Free Web NovelChapter 392: Chapter 390: Receiving Word
Gu’er nodded. Zhang Zhenguo had opened a store across from their department store, using low prices to compete and attract customers. Because of that, his goods sold quickly, and with even more people shopping before the New Year, he invested heavily. He sent several train cars full of goods to the Soviet Union, hoping to make a killing and squeeze their department store’s business. But it all got robbed. With that one robbery, they lost hundreds of thousands in an instant. This wasn’t just a few tens of thousands.
Even if they had made profits before, this one loss wiped out pretty much everything. On top of that, their stall and goods in the Soviet Union were also robbed. They had nothing to bring back, no inventory. That meant Zhang Zhenguo would have to refund anyone who had placed an order with them. Without goods, it would be impossible to recoup his investment. This was more than enough to put Zhang Zhenguo in a world of hurt.
Gu’er did a quick calculation. ’Zhang Zhenguo’s last few months were likely all for nothing; he might have even lost money. With no inventory, how can he even keep his store open? Trying to compete with us, trying to drive us out of business? His intentions were foul, and now he’s shot himself in the foot. Zhang Zhenguo must be cursing up a storm right now!’
’He even tried to find someone to take down her father. And what happened? Vice Secretary Yuan had that Deputy Director Chen investigated and found he was acting without authorization, doing personal favors. Deputy Director Chen had plenty of skeletons in his own closet. Not only did he fail to take Dad down, but he ended up getting taken in himself. Vice Secretary Yuan even called Lin Shan personally to explain the situation, saying he was giving Lin Shan the justice he deserved.’
’Even Zhang Zhenguo’s relative, the one who went to Deputy Director Chen for the favor, received a demerit and was flagged at the provincial level. He’s keeping a low profile now. With Zhang Zhenguo losing so much money on top of all that, what does he have left to fight us with? Let’s see if he can still be so smug. Let’s see if he can still pull any more tricks behind our backs.’
"The one that was stealing our business? This is great! If they have nothing to sell, our goods will sell much better. Didn’t you say Dingzi brought back a lot of stock this time? Now we won’t have to worry about selling it."
Grandma Dingzi was also very happy to hear this. Of course, she was on her grandson and Gu’er’s side.
Grandma Sun nodded as well. They were from the older generation and didn’t get involved in the business, but they still knew a little about how the department store was doing. They were naturally happy to hear the competition was gone and business would be better.
"We definitely won’t have to worry about sales. Everyone’s morale is through the roof right now. They’re all hoping to sell as much as possible before the New Year, get a nice bonus, and have a great holiday."
Lin Shuying also smiled brightly. She sincerely hoped for the department store’s business to do well.
"How is Hua’er doing? Speaking of which, I haven’t seen her in a long time. She left and hasn’t even come to visit me."
Grandma Sun was asking about Li Hua.
Gu’er looked at Lin Shuying. She’d been so preoccupied with Dingzi these past few days that she hadn’t even asked about Li Hua. ’She’s probably fine,’ Gu’er thought, ’or my aunt would have told me.’
"Sigh, it’s not easy for her," Lin Shuying began. "She wants her oldest daughter, Feng’er, to find a job, earn an income, and have better prospects for finding a husband. But Feng’er refuses to go out and is just gloomy all day. Hua’er says she feels scared just looking at her. And that Du’er girl just eats and sleeps, sleeps and eats. When she’s not doing that, she’s out wandering around, not caring about a single thing. Then there’s the boy. He’s always running with a bad crowd of kids in the neighborhood. She wants to enroll him in school, but he absolutely refuses and even steals her money to go out and make trouble. It’s a real struggle for her to raise three kids by herself. On top of that, Zhou Mazi still shows up every now and then to cause problems. Her life is very hard, but she chose it. No one can help her."
Lin Shuying sighed. A hard life isn’t so bad as long as your children are sensible. A mother’s heart can still be full. But for someone like Li Hua, there was just no hope. It was no wonder Gu’er was so resolute about not helping her. The three Zhou siblings were just too much.
"What a tragedy," Grandma Dingzi sighed.
Gu’er said nothing. ’She chose her own path, and no one can walk it for her.’
Everyone chatted for a while longer. Then, Lin Shuying took her two children and left. Grandma Dingzi and Grandma Sun decided to share the bed for the night, and Gu’er returned to her room.
’Where on earth is Dingzi? Jia Ming didn’t meet up with him, and he hasn’t come back. Could he still be in the Soviet Union? Or did something terrible really happen?’
Gu’er lay in bed, her mind racing with anxious thoughts.
DRING DRING... The ringing of the phone startled Gu’er. She shot up in bed. ’A call at this hour... it must be Jia Ming. Could he have news?’ Gu’er threw on some clothes and got out of bed.
As she opened her door, she saw Uncle Zhao opening his as well, a robe thrown over his shoulders.
"Uncle, you go back to sleep. I’ll get it."
Gu’er gestured for Uncle Zhao to go back to his room and rest.
"All right, then."
Uncle Zhao nodded. The call wasn’t for him anyway, and since Gu’er was already up, there was no need for him to stay.
Gu’er picked up the phone. Just as she’d expected, Sun Jiaming’s voice came from the other end.
"Gu’er, we picked up Dingzi."
Sun Jiaming’s voice sounded a bit excited, but there was also an indescribable undertone.
"Really? How is he? Is he okay?"
A wave of joyous relief washed over Gu’er. ’They picked him up. As long as they picked him up, that’s all that matters. It means he’s definitely alive.’
"He’s fine. We’re driving through the night to head back. We’ll be home tomorrow, so you can stop worrying."
Sun Jiaming didn’t say much else on the other end of the line.
"Okay, okay. Since you’ve got him, don’t rush. The roads are icy, and it’s not safe to drive at night. Tell Li Zhi not to speed. Safety is the most important thing," Gu’er urged.
"Okay. You get some rest now, and stop worrying. We’ll be back tomorrow."
The reason Sun Jiaming called Gu’er at this hour was because he was afraid she would be worrying nonstop.
Gu’er hung up the phone, feeling as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted from her heart. She let out a long sigh of relief and went back to her room.
Lying in bed, however, Gu’er started to wonder. ’Dingzi is coming back by car instead of taking the train. What exactly happened?’
Gu’er couldn’t figure it out. ’Well, he’ll be back tomorrow. I’ll know everything then. I should stop overthinking it.’
With that, Gu’er fell into a deep sleep. She hadn’t slept well for the past few days. Now that she knew Dingzi was safe, she could finally get a proper night’s rest.
The next day, Grandma Dingzi and Grandma Sun noticed that Gu’er was in high spirits. Even as she was knitting a sweater, the corners of her mouth were turned up in a smile.
"Why are you so happy today?" Grandma Sun asked.
"Oh, Jia Ming and Li Zhi are on their way back. They went through Harbin and ran into Dingzi. They said they’ll be home today."
Gu’er’s voice was full of delight.
"Is that so? He’s coming back today? That’s wonderful! No, I have to go tell someone right away. I need to have them arrange a time for Dingzi to meet the girl in the next couple of days."
Grandma Dingzi was overjoyed, then immediately moved to get off the bed.
"Grandma, don’t be in such a rush! We should at least wait until Dingzi gets back to talk about a meeting. There are still several days until the New Year. There’s no hurry."
Gu’er quickly stopped her.
"That’s right, don’t rush. You should let the boy rest for a couple of days when he gets back. It’s not like the girl is going to run off," Grandma Sun chimed in.
"All right, I’ll listen to you two. I’ll go talk to them tomorrow, then," Grandma Dingzi nodded.
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Thank you to Karl King for the He Shi Bi and monthly tickets, thank you to Pacific Stone Monkey for the monthly tickets, and thank you all for your support.
