Chapter 14: You’re Just a Liar!

In the following days, Li Dong was very busy.

To quickly raise the funds to open the supermarket, Li Dong expanded his lobster trading market to half of Qingyang City.

The neighboring counties of Nanping, Hechuan, and Yanghe were all included in his territory.

Like Dongping, these three counties were also part of Qingyang City, and the lobster market remained sluggish, which provided Li Dong with an opportunity.

To get a clear understanding of the seafood wholesale market in these three counties, Li Dong used the excuse of studying at a classmate's house and didn't return home for several days.

Every night, he got up around one or two in the morning to contact wholesalers. Fortunately, he had cash on hand and didn't need to operate on credit, so he quickly established contact with several wholesalers, similar to those in Dongping.

Li Dong also made a trip to Pingchuan, but instead of going to the local market, he directly visited the provincial wholesale market.

He couldn't handle visiting each wholesaler one by one, so he slightly lowered the prices and wholesaled lobsters from these three counties directly.

The lobster market in Pingchuan was beginning to show an upward trend, with wholesale prices reaching five yuan per jin, which was not cheap compared to selling to the big bearded man.

If it weren't for the big bearded man being his first partner and the business not lasting long, Li Dong would have considered wholesaling for all four counties together, which would save a lot of trouble.

After being busy for nearly a week, Li Dong finally arranged the supply and distribution channels for the other locations.

When he returned to Dongping, it was already April 22.

Li Dong planned to take a day off first; he was extremely tired from the past few days and had hardly slept a full night.

He thought about finding a location for the supermarket the next day and opening it up quickly to avoid missing out to someone else.

Reselling lobsters was a one-time business, but opening a supermarket could provide a lifetime of income.

As for the funds, he wasn't too worried now. Just the daily price difference brought in about a hundred thousand yuan.

It seemed unbelievable, but in reality, it was just thirty to forty thousand jin of lobsters daily, which, when divided among the four counties, didn't make much of a splash.

Lying in bed, thinking about the busy days, Li Dong quickly fell asleep.

...

When Li Chengyuan and Cao Fang returned, Li Dong was still sound asleep.

Cao Fang gently pushed open the door and, seeing her son sleeping soundly, didn't disturb him but looked at him with a face full of pity. He had slimmed down and darkened considerably.

Quietly closing the door, Cao Fang walked to the living room and said softly, "Dongzi has lost a lot of weight these past few days. Is something happening at school? He's so thin and dark, it breaks my heart."

Li Chengyuan thought for a moment and said, "The college entrance exam is just over a month away. He must be under a lot of stress. For these two months, you should stop going to the stall and stay home with him, make him some good food."

"But can you manage alone?"

"It's fine. If I don't do business now, I can do it later. Right now, his future is more important. If we make a little less money, it's worth it. We make money for him, after all." Li Chengyuan understood well; everything they did was for their son's future.

Cao Fang thought about it and agreed, saying that their son was the most important thing.

Especially at this crucial time, she couldn't let her son mess things up by himself.

...

Li Dong, waking up, didn't know that his mother had decided to stay home with him.

When he entered the living room, Cao Fang was busy in the kitchen, and the aroma of food whetted his appetite.

"Mom, why do you have time to cook tonight?" Li Dong picked up a piece of rib and tasted it; it was quite good.

While Cao Fang was busy, she said with concern, "I'll have time to cook for you in the future. I need to fatten you up."

"Forget it, you're always so busy. Don't cook when you come back. It's fine to bring something from outside."

"It's no problem. Starting tomorrow, I won't be going to the stall, so I'll have plenty of time to cook."

"Cough, cough, cough…"

Li Dong nearly choked on the rib, quickly swallowing it and exclaiming, "What? Mom, you're not going to the market anymore?"

"Yeah, with your college entrance exam coming up and you not coming home these days, it's inconvenient for you and your classmates. Your father and I discussed it, and for this month, I won't go to the market. I'll stay at home to take care of you."

"That's not okay!"

Li Dong quickly refused, not because he was afraid of his mother's control.

The stall was already very busy; his mother's presence helped out, and if she stopped going, his father would be overwhelmed.

Thinking about it, it might be a good opportunity to close the stall temporarily.

Li Dong said, "Mom, how about closing the stall for these two months? You and Dad have been working so hard for years. You can reopen it after my college entrance exam."

"What are you talking about? If we don't sell at the stall, how will you eat and drink? At most, we'll just reduce the amount of goods. If the business stops for a few months, all our old customers will leave, and we won't know how much business we'll lose when we reopen." Cao Fang refused without a second thought. The whole family relied on it.

She and Li Chengyuan had little education; otherwise, they wouldn't be selling fish. Without the stall, what else could they do?

Li Dong wanted to say he was already making money, but considering he would need money for the supermarket, he couldn't bear to scare his parents with the huge investment.

Before the supermarket was up and running, Li Dong wasn't ready to tell his family. It seemed he needed to wait a bit longer.

Taking a deep breath, Li Dong thought he shouldn't need much more time; there was still time.

But given the situation, he couldn't let his mother stay with him. On one hand, it would be inconvenient for him, and on the other, his father couldn't handle everything alone.

"Mom, you don't need to stay with me. Go help Dad. It's too tiring for him to handle the market alone. Don't let him overwork himself."

Cao Fang was worried hearing her son say this, but she also felt uneasy leaving him alone.

Just as she was hesitating, Li Dong said, "I'll come to the market with you for lunch and dinner. You can buy some good food, and you won't have to worry about me. I'll be at school during the day."

Hearing this, Cao Fang thought it made sense. Her son going to the market for lunch and dinner, and she would be back in the evening, would be a good compromise.

Li Dong had no choice but to say this; otherwise, his mother would be unwilling.

Moreover, if he accompanied them to eat, they wouldn't have to eat poorly, and improving their diet would be good for his parents, so they wouldn't skimp on their own food.

Cao Fang agreed cheerfully and repeatedly reminded Li Dong to go to the market after school before returning to her room to rest.

After eating and washing up briefly, Li Dong didn't go back to sleep. He was so busy these days that he had little time to review his studies.

Although he had found some exam questions, he couldn't find all of them. The rest depended on his basic skills.

After reviewing the high school exam questions he had copied, Li Dong suddenly remembered something very important he had forgotten.

...

Early the next morning, Li Dong hurried to school. He suddenly remembered he had agreed to meet Qin Yuhan in the garden last time.

But at that time, he was busy contacting people in other counties and had completely forgotten about it.

Thinking about how Qin Yuhan might be furious and wanting to kill him for standing her up, Li Dong felt a bit scared.

Arriving at the small alley where Qin Yuhan usually passed by, and seeing it was still early, Li Dong decided to wait there.

He had other things to do today, and he hadn't planned to go to school, but he needed to wait for Qin Yuhan to explain.

After about ten minutes, Li Dong saw Qin Yuhan's figure from a distance. She was always so eye-catching that she stood out even in a crowd.

Qin Yuhan saw Li Dong as well. As she passed by, she didn't speak to him, looking straight ahead and ignoring him.

Li Dong awkwardly followed her and quickly explained, "Yuhan, I had an urgent matter last week. By the time I went to find you, you were already gone. I thought I'd be resting today, so I didn't want to disturb you…"

"Humph! Liar!"

"It's true. Give me another chance. It was really urgent last time…"

Qin Yuhan stopped in her tracks, her eyes red, with a disappointed look. "I say you're a liar!"

"I waited in the garden until five in the afternoon, and you never showed up! I asked Wei Yuan, and he said he hadn't seen you these days and said you took a leave and didn't go to school…"

Li Dong felt a lump in his chest, a

 mix of discomfort and happiness.

He couldn't describe the feeling; was she concerned about him? Otherwise, why would she ask Wei Yuan? She didn't have to care.

Looking at the girl in front of him, biting her lip and looking stubborn, Li Dong wanted to say something, but it all seemed pale and insignificant.

He could imagine the scene: the little girl sitting alone on a bench waiting for something, from morning till afternoon, her smile fading, turning into anger, frustration, and finally concern…

Li Dong's eyes felt a bit sore, and he suddenly wanted so much to embrace the girl in front of him.

Qin Yuhan continued to accuse him, feeling a bellyful of grievances.

Suddenly, she felt herself enveloped in warmth, and the sudden situation left her mind blank and a bit at a loss, her eyes wide open.

"I'm sorry!"

Li Dong hugged the girl in front of him, whispering, "I'm really sorry. I won't lie to you again."

It seemed like a long time had passed before Qin Yuhan suddenly shouted and pushed Li Dong away, turning and running.

Behind her, Li Dong's carefree laughter could be heard. The little girl's face was red, and her heart was filled with a mix of anger and shyness.