Chapter 564 - 548: Dual Purpose for One Store

"No."

"Oh," Ye Qing said, adjusting her cheeks to reveal a delighted expression, then jogged into the inner room. She saw Mei Langchi sitting on the bed teasing Hua Hua.

Rushing joyfully into Mei Langchi’s arms, acting like a little woman, "You’re finally back."

"Why so late coming back?"

Ye Qing pretended to act coy, "Ugh... it was a colleague of mine, she said there’s a new jewelry store on Central Street, and the bracelets inside are particularly beautiful, she insisted on dragging me along to shop. I couldn’t really refuse. So I ended up accompanying her till late."

Mei Langchi looked at Ye Qing’s hand, "Did you get yourself one?"

Ye Qing pouted, "Too expensive, I couldn’t bring myself to spend the money."

"If you like, I’ll go with you tomorrow to get one."

"Mhm." Ye Qing nodded obediently in his arms, "Weren’t you supposed to arrive the day after tomorrow? Surprising me, are you?"

"Took an early leave," Mei Langchi said, smiling as he hugged Ye Qing.

Ye Qing gave him a playful glare, quickly taking his hand away, "Mom’s outside, did you guys talk just now?"

"Exchanged a few words. Why’s your mom here?" With someone present, Mei Langchi felt uneasy.

"I’m working, and the previous nanny wasn’t taking good care of the child, so I had no choice but to let my mom come. Having Grandma take care of the child is better than anyone else."

"Mhm. Hua Hua has indeed gained weight. Grown taller too."

"You scared my mom just now, she’s never seen anyone so serious before."

Mei Langchi raised an eyebrow, "I already toned down my attitude." Then he laughed, "I’ll watch it from now on."

"How long can you stay this time?"

"Three days. Why, can’t bear to part with me?"

"Of course, I can’t."

"Don’t worry, I estimate it won’t be long before my marriage application is approved. I’ll call you then."

"Okay." After chatting for a while, that was the sentence that made Ye Qing the happiest.

Ye Qing and Mei Langchi stayed in the room for a while, then Ye Qing led Mei Langchi out to chat with Qiu Hualan for a bit.

Mei Langchi wasn’t fond of starting conversations, and Qiu Hualan, seeing such a tall and mighty person, didn’t know what to say.

Mostly, it was Ye Qing who mediated the conversation. Around nine o’clock, Ye Qing handed over the child to Qiu Hualan, and took Mei Langchi back to the room.

"No, on such a hot day, I’ll wash up first."

"Come on, it won’t take long." Ye Qing said while drawing Mei Langchi away and taking a pair of long-sleeve and long-pants pajamas out of the wardrobe, "Wait for me to get back."

After coming back, Ye Qing directly turned off the light.

This made Ye Qing sigh in relief; this way, even if Mei Langchi saw the bruises all over her body tomorrow, he wouldn’t suspect anything. Embraced by Mei Langchi, she tried to show eagerness to please him.

...

"Xiao Wan, your design is simply perfect, a hundred times better than those setups in big cities like Shanghai. How do you say it..." Zhang Shuhua thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with the word.

In those two days that Mei Langchi was with Ye Qing, Lin Wan and Zhang Shuhua were at home considering the store’s renovation.

Lin Wan tapped her with a pencil, "Fresh and artistic."

Zhang Shuhua realized and smiled, "Yes, full of life. Once you go in, you don’t want to leave."

"Yeah, we’ll enlarge the store entrance a bit, and beside it install a large floor-to-ceiling window. Considering you guys need ovens, put them in the back, in the middle. Build a big pillar chimney-like structure, direct the smoke pipe to the roof. I know a kind of beautiful earth oven. Make a stone kiln with stones, like a vase with a big belly and a narrow neck at the top. It can vent smoke."

"Really, I’ve been worrying about the costs of buying ovens, this saves directly."

Lin Wan’s design was actually quite simple, as you enter the store, there is a small area by the window with tables for people to sit, rest, and eat.

Then further inside, there’s a pathway in the middle, with large rectangular wooden tables on both sides for laying out various foods. Next to the leisure area, there’s a small horizontal space for a counter, where people check out and pack up, forming an L shape.

Further inside, there are two large feature ovens. No need to deliberately enclose them; they look good, but the one thing is to control the heat, which they’ll have to practice with.

On both sides of the ovens are their work platforms. Each side also has two faucets.

The large work platform is seen through a partition of vertical slatted wood, making it airy and nice to look at. Inside, use hefty wide wooden tables and shelves for storage.

Lighting the ovens, kneading dough, and fermentation all happen in this area. From the outside, it looks neat and clean, giving buyers peace of mind.

The needed coal and wood are stored in the small one-meter courtyard behind.

"Tomorrow, I’ll draw these furniture pieces and then find Old Li to make them. Then search for electricians and painters to handle the water, electricity, and walls inside."

"By this speed, it will be done by the end of the month." Zhang Shuhua was now rolling up her sleeves, ready to get to work.

"Don’t rush, before starting, let’s think of the name and get the permit from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau first."

"Oh, how did I forget? Has Aunt Jin decided on a name?"

"It’s done, called Jin’s Pastry Shop."

"...Oh, then I’ll be called the First Loaf Bakery."

Lin Wan nodded in agreement, the space was wide enough, and there was enough room for the signage.

After the two settled on this, they went to Aunt Jin’s house to discuss the renovation plan.

Uncle Jin had no high requirements, anything was fine, but Aunt Jin, being a woman, loved beautiful things. She was very satisfied with the two’s renovation plans.

Seeing that Uncle Jin and Aunt Jin had no objections, Lin Wan was reassured.

After leaving Aunt Jin’s house and parting ways with Zhang Shuhua, Lin Wan went straight home. Her brother, who had been missing for two days, was back.

He snuck into the room secretly, hiding something even Lin Wan at the back didn’t notice.

Lin Wan deliberately didn’t let him find out, and when he was defenseless, she gave him a good scare with an "Ah!"

"Ah..." It truly scared big brother slightly. This big man let out a yelp. Seeing Lin Wan, he leaned on the wall, patting his chest, "You trying to scare me to death?"

"Tell me, what were you hiding earlier, being all secretive and sneaky?" Lin Wan said, gesturing with her eyes to where her brother had just put things.

"Nothing, just some men’s stuff. Come on, go out, and in the future, don’t enter my room without permission," Lin Yinghui said as he pushed his little sister out while remembering to close his room door.

"Bro, didn’t you say you’d be back in a day? Why come back after two days? Mom was worried about you."

"Uh, our leader suddenly had something come up, got delayed a day. Where’s Little Star?" Lin Yinghui tried to change the topic.

"It’s Saturday, my mother-in-law took him."

"Oh... have you eaten? I’ll make something." As Lin Yinghui spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and headed towards the kitchen. As if suddenly remembering something, he stopped midway, "Right, Xiao Wan, a few days ago, I saw someone on the street who really looks a bit like me." Lin Yinghui, interested in the memory, laughed, "I even told Qingqing... Oh... I also..."