Chapter 75
"If you want to build a brand and be more competitive in the future, you can't just open one store in Qingzhou. You can open stores nationwide, but if you are asked to open dozens or hundreds of stores across the country, you will be too busy and it will be difficult to manage. It is better to let local merchants open stores for you."
Zhong Miao organized his words. "Basically, you sign a valid contract with the merchant, authorizing them to list Ming'an Home Furnishings. The contract must state that their store can only sell our products. You can offer discounts on purchases, such as a 10% discount on purchases of 10,000 yuan, or an 20% discount on purchases of 20,000 yuan. The main goal is to make small profits but quick turnover."
"If you're worried about merchants mixing goods with other sources, you can have sales representatives regularly monitor and check if they're in breach of contract. To prevent them from colluding, sales representatives from different provinces and cities can be rotated, and the factory should also send people out to conduct regular inspections."
"Another point is, if you find that the other party has violated the rules, you can terminate the contract if it's serious. For other violations, you can just make a few appropriate penalty clauses."
Pei Ze paused for a moment, "Well, once the contract is signed, it will be a stable customer, and sales will be more stable."
He was no longer surprised. Zhong Miao could always think of better development paths before him. He had thought about this problem before, but it was too difficult to manage and required a large investment.
He was quick-witted. Zhong Miao's method was a good idea as it allowed him to sell goods while not having to invest money to open a store.
"Haha, son-in-law, I'll go to your place tomorrow and let's study it together."
"Thank you, Dad. You can drive my car tomorrow and I'll take Zhong Miao home."
"OK."
A big thing was finalized in just a few words. Even Zhang Weilan couldn't help but marvel at it. This in-law and daughter-in-law always have ideas that others can't think of. It's really amazing.
"Mother-in-law, have some chicken. You've lost weight recently." Zhong Miao picked up some food for her mother-in-law.
"Okay, it's better to be thinner. You don't have to worry about me. I'm very hard."
"Grandma, I'm finally done with my work this time. Apart from teaching, everything else will be next year's business. Let them take care of it. I'll accompany you and An An back to the village for two days on the weekend."
Ideals are beautiful, but reality is always unsatisfactory. I originally thought that when my mother-in-law came to the city, the family could go back to the village to stay for two days on weekends. At first, all three of them were busy, and Pei Ze was a little free, but he had to reconcile accounts every day, and Zhong Miao and Zhong Ming were not finished yet. It was good enough to go back twice a month, and my mother-in-law was so tired that she became thinner.
Zhang Weilan seems to be at home every day, but she is not idle at all.
In the past, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law lived in the village with An An. Although there were some tasks, it was not so busy. Now the mother-in-law has to cook for a family of five, clean three houses, pick up An An from school, and help the children with their homework. She is so tired and thin.
"It's okay, I can go back anytime, but please come when you have the time. Don't delay important matters."
"Sister-in-law, just go back with them and have some rest. Son-in-law, you can go back with them on the weekends. Leave a car for me and I'll run a few trips to the factory and the store for you."
Zhong Ming also agreed. After all, Zhang Weilan has contributed too much to this family. It is because of her that Zhong Miao and Pei Ze can study and work with peace of mind. After all, people are not machines. If children focus on work, they will not be able to take care of their lives.
"Okay, let's go back then."
After dinner on Friday night, Pei Ze took his wife, children and elderly mother back to the village.
When I got home, the first thing I did was to light the kang. The village is colder than the city, and the house has been empty for a while, so I had to dry out the moisture in the house first, and it would be warm once the temperature was raised.
Pei Ze chopped firewood, Zhong Miao ran errands to pass the firewood, and Zhang Weilan started the fire. The three of them worked together very naturally.
An An has become more sensible after going to school. He cleans the house, wipes the kang, wipes the table and sweeps the floor. He can do everything.
After Zhong Miao finished her work, she worked with An An. She was surprised. When did this child become so capable?
"An An, when did you learn to sweep the floor?"
"I learned it while on duty at school. My classmate is so nice. He taught me. After I learned it, I always help grandma sweep the floor when I get home."
Zhong Miao was so moved that her eyes filled with tears. She had been paying less attention to her child recently. Although she could still coax him for a while at night, she didn't have any extra time to accompany her child.
"An An, no matter how busy I am in the future, I will try my best to accompany you on weekends. If that doesn't work, you can go painting with me, okay?"
An An's eyes lit up when he heard this. It's not that he didn't miss his parents. He even cried secretly because he couldn't see them. But grandma said that his father was working hard to make money and his mother was studying hard, and they would have time to accompany him in the future. But how long would that be? If they were always so busy, would there be a future?
"Yeah, Mom, you can't fool me."
"No kidding, I'll keep my word. From now on, I'll take you with me on weekends. Even if it's Saturday, I'll pick you up from school and spend half a day with you. How about that?"
At that time, we still had only one day off per week, but An An only had half a day of classes on Saturday, so this time we took half a day off so that the whole family could have a good rest.
Zhong Miao doesn’t have many classes on Saturdays, and the first few days of the week are her busiest time.
"Okay, okay, mom is the best."
An An picked up a broom and ran to Zhong Miao. Zhong Miao understood what he meant. She lowered her head and kissed the child on the face. An An also kissed his mother.
As soon as Pei Ze entered the room, he saw his son kissing his wife. "Pei Ming'an, you are already five years old. You can't kiss your mother, do you understand?"
"Humph, you're twenty-eight and you're still kissing my mom. I'm only five, why can't I?"
"We are husband and wife."
"Then we are still mother and son." An An didn't know who he learned this from. He pinched his waist and confronted his father with a righteous look on his face.
Zhang Weilan, who was boiling water in the kitchen, almost laughed to death when she heard the quarrel between the father and son. As expected, her son needed someone to persuade him. Zhong Miao was one of them, and An An was also one of them. His tricks were useless in front of his wife and children.
"You little bastard, I'm your father, and you dare to talk back at me like that?"
"I'm still your son, and you've punished me a lot, haven't you?"
Sure enough, taking more Chinese classes makes a difference. An An’s fighting ability is no longer what it used to be. Alas, children grow up too fast and are no longer so easy to fool.
"Why are you arguing with An An? Go and burn down the kang in our room."
Zhong Miao spoke.
"Just spoil him."
Pei Ze had no choice but to make a fire first.
After the main house was cleaned and it was completely dark, Zhong Miao went out and found Pei Ze stealthily taking something out of the car and putting it in his pocket. She pretended not to see it.
"Is there anything else you haven't taken out?"
Zhong Miao acted as if nothing had happened.
"No, I just checked to see if anything fell."
Pei Ze got off the donkey smoothly.
The couple returned to their wedding room. Pei Ze poured some water for Zhong Miao. Worried that she would be hungry from being busy, he brought her a bunch of snacks. He also went to the main house to get a lot of food for his old mother and son.
When he came back, his wife was drowsy while eating.
"You're amazing. You can even fall asleep while eating."
Pei Ze laughed.
"Yeah, I'm sleepy. Every time I come back to this room, I feel so comfortable. I don't know why."
"Me too. I feel at ease as soon as I get back. Wife, do you remember what day it is today?"
"I don't remember." Zhong Miao pretended not to know.
"You heartless little bastard, wasn't this day last year the day we got married?"
"Yeah, I remembered it when you mentioned it." Zhong Miao leaned against the wall behind her, looking at him with squinted eyes.
"Forget it, forget it. There's really nothing worth remembering about our wedding day. You were scared by those idiots that day, so it's better not to remember it."
"What do you want to say?"
"Wife, when it gets warmer in the spring, we'll have another wedding in the city. You see, don't Hong Kong TV dramas always celebrate wedding anniversaries? We'll celebrate it too, on a better day."
Pei Ze adjusted his posture and sat next to Zhong Miao. He leaned against the wall and held Zhong Miao in his arms.
"Weddings are so tiring."
"It's okay, just wait patiently, I'll make the arrangements."
"Yeah, that's fine."
Pei Ze took out a small square box from his arms, "A gift for our first anniversary."
Zhong Miao opened it and saw that it was a jade bracelet, emerald green in color, with excellent water content and no flaws at all.
"This is so beautiful, where did you get it?"
"I asked someone to bring this to you. You can't buy anything like this anywhere else. Do you like it?"
Zhong Miao nodded, "Yeah, I like it."
"I'll put it on for you."
Pei Ze put the bracelet on her. The emerald green color made Zhong Miao's skin look whiter and even a little more gorgeous. He simply couldn't take his eyes off it.
Zhong Miao admired it for a while. Good things are good things. The more she looked at it, the more beautiful it became. The more she looked at it, the more she liked it. She sat up from his arms and kicked his calf. "Go get my bag."
Pei Ze thought Zhong Miao was going to put the bracelet in her bag, so he went downstairs and took the bag hanging at the door.
Zhong Miao rummaged through it and took out a small square box. "This is for you."
Pei Ze didn't expect that he would also have a gift. He took the box and opened it. It was a watch, the latest model that was frequently advertised on TV.
Pei Ze was touched. "When did you prepare this?"
"Last time we went out at night, you mentioned it. We've been married for almost a year now, so I'm preparing this in advance. If you have something nice to give me, this will be yours. If you forget, hehe, tomorrow, it will be on another man's wrist."
Zhong Miao had indeed prepared it early, but she was also afraid that she would be too sentimental, so she thought of buying it first. If Pei Ze gave her an anniversary gift, she would give it to Pei Ze, and if not, she would give it to her father. Anyway, nothing would be wasted.
Thinking of this, I feel a little sorry for my old father. When I return to the city, I will pick a better one for him. My mother-in-law and An An must also have a share.
"Oh, you wish. It can only be worn on my wrist."
Pei Ze's pair of black eyes were shining brightly, and he looked at Zhong Miao like a hungry wolf.
He was touched that Zhong Miao was thinking of him. After being touched, he dared to make a move. If she dared to touch his wife, he would have to be very close to her and would never let her go.
The next day, Zhong Miao slept until after nine o'clock. It was because Pei Ze was too clingy and didn't let her sleep well.
She had just finished washing up and was getting ready to eat when guests came to her house. It was Li Hongmei's parents, who came with a lot of things.
"Uncle, aunt, you're here, why do you bring so many things?" Pei Ze took the big bag, which was quite heavy.
"It's my duty. Your family has done us a favor, so please don't be polite." Mother Li said as she followed Pei Ze into the house.
"Oh, it's Mr. and Mrs. Li. It's so cold, please come in and sit down." Zhang Weilan greeted them and invited them into the house.
"I went to the store to buy vinegar early this morning. When I heard that your family was back, I thought I'd come over to see our two children. They're all thanks to your Pei Ze."
The village store is equivalent to an information processing center. It is located in the best location at the entrance of the village. I must have been seen when I drove back last night.
Li's mother was truly grateful. Since Li Guodong had finished the renovation, the only thing left was learning to drive, so he could go home every week. Li Hongmei, on the other hand, only came back once after being away for several months.
Li Hongmei asked Li Guodong to bring her home 100 yuan every month. Although she was busy, she was always thinking about her family. Li Guodong not only did something promising like learning to drive, but also brought back such a beautiful wife. He was also a worker in the factory, which was a stable job.
Even the stubborn old man Li began to regret having stopped the children from going to the city. After all, real money and beautiful wives were right there. How could you get such treatment in the village? How could you earn more than Hongmei's two-month salary by farming all year?
But all of this is thanks to the Pei family. If it weren't for Pei Ze, Hongmei wouldn't have such a good job, not to mention Li Guodong, who couldn't even find a wife he liked.
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