Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Older the Ginger, the Spicier It Gets

After the opening drink was finished, the eldest uncle voiced the doubt that had been weighing on him.

“Hey, Dao Ping, didn’t you and your wife take Haohao’s mother down south a while back?”

Li’s father nodded. “Yes, Brother. We went to attend a training course.”

The eldest uncle’s brow knotted into a shriveled chrysanthemum. “You traveled all that way just to attend a training course? What kind of nonsense is that? Were you trying to get into some pyramid scheme or something?”

Without waiting for an answer, he went on, irritation rising in his voice. “And another thing, you took Haohao’s mother with you. Did you ever think about what would happen to our father and mother? Your younger brother can’t manage everything alone, and he still has Haohao to worry about.”

Li Mu was rather displeased with the eldest uncle’s self-important posture as the head of the family. He had always been like this, and to be honest, Li Mu had long since grown annoyed with him. But this time he kept quiet. He wanted very much to see how his father would deal with that sour expression.

Li Daoping had always felt stifled in front of Xiao Yunjian. Because of some long-ago incident, Xiao Yunjian had spent years mocking and needling him whenever he pleased, always acting as though he alone possessed all the wisdom in the world, forever passing judgment on every matter in their family and issuing orders as if he were born to it. Back then, Li Daoping truly had no real ability, and he had not had the face to push back, so he could only endure it. But times were different now. He may not have the ability, but his son did. His son had put up the money to open a shop, and had also paid for his parents and his brother’s family to attend training. That was to make more money in the future. What did it have to do with you? Did it cost you a single cent?

Since he was already planning to announce the shop opening at the table today, Li Daoping put on a deliberately casual air and said lightly, “Brother, Yunfang and I have been saying for ages that we wanted to open a clothing shop, so we spent some money to go to Wencheng for half a month of training in shop management. Besides, once the store opens, the two of us won’t be able to handle everything ourselves. So we thought we’d bring Haohao’s mother along as well and have her help us out.”

When Li Mu heard this, he mentally gave his father countless thumbs-up.

He could not tell whether his father had simply become sharper, or whether he had always been a sly old fox and had merely never shown it before.

Even Li Mu himself could not quite figure it out, because in his previous life he had never seen his father use such tactics. This was clearly a trap for the eldest uncle and the younger aunt!

The eldest uncle’s question had already carried a tone of accusation, and the meaning behind it was perfectly clear. Anyone with an IQ above ten could understand it. In other words, Dao Ping and his wife were shirking their proper responsibilities, and on top of that they had dragged Li Mu’s younger aunt along, keeping her from caring for Li Mu’s grandparents.

But his father had deliberately refused to explain things clearly right away. He had dragged up old matters, bringing back to the table the clothing store plan that had once been mocked and attacked, yet he said nothing about the scale of the business, the brand partnership, or anything else. He only vaguely mentioned going south for training, deliberately letting out a smokescreen for the eldest uncle, making him even more certain that the two of them were just making a mess of things.

Sure enough, to Xiao Yunjian, Li Daoping’s explanation sounded utterly absurd. He immediately put on the authority of the family head and frowned. “Even if you were really opening a clothing shop, one person could handle it. At most, the two of you together would still manage fine. Why would you need to hire help? Fine, let’s set that aside for now. You three went all the way to Wencheng and spent money on half a month of training for no reason at all. What a waste. How much do you think it costs for three people to eat, live, and travel for half a month? What kind of training does a lousy clothing shop need? I think your brains must have been crushed in a door.”

Then the eldest uncle pointed at the younger aunt and said to Li’s father, “You know full well what your younger brother’s family situation is like. Your younger brother’s unit isn’t doing all that well, and Haohao’s mother’s job isn’t stable either. The pressure on that family is already heavy. You took them so far away—how much money do you think they had to spend following you around?”

The younger aunt found this hard to listen to. She said at once, “Brother, Second Sister and Second Brother-in-law took me to attend the training. For all those days, they didn’t let me spend a single cent. And once their shop opens, I’ll go work for them. They’re paying me two thousand a month.”

“What? How much? Two thousand a month?”

This time it was not only the eldest uncle. Everyone at the table who did not know the truth was stunned. Two thousand yuan a month was an absurdly high wage in Haizhou, and this was for work in a clothing shop. It was practically unimaginable.

The eldest uncle stared at Li’s father in disbelief. Not far away, the younger aunt was also dumbstruck. She fixed her eyes on Li’s father, her eyeballs nearly falling out of their sockets.

“Dao Ping, you’re paying Haohao’s mother two thousand a month? Are you sure your clothing shop can even make two thousand in a month?” The eldest uncle looked at him as if he were looking at a fool.

The younger aunt also curled her lip, her face full of mockery. “I say, Second Brother-in-law, what kind of clothing shop are you planning to open? Two thousand a month just to work for you? I might as well hand my own shop over and come work for you instead.”

Li’s father said with complete seriousness, “That’s not really for me to decide. Haohao’s mother is the store manager, and she makes the decisions about hiring. Besides, the staff is already fully staffed.”

The younger aunt frowned. In her mind she thought, go on boasting. You could blow up a thick wad of oxhide with that mouth of yours. Store manager? Hiring? Fully staffed? Who are you trying to fool?

“Second Brother-in-law, aren’t you afraid your tongue will slip right out of your mouth talking like that? I’m curious now—when does your clothing shop open? I’ll have a flower basket sent over.”

Her expression had already turned distinctly disdainful.

Li’s father did not care. He scratched his head with a grin and said offhandedly, “It opens tomorrow, right at West Gate.”

“Ho!”

What kind of place was West Gate? Haizhou did not yet have a truly modern, fashionable pedestrian street, but West Gate had already begun to take shape. The few branded specialty shops in Haizhou were all there. It was unquestionably the most upscale area in the city’s clothing trade.

Li Mu felt that his father had already begun to bare his fangs in secret.

Li Mu’s eldest aunt asked in surprise, “Opening a shop at West Gate must cost at least two hundred thousand, right?”

Li’s father nodded, but gave no exact figure.

At that, both the eldest uncle and the younger aunt felt a great storm rise in their hearts.

Two hundred thousand? A clothing shop? West Gate? Li Daoping?

Those four words did not feel out of place when arranged in the first three combinations, but any one of them paired with Li Daoping made the whole thing seem unbelievable. If all four were placed together, it was practically a tale from beyond the heavens.

In her heart, the younger aunt thought in amazement, If he’s being this specific, then if it’s a lie it would be far too easy to expose. Could it actually be true? But how could Li Daoping possibly have two hundred thousand to throw into a clothing shop? That makes no sense at all.

The eldest uncle had the same thought. Before, he had heard that Li Daoping had made some money dealing in electric coal, and he had already been suspicious, because everyone knew what the situation was at West Ridge Mine. What right did Li Daoping have to obtain electric coal from there? If he really had that kind of ability, he would not have gone so many years without a promotion, and he certainly would not have applied to be laid off of his own accord.

Good heavens, he could not make sense of it. He had ground through countless brain cells and still could not understand.

The younger aunt, unwilling to concede, asked, “Second Brother-in-law, West Gate is only seven or eight minutes away on foot. Why don’t you take us to see your shop after dinner?”

“Sure,” Li Daoping agreed without hesitation. “If you want to have a look after dinner, I’ll take you there. You’ve been in the clothing business for so many years anyway, so you can give me some pointers.”

The younger aunt nodded absentmindedly, her mind already crowded with one contradictory possibility after another.

The meal that followed was one in which, aside from the eldest uncle and his wife and the younger aunt, everyone else ate in a mood of cheerful hospitality and satisfaction.

Li Mu was growing almost impatient by the second half of the meal. He had to admit that his father was extraordinarily gifted at putting on a show; his skill far surpassed Li Mu’s own.

If it had been Li Mu arranging this, at most he would have let the eldest uncle and younger aunt strut around for a bit, then calmly told them that he had opened a Metersbonwe store and left them in chaos at the table before going back to his food. But compared with that, his father’s version was clearly more formidable. First he set the trap, then he played the weak and harmless victim, making an inviting gesture that practically said, Come, please, by all means, start showing off. Let the other side boast first, then slowly build their expectations. Once they had boasted enough, he would deliver the final killing blow.

The older the ginger, the hotter it was. Li Mu himself was practically eager to see what expressions his eldest uncle and younger aunt would wear when they saw a Metersbonwe specialty store of nearly one hundred and seventy square meters in size.

After dinner, Li’s father even continued to play dumb. When it came time to settle the bill, he laughed and said, “How about we learn from the young people tonight and go sing karaoke?”

Before anyone else could speak, the eldest uncle waved a hand. “Oh, what singing? Dao Ping, didn’t you say you’d take us to see your shop? You’re not thinking of going back on your word, are you?”

The younger aunt thought to herself, Hmph, he absolutely is thinking of going back on it. He probably just had a little wine and started bragging earlier. Now he wants to change the subject and dodge the issue. He’s already boasted about it—does he still want to wriggle out of it? Dream on.

So she said loudly, “Second Brother-in-law, the Xiao family is tone-deaf all around. We’re not suited to singing. In my opinion, you should just take us to your shop.”

Li’s father’s face showed a little hesitation and uncertainty, which the eldest uncle and younger aunt caught at once. Their hearts filled with secret delight. Just as expected, after showing off for a while, he no longer knew how to clean up the mess.

They did not understand Li’s father, but Li’s mother did.

As she watched her husband lay one trap after another, clearly aimed at her elder brother and younger sister, she had not intended to stop him at first. After all, over the years the two of them really had been a little too harsh on him, and she did not feel especially good about that herself. So it would not be wrong for her husband to make them embarrassed for once. But now she felt he had gone a bit too far. After all, they were his own older brother and younger sister. If he slapped their faces too hard, she would not feel comfortable about it either.

So, taking advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention, Li’s mother pinched her husband gently at the waist. Li’s father, who had just been getting into the performance, immediately realized that his wife might have objections. He at once reined himself in and stopped acting further, saying magnanimously, “All right, since that’s the case, let’s go have a look.”