Song Qiao, recovering from his shock, quickly crouched down to inspect the tofu beside him.
After a moment, he said coldly to Xia Xueqing, "This is all your doing. This piece of tofu is completely wasted now. Fortunately, it's only a small piece, otherwise, it would probably delay tomorrow's business."
His tone was filled with strong dissatisfaction.
This Xia Xueqing was truly too willful.
Seeing that she had caused trouble, Xia Xueqing showed no remorse. Instead, she said disdainfully,
"You're blaming me now? The more incompetent men like you are, the more they shift responsibility when something happens."
"As if ruining a piece of tofu for me has caused you such a great loss in business."
"Mom, Dad, look, he's blaming me now. Then who should we blame for my sister's current situation?"
Song Qiao took a deep breath to calm himself, "I'm not blaming you. I just want you to believe me. Every penny I spend now is earned from the stinky tofu sold in the shop."
"I swear to Yuqing that I haven't gambled again, and I promise to redeem the house within a month."
Xia Xueqing was, after all, his wife's younger sister, and it was in front of his parents-in-law. If Song Qiao became too insistent, he would appear petty.
"Easier said than done. What's the use of saying so much? Can you fool us? Can you make them return your house?"
Xia Xueqing snorted, clearly not believing Song Qiao's explanation.
"Nothing you say matters now. When you redeem the house, then come and tell my sister those flowery words."
Xia Yuqing listened to her sister and husband arguing, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
Looking at her persistent sister and her husband, whose words were hard to discern as true or false, she finally couldn't help but say, "Xueqing, please stop talking. I'm tired."
Her voice was low, and as she spoke, she quietly tugged at Xia Xueqing's sleeve.
Her tone was almost pleading.
"Song Qiao, you should go back first. Take this skirt and return it. Try to find a way to redeem the house."
With that, she pulled Xia Xueqing back to her room.
A moment later, her mother-in-law saw Song Qiao standing there, at a loss.
Adjusting her tone, she said,
"Xiao Song, it's not that we don't believe you, it's just that in the past..."
"And, even now, I can't believe that your stinky tofu shop could make over two thousand yuan in profit in just one morning."
Song Qiao shook his head helplessly, not knowing what else to say. He took out paper and a pen from his bag.
"Wife, I, Song Qiao, promise you that within a week, I will redeem our house. Not only that, but I will also give you and our daughter a happy family. - Song Qiao."
After signing his name, Song Qiao handed the skirt and the note to his mother-in-law.
"This is the guarantee letter I wrote. Please give it to Yuqing and tell her that if I cannot redeem the house within a week, I will never bother her again."
"This skirt is a gift I've given to Yuqing over the years. Let alone 100 yuan, even 1000 yuan, I would buy it without hesitation today."
"No matter what, I will not return this skirt."
With that, he didn't offer any further explanation, turned, picked up the tofu, and left the Xia family's home.
...
The weather was exceptionally hot. Song Qiao rode his three-wheeled vehicle back to his shop.
Lin Jing and Li Lili were cleaning. Seeing their boss return, they quickly took the tofu from him.
"Boss, it's so hot today. Thank you for making such a long trip."
Li Lili said as she handed him a cup of cool boiled water.
"You didn't need to rush back. We made over two thousand yuan in profit this morning. Even if we don't open in the afternoon, this income far exceeds that of all the vendors around here."
Song Qiao smiled slightly upon hearing this and said to Li Lili, "Actually, you don't know, but the food business is always better in the afternoon than in the morning."
"Haven't you noticed that the customers who came to the shop this morning were all retired elders? The real consumer base has already gone to work."
"In the afternoon, after a long day of work, they will definitely want to buy some snacks to satisfy their tired bodies."
"That's when our shop's business will truly be booming."
"Working a little harder at noon today will bring us unimaginable profits. While you two have time, take a good rest. You'll likely be busy in the evening."
The two shop assistants repeatedly waved their hands, saying, "Boss, you pay us such high wages, we can't be lazy."
"A few days ago, a sister from my hometown complained to me on the phone that she's working in a factory in the south, working 12 hours straight every day, and only earns 400 yuan a month."
Compared to her, our job is already very good.
As she spoke, her hands didn't stop, cutting the tofu Song Qiao bought into evenly sized pieces and brushing them with sauce to marinate.
Song Qiao was very satisfied with this.
His judgment was indeed good. Both of these shop assistants were honest farmers from the countryside. They were diligent and hardworking, though not very knowledgeable about business matters.
But they were down-to-earth and eager to learn, especially Li Lili, who was good at observing customers' expressions.
When his business grows and he opens branches in the future, he could consider letting these two manage them independently.
...
In the afternoon, around five or six o'clock, just as Song Qiao had predicted, many office workers flocked to his shop after getting off work.
Many had come on the recommendation of their colleagues, and some regular customers simply had dinner there.
Xiang Piaopiao Stinky Tofu had already gained quite a reputation in the city.
The shop was busy until evening before the business gradually slowed down.
Lin Jing excitedly handed the ledger to Song Qiao.
The total income was three thousand yuan. They had thought the morning was already very busy, but the afternoon was even more so.
Song Qiao flipped through today's accounts, then looked up at the ink-black sky. He silently vowed.
From today onwards, within a week, I will earn 30,000 yuan from this shop to give Yuqing and Xixi a complete family.
Meanwhile, at the Xia family's home.
Xia Yuqing stared blankly at the skirt her mother had given her, feeling an indescribable sadness in her heart.
She hadn't bought any new clothes for herself in two years. Her husband was unreliable, and the family of three's livelihood was entirely supported by her alone.
She never expected Song Qiao to give her such a gift at this time.
Although she had verbally chided him for spending money carelessly, in her heart, she felt an inexpressible happiness.
She couldn't help but wonder now: "Has her once diligent and ambitious husband returned? Has she wronged him?"