Chapter 163: Wanting to Be Self-Employed

"Aunt Qiumei, is Xiayan your daughter-in-law? We were on the same bus when we came back yesterday, and she's such a lovely person. She even gave my daughter some plums."

Sun Xiaofen cracked melon seeds and, upon hearing that Chen Qiumei was Xiayan's mother-in-law, immediately started showering her with praise.

Hearing her daughter-in-law praised brought a great deal of pride to Chen Qiumei's face.

"Elder Sister Zhang, has your third boy started as an individual business owner? Is he making any money?"

Elder Sister Zhang was the next-door neighbor and the first person Chen Qiumei had gotten to know after arriving here. Chatting with Aunt Zhang today was mainly aimed at finding out about this matter.

"Making money? I'll thank my lucky stars if he doesn't lose me a fortune! It's so worrying. The family already found a proper path for him, but he wouldn't take it. There's no future in being a private merchant these days."

Whenever Elder Sister Zhang mentioned her third son, her anger flared up. He stayed home doing nothing all day long, refused the job the family arranged for him, and was now running a business with a bunch of similarly idle friends.

Sun Xiaofen chimed in from the side, taking the opportunity to hand over a handful of melon seeds. "Oh, you never know. I see the third boy coming home every day looking quite dapper."

"Dapper? He's just putting on a front with those clothes."

It wasn't that Elder Sister Zhang was putting down her own son; rather, being a private business owner was genuinely looked down upon at this time.

Xiayan walked over at that moment, carrying a bowl of tea eggs. "Aunt Zhang, once private businesses are properly managed in the future, people will be able to make a small fortune."

In the late 1970s, private businesses were gradually emerging, making them the very first wave of entrepreneurs. Although starting out as pioneers in private commerce involved taking many detours, those who persevered would ultimately become wealthy bosses.

Elder Sister Zhang had seen Xiayan a few times, and the girl was simply endearing. "Well then, Auntie will take your kind words for it."

"Here, everyone, try a tea egg. My mother made them last night."

"My dear, you even know how to make tea eggs? That rich aroma drifting all over the courtyard the day before yesterday must have come from your place, right? My old man talked to me about it for ages after coming home from work, saying just the smell of it was enough to make him eat several bowls of rice."

Elder Sister Zhang took a tea egg, feeling the heat against her palms.

Chen Qiumei smiled. "Don't listen to my daughter-in-law; I was just her assistant, she did all the cooking herself. Hurry up and taste it, my daughter-in-law's cooking is better than the chefs at the state-run restaurant."

Chen Qiumei was the first to peel her egg shell. Having simmered in the spiced tea broth all night, the flavors had thoroughly penetrated into the egg.

The moment the tea egg touched her mouth, Chen Qiumei's eyes widened in astonishment.

Aunt Zhang also took a bite of the egg in her hand. "Oh my goodness, what kind of tea egg is this? It is simply divine!"

Sun Xiaofen went as far as asking for two more to take home for her daughter, though that evening she brought over a basket of eggs, hoping Xiayan would teach her how to make them.

"Are they really that good?" Xiayan smiled.

"Of course they're good, how could Auntie lie to you? Look, your mother has already eaten three," Elder Sister Zhang said, nodding as she ate.

"They're fragrant and delicious."

Chen Qiumei nodded and peeled one for Xiayan. "Yanyan, you eat one too."

Xiayan accepted it; one naturally had to appreciate a mother-in-law's thoughtfulness. Although she hadn't eaten few tea eggs in her past, this was her first time having one since arriving in this world, and the long-lost taste left her thoroughly satisfied.

Thinking that she didn't seem to have much to do before the New Year, she said, "Mom, Aunt Zhang, what do you think if I start a tea egg business?"

"A tea egg business?"

Chen Qiumei was slightly stunned at first. Of course she thought there was no problem with it, but she had just heard Aunt Zhang say that being a private merchant wasn't a respectable occupation.

"This... I think the taste is wonderful, it's just that..."

Elder Sister Zhang offered a very pragmatic opinion. "I think the taste is fantastic. If you sell them right outside the gate of this military compound, business won't be bad at all."

"Elder Sister Zhang's idea is wonderful. Yanyan, if you want to sell tea eggs, we can try it right inside the military compound first."

After a brief discussion, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law agreed it was feasible.

Upon returning home, Lin You saw his wife and his mother chatting and laughing together.

"What are you two talking about? You look so happy." Lin You took the empty bowl from his wife's hands, feeling rather curious.

Without saying a word, Xiayan brought out a bowl of tea eggs. "Go call the kids over."

At that moment, Lin Hai walked into the house holding a hoe. There was a small plot of land in the back courtyard—not big, but enough to grow some vegetables. Having been used to growing vegetables at home, he simply couldn't stay idle.

"What's that smell? It's so fragrant."

"Dad, didn't you eat a tea egg this morning?"

"No, your mom said to wait until you woke up and got them ready, in case the time wasn't right yet."

Speaking as he went to wash his hands, Lin Hai returned and gazed at the steaming hot tea eggs.

"Dad, have a taste."

Lin Hai picked one up, blew on it, peeled away the shell, and took a bite.

Chen Qiumei eagerly asked, "How is it? Is it delicious?"

"Delicious! This is my first time eating a tea egg, and I never expected it to taste this good."

Lin Hai nodded.

"Then what do you think about Yanyan and me going out to sell tea eggs?"

Lin Hai was taken aback. "You two are going to sell tea eggs?"

"That's right, right outside the courtyard gate."

"Can the two of you swallow your pride and put aside your dignity? Lin You is a company commander, after all." Lin Hai's mindset wasn't quite like Chen Qiumei's; it was somewhat... old-fashioned.

"So what if he's a company commander? Company commanders still have to eat."

Chen Qiumei, on the other hand, didn't mind at all.

Lin Hai looked at Lin You then, wanting to ask for his thoughts.

"I don't have any objections, it's just that the current policies for private business owners don't seem entirely favorable..."

"We're just sitting around with nothing to do, selling a few tea eggs. Later on, when Yanyan and Lin You head up the mountain, this will give me something to occupy my time, and I can even earn a little pocket money for the two of us old folks to spend."

Chen Qiumei figured that since her daughter-in-law's tea eggs were so exceptionally tasty, and there were at least a few hundred people in this military district compound alone, there was definitely money to be made.

Lin Hai looked at his son again and fell into deep thought.

What his old partner said did make sense, and selling tea eggs wasn't hard labor—at least it was much easier than farming. That way, after the children headed up the mountain later on, they would still have their own money to buy groceries without having to spend their son's earnings.

"Grandpa, Grandma, we can help you sell tea eggs during our holidays too."

Lin Hongzhuo had run back at some point and was already sitting there eating his second tea egg. "I can eat ten of the eggs my mom makes!"

The older son, who usually wasn't one for many words, expressed his fondness for the tea eggs through his actions.

"Then our family's first representative congress has unanimously passed the resolution to sell tea eggs!"

Xiayan clapped her hands. "Mom, once we make money, we'll buy a television for the family!"

Chen Qiumei simply took her daughter-in-law's words as a joke. A television set was a rare luxury item nowadays; even with money, you weren't guaranteed to get one. A television purchase ticket wasn't easy to come by either, and even if you had the ticket, you still needed actual inventory available.

Still, she replied happily, "Alright, alright! Let's strive to buy a television next year!"