Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

Xu Bei could easily see through his sister's mother-in-law's true thoughts.

In the 1980s, influenced by traditional ideas, people still believed that working for a company was the proper way to make a living, while opening a shop and becoming a self-employed individual was looked down upon and ridiculed.

However, since the person was addressing Zhu Wenliang, the brother-in-law and son, he, as the brother-in-law, certainly couldn't respond.

Zhu Wenliang is usually a fairly intelligent person, but under the influence of alcohol and the joy of becoming a father for the first time, he had lost his mind and started speaking without thinking.

"Mom, I'm not just daydreaming. My mother-in-law's shop has only been open for a few days and it's already making money. What's the difference between me and Xiaoli?"

"It's not that you're lacking in anything, the problem is that the circumstances are different. You all have jobs and are still young, how can an older person be able to guard the shop?"

Before Zhu Wenliang could retort, Zhu's mother looked at Zhao Fengying sitting next to her and said, "My dear in-law, I've seen you open the shop from beginning to end. If it weren't for Xu Bei's hard work, resourcefulness, and ability, how could you have set up the shop so quickly?"

They even arrested people for bringing in the goods, yet business was still booming. You're truly blessed to have raised such a fine son.

Zhao Fengying was naturally happy to hear someone praise her son, and this time she didn't mince words. "Indeed, it's all thanks to my son Xu Bei. Otherwise, we would have been completely clueless. You could say that he deserves most of the credit, and he was also the one who worked the hardest."

Mother Zhu, seizing the opportunity, laughed and said, "That's right. This shop is only able to stay afloat thanks to Xu Bei. If Wenliang and Xiaoli were to run the shop as well, wouldn't Xu Bei be exhausted?"

Xu Bei also looked at Zhu's mother and smiled, "Auntie, that won't happen. If my sister and her family open a shop, we'll help them get supplies when they go to buy more. But it's too early to talk about that now, let's wait until after the New Year."

Especially since my sister is newly pregnant, we're all gathered here to celebrate, so let's not talk about anything else.

As soon as Xu Bei said this, even those at the table who had ideas and wanted to express their opinions immediately fell silent.

After all, one cannot fail to distinguish between primary and secondary matters, and arguing back and forth is a waste of time.

Mr. Zhu spoke first, "Yes, let's continue drinking and eating. Why talk about those baseless rumors?"

Zhu Wenliang immediately chimed in, "Yes, we can't go off-topic. Instead of wasting time on this, we should all help each other think of names for our child."

Mother Zhu didn't want her daughter-in-law to have any unpleasantness since she was newly pregnant, so she quickly said, "If we're talking about names, Wenliang and the next generation will have the character 'Rui' in their names."

"Rui," Zhao Fengying thought for a moment, "then the son can be named Ruilong, and the daughter can be named Ruifeng, that would be nice. Oh, no, Feng won't do, it's taboo with my name."

Xu Li also said with a smile, "Yes, it's best for a junior's name not to have the name of an elder."

"What should we call Rui?" Xu Juan, who was about to become an aunt, also started brainstorming and came up with several suggestions on the spot.

Xu Bei listened to everyone's chatter without saying a word.

As for whether Zhu Ruichao's original name will be lost, we'll have to wait and see.

After all, many people firmly believe that a name is very important and relates to one's fate.

He also suspected that the child's troublesome nature was related to his name.

Maybe after he's born, this reborn person will flap his little wings and get a new name.

After a satisfying meal, those who had to go to work in the afternoon returned to their workplaces.

Xu Bei, Zhao Fengying, Xu Li, and Xu Juan returned to the store together.

Now that we have portable radios that we can place on the counter to listen to the radio, songs, or storytelling, it's become much more enjoyable and makes running a shop and selling goods anything but boring.

However, with the background music of revolutionary songs playing, and no outsiders in the store now, they inevitably started talking about the people who came to mediate again this morning and the misunderstandings that had arisen.

"It was so embarrassing back then because that woman from the union talked nonsense. It made things really bad. I wonder what Guodong's sister will think when she gets back."

"Yes, I saw Sister Xiaomei blush so much at first, and then she almost cried. I just have no idea what to say to comfort her."

Xu Li wasn't present at the time, but after hearing her mother's and younger siblings' stories, she felt speechless and helpless. "There's nothing we can do about it. My younger brother just fell for a prettier girl."

Xu Bei was both amused and exasperated. "Sis, what you're saying makes me sound like I'm superficial, only looking at appearances and not valuing inner qualities."

Xu Li said matter-of-factly, "So what? To be honest, if I were a man, I would definitely choose Xiao Zhou too. Who wouldn't want to find someone better looking? As for inner qualities, without a pretty face, who would bother to care?"

Xu Bei didn't think he could argue with his older sister, but he still wanted to take good care of the newly pregnant woman and keep her in a good mood.

Therefore, he didn't argue anymore and went along with her, saying, "That's true, I even like to pick the freshest and most beautiful fruits when I buy them."

Xu Li immediately laughed, "You little rascal, you've been like this since you were a kid, how could I not know you?"

Zhao Fengying and Xu Juan also began to list them one by one.

Xu Bei listened with a smile, his main focus being on making them happy.

However, he still maintains the persona of a carpenter's boss doing sales.

Since he didn't want to obediently go back to work in the timber processing factory, selling wooden stools and tables became his daily routine.

So he lit the stove in the shop, making a buzzing sound, put the chopped coal and briquettes aside, and then rode away.

The next morning, Xu Bei took the person to the store to open, following the same basic procedure.

We try our best to ensure that mothers who sell goods in the store don't have to worry about heating or burning firewood.

However, he had arranged to deliver the goods to Old Scar today.

So, after making the arrangements, Xu Bei took the forest railway train to the city.

It's already the sixteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, and there are only ten days left until the Lunar New Year.

Not only were the buses packed with people, but many places in the city were also crowded.

Even the black market, which had previously been raided and had seven or eight people arrested, has begun to revive and has started having people buying and selling things again.

Xu Bei only found out about this when he was delivering goods to Lao Ba; otherwise, he wouldn't have known.

As Old Scar unloaded the wooden stools, he sighed, "The New Year is almost here. It's a time when the bold get rich and the timid starve. Those guys have to turn their previous goods into money no matter what. Everyone wants to have a good and prosperous New Year."

Xu Bei was also helping with unloading the goods and was quite understanding. "Of course. Everyone works hard all year round, who wouldn't want to have a good New Year?"

Old Scar probably doesn't have to worry too much lately, and with the good food, he's even gained some weight. "I have to thank you, brother. If it weren't for us two getting to know each other and selling wooden stools, I'd still be stuck in the black market."

Xu Bei didn't believe the other party was being sincere, so he pretended to play along, saying, "Brother, you're being too polite. Besides, it's a mutually beneficial arrangement. I get something out of helping you connect with my friend, don't I?"