Chapter 8: Selling Cars and Opening a Small Eatery

  Two days later, Santana 2000 was delivered, and my godfather also came to take a look. He said that he would contact the buyer in the afternoon, and it should be sold tomorrow. Unexpectedly, the buyer was very anxious and wanted to see the goods in the afternoon. At two o'clock in the afternoon, we agreed to meet at my home. The car was parked on an empty lot, shining brightly under the sunlight. Although it didn't belong to our family, I firmly believed that our family would buy a better car in the future. With a smile as bright as flowers, I held up the sun in the distance with my hands.

  Two o'clock, the buyer arrived on time, but surprisingly, the buyer was two boys. From a distance, they looked handsome and unparalleled. As they got closer, I took a closer look and found that one of them was Xuan Yuan Ruo, whom I had met just two days ago. Was he going to buy a car at such a young age? Could he drive? Did he have a driver's license? A string of question marks floated in my mind. Next to Xuan Yuan Ruo stood another boy, no, should say a big boy, about 1.8 meters tall, giving people a feeling of being unruly and sharp, with excitement hidden in his eyebrows and eyes. He looked at the car and went up to try it out.

  As I was looking at Xuan Yuan, he also happened to see me. I had an expression of "oh, it's you", and with a glance, I could tell that he was a spoiled rich kid who bought a car at a young age. He looked at me with a somewhat provocative gaze, and I felt a bit annoyed. But then I saw his mouth curve up slightly, as if he was smiling, which made him even more charming. However, it was just for an instant, and it seemed like my imagination. Anyway, last time I won the PK, but this time he seems to have the upper hand.

  Only then did the big boy come down from trying out the car and say, "Cousin, I think it's okay, let's just go with this one. It's not flashy, and when we get back, even if the old man gets angry, there's nothing he can do about it. I'm not buying it from a store or anything. Besides, I'm already 18 years old, so I have the right to decide what I want for myself. And I didn't ask the old man for money either. Why is he being so strongly opposed to it?" The big boy said to his uncle and father, "Hello, my name is Ding Beicheng. I'd like to buy this car. Give me a price, and I'll consider it. If it's reasonable, we can make a deal right away." His uncle and father discussed it for a moment, then gave a price that was slightly lower than the market price. Ding Beicheng agreed immediately.

  I was thinking: this Ding Bei Cheng is called Xuan Yuan Ruo's younger brother, and he also has the surname Ding. It seems that he is Grandpa Ding's grandson. Judging from his tone, it's clear that Grandpa Ding didn't allow him to buy a car, so he came up with a plan to act first and report later, not listening to orders from outside. And Xuan Yuan Ruo is the same, yesterday he was speaking righteously about Grandpa Ding, but today he secretly accompanied his younger brother to buy a car. Why didn't he use his persuasive skills? It seems that he's in cahoots with his younger brother and is also hard to grasp. I'm shouting in my heart: Dad, they're not short of money, why don't you raise the price a bit higher? I'm anxious, I want to speak up, but I know that in this situation, my words carry no weight. Ah, the expressions on their faces are so varied! At this moment, I didn't know what to do. But it turns out they weren't being sneaky at all, they were just being open and honest. This is a personal attack, you're just jealous, red with envy!

  Then, Ding Beicheng asked Xuan Yuanrui to hand over a deposit slip to him and gave it to the old man, saying: "There is one thousand more on this than your opening price. Considering you are very honest with the opening price, let's consider that one thousand as a gift. The password is 931017." I was angry again, rich people can't spend money like this, this guy needs to be taught a lesson.

  Dad saw his youthful arrogance and said sincerely, "Thank you for your kindness, but I don't take money for nothing. This price is already very satisfying to me. If it's convenient for you, let's go to the bank and return the money to you."

  Ding Bei Cheng saw that his father's expression was not fake, so he didn't say anything else and agreed. However, he said: "Then I'll give you a ride, let's go to the bank together." As he spoke, he was about to start the car. Seeing Ding Bei Cheng follow his father, I made a face in that direction, but who would have thought that Xuan Yuan Ruo turned around at this time and saw the whole thing? Oh no, my elegant lady image is ruined! Why can't I be elegant every time I'm in front of him? Xuan Yuan Ruo couldn't hold back his laughter anymore, this time laughing more obviously, with a smile even in his eyes.

  Ding Bei Cheng saw his usually cold and expressionless younger cousin smile, and asked him: "What's wrong, is there something funny? Share it with your older cousin too, haha."

  Xuanyuan Xiu said seriously: "Nothing much, just thinking of a childish little girl."

  Ding Bei Cheng said: "Is that the same girl from just now? I saw you and her seem to have exchanged glances. Brother didn't lie, did he?"

  Xuanyuan Leng said coldly, "It seems that Brother Biao doesn't need me to keep the car purchase a secret for you anymore. The truth is out, and I don't need to speak up for you either."

  Ding Bei Cheng said: "Alright, I won't ask, but don't say I didn't warn you when the time comes and you can't solve your immediate problems with distant water." And then he didn't say anything else.

  I heard Xuan Yuan say that I'm a naive little girl, I was furious, I'm not a little girl at all, my age is more than three times yours, and I glared fiercely at his back.

  In the evening, Dad cooked a table of good dishes and naturally invited Godfather's family to dinner to thank Godfather for introducing him so that he could sell the car quickly.

  As soon as the funds were available, Dad immediately took action, found a landlord to sign a lease, and purchased tables, stools, chopsticks, large bowls, and other necessary items. After three days of busy preparation, he discussed with Mom and decided on the name of the snack bar, which was simply "Gengzi Noodle House", as well as the details for the grand opening on October 8th.

  I want to do something for my dad's noodle shop, thinking and thinking, suddenly I had an idea, I ran to tell my parents: "Dad and mom, our noodle shop is opening for the first time, we should offer some discounts to attract customers."

  Mom smiled and said, "No need to say more, your dad and I have decided that from now on, everything will be 20% off for the first month." I continued, "In addition, we'll set up a points system to encourage consumption, how about it?"

  Dad said: "Baby, what's points discount?"

  I said: "The points discount is that every time you eat to a certain number, you will be given a membership card with a card number on it. With the card number, your subsequent consumption situation will be recorded, and during holidays, old customers will be given discounts."

  "Ah, I see. Baby, where do you get these fanciful ideas from? It's really creative thinking. But tomorrow is the opening day, and there's no time to prepare."

  I said, "Isn't this month's promotion a uniform 20% off? This activity will be launched next month, it will attract attention and won't lose out. The preparation time is sufficient. Mom, you ask me where these ideas come from, I am your and dad's daughter, of course they come from you guys, hehehe."

  Mom smiled and said: "You're good at coaxing people into a good mood, go to sleep. Tomorrow no one will wake you up, don't stay up late today, or tomorrow even the alarm clock won't be able to wake you up."

  That day, October 8th, my parents got up unusually early. I was still sleeping, and my mom rang the bell for me. The night before, I had told her that I could get up and wash my hair by myself, and that she just needed to put breakfast in the pot and not worry about me. But my mom didn't trust me, so I washed my hair and showed it to her, and repeatedly promised that I wouldn't be late. Only then did she feel at ease. Amidst the sound of firecrackers, my dad's wonton noodle shop opened for business. Since there were many people living near the north gate, and my dad's cooking skills were good, on the first day, many people came to support him, coming and going in waves. By the end of the morning, he was exhausted.

  I went home at noon, and my parents hadn't returned yet. It wasn't until 12 o'clock that they rushed back in a hurry. My dad said to me: "Sorry, daughter, Dad was busy today and didn't have time to cook for you. Here's a boxed lunch, just make do with it for now."

  I took the boxed meal, put it on the table, opened it and smelled a wave of chicken leg fragrance. I said: "It's okay, Dad and Mom, you've worked hard, come and eat quickly, this is the water I brought for you, I guess you'll be thirsty when you get back. Later I will give you a massage."

  Dad and mom took the water and started drinking it with a gurgling sound, saying: "Baby is really considerate, Dad and Mom are really thirsty and hungry, let's have lunch together."

  After dinner, my father and mother were counting the day's pure income on the side. I didn't join in the fun, thinking that it wouldn't be late to ask them when I got back tonight. All I heard was my mother saying: "Husband, running a small eatery is really hard work. Today is the first week of opening and I took time off to help you, what about afterwards? Whether we must make money remains to be seen, otherwise we can hire someone. If after half a year the business is indeed very profitable, I'll quit my job to help you."

  "Dad said: 'This is also right, but we still need to trouble Mom for a few more days. I'll ask around and see if we can find the right person soon.'"

  I thought to myself: Mom, you don't have to quit your job, in three months the cotton mill will be converted into a toy factory, as long as you take this opportunity to retire early, nothing bad will happen. At night I asked my mom how much money she had earned, and with a happy smile, she told me that it was even more than expected, saying that all her hard work was worth it, and that this decision still has prospects.

  After a week of searching, Dad asked Erjie for help. Yeah, it's easy to find someone at home, but the contradictions are not small when the time comes.

  However, it's good that my second aunt is a capable person. In the past, my second uncle's family had connections with the underworld and he was once imprisoned. My second aunt took care of their daughter single-handedly while waiting for his release. After he came out, my second uncle started a business selling chickens at the market, and later on, they lived a very prosperous life. Their daughter also developed a habit of spending money lavishly. The relationship between our family and my second aunt's family has always been ordinary, but they did receive a sum of money along with my other aunts. However, prosperity is followed by decline, and when I was in my third year of university, it was rumored that my second uncle had become addicted to drugs, and their business at the market was taken over by their competitors.

  Now, if I'm not mistaken, my second uncle hasn't come out yet, and it's not easy for my second aunt either. Being able to help a little is still helping a little, who knows, maybe by helping my second aunt now, we can change the trajectory of her fate in the future.