When Guihua was in Anbei, she worked as a nanny in the family kindergarten of Anbei Agricultural College. After Mingdong was transferred to the capital, Guihua did not have a corresponding job. Usually, Guihua was either cooking or cleaning at home, or she would go to the next door to talk to her parents. Her life was boring like a pool of stagnant water. Guihua's mother Liu Chunhua was a person who could not sit still. She shook her head when she saw Guihua doing nothing, and always advised her to find something to do while she was young.
Guihua inherited her mother's strong character and didn't want to stay at home. She originally wanted to find a job, but when she heard that Roubao was making so much money by secretly doing business and her sister-in-law said that the country supported it, she immediately became very angry and wanted to roll up her sleeves and go out to set up a stall.
Mingdong looked at Guihua's high spirits and suddenly felt overwhelmed: "What will happen to the child if you go out to set up a stall?"
"What children?" Guihua squinted, "How old are the children? Doubao will soon enter college, and I don't need to worry about his studies. Tangbao is in school and can go to and from school by himself. You two can cook for lunch and dinner if you want. If you don't want to cook, you can eat in the cafeteria or go to my mother's house. You guys are not going to starve to death."
After Mingdong was transferred to the capital, he only had half a day of classes a day, and unlike before, he didn't have a farm or experimental fields, so he had a lot of free time. He also knew Guihua's character. She had only been at home for less than a year, and she was so depressed that she was going crazy. This time she had the idea of doing business, and he really couldn't stop her.
"Okay, okay." Mingdong nodded helplessly: "But the meat buns can't interfere with your studies. If your grades drop, you'd better stop this business as soon as possible."
"I know, I know." Roubao grinned. He never thought that after his underground work was exposed, he not only did not get beaten, but also gained an ally. He was immediately excited and put his hands together towards Zhenzhen: "Aunt, this time it's all thanks to you, thank you very much."
Zhenzhen rolled her eyes at him, smiled, washed her hands and went to help make dumplings: "Since my sister-in-law is also going to help with the meat bun business, why don't you two think about it and decide whether to set up a stall like before or open a proper shop."
Guihua thought for a while and said, "If we talk about long-term solutions, it would definitely be better to open a small shop, but the rent, water and electricity bills are not cheap, and setting up a stall may not attract regular customers. However, there is no cost, and each has its pros and cons. Zhenzhen, please help me with some advice."
Zhenzhen smiled and said, "My suggestion is to open a small store. Find a good location with a lot of traffic. Don't rent it. Just buy the store. In the future, whether you want to expand your business or do something else, don't sell this house. Houses in our capital will become more and more valuable in the future."
Guihua and Roubao talked for a long time, and they chose two places. The first one was near the school, where there were many famous universities such as Imperial University and National University, with a large flow of customers, and the clothes they sold were suitable for young people. Another one was that there were several empty storefronts in Beiyang, and they could buy or rent them. Although there were fewer people here, the customer base was slightly higher-end, and if they bought some high-end clothes, they could sell them at a high price.
Seeing the two places the two men were discussing, Zhenzhen couldn't help but nodded. Zhenzhen had bought a lot of shops in these two places, especially the shops in Beiyang. Zhenzhen secretly bought several connected shops. They were all the future prime locations and the best shops. In the future, this place would be a tourist attraction for people from all over the country to visit. The rent for one year alone would be enough for a family's food and clothing for a lifetime.
The dumplings were wrapped and put into the pot to cook, while Roubao and Guihua were still calculating with papers, how much money to use for the store, how much to keep for capital, and how much to keep for activities, and the discussion was in full swing. Mingdong sat next to them and peeled garlic while sighing: "You know, if I don't go to school to find Roubao today, I can't control my son and I have to lose a daughter-in-law. It's really a loss." But it was obvious that Mingdong couldn't make the decision for Guihua. Guihua didn't even look at him when she heard this.
After Roubao returned to school, he spent half a month to make up for the missed lessons and passed the teacher's test with high scores. Guihua finally decided to open a small shop at the intersection of several schools. According to Zhenzhen's suggestion, she bought a 50-square-meter shop. She didn't spend too much money on decoration. She just painted the walls white, laid floor leather on the floor, used curtains to separate a fitting room, and placed two large dressing mirrors. The shop was considered decorated.
Now that they had a store, they had to go to the south to buy the goods. The mother and daughter bought tickets to Guangdong Province. Half a month later, they not only brought back more than a dozen sacks of clothes, but also sent back 20 bags by train, saying that it would take at least half a month for the goods to arrive. Zhenzhen helped to order the hanging nets and long racks for hanging clothes. Guihua and Roubao worked for two days to hang up all the clothes. There was no need to count the days. They found a Sunday, hung up a plaque, set off a string of firecrackers, and the Gui Fu Lanxiang boutique clothing store was opened.
Today is the weekend, and the weather is very good. Students like to take advantage of their rest day to go out and see what new shops have opened outside the school. The firecrackers attracted many students. Seeing the jeans and windbreakers hanging on the door, the students came over and scrambled to squeeze in. Guihua and Roubao were busy, one helping to take the clothes and the other collecting the money. They kept their eyes and ears on the road, constantly introducing the styles of clothes to customers and paying attention to whether there were any sneaky items. They were very busy.
It was not until noon that the crowds slowly dispersed. Looking at the empty half wall, Guihua suddenly felt that her waist and legs were no longer sore. She directed Roubao in a trembling manner: "Son, go buy some food and bring it back."
The shop was also very close to Roubao's school. He rode the bicycle parked at the door and soon brought back two full boxes of food. The mother and son finished their meal face to face. Guihua took a sip of tea and said, "Tomorrow there will be students in class, so there won't be that many people. You should catch up on your studies and don't need to come. When half of the clothes sent out are sold, we'll go to the south to stock up."
"Okay." They quickly packed up the lunch boxes and wiped the cash register with a rag. The mother and son rested for a while and took out clothes from the small warehouse to fill the blank walls. After dinner time, more people came in slowly.
Guihua has always been enterprising since she was young, and she is even more enthusiastic about starting her own business this time. Roubao and his mother are in business together, so he can spend more time on studying. He absorbs knowledge eagerly. On weekends, besides helping out in the clothing store, he goes out to investigate the market. He plans to use the money he has earned in the past few years to start his own business after graduation. At that time, he will give the clothing store to Guihua and will not interfere himself.
After working hard for a year, Guihua bought the 60-square-meter store next door. He closed the store for half a month while going to the south to purchase goods. He found a construction engineer to connect the two rooms. Not only did he increase the number of fitting rooms, but he also sold more than just clothes. Backpacks, shoes, hair flowers, hairpins, etc. also occupied a place in the store. Although these small items were not expensive, the profits were surprisingly high. Female students from nearby schools and female workers liked to go shopping whenever they had free time. Even if they didn't buy anything, they could still feast their eyes.
While the osmanthus business was booming, Zhenzhen was also thinking about her future. At present, she had to look through the account books to remember her assets. Within the scope allowed by the policy, Zhenzhen bought a lot of stores in several future first-tier cities. She opened some of the stores and hired people to manage them, and rented out the rest. She rented out the houses that were relatively neat, and left the shabby ones there for demolition.
Only a few of the three hundred boxes of gold dug back from the Golden Manor were used in the space, and all kinds of antiques were placed everywhere in the space. Zhenzhen has registered and classified antique calligraphy and paintings over the years, and those that are national treasures are all neatly placed on the shelves. Due to the special environment of the space, there is no need to worry about the antique calligraphy and paintings being oxidized or damaged. The others are also placed in a separate room, and the furnishings for the house will be taken from here in the future.
Zhenzhen's current situation is that she has a mountain of treasure but cannot show it out openly. She needs a business that is not out of the ordinary. Zhenzhen took a week off and traveled around the capital. Finally, she set her sights on an old furniture factory.
This furniture factory existed before the founding of the People's Republic of China. At that time, the workers here were all famous carpenters in the imperial capital during the Republic of China period. After liberation, all local carpenters were recruited. They always followed the most traditional and ancient craftsmanship, and when they trained apprentices, they also followed the most traditional methods. It took more than ten years of hand-in-hand teaching to be considered a master. Later, due to the movement, it was turned into a state-owned economy. Because finely crafted furniture was considered "four olds", the factory could only make the simplest and most ordinary style furniture without even a pattern.
The furniture factory was already on the verge of collapse during the movement, and after it ended, the furniture, which had nothing special about it, couldn't be sold. The factory leaders lacked the courage to reform and innovate, and always used the excuse that the factory was not for making money but for serving the people wholeheartedly, and did not want to find a way to make money. So after struggling for several years, the factory finally couldn't hold on and is going bankrupt this year.
Dozens of workers in the factory were about to lose their jobs. The oldest was in his 50s, and the youngest was in his 30s or 40s. They were the backbone of their families. Without a job, they would lose their source of income. When the workers heard the news, they blocked the factory director's office every day, demanding an explanation. Solving the employment problem for these workers was the top priority in the district, and even the city leaders were alarmed, ordering that someone willing to take over the factory must be found within a month.
Such a large factory with so many workers cannot be taken over with just a few hundred or a few thousand dollars. Although the factory can be taken over by employees first, they are basically lifelong craftsmen, and there are very few who have the ability and courage.
Zhenzhen was attracted by this large factory within the Second Ring Road, and the unique skills of these old craftsmen. However, it would be troublesome for a female college student who had not yet graduated to buy a factory. She thought of Xi Junjie's uncle, the current mayor of Didu, Xi Changshan. At present, this project is treated as a top priority by both the district and the city. If she communicated well with the mayor, other matters could be easily solved by the government. The only problem was how to ask for the proposal.
Because Zhenzhen had been on leave this week, Xi Junjie hadn't seen him for several days. When he finally came back on the weekend, Xi Junjie wanted to go out to see a movie with Zhenzhen, but when he got home he found out that the old lady at home asked everyone to go back for dinner and get together the next day.
The family has a gathering every ten days or half a month. One reason is that the old couple wants to have fun with their children and grandchildren, and the other is to keep in touch. Ling Xiulan was preparing things to bring to the old house tomorrow, and looked up at Xi Junjie: "Go ask Zhenzhen if she wants to go? Your grandma called and said she hasn't seen her for a long time and she misses her a lot."
Xi Junjie immediately laughed, packed two cantaloupes and went to visit the neighbor next door. Zhenzhen was writing and drawing on paper, thinking about the factory. When she saw Xi Junjie coming, she immediately laughed, stood up and asked him through the window: "Why are you here?"
Xi Junjie picked up the cantaloupe in his hand and said, "I'm bringing you some fruit."
Zhenzhen put down the pen in her hand and came out of the house. Wang Sufen also heard the noise and came out with scissors and a basin to cut a few bunches of grapes for Xi Junjie to eat.
The grapes grown at home grow big and sweet without fertilizer because they are so dense. You can eat them just by washing them off with well water. Now Li Muwu often takes a few bunches with him when he goes fishing. People fishing with him sometimes pick a couple of his grapes to eat. If they get addicted to it, they compete with him to see who catches more fish. If Li Muwu loses, he gives grapes to everyone to eat. Soon, all the neighbors knew that the grapes grown by the Li family are especially sweet.
Wang Sufen put the washed grapes next to Xi Junjie: "Eat two quickly to quench your thirst."
Xi Junjie thanked her and took a few grapes to eat. He chatted with Old Lady Li for a while before getting down to business: "We're going back to the old house for dinner tomorrow. My grandma hasn't seen Zhenzhen for a long time and misses her a lot. She asked me to come over and ask if it's convenient for me to bring her along."
Old Lady Li smiled and glanced at Zhenzhen: "I don't have anything to do here. You can ask Zhenzhen. She has been busy lately and I don't know if she is free."
Zhenzhen was thinking about how to strike up a conversation with Li Changshan. If she went directly to the old house, she wouldn't have to ask Xi Junjie to take her there alone, so she smiled and said, "I'm free tomorrow. I miss Grandma Xi a lot." After thinking about it, she knew she had to say hello to Xi Junjie first, so she turned around and said to him, "I wonder if you'll go tomorrow. I have something I want to ask you for help with."
Xi Junjie couldn't help but feel a little curious when he heard this: "What's the matter? Can't I help you?"
After hearing this, Mrs. Li said hurriedly, "Zhenzhen, don't bother others with everything. If there is something that cannot be handled at home, tell your uncle and let him help you find a solution."
"It's not a big deal. It just happens to be under the charge of Mr. Xi." Zhenzhen smiled and said directly, "I heard that a furniture factory nearby is going to close down. Is the government looking for someone to take over now?"
The last time Xi Junjie went home, he saw Xi Changshan mentioning this matter with a worried look on his face. To be honest, if no one takes over, these workers will have to be arranged to other factories. They cannot become an unstable factor.
Seeing Xi Junjie nodded, Zhen Zhen slowly said, "I want to take over this factory."
Xi Junjie was stunned for a moment, and looked at Zhenzhen in surprise: "Have you thought about it? I heard that this factory has a lot of raw materials and furniture in stock, but there has been no market for them. In addition, there are dozens of workers waiting for their salaries. I'm afraid it's impossible to take over without thousands or tens of thousands of yuan. Besides, you haven't graduated yet, do you have time to manage the factory?"
When Mrs. Li heard that it would cost tens of thousands of yuan, she was also shocked: "Oh, that's a lot of money." She was about to ask Zhenzhen if she had that much money, but suddenly she remembered the box full of glittering jewelry that Zhenzhen took out a while ago. She thought that Zhenzhen probably wanted to sell the jewelry, so she didn't say anything more.
Zhenzhen smiled, her face quite confident: "Since I want to take over this factory, I have naturally thought of all this, but I still need to discuss the details with Uncle Xi. As for the factory management, I also have a good candidate."
After hearing this, Xi Junjie didn't say anything more. This was Zhenzhen's big deal, and all he could do was to support her silently from behind. If she needed help, he would spare no effort to help her solve it.
The next morning, Zhenzhen carried her bag, fruits and fresh vegetables from her garden and got on the Xi family's car. After turning 80, Mrs. Xi went to Mr. Zhang's place to check her pulse every month. After Mr. Zhang's treatment, she no longer had to take bitter and astringent Chinese medicine soups. She also no longer had the problems of getting up at night, sleeping poorly and feeling dizzy. She now walks with a breeze and her silver-white hair has grown a lot of black stubble.
Mrs. Xi was grateful to Zhenzhen for asking the Chinese medicine expert to take her pulse. In addition, the two families had been visiting each other frequently and had become more familiar with each other. Whenever Mrs. Xi came back from taking Mr. Zhang's pulse, she would visit Mr. Li's house and talk. Mrs. Xi and Ling Xiulan liked Mr. Li's garden the most. There were flowers and plants of various shapes and sizes, and green vegetables. It looked full of vitality at a glance, which made people feel comfortable.
Seeing Zhenzhen coming, Old Lady Xi immediately smiled and said, "Zhenzhen is here? What are you getting?"
"Hello, Grandma Xi. I hope you are in good health these days. I brought some fruits and vegetables that I grew at home. They are not worth much, but they are fresher than the ones you buy." Zhenzhen showed a big bag of grapes and vegetables to Grandma Xi.
"Oh, that's a nice touch. I like the things grown in your garden. They taste better than those grown outside." Old Lady Xi asked the nanny to take the things down, and she also reminded him, "Wash the grapes and bring them out. After I ate the grapes from Zhenzhen's garden, the ones brought by others were no longer tasty."
Since Xi Suyu offended the whole family by making trouble on Mrs. Xi's birthday last time, Mrs. Xi didn't let her in for a whole year, even Shang Qingran was no exception. The mother and daughter didn't seem to expect the old lady to be so heartless, and they were quiet for a while. Until this year's New Year, the mother and daughter brought gifts to the door to pay New Year's greetings. The old lady felt that it was enough to leave it alone for a year, so she nodded and let them in.
Xi Sumei watched Zhenzhen carrying vegetables and fruits and talking about the local specialties grown at home very naturally, and the old lady happily collected them. She couldn't help but think of the time when the old lady celebrated her 80th birthday, this girl also talked about the local specialties at home with a natural smile, and the gift she brought out made her feel very embarrassed. This time, what she brought was really local, but Xi Sumei thought of the consequences of making the old lady angry, so she could only try to control her mouth and dare not say anything.
The grapes were served in several plates. Xi Changshan also came back from outside. Old Man Xi put down the newspaper and glanced at him: "Why are your eyes so dark? Haven't you finished the furniture factory business yet?"
Xi Changshan sighed, "No one dares to take over such a large factory, and those who have the guts don't have that much money. The factory has owed the workers half a year's wages, and they haven't made a penny yet and have already invested several thousand. Is this a difficult matter?"
Zhen Zhen's eyes lit up when she heard this. She had wanted to discuss this with Xi Changshan after dinner, but she didn't expect him to bring it up first. She quickly asked, "Uncle Xi, what are the conditions for taking over this factory? Do you think I can do it?"
Xi Changshan didn't understand, so he looked at Zhen Zhen and asked, "Do you mean your family wants to take over? Do they know the situation at the factory? You can ask him to talk to me."
Zhenzhen smiled and said, "I wanted to answer it myself."
This time, not only Xi Changshan was stunned, but the whole family was shocked. The room was silent, as if no one had expected that a little girl who had not yet graduated from college would have such courage.
Xi Changshan was the first to come back to his senses: "This is not something that can be accepted just like that. First of all, the initial investment is a lot of money, and you have to ensure that you have the ability to pay the workers' wages on time." Zhenzhen took her bag, took out a deposit certificate and handed it to Xi Changshan. Xi Changshan took it in confusion, opened it, and saw Li Mingzhen's name written on it, and then looked at the amount below, which was a full 30,000 yuan.
Zhen Zhen smiled faintly: "Is that enough?"
"Enough!" Xi Changshan was shocked. He didn't expect this little girl to have so much money. However, thinking about the gift she gave to her mother on her 80th birthday, he felt that it was nothing to be surprised about. If the ginseng and ganoderma were sold, one or two thousand yuan would be no problem. It was normal for someone who dared to give such a generous gift to have some family background.
After returning the deposit certificate to Zhenzhen, Xi Changshan paid more attention to Zhenzhen: "I know you took economics as an elective at Imperial Capital University, but managing a factory is different from what is taught in the textbooks. I don't have to sell the factory to you just because you have money. You have to make sure that the factory can continue to operate and that these dozens of employees can have food to eat. Only then will I dare to hand over the factory to you with confidence."
Zhen Zhen nodded: "Uncle Xi is right. You are responsible for the factory and the employees. But for me, I must have considered it carefully before I dared to take over this factory. After all, no one's money comes from the wind, and I dare not fight a battle without confidence."
Zhenzhen took out a stack of papers from her bag and handed them to Xi Changbo: "This is my idea, please take a look."
He flipped through it casually and saw three big characters on the first line: "Planning Book", followed by five pages of dense writing in beautiful handwriting. Xi Changshan took a deep breath and read it carefully.
Xi Changshan and Zhen Zhen were talking about business. For a moment, no one in the room dared to speak loudly. Chang Leqing wished that this matter could be settled immediately, so that Xi Changshan would not have to worry about it all day. Ling Sumei rolled her eyes at her back with some jealousy, her eyes kept scanning her bag, and she scratched her head to see how much money was on her savings certificate to buy a factory. Shang Qingran knew what her mother was thinking after taking a look at Ling Sumei's face, and secretly pinched her hand. Ling Sumei then restrained her eyes, and remembered that her family's assets were less than 100 yuan. She suddenly felt very unbalanced and took a piece of Hami melon and took a bite of it angrily.
After reading the thick business plan in his hand, Xi Changshan looked at Zhen Zhen with a different look in his eyes: "I knew you were very smart, but I didn't expect you to be more far-sighted than I thought. If you can do what is said here, then I can let you take over this factory."
The author has something to say: Zhenzhen: My money didn’t come from the wind.
Li Laotian: Yes, they are all dug out from the ground.
Xi Sumei: …