Chapter 4 - The Not-So-Bad Dad

Chapter 4: Chapter 3: The Not-So-Bad DadLife in the city always demanded money, and after a few days when everything had to be bought with money, Chen Wen started to worry about their future life again.

Ye Qiu, however, was not in a hurry. Their daughter was three years old and could try going to kindergarten. The country's control wasn't so strict anymore, and some street vendors had started hawking in the streets and alleys. To ease Chen Wen's concerns, he planned to find something for her to do.

He wasn't the type of person who believed women should only support their husbands and teach their children. Women who solely revolved around their husbands and children never lived as comfortably and confidently as those who had their own careers.

After the New Year, the atmosphere on the streets was much more lively than the previous year. It was evident that there were more people in the streets, and the variety of clothing had increased, moving away from the restrictions of green military outfits and grey or black straight cuts.

Fashion-conscious women began wearing red dresses, showing off their waists and calves, and men started using mousse in their hair, wearing floral shirts and bell-bottoms.

Ye Qiu knew what Chen Wen should do.

In this era of out with the old and in with the new, fashionable clothing was one of the most profitable industries.

Spending nearly two hundred yuan, Ye Qiu brought home a sewing machine. Chen Wen learned tailoring from her master when she was young; although she hadn't had the chance to use these skills since getting married, picking it up again wasn't difficult.

For several days in a row, Ye Qiu did nothing but take his wife and daughter to high-end areas. It wasn't just a frivolous expenditure: the main purpose was to allow Chen Wen to quickly understand what kind of clothes were the most profitable and popular.

Next, they picked out fabrics from various cloth shops. The quality of the material and the color were key, and though the prices weren't cheap, they were within their expectations.

Then came the storefront. Although there wasn't much money left, fortunately, the shop they needed wasn't large. Two streets away from the small courtyard, a commercial street had begun to form. It took Ye Qiu half a month to buy a small storefront of twenty square meters.

He did the renovation of the shop himself, painting the walls and ceiling white. There weren't many tile sellers at that time, and even if there were, the patterns weren't attractive. Given that wooden flooring wasn't expensive in those days, Ye Qiu laid wooden floors throughout and also ordered a few unique clothes racks.

He installed a few extra lights on the ceiling, and once the clothes made over these days were displayed, they appeared quite different from other stores in the vicinity; it was what you'd call stylish in that era.

After spending a few months in the city, Chen Wen's skin had lightened from its wheatish hue to a fair and smooth tone. Dressed in a waist-pinched red long dress and lightly applied lipstick, she stood at the doorway, serving as a live advertisement and causing quite a stir.

Ye Qiu also wore a proper white shirt and suit pants to attract business. Their pricing was not cheap, but in an era when trying on clothes wasn't possible, they offered a fitting service.

Once these clothes were worn, those who cared about trends couldn't bear to take them off. Although the clothes were expensive, people would grit their teeth to buy a set, and those who weren't short of money would buy several sets.

The clothes took into consideration the current fashion trends and integrated Ye Qiu's generations-worth perspective, along with Chen Wen's meticulous stitching and comfortable material. Not to mention the provincial city, there were few stores in the entire Zhonghua Country that could compare with theirs.

They sold half of their stock, which they had hurriedly made over this period, in just one day.

Just the income from that day was enough to cover the cost of the fabrics, sewing machine, and part of the shop's capital. It was Chen Wen's first experience of what it meant to make a fortune and count money until your mouth went dry.

With no extra time for rest, the couple dived back into the rush of making clothes. Fortunately, Ye Manman was well-behaved, content with food and play, and didn't fuss.

After the peak period of half a month, the couple finally had a moment to breathe. Ye Qiu began to think about hiring two people. Clothing was the path he paved for Chen Wen, not his. He already had plans for what was next.

The most lucrative industries in the future were nothing but the internet, real estate, entertainment, and pharmaceuticals. He lacked the capability and knowledge for pharmaceuticals, and without strong connections, it was naturally impossible to succeed. As for the entertainment industry, it was not well-developed inland during this era and wasn't very profitable, so that could wait for a few years.

However, the internet and real estate were worth considering now.

But to get involved in real estate and the internet, substantial initial capital was needed. Chen Wen's earnings from the clothing store were not something he planned to interfere with. He remembered that in 1990, the Shanghai Stock Exchange was established, and that could be a way to make some money.

Two years flew by, and Chen Wen's clothing store had opened five branches in the provincial city. Following Ye Qiu's advice, they bought instead of renting the stores and registered their own trademark and brand. They also purchased land in the suburbs and built a small factory.

She didn't use all her liquid assets but chose to take a loan from the bank.

In recent years, the state encouraged self-employment, and the loan interest rates were not high. Her clothing store was growing larger and had become a well-known brand throughout the provincial city.

Her next goal was to expand the factory and advance into the surrounding provinces and cities.

Seeing Chen Wen's business growing bigger and bigger, Ye Qiu was not idle either. He made several trips to the special economic zones, watching one skyscraper after another rise from the ground, feeling more and more profound inside. He knew that a giant dragon was about to awaken, and he had to seize this opportunity.

With the money he had saved over the years, Ye Qiu entered the newly established Shanghai Stock Exchange. Over the next year, as he bought and sold stocks continuously, his capital had reached a shocking level.

Then, with that money, he founded Manwen Construction Company and started buying land in Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Jing City. Sёarᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner, the couple was extremely busy, to the point that the only person who was free was Ye Manman.

The little three-foot-tall tot from back then was already five years old and had attended kindergarten for a year in a bilingual school in the provincial city—the only one of its kind. This year, she was due to start first grade.

Although Mom was busy, she would come home every day to sleep with her. Dad was also busy, but whenever he had the time, he would take her traveling. In Ye Manman's heart, she was extremely happy every day, except for the past few days.

Ever since the new neighbors moved in next door, she found herself feeling depressed.

The little brother next door was the same age and in the same class as her, but he was prettier and had better grades than her. Moreover, she discovered that he was very good at pretending.

He was extremely well-behaved in front of adults, but whenever it was just the two of them, he would poke her cheeks, pull her pigtails, and even threatened her not to play with other kids.

She told her mom about these things, but her mom didn't believe her. She then told her dad, who always looked at her with a strange expression. Although he comforted her, he didn't chase the little brother away like she had hoped.

For Ye Manman, who had always had everything go smoothly since the age of three, this was upsetting.

The only solution was to avoid that bad little brother.

"Hey, why are you ignoring me?" Ling Heng, with his delicate and pretty little face, frowned slightly, his tone filled with grievance as he forcefully held onto Ye Manman's small hand.

"Hmph!" Ye Manman did not want to bother with him, but she couldn't break free from his grip. In an instant, her eyes reddened, and her large eyes filled with a layer of moisture as she glared angrily at Ling Heng.

Initially, she actually liked this pretty little brother, but he didn't like her back and always bullied her. The teachers and adults all liked him the most, so she decided that she didn't want to like him anymore, nor did she want to play with him.

"Why are you crying? Don't cry." Ling Heng immediately panicked, not understanding what was wrong with this pretty little girl.

"Let go of me." Ye Manman's small voice was soft and tender, involuntarily melting the hearts of those who heard it.

Although Ling Heng was reluctant, he eventually let go slowly: "Then don't cry, how about I give you some chocolate?" The five-year-old boy didn't know how to please the girl he liked and could only awkwardly offer his favorite thing.

Luckily, Ye Manman, the little foodie, fell for it, eying the large piece of chocolate in Ling Heng's hand. The foodie's soul was constantly battling with herself.

Then, sticking to the principle of not letting Ling Heng off easy, she made him promise to bring her chocolate again tomorrow, after which she magnanimously forgave him.

Meanwhile, Ling Heng finally breathed a sigh of relief, pursing his small lips and smiling. It was good that little sister Manman wasn't angry; he still wanted to coax her into becoming his real little sister!

In the courtyard, Ye Qiu watched the scene outside the house and felt helpless. He never expected that, after all the twists and turns, Manman's husband in her previous life would turn out to be their neighbor. Should he say it was all fate?

But in this life, he wouldn't let this boy get his way so easily.

"Manman, come home. Dad made you something delicious. You shouldn't eat too much chocolate, or your teeth will hurt." Ye Qiu narrowed his eyes, his gaze unfriendly.

Ling Heng seemed to sense this, his small lips slowly pursing again, watching Manman joyously jump into Uncle Ye's arms, becoming somewhat aware that Uncle Ye didn't like him.

The naively young boy didn't understand why, and could only go home to ask his all-capable dad.

Then, Ling Zhiyuan, who had been busy all day, came home to endure a soul-searching interrogation from his son, finding it both funny and hard to explain. How could he explain that every father with a daughter dislikes the pigs that encroach on his garden?