In fact, staying up late is not a problem for Zhenzhen, so after Xi Junjie carried Zhenzhen back to the house, the two moved from the bathroom to the bedroom and fought vigorously for several rounds before going to bed. It was not until ten o'clock the next morning that the alarm clock set by Zhenzhen rang, and the two opened their eyes drowsily. Curling her toes, Zhenzhen lazily pushed Xi Junjie: "Honey, I want to drink some water."
Xi Junjie thought of the lingering time with Zhenzhen last night. His ambiguous eyes wandered around Zhenzhen's fair shoulders, and he bit them gently. His slightly hoarse voice rang in Zhenzhen's ears: "But what if I still want to hug you?"
Zhen Zhen blushed slightly when she felt the tingling sensation on her shoulder and the breath getting closer to her ear. She turned around and avoided Xi Junjie's seduction range. She raised her white and tender feet and kicked Xi Junjie out of the bed: "Think healthier this morning."
Xi Junjie chuckled, rubbed Zhenzhen's hair lovingly, and said with a bit of teasing in his tone: "Okay, listen to my wife, we will do unhealthy things tonight."
As Zhenzhen glared at him with a red face, Xi Junjie laughed loudly, poured a cup of warm water from the tea table and brought it to Zhenzhen. He then turned around, took out clean underwear from the closet and put it on, and threw the clothes that were scattered on the floor last night into the washing machine.
After washing up, Zhenzhen opened the curtains and the window. The warm sunlight and fresh air squeezed out the stale air that had been stuffy all night. After pushing open the door, Zhenzhen quickly jumped into the yard and playfully turned around to wave at Xi Junjie: "Let's see who runs to the dining room first."
"Whoever loses will be down there tonight." Xi Junjie shouted, and quickly chased after Zhenzhen. Zhenzhen smiled and slapped Xi Junjie twice: "I'm going to die. Why are you shouting so loudly? It's so embarrassing!"
Xi Junjie dodged while laughing: "You are cheating, are you worried that I will come in first?"
Zhenzhen jumped onto Xi Junjie's back with a smile: "I'll show you how to win by cheating." She stretched out her leg and kicked Xi Junjie's butt, then laughed and said, "Run!"
The couple laughed and laughed until they reached the dining room door and then stopped. Xi Junjie put Zhenzhen down from his back and pushed open the dining room door. The Xi family never ate breakfast together. Some got up early and some got up late, and usually no one waited for anyone else. When Yang's wife, who was in charge of cooking, saw the two of them coming, she quickly put the wontons with shrimp, crab roe and fresh meat that she had wrapped long ago into the pot. When the wontons were served, the fresh and tender crab roe soup dumplings were also steamed.
Zhenzhen bit open the thin skin of the bun, blew air while carefully sucking out the hot soup inside, then carefully poured a little vinegar into the broken skin, took a bite with the skin and filling still intact, the gravy and crab meat intertwined together, fresh but not greasy, with a full mouthful of crab aroma.
After eating a few bites, a crab soup dumpling went into her stomach. Zhenzhen didn't rush to pick up the second one, but took a sip of the wonton soup with a spoon. This wonton soup was made by Yang's wife using old hens raised in the countryside. It was fresh and clear. Then she ate another wonton, which was made of crab roe, shrimp and pork. Only a little salt was added, and the wontons were delicious enough.
After eating two wontons in a row, Zhenzhen carefully picked up a crystal clear crab soup dumpling and put it in the bowl. She once again drank up all the soup from the dumpling. Zhenzhen was so satisfied that she almost cried: "I like this season the most when I can eat crabs every day. I can never get enough of it."
Sister Yang brought another basket of freshly cooked crab soup dumplings and said with a smile, "It's a blessing to be able to eat. Young people your age should eat more. Mingbei came over just now and ate three baskets of dumplings."
Zhenzhen laughed when she heard it: "Why did my brother come here so early to eat? He can sleep until noon."
Sister Yang thought for a moment before she stuttered, "What kind of building did Sister Ling ask him to draw? She said it had to be three stories high?" Seeing that Xi Junjie liked to eat the cold seaweed on the table, Sister Yang served another plate and continued, "I heard Sister Ling wanted him to draw a picture for some business."
Zhenzhen turned around and smiled and said to Xi Junjie, "Our mom is really quick-witted. She suddenly had this idea in the middle of the night last night, and she called Mingbei over early in the morning."
After eating three steamed buns in a row and stuffing a large bowl of wontons into her stomach, Zhenzhen rubbed her stomach contentedly: "I'm going to mom's room to see the house designed by Mingbei. You can do your own things after dinner. You don't have to follow me." Xi Junjie nodded: "I'll go to grandma's room after dinner to see if there's anything I can help with. Just call me if you need anything."
When Zhenzhen came to the main room, Mingbei was already drawing the design. The architecture major of the National University is well-known throughout the country. Although Mingbei's grades are not among the best in the class, he is quite intelligent in architectural design. His design assignments in his junior year were publicly reviewed by professors in class as excellent works, and several professors praised his design ideas. Mingbei now works at the Imperial Capital Architectural Design Institute. Although he has only been working there for a few months, he has already started to participate in the design and construction of a large public building with the designers in the design institute.
It was not difficult to convert the store into a three-story commercial building. Zhenzhen's stores were connected in a row, and she bought all the houses in that row, so demolishing and rebuilding them would not affect the use of other houses. Ling Xiulan was thinking about the design of the beauty salon all night, and she took a nap until three or four in the morning. At six o'clock, she called Mingbei in a trembling state and asked him to come over and draw the design for her.
Mingbei has his own unique ideas about design, and Ling Xiulan has been working in the beauty industry for more than ten years and has long had clear ideas about the layout of the beauty salon. The two of them communicated and integrated each other's ideas, and when Zhenzhen came in, they had already determined the general design ideas of the beauty salon.
Looking at the faint dark circles under Ling Xiulan's eyes, Zhenzhen felt a little sorry: "Mom, look at you, the beauty salon hasn't even opened yet, and you've already stayed up like this. Did you sleep too late last night? If you keep doing this, my dad will blame me."
Ling Xiulan smiled and rubbed her eyes: "Actually, I lay down on the bed after you left last night, but I couldn't fall asleep at all." Holding Zhenzhen's hand, Ling Xiulan was still a little excited: "When I was in France before, I thought about when I would have a beauty salon. This dream didn't come true in France, but I didn't expect that now I have the opportunity to become a reality. How can I not be excited?"
Zhen Zhen held Ling Xiulan's shoulders and massaged them for her: "You can't stay up late. We agreed that you can't stay up late in the future. Business is secondary, and your health is more important. You can take a nap after lunch, and leave anything to me."
Mingbei was drawing a sketch on paper. Hearing this, he looked up and smiled and said, "It will take a few days for me to produce the blueprint. But we can't just build this house whenever we want. Auntie has to report to the relevant department for approval as soon as possible."
Ling Xiulan nodded: "I know, I will go to handle the formalities on Monday, you can just draw the drawings. Once the formalities are approved, I will ask your company to design and build it, and you will be the overall person in charge."
Mingbei stood up excitedly upon hearing this, his face flushed. As a newcomer, he normally needs to learn from the architects in the company for two or three years before he can take on projects independently. What they are doing now is at most doing odd jobs.
"But I don't have any work experience yet." Although he was hit by a pie in the sky, Mingbei was still very clear about the gap between himself and a genuine architect: "I am still in the learning stage and not very familiar with the construction team. If I am responsible, I am afraid it will delay the progress of the construction."
"That's why I let you take the job." Ling Xiulan smiled. "You only learn superficial things when you do odd jobs for others. No matter how long you learn, it's better to do it yourself. Only when you are fully responsible for a project, you will know how to coordinate and contact those parts that you can't see. It will also let you know most intuitively what it takes to be a qualified designer."
Zhenzhen knew that this was an opportunity for Mingbei to grow. Although the beauty salon was very small compared to other buildings, its special geographical location and the special characteristics of the beauty salon were still very challenging for a new designer. If Mingbei could successfully complete this project, he would become a qualified architectural designer faster than his classmates who graduated in the same year.
Seeing that Ling Xiulan trusted him so much, Mingbei clenched his fists, and his lips began to tremble with excitement: "Thank you Auntie for giving me this opportunity, I will work hard!"
Zhenzhen also laughed at this, but she also did not forget to pour some cold water on Mingbei: "Although I say I will give you this project now, there are always uncontrollable factors. Don't be so stupid as to say it out loud. If you don't get the project later, be careful that others will laugh at you."
"I know." Mingbei chuckled twice, picked up his sketch and the paper full of words, and stood up: "Aunt Ling, I'll go back to draw first. You know my home phone number. If you think of anything else, feel free to call me."
"It's already noon, let's eat here." Ling Xiulan glanced at her watch: "I asked you to come and work so early in the morning, I have to treat you to a meal at least."
"We ate them all this morning." Mingbei said with a smile, "The crab roe soup dumplings and shrimp and crab meat wontons are so delicious. I ate enough for two people."
Ling Xiulan smiled: "There's not much for breakfast. I'll ask Sister Yang to make you something delicious at noon. I remember Mingbei likes roast duck and meat, right? I'll ask the kitchen to make more meat dishes at noon so you can eat enough." Seeing Mingbei was a little embarrassed and wanted to refuse, Ling Xiulan said: "We are all family, why are you being so polite? Call your grandma and your parents over later. Usually, we eat together when Zhenzhen and the others are at work."
Ming Bei couldn't refuse anymore, so he sat back down with the blueprint in his arms: "Then I'll draw here first."
"Help your aunt draw well. My aunt's beauty salon is counting on you to design it." Ling Xiu Lan smiled and took the washed fruits on the coffee table and put them aside, then went to the kitchen to prepare lunch.
Mingbei wanted to put all his ideas into his first design, which should not only be beautiful but also practical. Seeing Mingbei concentrating on sketching on paper, and not even noticing that Old Lady Li and the others were coming, Zhenzhen couldn't help but whispered, "My fourth brother used to be the most erratic, but he has become much more stable since he became an educated youth and planted trees for a few years. Before, he couldn't even sit on a stool, let alone be so focused."
Old Lady Li waved her hand and took Wang Sufen and Zhenzhen out of the house. They didn't want to affect Mingbei's work, so they went to the kitchen to help. The two families worked together and quickly prepared a large table of dishes. Xi Junjie also bought a slice of roast duck from outside and served it on a plate.
Holding up the wine brewed by Zhenzhen, Ling Xiulan smiled brightly: "Cheers, for the early opening of my beauty salon!"
****
The autumn rain brings a chill. It seemed that a few days ago, I could go out wearing a thin coat, but now I feel a little cold even wearing a sweater. After an autumn rain, the former Baixing Garment Factory was officially renamed Yimei Garment Factory, and Wang Xinzhi was fully responsible for the factory's business. After completing the factory change procedures and hanging up the new sign by hand, Wang Xinzhi walked into the factory director's office and began to work busy until it got dark. Wang Xinzhi glanced at the clock on the wall and estimated that Zhenzhen had already left work, so he quickly called her home.
Hearing the crisp greetings from the other end, Wang Xinzhi was distracted for a moment, but soon he returned to normal, saying in a businesslike tone, "Boss, the formalities for the garment factory have been completed, and the new sign has been hung up. I have arranged for the purchase of this year's new cotton this afternoon. Once the cotton arrives, we can start producing military coats."
"How were the original management personnel arranged?" Zhenzhen on the other end of the phone asked about the topic that she was concerned about first.
Zhenzhen and Wang Xinzhi had discussed the issue of whether the former factory director Si Yaren should stay or go. After all, the former director of the furniture factory once wanted to incite internal strife among employees in order to seize power, and Zhenzhen didn't want the garment factory to have such trouble again.
Although Wang Xinzhi had not experienced the furniture factory incident, he had heard about it from Sun Rende. However, he had a good impression of Si Yaren after working with him several times. Therefore, when Zhenzhen asked this question, he immediately said a few good words for Si Yaren: "Although Si Yaren has average management skills and is not very sensitive to the market, he is a very practical person. Our orders were very urgent in the past few times. I came to the factory several times and saw that he basically stayed in the workshop and worked with the workers. He was very tenacious and had very strict requirements for the quality of clothing. The workers also believed in him. My idea is to let him be the deputy director in charge of production. With him watching over the production, I can have more energy to do other things."
Zhenzhen still believed in Wang Xinzhi's judgment of people: "Then do as you say. As for the other managers, those who are suitable will stay. Those who have evil intentions would rather pay more compensation and let them go. We don't have the energy to intrigue with them."
Wang Xinzhi smiled and said, "Don't worry. By the way, I am thinking of holding the first general meeting of employees after the restructuring of the garment factory in the next few days. Do you want to go on stage and say a few words? After all, this factory is your asset."
Zhenzhen was not very interested in speaking in public: "You are the head of the factory now. It is enough for the employees to know you. It is not necessary for me to speak or not."
"Director Si has always wanted to meet you." Wang Xinzhi asked, "When I talked to him, I kept talking about my boss, so he was very curious about the big boss behind the scenes. After all, being able to revive a bankrupt furniture factory and make it a first-class enterprise in the country in just two or three years can be called a legend in the business world."
Zhenzhen smiled and said, "You and Director Sun have made great contributions to the current situation of the furniture factory. But it's okay for Si Yaren to want to see me, after all, we will be a family in the future. It's just that I don't have time on weekdays, so why don't we make an appointment on Sunday at noon? I'll treat you to dinner at the Imperial Capital Hotel."
"Boss, that's very generous." Wang Xinzhi smiled: "I'll bring Si Yaren to the appointment on time on Sunday at noon."
"You should also hurry up and look for designers. See if there are any young people with design talent in the factory. If not, see if you can recruit some through some channels. Also, make some preparations. Next month, I plan to have you and the furniture factory select a few designers to visit and study in some European countries. One is to broaden their horizons, and the other is to open up their conservative thinking, get more inspiration, and create our own international style."
When Wang Xinzhi heard that Zhenzhen wanted to take people abroad to study, he was very excited: "I know, I will definitely find a designer as soon as possible."
In terms of design, both factories are relatively weak. The two brands of furniture factories, Feihuang brand, are high-end solid wood furniture, mainly based on traditional classical styles, because the current customer base for solid wood furniture is originally slightly older and capable people who like antique charm, and they prefer classical styles. Therefore, the sales performance of Feihuang brand furniture has been growing steadily; relatively speaking, Tengda brand furniture is more inclined to the general public. The composite board material furniture is good quality and cheap, and newly married couples can also afford it. They pursue fashion and practicality. The furniture styles that opened up the sales of Tengda brand in the early stage and established the brand reputation were all designed by Zhenzhen herself, and the mattresses were made by Zhenzhen after she drew various detailed drawings. But after all, Zhenzhen has too many other things to do and can't focus all her energy on the furniture factory. In the past two years, the new styles of furniture released by Tengda are all designed by herself. Although they can be called practical, in Zhenzhen's eyes, they are still a little far from the word "beauty". At the same time, there is no new change in mattresses. Although mattresses are still monopolized by Tengda Furniture Factory, Zhenzhen knows that there will be more and more varieties of mattresses in the future. Tengda mattresses must gradually improve on this basis to make people sleep more comfortably and healthily in order to retain more customers. Today, Tengda's furniture is already leading the trend in China. If you want to make progress and learn, going abroad is the best choice.
Sunday came in a flash. Zhenzhen and Ling Xiulan went to the shops on East Chang'an Street early in the morning. The original clothing store had moved to West Chang'an Street. Mingbei was leading people to demolish the original dilapidated house. For safety reasons, to prevent pedestrians from getting too close and being hit by falling bricks, the construction area was blocked with barriers. Looking at the bare broken boards, Zhenzhen suddenly remembered the propaganda methods of later generations, and suddenly an idea came to her mind: "Mom, do you think we should put up a barrier here to advertise our beauty salon?"
Ling Xiulan looked at Zhenzhen and asked, "Are you planning to put up posters on it? I just don't know if there is a place that can print posters that meet our requirements."
Zhenzhen smiled: "I don't need anyone else, I can draw it myself." Thinking about the work assignment for next week that she received yesterday, Zhenzhen had an idea in her mind: "I will work overtime next week at night and try to finish all the work by Wednesday. The remaining few days will be enough for me to come here to draw." Ling Xiulan is well aware of Zhenzhen's versatility. Naturally, the effect of Zhenzhen's drawing will be better than printing it out.
After seeing the progress of the construction, the two separated. Zhen Zhen vacated a store not far from the construction site for Ling Xiulan to use as a temporary office. Now Ling Xiulan has recruited 20 young, beautiful and clever girls. Now, taking advantage of the few months before the opening of the business, Ling Xiulan asked her friends abroad to send back a lot of books on beauty. She trained these girls while reading the original French texts, and also took this opportunity to observe each girl's behavior in order to select those who can be trained in the future.
Zhenzhen came to the Capital Hotel alone. Seeing that it was still early, she chose a seat by the window and sat down. She asked the waiter to order some food and then took out a book from her bag to read.
Time passed by, and when there were still ten minutes left before the agreed time, Wang Xinzhi and Si Yaren walked into the Imperial Hotel one after another. It was not yet dinner time, and there were not many guests in the hall. Wang Xinzhi knew that Zhenzhen liked to sit by the window, and as soon as he looked up, he saw Zhenzhen reading a book with her head down.
Wang Xinzhi looked at Zhenzhen's expression while reading and couldn't help but smile. Si Yaren followed Wang Xinzhi's line of sight and met Zhenzhen's eyes who had just looked up.
Seeing this noble man who had solved his dilemma of not being able to pay wages, Si Yaren extended his hand enthusiastically and walked towards Zhenzhen: "Hey, reporter Li, what a coincidence, why are you here too?" Without waiting for Zhenzhen to answer, Si Yaren laughed again: "Look at what I asked, you must be waiting for someone here. I haven't thanked you in person for your help last time. Thanks to you for introducing a business to me, the workers in our factory can get their wages. By the way, you must know our Director Wang. The business that Director Wang and I cooperated on was the bridge you built." Si Yaren stretched out his hand and pulled Wang Xinzhi behind him, and said with a smile: "Don't you think this is a coincidence? Director Wang and I used to be partners, and now we have become a family. You also know that Director Wang is now the director of our garment factory."
After listening to Si Yaren's words, Zhen Zhen smiled and extended her hand: "Director Wang, Director Si, please take a seat."
Si Yaren waved his hand quickly: "It's a bad day today. Director Wang wants to take me to meet the investor of our factory. Our boss will probably be here soon. So please leave me your phone number and I'll treat you to dinner later."
Zhenzhen smiled and said, "No need, I'll treat you to dinner first."
"It's true, it's true." Si Yaren hadn't figured out the situation yet and kept waving his hands to refuse.
Wang Xinzhi smiled and shook his head, and finally interrupted: "Director Si, she is the investor of our factory, Li Mingzhen."
Si Yaren was speechless, he opened his mouth wide, pointed at Li Mingzhen and then at Wang Xinzhi, and asked in disbelief, "She bought our factory?"
Wang Xinzhi nodded: "Yes!"
The broken strings in Si Yaren's brain finally connected again: "Doesn't that mean that Tengda Furniture Factory also belongs to reporter Li?"
Wang Xinzhi smiled again: "Yes, the furniture factory was also invested by Mingzhen, and the best-selling Tengda mattress was designed by her personally."
Si Yaren's mind went blank. Seeing Li Mingzhen's faint smile, he couldn't help but think of the time when she interviewed him. He immediately blurted out a question without thinking: "How many of the companies you interviewed have you bought now?"
The author has something to say: I had so much backache yesterday that I couldn't even sit still, and I didn't sleep well at night. I thought I was tired from over-exercising, but it was actually my period that came along. I slept all day, so I updated a little late today, muah!