The start of school came quickly, and Xu Minghui is now in the second semester of his junior year at university. His schedule is quite flexible now, and the department store on his side is gradually getting on track.

As for Xu Minglei, he wasn’t very happy. He wanted to follow his family in doing business, but school was about to start.

Xu Jiaojiao and her group came over with their luggage too. During high school, they all stayed at Xu Mumu’s place.

Xu Jiaojiao was still very happy, living next to her big sister. She could directly ask her big sister about things she didn’t understand, as her big sister was very knowledgeable in every field.

Li Caixia and her family opened their business a few days before school started. Everything they sold was fresh. People had already started coming to the school, so the food business was okay, although there weren’t many people yet.

However, the business at Li Caixia’s small shop was quite good, making Li Caixia so happy you couldn’t see her eyes when she smiled. Indeed, doing business earned more than a regular job; in just two or three days, she made nearly a month’s salary.

Xu Mumu heard some news from back home. Second Uncle, Third Uncle, and Fourth Uncle were all preparing to start something. Second Uncle’s family had set up a small stall selling snacks in the county, while Third Uncle’s family sold buns outside a shoe factory.

As for Fourth Uncle’s family, after hearing Xu Jiaojiao’s suggestion, they planned to lease some land to plant fruit trees. Now that Xu Jiaojiao and her siblings had come to the school area, the couple went to an adult literacy class in the brigade, striving to become literate.

The leasing matters were also being discussed with the brigade leader. The couple even asked Yin Yang for help to find some apple tree saplings. They planned to plant apple trees since the surrounding fruit trees were mostly oranges, tangerines, peaches, and plums. Apples taste good and can be stored longer.

Yin Yang had already found a source for them. Once their land was cleared, they could directly transport the saplings.

The Fourth Household was particularly busy, not only preparing for the lease but also raising a bunch of rabbits at home. Even though they were planting fruit trees, they didn’t plan to get rid of the rabbits, as they were a steady source of income for the family.

Over the years, by secretly selling these rabbits to the state-operated restaurant, the Fourth Household had saved up quite a bit. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have had the confidence to lease some land for fruit trees.

Listening to the developments back home, Xu Mumu was quite pleased. As long as they stayed diligent, they would certainly be fine in the future.

Xu Xue was also aware of the commotion at home. Although she had arrived in the provincial capital and opened her own shop early, knowing that her parents were willing to take that step made her happy. She didn’t want her father to spend his whole life farming back home.

The start of school arrived, and business outside the school was particularly good. Xu Mumu didn’t even have time to take the kids to enroll; Madam Chen directly gave them the money to enroll themselves. The kids’ tuition was all handed over to Grandma by their parents before they left home.

They enrolled themselves without feeling shy at all. Having already attended high school for half a year, they were already very familiar with it all.

The business today was really good, and Xu Mumu came to help out Li Caixia.

By the end of the day, Xu Mumu was almost exhausted, and so was Li Caixia. They had lunch at Madame Chen’s place since it was too tiring; there were indeed a lot of people buying things at the start of school.

"Oh my, I’m dead tired. Making money isn’t easy." As soon as she returned, Li Caixia collapsed on a stool, not wanting to move. It was really exhausting. If she hadn’t memorized all those prices beforehand, today would have been even more chaotic.

"Mom, have a drink. I’ve asked Yun Hong to send some food over, so you don’t have to cook today after working so hard." Yin Yang handed water to Li Caixia and her family.

"Good, good, having such a considerate son-in-law is great. When there’s a break, I’ll buy a couple of pig trotters for everyone to boost their health," Li Caixia said with a sweet smile. Even though she was tired, she felt happy. Although she didn’t calculate how much they earned, they definitely earned something, even more than what they made in the previous couple of days.

Xu Minghui, standing by the side, slightly twitched the corners of his mouth. He prepared the water too, but his mom didn’t see any good in him. His brother-in-law was really too shrewd.

Zhou Yunhong brought a very sumptuous meal over. Even the kids who were reading were drawn out by the aroma.

"Sister, I want to eat a drumstick." The little rascal had sharp eyes, his gaze fixed firmly on the plate inside the food box.

"We’ll eat in a bit. Have you forgotten what I taught you? We can only eat after everyone at home is seated at the table," Xu Mumu pinched the little rascal’s cheek and placed him on a stool, then went to help put the food on the table.

When it was time to eat, the little rascal clung to Xu Mumu to get a drumstick. Xu Mumu was quite indulgent with him; as long as he didn’t overeat, she would indulge him.

With the drumstick, the little rascal instantly behaved and ate quietly, being a good boy.

Now the little guy fed himself, not needing anyone to feed him. He’d scoop what he wanted with his spoon. Xu Mumu and the others would at most get him some vegetables, and the little guy particularly loved eating meat; he’d always point to the meat during meals.

Seeing the extra vegetables in his bowl, the little rascal pouted but still obediently ate them. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t get to eat meat or sweets, as his mom would say, "You’re so naughty, these are all things mom said."

"Why don’t you hire a couple of people? You guys are working too hard," said Yin Yang, after taking his little wife for a bath together, feeling a little heartache seeing her so exhausted.

"No need. My parents definitely wouldn’t want to spend that extra money. Besides, it’s only busy these couple of days," Xu Mumu replied with a smile.

"I just don’t want you to be too tired," Yin Yang said, holding his sweet-smelling, soft little wife. Seeing her so worn out, he didn’t want to tease her anymore and just wanted her to rest well.

Xu Mumu soon fell asleep. She was really tired. No one called her the next day, and when she woke up, it was almost ten o’clock. By the time Xu Mumu got up, there was no one at home. Those who were supposed to be at school had gone, and those who were supposed to be earning money had set off.

No one actually called her!!! The room was empty, but breakfast was left on the table for her, already a bit cold.

Xu Mumu casually ate some breakfast, then headed to the small shop. During class hours, there were no customers, and Li Caixia was next door helping Madam Chen tidy up the store.

"Mumu is up, come on over and sit," said Xu Haixia, smiling broadly as he looked at his daughter.

"Mom and Dad, you’re still busy?" By the time Xu Mumu came over, they were almost finished, and everything was tidily sorted and looked really nice.

"Pretty much done. Did you eat the breakfast we left for you?" Xu Haixia asked his daughter.

"I ate it. Dad, why didn’t you call me to get up this morning? You must have been busy here this morning too," Xu Mumu said, pouting in displeasure.