Reborn in the 1990s, I want my husband to live to be a hundred.

Chapter 133 Can you guarantee this wasn't a trap she set?

The shop that Ma Xiuyun chose was not far from the right side of the alley entrance, not far from where they lived. The shop was close to the new street and was about the same size as the house Deng Xiuzhen was living in, except that it did not have a courtyard and had an extra room.

"This room by the entrance will be the reception area. A cashier's counter will be set up a little behind the door, and a corner sofa will be placed against the wall to accommodate more people. The room opposite the cashier will be the treatment room; we'll buy a few treatment beds..."

"A treatment bed? What kind of bed is it?" Ma Xiuyun interrupted Deng Xiuzhen and asked.

"It's the kind of bed that you can lie down or sit up in, designed to make you comfortable whether you're lying down or sitting up. But the width can only be between 1.2 and 1.5 meters, depending on the size of the room. The spacing should be just enough for people to walk through."

Go straight ahead into this room, which is divided in the middle. Open a door on this side, go in and install a washbasin. Inside is the bathroom. The bathroom must be well-ventilated, clean, tidy, and odorless.

"We'll make a dispensing room here, just this big will do. We'll put a table and a cabinet inside..." Deng Xiuzhen said, gesturing to the renovation worker. The worker took out a pen and carefully wrote it down.

"We won't change the exterior walls; we'll keep them as they are. But the interior will be completely renovated. We'll lay floor tiles, paint the walls white, put up some artwork, and install a suspended ceiling..." Deng Xiuzhen said eloquently.

Kang Rongzhong stood by the door, quietly watching the confident yet unassuming woman who was engrossed in her planning.

A thought suddenly popped into my head: Maybe this kind of woman is more suitable for me?

"Big Brother?" Ma Xiuyun was somewhat surprised to see Kang Rongzhong. Kang Rongzhong usually didn't worry about anything except teaching, yet today he was actually here to help at the shop!

"Yes, come and take a look." Kang Rongzhong stood there with a smile.

Hearing the sound, Deng Xiuzhen turned around and saw a man in a white shirt and trousers. Because of the backlighting, his features were not very clear, but she could see that his thick black hair was neatly styled, and he wore light brown glasses. He looked simple and refined, but Deng Xiuzhen sensed a sense of alienation and loneliness.

"Xiuzhen, this is my older brother, Kang Rongzhong. He teaches at Beijing No. 6 Middle School. Do you remember him?"

"Hello!" Deng Xiuzhen didn't answer Ma Xiuyun, but greeted her with a smile.

"Hello, I'm Kang Rongzhong. From now on, we'll be partners." Kang Rongzhong walked in, smiling and nodding.

"You two seem to have similar personalities. If you were together, you probably wouldn't argue, right?"

"Huh?" Kang Rongzhong was taken aback.

Deng Xiuzhen glanced at him furtively. Kang Rongzhong was standing under the lamp, his features clearly visible: sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, thin lips, and an oval face. He wore a white shirt and gold-rimmed glasses, looking gentle and refined, with an elegant demeanor.

She couldn't help but secretly admire him: This man is so handsome, just like a movie star on TV!

However, she was not very willing to get close to this man, always feeling that he was a bit gloomy and not cheerful enough.

Seeing that the two were a little embarrassed, Ma Xiuyun realized that she had said the wrong thing and quickly said, "Doing business is all about getting along well. Harmony brings wealth. Xiuzhen and I get along well, and now that I see that you two are compatible, our business is sure to be successful and prosperous!"

Deng Xiuzhen left early, making an excuse that she had something to do.

Ma Xiuyun asked Kang Rongzhong, "Did you hear Xiuzhen's suggestions just now? What do you think of them?"

Kang Rongzhong nodded and said, "That's good, let's do as she says."

“I also think it’s a good idea, but if we do as she says, we might not have enough money for our original plan,” Ma Xiuyun said, revealing her main concern.

money?

Kang Rongzhong was in a dilemma. He had no money himself, and his father had given him all his savings for his funeral. Where was he going to find money?

Should we borrow it? That would be incredibly embarrassing.

But without making money, the shop can't open. The initial rent and other expenses are just wasted, and not even a ripple.

Kang Rongzhong frowned in annoyance, feeling that his previous decision had been somewhat hasty.

"How much more money do we need next?" he asked, forcing himself to answer.

"The renovation and the purchase of new items will probably cost around three thousand yuan," Ma Xiuyun said with a worried expression.

She only earns 300 yuan a month helping out at the breakfast shop. Her husband hasn't found a good way to make a living and hasn't brought home a single penny. Her father-in-law pays the rent, but they rely on her meager income for food, drink, and other necessities. The family is so poor that even a thief would cry three times if he broke in.

"Three thousand?" Kang Rongzhong was dumbfounded. He only earned one thousand a month, and he had to give eight hundred to his wife, leaving him with only two hundred for himself. Even if he didn't eat or drink, it would take him more than a year to save three thousand.

Besides, the money must be taken out now.

He is now filled with regret, wondering why he was so quick to speak. Why couldn't he have thought things through more?

But there's no going back in life.

He has to find a way, otherwise the money he invested in the early stages will be wasted.

And if he withdraws at this time, how will Deng Xiuzhen view him?

"Xiuzhen, how about we don't renovate and just open like this?" Seeing Kang Rongzhong's constipated appearance and silence, Ma Xiuyun naturally knew that he couldn't come up with the money, so she quickly came back to discuss it with Deng Xiuzhen.

"How about I write down all the recipes for you, and you brothers can partner up, and I'll step down?" Deng Xiuzhen was speaking from the heart; she genuinely wanted to withdraw.

But when Ma Xiuyun heard these words, the meaning changed. Ma Xiuyun thought that Deng Xiuzhen meant that the shop had to be decorated that way.

"Brother, Xiuzhen said we can't change it, we have to pretend like that." Ma Xiuyun returned home dejectedly, but said this with great conviction.

“What does a divorced woman with a child know? What she says may not be right, so why do we have to listen to her? You can make your own decisions!” Kang Xinyi felt that their worries were unreasonable.

“Dad, you don’t know, Xiuzhen must have run a beauty salon before. You didn’t see her go to the site today, but she thought of every detail, even the placement and orientation of each chair. Think about it, if she hadn’t run a shop, how could she know so much?” Ma Xiuyun genuinely believed that Deng Xiuzhen understood this and valued her opinion very much.

“Dad, I think so too. What she said today made a lot of sense, it was just like she was describing what happened on the spot.” Kang Rongzhong agreed.

"Then make her pay up! She doesn't contribute a single penny, yet she wants 30% of the profits? There's no such thing as a free lunch!" Kang Xinyi had taken out his life savings, but now he still couldn't get things done, so he couldn't help but blame Deng Xiuzhen, whom he already disliked.

“Dad, you can’t say that. They’re contributing their technology as equity, not nothing at all,” Ma Xiuyun quickly defended Deng Xiuzhen.

"Didn't she write down the entire recipe for you? Did she deliberately only tell you half of it to get your attention and make you invest in opening a shop? What's wrong with your brain!" Kang Xinyi pointed at Ma Xiuyun, feeling a tightness in his chest.

"Dad, you've really misunderstood. She's always been unwilling to participate; I'm the one who got her involved..."

"Can you guarantee this isn't a trap she set?!" Kang Xinyi interrupted Ma Xiuyun and roared.

Kang Rongzhong looked up at Ma Xiuyun.

“Dad, I can really guarantee that!” Ma Xiuyun replied firmly.

"Sister-in-law, what are you promising?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a girl in a white dress with long, flowing hair walked in.