Chapter 109: Second Dividend

After dinner, having cleaned up, the family sat around the hearth to warm themselves, easing the fatigue of the day.

Xue Bing brewed a cup of tea for everyone and helped my mother bring out the New Year pastries, acting like a hostess, busy in and out, moving among us like a colorful butterfly.

A quilt was spread over our laps, covering everyone's lower bodies. Opposite me was my father, eyes slightly closed in contentment, my mother sat next to him, then came Meizhu, and Xue Bing sat on the other side of my father, carefully tucking the quilt in, as if afraid the cold wind would chill my father's legs.

Suddenly it became quiet, and everyone didn't know what to say, looking at each other. Meizhu giggled and said, "Sister, why don't you sing us a song?"

Xue Bing was stunned, her face flushed red, and she said, "I only see others singing on TV, I don't sing well."

She got up to turn on the TV, then turned back to Meizhu and said, "It's the New Year, you're a guest, why don't you sing one for us?"

Meizhu said unhurriedly, "You're a music teacher, a professional, how could I dare to make a fool of myself?"

Seeing that the two women were about to bicker, I quickly interjected, "There's no accompaniment at home. If we want to sing, we should go to karaoke. It's the New Year now, I'm afraid they're all closed."

Meizhu giggled and said, "Is the boss afraid he's been in the countryside too long? Karaoke bars in Hengyue City are open 365 days a year, even on the first day of the New Year."

I laughed at myself and said, "I'm a country bumpkin now, I really don't know the rules of the city."

Suddenly I felt a pair of small hands grip mine, and fingertips pinched the back of my hand. I looked sideways at Xue Bing; she was expressionless, as if she felt nothing. I looked at Meizhu again; she lowered her head and smiled. I understood that these hands were hers. I wanted to pull them away, but she held them tightly, with no intention of letting go.

Meizhu's action was completely beyond my expectations. This woman, whose hand I hadn't even touched, was now holding mine right under everyone's noses. If discovered, wouldn't it be a total loss of face?

I said with double meaning, "It's really cold, Meizhu, aren't you going home for the New Year?"

My mother was a sensitive person. As soon as she heard me say this, she understood what I meant. Being from a prominent family, she immediately stated, "In this heavy snow, it's not convenient to go back to her hometown, and she has to run the shop. Your aunt sent me some hairtail fish a few days ago and also said she would come to our house for the New Year this year. When she mentioned Meizhu, I thought, adding a person just means adding a pair of chopsticks, so I invited Meizhu over."

I looked around our small home and said, "The more people, the livelier it is. The New Year should be lively. It's just that the house is too small, it's already full."

My words naturally had implications. There were only two beds in the house. Excluding my parents' bed, how were Xue Bing, Meizhu, and I supposed to sleep?

My mother pointed to the two quilts in my room and said, "Feng'er, you can set up a bed in the living room, and Little Xue and Meizhu can stay in your room."

I wanted to say something, but my mother yawned and said, "I'm going to sleep, I'm tired after a long day." Saying this, she shook my father, who was about to enter a meditative state, awake, and the two of them went into their room one after the other and locked the door. My mother had seen too much of the world; leaving now was to leave space for us.

Xue Bing first expressed that sleeping in the living room was too cold and she was afraid I would catch a cold, but she couldn't think of a good solution, so she looked at me anxiously.

Meizhu, however, sat as steady as Mount Tai. After a long while, she said, "Let's not worry about sleeping arrangements yet. I can take a taxi back to the shop to sleep, it's not far anyway. Now I need to settle the accounts with the boss. Sister, if you're sleepy, go to bed first."

"Settle what accounts?" Xue Bing hadn't even sorted out the accounts from Pan Xiaoqin's supermarket, and now hearing Meizhu talk about settling accounts, she could only stare at me with wide, confused eyes.

"Our shop's accounts," Meizhu said, "Aunt has already calculated them once. She and Sister Wu Qian have already taken their dividends, now it's just you left, Boss. Take a look at the accounts."

After saying this, she got up and went into the room, and after a while, she came out with two account books and a bag. She handed the account books to me first, then opened the bag and took out several stacks of money, placing them on the quilt.

I hesitated and said, "I have a share in your shop?"

"Why wouldn't you have a share? The shop is yours. Aunt and Sister Wu Qian invested a little. I'm just working for the three of you, I'm not the boss. You are the boss." Meizhu said lightly, "Anyway, it was all arranged by Aunt, I'm not very clear about it either."

My heart tightened. Jiang Xiaoyue, my aunt, I don't know what else you've done behind my back! No wonder you were more enthusiastic and open-minded than anyone else when the company was handed over!

I took out my phone to call my aunt.

Xue Bing grabbed the phone from my hand and said, "What time is it? Calling Aunt now, aren't you afraid of disturbing her rest?"

I smiled and said, "Comrade Jiang Xiaoyue won't be annoyed by me."

The call went through, and Aunt asked me on the phone, "When did you get back?"

I told her it was at noon, and then I heard her torrent of scolding: "Chen Feng, you heartless thing, not a single phone call during the New Year, I haven't seen a ghost of you. You didn't even come to see me when you got back, you've forgotten your mother since you got a wife."

I corrected her, "You're not my mother."

She said sharply, "I'm your aunt, which is the same as your mother." After saying this, she laughed and comforted me, "Was the trip okay? It's good that you're back."

Before I could ask about Meizhu, she spoke first, asking me, "Is Meizhu at home?"

I looked at Meizhu; she sat expressionlessly, as if it wasn't her who had secretly held my hand just now. I told my aunt that Meizhu and Xue Bing were both at home.

My aunt's voice seemed to become excited, and she asked me nervously, "Is Xue Bing at home for the New Year?"

I answered affirmatively, and my aunt laughed, saying something that made me want to die: "Two beauties accompanying you for the New Year, hahaha, you're not spending the New Year, you're spending a 'hard' year!"

They clearly heard my aunt's words. A faint smile appeared on Meizhu's face, while Xue Bing looked astonished.

"Settled the accounts?" Aunt asked me, "This girl Meizhu is good at doing business, she will have great development in the future."

I said, "What exactly is going on here?"

Aunt laughed, "Don't worry about it, just settle your accounts and keep an eye on your own shares."

"Who set this up?"

"Me," Aunt raised her voice, "What about it?"

"Messing around," I said, preparing to hang up.

"Wait, don't hang up yet," Aunt seemed to know my move and said, "Let me tell you three things: first, our company didn't occupy a single cent of your township government's property; second, you only hold 20% of the shares in this company; third, Xi Meizhu is in charge of our company now. You figure it out."

After hanging up, I felt a sense of respect for Meizhu. This young woman, quietly setting up such a company—I thought it was just a small shop, who knew there was a bigger conspiracy hidden behind it? Most importantly, where did the money for my 20% stake come from? I remembered when the company was handed over, Meizhu gave me a bankbook with 200,000 yuan, so what about this money?

Seeing my puzzled look, Meizhu said lightly, "Although your investment wasn't much, it was original stock. Original stock has high dividend returns; the original 20,000 yuan capital is now 50,000 yuan."

Xue Bing's eyes widened in shock, and she asked, almost stuttering, "This money, is it not illegal?"

Meizhu rolled her eyes at her cousin and said, "What's illegal about it? We operate legally and earn money legally. The state has policy support, what's there to be afraid of?"

I asked, "Which unit is the company affiliated with?"

Meizhu laughed, "Pity you're a state cadre, don't you understand these policies? Nowadays, when individuals set up companies, do they still need to be affiliated? No need, just register as the legal representative."

"You're the legal representative?"

"Mhm," Meizhu answered, "Aunt is a cadre, you're also a cadre, and Sister Wu Qian already registered a company, so I had to be the one. However, my shares are the smallest, only 15%." A shy smile appeared on her face as she opened the account book and said, "The dividend this year is 20,000 yuan, all the business details are in the account book, take a look yourself, I'm going back to rest."

I wanted to stop her, but Xue Bing gave me a look, so I had to get up to see her off.

Outside, the cold wind was biting, and icicles could be clearly seen under the eaves. After the heavy snow, the weather became even colder. It seemed this winter was destined to be a world of ice and snow. A frozen world, as pure as crystal, and under the small eaves, as a man, letting a woman walk alone in the middle of the night, my heart ached fiercely. ===== CHAPTER 110 =====