Back to the 1980s: Becoming the Villain's Lucky Wife

This area would become incredibly prosperous in over a decade, which was why Qin Jiao wanted to buy a house here.

In the latter half of the year, Xiao Shi would be skipping a grade to start middle school. So they pulled some strings and, leveraging Xiao Shi’s good grades, got her into a school in this area.

It was even easier for Xiao Cheng. He was just finishing kindergarten and getting ready for elementary school, and Sun Jianhua had already pulled some strings to get him transferred over.

Seeing the bustling noodle shop and her parents, who looked exhausted but fulfilled and happy, filled Qin Jiao with a deep sense of contentment.

To keep from getting too exhausted, the noodle shop was only open for lunch and dinner, and they closed for the day at six in the evening.

Around seven or eight, everyone was cleaning up and taking stock. When Qin Na finished tallying the accounts, she said in surprise, "We actually made one hundred and five yuan today!"

Even after subtracting costs, that was still several dozen yuan in profit!

Keep in mind, they had given free meals to many of Qin Jiao and Shen Yi’s classmates. If they hadn’t, their earnings would have been even more incredible.

Qin Jiao smiled. "We won’t have this many customers every day, but this is a pretty good start. Still, Mom, Dad, I have an idea. You could pick a few of your specialty noodle dishes and offer them in limited quantities—only ten or twenty servings a day."

Qin Zhonghui didn’t quite understand. "If we can make them and everyone likes them, why would we limit the quantity?"

Qin Jiao replied, "It’s scarcity marketing. Plus, it will keep you from getting too worn out."

’Scarcity creates value, after all.’

Su Yun added from the side, "Let’s just do what Xiao Jiao says. I’m sure she’s right!"

The group laughed together, and Qin Jiao felt both amused and exasperated.

A few days after the restaurant opened, Qin Jiao and Shen Yi moved into their new home in the Rose District. Their decor was far ahead of its time. Mr. Du stood stunned in the living room for a long moment before turning to ask, "Where’s your living room?"

Qin Jiao and Shen Yi exchanged a smile. Their living room couldn’t really be called a living room anymore; it was more of a multi-purpose room.

The group celebrated the housewarming, and then everyone left, leaving the young couple alone.

As he was leaving, Qin Zhonghui seemed to vaguely realize something. He glanced back, his brow furrowed.

He tugged on his wife’s sleeve. "Xiao Yun, about those two..."

"They’ve been together for a while now. Don’t tell me you’re just figuring that out?" Su Yun was exasperated. "What kind of father are you?"

"I had a feeling. It’s like at some point, they got much closer than they used to be."

"Honestly, you spend all your time thinking about the people who don’t care about you and ignore the ones who do. The kids decided to give their relationship a real try, and I didn’t stand in their way. Xiao Yi is a good kid, after all."

Even though his family wasn’t as well-off as Shen Yi’s, Xiao Jiao was their precious daughter. Qin Zhonghui’s first instinct was to feel like some pig had just rooted up his finest cabbage.

But when he thought about it, over the past two or three years, their family, Shen Yi, and Mr. Du had long since become one big, inseparable family.

As a father, he still felt a pang of sadness, though it wasn’t overwhelming. He recalled his wife’s words, subtly reminding him not to keep dwelling on matters from their old hometown and letting it spoil his present happiness.

Forgetting completely was impossible—the blood ties were still there, after all—but he just had to stop dwelling on it and slowly shift his focus elsewhere.

After everyone else had left, Qin Jiao was tidying up the kitchen when Shen Yi came up and hugged her from behind.

"Jiao Jiao, I’m leaving with my advisor for a research trip to the South tomorrow. This is the first leg, so I’ll be gone for half a month."

"Oh."

"I’m going to miss you. I wish I could just tuck you in my pocket and take you with me!"