TGDS Chapter 81.1

The Good Dad System (Arc 11) Chapter 81.1: A Patriarchal Family (13)

Leaves fall and sprout again, the sun sets and rises again; time passes silently, day after day, with these changes.

S City’s First Central Primary School is the largest primary school in the area. Originally a school during the Republic of China era, it has undergone several renovations and remains as it is today. The school covers a large area, has complete facilities, and excellent teachers. The only thing that worries parents is the narrow alleyway in front of the school. No matter how hard they try, they can’t drive in; they have to rush to secure a parking spot and walk in to get their child from the front.

The classrooms aren’t quiet after class. The students go to bed early and get up early, all full of energy. They can make a fuss over a ten-minute class, and some even run around the playground a couple of times before returning.

Li Xiaoyu turned around, leaned over the desk behind her, and fiddled with the other person’s pencil case, her face full of curiosity: “Xiaoping, is this the new pencil case Uncle Pei researched? Has it started selling yet?”

Facing her was Pei Xiaoping’s pink pencil case on the table. It had a magical girl-like pattern printed on it, and it wasn’t flat; it seemed to have been made with some kind of resin, giving it a nice feel. The pencil case wasn’t heavy, but it was unusually large. It was a push-button type. On the left was a double-layered pencil case that could be lifted, and inside there was a mini mirror. On the right were two compartments: one smaller one for erasers or small items, and the other a rectangular pencil sharpener.

At their age, there weren’t many things to compare—just the style of book covers, the type of stationery, school bags and clothes, and grades. That wasn’t much else.

“They’ve started selling them! Dad said he gave one to Aunt Li. Go back and ask her, maybe she’s at home!” Pei Xiaoping was engrossed in working on her book covers. Her parents had helped her wrap them last night, choosing various cute-looking wrapping papers, aligning the edges neatly, and finally sealing them with transparent book covers. She was still in a state of novelty, flipping through them every now and then.

“Okay, I’ll go home and ask Mom for one,” Li Xiaoyu replied immediately, very cheerfully. She had a mushroom haircut, only reaching her ears, and at first glance, she looked like a little boy. She tilted her head and looked at Pei Xiaoping, then spoke after a while, “Xiaoping, you’re so pretty.” There was no romantic emotion in her words. Children of this age are particularly drawn to beauty, and at such an innocent age, they are always extra gentle or deliberately teasing towards pretty girls and boys.

According to the regulations of the First Central Primary School, school uniforms are only worn on Mondays for the flag-raising ceremony or other events. Pei Xiaoping wore a simple light yellow vest dress with a short-sleeved lace shirt underneath. Her bangs looked casual, yet they seemed carefully combed. Her ponytail was tied up with a yellow polka-dot ribbon in the shape of a bow. Combined with her fair skin, she looked like an adorable and cute child.

“No way, you’re the cutest!” Pei Xiaoping, who had been raised to be sweet-talking, praised everyone she met. She reached out and touched Xiaoyu’s hair. Xiaoyu’s hair wasn’t the fine, soft type that lay flat on her head; it was a little fluffy, like a little mushroom that could walk. “Look at your hair, it’s so neat, just like Sister Jiang from the TV series my grandma and I watched yesterday!”

“No way,” Li Xiaoyu said sheepishly, scratching her head. “Xiaoping, did your grandma do your hair too? My mom’s really mean. She said she’d give me a new hairstyle, and then she just shaved it all off at home.”

She spoke of it casually, but actually, she had a terrible night of crying her heart out. Her mother told her she was a great stylist and then dragged her to the bathroom to wash her hair. Carefree as she was, she didn’t think much of it. It wasn’t until after the haircut, when she was pushed in front of the mirror to blow-dry her hair, that she realized it was a complete disaster—even the edges were uneven. Her mother, seeing how much she was crying, seemed a little guilty and said she’d trim it to make it neater. And then… it got shorter and shorter.

This morning, when she went to Xiaoping’s door to call her to go to school together, tears were welling up in her eyes, afraid even Xiaoping would laugh at her.

Pei Xiaoping thought for a moment, then rummaged through her schoolbag in the drawer and quickly found two pairs of small, strawberry-shaped hair clips. They looked very cute. She carefully opened them and helped Xiaoyu put them on her head. Then she opened the pencil case and showed Xiaoyu to herself in the mirror: “Xiaoyu, don’t be sad. You look so pretty with these on.”

“Pretty?” Li Xiaoyu looked at herself in the mirror and smiled foolishly.

“Pretty.” Seeing her friend happy, Pei Xiaoping smiled too. The two not-so-similar faces were close together, their smiles both full of sunshine.

…

Due to the dense population and traffic congestion in the inner city, the S City government organized a large-scale factory relocation, providing policy support for suburban land and encouraging various factories to relocate there for production. This led to a large number of workers moving there with the factories.

Among them, the most successful were the doll and stationery factories that were established more than three years ago. Both factories displayed the doll brand, and orders poured in as soon as they were established.

“President Tang, we received two orders for stationery dolls from overseas. The factory currently has enough robotic arms, but things will be a bit hectic after we take these orders. Could you take a look at the specific requirements?”

Tang Zhaodi, who was sitting in the middle of the office looking at the documents, looked up and immediately laughed, teasingly replying with a hint of helplessness, “President Li, you really are…” The person leaning against the door was Li Laidi. She was tall and thin, with a very short, masculine haircut, wearing a simple suit, and exuding energy. She was waving documents in her hand towards the office. Seeing Tang Zhaodi looking over, she sat down directly opposite the desk.

More than three years ago, Pei Naochun finally saved up his first sum of money and purchased this abandoned factory building, along with its assembly line equipment. It was originally a men’s clothing factory, but its cash flow dried up, making it unsustainable and leaving it stranded there. After buying the factory, Pei Naochun’s first action was to speak with Tang Zhaodi and invite her and Li Laidi to visit the factory, entrusting them with its management.

At that time, both were already skilled assembly line workers with considerable experience in simple production, especially Li Laidi, who had been there longer and was already the workshop’s deputy director. They both had considerable firsthand experience in things like spot checks, quality inspections, and production management. As for other aspects, Pei Naochun also poached two other management talents to take up their positions.

Of course, Tang Zhaodi initially strongly disagreed. She was willing to quit her job, but managing the factory was something she was incapable of. She firmly believed she was an incompetent woman. Even if she could earn money now, she was only doing menial work, which anyone could do. How could she possibly manage a factory?

Then came the carefully prepared barrage of questions.

Pei Naochun led the charge. He sighed deeply, his face full of worry, and told his wife that the doll boutique and wholesale line were booming. The manufacturers that had been making the original designs were raising prices and even secretly reselling and leading the production of pirated goods. If they didn’t have their own business, the company would probably be in dire straits. But he couldn’t do too much on his own. He had to go to other places to open new stores, and his mother had to keep an eye on the local shops. The only person he could trust was his wife. If she didn’t want to, he wouldn’t force her; he would think of another way.

This statement was half true and half false. It’s true that a company needs talent as it grows, and it’s true that it faces crises. But even if Tang Zhaodi doesn’t come, it doesn’t mean the problem can’t be solved. He had already decided to push her to join him, to encourage Tang Zhaodi to have some confidence and open her eyes to the world. At least in S City, compared to the inland areas, things have changed dramatically.

The second person to step in was Wu Guizhi, who had been encouraged by Pei Naochun beforehand and was wholeheartedly thinking about her son. She adopted the airs of a mother-in-law and persuaded her from a broader perspective, saying that if Xiaoping and Zihao could settle down and develop in S City, their future would be limitless, and for the sake of the whole family, she should also take responsibility.

Just when Tang Zhaodi was almost completely defecting, the final trump card was played. Pei Xiaoping, holding her younger brother’s hand, ran to the bed, looking at their mother with pleading eyes. Neither of them understood what had happened; they only knew from their father that their mother was in a bad mood. So, they acted coquettishly and sweetly, saying things like “Mom is the best” and “We believe in Mom.”

Well, they had no choice but to comply. Tang Zhaodi was thus placed in the position of CEO of the children’s products factory.

In the past three years, Tang Zhaodi’s career had progressed rapidly. To understand the reports, she even enrolled in night school with her mother-in-law. She didn’t learn a lot, but at least reading and writing were no longer a problem. Now, when she went out, people called her CEO Tang.

“I wonder if Xiaoping and Xiaoyu behaved well at school today. I’m afraid they’ll get too wild during the summer vacation,” Li Laidi said with a smile. She too had experienced many changes in her life. Four years ago, she officially divorced her husband. The reason was simple: her husband was a man of his word; he had a son with another woman. Upon discovering this, Li Laidi immediately chose to divorce him without hesitation. Now she is raising her daughter alone.

She was in great pain after the divorce, but seeing her daughter growing up happily, running freely, and being incredibly wild, she finally confirmed that she had made the right decision.

“Not at all, Xiaoping and Xiaoyu are very well-behaved,” Tang Zhaodi said after signing the last document. She would leave any matters she couldn’t handle to the two managers for advice; if they still couldn’t decide, she would take them home for her husband to deal with.

“Your Xiaoping is the well-behaved one,” Li Laidi rolled her eyes without hesitation. She knew her own daughter well; her Xiaoyu was like a tomboy, climbing and jumping around all day, scaring her half to death. “By the way, are you going back to your hometown this year? I have to go back. My mother said she’s not feeling well, and I guess she’ll drag me back for another blind date. Anyway, I’ll just give her the money then, and everything will be fine.”

Speaking of going home, Tang Zhaodi’s gaze drifted into the distance. In the past five years, her family had only gone back once, in the first year. After that, they were busy with factory acquisitions, worker management, and her husband’s meetings in other places, so they hadn’t been able to go back. The arrangements for the family’s ancestral worship were also handled by her husband, with her uncle in their hometown paying for it. As for her family, they were content with their money; as long as the money was sent back in time, they didn’t have to worry about anything. After all, they had a high level of understanding: a married daughter is like water spilled from a cup.

Suddenly, thinking about this, she realized that Peijia Village was already a distant memory.