Sure enough, when they had dinner at the Liuguo Hotel before the Lunar New Year, Chen Xuan asked Sun Yan and Shopkeeper Xiao Li about their marriage. Shopkeeper Xiao Li smiled so hard that his teeth were showing, and Sun Yan was also very happy. The two engaged couples looked at each other, and Shopkeeper Xiao Li smiled and said, "On an auspicious day in February after the Lunar New Year, I will have to ask my boss for a few days off to come back and hold the wedding."
Wei Nian said, "No, I haven't received the wedding invitation yet, so I won't be allowed to take leave."
After everyone had a good laugh, Miss Bai said, "Mr. Qi, you were not in Beijing at the time, so even if you didn't come in person, you can still receive the gift."
Qi San smiled, "Don't talk about me, it's like you're in Beijing."
After the dinner, Wei Nian, Chen Xuan and Wei Yin talked to Miss Bai and Sun Yan about staying in Beijing. Sun Yan was willing, but she disagreed with the profit sharing. She said, "Even if the two bosses go abroad to study, I can be the shopkeeper. How can I share the profits with the bosses 70% and 30%? There is no such thing in Beijing. It is against the rules. What's more, I am where I am today because of the support of the two bosses. The two bosses share 70% and I share 30%. This is also unique in Beijing."
Chen Xuan said seriously, "You can't say that. After we leave, you will be in charge of all the store affairs. It's not convenient to communicate abroad. Doing business is a very changeable thing. Besides, we all know the current world situation. Although Shanghai has been quiet for nearly two years since the war at the beginning of last year, look at it now. The housing prices in Dongjiaominxiang and Xijiaominxiang are still high. Japanese ronin can be seen in the city at any time, but the police dare not intervene. The world is not peaceful. Even if this business is handed over to you, Ayan, Ayin and I have thought about it. As for business, we will do it if we can. If the world is really in chaos, we must put our own safety first in everything. As long as we are here, we can do business at any time. Don't just look at the moment, the future will be long."
Wei Yin also advised Sun Yan, "Ayan, don't refuse. We have known each other for so many years. Besides, business is not easy to do now."
Sun Yan is also a straightforward person. Mainly, Sun Yan is one of the first employees in Chen Xuan and Wei Yin's store. Just like Wei Yin said, after all these years of getting along... Sun Yan said, "It's not a big problem for me to manage the business in the store, but Xiao Li is in Tianjin, and I'm afraid he can't handle it alone."
Chen Xuan smiled. "I have discussed this with Brother Anian. The business in Tianjin has been very stable in the past few years. Besides, you and Shopkeeper Xiao Li are going to get married next year. Why don't you go back to Beijing with Shopkeeper Xiao Li and let Li Er take charge of the business in Tianjin. I have seen that Li Er is a stable person in recent years. Shopkeeper Xiao Li should be able to take care of him for a while. There won't be any problems."
Sun Yan was delighted. "I have to thank both of my employers. It is common to split the profits between the two sides of a business. It's just that I married him late and I'm already old. I'm afraid my in-laws will be anxious for us to get married and have children. It would be best if he could help me in Beijing."
After talking about business, Wei Yin asked Sun Yan, "You have been in Tianjin for the past few years. How is your dowry going?"
Sun Yan was in high spirits when she saw the happy event. "My parents' family should have prepared the dowry, but my mother is not good at external affairs, and I couldn't leave it all to my relatives. When we were in Tianjin, it was also a very prosperous place, so I bought some things. I thought that as long as these household items were not too bad, they would be old and worthless after being used. It would be better to buy a house, which would not only be decent, but also pass it on to future generations. I bought a house in Jinyu Hutong."
Wei Yin said directly, "With this house, most of the ladies in Beijing are inferior to you."
Sun Yan smiled, "Second boss, please stop teasing me. This is the money I saved over the years. If it were a few years ago, it would be better to buy land than houses. Land is profitable every year, but since the world has been in chaos, real estate is more stable."
Sun Yan, Chen Xuan and Wei Yin discussed that although they would take over the business of the store next year, they would have to sort out some things in Tianjin after the beginning of the year in preparation for Li Er to take over.
This is as it should be.
Wei Nian wanted Miss Bai to take over the Beijing Cosmetics Factory, but Miss Bai refused. Miss Bai said she liked Shanghai more. Miss Bai recommended Qi San. Miss Bai said to Wei Nian, "Quickly transfer Qi San back to Beijing so that I can take charge of Shanghai alone."
Wei Nian laughed, "You are not the only one in power now."
Miss Bai waved her hands, "It's too annoying, he keeps complaining and meddling in everything. He's a serious man, and I have no interest in him. It's better for us to separate sooner rather than later, or he'll think too much, and we'll have been colleagues for nothing for several years."
Wei Nian said gossipyly, "These days, it's hard to find a decent man with a good appearance like Qi San. If you miss this one, there may not be another one."
"Alright, alright, I think your little girl's meddling style is just like you." Miss Bai's delicate face showed no signs of like or dislike. "I'll stay in Shanghai. Let Qi San come to Beijing."
Since Miss Bai insisted, Wei Nian talked to Qi San again. Qi San was silent for a moment before saying, "Since that's what she wants, let's do it."
Wei Nian asked Qi San, "What's going on between you two?"
Qi San is also 30 years old, and he did not hide it, "It's just that I like her, but she doesn't like me."
Wei Nian gave Qi San some advice, "As the old saying goes, a strong woman is afraid of being pestered by a man. Miss Bai is very smart. Let her see your sincerity. She is not an ignorant person."
Qi San sighed, "She's not ignorant or insensitive, she just doesn't like me."
Wei Nian saw Qi San, a grown man, sighing over the issue of men and women, which showed that he was very affectionate to Miss Bai. Wei Nian asked Qi San, "Does she have someone she likes in Shanghai?"
Qi San shook his head, very sure, "No."
Wei Nian had no choice but to comfort and encourage Qi San. However, Mrs. Chu was very happy to hear that her cousin was going to Beijing to be promoted to general manager, and that both his salary and position would be raised by more than one level. She took the opportunity of the Chinese New Year to send a very thoughtful New Year gift to the Wei family, believing that her cousin could achieve what he has today thanks to the support of Mr. and Mrs. Wei.
Professor Chu knew that the couple would take the entrance exams to foreign universities next year, and said with a smile, "They are really confident." They haven't even taken the exam yet, but they have already found a successor, which shows that the couple are very confident in getting into foreign universities.
Mrs. Chu said, "I think it wasn't difficult for you to get into a foreign school back then."
Professor Chu nodded, "It's not difficult indeed."
This New Year has brought with it a sense of separation. The couple told Old Lady Wei about their plan to study abroad after the New Year. Old Lady Wei did not object, but she said to Wei Nian, "Your father passed away the year before last. I was afraid that your father's coffin would not be sent back to his hometown in a few years. Now, your eldest brother has returned to his hometown. When we leave, your eldest sister is in Beijing, but she has no reason to let her daughter take care of your father's coffin. Before we leave, we should send your father back to his hometown for burial. I also want to go and see your eldest brother and his family. This useless guy, he smoked that thing that ruined the family business and lost all the family business! He deserves to go back to his hometown to farm!"
Mrs. Wei scolded her eldest son and told her youngest son all the worries in her heart. Wei Nian had obviously thought about this before, "Mom, you are right. I was thinking about this as well. Let me go to the temple in a few days to choose an auspicious day, send my father back home first, and then we will go to see my eldest brother."
Old Mrs. Wei sighed, "There's no rush. Arrange something else first, then talk about this."
Wei Nian was a little uncomfortable with his mother suddenly becoming so sensible.
After Wei Jin knew about this, he was not very happy about his brother's family going to study abroad. Wei Jin said, "You can study anywhere! There are no good universities in Beijing! Peking University, Tsinghua University, Yenching University, and Fu Jen Catholic University are all good universities! Why do you have to go thousands of miles to study abroad! Are the books abroad that good?!"
Old Mrs. Wei watched Wang Damei drip sesame oil into the bowl of steamed eggs for the little girl and kept muttering, "Just two drops will do. It's mainly because of the flavor. Too much sesame oil won't taste good."
The little girl stood on a small stool and directed, "Big sister, give me two more drops of autumn oil." Seeing that the autumn oil was dripped, she wanted to bring the bowl. Big sister Wang quickly brought it and said, "Xin Jie'er, you are still young. This bowl is hot. I will bring it to you."
The little girl ran over to get her own little spoon and went to the living room to eat the steamed egg. She liked to let others help her when eating, so she let her grandmother, great-grandmother, and eldest sister-in-law first, then she stirred the steamed egg to taste, and ate it with a delicious taste.
Wei Jin felt sad when he saw the little girl, "It's not that I can't bear to leave A-Nian and the others, I just can't bear to leave you and my little girl."
"Don't complain. Your father told me about this before he died. He said that A Nian was a man with great ambitions. If A Nian went abroad to study in the future, he would not let me stop him and would let me go with A Nian." Old Mrs. Wei kept nagging her daughter and told her all the secrets.
"Mom, you have to go too!"
"Of course I have to go!" Old Madam Wei said as a matter of course, "It's a long way away. Once Ah Nian and his wife go there, they will sit in the school and study all day. Who will take care of the little girl? Who will take care of Sister Yun? Can it be done without me?"
"Mom, when we go to a foreign country, we have to speak foreign languages. Can you speak foreign languages?"
Old Mrs. Wei said, "A living person can be suffocated to death by urine. A tree that is not moved will die, but a person who is moved will live. Your father asked me to live with A Nian and the others." The old lady had only one belief in her life, and that was to listen to the old man's instructions in everything!
Wei Jin was surprised, "My father even predicted this before he died?"
"Your father knows everything!" Old Mrs. Wei was proud and sad when she mentioned the old man. She wiped her eyes and said, "He just died young. Good people don't live long. Your father was such a wise man, but he died young. I, a useless old woman, just won't die. Tell me, how can you reason with me?"
"Oh, Mom, don't think like that. The life span is determined by the King of Hell. Oh, I didn't want A-Nian and the others to leave. Once they leave, they won't be back for many years." After her brother left, she had no one to rely on in Beijing. Wei Jin always cared about her mother's family affairs, so she asked her mother, "Mom, you are going abroad with A-Nian and the others, so what about Yun Jie'er? Will she go abroad to study with them?"
"Well, Ah Nian said that we should take Sister Yun out with us to broaden our horizons."
Wei Jin thought about it, changed his mind and nodded, "Although I'm reluctant to let them go, it's not bad for Ah Nian and his family to go out and try their luck now. Ah Feng and Ah Yu are growing up, if they are good enough, they can go out and see the world like Ah Nian in the future. I heard that foreign students who come back from abroad are especially popular! Hey, why is Ah Nian's wife still studying? In my opinion, the most important thing is to give Ah Nian a son first. The little girl will be five years old this New Year, and she's still pregnant."
"You don't have to worry about this. I've calculated for your second sister-in-law. She is just that slow-tempered. You see, she and An Nian have been married for three years before they had a little girl. Slow-tempered people are like this. They have to wait a few years before having children. Unlike some people who can give birth to three or five children in three to five years, your second sister-in-law is just that slow-tempered. She has to give birth slowly." Old Mrs. Wei said seriously.
Seeing that her mother had already calculated everything for Chen Xuan, Wei Jin stopped talking and said, "As for the strawberry farm, Ah Nian needs to introduce me to the manager of the Six Nations Hotel. When he's not around, I'll have to do it."
Old Mrs. Wei said, "Let A-Nian tell it to son-in-law." She has always believed that running a business is a man's job.
"Your son-in-law, you don't know yet, because of his weak character, I dare not even teach him how to grow strawberries, otherwise he would be cheated of all his money!" Wei Jin's small eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a gleam of light. He thought for a while and stayed with his mother for a day. With the little girl's childish talk to comfort his worries, Wei Jin waited until Chen Xuan, Wei Nian and Wei Yin came home in the evening, talked with Wei Nian alone for a while, and then happily went back to his home in Wangfucang Hutong.
When the couple talked in private at night, Wei Nian always said, "Don't mention it. In the past, my elder sister was stingy and always took advantage of others. She didn't have any other ideas. But now she has a lot of ideas."
Chen Xuan asked with a smile, "What did the elder sister-in-law say?"
"Nothing. Just ask me to introduce her to the manager of the Six Nations Hotel and where to exchange dollars for gold. Let's have a meal with the Zhao family before we leave to scare them." Wei Nian smiled, "Since my elder sister has this idea, I'm not worried anymore."
Wei Nian had something else to discuss with Chen Xuan, "I discussed with my mother that we should return home to bury my father before going abroad."
"That's as it should be." Chen Xuan's thoughts were very clear. "I have to write a letter to my eldest brother and his wife first, asking them to find a Feng Shui master in my hometown to point out a good acupuncture point. And I have to tell my eldest brother and his wife about Sister Yun'er."
"There's no rush for this. It won't be too late to do it at the end."
Chen Xuan was a little puzzled. Fu Ling's return home was a big deal. According to Chen Xuan, this should be the most important thing.
Wei Nian frowned slightly and said to Chen Xuan, "There is something I can't make up my mind about."
"What's up?"
Wei Nian sighed, "As for my eldest brother, I always feel unhappy when I think of him smoking opium, but recently I always think of my childhood when my parents lived frugally and didn't have much pocket money. At that time, whenever my mother gave my eldest brother something delicious, he would never eat first and would always wait for me to eat together. My eldest brother is ten years older than me, and he went to the store early to learn how to do business. At that time, every month after he received his salary, he would buy me Tianfuhao sesame cakes with pork elbow."
Even a slightly cold-blooded person like Wei Nian could not help but be moved when recalling the old stories of his brothers. Wei Nian collected his thoughts, held his wife's hand, and said, "Uncle Wang wrote to me, saying that my brother has almost given up smoking. I thought, let's see, if my brother can give up smoking in one go, then as brothers, we have to help him. If he is willing, I would like to let him run the two old shops in Beijing. But then again, this is the foundation that my father has accumulated for his whole life. I heard that many people who quit smoking will start smoking again after quitting for a while. If he returns to Beijing and starts smoking opium again, wouldn't I be giving away my father's life's hard work to the opium den? Moreover, it would harm my brother. It would be better for him to live a quiet life in the countryside, at least there is no opium in the countryside."
Chen Xuan thought for a moment and said very objectively, "It's only two months before my eldest brother and his wife return home, and we don't have to leave right away. Let's wait and see how my eldest brother does. Besides, the shop in Wangfujing was originally bought from my eldest brother and his wife, so I don't care. The shop in Dongdan is our family's property. If you ask me, it's better to let my eldest sister-in-law run the Dongdan shop instead of letting my eldest brother run it. Even the lace factory, I discussed with Ah Yin and wanted my eldest sister-in-law to run it on my behalf."
"Sister-in-law?"
"Yes." Chen Xuan said seriously, "In business, there is no such thing as a business without mistakes. Even the accounts of our store have been wrong several times. But in the past few years, my sister-in-law has been in charge of the lace factory, and there has not been a single mistake. My sister-in-law is a capable person."
Wei Nian thought about his elder sister-in-law taking his elder brother back to his hometown to quit smoking, and sighed, "Yin is strong and Yang is weak! Yin is strong and Yang is weak!"
Chen Xuan looked at him with amusement, "Are you unlucky?"
Wei Nian was greatly stimulated, and all those emotions were thrown away. He rushed towards Chen Xuan and pressed her under him, "Come, let me show you how unlucky I am!"
The author has something to say: ps: There are too many things to do today, so I will only update once. I will update more tomorrow. Good night everyone!