Chapter 31 Another Way

"Was it Miss Yao who introduced you?"

The boss took the initiative to step forward.

"Yes, it's me."

Zhou Shufen stepped forward and answered calmly.

"Oh, Miss Yao has already spoken to me."

The boss nodded, looked around, and continued.

"This shop has a good location and good lighting, making it especially suitable for selling women's clothing. If you want to rent it from me, there's no question about it."

He spoke at a moderate pace, which seemed to impress him.

Hearing his straightforward attitude, Zhou Shufen followed suit and didn't intend to beat around the bush on this matter.

"Okay, I'll rent it then, but we still need to see if we can negotiate the rent down."

Upon hearing this, the boss opened his arms without hesitation.

They immediately quoted a price, quick and efficient.

This location is indeed one of the city's bustling centers, so it's no surprise that the rent is expensive.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Liya and Qin Guifang, who were standing behind Zhou Shufen, exchanged a glance, a look of surprise immediately appearing on their faces, and their brows furrowed slightly.

This quote was significantly higher than their original budget.

"Boss, this price is a bit tight for us, could you lower it a little?"

Zhou Liya immediately spoke up.

“Your location is excellent, but we also have to consider the costs.”

Qin Guifang also took the opportunity to chime in.

"Since we're renting long-term, could you offer us a discount?"

The boss listened to their back-and-forth bargaining, initially just smiling without saying a word, before finally nodding slightly after a moment.

"Okay, if that's how you put it, I'm not an unreasonable person. Fine, I'll reduce the price for you."

While signing the contract, the boss exclaimed, "You're so lucky! Your two daughters are so sensible and capable. It's hard to imagine anything going wrong with you in the future."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shufen's smile deepened.

"Yes, if I had to say what the greatest blessing in my life is, it would be having these two children."

As she spoke, she reached out and pulled Zhou Liya and Qin Guifang to her side.

Qin Guifang stood to the side with her face turned to the side, a hint of tears welling up in her eyes.

After everything was settled, the boss took out a brand new key and solemnly handed it to Zhou Shufen, adding, "Here's the key. You can handle the rest yourself."

Zhou Shufen took the keys, nodded, and didn't waste another second.

Sure enough, from that day on, she immediately began the shop's renovation work, wasting no time at all.

The money was in place, and the team was highly efficient.

The renovation team worked day and night, and selected the most practical and environmentally friendly materials.

In just over a month, the walls, floors, lighting, displays, and shelves in the store have been basically completed.

A cozy and stylish women's clothing brand store is beginning to take shape.

Just when everyone thought everything was going smoothly, Zhou Lijuan reappeared.

She stood silently in front of the shop, with a strange man standing behind her.

The man was dressed in a slightly flamboyant manner, was on the heavier side, and had a shifty gaze.

The two stood near the doorway, neither speaking nor moving away.

Zhou Lijuan didn't get any advantage from Zhou Shufen last time; in fact, she got a cold shoulder.

This time, we certainly can't repeat the same mistakes.

She changed her approach, determined to gain some benefit from it.

We have to make sure she gets some of her money back.

“Honey, this is my mom’s shop. Come in with me.”

As she spoke, she held tightly to the arm of the man beside her.

The two talked as they stepped into the store together.

The doorbell rang crisply as they moved.

Zhou Shufen was squatting next to the shelf, sorting out the goods.

Hearing the sound, she subconsciously turned around and saw Zhou Lijuan push the door open and enter once again.

Her heart skipped a beat, and her brows furrowed involuntarily.

Zhou Shufen felt a wave of helplessness.

She hasn't shown her face for quite some time since her daughter suffered a loss last time.

Why did you suddenly reappear today?

And he still had that forced, fake smile on his face.

She was so shocked by Zhou Lijuan's shamelessness that she was speechless.

"Mom, where's my older sister? You're the only one working here all by yourself, this is really not right!"

Zhou Lijuan exclaimed exaggeratedly, feigning a very surprised expression.

As she spoke, she rushed over to Zhou Shufen's side, looked her up and down, but couldn't find anything to use against her or make a fuss about.

Then she started making random noises, trying to distract Zhou Shufen.

Zhou Shufen felt annoyed and replied irritably.

"You don't need to worry about your older sister's affairs. You must have something to do, right? If not, you'd better get out of here."

She had no intention of getting entangled with Zhou Lijuan any further, and her tone was indifferent.

One sentence made Zhou Lijuan lose face.

But she still forced a smile, suppressing her anger, and quickly pulled the man behind her to introduce them.

"Mom, this is my husband, Huang Hai, who can also be considered your future son-in-law."

Huang Hai's appearance is passable; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to attract Zhou Lijuan.

But his face always looked oily.

Zhou Shufen merely glanced at him indifferently before speaking softly.

"Oh, now that you two are together, you should live happily ever after."

Zhou Lijuan's eyes lit up and she immediately took over the conversation.

"Mom, that's what we thought too! But we don't have any real jobs right now, and our lives aren't very stable, so we came up with a plan: we'll just come and help you manage the shop. That way, we can also learn how to do business."

She has a lot of eloquent words.

On the surface, her words seemed to be intended to alleviate the pressure on her family.

In reality, Zhou Lijuan had another plan in mind.

She was thinking to herself that if she could take control of the shop's operation, it would be easy to secretly take a cut.

"You want to come work here?"

Zhou Shufen glanced at Zhou Lijuan and immediately sensed something was wrong from her eyes.

Those eyes couldn't hide any scheming at all.

"Of course I want to! Not only can I learn something, but I can also help ease your burden. I really feel sorry for you working so hard all by yourself."

Zhou Lijuan spoke with such confidence and self-assurance, as if she were truly a dutiful daughter.

He even made a point of saying "I feel sorry for you" with extra sincerity.

"Okay, you can come here for an internship first. If you pass the internship, we'll consider letting you stay on."

Zhou Shufen said, sitting at her desk in the shop.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Lijuan immediately widened her eyes in surprise, her mouth agape so wide it could almost fit an egg.

"What? Is it really necessary to be so strict? Am I your own daughter? Do I have to be an intern like a regular employee? I think you're deliberately preventing me from entering the store."

She had never suffered such injustice before.

From childhood to adulthood, my family has always doted on me.

Where would we let her encounter even the slightest embarrassing situation?

In a fit of anger, he turned around and walked towards the door.

Seeing this, Huang Hai, who was standing to the side, quickly took a few steps after her, but he didn't forget to look back at his mother and said with a smile, "Mom, don't take it to heart, I'll go and persuade her."