The moment the ringtone rang, Meng Lin thought that she had misheard it or that she was hallucinating. The phone was clearly out of battery, and how could a 21st-century phone answer a call in the Republic of China of the last century? Meng Lin immediately stood still. She pricked up her ears and listened attentively. She wanted to prove it again.
The phone was still ringing. Meng Lin suddenly realized something and ran to the pillow on her bed. She ran too fast and recklessly and kicked the stool beside her. However, she couldn't care less about this. She threw the pillow on the box under the bed like it was trash and anxiously tore off the cloth wrapped around the box. The more anxious she was, the more she couldn't tear it open. The more she couldn't tear it open, the more anxious she was. Her hands kept trembling. She knew that the phone might be her only hope to return to the 21st century.
The ringtone of her phone was like thousands of ants biting Meng Lin's heart. She had never been so excited and cherished by the ringtone of her phone. She wished that the ringtone would ring for a while longer. When she finally opened the box, the phone screen showed that it was a call from " Mom ".
It had been almost three months since she last called home. Perhaps her mother was anxious that she would call. Just as she was about to press the answer button, the phone suddenly hung up. Meng Lin was shocked. His first reaction was to see if he could call back. However, because his phone had consumed too much power just now, it had automatically turned off.
Meng Lin pressed the switch with all his might. No matter how long he pressed it, the phone did not respond. Meng Lin was about to cry. If his mother called him again and found that his phone was turned off, she would definitely be worried to death. What should I do? What should I do? Meng Lin could not help but cry.
After crying a few times, she felt that she couldn't go on like this. She had to make use of her phone so that she still had a glimmer of hope. Otherwise, she wouldn't know how to return to her original environment. However, everyone here did not use electricity. Many poor families could not even afford to use kerosene lamps. Once it was dark, the whole family would sleep. After all, the Xia residence was considered a rich family. They had a lamb oil lamp lit up the entire night, which was very extravagant in the vicinity.
" Young Miss, it's time to eat." Ah Fu's voice came from the door, interrupting Meng Lin's thoughts.
" Oh…oh…I'm coming." Meng Lin quickly wiped the tears off his face and put the phone back into the box. He carefully wrapped the outer layer of cloth, arranged the pillow, and put the stool that he had kicked over back. He looked at himself in the mirror and then went out.
Lunch during the New Year was simple because dinner was the most sumptuous. As the New Year was approaching, the Xia family was busy with the New Year. Basically, all the servants and maids who had nothing important to do in their hometown stayed behind because they were paid five times more than usual. Children from poor families naturally liked this hard labor money. When the third day of the New Year was over, there was no more work in the family, so they were arranged to go back to their hometown to visit their relatives. At that time, the Eldest Master instructed Ah Fu to arrange which servants and maids went the same way, divided them into several roads, and arranged a few carriages. Along the way, the waiter drove the carriage and sent off the servant girls who were on the same way as him. After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the people who were on the same way back to the residence would arrange a place and pick them up together. They would also take care of each other on the way back. Ah Fu was homeless and lost when he was young. That winter, he almost froze to death on the streets. The old master took pity on him and took him in. From the moment Ah Fu entered the Xia residence, he stayed there for 365 days a year.
On New Year's Day, there were many servants and maids in the house. The dining table was divided into five tables. Grandpa, Grandma, Father, Mother, Brother, and Meng Lin sat at one table. The rest were servants and servants. During the meal, Grandpa spoke first,"On the second day of the new year, I want to call all of you brothers over to talk about the family property."
" Father, shouldn't we talk about this after the fifteenth day? If we quarrel over this during the New Year…" The eldest was a little worried.
"No, it's better to say it earlier than later. With a troublesome son like Third Brother, it's inevitable that there will be a quarrel any day."
"Father, hasn't the distribution of the family property already been decided? All the silver we earned over the years were basically given to Second Nizi. The three of us brothers each have one shop."
" That's how we split the profits before, but I thought about it. I was afraid that someone like Third Brother would not be able to operate well if I gave him the most profitable shop. He would be unwilling to give him a shop with less profit, so I thought of a way to get the best of both worlds."
"Father, please speak."
"In terms of business, you are more experienced than Third Brother and Fourth Brother. I am more assured to give you all three shops. After the profits are made, you three brothers will take 40% and the other two will each take 30%. In other words, Third Brother and Fourth Brother didn't have to worry about the shop and could still make profits. As long as the shop was in your hands, it was better than being in Third Brother and Fourth Brother's hands. The third brother doesn't work properly, the shop will be ruined sooner or later. The fourth brother is an honest man, too timid and conservative. He's only suitable to learn some skills, not to start a business."
Alright, for the sake of the Xia family's business, I promise Father. Father, don't worry, I won't mistreat my brothers even if I earn money."
Old Master Xia nodded and continued,"Qingfeng and Menglin have grown up. All these years, Qingfeng has been doing odd jobs in Shanghai. I can see that he has worked very hard and must have learned a lot, so I have an important decision to make." As he spoke, he put down his chopsticks and said solemnly,"Your mother and I are already at this age. How many more 80 years can we live? When we're old, we'll return to our roots. So, your mother and I have discussed it and decided to enjoy our old age in our hometown. No matter how capable your grandfather is, his descendants can't do it. A century-old enterprise will always be a legend. As for Azurepeak and Menglin, let them go to Shanghai to manage three shops. You should also go over and guide them in the beginning. One of them has been working for me for many years, and the other has been overseas for many years. It's time for them to display their talents in the shop." After saying that, he looked at Azurepeak and Meng Lin's reactions.
Grandpa Shen was a little surprised that his father had made the decision so quickly. Qingfeng and Meng Lin were overjoyed, however. Xia Qingfeng had always wanted to take care of the shop with his own efforts. Meng Lin thought that he had to learn how to do business and that the living conditions in Shanghai would definitely be better than his hometown. At least there would be electric lights there. As long as there was electricity and his phone could work normally, he would have a chance to return to the 21st century.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]