The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Sun Jiaming, Li Zhi, and Liu Yuan all saw Gu’er’s confidence, but since they hadn’t been reborn, they didn’t know the Soviet Union was about to collapse. They had no idea where her confidence stemmed from.

"Gu’er, this is no small matter, and we’re not talking about a small amount of money," Li Zhi said, his tone serious. "If we use all our money to stockpile inventory and then can’t sell it, our hard work over the past two years will be for nothing. We might even run out of working capital, and the department store could fail."

He was afraid Gu’er didn’t understand the gravity of the situation.

"Jia Ming, Li Zhi, Liu Yuan, Dingzi, I know. I know what you’re all thinking, but I’m not just making things up. It’s just... I don’t know how to explain it to you. Please, just trust me, okay? Trust me this one time, and I swear I won’t let us lose money. We’ll hold onto the US Dollars from our sales over there. Have our people spend every last Ruble on goods to bring back. Tell them not to keep any Rubles on hand if they can help it; it’s best to exchange them for US Dollars. We won’t touch the money in the bank for now. We’ll leave it as working capital for the store. Can we do that?"

Gu’er understood their worries, but how could she explain? ’Could she tell them she’d been reborn? That she remembered the Soviet Union was going to collapse and become Russia?’

’She didn’t know the exact year of the collapse, but she had a feeling it would be in the next year or two. It would be chaotic over there during the dissolution, making it impossible to ship goods back. The Ruble would also devalue drastically. When that happened, this stockpile of goods would become incredibly valuable. But she couldn’t say it. Even if she did, they wouldn’t believe her.’

Sun Jiaming watched Gu’er. He knew something was on her mind, though he didn’t know what. It reminded him of when he’d wanted to buy the gatehouse in the city. Gu’er had been all for it, even insisting that he secure the property deed. He hadn’t understood why back then, but it made him feel as though Gu’er had some kind of foresight.

’It was just like the accident at Liu Yuan’s factory. Gu’er claimed she had dreamt it, but I didn’t believe that. Who would dare stir up so many people over a mere dream? Yet she was so insistent back then, utterly convinced that a disaster was coming. I could sense how unsettled she was, how terrified she was that Liu Yuan would be hurt.’

’And come to think of it, she had asked me to find out where Liu Yuan worked a long time ago, already worried about him. What did that imply? It meant Gu’er knew far in advance. I have no idea how, but I trust her. Gu’er would never hurt us. If she’s this insistent, she must have a good reason.’

"Li Zhi, Dingzi, Liu Yuan, let’s just trust Gu’er. We’ll do what she says and stockpile the goods. If it turns out we really can’t sell them, I’ll set up a stall on the street every single day to earn the money back myself."

It didn’t matter to Sun Jiaming what Gu’er’s reasons were. She was his wife, and he would support her no matter what.

Gu’er looked at Sun Jiaming. ’This man always trusted her so unconditionally, yet she had a secret she couldn’t share with him. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him; she just couldn’t bring herself to say the words. She had been married to Zhang Da in her past life, and she didn’t want that to create a rift between her and Sun Jiaming.’

"If you’re saying that, then what’s left for me to say?" Li Zhi conceded. "I might not know her reasons, but I know listening to her is never the wrong choice. I said it back when we went to the Soviet Union—from now on, we follow Gu’er’s lead. Alright, we’ll stockpile. If the goods don’t move, we’ll all hit the streets and sell them from a stall. And if they do end up selling like hotcakes, then all the credit will go to Gu’er."

’It wasn’t that Li Zhi didn’t trust Gu’er; he was just scared. But they were all in this together. Even without a reason, after working together for so long, he had faith in her. What’s the worst that could happen? They lose money and have to start over.’

Dingzi nodded. It was just as Li Zhi had said. They were a team. They’d already made good money, so even if the inventory didn’t sell, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

"I’ll go with what everyone decides, then."

Liu Yuan also nodded. He owed everything he had today to them. If it weren’t for them, he’d still be a worker at his old factory. And for all he knew, he might have died in that explosion. So, he would agree with whatever they decided.

"Thank you. Thank you all for trusting me."

Gu’er looked at the faces before her, deeply moved. She hadn’t given them a single reason, yet every one of them believed in her. That kind of trust was truly precious.

"Oh, right. Li Zhi, that guy is relying on his father. What kind of person is his dad?" Gu’er asked.

"I asked my dad about him before. That director is actually a decent guy with a good reputation. He’s the type who gets things done. But he’s completely dedicated to his work and doesn’t pay much attention to his kid. His son has taken advantage of his father’s position more than a few times. Also, he doesn’t just rely on his dad; he has another relative in the provincial government. I forgot which department, but he has backing. As for what this person in the province is like? My dad asked around, and he said it’s hard to say."

’Gu’er’s original plan had been simple. If the man’s father was a corrupt official with a bad reputation, she would speak to Vice Secretary Yuan. The last time she left, he had told her to call him if she ever needed anything. Gu’er suspected that Director Chen’s private investigation of her father had been instigated or arranged by this family. If the father was corrupt, she would ask the province to investigate him. If he fell, his son would naturally lose his support.’

’But she hadn’t expected the man to actually be a decent person. That meant she couldn’t go through with her plan. Her conscience wouldn’t allow it.’

’But if this man insists on malicious competition...’ Gu’er’s eyes turned cold. ’The greater his ambition, the more money he’ll lose when the collapse comes.’

’No need to rush. I’ll just wait. I’ll wait for the day he reaps what he sows.’

The others understood what Gu’er meant and felt the same way. They couldn’t go after the father just to deal with the son, especially not when the father was a good man.

Although they had reached a decision, looking at the competing store across the street was still frustrating. Deciding not to linger, they went back, collected their money, and deposited it into the bank.

Once the money was deposited, the group tried not to dwell on the matter. Gu’er and Aunt Zhao cooked a delicious meal to treat Li Zhi and Dingzi, and everyone had dinner at the Sun Family’s home that evening.

"Gu’er, this Mashed Tofu you made is out of this world!" Li Zhi shoveled a large spoonful of it into his mouth. "My mom used to make it all the time, but hers was so bad it made me want to gag. I never imagined it could taste this good." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Hey, don’t hog it all! Slow down," Grandma Dingzi chided. "Our teeth aren’t what they used to be, so we eat slowly. Leave some for us two old gals. There’s plenty of other food. Go on, eat something else."

Grandma Dingzi stopped Li Zhi and pulled the serving bowl of Mashed Tofu over in front of herself and Grandma Sun.

"That’s right. It’s been so long since I’ve had Mashed Tofu," Grandma Sun remarked. "You know, back when we struggled for food, we’d eat it to fill our stomachs, but I never thought it tasted particularly good. But now, this bowl Gu’er made is just wonderfully delicious."

"Exactly!" Grandma Dingzi said, all while continuing to eat. "When you eat too much rich food, you need something simple to cleanse the palate. Let’s just us two eat it. We won’t give them any more. They eat too fast, and they’re still young. They’ll have plenty of opportunities to eat this in the future. That’s not the case for us two old gals. We need to eat up while we can."

Li Zhi looked on helplessly. He couldn’t very well snatch food from the grandmas, so he had no choice but to turn his attention to the other dishes.

Gu’er and the rest of the table chuckled. The mood was wonderfully cheerful.