NOVPUB
Chapter 756: 746
Before we knew it, mid-January 1984 had arrived.
Although the farm presented a bleak landscape with bare fields and hills, in reality, every employee was busily at work. Personnel from the sales department had been running around for half a month because the conditions Shen Yunfang set were somewhat harsh; many organizations disagreed with paying a 30% deposit upfront, hence cooperation had to be abandoned.
Some sales staff couldn’t understand why the boss had to set such harsh conditions; after all, the contract was signed, and payment at the end would be the same.
Shen Yunfang glanced at the employees who had minor complaints, knowing that her requirements had made their jobs more difficult and had also affected their commissions. However, she was the boss, and they had to obey her.
"If you think you can accept those IOUs as a year-end bonus, I don’t have a problem with it," Shen Yunfang said indifferently.
The mere mention of those IOUs scared everyone off. No one was foolish; if the boss couldn’t get the money back, how could they expect to go to these unit leaders and demand payment themselves?
So, they all quietly went back to their work.
Meanwhile, several production lines had been installed at the processing plant, and after the basic training was finished, John had returned to his country. They hadn’t found a suitable professional manager yet, so Shen Yunfang had to step in herself.
During these days, Shen Yunfang, with the help of the employees, had experimented with making potato chips, earning unanimous praise from all staff. Thus, the first processing project for 1984 was decided.
Next were the popcorn series; Shen Yunfang successfully tested coffee-flavored corn kernels and caramel popcorn. Both were successes.
However, these successes were backed by relentless effort and dedication. To develop best-selling snacks, Shen Yunfang needed to spend more time at the processing plant, which caused serious dissatisfaction in Li Hongjun.
This accelerated the process of finding a suitable professional manager.
When it was time for students’ winter vacation, Li Hongjun’s home welcomed a group of little visitors. 𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑝𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝘮
Li Xianglian’s three children, along with Li Hongxing’s Erdan and Sandan, came together.
When Li Hongjun received the phone call, he was somewhat alarmed. These parents were really trustful, to let the children take the train alone without any adults to accompany them.
But the children were already on the train, so complaining was useless now.
On January 17th, Li Hongjun drove a military jeep to the train station to pick up the children.
To ensure the children could find him easily, he stood in the most conspicuous place, clad in his military uniform.
After waiting for almost half an hour, Li Hongjun finally spotted Shitou, leading a string of children out of the station.
Shitou and the others spotted Li Hongjun at first glance as well.
The five children dashed towards him, shouting as they ran, "Second Uncle, I’m here!" "Second Uncle, we’ve arrived!"
Li Hongjun kept a stern face as he watched them run up to him, then bellowed, "With so many people around, you shouldn’t be barging through like that. What kind of behavior is this?"
The children hadn’t expected such a reception from their uncle and were left speechless, unsure of what to do.
"Ahem," Li Hongjun gave a cough after startling them sufficiently, then ordered, "Check if you’ve got all your luggage; if you do, follow me."
Only then did the children remember to look down and make sure the bundles their parents had tied to them hadn’t been lost. They patted their chests in relief and hurriedly followed their uncle’s footsteps.
After getting the kids in the car, Li Hongjun took the driver’s seat and drove home.
Among the children, Erdan and Sandan were the least worldly. It was their first time in such a small car, and the two almost climbed up to the roof, curiously peering and poking around everywhere.
Once on the road, Li Hongjun asked how they had fared on the train ride and if they had encountered any problems. The children suddenly became like floodgates opening, chattering away nonstop, each one adding to the conversation, from the train station all the way to the military residential area.
By the time Li Hongjun had neatly parked the car downstairs, they were still going on about it.
"Alright, save the rest for when we get inside. We’re home, everyone get out."
Only then did the children find a moment to look out the windows.
"Dad, you’re back! Brother, Sister, hurry and get out!" Pangpang and Manman had been waiting outside for quite a while for their dad to return, and hurried over to greet everyone as soon as they saw the car pulling up.
"Hey, it’s Pangpang and Manman." The children got out of the car, chatting with each other in the way that kids do.
The nosier neighbors had already heard the commotion downstairs and braved the cold to peek out from their balconies.
"Hey, Commander Li, where did you get all these kids from?" couldn’t help but ask one military wife.
"They’re relatives from my hometown. It’s the holidays now, so they came over to visit for a few days," Li Hongjun explained.
"Oh dear, so many of them at once, can your house even fit everyone?" Another military wife fretted over Commander Li’s situation, wondering how so many children were going to fit into just two rooms.
"They won’t stay for too many days, we’ll make do by squeezing in a bit. Kids, let’s head home, dinner is ready," Li Hongjun, having addressed the military wives’ concerns, quickly shepherded the children towards home.
Everybody was just too enthusiastic, almost too much to handle.
Shen Yunfang had also received the news a day earlier.
She didn’t go to work that day, instead she stayed at home preparing delicious food, waiting for the arrival of the children.
Upstairs, she too heard the noise from below and peered out from the balcony to see that the children had indeed arrived, so she hurriedly set up the table with the dishes, waiting for them to come up.
"Auntie Yunfang/Second Aunt, we’re here!" The children burst into the house without even changing shoes, running straight to Shen Yunfang’s side.
"Ah, good, good, it’s nice you’ve arrived. You must all be cold, hurry and take off your shoes, take off your jackets and get warm," Shen Yunfang was a bit overwhelmed, wondering when she had become such a child magnet, as this was news to her.
The children were all quite obedient, taking turns to change their shoes at the door, then led by their little host Pangpang, they took a tour of the house, washed their hands in the restroom, and finally settled down quietly around the dining table ready to eat.
Knowing that the children were coming, Shen Yunfang put extra care into cooking, preparing all of their favorite dishes. Full of energy, the children didn’t seem the least bit tired after a day on the train; instead, they started a new round of commotion and "battles" at the dinner table.
Lacking alternatives to expedite the meal, Li Hongjun began to establish some discipline, while Shen Yunfang took on the distribution duties, and they finally managed to finish the meal.
From the children’s chatter, they gathered some information: the kids were planning to stay through the New Year before returning, and it was quite possible that the adults might also come over before New Year’s—of course, that referred to Wang Dan and her husband. Li Xianglian had made it clear that they wouldn’t come to cause any additional trouble.
Shen Yunfang gave Li Hongjun a look. This was different from what he had told her on his return; wasn’t it just a few days and then going back before New Year’s? Why were they staying through the New Year, and Wang Dan and her husband were considering coming over for it? The house was just so tiny - where would they all stay?
