Li Chunmei was browsing at home, looking at the TV drama DVDs that Xia Minmin had brought back. Many of them were ones that she had seen before and thought were quite good, suitable for elderly people to pass the time at home.
After Xia Minmin got home, she poured a glass of water on the dining table, then took the glass to the sofa and sat down.
"Mom, you have no idea that I went to the wholesale market today to buy DVDs for my grandparents. Several stores not only had poor business, but also had terrible service."
Xia Minmin told Li Chunmei the whole story.
After a moment, Li Chunmei said, "This kind of thing is common in the wholesale market. Let alone a child like you, even adults will run into obstacles when they go to buy goods for the first time."
"cheat strangers?"
"Yes, these kinds of stores usually don't last long unless they have an exclusive business. A bad attitude leads to bad business, which is a vicious cycle, just like the attitude of my mother's old saleswoman at the supply and marketing cooperative."
"I believe that in order to do business, not only must the quality of the goods be good, but you must also consider and solve problems from the customer's perspective for the business to last."
Looking at her daughter, who was speaking eloquently, Li Chunmei felt a surge of pride. She had come to understand the principles that many adults didn't comprehend.
"Yes, whether it's doing business or dealing with people, we should always consider things from the other person's perspective. Of course, if you feel wronged by the other person's perspective, you can back down if you have a way out. If you don't, you can only accept it for the time being and wait for an opportunity to fight back."
Xia Minmin nodded. "I understand."
Li Chunmei smoothed her daughter's hair. "Our family has good resources and conditions now, so your father and I want to take advantage of the good business now to accumulate more capital and prepare a way out for you in the future."
Xia Minmin remained silent. It was incredibly difficult for ordinary people to climb the social ladder; it required the efforts of each generation. For ordinary people without connections, the only chance to rise to the top was to benefit from the opportunities presented by the times.
There was a noise at the front door. Li Chunmei got up, walked to the shoe cabinet, took out a pair of men's slippers and placed them on the carpet.
Xia Jianguo opened the door and walked into the house. He saw his wife standing beside him and the slippers on the carpet. He reached out and hugged Li Chunmei.
As Xia Jianguo changed his shoes, he asked, "Xiaomin, are you back yet?"
Xia Minmin sat in the living room and called out loudly, "Dad, I'm home."
Li Chunmei chuckled, "Your daughter was wronged at the video wholesale market today. Those wholesale shop owners treat people differently based on their status."
Xia Jianguo was completely confused. "Xiaomin, why did you go to the video wholesale market?"
Xia Minmin then told Xia Jianguo what had happened that afternoon.
Xia Jianguo stood by the dining table drinking water. "Xiaomin, these kinds of people aren't worth getting angry at or keeping in mind. These shops will definitely change owners in less than six months. If you don't believe me, Dad will take you to see these shops again at the end of the year."
"Really? Can it really go bankrupt so quickly?"
Seeing his daughter's incredulous look, Xia Jianguo explained, "The rent in every wholesale market in Shenzhen is not cheap. If you don't make a profit for a long time, the boss will insist on staying, even if it's his own shop. After all, if you rent it out, you'll still have to pay rent, but if you run it yourself, you'll only lose money. There's a saying in Shenzhen that one shop can support three generations, so you can imagine how expensive the rent is."
Li Chunmei opened the refrigerator, took out the vegetables from the crisper compartment, and placed them on the dining table. "Xiaomin, come and pick some vegetables."
Xia Minmin walked to the dining table and sat down in her creaking slippers.
"Jianguo, how did the house negotiations go? Are you able to buy or rent it?"
Xia Jianguo shook his head, picking at a string bean and removing the strings from both ends. "The landlord doesn't want to sell. He's asking for exorbitant prices to rent out the entire two-story building. It's not worth it to rent it out; we won't make any money. If business is good, the landlord will raise the rent. Raising the rent is already a good thing. My biggest worry is that they'll take the property back and open their own supermarket. If that happens, we'll really lose everything."
Li Chunmei had also visited the house with Xia Jianguo and had contacted the homeowner. Judging from her behavior, she might indeed have regretted it later.
"Should we continue operating the supermarket? Actually, I think opening a home textile factory would be a good idea, as it could supply our own supermarket."
Li Chunmei continued, "Bedding production is simple, requires little investment, and the styles are updated slowly, so there's no worry about unsold inventory." The more she talked, the more feasible it seemed, and she stared at Xia Jianguo with a gleam in her eyes.
Hearing Li Chunmei's description of the home textile factory, Xia Minmin became very interested. This was much better than opening a clothing factory, as she wouldn't have to worry about losing money on unsold bedding.
Looking into the bright eyes of the mother and daughter, Xia Jianguo said, "I'll go and finalize the factory location in the next couple of days. After I return from Chang'an, I'll go to Nanshi to investigate the market. There are many home textile factories there, and I can get all the fabric and machinery I need in Nanshi."
"Jianguo, was the money to buy the factory building mortgaged against ten apartments in Shenzhen?"
"Hmm, maybe that's not enough. We might even have to mortgage our houses in Beijing and Shanghai. It's easier to get loans for commercial housing. We can pay off the loan for the discount supermarket building next year."
Xia Minmin is young but mature. Xia Jianguo and Li Chunmei often tell her about their family business. Being exposed to this from a young age will be better for her future development than starting from scratch.
After finishing their business and picking the vegetables, Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo went to the kitchen to cook, while Xia Minmin went to the balcony to collect the clothes that had been drying.
The Xia family's dinner was simple: stir-fried beef with cilantro, steamed pumpkin, and shredded potatoes with vinegar.
Xia Minmin took a bite of the pumpkin and said, "This pumpkin is so sweet and powdery today, it tastes a bit like a chestnut."
"The pumpkin vendor said this variety is delicious, and I should eat more if I like it." Li Chunmei used a soup spoon to scoop a spoonful of pumpkin into Xia Minmin's bowl.
Xia Minmin mixed pumpkin with rice, making the rice taste sweeter.
"Jianguo, have you talked to Xiaowu and her sister about the supermarket and these two stores?"
"It's agreed that Xiao Wu will accompany Xiao Mei to the small supermarket and small commodity wholesale store to collect payments every afternoon. We'll only be away for half a month, so it shouldn't be a problem."
The days passed quickly, and Xia Minmin's family, along with Li Zhonghua, Sun Erni, Li Qing, and Wang Aimin, boarded the train back to their hometown.
When Xia Minmin got off the train, she looked at the unfamiliar county town. It had changed so much. The last time she came back, the area around the train station was very desolate. This time, the surrounding houses had been built and people had started doing business.
After getting off the train, Wang Aimin was filled with curiosity and was interested in everything he saw. "Founding of the Nation, China, I didn't expect your hometown to be so prosperous."
Li Zhonghua patted Wang Aimin on the shoulder, "Aimin, I'll take you to eat stewed fish later, it's our signature dish. You can only get this fish here, it's so fresh it'll make your teeth fall out."
The group, carrying their luggage, took a car to a restaurant by the water. Li Zhonghua ordered two fish weighing three pounds each, one stewed fish and one braised fish, along with four vegetables.
Wang Aimin tasted the fish and exclaimed, "Zhonghua, you're right, fresh fish is indeed better than dried fish."
Wang Aimin and Li Zhonghua were drinking rice wine, which had a low alcohol content and was not intoxicating, but tasted good.
This time, Xia Minmin's family didn't stay long in their hometown, and they stayed directly at Xia's maternal grandparents' house.
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