"Alright, take care of yourself, and don't let him get so angry that he does something more vicious," Liu Yifeng reminded her.
Xu Muqing nodded, "Mm, I know!"
After hanging up with Xu Muqing, Liu Yifeng sighed. Why would this man bother?
Since they were divorced and he had a new wife, shouldn't they both move on peacefully?
Why was he still harassing his ex-wife and disturbing their child from time to time!
The next morning, Liu Yifeng dropped Tong Tong off at kindergarten and waited in the same spot for Xu Muqing. They had agreed to go pick pomelos at the orchard today.
After waiting for about ten minutes, Xu Muqing finally arrived, fashionably late!
If she had been any later, it would have been too late. The kindergarten was quite strict, and if a child was late, they would be made to stand in the corner.
Children these days had strong self-esteem, unlike when they were young and had no shame. They wouldn't feel sad about being made to stand, and might even be happy because it meant they didn't have to attend class.
Nowadays, children would cry and fuss at home if they were made to stand, so adults dared not do it, lest they be tormented themselves.
Moreover, it was a good habit of self-discipline, so parents were willing to cooperate.
As soon as Yao Yao got out of the car, she saw Liu Yifeng and greeted him cheerfully, "Good morning, Uncle Liu!"
"Good morning, Yao Yao. Go to class quickly, or you'll be late," Liu Yifeng reminded her with a smile.
However, Yao Yao wanted to share something that had excited her greatly. "Uncle, Little Fish has grown a lot! It's about the size of my palm now." She gestured with her hand as she spoke.
"These little fish are indeed growing fast. In just two days, they've more than doubled in size, like balloons being inflated," even Xu Muqing exclaimed in amazement.
She also kept many fish at home, but none had ever grown as rapidly as these two wild fish.
Liu Yifeng knew it was related to the Soul Revival Powder he had added, but he played dumb. "Really? That's amazing. It shows that you and your daughter are excellent fish keepers!"
"Has Tong Tong's little fish grown too?" Yao Yao asked curiously.
"It's grown quite a bit as well. Yao Yao, if you don't go to the classroom now, you'll really be late!" Liu Yifeng checked his phone. It was already 7:55 AM, with only five minutes left until 8 o'clock.
Yao Yao then quickly had the teacher take her to the classroom, not forgetting to wave goodbye to her uncle before leaving.
"This child is very sensible and cute!" Liu Yifeng said thoughtfully.
He had been picking up and dropping off children at the kindergarten for so long that he often saw children who were unreasonable and spoke to adults in a commanding tone.
They were completely spoiled into little tyrants. While such children might be indulged by their families when they were young, the outside world would not tolerate them when they grew up.
Therefore, spoiling a child was actually harming them.
Xu Muqing smiled and said, "Your Tong Tong is the one who is truly polite and sensible!
I'm quite curious, how did you manage to raise him so well."
In fact, when she visited Liu Yifeng's home two days prior, she had wanted to ask Tong Tong's mother why she had never seen her pick up or drop off the child, nor had she seen her at home.
She had also never heard the father and son mention her.
Liu Yifeng felt a bit awkward. "Actually, this child only came to live with me in September. Before that, his mother was taking care of him!"
"Oh, where is the child's mother now?" Xu Muqing asked curiously.
Even the most aloof woman had a curious side.
More importantly, she wanted to learn from Tong Tong's mother and find out how she had raised her child so well.
"The child's mother is working out of town and will likely not be back for a long time." Liu Yifeng didn't elaborate on his relationship with the child's mother.
Xu Muqing simply assumed they were in a long-distance relationship and didn't think any further.
"Let's go. Didn't you say you wanted to buy pomelos to give as benefits to your employees? I'll take you there now so you can choose yourself," Liu Yifeng said.
Xu Muqing nodded, "Okay, please lead the way!"
Liu Yifeng then got into the minivan, with Xu Muqing following behind him.
After about half an hour, they arrived at the orchard.
Xu Muqing looked at the seemingly endless orchard and was a little surprised. "Your orchard is quite large!"
"It's average. Come, I'll take you in!" Liu Yifeng said.
"This is my first time seeing pomelos growing on trees, but each of these pomelos is so large. How did you manage it?" Xu Muqing's eyes were fixed on the pomelos.
Liu Yifeng smiled faintly. "It's just normal operation. They were cooperative and grew into what I wanted."
Xu Muqing knew Liu Yifeng was being modest. However, with such astonishing cultivation techniques, it was understandable that he wouldn't easily reveal them.
Zhao Jiazu saw Liu Yifeng arriving with someone and asked curiously, "Boss, who is this?"
He had initially wanted to call her "Boss's wife," but he was afraid of being wrong, which would be embarrassing.
"This is Ms. Xu. She wants to select about a hundred pomelos from us!"
"We've already picked quite a few pomelos, and they're piled on the ground, not yet loaded onto the truck. Ms. Xu can choose directly from here," Zhao Jiazu said, pointing to the pile of pomelos that was almost like a mountain.
Xu Muqing waved her hand, "No, I'd rather choose them from the trees myself. I don't have anything else to do right now!"
"Alright, if you see any you like and can't reach, tell me, and I'll help you pick them!" Liu Yifeng said.
So, Xu Muqing went into the pomelo orchard, took a bag for the pomelos, and started selecting.
The pomelos on the outer perimeter had already been picked, so to pick pomelos, one had to go inside.
"This one looks pretty good." Xu Muqing looked at a pomelo hanging on a branch in front of her with a satisfied expression.
She could have chosen from the ones that had already been picked, but she had never experienced the joy of picking them herself, so she wanted to try it hands-on.
Liu Yifeng also helped her. For the pomelos on higher branches, they had to use pruning shears to cut the stem before letting them fall.
They couldn't poke them directly with a stick, as it would puncture the skin, not only affecting their appearance but also causing them to rot and not last long.
After spending over an hour in the orchard, they had only picked about a hundred pomelos, which was considerably slower than the workers there.
Most of the people here had experience picking pomelos. When Zhao Jiazu needed to pick pomelos in the past, he had hired them.
Therefore, picking pomelos now was like a piece of cake for them.
About a hundred pomelos filled eight large bags, with about ten pomelos per bag.
Liu Yifeng acted as the laborer, carrying the pomelos to the entrance of the orchard, trip after trip.
By the time he had carried them all out, he was drenched in sweat.
Xu Muqing felt a little embarrassed. "Mr. Liu, thank you for your hard work."
"It's no trouble. This is what I should do, as I'm earning your money!" Liu Yifeng casually wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Then please weigh them so I can pay you!" Xu Muqing said.
Just then, Su Wanru drove up.
Seeing Xu Muqing standing next to Liu Yifeng, she inexplicably felt a sense of crisis, though she didn't know where this feeling originated.
However, her heart was screaming, and she seemed to harbor an unfounded animosity towards this woman.
Yet, she didn't show it and walked over with a feigned smile. "Ms. Liu, why are you here so early?"
She knew Liu Yifeng was bringing Tong Tong's deskmate's mother to the orchard to pick pomelos today. Driven by curiosity, she hadn't gone to the company and had come directly to the orchard.
Upon seeing Su Wanru, Liu Yifeng smiled and introduced them. "Ms. Su, this is Ms. Xu. She's in the clothing business."
Then, he turned to Xu Muqing. "Ms. Xu, this is the general manager of Bai Guo Yuan. She buys all my pomelos."
The two women met each other's gaze. They didn't speak, but they could see the hostility in each other's eyes.
Finally, Xu Muqing politely extended her hand. "Hello, Ms. Su!"
"Hello, Ms. Xu!" Su Wanru lightly touched Xu Muqing's hand and then let go.
Liu Yifeng looked at their interaction and felt something was off, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
However, the two women were both attractive in their own way, and standing together, they looked like contestants in a beauty pageant.
"Since Ms. Xu was introduced by Mr. Liu, I naturally can't profit from you. Originally, I buy these pomelos for ten yuan a jin. I'll sell them to you for eight yuan a jin. Consider it a gesture of friendship!" Su Wanru acted generously.
But in Xu Muqing's eyes, it felt like being patronized. Was she someone who couldn't afford pomelos at ten yuan a jin?
She smiled and replied, "How can I let you lose money? After all, you're an employee. It wouldn't be good if you had to make up the difference yourself.
Whatever price your Bai Guo Yuan sells them for, I'll buy them at that price. I can afford this much money."
The phrase "an employee" made Su Wanru hear a strong scent of gunpowder.
Liu Yifeng also sensed that something was wrong. These two had just met for the first time, so why were they so confrontational?
Could it be that they felt a certain threat from each other's appearance?
After all, two tigers cannot share one mountain, especially not two beautiful tigresses.
Fearing that the two would truly clash, he quickly said, "Ms. Su, I think Ms. Xu is right. After all, you are an employee of the company. If you sell them at a loss, you'll have to cover the difference yourself.
I can't introduce business to you that would result in you not only not making money but also losing it.
How about this, the discount of two yuan per jin will be covered by me. You can deduct the corresponding amount then."