All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

"Brother Wu, I'm going home with Xiaozao tomorrow, can you lend me your bicycle?"

Han Chunming asked with some doubt.

"Don't you have a bicycle?"

Meng Xiaozao, standing timidly beside her, quickly said...

"Brother Wu, it's me who wants to ride. I want to practice on your bike first, and then buy my own one later!"

Han Chunming didn't think much of it and immediately said.

"Okay, go ahead and ride it, just remember to be careful!"

When Meng Xiaozao saw that Han Chunming had agreed, she quickly and happily agreed as well.

The older woman standing nearby asked casually.

"Xiao Wu, are you on holiday?"

Han Chunming nodded and said.

"Yes, everyone's been busy for a month, let them rest for a few days!"

Upon hearing Han Chunming's words, the eldest sister suddenly hesitated.

"How many more days of vacation are we going to have?"

Han Chunming nodded and said.

"Yes, let it sit for three days!"

When everyone heard that there would be a three-day holiday, they all set their sights on Han Chunming. Han Chunming had just gotten half a share from his mother, and he hadn't even received the money yet.

He was still thinking about how much money he would get next month, but when he suddenly heard that there would be a three-day holiday, he couldn't help but ask immediately.

"Wu Zi, if you take three days off, what will happen to the shop's business? You'll lose so much money every day!"

Indeed, my second brother's thoughts are the same as those of my other siblings. With only a few hundred yuan a month, they'd be losing more than ten yuan a day.

Before Han Chunming could speak, Meng Xiaoxing muttered something.

"There's no business at all, how can we make any money!"

Meng Xiaoxing's words stunned everyone. Although the shop's business had decreased recently, it had only been about half a month.

The older siblings also work regularly and didn't know about this. When they heard this, they were all shocked.

The eldest sister asked first.

"Xiao Wu, what exactly happened?"

Han Chunming glared at Meng Xiaoxing before saying helplessly.

"Nothing much, it's just that another competitor has joined the business across the street, and they've copied me by offering free soup for three days, so I haven't had much business here. I'm just giving them a few days off to rest!"

Han Chunming's words left everyone speechless, and their faces were filled with anxiety. They were all in a community of shared interests, and they had just tasted some success when this happened. How could they not be anxious?

But what's the use of being anxious? We can't just keep offering free soup like everyone else, because people are reluctant to do that!

Seeing that everyone had brought up the topic, Meng Xiaoxing couldn't hold back any longer and continued to chatter on.

"It's not just the one across the street; there are now three soup shops nearby. I heard that two more will open next week. Business has been getting worse and worse lately. Yesterday, we only made a little over two hundred yuan. Today, we've been open all morning and haven't had a single customer. So much soup is being wasted!"

Meng Xiaoxing was about to continue muttering to herself when Han Chunming's face darkened and he reprimanded her.

"Since you love to talk so much, why don't we cancel your holiday and have you stand in front of the shop and hawk your soup?"

After being yelled at by Han Chunming, Meng Xiaoxing immediately shut up.

However, the information Meng Xiaoxing revealed made her older siblings restless, and they immediately started talking all at once!

The older siblings looked like the sky was falling, frantically offering random suggestions: lowering prices, adding steamed buns and mantou, or even just adding stir-fried dishes!

Han Chunming felt annoyed, stood up, put away his ledger and bag, and then said.

"Alright, alright, I know what I'm doing. I'm tired, I'm going to take a nap."

Seeing Han Chunming's expression, everyone immediately fell silent, looking as if they wanted to say something but dared not utter another word.

After Han Chunming finished speaking, he didn't want to listen to their nagging anymore, so he turned around and went back to his room.

Han Chunming now regrets getting his older siblings involved; now, everyone makes a big fuss about everything he does.

Han Chunming originally opened this soup shop to cultivate his mind and body, but he's really getting tired of the constant noise and commotion.

But that's life!

After washing up, Han Chunming lay down on the bed, sighed helplessly, and fell into a deep sleep.

At this moment, at Taozi's house, Taozi's father looked at the two thick stacks of 10,000 yuan bills in his hands with a complicated expression. When Li's father looked up and saw his son's tired face, he sighed helplessly.

"Have a couple of drinks with me at noon!"

Taozi grinned broadly and quickly agreed.

"okay!"

Regaining his father's approval was the happiest thing for Taozi in the past month, even more so than for Fenhong.

No son wants to be looked down upon by his parents.

Men are not afraid of hardship and fatigue, but what they fear most is the lack of understanding from their families. Not every man in this world can succeed. Sometimes, even after trying and striving, they achieve nothing. That sense of defeat is the last straw that breaks a man's back.

Taozi, on the other hand, is undoubtedly a lucky one.

Life goes on. Han Chunming took three days off, spending his mornings accompanying Xiao Qiao to buy groceries and his afternoons cooking for himself at home.

He lived a leisurely life, a simple and ordinary existence, but he thoroughly enjoyed this freedom.

But the Han family, apart from him, the other siblings have been restless these past two days.

The group gathered together and held a short meeting, deciding to first discuss the truth and the falsehoods.

So the next day, around noon, the group gathered at the entrance of Han Chunming's shop, intending to go across the street to scout out the enemy's situation.

Without even needing to investigate, everyone had already conceded defeat.

A long queue stretched across the street. Several men and women pretended to be customers and joined the queue. Once inside the store, everyone felt even more uncertain.

The other store was not only twice the size of Han Chunming's store across the street, but its decoration style and even the soup bowls were almost identical to his own.

Most importantly, the other party knows how to do business. The soup bowls are bigger than ours, and the store also serves steamed buns, mantou, and pancakes. There is no limit to the amount of soup you can drink, so you can not only drink soup but also eat your fill.

Most importantly, the other party's price is less than half of your own store's, which is almost a complete victory over your own store.

After drinking the soup and tasting it, they found it quite delicious, and at that point, they had completely given up.

When the older siblings returned home, they told their mother about the information they had gathered.

Hearing her children's words, Han's mother immediately realized that the matter was a bit serious. Although she didn't care how much money she could get, she was naturally worried for her son as she saw his business being taken away by others.

So the Han family held another family meeting.

Han Chunming was pulled to the table by his mother. Looking at his older siblings with serious expressions, he felt helpless and awaited their criticism.

As expected, it was the eldest brother who spoke first.

"Xiao Wu, we weren't planning to tell you all this, but we went to check it out today. The other store is right across from yours, and it's bigger, cheaper, and they even offer main dishes and unlimited soup."

In every aspect, they're better than our store. If you have any solutions, please let us know so we don't have to worry!

As soon as the eldest brother spoke, everyone turned to look at Han Chunming, waiting for his answer.

Han Chunming was indeed quite helpless, and he sighed as he spoke.

"Brothers, let me be honest with you. I don't plan to do anything. I opened this soup shop to build a solid foundation of repeat customers. I don't care about lowering prices or offering main dishes. I'm not worried about the business because it will get better sooner or later, so you don't need to worry either!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces fell. They all depended on Han Chunming for their livelihood, so they dared not say anything more to him. They all looked at Han's mother, but today's matter needed to be resolved with a plan.

They did the math: the cost of three large earthenware pots of soup a day was over a hundred yuan, plus other miscellaneous costs. It would cost at least two hundred yuan a day, and next month, let alone dividends, they would actually lose money.

Sure enough, her older siblings had already greeted their mother, and now she finally spoke up, addressing Han Chunming in a consultative tone.

"Xiao Wu, after all, your older brothers and sisters have invested money in this shop. You can't just do things your own way. Why don't you see if we can all discuss it together and find a solution!"

Hearing his mother say that, Han Chunming felt even worse, and he sighed.

"Big brother, what are your plans?"

The eldest brother and the others exchanged glances, and then spoke.

“We discussed it and think we should lower the price. One yuan a bowl of soup is too expensive, and we don’t have enough bowls. These are things we can improve. Also, Xiaoxing can make steamed buns and dumplings, right? We think adding some staple foods would attract more customers. Xiaowu, what do you think?”

Han Chunming glanced at the group of people expressionlessly, then spoke.

"Brother, how about this? I'll refund all your investment, double the amount. What do you think?"

Han Chunming's words prompted his older brothers and sisters to speak up immediately.

"Xiao Wu, that's not what we meant. We're all family. We just wanted to discuss this with you!"

This is only because Han Chunming made money this month; otherwise, given the previous attitude of his older siblings, they would have been speaking to him in a completely different tone by now.

However, Han Chunming also got angry. He hadn't expected so many things to happen at first. Otherwise, he would have preferred to give them money to open their own shop rather than get involved with them.

Han Chunming's words were indeed a bit harsh. He waved his hand to stop everyone and then continued.

"Brothers and sisters, I've actually told you before that the herbs and ingredients in my secret recipe are quite expensive. I sell it for one dollar, but the cost is fifty cents. Other people only sell a bowl of soup for ten cents. How can I compete with them?"

Han Chunming's meaning was very clear: he definitely wouldn't lower the price.

The eldest brother was also quite helpless and fell silent, no longer speaking. Seeing that Han Chunming had even brought up the matter of withdrawing his shares, the others dared not say anything more, and the room fell silent.

Xiao Qiao suddenly appeared behind Han Chunming and gently pressed his shoulder with her small hand. The couple were of one mind. Xiao Qiao also noticed that Han Chunming was a little angry. Her massage finally calmed Han Chunming down a bit, and then she spoke.

"Brothers, how about this? I'll return double the money you invested!"

As soon as Han Chunming said this, his elder brother hurriedly tried to explain.

Han Chunming interrupted his elder brother and continued.

"Brother, please listen to me first. What I'm trying to say is this: as you've all seen, opening a soup shop is very profitable right now. So, I'll return double the amount you invested to you. You can pool your money and open your own soup shop, and also sell steamed buns and other staple foods on the side."

I'll give you a simple new recipe; the cost is absolutely low—just one cent a bowl of soup, and you can still make a six-cent profit. If you also sell some staple foods, and business is good, making several hundred dollars a day isn't a problem!"

Han Chunming's words shocked everyone in the room, and their faces showed some interest.

Seeing the thoughtful expressions on everyone's faces, Han Chunming realized that he had persuaded them all!