Wang Cheng just listened to this. Even a vegetable farmer wouldn’t need three or four board carts. Their vegetable station can’t even dispatch that many carts a day.
He quickly picked out another two carts with good frames. Lin Chuxia rode away on the better one first, and the rest were to be pushed over by someone else later, who would also settle the payment.
Li Jian spoke up quietly from the side, “Not afraid we’ll go back on our word? Maybe you should leave something as security here?”
He was teasing her about what happened the first time she bought a board cart.
Lin Chuxia said, “Brother, are you pointing out my shortcomings again? Show some respect for me in front of Brother Wang.”
Li Jian and Wang Cheng laughed heartily.
Li Jian teased her about the way she called him Brother, and then Brother Wang; the closeness and distance were immediately clear.
Wang Cheng envied Li Jian for having such a sister. He had been to Lin Chuxia’s Bun Shop and knew she was no ordinary woman. He had heard that Li Jian had gotten Station Chief Yang’s favor partly because of his sister.
How come he hadn’t gotten to know Lin Chuxia earlier?
Unaware of what the two men were thinking, Lin Chuxia rode the board cart straight back to the Bun Shop.
Sun Bingnan, seeing her ride another board cart back, excitedly circled around the cart, “Chuxia, where did you get this cart from?”
Lin Chuxia patted the cart seat, “Sun, when you have a moment, check thoroughly if there’s anything wrong with this cart. This will be your exclusive ride from now on.”
Currently, Sun Bingnan was in charge of purchasing for the Bun Shop. In the future, the purchase of cooked food will need to be separate from here, so this cart came just in time.
His eyes lit up upon hearing this, “I have time right now.”
“Even if you have time, don’t fuss over this right now. You and Pang Yongli go to the vegetable station, find Wang Cheng at the storage, give him the money for the cart, and also push the other two carts back here.”
There were actually two more carts.
Sun Bingnan agreed cheerfully, called Pang Yongli, withdrew the money from the account, and they went to the vegetable station.
Lin Chuxia left one of the slightly older carts in the small courtyard of the Bun Shop. The men at the shop were used to heavy work, so fixing it up was not a problem.
She pushed the other cart back to the Qin Family and gave it to Qin Han.
Selling vegetables using a board cart is indeed more convenient than using a bicycle. Last time she pushed a cart back, Qin Han had circled around it several times, clearly liking it.
Men are truly peculiar creatures; any kind of vehicle is hugely attractive to them.
At that time, riding a bicycle was quite cool; having a board cart was comparable to later when people rode motorcycles—it also gave a sense of superiority.
When Qin Han heard the board cart was for him to use, he was flustered, “This… Sister-in-law, how much is the cart? Let me go get the money for you.”
“If you talk like that, Big Brother, you’re being too formal. I just took the opportunity to get two extra carts; you just ride it as you need,” Lin Chuxia responded.
Qin Han understood what she meant. His sister-in-law bought an extra cart for business, but currently, it was not needed, so she left it at home for him to use. There would come a day when the business grows that she would need it back.
Even so, he was getting a great deal.
Qin Han did not insist on paying and gratefully thanked her.
This cart was in a similar condition to the one Lin Chuxia originally brought back; the frame was fine, but the wheels had been neglected for so long they were flat, and the boards were a bit damaged.
Qin Han started fixing the cart in the courtyard, while Lin Chuxia carried a bag of apples and some snacks to Mrs. Qin’s room.
Mrs. Qin saw what she was holding and chided, “How many times have I told you not to waste money on us? We have plenty to eat and drink at home; we’re living well. You’re not finding it easy to earn money; you should save it for yourself.”
Ever since the Bun Shop opened, Lin Chuxia rarely came home to eat, but she often brought food for them.
Lin Chuxia placed the items on the table, “If I buy it for you, just eat it. It’s not worth much. Is Dad not back yet?”
“Your dad has gone to harvest fennel. I said I’d go with him, but he said it wasn’t much work and not worth two people, so he asked me to stay home and watch the kids.”
After their tomato plants were transplanted, Mr. Qin planted fennel, and now the Bun Shop was using their homegrown fennel. This season, fennel was expensive, so it saved the Bun Shop quite a bit on groceries.
Lin Chuxia asked about the situation in the fields and told Mrs. Qin that if things got too busy to speak with her, the shop now had more staff, and she could come over to help at any time.
Mrs. Qin nodded in agreement; her daughter-in-law was methodical in her ways, and following her arrangements was always right.
Suddenly remembering something, she went to the drawer and took out a letter and a remittance slip.
“Look at my memory, Yangyang sent a letter and also mailed his wages.”
Lin Chuxia glanced at the remittance slip—50 yuan. He had both listened and not listened to her words.
She had written to him last time telling him that she had started doing business and was not short of money, asking him to keep his wages for his own use.
For a grown man to only keep three yuan for pocket money, Lin Chuxia felt it was suffocating just to think about it.
This month he had kept 10 yuan for himself but still sent most of it back.
“Yangyang also wrote a letter home, he won’t be coming back for Mid-Autumn Festival. Ever since he started working, he hasn’t come back for Mid-Autumn Festival. Throughout the year, he only manages to come back for a few days during the Spring Festival. I thought this year would be an exception, but it turns out he is still so busy.”
Mrs. Qin was worried her daughter-in-law might have objections to her son not coming back for Mid-Autumn Festival and explained.
Lin Chuxia actually knew about the situation—a workaholic, it was already good enough that he could come back for the Spring Festival.
Mrs. Qin asked her when she would visit her parental home, as per their local custom, one should visit their parents’ home during festivals like the Spring Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival.
Lin Chuxia considered for a moment, “I’ll go back in a couple of days.”
She didn’t dwell too much on the matter and went on to tell Mrs. Qin about inviting Old Master He to their home for Mid-Autumn Festival.
The Qin family knew that Lin Chuxia had found herself a master, an elderly person with no family to rely on.
Mrs. Qin said with a smile, “That’ll be lovely, the more the merrier. Even though Yangyang is not home, your master should meet the family.”
“When there’s a chance, in the future,” said Lin Chuxia.
Mrs. Qin thought so too.
After discussing these matters, Lin Chuxia went back to her room to read the letter.
Last time, Lin Chuxia had told Qin Yang about the situation of the shop in her letter. Although she didn’t disclose her financial details, she reassured him that the business was doing well and she was making daily revenue because she was worried he might be concerned about her facing difficulties starting her business.
This time, the letter surprisingly covered two pages of paper. The beginning expressed his regrets and guilt for not being able to come home for the Mid-Autumn Festival, followed by some trifles about his workplace, which were also the reason for the inability to fall behind in the projects.
The end of the letter inquired about her business affairs.
Arriving at the last part, Lin Chuxia smiled again.
Half a page, every line expressed his concern about her business but also his lack of confidence in her.
He talked about the viciousness of people, advising her to be more cautious, and even shared a story of a woman entrepreneur who was cheated both financially and romantically. He was worried she might take it personally, emphasizing several times that he wasn’t referring to her but was just telling a story.
If she hadn’t spent a few days with him and knew that Qin Yang was different from the man she knew in her previous life, she would never believe these were his words.
The mention of his elder brother’s letter indicated that his brother must have misunderstood something during his visit to her shop, making Qin Yang so concerned about her.
She had to admit, feeling this worried about her was rather nice.
Lin Chuxia took the calendar and flipped through it page by page.
The cooked food business would be operational in the next couple of days. It was a week until Mid-Autumn Festival, and Qin Yang’s birthday was at the end of October. By then, the new staff should be trained, and the cooked food business would be running smoothly.
Since he couldn’t come back, she would go to visit him, to celebrate his birthday with him, to give him a surprise.
It would also save him from worrying at work.
The image of Qin Yang waving at her vigorously from inside the train as he departed came to her mind.
That sometimes absent-minded man was always extraordinarily careful with her.
Lin Chuxia also wanted to spoil him a