I Have A Store C33

Chapter 33: Each to Their Own

With Zhou Yimin’s approval, Li Youde’s movements while dipping the lamb slices became noticeably faster. He ate freely and heartily—he hadn’t eaten like this in years, perhaps ever.

Even in the years that weren’t as hard, his family never allowed them to eat like this.

“I’m full. As expected of Donglaishun.” Dapeng rubbed his stomach, feeling a kind of satisfaction he had never experienced before.

“That’s all it takes to impress you?” Zhou Yimin rolled his eyes.

As long as they worked hard selling goods, they could come here every now and then for a meal and maybe even try roast duck.

If they could sell 100 yuan worth of goods a day, that would be 3 yuan a day—90 yuan a month, higher than the wages of most people in the steel factory.

Of course, they wouldn’t be able to sell that much right away. For their safety, Zhou Yimin wasn’t planning on providing that much merchandise just yet.

Li Youde and Dapeng ignored Zhou Yimin’s teasing. They didn’t have grand ambitions—just being able to eat meat was already a dream come true for many.

After finishing their meal, the three of them returned to the courtyard house.

Zhou Yimin first went back to the unrenovated room in his home and took out some supplies: 20 jin of millet, 4 jin of dried meat, 2 jin of brown sugar, and 6 apples.

These were prepared for Li Youde and Dapeng.

“Come in!”

Li Youde and Dapeng, understanding the situation, deliberately stayed outside chatting with Master Gu, not immediately following Zhou Yimin inside. Only after hearing his call did they enter the room, closing the door behind them.

“You’ve got it good, living alone in such a big house.” Dapeng, thinking of how he was crammed into a tiny room, felt a little emotional.

“Quit your whining. There’s an empty house in the front yard—if I get the chance, I’ll pull some strings to get it for you.”

With that, Zhou Yimin pointed at the items on the table. “Split them up.”

Dapeng and Li Youde’s eyes nearly popped out.

Millet, dried meat, brown sugar… and apples.

There were actually apples.

As for Zhou Yimin’s first comment, they chose to ignore it. It wasn’t that housing wasn’t important—it was too important. But they didn’t dare to expect Zhou Yimin to help them get a house. They didn’t have the face to ask for that.

Zhou Yimin wasn’t their father, after all.

In truth, Zhou Yimin wasn’t just trying to help Dapeng. Securing an empty house in the front yard would also make it easier for him to store goods there in the future.

“This much? All for us?” Dapeng found it hard to believe—this was worth more than 20 yuan.

“You sure talk a lot. Hurry up and take it home before anyone sees.”

Then, Zhou Yimin continued, “In a bit, I need you to do something for me. Take my bike to Zhoujiazhuang and tell them the water pump parts are ready—they can come pick them up. Also, have them bring my tricycle back.”

Without further ado, Li Youde and Dapeng quickly split the goods like bandits looting a noble’s house. Each took 10 jin of millet, 2 jin of dried meat, 1 jin of brown sugar, and 3 apples, packing them into cloth bags so that no one could see what was inside.

“Alright, I’ll drop these off and head out.” Dapeng nodded.

Li Youde also wanted to help, but he didn’t know how to ride a bike.

With their cloth bags in hand, they casually walked out and each returned home.

—

When Li Youde arrived home, he quickly shut the door.

His mother and little sister were there. His mother had likely just taken her medicine and was resting in bed. Meanwhile, his second sister was secretly eating the dregs left from the medicine. She was caught red-handed when her big brother walked in, her little face full of guilt.

Seeing this, Li Youde felt a pang in his heart. He didn’t scold her. Instead, he walked up and patted her head.

“Big Brother brought you something good. Don’t eat that anymore, okay?”

At her age, it was natural to crave good food. Upon hearing that her big brother had brought something tasty, she instantly forgot about what she had just been caught doing.

“Big Brother, what is it?”

Li Youde took out an apple. “Look.”

His little sister had only ever seen apples from a distance—she had never even touched one. Her eyes immediately lit up.

“This is an apple,” Li Youde told her.

She nodded eagerly. “I know! I know! Big Sis told me apples are really sweet. Her dream is to eat an apple.”

Li Youde cut the apple in half and gave both pieces to his second sister.

“Take one to Mom and eat the other yourself. Eat it at home, and don’t tell anyone outside, understood?”

He didn’t take any for himself.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to eat—he did. The last time he had an apple was years ago. But he had already indulged in lamb hotpot at Donglaishun earlier, and that was enough for him.

“Got it, Big Brother!” The little girl was thrilled.

Hearing the commotion, their mother got up and walked out of her room, only to see her youngest daughter offering her half an apple. She was momentarily stunned.

Li Mother’s first reaction wasn’t joy—it was concern.

“Youde, where did you get an apple?”

Apples weren’t something ordinary people had access to. In fact, fruit in general was hard to come by.

“Mom, here’s the thing…”

Li Youde didn’t plan on hiding it from his family—there was no point. He would be going out at night from now on anyway. While eating hotpot earlier, he had mentioned this to Yimin, and Yimin hadn’t objected.

After hearing him out, Li Mother quickly opened the cloth bag, revealing the millet, dried meat, brown sugar, and two more apples.

She sighed deeply.

If not for her illness, the family wouldn’t be struggling this much.

Even though she knew the black market was dangerous, she couldn’t bring herself to stop her son. The family was already in dire straits. And he had made it clear—this wasn’t just for their survival but also for his own future.

Jobs were hard to come by now. Were they supposed to wait for his father to retire so he could inherit the position? Who knew how long that would take?

“Tell your father about this. You’re grown up now—you can make your own decisions. From now on, listen to Yimin. He’s reliable and smart.”

Li Mother was deeply grateful to Zhou Yimin. She had watched him grow up and knew he was trustworthy.

“Alright! Mom, don’t worry. Yimin said that if anything unexpected happens, the goods don’t matter—we should just run.” Li Youde reassured her.

“That’s good, that’s good.”

Hearing this, Li Mother finally felt more at ease.

She put away the millet and other supplies. Grain, meat, and sugar were all precious, but grain was the most important. Other things could be sacrificed, but they couldn’t go without food—that would be fatal.

She didn’t eat the other half of the apple, saving it for her eldest daughter, who was still at school.

As for the little girl, she happily munched on her half of the apple, thinking it was the best thing she had ever tasted.

—

Meanwhile, Dapeng returned home.

He secretly kept one apple for himself but handed over the rest to his mother, also telling her about his future trips to the black market. However, he didn’t mention Zhou Yimin, only saying he had met some contacts outside.

“Mom, don’t try to talk me out of it. If I don’t start earning money, my sister-in-law’s glare alone could kill me.”

Dapeng’s mother was speechless.

After a long silence, she let out a sigh. Every family had its own struggles.

She could only remind her son to be careful.

“Does your hand still hurt?”

A mother always knows. She could tell he was injured just by looking at him.

(End of Chapter)