Chapter 180 – Empty-Nest Elderly

“Dad, why are you so insistent on helping them?”

Yang Ju looked at her father with some confusion. She remembered that ever since she could remember, her father had gone to help the elderly in the village every year.

“You don’t understand. Some things, once you start doing them, just become a habit.”

Yang Xingguo let out a sigh. He had grown up in Liuhe Village. His parents had passed away in an accident when he was young, and he had been raised by his grandmother. Later, she too died of illness.

He was the only one left in the family. At that age, he had no way to earn money, so he grew up eating meals from many households.

Later, when he got married and began earning money, he thought about repaying the villagers who had once helped him.

At first, he just brought gifts during holidays and visited them.

But as time went on, the villagers who had once been young and strong enough to help him also gradually aged.

It was during this time that he truly saw the many facets of society, the warmth and coldness of humanity.

As the villagers aged, those with filial children and the means to do so had already brought their parents to live with them. Those with limited means would still regularly send their parents living expenses.

But where there are filial children, there are also those without filial piety.

Some children had left home for years and never returned. Not even a phone call, not even a moment of concern.

At first, he thought maybe something had happened to them. But after looking into it, he found that those children simply didn’t want to come back. They saw their parents as a burden.

There were even more outrageous things. He had witnessed it himself—some children, right in front of the elderly, went through the money their parents had saved up for years.

Then they divided it amongst themselves.

The ridiculous part was, they even started arguing because the division wasn’t equal.

Right there in front of the elderly, they bickered red-faced, completely ignoring how the elder felt.

When he tried to intervene, they threw him out directly, saying outsiders shouldn’t meddle in family affairs.

There were also elderly people who had no children left and had become utterly alone.

So, what started as visits gradually turned into financial support.

From Liuhe Village, his efforts had extended to several surrounding villages.

Sometimes…

He also questioned himself—wouldn’t it be better to spend that money on himself or his family?

So many people didn’t care at all about these empty-nest elderly. Why should he be the one to do it?

But every time he saw those elderly people, reluctant to throw away even a bowl of already sour porridge, his heart simply couldn’t harden.

And so,

Year after year, he kept going.

Yang Ju listened to her father’s words and pouted.

Fine, if he didn’t want to talk more, then forget it.

Huh?

What are those two large trucks doing?

Yang Xingguo stopped his small truck at the entrance of Liuhe Village and immediately saw two large trucks ahead.

The trucks were loaded with rice and flour.

What’s going on?

Puzzled, Yang Xingguo got out of the car. Seeing that the truck still had a driver inside, he walked over.

Coming up to the truck window, he called out:

“Hello, sir. May I ask what all this rice and flour is for?”

The driver, smoking a cigarette and scrolling through videos of pretty girls, turned around when he heard someone call out.

“Who are you?”

“Oh, I’m here to provide some aid to the empty-nest elderly.”

Yang Xingguo replied with a smile.

“Well, what a coincidence. These two truckloads are also for the empty-nest elderly. But I’m just the driver—the boss has already gone into the village.”

After that, the driver ignored him and went back to his videos.

Yang Xingguo was stunned for a moment.

He hadn’t expected these trucks to also be carrying aid for the elderly.

After so many years, it was the first time he’d seen someone else come to offer support.

He felt a bit surprised, but if all this truly went to the elderly, then this winter, they would have a much better New Year.

“Dad, what’s going on?”

Yang Ju came up to him and asked.

“The driver said they’re also here to support the empty-nest elderly. Let’s go into the village and take a look.”

As he spoke, Yang Xingguo led Yang Ju toward the village.

…………………

Business Department

Wu Yu was discussing today’s livestream with Cai Jing and Luo Yuan.

Yesterday, after getting approval from Assistant Shen, he quickly registered a merchant account. Since the clothing factory already had all the necessary documentation, the platform completed the verification early this morning.

They could now attach the shopping link in today’s livestream.

He wasn’t sure how many items they could sell today.

Wu Yu felt a little nervous.

Soon, the scheduled livestream time arrived.

Wu Yu brought the livestream equipment, and along with Cai Jing and Luo Yuan, headed to the workshop.

As before, they began by livestreaming a tour of the workshop environment. Once viewership picked up, they began the clothing presentation.

“Brothers and sisters, we’ve got the shopping link activated today. If you see any clothes you like, you can buy them directly through the link.”

Wu Yu said to the audience, then began showcasing the clothes.

Sure enough, as soon as the presentation started, people began asking about prices.

After a brief explanation, he soon noticed the pop-up showing that purchases were being made.

Two hours later,

Wu Yu ended the livestream in front of the doghouse once again.

Wanting to sell more clothes, they had streamed for an extra hour.

After ending the stream, he quickly checked the shop’s sales figures.

“How did it go?” Cai Jing and Luo Yuan looked at him expectantly.

Wu Yu glanced at the numbers, then showed them the store’s revenue on his phone.

Just over 4,300 yuan.

The figure wasn’t high—based on their pricing, it meant they’d only sold around a dozen items.

Streaming for two hours and only selling that many pieces—clearly not ideal.

Cai Jing and Luo Yuan both looked disappointed.

They’d thought it would at least hit several tens of thousands. They hadn’t expected this little.

“The revenue is a bit low,” Luo Yuan said quietly.

Cai Jing thought for a moment and then said seriously:

“I think the low sales may have something to do with our livestreaming. After all, we’re not professional livestream sellers. It’s hard to get viewers excited enough to buy.”

Wu Yu fell into thought after hearing her words. He had considered this issue too.

But if they wanted to bring in a professional livestreamer, two problems arose.

First, would Assistant Shen approve the hire?

Second, if approved, should they create a new livestream account, or continue using Li Shen’s?

If they used Li Shen’s account, then once Li Shen returned, he’d have no account to use for company promotion.

So regarding the account, Wu Yu would need to check with Li Shen first.