Chapter 473 - 471: Partnership

"Alright, take care, Director Lu," Mei Langchi watched as Director Lu left.

His hand holding the photograph was so tense that veins showed.

The angle of the photograph clearly indicated it was taken right under their noses.

He had been careless, that night he was so overwhelmed that his mind was muddled, without any sense of alertness.

Moreover, in those alley corners, he never thought anyone would be around there.

Ye Qing flashed through Mei Langchi’s mind, but he quickly shook his head; Ye Qing wouldn’t do such a thing.

If anything happened to him, she and the child would really have no support; she wouldn’t be so foolish.

Besides Ye Qing, the only one he could think of was Han Yi. However, Han Yi should have been in camp at that time, and besides, he was a hundred percent sure that Han Yi didn’t know where he was.

Mei Langchi held the increasingly hot photo, unable to figure out who was targeting him. There were plenty of people in the district with grudges against him, and also many who wanted to pull him down.

If someone had been following him, monitoring his every move, that was terrifying.

This time, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

...

The next day, after destroying the photo in his hand, Mei Langchi pondered for a long time before calling Tao Jia.

"Are you free? I’d like to see you in the next couple of days."

Tao Jia laughed on the other end, "Langchi, aren’t you in the middle of a big competition? Do you still have time to see me?"

"There’s something I need to talk to you about."

Sensing her husband’s serious tone, Tao Jia became serious too, "Langchi, these days aren’t good; I have a mission."

Mei Langchi felt a slight discontent, mingled with some anger, "When have I ever needed to see you and you were free?"

Tao Jia paused, not understanding why Mei Langchi suddenly lost his temper, "Langchi, as a soldier, an excellent soldier, you should understand me better."

"I must see you these days." Mei Langchi pinched his brow in frustration. At that moment, he deeply regretted following his family’s arrangement to marry a headstrong military woman.

"What’s so urgent that it can’t be said over the phone, and must be discussed face-to-face?"

Upon hearing this, Mei Langchi’s eyes turned cold, "Do you really want me to say it over the phone?"

"Go ahead, it’s the same." On the other side, Tao Jia glanced at the time.

Mei Langchi took a deep breath, looked around, and finally spoke, "Let’s get a divorce."

"...What...what did you say?" Tao Jia clearly wasn’t expecting those words. "Xiao Jia, I said let’s get a divorce."

There was a long silence on the other end, the voice no longer as bright as before, "Why?"

"I’m tired of not seeing my wife year after year."

"Is there someone else?" Tao Jia obviously didn’t believe it.

"No... Xiao Jia, I hope you’ll consider it. Let’s have an amicable divorce. I don’t want things to blow up to the point where both families become involved."

"If we’re getting a divorce, do you think our parents won’t find out? Don’t forget, we need to file a report for a divorce; once it’s filed, are you sure your parents will allow us to divorce?"

"You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll handle it. Xiao Jia, all these years, I’ve wronged you, but... this isn’t just my fault."

"Mei Langchi, if I weren’t on a mission now and wouldn’t be on any in the future, staying by your side every day, would you still want a divorce?"

....

"Mom, little sister, I want to go out during the upcoming National Day holiday," Lin Yinghui scratched the back of his head, clearly a bit embarrassed.

Sure enough, his words made the two women pause.

"No need to go back to the hometown. Once the house is built, it’s built. We built it to prove a point, to show those people in the village that our family is doing well and we’re not so easy to bully anymore. I’ve thought about it. We’ll settle here, maybe visit every few years to pay respects to your Grandpa and Grandma," Liang Hongmei thought her son wanted to go back to their hometown.

"Mom, no, I’m not going home. I want to...visit Z City," Lin Yinghui felt embarrassed.

Lin Wan, who was rocking the cradle on the bed, said with a smile, "Brother, are you going to Z City to see Sister Mu Qing?"

Blushing as his little sister hit the mark, Lin Yinghui replied, "...Yeah."

Liang Hongmei shot her son a glance, "You, why didn’t you say you were going to see Mu Qing sooner? I could have prepared something for you, and some gifts for Qingqing. When are you leaving?" With the holiday starting tomorrow, this child is just like a clam.

Lin Yinghui coughed awkwardly, "I’m taking the afternoon train tomorrow."

"Then I’ll prepare some things for Qingqing tomorrow. Ah Hui, will you meet her parents this time?" Liang Hongmei felt that since the two had been dating for so long, it was time to formally meet her parents.

The son wasn’t young anymore, it was time to get married. The daughter even had a child. The son should be more proactive.

"Mom, I’m not meeting the parents this time. Let’s wait a bit," Lin Yinghui said quietly, showing a bit of resigned helplessness.

Liang Hongmei sighed.

Thinking to herself how her son had suffered, being so sensible and enduring hardships since he was young. Now that he’s doing well, things aren’t going smoothly in his love life.

"Brother, go ahead. I support you. You should discuss with Sister Mu Qing about when to meet her parents. It doesn’t help to drag things out; it’s better to face reality sooner. It’s not a bad thing."

"Yeah, I know."

Seeing her son about to meet his girlfriend, Liang Hongmei couldn’t let him go empty-handed. The next day, after the early market, she took some tickets and money to the department store.

She bought some gifts for the kids. Lin Wan packed and wrapped a long knitted cardigan that she had kept aside for Mu Qing, and told her brother to take it with him.

Carrying two large bags and filled with anticipation, Lin Yinghui boarded the train.

With the long National Day holiday, Lin Wan didn’t have to attend night classes.

Originally, she didn’t plan to make winter clothes this season, but couldn’t resist Yin Peibai’s persistence. Even Su Ling joined their team.

"Xiao Wan, we’ve been studying for three years now. My education shouldn’t go to waste. How about we make a few winter outfits together? Liu Wei said the southern markets have those super warm... down jackets,"

Yin Peibai laughed, "Xiao Ling, what got you thinking about doing business?"

"Seeing you two making money every day makes me anxious,"

Lin Wan laughed, "Your family is well-off, do you still need to earn money?"

"Money is a good thing, I want to make it thicker, what’s the problem with that,"

"No problem at all,"

Lin Wan and Yin Peibai quickly shook their heads.

So, the three of them started researching down jackets. Taking advantage of the National Day holiday, Lin Wan left the kids with her mom, and the three of them headed to Cotton Street to check things out.

It had been weeks since they last visited, and there was plenty of new stock.

To Lin Wan’s surprise, she found the fabric for the bright red jacket that the female lead wore in the movie she and Han Yi watched last year.

They even had the down for the inside of the jacket.

Besides this, there was also the gray-blue long coat the female lead wore while riding a carriage at the beginning of the movie.

Lin Wan couldn’t pass it up. She ordered five batches of fabric. It wasn’t cheap at eighty cents per meter.

She ordered three large bags of down and selected quality material for the lining. Two cents per meter.

Additionally, Lin Wan ordered some waterproof, lightweight canvas to make snow-resistant down pants.

Apart from these, Lin Wan tried to get two batches of wool material. One red, one black, and one brown.

She picked three or four colors of windproof canvas material to make casual sports jackets for the cotton coats.

The pants for the cotton jackets were made of Dacron. Lin Wan designed two styles, and Su Ling and Yin Peibai each designed two styles.

For woolen coats, Lin Wan designed four styles. One for women and two for men.

The women’s styles included one fitted at the waist and a straight-cut Korean Style. The men’s styles were couples’ sets.

Just stocking up cost over five thousand yuan this time. Su Ling contributed a thousand, and Yin Peibai provided five hundred.

With time being tight, the three of them gave it their all. The day the fabric was brought back, they began designing and sketching in Lin Wan’s study room.

Once the designs were finalized, the following day, they left their children with their own parents. The three of them worked all day in Lin Wan’s west room.

Su Ling cut the fabric while working at the sewing machine.

That night, Yin Peibai and Su Ling each carried a bag of cut clothing to several regular businesses, distributing them.

The handmade clothes this time were expensive: a down jacket for 1.50 yuan each, waterproof cotton pants for one yuan each, pants for fifty cents, and wool coats for one yuan.

Of course, if any pieces were poorly sewn in the process, they would have to cover the costs. Luckily, these regular businesses run by relatives had impeccable craftsmanship.

It was already October. If it snowed, people would switch to cotton jackets directly. By then, their down jackets and wool coats would be hard to sell. So they had to hurry.