded in agreement, and some even whispered in agreement: "That's right, this girl is so insensible. How can she talk to her own sister like that?"

Jiang He blushed and turned pale as she was scolded by Wang Xiu and saw people pointing and whispering about her.

She was both ashamed and angry, but couldn't find any words to refute him. She could only glare fiercely at Wang Xiu, then look at Jiang Man and grit her teeth, saying, "Fine, you guys are amazing. I'm not talking to you anymore. We'll see!"

Watching Jiang He's angry back, Wang Xiu shifted her gaze to Sun Meifen, who was still standing aside watching the commotion.

"Sister-in-law, are you still going to stand here and watch the show?"

Sun Meifen was enjoying the spectacle when she suddenly heard Wang Xiu's sarcastic remarks, and her face flushed.

“This child, how can you talk like that! It’s almost noon, I have to hurry back and cook. Unlike your sister-in-law, there’s not even a man in her house.”

Sun Meifen deliberately said something misleading, then turned and walked away, swaying her hips.

Wang Xiu lowered her hands from her hips, walked back to Jiang Man's side, and muttered angrily, "What kind of people are these? They're disgusting..."

Jiang Man smiled and handed the packed buns to the elderly woman who had been waiting for her.

"Young lady, you're having a tough time, aren't you? None of your relatives are any good. Our factory is planning to implement employee benefits soon, and I think your breakfasts are delicious and reasonably priced. I'll write a report and submit it later. If this is settled, you'll have to give me a discount!"

Wang Xiu was stunned; she never expected that an argument could lead to a big business deal!
Jiang Man was also a little surprised, but she immediately realized that the old lady probably wanted to get a kickback, and she could do her a favor so that her business would grow more and more in the future.

"Don't worry, the price is definitely fair. It's just that I can only make 150 of these buns a day, since my sister and I make them ourselves, and we have limited manpower..."

"I understand, I understand. I'll go back and write the proposal first, I'll be going now!"

After seeing her off, Jiang Man and Wang Xiu sold their goods for about half an hour, and all the steamed buns and tea eggs they brought that day were sold out.

"The breakfast business is getting better every day, so we'll be able to buy a shop soon."

Wang Xiu happily packed her things. After selling breakfast with Jiang Man, she no longer felt like a useless person.

It might also be related to appropriate exercise. Her health is getting better day by day. Once she saves up some more money, she and her third brother will go to the hospital for a check-up. If it's a good time to get pregnant, they'll start preparing.

"Xiuer, this is your salary from last month."

Wang Xiu took it, and seeing the extra fifty yuan, she immediately said, "Sister-in-law, didn't you give me too much?"

"You came to my house this morning to help me make steamed buns, and Lao San helped a lot too. You deserve this. Keep it."

Wang Xiu felt a surge of emotion. Before meeting Jiang Man, no one in the village respected her, and even Lao San was ridiculed by many for marrying her.

Ultimately, it all comes down to her poor health.

At this time, if you're not in good health, you can't work in the fields, so you won't earn work points or money. You're also more prone to illness, which leads to higher medical expenses. Nobody wants to have a "big Buddha" to worship at home.

If it weren't for the third son marrying her, she would have been married off to an old widower in the next village.

"Sister-in-law, I really don't know how to thank you enough."

Jiang Man paused in her tidying up; she hadn't expected Wang Xiu to think of such things.

“We’re family, so let’s not be formal. I’m not giving this to you because of the third son; you truly deserve it.”

Jiang Man patted her shoulder and laughed, "Let's go, pack up, and go home for lunch. We'll invite Lao San over for dinner at your sister-in-law's house tonight."

"Hey, good!"

Wang Xiu readily agreed.

"By the way, sister-in-law, didn't you send my brother any food?"

As Wang Xiu tidied up, she said, "Yesterday I saw Lin Hua'er pack a big bag of things, I don't know if it was food or clothes, and she mailed it to her husband."

Jiang Man slapped his forehead: "I've been so busy making money this month that I completely forgot about something so important."

"Haha, I bet my brother's been waiting for me in the army for ages." Wang Xiu laughed twice. "Let's go, I'll go with you to buy some things first, and also buy my third son a new outfit. His shoes need replacing, the soles have fallen off several times already."

After packing up their stall, Jiang Man and Wang Xiu went to the vegetable market, chatting and laughing.

They walked straight toward the meat section, where a crowd had already gathered, examining the pork on the cutting board and haggling with the vendor.

At that time, pork was relatively affordable, costing about one yuan per jin (500 grams). However, for an average family, buying ten jin at once was still a considerable expense.

Wang Xiu and Jiang Man squeezed their way to the meat stall. The stall owner was a burly man wearing an oily apron with a simple, honest smile on his face. When he saw them, he greeted them warmly: "What would you two ladies like to buy today? Our pork was just slaughtered this morning, it's very fresh!"

Jiang Man looked at the meat on the cutting board, pointed to a piece with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, and said, "Brother, is this piece about ten pounds? Pack it all up for me."

The stall owner replied "Okay!" and skillfully picked up his knife, cutting off pieces of pork and placing them on the scale to weigh.

After weighing the pork, Jiang Man remembered something and quickly said, "Brother, give us four more pig trotters."

Wang Xiu also ordered a piece of pork belly weighing over three jin (approximately 1.5 kg). When she heard that Jiang Man had ordered four pig trotters, she quickly said, "Sister-in-law, why are you buying so many pig trotters? It's not even the New Year yet."

"I'll stew it for dinner tonight, to nourish the children and your youngest, especially you, your face is all pale."

The stall owner chuckled and joked, "Young lady, you have quite the taste! Pig's trotters are great, lots of collagen, good for your skin!"

As he spoke, he picked out four pig trotters of suitable size from the basket beside him and placed them on the scale.

As Jiang Man paid, he couldn't help but sigh to himself that pig's trotters were still cheap at this time of year, costing only a few cents per pound, hardly an expensive ingredient.

After Jiang Man paid, Wang Xiu took the bag and carefully carried it with her. She muttered, "You have to hold on tight. This is enough for an ordinary family to eat for a long time. Only you, sister-in-law, dare to buy like this."

(End of this chapter)