Chapter 93 Jinjiang Exclusive: Taking an Inch and a Mile
The more Zhao Guifang thought about it, the better it seemed. With Li Mei gone, the stall couldn't possibly be enough for her alone, right? She could find someone else to help out; a lot of people from her family back home were looking for work.
She'll be in charge of the entire stall's operation, so her salary definitely can't be the same as before, right? She's practically half the boss, so she has to get half, no, at least 70% of the profits.
After all, she was in charge of all this, and Li Mei was just sitting around collecting money. She wasn't a capitalist, so how could she cheat people like this?
Zhao Guifang was already imagining what it would be like to be a boss. She was working for Li Mei, and she wondered how many people would gossip behind her back, saying that it was a disgrace for a good worker to work for a self-employed individual.
Once she's made a fortune, let's see who dares to look down on her then.
She helped out at the stall every day and knew all too well how much she earned each day, which gradually made her feel resentful.
She earns so much money every day, but only gets a pittance in return. It's really unfair. And outsiders even think that Li Mei helped her by giving her work, so she should feel indebted to her.
Zhao Guifang didn't have such a deep feeling at first. She just felt a little sour when she saw the stark contrast between what the stall earned every day and what she earned every month.
It wasn't until the landlord came to her and asked about her wages that she realized how unfair it was that she had worked so hard but only earned so little.
If he were the boss, he would definitely double her salary.
Zhao Guifang, who already had some reservations, felt even more resentful after being praised and complimented like this.
But if Li Mei leaves and I take over the stall, that would actually be a good thing for her!
Zhao Guifang's thoughts became increasingly rosy, while Li Mei was stunned and stood there, completely unexpected that Zhao Guifang could say such a thing, and almost laughed out of anger.
Li Mei was only thankful that she had listened to Su Ruyi's advice and insisted on making the braising sauce herself, something that even Old Li and Grandma Sun didn't know about.
She had considered before whether she should teach Zhao Guifang how to make braising sauce after she left, so that she could continue running her stall.
If we can't rent the original stall, we can go somewhere else. That way, our business here won't suffer, and if things don't go well in the provincial capital, we'll have a backup plan here.
But later she felt that this was not appropriate, and knowing that Su Ruyi's factory was hiring, she would have somewhere to go after leaving Zhao Guifang, so she stopped thinking about it.
Li Mei wasn't unaware of the importance of the prescription; she simply felt that Zhao Guifang was trustworthy and wouldn't cheat her.
Fortunately, she didn't do that, otherwise, by the time she returned, there would be no place for her in the county.
Zhao Guifang's attitude clearly shows that she is being hypocritical after getting the benefit. Even if Li Mei is soft-hearted, she still has to consider herself and her three children.
Li Mei didn't want to openly escalate the situation, so she said tactfully:
"I rarely come back in the future, and the expenses in the provincial capital are high. I will definitely invest all my funds there, and I will also take everything I have here with me."
Zhao Guifang hesitated for a moment, knowing full well that although the braised food stall earned a lot in a day, it also spent a lot.
The stall fee, the cost of ingredients, the rent for Old Li's kitchen and house, etc., are all considerable expenses.
There are also pots and pans for making braised dishes, tricycles for transportation, and so on. All these miscellaneous items add up to a considerable amount of money.
Why do some people who can't even afford to eat at home not go out to do business?
The initial investment is also a major reason. Doing business is similar to gambling; being capable doesn't guarantee making money. Many people lose money by having unsold inventory.
Putting aside whether you can make money, whether you can even afford to gamble with that much money at the beginning is a huge question.
It would be very difficult for Zhao Guifang's family to raise the money, unless they were desperate and couldn't make ends meet.
"Meizi, I'm not saying this to be mean, but you're taking too much of a risk. Things are going so well here, why would you go to the provincial capital? People are so selective in the provincial capital, business isn't so easy. What if you lose money? You're undermining our very foundation."
Li Mei said nonchalantly, "I've inquired. If I can't do this job, I can work in the construction site canteen. Besides, my two older children have started earning money, so we won't go hungry. Schools in the provincial capital are even better; Yunyun might even be able to go to university there."
“A girl who goes to university will just get married anyway. What’s the use of studying so much? Why bother? You might as well find another family and have a son.”
Li Mei's face immediately darkened: "Sister Guifang, I respect you by calling you 'sister,' what nonsense are you spouting! If you look down on me and my daughter, then don't come here."
Zhao Guifang knew she had said the wrong thing, but she still muttered, "The truth is hard to hear, but I'm doing this for your own good."
Li Mei took a deep breath. Ever since she started her business, there had been no shortage of people who wanted to introduce her to potential partners under the guise of "I'm doing this for your own good."
The thought of the men she could be introduced to made Li Mei want to laugh. They were after her money, but some even wanted to live off her.
People used to laugh at her for giving up her job after marrying Tong Aihua, not realizing that it would have been safer to keep it in her own hands.
Li Mei knew perfectly well that it was because Tong Aihua was worthy of it. Even if he got the job, he wouldn't let them down, and that was indeed the case.
Tong Aihua is more educated and smarter than her, and being a man, he earns more working in the factory than she does. It's definitely more suitable for Tong Aihua to work there.
But if it were the people introducing her to her now, Li Mei wouldn't dare to do that; she would definitely be screwed over.
Zhao Guifang knows her situation very well, yet she's still poking at her heartstrings and looking down on her for having a daughter.
Li Mei wanted a son, but that didn't mean she could tolerate others looking down on her daughter. Not to mention that she had now discovered that women could also be capable; look at Su Ruyi, she was more capable than any man.
Li Mei didn't say much. She went into the house, counted out her salary for the month, and gave Zhao Guifang an extra fifty yuan.
"I need to start packing up now. We won't be selling much each day, so we won't need anyone anymore. You don't need to come tomorrow."
Zhao Guifang's mind went blank for a moment, and she immediately stood up, angrily saying:
"Li Mei, this is so unfair of you! You just leave like that, what am I supposed to do?! You can leave, but you have to give me the recipe for the braising liquid!"
Li Mei laughed angrily: "Why should I give you the recipe for braised dishes!"
“Li Mei, you can’t be heartless. I’ve worked for you for so long, and you won’t even give me a prescription. You’re ungrateful.”
"You, you..."
Li Mei was tongue-tied and was speechless for a moment after being uttered such shameless words.
"No, you have to give me an explanation, or you can forget about leaving Liulin County!"
Zhao Guifang grew angrier the more she thought about it. She couldn't let this matter end like this; losing this job was unacceptable. Besides, she had already planned to become a boss's wife in the future; how could she let her dream be shattered so easily?
"Oh ho, what a big mouth you've got. I'd like to see how you're going to keep Aunt Mei from leaving Liulin County."
Li Guangqian walked in through the main gate with a smile on his face, but his eyes were like those of a wolf cub.
Although he is not very old, the experience he has gained over the past year has given him a very strong presence.
Su Ruyi is now mainly in charge of the clothing factory business. The hula hoop distributorship has been handed over to Li Guangqian. He now deals with all sorts of people every day and is no longer the street thug he used to be.
Zhao Guifang was startled and then realized what was happening.
Li Mei is an orphan and a widow with no special skills, but her stepdaughter is no pushover! She has a whole group of people under her command.
"No, hey, I was just kidding."
Li Guangqian scoffed, "Just kidding? Then I'll just kidding with my buddies and go play with your three kids too?"
"No, no." Zhao Guifang was sweating profusely. "I just spoke too quickly, Meizi. You know me, I'm just straightforward and don't mean any harm."
Li Mei was disappointed, but she didn't intend to continue the argument and let Zhao Guifang leave.
Zhao Guifang took her wages and, not daring to say anything more, quickly ran away.
Li Guangqian looked at Li Mei, whose face was gloomy, and said:
“Aunt Mei, just let us know if you need anything. With us brothers here, no one can bully you.”
Li Mei waved her hand: "I'm fine, you go ahead and get busy, don't delay your business."
"If anything happens, just let me know. I'll be watching outside. If I'm not here, just tell Dapengzi."
Xu Dianpeng stopped studying after graduating from junior high school. His total score in the high school entrance exam was less than 200 points, so his family didn't force him to continue his studies. He is now following Li Guangqian around.
If Li Guangqian went out, he would guard the storefront.
Just as Li Guangqian was about to leave, Li Mei called him again:
"Guangqian, do you know a hardworking aunt? I'd like to hire someone temporarily to help out. I'll pay six yuan a day."
When Li Mei wanted to hire someone, she had many candidates, including people she knew and relatives of Su Ruyi's underlings. However, she chose Zhao Guifang first because her family was almost starving. She never expected the result to be like this.
In the final period, Li Mei planned to reduce the quantity and let her old customers know, but she still had to pack up and didn't have much time.
"This person is easy to find. Just wait, he'll be here in a bit."
Li Guangqian had disliked Zhao Guifang for a long time. At first, she was diligent and conscientious, but later she obviously changed. When Aunt Mei called her "sister," she really thought she was the older sister and acted like a king in front of Aunt Mei.
However, Li Mei didn't say anything, so he didn't say anything more either.
In less than half an hour, Li Guangqian found the person. The person was a few years younger than Li Mei, more diligent and efficient than Zhao Guifang, and very smart. He knew what to do as soon as he was told.
Not only that, Li Guangqian also took the initiative to make a sign for Li Mei and put it at the entrance of the stall, which read: "This shop is about to close, last ten days of sales".
Li Mei's braised food shop is about to close in Liulin County, and we can't let someone else take advantage of us by using this brand name.
Li Mei recognized the sign immediately, so she was very proactive in explaining it to regular customers who asked her about it.
"Yes, I'm going to the provincial capital soon. My children are there, so I have to go there too. Once I leave, the shop will have to close because I can't take care of them all. If you want to eat it, you'd better hurry for these last ten days. After that, there won't be any more Li Mei braised dishes in Liulin County."
These days, shops haven't been bombarded with "last three days" sales pitches, so everyone believed they were really going to close down.
Customers who initially thought Li Mei's braised dishes were nothing special rushed to buy them, and some who had never tried them before came to give them a try after hearing that Li Mei's braised dishes were closing down.
The braised food stall, which had been gradually calming down, has unexpectedly experienced another significant increase in sales.
Li Mei felt she couldn't let this business opportunity slip by, so she not only didn't reduce the quantity but actually increased it compared to before. To avoid being too busy, she hired another person to help.
When Zhao Guifang heard the news, she was so angry that she almost ground her teeth to powder. She even went to Li Mei to ask if she could work a few more days.
Li Mei refused, saying, "Those are all people from Ruyi's side. They come to help to see if the people are suitable so that Ruyi can assign them tasks based on their performance in the future."
Zhao Guifang left awkwardly, without mentioning asking Li Mei to help her find Su Ruyi to help her find work, since the landlord was still waiting for her letter.
Zhao Guifang said to her husband, Liu the carpenter, "Originally, I felt it was a bit inappropriate to work for other people, but now it seems I'm glad I didn't refuse."
Carpenter Liu shook his head: "Women are all talk and no action. They could easily earn more money, but they just don't know how to seize the opportunity."
"That's right, it's so much better if we can keep the stall running here and make money from both sides. If we keep doing this, we might end up losing everything in the provincial capital! If she wants to come back and open a shop with her tail between her legs then, then her family will be out of the running!"
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