The Phoenix Girl in the 1990s - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

In the kitchen, the four sisters were preparing lunch with their cousin Li Yuefen, who was already 29 years old, and was seven years older than Xia He.

She looks like her aunt and uncle. Moderately tall, with a medium build. Li Yuefen looked very nice.

She married into the town and worked as a statistician at the grain center.

Her husband is a veterinarian. He was supposed to come with her today, but something came up and he can’t come until he finishes his business.

They’ve been married for eight years and have a son. They’re doing well.

When Li Guofu had his accident, she went to the city for two days to take care of him, but her mother-in-law was sick at home.

But she couldn’t stay long, so she came back after Li Guofu’s situation became slightly more stable.

“Xia Lin looks like a big girl, and she is quite capable of getting into a university in the capital.”

She herself had never been admitted to a university, and had always envied a few of her cousins for studying well

It can be said that every countryside youth has a dream of going to university, but the ones who can get in are just a handful.

Li Yuefen’s cooking skills are quite good, with roasted rooster and braised fish.

There are also a few stir-fry with meat, the main food has rice and steamed bread, you can eat whatever type of food you want to enjoy.

During the summer vacation, Li Yuefen’s son Zhou Fei also came to his grandmother’s house.

Xia Qing did not see them until just before dinner, and she did not know whose house he had run off to play.

Li Yuefen’s husband Zhou Chengjun also arrived, wearing a pair of glasses, sporting the appearance of a gentleman.

During the meal, the topic of conversation was all about Li Guanghai, Xia He and Xia Lin.

We need to find a date for Li Guanghai, and Xia He is not so young anymore.

Saying that girls should be matched early, or else all the good ones will be picked by others.

“You guys just worry about my cousin, I’m not in a hurry to get married,” Xia He replied.

“Why aren’t you in a hurry, your cousin had Xiao Fei when she was your age.”

“Xia He is different from me, with her being a college student, and she will graduate at the age of 23.”

“Then it’s even more important to hurry up at 23 to start a relationship, get married at 24, and have a baby at 25, which would be considered not too late.”

Xia Qing empathized with her big sister and quietly decided not to attend this kind of gathering in the future.

Prompting her to find a relationship when she has graduated, and urging her to get married when she has found a partner.

After getting married, they pressed her to have children, such topics are truly never out of fashion.

Li Xiuqin recognized that her eldest daughter wasn’t happy to hear this discussion and helped her redirect the conversation to her nephew.

“Xiao He is younger than Guanghai, it is true that she is not as anxious as Guanghai, today I will go back and ask others to help me to look for a suitable candidate, so I can give Guanghai a hand.”

After dinner, the adults continued to chat idly while the sisters tidied up the dining table and kitchen.

Also, a thousand yuan was given to Xia Lin for attending college, but in actuality, it was because of Li Xiuqin’s incident that she was deliberately offered as a compensation.

Li Xiuqin and Xia Zhimin naturally couldn’t accept that thousand yuan, and brushed it off for half a day.

In the end, under the insistence of Yang Xiangzhi and Li Guofu, they only accepted one hundred yuan. The previous year when Xia He went to college, his aunt and uncle also gave her a hundred yuan.

The six members of Xia family didn’t stay for dinner and went back in the afternoon.

Immediately after Xia Zhimin paid back the three thousand yuan borrowed from the village chief, the housing reconstruction was also put on the agenda.

The Xia family’s house had only three courts in the grounds, surrounded by a walled courtyard

They would have to build another small shed outside the courtyard wall, and the village chief agreed for them to occupy part of the land they had reserved for themselves.

Xia Zhimin invited a familiar mason to come over and tried to build the shed within two days.

Only then did the villagers of Shuiliu Village learn that the Xia family was going to open a small store.

“Didn’t you have a falling out with Liu Chunping a while ago over the matter of borrowing money, so how come you still have spare money to open a store now?”

“I heard that Xiuqin’s brother was discharged from the hospital, not only was he not paralyzed, but the construction team also compensated him with a sum of money, so I guess they paid back the money.”

“Can you make money by opening this store?”

“I think so. If you need oil or salt for frying at home, just go buy it here. Anyway, we’re all from the same neighborhood, so how can I cheat anyone?”

The construction of the store was handed over to the mason, and Xia Zhimin had nothing to do but to keep an eye on it. The summer was hot, and everyone worked early in the morning and late at night.

At noon they rest, on the floor spread a cool mat to sleep directly, and lunch is managed by the Xia family, with meat and vegetables and unlimited mung bean congee, chilled in the well water, which is very effective in cooling down the summer heat.

Within two days, a small shed of ten square meters was built, and the windows were opened.

After the installation of the door, Xia Zhimin took a tractor to the county town to find Zhou Quangui to pull back the display cabinets and shelves.

It was made of yellowish wood with a glass cover, although it was phased out from Zhou Quangui’s store.

But it didn’t look old, at least 90% as new. After placing it in the house, Li Xiuqin took a towel and wiped it again and again, like it was a treasure.

“These several cabinets must cost a lot of money if you spend money to buy them, right?”

“That’s right, the wood is good material, but the glass will cost you extra.”

“Then we have to thank them properly, we can’t let them help us for nothing.”

Xia Zhimin agreed with his wife’s idea, but he also knows that Zhou Quangui’s help is sincere.

Not seeking anything in return, after all, it is the friendship that grew up together. Besides being too polite, to the other party will make him displeased.

The next day when Xia Zhimin went to the county town to buy goods, the four sisters decorated the small store at home

Xia Lin contributed a few of her favorite celebrity posters, featuring Siao Hao, Leon Lai, and Vivienne Chow.

“Xiao Lin, aren’t these posters the ones you usually can’t let anyone touch?”

“I’m leaving in two days, and it’s inconvenient to carry these posters with me, so I’ll let ‘them’ accompany you on my behalf. Let’s keep our shop prosperous and make endless money every day.”

“Then we should put up a few Gods of Prosperity, it’s not useful to put up star posters, right?”

Xia Lin made a move to tear Xia Wen’s mouth, Xia Wen screamed and hid behind her big sister, Xia He helplessly helped her little sister hold back Xia Lin.

“Alright, stop it, hurry up and get to work, you guys see Little Qing has been working on the signboard there, unlike you guys who are always bickering.”

Hearing the eldest sister say that, Xia Lin and Xia Wen all ran over to help Xia Qing make the signboards.

Xia Qing had studied sketching before, so she asked Xia Zhimin to find a wooden board, and first drew the base with a pencil.

Then she used a brush to paint the sign with a yellow background and a dark red frame.

The five characters “Xia’s Family Store”(夏家小卖部) stood out, hanging on the wall outside the store.

As long as they are not nearsighted, they can see it from 10 meters to 20 meters away.

“Third sister, your sign board is so beautifully painted, the words seem to stand up on the wooden board.”