novellhall Chapter 165 Encountering Difficulties in the Popsicle Business
Chapter 165 Encountering Difficulties in the Popsicle Business
Wenrou was stunned when she saw this.
Especially after seeing his eyes, I was even more startled.
Jiang Yan was someone who deserved to be executed ten times over in his past life. Xu Zhuangzhuang offended him, wasn't he just asking for trouble?
After eating an ice pop smeared with chicken droppings, Xu Zhuangzhuang was so frightened that he ran home crying and rinsing his mouth with lots of water.
Seeing her son being bullied, Feng Yumei was furious and wanted to settle the score with Wenrou.
Unfortunately, Wenrou returned the exact words she had just said to her.
"As you just said, it's normal for kids to have little squabbles. Don't take it to heart. When we get back, I'll definitely give him a good talking to so he'll learn his lesson."
After speaking gently, she smiled, reached out and took Jiang Yan's arm, and turned to go home.
As for Xu Zhuangzhuang, after what just happened, he'll probably have a psychological trauma about popsicles for the rest of his life.
Lu Ming was slightly startled when he saw what had just happened.
He looked at Jiang Yan and thought to himself, "This kid is no ordinary person; he's bound to achieve great things in the future."
From now on, you must never mess with him.
"If there's nothing else, I'll head back now." Lu Ming said goodbye to Wenrou and walked towards the entrance of the family compound.
Wenrou briefly explained the situation of the transport team to Lu Ming. Lu Ming was naturally excited to hear that the transport team had finally made progress.
However, the weather is too hot right now, and the transport team is not yet fully staffed. Once enough people are recruited, it can officially start operating.
Lu Ming certainly believed in Wenrou's abilities, and he was now fully prepared to have a big showdown with her.
He'd heard that the electronics industry was developing much faster in Guangdong than it was here, and he couldn't wait to go and see for himself.
"Uncle Lu." Jiang Yan's voice rang out from behind Lu Ming as he walked to the entrance of the family compound.
"What's wrong, Xiao Yan?" Lu Ming turned around and asked in confusion.
Jiang Yan looked at Lu Ming. He had met Lu Ming in town before with Wenrou and knew that Lu Ming's home was in town.
So he said, "Uncle Lu, could we sell popsicles together?"
Lu Ming hadn't expected Jiang Yan to have this idea, so he asked curiously, "You want to sell popsicles to make money?"
Lu Ming nodded. There were still more than two weeks until the summer vacation.
Since settling down here, Wenrou has been buying him new clothes, a new schoolbag, new school supplies, and even toys and snacks.
Anyway, Wenrou bought him anything that other children wanted.
Although she knew he was mature and his tastes in toys were different from other children his age, Wenrou still wanted him to have a wonderful and complete childhood like any other child.
Jiang Yan knew that Wenrou was good to him, and he also knew that she must work very hard to earn money, so he thought of helping her to lighten her burden.
"How much money do you make selling popsicles? Does your gentle aunt know? She doesn't need you to make money for her," Lu Ming said with a smile.
Although Jiang Yan meant well, Lu Ming knew Wenrou's capabilities. With the meager earnings from popsicles, Wenrou probably wouldn't be interested.
"If you don't want to help, then forget it." Jiang Yan's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and he turned and went inside.
"Huh? This kid is young, but he has quite a temper." Lu Ming said helplessly when he saw Jiang Yan was angry.
"Xiao Yan, wait a moment." He could only call out to Jiang Yan's back.
"If you want to sell popsicles, you'll need popsicle molds. Wait here, I'll go to the factory and see if I can make you a few molds."
Lu Ming didn't know why, but thinking about the sinister look in Jiang Yan's eyes when he was retaliating against Xu Zhuangzhuang, he was afraid that Jiang Yan would hold a grudge against him, and that he would be as unlucky as Xu Zhuangzhuang.
However, he agreed to help Jiang Yan, of course, only because of Wenrou's kindness.
Upon hearing that Lu Ming had agreed to help him, Jiang Yan politely thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Uncle Lu."
"You can go back now. I'll bring it to you when it's ready."
Jiang Yan responded and turned back.
Watching Jiang Yan's retreating figure, Lu Ming felt even more certain that this child would be extraordinary when he grew up.
When Jiang Yan got home, he saw Wenrou comforting her two younger sisters, so he went over and made them some formula.
He didn't know why he treated Xu Zhuangzhuang that way just now; by the time he realized it, it was already too late.
He was actually feeling a little guilty at that moment, unsure of how to be gentle.
What if I caused her trouble because of what happened earlier? Wouldn't that mean I'd be in trouble?
"Aunt Xiaorou, let me feed Yunyao," Jiang Yan said.
"Okay, go ahead," she replied gently.
Putting everything else aside, Jiang Yan is now quite adept at breastfeeding his two younger sisters.
Yun Yao stared at him with her big, round eyes, blowing bubbles at him, but ended up spitting all over her own face.
Seeing this, Jiang Yan gently wiped her face with a handkerchief.
Perhaps it was because he had accidentally lost Yun Yao last time that he felt guilty towards her.
As a result, no matter how much trouble Yun Yao usually caused, he was always very patient.
After feeding the two children, Jiang Yan noticed that Wenrou hadn't asked about what had happened earlier, so he took the initiative to speak: "Auntie Xiaorou."
Wenrou turned to look at him. "What's wrong?"
After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Yan asked, "Was I too impulsive just now? Xu Zhuangzhuang's mother is the women's director of the residential compound. Will she cause you trouble because of this? Should I go and apologize to her?"
"Xiao Yan, you did the right thing. You can't tolerate being bullied. Besides, if anyone should apologize, it should be Xu Zhuangzhuang who apologized to us first. He started it. What you need to do is let him know that we are not to be trifled with."
Wenrou hadn't expected that Jiang Yan's first thought at this moment was to be afraid of affecting her. She reached out and touched his head, "Don't worry, your auntie isn't that kind of bullying."
Even without today's incident, she and Feng Yumei would have been at odds long ago.
If Jiang Yan tolerates this today, wouldn't Feng Yumei be secretly overjoyed?
Jiang Yan was initially worried that Wenrou would hold a grudge against him because of this, but now that he heard her say this, he was finally relieved.
Then, he told Wenrou about his plan to sell popsicles to earn money during the summer vacation.
Wenrou didn't stop him when she heard this; on the contrary, she was very supportive.
"That's a good idea. You can do it if you want to after summer vacation starts and you're free."
"Thank you, Aunt Xiaorou." Jiang Yan was very happy to receive such gentle support.
So, in the final exam two weeks later, he got the highest score in the class.
Despite being the youngest member, Jiang Yan demonstrated his abilities to prove himself to everyone.
Wenrou was even more incredulous when she received her report card.
A month ago, he couldn't write compositions, but now, after a month of tutoring from Peng Xiaowan, Jiang Yan's composition scores have improved very quickly.
I got full marks in both courses, except for the Chinese composition which lost two points.
On the second day of Jiang Yan's summer vacation, Lu Ming brought him all the molds for making popsicles.
So, for his grand plan to make money, Jiang Yan spent a whole day at home and finally finished making all the popsicles for the next day.
After learning that Jiang Yan was going to sell popsicles to make money, Xiao Ya offered to help him.
"Xiao Yan, doing business isn't as simple as you think, but you can give it a try. If you're ready, go with your Uncle Lu Ming."
The next day, Wenrou helped him pack all the popsicles into a wooden box, lined it with oil paper, and then put old cotton quilts inside. She also lined the sides with straw and cotton wool, and covered it with two thick layers of old cotton quilts to make sure the popsicles wouldn't melt too quickly. Only then did she finally let him go to town with Lu Ming.
Xiao Ya wanted to go too, but she was afraid that Zhu Chao would complain when he came back that she didn't do housework.
Seeing this, Wenrou said to her, "Xiaoya, you can go too. I'll just tell your dad later."
Hearing Wenrou's gentle words, Xiaoya excitedly followed Jiang Yan and Lu Ming to town.
With Lu Ming's help, Wenrou felt much more at ease.
He often rode his tricycle around town collecting used electrical appliances, so he was naturally more familiar with the town than she was, and knew where to sell popsicles best.
When they arrived at their destination, Jiang Yan laid out the wooden crate. He had specially made a wooden board beforehand with the words "popsicle" written on it.
He sells three kinds of popsicles. The first kind is the ordinary Baishuitang popsicle, which costs three cents a stick. The second kind is made with mung beans and red beans, which costs five cents a stick. The last kind is the most expensive, a creamy ice cream, which he learned to make himself from Wenrou, and costs ten cents a stick.
Jiang Yan was shy, and Xiao Ya was even more embarrassed, so the two of them just stood there, watching the people coming and going, standing upright, hoping that someone would come and buy one quickly.
A short distance across the street, there was another person also selling popsicles from a wooden box, but he knew how to call out to customers, and soon all the popsicles in his box were sold out.
Seeing this, Jiang Yan could only grit his teeth and quietly call out, "Selling popsicles."
On this sweltering day, they stood here, their foreheads drenched in sweat.
Looking at Lu Ming, he found a cool spot, crossed his legs, and ate a creamy ice cream while watching the spectacle unfold.
Seeing this, Xiao Ya reached out and tugged at Jiang Yan's clothes, "Maybe we should just call it off."
She simply couldn't bring herself to say it, and she didn't understand why others could sell them so easily.
In the end, Jiang Yan went all out. His face was red, whether from the sun or from embarrassment, it was hard to tell.
However, although he was still embarrassed, he had managed to sell a few popsicles thanks to those few shouts.
Aside from the sugar water popsicles, which were sold out, the other two types of popsicles were completely ignored, mainly because they were too expensive.
Lu Ming finally couldn't stand it any longer. He walked over, put his hand on Jiang Yan's shoulder, and asked, "How's business? Is it good?"
Although we are almost in the 1980s and there are more and more street gangs, if you really want to do business and make money, you have to swallow your pride and go all out to have a chance.
Of course, the most important thing is the business opportunity.
What he admired most about her was Wenrou. It was as if she had a third eye; she could make money no matter what she did, and she made a lot of money.
The popsicle business is already saturated this summer. People eat popsicles just to cool off. If a popsicle costs more than three cents, fewer people will buy it.
To make better-tasting popsicles, you have to invest more in costs. If they're too expensive, they're hard to sell. But if you lower the price, you can't recoup your costs, and in the end, you still lose money.
He only now realized why Wenrou didn't stop Jiang Yan from doing business. She probably knew that with this kid's personality, the more she tried to stop him, the more he wanted to try.
It would be better to support him from the beginning. Once he understands the difficulties of doing business, he will naturally give up.
In fact, Jiang Yan understood Wenrou's intention at this point. Unsurprisingly, their first business venture ended in failure.
None of the remaining popsicles were sold, and we even lost a lot of money.
After they got home, Wenrou looked at Jiang Yan and asked with a smile, "How was it? How much money did you make today?"
Jiang Yan looked at Wenrou, lowered his head, and apologized, "I'm sorry, I thought making money in business was too simple. Not only did I not make any money, I also lost money."
"It's okay if we lose money. We can freeze the rest of the popsicles and eat them ourselves." Wenrou didn't blame him; instead, she comforted him.
"Xiao Yan, I know you want to help me, but right now your most important thing is to study hard. Leave the money-making to me." Wenrou reached out and patted his head.
Jiang Yan nodded seriously. After this incident, he never wanted to do business again.
He wants to study hard, get into a good university in the future, and become a useful person to the country to repay Aunt Xiaorou for her hard work.
"Then tomorrow..." Wenrou looked at him, but before she could finish her question, Jiang Yan said urgently, "Tomorrow I will stay home and study hard, and also help take care of my two younger sisters."
She smiled gently and nodded, "Okay, go to sleep."
Jiang Yan's parents left behind many books, all of which Huo Yanchuan brought back.
He originally planned to wait until Jiang Yan grew up before deciding whether he wanted to follow in his parents' footsteps and continue down the path of scientific research.
But Jiang Yan has already taken out the book to read it. Although he doesn't understand much of it, he hasn't given up.
Just because he doesn't understand now doesn't mean he'll never understand in the future.
As his knowledge accumulates, he will definitely be able to understand it one day.
For the next few days, Jiang Yan stayed at home studying while taking care of his two younger sisters.
Wenrou is sometimes so busy that she doesn't even have time to cook, so Jiang Yan has learned to cook some simple dishes.
Jiang Yan would even take the initiative to wash the dirty clothes at home.
Although he had taken the initiative to share the burden with Wenrou, the others in the compound saw it and gradually began to think that Wenrou was abusing Jiang Yan.
Someone wrote a letter to the National Research Institute, claiming that Wenrou had been abusing Jiang Yan and making him serve their family ever since he adopted him.
Upon receiving the letter, the research institute quickly sent people to investigate.
Jiang Yan is a family member of a martyr who sacrificed his life at their research institute, and they will absolutely not tolerate him being bullied like this.