Chapter 480: The Grand Opening
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Shen was undeniably a man of confidence. Even if he were to abandon his soldier’s uniform, return to the countryside, and start from scratch, he would undoubtedly seize the opportunities that the era presented, or even create his own.
Take the current Su Shen, for instance. He had seized the winds of reform and opening up, becoming the owner of a pig farm, the only ten-thousand-yuan household in the area.
He possessed a fundamental strength inherent in males: confidence. Gu Zi now believed that this strength was probably formed from his real-life battles on the front lines.
He had won battles, like a lion dominating the plains. He had fought with leopards, tigers, and even his own kind, and he had always emerged victorious. This process had instilled in him a primal masculine confidence.
In Gu Zi’s eyes, a life with a man like Su Shen was full of promise and hope.
Of course, he was not only confident but also broad-minded and visionary. He never minded if his sisters only thought of him when they needed something. He never held a grudge against Su Jing for leaving him with Tian Hai when he needed his family’s trust the most.
His magnanimity was honed on the battlefield, and these trivial matters were insignificant to him.
Gu Zi watched him, her admiration eventually transforming into a simple sentence and action. She added several fried dumplings to her mutton soup, “I’ll soak a few more for you. You can eat them all. We’ll make up for all the oil we didn’t eat before tonight!”
How could Su Shen not know that this kind woman was sympathizing with his past hardships of eating and sleeping in the open air, on the battlefield?
However, as a man, he naturally wouldn’t reveal too much about this. In his view, his days in the barracks were not bitter but filled with a sense of melancholy born from facing life and death.
He watched as the woman soaked the dumplings and added them to his bowl one by one. He ate them all as she had hoped. Seeing her radiant smile, he felt a warmth in his heart, as if a ray of sunshine had penetrated his soul, and he couldn’t help but smile.
Su Bing and Su Li, watching their parents eat this way, imitated them and found it quite enjoyable.
Thus, that night, the fried dumplings were the first dish to be completely finished.
Over the next few days, Su Shen was kept busy with the affairs of the pig farm, only returning home every two or three days. Gu Zi was not idle either. With the imminent opening of Sister Hua’s Gourmet Shop, she was busy with promotions and had also invited Mother Lin, Li Hua, and Aunt Yang to her home for professional service training.
Aunt Yang, due to her stable job at Sister Hua’s Gourmet Shop, had resigned from the pig farm two days prior. There was no shortage of people to work there, and someone had immediately filled her position.
News of the opening of Sister Hua’s Gourmet Shop had spread throughout the villages, causing a lively discussion. Some people thought that the Lin family was about to make a fortune, while others were skeptical, arguing that there wouldn’t be much business in the town, which wasn’t very large.
They speculated that it was just a show of wealth using the son-in-law’s money, providing a justification for flaunting the Su family’s wealth in the future, claiming it to be the shop’s revenue.
Thus, sour comments began to circulate in the villages, saying that Gu Zi had married well and her whole family was enjoying the benefits. Su Shen was pitied for his hard work, with no parents or sister to share his earnings, all the benefits were reaped by the Lin family.
Gu Zi had heard these comments, but she didn’t take them to heart. Human nature was such that people could accept others being as poor and desolate as them, but they were unlikely to accept others rapidly rising and prospering. They would attack with rumors, and if you listened, you would lose.
Mother Lin initially tried to explain, but after hearing Gu Zi’s words, she decided not to bother with these people. After all, she was too busy with the shop’s opening to care about what they said. Let them talk.
On New Year’s Day, Sister Hua’s Gourmet Shop officially opened in the town. Early in the morning, firecrackers were set off continuously, echoing from one end of the street to the other.
The red carpet laid at the entrance of the shop was the same one used at Gu Zi’s wedding. It had been cleaned and looked as good as new.
People from Daqing Village and the two neighboring villages, who had no other plans for the day, almost all came. However, it was unknown how many came to show their support.
Many came with the intention of seeing a spectacle. The grand opening, if not accompanied by a good turnout, would surely be a laughing stock!