Fortunate Eighties: The Bewitching Female Rival Who Tamed Her Husband with Skill
Chapter 158: Old acquaintance of 158

Chapter 158: Old acquaintance of 158

"Second brother’s wife is back."

"Uh-huh, Auntie’s busy, so I’ll head back first."

"Hey, bring the kids out for a chat when you have time."

As soon as Susu walked through the door, she was surrounded by the triplets. She picked up the chubby little girl, and her little brothers clung to the edges of their mother’s clothing, scampering along behind her.

During dinner, Susu talked about Uncle Su’s Su Chengming being laid off, which made the old couple sigh heavily.

Susu was taken aback and regretted mentioning it, realizing it was just adding two more worriers.

"Don’t worry, Dad and Mom, things are different now. Anyone willing to work hard can make good money as a self-employed individual."

Mrs. Lu nodded, "Exactly, life is getting better and better. Not like before when everything was limited, now you can buy things without coupons."

...

The next morning

Su Chengming and his wife brought some items over.

"Aunt, Uncle, sister-in-law."

"Hello, great Uncle and Aunt."

After leading the kids to the next room, Mrs. Lu couldn’t help but glare at her nephew.

"We’re all family, there’s no need to bring anything. Your family is having a hard time too. Take it back with you later for the kids to drink."

Su Chengming scratched his head, "Aunt, I—"

"Aunt, this is just a little something from me and Chengming, please take it."

He Hong interrupted her husband and added, "Chengming has been laid off, and we can’t just sit around eating away at our savings. We were thinking about maybe opening a store specializing in braised foods since it’s made us a decent income before.

"We are not as experienced and thought to ask for advice from my sister-in-law. Sister-in-law, you run such a successful business, you must know much more than us who don’t know anything."

Susu, "So you guys are thinking of opening a braised food store?"

"Yes, sister-in-law, we have this idea."

Susu nodded, "I think it’s a good idea, but you need to know if you’re getting products from me to sell, I can take a smaller cut. The more you earn, the higher the risk.

"Like my own store’s employees, their commission isn’t as high as your wholesale, but if there’s leftover braised food, those losses stay with the store, not the employees.

"If you’re getting supplies from me, any loss is your own responsibility, and I want to make that clear upfront. It’s better to settle these things clearly among family."

The couple exchanged glances, and He Hong bit her lip and nodded, "Sister-in-law, we’ve thought it through, and if there’s any surplus, we’ll just eat it ourselves. In the past, we rarely had leftovers."

"Alright, just give me a heads up if your order size changes," Susu nodded.

"Also, if you’re ready to open a shop, you might as well sell some steamed buns and dumplings too, and offer them as breakfast items.

"Those coming to buy braised food might take some buns or dumplings on the side, and those specifically coming for buns or dumplings might also buy some braised foods. Since there are both of you, you can handle the extra work and earn more money."

The couple looked at each other and nodded repeatedly with smiles.

"It was a good thing we came to ask Sister-in-law, or we would have been clueless about doing business and wouldn’t have known how much loss we’d face."

"Thank you so much, Sister-in-law."

Susu smiled warmly, "It’s nothing. We’re all family. Come ask me if there’s anything you’re unsure of."

"Thank you, Sister-in-law. We’ll get going and start getting busy."

The couple left the Textile Factory Family Courtyard, splitting up to go about their business.

While Su Chengming rode his bicycle to sell braised goods on the street, during quieter moments he didn’t forget to inquire where there might be storefronts for rent.

He Hong was also busy, quickly seeking out places with high foot traffic to ask about available storefronts for rent.

While this couple was bustling about, Aunt Su, hearing the story from her son, let out a sigh of relief with her husband.

Aunt Su teased, "Brother and Sister-in-law, worried no more, right?"

Aunt Su, smiling, shook her head, "No worries at all now. If we had known, we would have called Susu sooner to ask. That kid is so clever, really smart."

...

Provincial City

"Oh, why isn’t Old Lu in a rush to go home for dinner today?"

"You don’t know? It’s because his sister-in-law went back with the kids. Otherwise, stick-to-his-wife Old Lu? He’d never come out to eat with a bunch of rough guys like us."

"Then... isn’t Old Lu left to guard an empty house?"

"Exactly, hahaha..."

A few men burst into hearty laughter.

Lu Xiaoting couldn’t be bothered with this group of schadenfreude-loving scoundrels, and just kept shoveling down his meal.

Hmm~ The food is pretty average, nowhere near as good as what my wife makes.

The oblivious restaurant owners, "⊙﹏⊙∥".

In a corner of the restaurant, a blond kid shuddered at the sight of the stern-faced man in a police uniform.

Lu Xiaoting frowned, and his gaze unintentionally swept over the blond head cowering in the corner. He frowned again, finding the boy somewhat familiar.

It was only after a group in wide-brimmed hats had left that the people in the restaurant dared to speak.

The blond breathed a huge sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his head, and exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, that was terrifying."

...

Textile Factory Family Courtyard

"Dad, do you know any accountants?"

"What’s up?"

"Dad, I’m worried that later on with picking up stock and managing several shops, I’ll be too busy to make a special trip back to the county to check the accounts. I’m thinking of just hiring an accountant to handle the books for the brine business and the courtyard, who can come to Provincial City each month to report to me." Susu didn’t mention her plan to start a branch of the clothing store.

Father Lu nodded, "Apart from those I know at our textile factory, I don’t know any other accountants. But don’t worry, I’ll ask around among my old buddies. With so many people, there’s bound to be someone with a family member who’s an accountant."

"Okay, thanks, Dad."

Mrs. Lu reminded her husband, "Make sure to find someone reliable."

"I know, do you even have to tell me?" Father Lu waved his hand dismissively.

"Hey, that stubborn old man."

Mrs. Lu, annoyed, waved her spatula around.

"Woof woof woof."

"Woof woof woof."

"Woof woof woof."

Watching the three little ones pretending to bark, Susu feigned shock and peeked outside with a puzzled face.

"Huh? Where’s that nasty dog barking from?"

Thinking that mom was truly scared, the triplets giggled behind their little hands.

Three days later

Father Lu brought back a man in his thirties.

"My second brother, this is the youngest son of the neighbor of Uncle Wang’s house from our Family Court here. I gave him the rundown on the way over."

"Alright, Dad, I got it."

Susu smiled and gestured for the man to sit, getting straight to the point, "The books you’d need to handle mainly involve a brine goods yard and a shopfront. I need the completed accounts brought to me in Provincial City at the start of each month, and I’ll reimburse the travel costs. For the part-time role, I offer 1500 a month, with a trial period at 1200 for the first month."

"Okay, boss, I’d like to do it."

The more Susu looked at him, the more familiar he seemed, so she asked, "Do you mind if I ask at which factory you work?"

The man scratched his head, "I work at the ice cream factory in our county."

Susu smiled, no wonder he looked familiar—it turned out to be an old acquaintance from the ice cream factory.