In Xia Yuqing's memory, her husband had never surprised her this much before. For a moment, she wondered if she was dreaming.
While her mother and sister were not paying attention, she secretly pinched her thigh.
Feeling the sharp pain from her thigh, it undeniably and clearly told her:
Everything happening before her eyes was real.
Her sister, Xia Xueqing, was the first to snap out of her shock, her face etched with disbelief: "No, this is impossible, absolutely impossible."
"Even the most famous food stalls in the provincial capital would never attract such a massive crowd."
"I think these people are all hired actors!"
As she spoke, she looked fearfully at her sister and mother, seeking confirmation in their expressions.
"If these people are actors, then this business of Song Qiao is probably a losing venture, just meant to entertain our family."
Just then, her mother-in-law suddenly pointed at the crowd and exclaimed, "Look quickly, why are so many people just paying money and not taking the stinky tofu?"
Her words immediately caught the attention of the two daughters.
"Sis, I told you he hired actors to put on a show."
Xia Yuqing seemed to have found her anchor and immediately concluded the reason for the booming business at Song Qiao's stall.
Hearing this, the sliver of hope Xia Yuqing had just felt for her husband was instantly extinguished.
Even the most delicious food stall could not make customers pay without taking anything.
In her opinion, there was only one reason for people to behave this way.
They must have been hired.
Seeing Song Qiao repeatedly playing such tricks in front of their family, the mother-in-law could no longer suppress her anger.
She rushed into Song Qiao's shop with quick strides.
"Song Qiao, you scoundrel, you're still pretending even now, hiring these actors to fool us. I was truly blind to marry my daughter to you."
"My poor Yuqing, how can you be so unlucky to have met such a bastard."
The mother-in-law's voice trembled slightly, already laced with tears.
Her outburst immediately drew the attention of the queuing customers. They all shifted their focus, becoming spectators.
No matter when, Chinese people love to gather and watch lively events, especially when it involves family disputes.
Song Qiao's face turned beet red. Seeing his mother-in-law's demeanor, he immediately understood that she had misunderstood, thinking that the customers who had topped up their accounts were hired actors.
He felt a mix of amusement and helplessness.
It was all his fault for being such a scoundrel in the past; now, whatever he did was wrong in his mother-in-law's eyes.
Seeing Xia Yuqing staring at him fiercely, he could no longer endure the awkwardness and quickly tried to explain:
"Mom, wife, you've misunderstood. These are all customers who have topped up their accounts and purchased cards at my shop. They are not actors I hired."
"That's enough, stop talking. We don't want to hear it." Xia Yuqing, who had been silent, roared, pulled her mother and sister, and turned to leave the shop.
"Hey, Yuqing, Yuqing, don't go."
Seeing this, Song Qiao quickly tried to chase after them.
But the mother and daughters, pulled by Xia Yuqing, moved so fast that they disappeared into the bustling crowd in the blink of an eye.
The shop was now incredibly busy, and as the owner, he couldn't leave at this moment.
After a few steps, under the watchful eyes of everyone, he reluctantly returned to his shop with a look of helplessness.
"Alas, now that the misunderstanding has formed, it's truly difficult to resolve."
"So be it. Let them be today. Tomorrow, when we officially open, I'll have Yuqing see for herself."
Song Qiao comforted himself inwardly while serving customers.
...
Shortly after the shop opened, Li Lili and Lin Jing, who were resting at home, also rushed over to help Song Qiao.
The three of them were busy until eight in the evening before the long queue finally dispersed.
Song Qiao asked Li Lili to hang up the "Closed" sign at the shop entrance. He bought some snacks from the outside food stalls and had a simple dinner with the two employees.
"Boss, I heard..." Lin Jing said, looking at Song Qiao as she ate, her voice hesitant.
Clearly, she was full of curiosity about what had happened at the shop that day.
"Ahem."
Li Lili, who was a few years older than Lin Jing, coughed lightly, trying to stop Lin Jing's gossip.
As the saying goes, family shame should not be aired outside. It was not appropriate for them, outsiders, to pry into the boss's personal affairs.
If they angered the boss, this hard-earned high-paying job might be gone.
Indeed, good news never leaves the house, but bad news travels a thousand miles.
Song Qiao smiled wryly and did not hide anything from his two employees.
The lessons learned from his past life told him that only when the boss was sincere to his employees and made them feel his sincerity could they truly be loyal to him.
"I was a bit of a scoundrel in the past, addicted to gambling, and did things that wronged your sister-in-law. It's reasonable for my mother-in-law to suspect me of taking shortcuts now."
His words conveyed sincerity and honesty, without concealing his past mistakes.
Lin Jing blinked her eyes and playfully said to Song Qiao, "Boss, your marketing strategies are so outstanding. We've been watching them with wide eyes recently. How can this be considered taking shortcuts?"
"Yes, boss. Such clever methods, even if others want to take shortcuts, they can't learn them," Li Lili said, emboldened by the boss's apparent lack of reservation about discussing the matter.
"Exactly. Boss, guess how much we earned just from top-ups today? A total of 2123 yuan, which is equivalent to two or three months' salary in the factory."
Lin Jing said, handing the organized ledger to Song Qiao.
"Oh?" Song Qiao's eyebrows twitched slightly, an uncontrollable wave of joy rising within him. It seemed that the shop's business hadn't been significantly delayed by the business license.
In China in the 1990s, people had not yet been exposed to the myriad marketing tactics of businesses. Their minds were relatively pure. Based on the principle of not taking advantage of a good deal being foolish, they rushed to top up their accounts upon seeing such great discounts.
With the shop's business booming, if things continued like this, he could save up the target amount of 30,000 yuan in less than a month and buy back his house from Duan Kun.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was five minutes to nine.
Without further delay, he told Lin Jing and Li Lili to clock out early and go home to rest.
Before they left, he reminded them that the business license would be processed tomorrow, and they would officially open for business, asking them to come in a bit earlier.
Afterward, he personally cleaned the shop thoroughly, prepared the ingredients needed for tomorrow, packed up his belongings, and went home.