Chapter 121

When Zhenzhen and Xi Junjie first got married, they agreed to focus on building their careers while they were young, and that having children at twenty-five or twenty-six wouldn’t be too late. Xi Changbo and Ling Xiulan were not the traditional in-laws who insisted on grandchildren immediately. In their eyes, whether the young couple wanted children and when to have them was entirely their own business, and as parents, they had no right to interfere too much. To make Zhenzhen feel more at ease, Ling Xiulan even made an excuse for her in front of Grandma Xi, saying it was more prudent to wait a couple of years before having children.

Since they had already cleared things up with the elders, Zhenzhen had been using contraception since the wedding. When Grandma Li suddenly asked about children just now, Zhenzhen touched her belly and suddenly felt something strange, as if whenever she wanted a child—whether one, twins, triplets, or more, whether a boy or a girl—it could all come true. The feeling was very odd. Zhenzhen glanced at her hand in confusion, then tentatively placed it on Wang Sufen’s belly. That same wonderful sensation returned, as if with just her thought, Wang Sufen could give birth to as many children as desired, boys or girls, no problem at all.

Seeing Zhenzhen’s strange behavior, Grandma Li’s eyes lit up excitedly: “Are you pregnant?”

“No!” Zhenzhen shook her head in horror. Grandma Li, annoyed, poked her forehead with her finger: “What kind of expression is that? You’re so careless about having children.”

Zhenzhen smiled awkwardly and hugged Grandma Li’s arm: “I’m a child too, what children do you want?” Seeing Grandma Li’s worried look, she shook her arm and smiled: “Grandma, don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” Hearing this, Grandma Li wanted to glare again, but Zhenzhen quickly explained: “Junjie and I have agreed to wait a few years before having children, and we told my parents-in-law too. My mother-in-law said waiting a few years is good; we’re still young and it’s the right time to work and build a career, better than just staying home having kids.”

Grandma Li relaxed when she heard Ling Xiulan had no objections and smiled: “That’s why I say our Zhenzhen is lucky. Other mothers-in-law would want their daughters-in-law to get pregnant the month after the wedding, and would show displeasure if it was even a few months later. But your mother-in-law is great—she’s happy to see you focus on your career for several years.”

“Times are different now. With such good policies, it’s better to focus on making money. Putting all energy into having and raising children is a big loss,” Zhenzhen said confidently, biting into an apple. “Besides, my mother-in-law is clear-minded; she’s not fixated on her daughter-in-law having children.”

Grandma Li thought about how busy Ling Xiulan had been lately, barely home, and figured she probably had no time to help with the kids. She whispered in Zhenzhen’s ear: “Your mother-in-law probably doesn’t have time to help with the kids, right? Zhenzhen, don’t worry. Grandma loves you the most. Whenever you want to have children, just have them. Your mom and I will help take care of them.”

Looking at the noisy children in the room, Zhenzhen laughed and asked, “You still haven’t had enough of them even though it’s this noisy?”

“What do you know?” Grandma Li rolled her eyes. “When you get older, you like this kind of lively atmosphere. If it were just me and your parents at home, it would be so dull, no vitality at all.”

Watching Dumpling and Flatbread sweating from all the fuss, Zhenzhen nodded in agreement: “It’s definitely lively enough.”

The boys were running wild in the living room, while the three girls were playing house in Grandma Li’s room. Tangbao was sitting on Grandma Li’s bed with two little cousins, coaxing them with a bunch of dolls Zhenzhen had bought.

These two little girls were the youngest children of Ming Xi and Ming Bei, born one after the other, and both girls. The brothers had decided to give the two girls nicknames that sounded like sisters: one called Diandian and the other Xinxin. Although these names were much nicer than various “Dumpling” names, they still followed the food-themed tradition.

Now the two little girls were three years old, fair-skinned, soft, and adorable. Every time Ming Bei heard his Xinxin call him “Dad” in a soft, sweet voice, he would smile like a fool. If he had a tail, it would definitely wag to the sky.

Hearing the sweet, soft laughter of the great-granddaughters from inside, Grandma Li couldn’t sit still outside: “I have to go see those two little girls.”

“Oh, now that you have great-granddaughters, you don’t want granddaughters anymore,” Zhenzhen teased, pretending to be jealous and sighing. “You just said you liked me best, and now you’ve forgotten already.”

Grandma Li couldn’t help but laugh at that tone: “Alright, alright, I like you best. You’re such a grown-up, yet you still compete for affection with your little niece. Aren’t you embarrassed?” She grabbed Zhenzhen’s hand and led her inside, muttering, “Our Zhenzhen is so lucky. Ever since she came along, our family’s luck has turned around. Otherwise, how could we have three daughters in one generation like this?”

After a lively while, it was time for lunch. Since they were going back to the old family home in the evening, Xi Junjie came over specially to accompany Grandma Li for lunch and didn’t forget to bring New Year gifts for the kids. Grandma Li, Li Muwu, and Wang Sufen’s clothes, jewelry, and supplements had already been delivered earlier; these were gifts for the children. Xi Junjie took out a pack of new clothes, distributed them according to the names on the tags, and gave each school-going child a new backpack and a set of extracurricular books. Those not in school received toys and snacks. Diandian and Xinxin each hugged a doll taller than themselves and happily gave Zhenzhen a wet kiss on the cheek.

After lunch, when the couple returned home, Ling Xiulan was already taking a nap. The family planned to go to the Xi family’s old residence at four in the afternoon. Although there were still two days until the New Year, usually by this time the old lady would have given the maids time off, and household chores like cooking and cleaning would be done by family members.

The Xi family’s old residence was large enough, but with the old lady’s three sons and many grandchildren, it was always packed during the New Year. Actually, having many people wasn’t a problem as long as there were no “extreme” relatives. Fortunately, in the years Zhenzhen had been in contact with the Xi family, the only somewhat difficult relative was Xi Sumei’s family, and they never came during the New Year.

In recent years, Grandma Xi’s life had been going smoothly, and her tolerance for her constantly displeased youngest daughter and scheming granddaughter had grown very low. They were strictly forbidden from coming during big occasions like New Year, festivals, or birthdays. If they wanted to come on other days, Grandma Xi would avoid Saturday or Sunday evenings to prevent Xi Sumei from disrupting the family reunion.

Xi Sumei’s three older brothers and one older sister had long since grown cold toward her. At most, they wouldn’t see her for over a year and didn’t even feel nostalgic; they almost forgot she existed. Xi Sumei’s close friend Shang Qingran once had the idea of befriending Zhenzhen to make money off her. It must be said that Shang Qingran’s idea was quite clever, but Zhenzhen never gave her the chance to put it into practice. Zhenzhen had never liked people whose faces practically said, “I want to scheme against you.” However, she didn’t have time to argue or fuss with them—she could be making much more money instead of wasting time on such people.

Therefore, Zhenzhen’s approach to Shang Qingran was to avoid her. With her space and abilities, as long as Zhenzhen didn’t want to see someone, that person wouldn’t be able to find her no matter what. As time passed, Zhenzhen’s factory grew bigger and bigger, while Shang Qingran’s plan to be Zhenzhen’s close friend remained stuck in the egg, never having the chance to hatch.

The young couple held hands as they returned to their small courtyard. Xi Junjie was looking forward to this rare leisurely afternoon; as soon as they entered the house, he wanted to pull Zhenzhen to the bed. Zhenzhen smiled and pushed Xi Junjie onto the bed, then turned and ran off herself. “A business partner brought me some good stuff from the south; I’ll go get it first.”

Xi Junjie got up from the bed and was about to say something, but Zhenzhen had already disappeared without a trace. He could only sulkily crawl back under the covers.

Zhenzhen used her consciousness to see that everyone in the family was taking a nap on the bed, then directly changed into summer clothes in her space and went to the southernmost island of China. This small island was not yet as prosperous as it would be in later generations, but the emerald clear sea and rows of wild coconut trees were far more beautiful than in the future.

She released a wooden boat from her space and sat steadily on it. There was little wind on the sea surface, but the water still pushed the small boat swiftly toward the deep ocean. Zhenzhen closed her eyes and lay on the boat, her consciousness diving deep underwater, controlling the waves to accurately place seafood such as sea cucumber, abalone, sea urchin, shrimp, blue crab, flower crab, grouper, mango snail, and giant clam into one bucket after another on the boat. After only twenty minutes, the buckets beneath her feet were already full to the brim.

The seafood were so crowded in the buckets they couldn’t turn around, but thanks to Zhenzhen’s abilities, each one was lively and jumping. With so much seafood, even if divided between two families, it would be enough to eat. Just as Zhenzhen was about to leave, she suddenly noticed several particularly large lobsters swimming past the sponge under her feet. Her mouth immediately watered uncontrollably. She moved these buckets of seafood into her space, took out an empty bucket, and soon ten claw-waving big lobsters were delivered into the bucket by the waves. Smelling the unique briny scent of the seafood, Zhenzhen’s eyes curved into a smile.

Because she still had to go to the old residence in the afternoon and didn’t have much time to enjoy the sea view, Zhenzhen waved her hand, and the small boat and lobsters disappeared from the sea surface. The buckets of seafood that disappeared obediently stayed in Zhenzhen’s space. She took out a pair of cotton gloves from the Western-style house and quickly divided the caught seafood into two, packing them into several wooden boxes.

Before leaving her space, Zhenzhen still glanced back at home. Xi Changbo and Ling Xiulan’s room was quiet, probably still asleep. Xi Junjie was sound asleep hugging Zhenzhen’s pillow. The housekeeper had long since taken a holiday, and the large mansion was very quiet at this moment. She placed her own seafood in the front yard so she could put it directly in the car when going to the old residence later.

The remaining five boxes were for her parents and grandmother to eat during the New Year. Zhenzhen went to the neighboring courtyard to call a few boys over to help carry the seafood. Grandma Li was watching TV and, seeing Zhenzhen acting mysteriously, also put on clothes to come along and see the fun.

Each of the five wooden boxes weighed about twenty pounds, and the boys were all panting from carrying them. Zhenzhen followed behind, shaking her head as she reminded them, “Your strength is really weak. You can’t even carry something this heavy. It’s a bit embarrassing.”

The boys all knew their aunt was strong, so no one dared to argue. Only after putting the boxes in the kitchen did they breathe a sigh of relief.

“What kind of food is this?” Grandma Li bent over, curious about the rustling sounds coming from inside the wooden boxes. “Why is there still movement?”

Zhenzhen casually cut the rope on the box with the loudest noise, and several lobsters that had been cramped for a long time immediately crawled out, scaring the boys into screaming and scattering like ghosts.

Zhenzhen laughed as she picked up the lobsters and threw them into a nearby bucket, amused by the nephews’ crying and wailing. “So pathetic. I won’t let you eat them later.”

Ming Xi and Ming Bei also heard the noise and came over. Seeing the scene, they knew a lot of seafood had been brought. The two of them rolled up their sleeves and looked for scissors, ready to unpack everything from the boxes to avoid spoilage.

To their surprise, after opening several boxes, except for the grouper that looked recently dead, the rest were still alive. Ming Bei asked Zhenzhen in astonishment, “You brought these all the way from the south and they’re still alive? How did you manage that?”

Zhenzhen wore a mysterious expression and said, “What do you know? They’re sent from far away to maintain relationships. If they sent dead fish and shrimp, wouldn’t that offend people? I guess they transported them with seawater and oxygen, then repackaged them before delivery. Enough, I won’t explain more. Hurry up and sort them out, add some fresh water—if they die, it’s all wasted.”

Watching Ming Bei and Ming Xi busily packing, Zhenzhen greeted Grandma Li, “Grandma, I’m leaving now. I guess my father-in-law and mother-in-law should be awake by now. We still have to go to the old residence.”

“Go ahead, go ahead,” Grandma Li said with a smile. “Say hello to Junjie’s grandma for me, and help me ask when she’ll bring your eldest aunt to our house for Mahjong.”

Since Ling Xiulan and Zhenzhen decided to open a beauty salon together, their regular Mahjong group was always one short. Ling Xiulan’s sister-in-law, Chang Leqing, was worried her mother-in-law was never home, but the old lady quickly dragged her along. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law spent the morning playing cards with Grandma Li and Wang Sufen, had lunch together, then the two went to the room Ling Xiulan prepared for the old lady to rest. In the afternoon, they sang opera again, busy from early morning till late evening, busier than Mayor Xi.

Hearing Grandma Li still thinking about Mahjong, Zhenzhen couldn’t help but show a blank expression. “It’s so cold outside; isn’t it better to just sit on the sofa and watch TV? Doesn’t sitting for two hours playing Mahjong make your back ache?”

“What do you know?” Grandma Li said confidently, “Your great-grandmother said playing Mahjong is good for the brain; you won’t get senile even if you live to a hundred.” As she spoke, her gaze fell on the grouper in the bucket. “Eating fish is good too. Steam a couple tonight—eating more fish helps keep your mind sharp when you’re old.”

Zhenzhen smiled and shook her head, greeted her family, and hurried back next door. Xi Junjie was already up. Zhenzhen washed her hands and face, changed clothes, and after the couple packed their luggage for the old residence, Ling Xiulan came over to call them.

The whole family was carrying their suitcases and walking out. When they reached the front door, they saw five neatly arranged wooden boxes there and were a bit stunned. Before Ling Xiulan could ask, Zhenzhen smiled and said, “Seafood sent by a business partner.”

Zhenzhen’s business had grown quite large. According to Xi Changshan, this year the furniture factory had become the highest tax-paying factory among all enterprises in Imperial Capital. The original factory buildings could no longer meet production needs, so Zhenzhen had applied for a large piece of land in the suburbs of the capital, planning to build a new factory after the New Year. It wasn’t surprising that someone so capable would have seafood sent from afar during the New Year.

The family of four drove to the old residence, where Grandma Xi was chatting with a group of grandchildren. Seeing Xi Junjie and Zhenzhen arrive, she smiled and said, “You’re here? Is it cold outside? Zhenzhen, did your grandmother say anything before you came?”

Zhenzhen smiled and replied, “My grandmother asked me to send her regards and also to find out when you’ll go play mahjong after the New Year.”

Grandma Xi immediately brightened up: “After the fifteenth, I’ll go.”

Although it wasn’t yet the New Year, the whole family had gathered, not to mention Zhenzhen had brought so much fresh seafood, which was a rare delicacy during the harsh winter.

Although Xi Junjie was the best craftsman in the Xi family, they didn’t think cooking during the New Year had to be his responsibility. Except for Grandpa Xi and Xi Changshan who were drinking tea in the study, everyone else crowded into the warm kitchen. Some were cleaning seafood, some washing vegetables, and everyone had to make a dish they were good at, then invite Grandma Xi to taste and judge which dish was best.

The seafood Zhenzhen brought was enough for several meals for such a big family. Those less skilled rushed to cook shrimp or steam crab, since it was the freshest and tasted best in its original flavor.

After the lively New Year celebrations, Ling Xiulan, Sun Rende, and Wang Xinzhi left China with their selected people. The furniture factory was temporarily managed by Sun Rende’s deputy, a person jointly recommended by Sun Rende and Wang Xinzhi. He was very capable and thoughtful, able to keep the factory running smoothly without Zhenzhen having to worry too much.

As for the clothing factory, it was managed by Si Ya Ren. Except for his lack of market sensitivity, there was nothing much to criticize. Zhenzhen worried he might produce unsellable vintage-style clothes again, so she personally designed a few new spring styles for him to have the workers produce first.

Both factories were well-structured enterprises, so missing a few people wouldn’t affect normal operations in the short term. In contrast, Zhenzhen had more worries about the beauty salon. There were thirty beauticians attending training, and it was impossible for all of them to go abroad. So Ling Xiulan selected six outstanding ones to go to France’s top beauty salons for visits and study, as well as to equipment factories to learn how to use related beauty devices. These people would not only be senior beauticians but also the most likely to be promoted to management.

With the best employees taken away, the rest were left without much restraint. To prevent staff turnover, all thirty signed long-term contracts. Since they were still paid regularly, Zhenzhen couldn’t let them slack off and forget what they had learned recently. She brought them back to the beauty salon, where besides daily cleaning, they familiarized themselves with the environment and learned from each other’s facial techniques.

Zhenzhen’s advantage as a journalist showed here. Given her experience, she couldn’t cover major national events but mainly reported on social economy and people’s livelihood. These assignments required multiple interviews but weren’t extremely time-sensitive, so Yu Shoujing usually gave Zhenzhen three to five days or a week to complete interviews and write articles.

Besides her regular work, Zhenzhen spent most of her time at the beauty salon. It wasn’t until a month later, when Ling Xiulan returned with refreshed staff, a dozen beauty devices, and some international brand fashion clothes, that Zhenzhen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The equipment was installed one by one, and the senior beauticians who had studied abroad shared their skills generously with colleagues who stayed in the country. Once everyone mastered the techniques and the hired hairdressers became familiar with their equipment, the beauty salon was finally ready to open.

During the initial setup of the salon, Zhenzhen painted a beautiful advertisement wall on a partition with pigments, attracting many people’s attention. The salon was located less than a hundred meters from Imperial Capital’s most famous commercial street. Over the past few months, most people in Imperial Capital knew a beauty salon was about to open here.

Even so, before the opening, Zhenzhen and Ling Xiulan made extensive preparations. They not only hung advertising banners but also hired many people to distribute flyers. With the early advertising and pre-opening hype, on the day Yiren Beauty Salon opened, there were not only dozens of people lining up for beauty treatments but also hundreds of onlookers. Even TV stations and newspaper reporters came. This was the first beauty salon in Imperial Capital, making it highly significant.

As the firecrackers were lit, Ling Xiulan opened the salon’s door. Beauticians dressed uniformly in light pink and hairdressers in light blue lined up and bowed to customers and the crowd: “Yiren Beauty Salon welcomes your visit.” This display gave a strong boost to many hesitant people, and the queue quickly grew longer.

Yiren Beauty Salon’s initial positioning was high-end luxury, so even the beauty services on the first floor open to the general public weren’t cheap. A full set of beauty treatments cost 28 yuan, the cheapest ordinary skin care massage was 10 yuan, and the hair salon prices, though not as high, were still twice as expensive as outside barbershops. The prices for perming and styling were even higher. But here, customers could get curls exactly like celebrities from magazines, which was incomparable to the hot iron curls done elsewhere.

The queue was so long that all the beauty beds on the first floor were quickly occupied. The next ten people were taken to the waiting area in advance. Service staff with sweet smiles quietly asked customers about their preferences and served tea, juice, and coffee, along with biscuits, cakes, and fresh cut fruit.

Customers who had previously regretted coming late now all smiled brightly. Although the cake pieces were small, their soft texture left a lasting impression. Though it was inconvenient to serve food outside, the staff still offered hot tea to everyone waiting.

Nowadays, although dining out or buying clothes no longer required watching the staff’s mood like over a decade ago, this was still the first place where staff served tea and water so warmly and thoughtfully, even offering free cakes and biscuits.

Yiren Beauty Salon became a place that the common people talked about with great interest in just one day.