Wei Jin used one meat bun to pay for next year's tuition fees. He was very proud of having made such a good deal.
In fact, even if she didn't bribe Chen Xuan with meat, she would refuse to pay the tuition fees and Chen Xuan would have no way to deal with her.
On the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, Miss Qi Sanbai, who was far away in Shanghai, returned to Beijing. One reason was to go back to Beijing to celebrate the New Year, and the other was to talk about the progress in Shanghai over the past six months. Sun Yan and Shopkeeper Li returned to Beijing a day later. Chen Xuan and Wei Yin hosted Xu Ning, who was studying at Peking University, and they had dinner at the Beijing Hotel. Miss Bai asked Sun Yan about the situation in Tianjin. "When the news from the three northeastern provinces reached Shanghai, public opinion was boiling, and all kinds of words were cursed at the Northeast Army's Young Marshal Zhang. But in the end, Shanghai is far away from Beijing. Everyone still ate and drank as usual, and prices rose a little, which was not out of the ordinary. How was Tianjin at that time? Beijing's prices rose sharply."
Sun Yan said, "The prices in Tianjin have also increased a lot, especially for rice and flour. This winter, Emperor Puyi actually fled to the Northeast, and now the Northeast is the territory of the Japanese. Oh, my aunt is a bannerman, and now some old-school bannermen in Tianjin are also crazy and want to go to the Northeast to serve the emperor. My God, I really don't know what they are thinking."
Miss Bai giggled and said to Sun Yan, "This is not an exaggeration. Your aunt's family is a legitimate bannerman. There is a reason for this. After all, they are of the same clan as Emperor Puyi. My father was an old-fashioned man who was incompatible with the new culture. When he heard that the emperor had fled to the Northeast, he asked someone whether the imperial examination should be reopened in the Northeast. He was still thinking about going there to take the imperial examination and become an official. Oh, the imperial examination is so old, and there are still people like my father who care about it. What's more, Emperor Puyi was really an emperor."
"It's true. Some people among the Bannermen are exaggerating. Thinking that the former emperor has just resumed the throne, some are busy selecting a concubine for him. My aunt was almost tempted. My cousin is only fifteen. Although I don't understand the matter of selecting concubines, being the emperor in someone else's territory, how can he have the final say in the affairs of that other person's territory?" Sun Yan shook her head, wondering if these people were out of their minds.
Miss Bai joked, "Yan'er, didn't they ask you to choose?"
Shopkeeper Li nearly choked on his tea. Qi San stared at Miss Bai, who chuckled and teased Sun Yan. Sun Yan said, "I can't do it. First, I'm too old. Second, I'm a Han Chinese. Third, I'm a merchant. It's a different era now. The life of the bannermen is not as good as before. There are still many people who put on the old style and look down on us businessmen."
"If you starve them for three months, they won't have any of these tricks anymore."
"It's useless to starve for three years, especially those who used to have titles, such as Beizi and Beile. They have to act like masters even if they can't afford to eat at home. Ordinary bannermen are better. They know how to find a job outside." Sun Yan was helpless when talking about those old bannermen. Sun Yan thought of something and asked Chen Xuan and Wei Yin, "Master and Second Master, before we came, the price of goods in Tianjin had already dropped. As a result, when the news of the emperor's escape to the Northeast came out, there was a trend of rising again. I don't know what the situation will be next year? Do you have any news in Beijing? Are you bullish or bearish?"
Wei Yin couldn't say for sure, but Chen Xuan was very sure, "As long as the Japanese don't enter the country, prices will continue to fall. If they do, Hebei and Beijing will be the first to be affected, and prices will inevitably rise sharply."
Miss Bai was also concerned about this matter. "So, do you think they can enter the customs?"
"No," Chen Xuan said, "No matter whether it is high-ranking government officials or celebrities in the cultural circle, no one in Beijing has any intention of fleeing Beijing. If Beijing is not stable, they will get news faster than us. If there is news of a large number of high-ranking officials and celebrities leaving Beijing, something must be wrong. Now everyone is safe, which shows that nothing serious will happen."
Everyone agreed with Chen Xuan's inference.
Miss Bai was always talkative. She said to Xu Ning, "A Ning, why are you so quiet?"
Xu Ning said, "Sister Bai, Sister Sun, aren't you worried that the situation in the country will get worse and worse in the future? If the country falls, we will be slaves of a conquered nation."
"Who doesn't want a strong country? Newspapers talk about a strong country every day. Sometimes I think it makes sense. However, this has been said for many years, since the Qing Dynasty. Ning, I think that the principles of this country are the same as those of a family. Take my family for example. We used to be prosperous, but by the time of my father's generation, we were in a mess. We relied on selling bottles and cans to make a living. Even if we sell these, we are not selling well and are often cheated by others. When a family goes downhill and is about to fall, it is not a matter of a moment to rise again, nor is it something that one person can turn the tide. Like me now, who can I take care of? I can take care of my mother, but my mother is still counting on the illegitimate brother born to my concubine to provide for her in the future. All the money I give her is used to fill the trap of that boy. My money is not earned for nothing, forget it, everyone should take care of themselves." Bai Xiao The elder sister took a sip of soup and continued, "I know that you college students are worried about the country and the people. Because of the things in the three northeastern provinces, students in Tianjin have been protesting, demonstrating, and marching on the streets all day long. I can't say that this is wrong. But we are all people who have experienced hardships. In my opinion, instead of shouting slogans on the streets, it is better to do something more meaningful. The situation of the country will not be improved overnight, and it is not something that can be improved by students shouting slogans. To take a step back, even if the country really falls, what we all need to do is to protect ourselves first, no matter what the country is like. If you love your country, this is even more so. Only when you are alive can your ideas, your will, and your ideals have the possibility of being realized. Once a person dies, everything is gone." Miss Bai knew that students were always full of passion and were not afraid of sacrificing their lives. Miss Bai admired Xu Ning's talents very much, so she said a few more words to remind her not to be stupid like those students on the street.
Xu Ning nodded, "Sister Bai is right."
Everyone talked again about the strategy for dealing with price increases of cosmetics. In this regard, Miss Bai is experienced. Miss Bai said, "Don't reduce the price if the price goes up. Once you reduce the price, customers will immediately feel that your product is really worthless. If prices continue to rise next year, we will sell it at the increased price. If prices fall back, we will offer discounts. It depends on the situation in various places at that time, and we will respond flexibly." For example, the price increase model with new packaging launched this time has always been offered at a discount in Shanghai.
After dinner, Chen Xuan and Wei Yin each gave a big red envelope. Miss Bai laughed, "Why are there red envelopes again?"
"What you got before was just the commission you deserved for the season. This is a small red envelope for the New Year, that's what it means." Wei Yin said, "There are also some New Year goods, which I will ask the staff to deliver to your homes. Manager Qi's will be delivered to Professor Chu, and the three of you will all be delivered home."
Miss Bai thought about her miserable home and said, "Next time, just give me a discount. Sending it to my house will mostly be a waste."
Wei Yin smiled, "That's what you mean anyway."
Everyone thanked the two hosts, said goodbye at the entrance of Beijing Hotel, and went home.
The workers received their annual wages. Those who should go home went home, and those who didn't want to go home were arranged to stay. Then, the store and the factory had New Year's wine, and finally the family's strawberry dividends were distributed. Wei Jin was happy to have an extra share of her private money, and Wei Nian reminded her that it would be better to change it into gold and save it. Although Wei Jin was a stingy person, she had a good sense of financial management. She asked Wei Nian to change the gold for her, and then entrusted Wei Nian with a task, asking Wei Nian to find her a property, according to the money she had, even if it was a small yard, preferably in the inner city, if it could be bought for her.
Wei Nian was puzzled, "Brother-in-law is the eldest son of the family, why would he buy a yard?"
"Your brother-in-law is from the eldest son's family, but you have two nephews, so I have to think about them. Besides, my old lady has been keeping an eye on me for a long time about growing strawberries for my family. By the way, you should keep the money for me after I exchange it for gold. I won't take it back. If the old lady knows that I have money, she will cry poor to me and try to get my money. I might as well buy a house and put it in my name. I can rent it out and collect rent every year. Besides, Beijing is also where the emperor lived. I haven't heard of the house falling in value over the years."
"Why hasn't the price dropped recently? You really want to buy it."
"Buy it, even if it drops a little. I will give it to my sons to live in in the future. When they grow up and get married, they will separate. It will take decades, and I don't believe that it will keep falling for decades. This is Beijing! I can't let my money sit idle. I have to buy something quickly. Otherwise, your brother-in-law is a fool and honest man. He will believe any lie. He will be unhappy if I don't take the money. So I might as well spend it quickly!"
Wei Nian thought about the temperament of the old lady of the Zhao family. He realized that she was not as good as his mother. At least his mother would not covet her daughter-in-law's private property, but the old lady Zhao was not like that. As long as the old lady saw money, she would go back to her room. He didn't know what she was planning to do all those years
Little did she know that Wei Jin's plan was quite good, but in the new year, Mrs. Zhao did not intend to take her money, but instead posed a problem to Wei Jin. Wei Jin felt that this was not a good thing, but maybe it could be done. So, he went to her parents' house to tell them about it. This was still a roundabout thing. Mrs. Zhao's sister married into the Lu family, so Mrs. Lu was Mr. Zhao's brother-in-law, and the Zhao and Lu families had always been close. It was said that Mr. Lu originally worked in the Quartermaster Department, but Lu San was so bold that he offended Ms. Chen, and the whole family was kicked out of the Quartermaster Department. Since then, the Zhao family's financial situation has plummeted, and Mr. Zhao has found another idle job with some salary every month, but it is definitely not the same as when he was in the Quartermaster Department.
When Mrs. Lu returned to her parents' home, she heard from her sister-in-law, Mrs. Zhao, that the second daughter-in-law of the old Wei family had found her biological mother and married a high-ranking government official in Nanjing. The Lu family has always been dealing with government departments and is very smart. When Beijing was the imperial capital, jobs in Beijing were very popular. Now that the National Government has set its capital in Nanjing, Beijing has been renamed Beiping. High-ranking officials in the Nanjing government are definitely higher-ranking than those in Beijing.
Therefore, the Lu family started to think about whether they could ask Chen Xuan to talk to her newly recognized biological mother and have Old Master Lu reinstated to his post and return to work at the Quartermaster Department.
When Wei Jin told Chen Xuan about this, she didn't think much of it. Wei Jin said, "The Lu family isn't an outsider. If we can help, we'll help. Just consider it a good relationship."
Chen Xuan: …
Chen Xuan was dumbfounded. This was not a matter of eating meat and getting rid of tuition fees! Chen Xuan also knew that Ms. Chen was with Commander Miao of the Beiping Army, and the Lu family had offended Ms. Chen. She and Ms. Chen had never had much friendship, and she had no friendship with the Lu family either. Why should she do this for the Lu family? Besides, this was not a request for Chen Xuan, but Chen Xuan had to go and talk to Madam Wen. Chen Xuan couldn't open her mouth!
The author has something to say: ps: The second update is here, good night everyone!!