By the time Xia Mian returned from picking up Chenchen, Xiao Feng, and Mao Huizhu from kindergarten, she saw from a distance that the area around the stall was packed with people. Xia Wenyue was busy counting skewers and collecting money, completely swamped with work. Xia Mian noticed that there were only a few skewers left in the broth pot and figured that the 500 skewers they prepared wouldn’t be enough for the day.
On the way back, they ran into Mao Huilan, who was delivering more ingredients. Her face was beaming with joy as she said, “Sister, business is booming!”
“I saw that,” Xia Mian replied with a smile. “Is Sister Huimei back at home preparing more skewers?”
Huilan nodded, “Yes. Turns out we didn’t prepare enough vegetables, so I need to go buy more.”
That’s the beauty of a skewered hotpot—so long as you have enough broth, it’s easy to replenish the ingredients quickly.
When they got home, Aunt Wei was busy helping with the skewers. She was genuinely happy for Xia Wenyue, “By the looks of it, the stall might have sold 800 skewers just this afternoon. The evening rush will bring even more people.”
Just as Aunt Wei predicted, the stall was even busier in the evening, not only because of the increased foot traffic but also thanks to the word-of-mouth publicity from those who had eaten there at lunchtime. By 7 p.m., all the day’s ingredients were sold out, and even the broth was gone. Xia Wenyue and her daughters packed up and headed home.
Then came the most joyful time: counting money. Xia Wenyue spread all the money they had earned that day across the bed. Huizhu immediately jumped onto the bed, rolling around happily in the pile of cash. “Money, so much money! We are rich!”
Her mother and sisters burst out laughing.
“We’ve really hit the jackpot,” Xia Wenyue was full of joy.
When Xia Mian and Xiao Feng came in after finishing their evening wash, they found the mother and daughters each occupying a corner of the bed, surrounded by piles of paper money and coins. Seeing Xia Mian and Xiao Feng enter, they greeted them cheerfully and then went back to counting money with beaming faces.
This was probably one of the happiest moments in their life.
Xia Mian placed Xiao Feng on the bed and pulled him close to let him join in the fun. “Come on, come on, get some luck from the money.”
Xiao Feng used his little hands to carefully sort the different banknotes into piles. Noticing that no one was handling the coins, Xia Mian began collecting them.
Once everything was organized, they started reporting their totals:
Xia Wenyue held up a thick stack of one-dime notes and said, “Fifty yuan and thirty cents.”
Mao Huimei was counting the two-dime notes, “Sixty-seven yuan and twenty cents.”
Mao Huilan counted the one-yuan notes: “Eighty-three.” Then she recounted the fifty-cent notes that Mao Huizhu had, “Fifty yuan and fifty cents.”
Xia Mian, with her heavy load of coins, reported, “Twenty-three yuan.”
Xiao Feng held up a small stack of mixed bills, proudly announcing, “Fourteen yuan and sixty cents.”
Mao Huimei, thinking Xiao Feng might have made a mistake, recounted his stack and was amazed, “Mom, Xiao Feng actually counted the money correctly!”
Xia Mian was beaming with pride, “Of course! Xiao Feng is really smart!”
Xia Wenyue scooped the little guy into her arms and gave him a big hug, rubbing his head affectionately. “Oh my, our Xia family has produced a little genius! Our ancestors must be smiling down on us. He’ll definitely go to the country’s top university!”
Xiao Feng, knowing he was being praised, smiled sweetly. Xia Wenyue lovingly patted his head, “Our Xiao Feng is going to do great things in the future.”
Meanwhile, Mao Huilan combined all the money and did a final count. “Two hundred and eighty-eight yuan, plus sixty cents! Mom, we’ve made it!” she exclaimed excitedly. “With a fifty percent profit margin, we earned almost one hundred and fifty yuan today. That means we could make four thousand five hundred in a month!”
Everyone was a bit stunned. In Mingxi County, a household with ten thousand yuan of savings was enough to be envied by the whole county. But here, could they really achieve that in just two or three months?
“Isn’t that four hundred and fifty? Did we miscalculate?” Mao Huimei was skeptical.
Then Xia Wenyue and Mao Huilan began recounting, making Xia Mian laugh. “No, the calculations are correct. Business might keep getting better, but we should account for weekends when the kids aren’t in school—it might be a bit slower then. But making four thousand a month should be easily achievable.”
“Mom, we could set up another stall!” Mao Huilan excitedly suggested. “Remember when we went to buy ingredients the other day? There’s another school on the west side.”
“After all, it takes the same amount of work to prepare one pot or two pots of broth! If Big Sis and I set up a stall over there, we could earn even more money. Our income will double!”
Xia Wenyue tapped her daughter’s head, “Stop daydreaming! You girls need to focus on your studies!”
The success of the day hadn’t gone to Xia Wenyue’s head, and she never lost sight of her original goal. “In a few days, once I get the hang of it, I’ll be able to handle this amount of work on my own every day. You all need to concentrate on your studies.”
“Huizhu is already in kindergarten, and Mianmian, Huilan, starting tomorrow, you both will stop busying yourself with other things and start focusing on your studies.”
Xia Mian hadn’t expected to be singled out, but it was clear that Xia Wenyue had already thought it all through. “I’ve asked Xiao Yun about it, and apparently, both Longcheng Junior High and Yan University’s affiliated high school are very difficult to enter.”
“Huizhu, even though you’re in your third year of junior high, your basic foundation is too weak. I’ve been thinking it might be better for you to start from the first year. It’s okay to repeat a few years—building a solid foundation is more important.”
“And Xia Mian, as for you…”
Xia Mian quickly interjected, “I’m not repeating! I’ll study hard and take the exam myself. I’ll go straight to high school!”
Xia Wenyue gave her a light knock on the head. “That’s not for you to decide. I’ve already asked Dr. Ning to find some practice exams for you. If you don’t do well, you’ll return to junior high and repeat a grade!”
Xia Mian was surprised by how much Xia Wenyue had already figured out.
“We’ve all been too busy lately, and I haven’t had time to keep an eye on you, so you’ve probably been neglecting your studies!”
Xia Mian stuck out her tongue sheepishly. In front of Xia Wenyue, she always felt like a child.
“And Huimei, you should go to the night college!” Xia Wenyue added, pointing at Huimei, who was secretly laughing. “I’ve also asked around for you. There are quite a few night colleges in Yan City, but you’ll need to take the college entrance exam for adults. If you graduate, you can earn a degree, just like attending a regular university.”
Huimei frowned, “Mom, I’m already twenty. There’s no need to spend money on school for me. Even though the stall is making money, we still need help. I can work with you in the business.”
“You’re going to school!” Xia Wenyue said firmly. “Only through education can you change your future.”
“Huimei, you’ve had the hardest time with me and your father. Living with your grandmother delayed your education. Now that your mom is able to, I’m going to make sure you catch up.”
“You’re all my daughters, and I won’t neglect any of you!” She spoke earnestly to Huimei, “I don’t want your two younger sisters to go to college and get good jobs while you end up marrying an ordinary man and living an ordinary life. That would break my heart, and I’d feel like I failed you.”
“But all I can give you is the opportunity. If you can’t pass the exams or keep up with your studies, that’s on you. Do you understand?”
Huimei’s eyes reddened. “Mom, I understand. But night college classes are on weekends and evenings, so I can still help you during the day.”
“We’ll figure that out later. In any case, Mom is here to help you all secure a future, not just to make money,” Xia Wenyue said. “As long as you all succeed, I’ll be happy even if I have to live on porridge and pickles. Understand?”
All three sisters nodded in unison, and then Xia Wenyue turned to Xia Mian and Xiao Feng. “The same goes for you two! Study hard!”
Xiao Feng, intimidated by Xia Wenyue’s authoritative tone, nodded quickly.
Mao Huimei then suggested, “Mom, maybe we should start looking for a place of our own. It’s not really appropriate for us to keep staying at Sister Ning’s place. I noticed there’s a row of small houses for rent in the alley next door, just eighty yuan a month…”
Mao Huilan suddenly realized, “Things here are different from back home. With school fees, rent, and all the daily expenses, even if we make four thousand a month, there might not be much left over.”
Nonetheless, through collective hard work, the family’s situation will undoubtedly improve.
Xia Mian suddenly exclaimed, “Don’t worry about the housing! I’m about to buy the courtyard house across the street. We’ll be moving soon!”
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