Linfengchun

Kapitel 29

Zhang Hongwei turned to his son's side and asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

"I got into a fight." He sounded guilty, his voice low, then paused, raising it slightly to emphasize his position: "We didn't start it, they did!"

You guys? He glanced again at Li Changsheng, who was wearing an expression that said "it's none of my business," "I'm innocent," and "what's it to me?" and suddenly realized.

Oh, so both of them caused trouble together, which is why the tigress is so angry.

Zhang Hongwei pondered, "Have I made any mistakes recently? Have I given her any leverage? I need to think this through first. Only if I have no leverage can I help them out of this predicament. If I do, I'll have to think it over carefully."

I thought and thought, and then I realized something was off about the way Xiao Shanglin was looking at me. Why are you staring at me like that? I am his mother, that's true, but you are also his sister. You're the one who disciplines him, and you don't even let me or your father lift a finger. And you're still staring at me? Keep staring, and I'm still your mother. Do you think I'd be afraid of you?

Alright, alright, you don't need to look anymore. I'm not going to back him up anymore. You little rascal, you deserve to be taught a lesson!

"Hey Zhang, let's take another look at that new product you mentioned earlier." He said this and walked out, only remembering his son and daughter inside when he reached the door.

"Shanglin, let's talk this out. I only have one son, so please don't beat him to a pulp!"

They fled in panic.

My son, your mother is incompetent, and I am controlled by your sister...

He wasn't beaten or scolded; his sister got up and went home without a word. She didn't eat, just went straight to sleep. He felt guilty, but Li Changsheng didn't care. Xia Lin wanted to ask his brother Li to beg for forgiveness, but Li Changsheng was puzzled:

"Apologize? Why apologize?"

"We got into a fight."

Li Changsheng said calmly, "It's not like we're fighting."

Xia Lin scratched the back of his head. That's right, it wasn't us fighting.

“But we hit someone.” That’s what angered his sister.

Li Changsheng was even more puzzled than him: "They attacked first, and they beat you up like a pig's head before, so why can't I retaliate?"

Xia Lin was stunned for a moment. "Right, someone hit us first, why can't we fight back?" she thought helplessly. "But my sister doesn't like it."

Li Changsheng was even more confused: "If she doesn't like it, she just doesn't like it. Why should I apologize?"

Xia Lin paused again. Right, Li Changsheng wasn't himself; he didn't care whether his sister was angry or not. But—

"You ungrateful wretch!" The little girl was furious. My sister is so good to you, she feeds you, dresses you, and takes care of you in every way. How dare you say it's none of your business?

You're an ungrateful wretch who can't be tamed!

He turned away angrily, went back into the room, and carefully lifted the curtain. His sister didn't even move from under the covers.

He pouted, took out some Xuan paper to practice calligraphy, and wrote a hundred sheets, then a thousand!

After finishing work, Qiu Jianguo was about to go straight to the factory when he saw a small figure at the factory gate, head bowed, bathed in the setting sun, looking infinitely sorrowful.

"Xia Lin, what brings you here? Where's your sister?"

Qiu Xialin looked up and saw his father, pouted, and then burst into tears: "My sister, my sister won't get up!"

Shanglin fell ill, delirious with fever, drenched in cold sweat despite being wrapped in blankets, feeling a chill seep into her from the inside out. She didn't know how long she had slept, but she had many vivid dreams.

In the dream, Qiu Xialin was brought back, beaten to a bloody pulp. His mother cried anxiously, while his father could only sigh. As soon as he woke up, he pulled out the IV drip and shouted that he would kill the entire family and cut off their hands and feet.

Several people couldn't hold him down, and he struggled to the door. A police car pulled up with its siren blaring, and two heavily armed policemen jumped out. With dark faces, they forcibly pulled him into the car and said, "You'll be executed in the fall. Prepare your coffin!"

Her mother collapsed to the ground on the spot. She supported her mother, unable to even shed a tear.

"Shanglin, Shanglin!" It was Dad's voice.

"Shanglin, Shanglin!" It was Mom's voice.

"Sister, sister." The voice was choked with sobs; it was young Qiu Xialin's voice.

He's not dead? He's not dead?

He breathed a sigh of relief, then his consciousness faded into darkness.

On the twenty-eighth day, she sighed softly, put down her calligraphy brush, and stared blankly at the calendar.

After a while, he turned to his head and asked, "Brother, aren't you worried?"

Li Changsheng kept his eyes straight ahead: "What's the use of being anxious?"

Instead of rushing, you should hold onto this damn pen in your hand!

"My sister hasn't spoken to us for 28 days, aren't you worried?"

"She's busy with her own things and doesn't have time to talk."

I'm so busy, I don't have time to talk.

That said, Qiu Shanglin was always out early and back late, busy with Mocha Cat children's clothing, completely ignoring her and Xia Lin, no matter how much Xia Lin tried to appease her. The atmosphere at home was extremely strange. Zhang Hongwei was busy expanding production and thought it was perfectly normal for her children to have minor conflicts. When she was a child, her younger siblings were always fighting like cats and dogs.

Li Changsheng slightly curved the corners of his mouth. "Heh, what a stubborn kid. He's been stubborn about such a trivial matter all this time. Is it really necessary?"

And Qiu Xialin, that silly child, his sister's control is too tight, it's made him stupid. Do you think that just obediently practicing calligraphy every day and staying home will appease her?

As for why I practice calligraphy every day... I want to practice calligraphy, and I think it's very stylish!

Mocha Cat children's clothing was planned to be launched before the Lunar New Year. Originally, it was planned to be launched during the summer vacation this year, taking advantage of the pre-school shopping boom. However, before the Lunar New Year, many people asked for help to buy children's clothing. Zhang Hongwei sent New Year's gifts and asked Shang Lin to bring back more than ten sets from the south. Even so, he offended a lot of people.

If the enthusiasm is already so high in this province alone, one can only imagine the fervor in the southern provinces.

Although the stationery was all produced in factories in the south, she originally had no plans to expand into the south. Her initial idea was to take a steady, methodical approach, first solidifying the local market before gradually targeting the northern market. As for the south, she considered it a last resort. The southern market was large, but difficult to penetrate. The novel she wrote specifically for Mocha Cat had already been illustrated, and Shang Lin was very satisfied. She had found a publisher and was preparing for printing and distribution. Once the comic became a hit, wouldn't the national market be easily within her grasp?

Unexpectedly, the manufacturing factory that Yin Yeyao had found had an inside job. Their sales manager, seeing an opportunity for profit, secretly sold the Mocha Cat stationery to several campus retailers who were looking for novel stationery. From then on, things spiraled out of control. By the time their people stationed at the factory realized it, the Mocha Cat brand had already become popular in several cities.

After discussing it, Shang Lin and Yin Yeyao decided to sell the children's clothing ahead of schedule, starting from the south. Although Yin Yeyao was also a shareholder of Mocha Cat, he had been kept under close watch by Brother Hua lately and had no time to deal with this matter. Shang Lin had to handle everything himself, which was giving him a huge headache.

Every day when he returned home and saw Qiu Xialin and Li Changsheng, he was filled with anger that he couldn't vent.

What a disappointment! Absolutely disappointing!

Shanglin went to great lengths to cultivate Xia Lin's character and temper his tendency to be ambitious but also prone to fighting. She not only gave him earnest advice but also spent her days with him practicing calligraphy, telling stories, and listening to storytelling, trying her best to fulfill his every request. To compensate for her strict demands, she ensured that he had everything other children had, and for anything other children lacked, she went to great lengths to buy it for him.

What exactly went wrong, or is he inherently wicked and incurable?

In short, she was angry, very angry. She was afraid that she would not be able to teach Qiu Xialin well and would arouse his rebellious mentality. If one day a police car came with sirens blaring and took him away, Shanglin did not know if he could bear it.

I was reborn, but I can't manage a five-year-old child. I'm a complete failure.

Others who are reborn have smooth sailing, with money and career easily within their grasp, so why am I so overwhelmed and helpless?

For the first time after her rebirth, she doubted her own abilities. She even wondered if her rebirth was just a dream, a precocious child having a daydream.

Unable to face their own incompetence, they therefore do not want to face either side of their family.

When I got home in the evening, my parents were out socializing as usual. They had set out a table full of dishes, and I sat there quietly, not touching my chopsticks.

Seeing her return, Qiu Xialin happily ran over and took the pink bag with a cat's head printed on it from her hand: "Sister, you're back."

She glanced at him indifferently, without responding.

Wash your hands and face, and your headache will subside.

She couldn't handle the daily grind of work, calculations, and planning. The intelligence of the reborn characters in novels was enough to handle everything, but when it came to her own hands, everything became too complicated to manage.

Since discovering the theft, she stopped the production and processing of cats at the original factory and instead looked for a better manufacturer. Hua Ge suggested that they set up their own factory, but she felt that the current conditions were not good enough—or rather, she did not want to set up a subsidiary factory. Not only were there risks, but there would also be too much worry and trouble. She was still young and could not run around. Yin Yeyao was only interested in doing this as a hobby and did not want to leave it to her.

At her insistence, Mocha Cat's stationery production was outsourced to a stationery factory in the province that was facing bankruptcy. The children's clothing was still produced in the south. Shang Lin adopted the model of big brands in later generations: outsourcing parts and paying by piece. She provided the raw materials, and the other party only needed to produce according to her requirements. After the production was completed, she would distribute the finished products to Mocha Cat stationery stores in various places for sale.

It's a bit troublesome, but Shanglin understands the importance of branding to ensure quality and brand value.

"Sis, my brother made spicy fish, would you like to try some?" Xia Lin eagerly placed a piece of fish in her bowl with her chopsticks.

Shang Lin was stunned. Li Changsheng can cook?

He was on the other side, pretending to have a blank expression.

Silent, chewing, ignoring Xia Lin's expectations.

"Is it good?" he asked his sister longingly.

Sister, please, just say something, please say something.

She then added more food to his bowl in a flattering manner, saying, "My brother and I wrote twenty-eight large characters today, and I also learned ten new characters!"

Still silent.