Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1313 The Unknown Future

The two children leaned on the bridge railing to look at the water. Chen Xiaohui said there were fish in the water, but Wang Yan said there weren't. The two little ones strained to see what was in the water.

Ma San's wife stood protectively by the side of the two children.

After Ma San's wife came over, she felt that she hadn't done much but was still getting paid so much. She had asked Chen Xiao several times to give her more work, but there were all sorts of people doing things in the yard, and she couldn't even sweep the yard. She was not allowed to enter the kitchen without permission, and besides, there was nothing that needed her to do.

We didn't ask her to come over for work; frankly, we just wanted someone to watch over the children so we could have peace of mind. Now, she knits sweaters in her spare time, knitting for the children, and the hand-knitted ones are thicker and warmer than store-bought ones.

Xiao Wei and the others stood on the side talking.

Standing here, you can see the storefront of Chen Xiao's Mongolian restaurant. The entire decoration is in the authentic Mongolian style, making it very eye-catching from a distance.

Chen Hui said, "Actually, if you look at them from a distance, Mongolians and Tibetans have a lot of similarities."

Xiao Hong said, "It's pretty much the same. The Mongolians believe in Tibetan Buddhism, and like there, they govern the people through religion. The leaders are all living Buddhas."

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "The biggest difference is in their living conditions. Tibetans are settled, while Mongolians are nomadic. Other aspects are not much different, including their diet. Now the differences are even smaller; they are indeed about the same to us."

Zang Yuanwei said to Chen Xiao, "The most distinctive feature of the Mongolian people is probably barbecue, right? Whole roasted lamb, kebabs, have you made those here?"

Chen Xiao nodded: "It's done. Everything the Mongolians have here that's available, and it's definitely authentic. All the ingredients and seasonings are from there. By the way, Xiaowei, I'm thinking of asking my older brother to help me buy that beef jerky and cheese factory over there. What do you think?"

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "That works too. We don't need to worry about selling them; we just need to keep the quality up. Beef jerky, milk tofu, dairy products, and milk wine. Hmm, these things require raw materials. If we were to set up a factory, wouldn't we need to run a ranch? A cattle farm or a sheep farm?"

Chen Xiao was taken aback for a moment: "Can't we just accept it?"

Chen Hui put his hand on Chen Xiao's shoulder: "Don't you understand? Your factory relies entirely on cattle and sheep to survive. If you don't raise them yourself, you'll be in someone else's hands. How will you survive in the future? In the end, everything will be decided by those who raise cattle and sheep."

Xiao Wei nodded: "That's right, you can only succeed if you control the source yourself. In the past, everything was state-owned, and the state had the final say. Now it's all private, and whoever raises the livestock has the final say. Today meat prices go up a bit, tomorrow milk prices go up a bit, and if a few more competitors appear, your factory will be pretty much finished."

Chen Xiao was stunned for a long time: "I just had this one idea and it's caused such a big problem? Raising cattle and sheep means I have to buy a pasture, grow grass, and have someone to take care of it. My goodness, well, I guess I'll just have to do it this way."

Xiao Hong said, "Didn't you want to find something to do? Why did you back out when something came up? It's all just for show; you're just all talk and no action."

Chen Xiao pouted and looked at Xiao Hong: "I didn't understand."

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "I think it will work. Our supermarket has a lot of dairy products, and the sales are quite high. Nowadays, most families with a little means are drinking milk. Isn't there a saying that a glass of milk a day makes Chinese people strong?"

Xiaohong said, "That's what the Japanese said, and we adopted it. Japanese students all eat in the school cafeteria, and the country has a law mandating the distribution of milk, which is free."

Chen Xiao shook his head: "It's good that the country is small and the population is small. We have too many people, it's simply impossible. Even nine years of compulsory education costs money."

Xiao Hong turned to Xiao Wei and said, "You tell me."

Xiao Wei shook his head: "I won't say. It's unrealistic, so you don't need to think about it, at least not right now."

Chen Hui said to Xiao Hong, "Things have to be done slowly, little by little. Raising the standards too high is not a good thing."

Chen Xiao looked back and forth between the three people: "What are you talking about?"

Xiao Hong hugged Chen Xiao: "They bullied me."

Xiao Wei turned to look at the lake: "This is a good idea. I'm thinking we should keep adding our own products to our supermarket, especially fast-moving consumer goods."

"Fish, fish, such a big fish!" Chen Xiaohui and Wang Yan jumped up and down, patting the bridge railing. Ma San's wife reached out and grabbed the two children nervously, saying, "Don't jump, don't jump, hold on tight."

Chen Xiaohui looked at Wang Yan with a smug expression: "Big fish. Tell me, what do they eat in the water?"

Wang Yan said, "Their mother cooks for them; there's nowhere to buy food in the water."

Chen Xiaohui stared wide-eyed for a moment, then asked, "Then, where do they put their money? They don't have pockets. They don't wear clothes."

Wang Yan said, "It's in its mouth, since its mouth is so big. Grandma said that big fish hide the little fish in their mouths to protect them from being bullied. Money must be put in its mouth too, right?"

"Hey, fish, it doesn't cost any money. You have to find everything yourself. Dig. Where do they earn money? Are you going to pay the class?"

Chen Hui nodded: "I think it's a good idea. Miler will handle the knitwear, we have bread, cakes, raw meat and vegetables, and seafood is easy to get. We can build a few farms in Dalian and Hainan later. Let's do it, let's set up a ranch."

Xiao Wei said, "I want Hong Liang to close down and relocate the pig farm in Longcheng. It used to be a bed sheet factory. We need to revitalize it; you can't just sell one brand."

Chen Hui nodded: "That works too. They're all worshipping the Heavenly Emperor there now, and the transportation costs are considerable. Closing it down and relocating to Fengtian would save money. The ranch is no small matter; who will go? We don't have the manpower. None of the people here know anything about it."

Chen Xiao said, "Can't we ask my older brother for help? If that doesn't work, we can build it together with the military; that would be more reliable."

Xiao Hong said, "Let's go sit with my sister and talk. It's quite windy here."

The group crossed the bridge and, holding the children's hands, continued walking towards Doujiao Hutong.

Two adjacent bars were under construction, their facades completely demolished, seemingly merging into one. A recording studio had a "Do Not Disturb" sign hanging outside. Young men and women carrying guitars hurried past on the street.

Everyone is busy striving for a living or pursuing their dreams.

For some reason, Xiao Wei suddenly thought of the underground rental rooms near Maliandao and Yangfangdian again. Ideals always fill people with passion and fighting spirit, making them ignore all hardships and difficulties, but life always cruelly peels away the bloody reality.

Successful people are only a minority, and can only be a minority. There are too many talented and capable people in this world; no one is truly unique. Millions of people persevere, but hard work isn't the only path to the top. Luck is.

"What are they carrying on their backs?"

"My aunt says it's a zither, something you play while singing. It's not fun."

"Why are they carrying those instruments? Aren't they tired?"

"To make money, you sing. If people listen, you get paid; if no one listens, you don't get paid."

The two little ones were talking like little adults. Xiao Wei snapped out of his daze, smiled, and shook his head.

Everyone has the right to choose their own destiny; no matter how much others think, it's useless.

Life is a journey of continuous choices. There are no mentors, no references, no hints, not even a question; you're simply forced to make choices, and the future is always unknown.

(End of this chapter)