1269 Expanding the Business
Qian’e did not want to return to that small house anymore. For her, it was a place filled with nightmarish memories. By now, the story of what happened to her would probably have spread among the neighbors, including her past.

She had bought the place at a low price. It did not matter if she had to sell it off and rent another place. As long as she could live a stable life, it did not matter how much money she had to spend.

“It’s alright, take your time to think about it,” Qiao Mei said.

Speaking of which, it was time to grow her family’s business and create their own brand so that more people could get to know them. However, Li Gui would not be able to execute all these plans on her own. Li Gui had already said many times that she did not have enough manpower at her end.

Back then, Qiao Qiang had talked about working with a neighbor to invent an automatic popcorn machine, but they had not managed to succeed yet! There were still many safety hazards to resolve and it would still take some time before they could even see progress in the research and development.

Xia Wen had already told her about how the economy was going to open up soon. The official approval to allow the common people to go into small business had already come through, all that was left was for the legislation to be signed and stamped. Qiao Mei could start doing whatever she wanted.

However, where would they be able to find help? If they hired random people, their family’s secret recipe would probably be leaked. As the saying went, the winds would always howl around the highest peaks. There were definitely many people who were jealous of them. Furthermore, they could not just be selling popcorn.

As time passed, people would get tired of eating it. Also, someone might eventually manage to figure out the recipe. They could not underestimate people’s determination to earn money. Their popcorn recipe was not something complicated. If one tried every possible combination tirelessly, one would eventually find the right combination.

At night, Qiao Mei asked Luo Yu to come over and help her keep an eye on Qian’e. She decided to go home and rest. Xia Zhe sat on the bed with a book and pretended to read it. An hour had passed and he had not even flipped a single page!

“What are you reading? It’s been so long and you haven’t even touched it. Is it an e-book or does it have an automatic page-turning function?” Qiao Mei said as she walked over with a smile.

Xia Zhe looked at Qiao Mei in confusion and asked, “What’s an e-book? What’s an automatic page-turning function?”

Qiao Mei quickly covered her mouth. Oh no! How could she have let it slip! E-books would only be available after a few decades!

“It’s… it’s an electronic thing that can help you turn the pages. I’ve seen our elderly neighbor look into something like this before. Don’t you know that he always likes to come up with these strange things?” Qiao Mei said, trying hard to make sense.

Xia Zhe did not know much about the neighbors. If Qiao Mei said so, then it must be true.
“Then when the children grow up, we should let them interact more with this neighbor. It’s not a bad thing for boys to learn such things. It’s also not bad to be like Zhang Chao and aspire to be an engineer,” Xia Zhe said happily.

“I thought you wanted Xia Fan to join the army?” Qiao Mei asked.

She always thought that these soldiers all wanted their children to join the army and serve the country. However, Xia Zhe seemed to have different ideas from others.

“It’s alright. After all, it’s Xia Fan’s own life. He can do whatever he likes. I hope he won’t follow my path. I know how difficult this path is,” Xia Zhe said.

Qiao Mei snuggled into Xia Zhe’s arms. The two of them had not shared their thoughts and feelings like this for a long time. Ever since Xia Zhe returned, they had been busy with family matters and their friends’ issues. They finally had some time to talk about their own future.

“Have you gone to take a look at Zhang Wei? Do you think Xiao Wei is cut out to be a soldier?” Qiao Mei asked Xia Zhe curiously.

“He’s not that bad. It all depends on whether he’s willing to work hard or not. He has fallen behind on his classes. Since Zheng Peng can’t give them lessons recently, I have found another teacher for them. It seems to be working out well. It’s the same thing for the other children. They’re all quite talented and know they have to work hard. If this continues, they won’t be too bad,” Xia Zhe said seriously.

Qiao Mei had not noticed any of this. She had been so focused on the issues related to the Xia family and Qian’e that she had indeed neglected Qiao Qiang, Li Gui and the four children recently. If not for Xia Zhe, the children might have had to stay at home for another year before they could go to school.

Qiao Mei looked at Xia Zhe. Previously, when Xia Zhe was not at home, she felt that she must be omnipotent and do everything herself. However, after Xia Zhe came back, she felt much more relaxed. Xia Zhe had actually helped her solve many problems without any fanfare.