Chapter 68
I have to say that my father is quite good at doing business. Before anything happened, he had already hired people to expand production.
Zhong Miao now has a means of transportation. After class, when she is tired of painting, she drives out for a walk without any destination, just to relieve her fatigue.
These days, she has been to the botanical garden, the zoo, and visited most places in the city. She has a better understanding of the city and has also compared which areas will develop better in the future.
Sometimes, when she was driving and saw a beautiful scenery, she would stop and draw a sketch of the scenery.
It’s still better to have a car. The only drawback is that it doesn’t have automatic transmission and cruise control, so it’s a bit tiring to drive.
That day, she was driving slowly and leisurely. Fortunately, there were not many cars on the road, and no one would complain about her slowness or stop her.
Wherever she went, she would look at the surrounding environment, observe the residents living around her, and draw sketches, which was also a pleasure for her.
This place seems familiar. Zhong Miao looked around. Haha, isn’t it familiar? This is Pei Ze’s shop. She came here to cut the ribbon when it opened.
Thinking of Li Hongmei, Zhong Miao found a place to park the car and went to a snack shop nearby to buy some snacks to take with him.
Li Hongmei was so happy to see Zhong Miao coming.
"My God, it's been so long since you last came to see me. You have such a cruel heart."
"Have you watched too much TV?"
Li Hongmei was not embarrassed either. She had learned this sentence from watching TV recently. There was a TV in the store, so she would watch TV after closing the door at night, clean up, and then go to the lounge to sleep when it was time.
Pei Ze had said before that he wanted to rent a house for her, as it was inconvenient to always live in a hotel. But she didn't think it was inconvenient. She even thought it was good this way, at least she could watch TV.
"Just watch TV if you have nothing to do tonight. Come inside and chat."
Li Hongmei gave the clerk a few instructions and pulled Zhong Miao into her room at the back.
"Oh, you must be famous in school, with the double first place and that speech, how awesome is that?"
Li Hongmei was excited. She was infected by the enthusiasm and inspired by Zhong Miao's inspirational life. Now she works very hard every day. She has earned a lot of money during this period, much better than her brother.
Humph, I made you think that girls are not as capable as boys. But now, Li Hongmei’s monthly salary is more than what her family earns from farming in a year. There is no way she can earn enough commission.
If she works harder, she might be able to settle down in the city in no time.
"What? A speech? How did you know that?" Zhong Miao was struck by lightning. What had happened to Li Hongmei to get this bragging clip? She felt a little embarrassed.
"Brother Ze brought the videotape. I watched it too. You are awesome." Li Hongmei gave a thumbs up.
"Wait a minute, I want to be alone." Zhong Miao buried his head in Li Hongmei's small bed, covering his face.
She was so angry that her teeth were itching. Pei Ze, that bastard, not only looked at it, but also looked at it secretly.
Zhong Miao's fists were hardened. Pei Ze was probably going to get a beating when he got home tonight.
Li Hongmei didn't quite understand what was going on when she saw Zhong Miao like this.
She was confused. "What do you mean by 'quiet'? Is it a name, or does it mean 'quiet for a while' like they say on TV?"
"Pfft, hahaha, why don't you ask me who Jingjing is?"
"Then who is she?" Li Hongmei knew what Zhong Miao meant when she saw her smile.
She felt quite accomplished in being able to make Zhong Miao laugh.
"Okay, enough silence. We haven't seen each other for quite some time. Are you still adapting to your work?"
Zhong Miao was also happy to see Li Hongmei. Li Hongmei was her first friend after she traveled through the book, and she was also a cheerful person who loved gossip.
"Of course, I'm doing fine now. I tell you, I'm making quite a bit of money now."
"That's fine. I told you that you could do it. Look how good my judgment is."
"I really have to thank you, boss lady. If it weren't for you, how would I have such an opportunity?"
"Even without me, you will find other opportunities. Tell me, what interesting things have happened recently?"
"If you ask me that, I do have something to ask."
"you say."
Li Hongmei went to check and closed the door, then came back and approached Zhong Miao, whispering, "Erwa has always been with our store when delivering goods. A few days ago, he told me that our factory has lost a lot of orders, and they are all local. Although they are not large orders, they have caused a lot of inventory to be backlogged."
"There's this thing? Pei Ze didn't tell me."
"Erwa said that Ze Ge probably didn't take it seriously. His expression didn't change at all. He just said he would return the money if he didn't cooperate."
"Well, how's business in your store?"
Zhong Miao thought about it and realized that Pei Ze had been sending a lot of money home recently, so it didn't seem like there was a big problem.
"Oh my, isn't it strange? The factory lost the order, but our business is booming. A few more customers just came in. Fortunately, our staff have all been trained, otherwise we would be too busy to handle it."
"These days, many of our customers are not from nearby, and some are even from very far away. People from the outskirts of the city come here to buy furniture."
“Were there many such customers in the past?”
"Not many, mostly in the city, very few in the suburbs."
"That's a good thing. Don't worry about it. Just keep the store running smoothly. The orders Pei Ze lost were probably from dealers in surrounding counties and districts. The customers saw the advertisements and recognized the brand. Since they couldn't find it nearby, they would rather travel further to buy good quality products."
"Ah, and bring something like this, why didn't I think of it?"
"As long as Pei Ze knows, you can just focus on being the store manager and earn more commissions."
"Uh-huh."
After the two best friends finished talking about these things, they started to talk about gossip. Li Hongmei talked about many interesting things in the store, but every time this girl mentioned Erwa, her eyes rolled around and she avoided Zhong Miao's gaze.
"Tell me, is there something going on between you and Erwa?" Zhong Miao understood when she saw her like that. She was curious. You have known Erwa for so many years, why didn't you notice it before?
"You, you, you, please stop talking nonsense. We haven't done anything yet."
"Well, nothing much, I just miss something."
"Zhong Miao, you silly girl." Li Hongmei's face flushed red as she reached out to tickle Zhong Miao.
"Hahaha, I'm most afraid of this. Tell me about it. There's nothing to be embarrassed about between us."
Li Hongmei thought about it and realized that it was true. She had even seen Zhong Miao and Pei Ze kissing. "Hmph, it's a bit interesting, but I haven't agreed yet."
"Do you have any concerns? I think Erwa is pretty good. He's hardworking and steady."
“I’m worried about the impact on my work.”
"How can you say that? Don't you both have good jobs and good salaries?"
"I watched a Hong Kong TV series a while ago, and someone said it's not easy for a couple to stay in the same office or something. Oh, anyway, it means the workplace."
"company."
"Yes, yes, that's the word."
"Why are you like An An? Everything they say on TV is right. Look at the dual-income families in the factory nowadays. There are quite a few of them. A couple working together in the same unit can boost production and contribute more to the company."
As for avoiding suspicion in the company, there is no such thing in this era, at least not in Qingzhou City. Besides, there are only Li Hongmei and Erwa, one is in charge of the store and the other is in charge of the factory. What is there to avoid suspicion about? Even the money was collected by Pei Ze himself.
"real?"
"Really? If you two have feelings for each other, don't miss the opportunity. If you're worried about it affecting your work, just ask Pei Ze to adjust your work content. It's nothing."
"Okay, let me take a look."
The topic continued, and laughter from the two could be heard from time to time in the compact little room.
It's a rare occasion for the boss lady to come, so the clerks outside work even harder, introducing things to customers, hoping to close more orders. Later, they can report the expenses to the store manager and hand in the receipts in front of the boss lady. That would be so proud.
Zhong Miao listened to Li Hongmei's endless chatter and couldn't help but admire how fast Li Hongmei was growing.
Li Hongmei originally wanted to leave home and move to the city. After staying in the city for a while, she gained a lot of experience.
It was just as Zhong Miao said, the city was not as beautiful as she had imagined. She had met unreasonable customers, people who wanted a full refund for products that were broken within a few days of purchase, and people who wanted a full refund for products they bought during a discount period.
Fortunately, her accounts are clear and match the receipts, otherwise it would be hard to explain.
Some places in the city are very clean, but some places are dirty and not even as clean as the village.
However, earning money in the city allows her to realize her self-worth and become independent.
It was only after she entered the city that she understood what it meant that women hold up half the sky, and she also truly witnessed what the new era was.
The dazzling array of household appliances and cars of various brands and shapes were things she had never dared to imagine before.
When Pei Ze came to the store to collect the bill, he unexpectedly ran into his wife.
"Wife, do you miss me? Do you want to see me sooner?"
"Huh, I'm here to see Li Hongmei."
"Is today's class over?"
"Well, I don't have classes this afternoon, so I was thinking of going out for a walk before going back. I just happened to drive here, so I came to take a look."
The couple didn't say much. Pei Ze had to go back to the factory after checking the accounts. Zhong Miao stayed for a while and then went home directly.
In the evening, after the family had dinner together and went back to their rooms, Zhong Miao finally put on a sullen face and said, "Tell me, when did you peek at my opening ceremony? How come I didn't know?"
"Wife, I wanted to go, but you wouldn't let me. You even secretly brought back a videotape. I was just curious."
"What are you curious about?"
"I'm curious about how my wife is so talented and knowledgeable, she managed to fool the audience."
"Haha, is that so? I really want to beat you up." Zhong Miao waved his little fist. Seeing that the situation was not good, Pei Ze ran outside to wash up.
When he came back and just sat on the bed to take off his clothes, Zhong Miao climbed on top of him and sat on his shoulders. She held his head with one small hand and put the other hand on his neck, pretending to hold a knife like in the TV. "Are you scared?"
"Afraid."
"Is that right?"
"That's right, hiss, wrong, wrong, lady, spare my life." Pei Ze's arm flesh was twisted.
"Will you dare to do it again in the future?"
"I won't dare. I am loyal to the heroine. Please forgive me this time. I will definitely earn more money for her in the future."
"Hmph, you're smart." Zhong Miao had enough fun. After all, it was quite tiring.
Just as she was about to go down, Pei Ze grabbed her legs tightly and stood up.
Zhong Miao was startled by the sudden rise, and she quickly lowered her head and hugged Pei Ze's neck.
"Ah, you bastard, you are so bold and treacherous, how dare you scare this heroine."
"I dare not ask what the lady feels at this moment?"
"If you don't put me down, you'll sleep on the sofa tonight."
When Pei Ze heard that sleeping on the sofa was not an option, he quickly put his wife down.
The couple played and quarreled until they were both sweating profusely. Zhong Miao took a few breaths and asked, "Tell me, what's going on with all those orders your factory has lost recently?"
"Your husband must have offended someone."
"Hmm? What's going on?"
Pei Ze told Zhong Miao about Liang Nuo's situation.
"What does this have to do with you losing the order?"
"The Liang family used to be okay, but now they're in decline. They haven't made any significant achievements since the previous generation, and Liang Nuo's generation is even more reliant on their past success. Tell me, why are only the orders from the surrounding counties lost? Isn't it because they don't have the ability?"
"How do you know this?"
"These days, profit is paramount, and business is all about money. How much profit do you think the Liang family can afford to give up just to save face? A distributor from a county told me about the Liang family and even asked how I had offended them. He canceled the order out of respect."
"Yeah, as long as it's nothing serious, it's fine. Actually, taking back the agency rights is a good thing. Business is better now, and there's not much loss."
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