"You spoiled her yourself," Xie Xinlian said, glancing sideways at Zhu Shunyao. Her eyes held a look of happiness. Since she had started her own business ideas and begun to act on them, Xie Xinlian had gained confidence. She had also started learning to read newspapers. Her temperament was changing slowly. It was the same person, but the change in aura increased her charm. Xie Xinlian now had more intellect and allure than before, despite having the same face.
Two days later, Zhu Yanli returned. She looked in good spirits. Because Zhu Yanyi had told them not to ask about her exam results, Zhu Shunyao and Xie Xinlian did not ask. They treated her as usual. So, Zhu Yanli felt no burden at all. Now, Zhu Yanyi decided to start her trip to the capital.
Originally, Zhu Yanyi planned to go alone. But because of the factory matters, and to broaden her horizons and understand the market economy, she asked Zhu Shunyao to go with her. Then she remembered it was summer vacation. Xie Xinlian had taken a leave of absence, and the clothing work was not urgent. So, Zhu Yanyi decided the whole family would go to the capital.
After making the decision, she discussed it with everyone. The family of five all agreed. Zhu Yanyi asked Zhu Shunyao to buy train tickets, and they began preparing to leave.
Zhu Yanyi was going to visit her masters, so she could not go empty-handed. She thought about it and brought last year’s homemade cured fish, chicken, and pork. The chicken and fish were raised at home and occasionally fed Spirit Spring water, so they tasted much better than ordinary ones. The pig was raised by their neighbors. Its meat tasted much better than the feed-raised pork of later times. When making the cured meat, they used the unique camphor cypress leaves from Sicheng Mountain to smoke it. The cured delicacies had a special fragrance from the smoke, making them very delicious.
Zhu Shunyao could have bought the train tickets himself. But he wanted to buy them together for the family. He also had some business ideas. So, he decided to ask Cheng Baokun to help buy the tickets.
Cheng Baokun knew the Zhu family was going to the capital for fun. With one phone call, he had someone buy the tickets. They were sleeper tickets, a soft sleeper private room. Zhu Zhibin was still young, so he did not need a separate berth. One private room was just right. Besides, Zhu Shunyao was not short of money now. Buying soft sleeper tickets would make the journey more comfortable for everyone.
"When you go to the capital, don't forget to eat roast duck. The roast duck there tastes very good. I ate some when I went last year," Cheng Baokun said with a smile.
Zhu Shunyao said, "To be honest, Big Brother, if you have time, why don't our two families go together? Really, there are some things I can learn from you."
"Learn what?" Cheng Baokun asked in surprise.
Zhu Shunyao giggled. "To be honest with you, Big Brother, I want to open a vegetable packaging factory. I will start with a workshop. You know I contracted a hundred acres of land. Twenty acres are for rice, two harvests a year. The rice fields are used to raise fish or river crabs. This was all Ani’s idea. They are growing well now. Thirty acres are for medicinal herbs. The remaining fifty acres are for fruits and vegetables. I plan to contract more land next year to grow grapes and other fruits. According to Ani, families abroad contract a thousand acres. I only have a hundred acres, which is too little. She told me to work hard. In the future, I strive to be the number one agricultural contractor in Yong City."