Chapter 119 Wang Hongmei comes to the hot pot restaurant for help with the heat...
The hot pot restaurant was steaming. Mingxi and Guan Lixin lifted the curtain and were greeted by lively conversation and steam. Mingxi's eyes swept across the small shop and she quickly found her target.
She walked over quickly, and when Guan's mother saw Mingxi, she smiled and said, "Xiaoming is here. Come, come, sit down. The seat next to your mother was saved for you."
Mingxi greeted Guan's parents with a smile, then plopped down in her seat. Guan Lixin, who was a step behind, also came over at this moment. Without asking any questions, he sat down directly in the empty seat next to He Li.
The seat next to his wife was definitely reserved for him!
Guan Lixin sat down, rubbed his hands together, and asked, "Dad, have you ordered yet? If not, then I have. Today we have seven people, one, two, three... six, seven. So, for seven people, let's order ten catties of mutton. Is ten catties of mutton enough?"
Father Guan rolled his eyes: "You're just showing off. Ten catties of mutton isn't enough for seven people? You only eat meat and don't eat anything else?"
Guan Lixin chuckled and said, "Hot pot lamb, of course, is all about eating meat. I don't eat anything else, and once I start eating something else, I won't eat anything else!"
Father Guan: "When the dishes are served, don't touch your chopsticks."
"The food's here? Dad, have you all ordered?" Guan Lixin asked.
He Li nodded: "Dad has already ordered the food."
Guan Lixin: "Have you ordered any drinks or beer? It's such a nice day, we should have a drink!"
"Don't worry, I've ordered it."
Guan Lixin laughed heartily and said, "Okay!"
Mingxi, however, asked curiously, "What day is it today, Guan Lixin? You haven't told us yet what you're planning to discuss at this gathering!"
Guan Lixin chuckled and said, "It's my fault, it's my fault. I didn't explain it clearly to you. I called everyone out today to announce some good news: I, Guan Lixin, am going to open a clothing store!"
Mingxi was taken aback for a moment, then immediately burst out laughing: "That's great news! Congratulations!"
Zhao Sulan also showed a surprised expression.
Although she knew long ago how much money Guan Lixin made from street vending, she still held onto her old ideas and perspectives, thinking that street vending was not a long-term solution, that it was unstable, and that it was too hard work to be out in the wind and rain.
But opening a shop is different; having a storefront is definitely more stable.
Zhao Sulan inquired, "Have you chosen a location and decided where to open the shop?"
“I’ve made my choice.” Guan Lixin tilted his head back and took a sip of tea. “I’ve been thinking about opening a shop for a while now, since the summer. When I was setting up my stall, I was always running around looking for a suitable shop. After a few months, I finally found a suitable location. You all know the place; it’s on the street with the department store, the corner store next to the movie theater. They’re selling it now.”
“I’ve seen it. The house is quite large, nearly 100 square meters. Because it’s a corner unit, you can open doors on both the side and the front. There’s also a small warehouse in the back. I heard that the house used to belong to a silk shop owner. Later, the silk shop owner saw that things weren’t going well, so he closed the shop and his whole family went back to their hometown. The person selling the house now is the son of the silk shop owner. His family is going to develop in the south, so they’re selling this shop.”
After hearing Guan Lixin say that, Mingxi felt that the house was really quite nice.
With its good location, large area, wide entrance, and even a small warehouse, it's a really suitable place to open a clothing store.
Mingxi: "How much does it cost? Is it expensive?"
Guan Lixin: "It's alright, I guess."
He said, "The seller initially asked for 18,000, but I negotiated with him for half a month and finally managed to get it down to 12,000."
Actually, when he bargained down to 12,000, the other party was already very unhappy, but the seller had already made up his mind to move his whole family to the south to try their luck and was in a hurry to cash out. And to be honest, these days, there are very few people who can take out more than 10,000 yuan to buy a house at once. The seller was afraid that Guan Lixin would run away and they would not be able to find another person willing to take over, so in the end they still sold the house to Guan Lixin.
Guan Lixin dared to bargain so aggressively because he had a good grasp of the other party's thoughts. And despite his aggressive bargaining, he was also quick to pay. After the contract was signed, Guan Lixin immediately handed over 12,000 yuan in cash to the other party.
He later spent another hundred yuan to buy two packs of good cigarettes and two bottles of good wine. He found an acquaintance who worked at the housing management bureau and asked him to help him transfer the property. Today, the matter was settled, and the house was officially registered in his name. He finally felt at ease and invited everyone out for dinner.
When Zhao Sulan heard that Guan Lixin had spent half a month negotiating before finally buying the shop for 12,000 yuan, she gasped in shock. 12,000 yuan was no small sum. Were shops already selling for such high prices these days?
Mingxi thought the price was acceptable, considering the location and size; the shop wouldn't be that cheap.
Guan Lixin: "Oh, right, Mingxi, this is for you."
As Guan Lixin spoke, he handed over a black plastic bag. Mingxi thought it was something else, but when she took the bag and opened it, she was shocked to find it contained bundles of banknotes. Mingxi's eyes widened in surprise.
"What... what is this?"
Guan Lixin: "This is the dividend from your last investment."
In August, Mingxi invested 6,000 yuan in Guan Lixin to purchase goods. Now that the goods have been sold and the payment has been received, this is Mingxi's dividend.
Guan Lixin held up two fingers and said, "This is the total. Take it home and count it."
Mingxi and Zhao Sulan weren't stupid; they knew that the number Guan Lixin mentioned was definitely not two thousand, but rather twenty thousand.
Zhao Sulan gasped again.
My goodness, setting up a street stall is really profitable!
It's only been two months, and the six thousand yuan has tripled. That's terrifying!
Mingxi glanced at the money in the bag, then at Guan Lixin, whispered a few words to Zhao Sulan, and then turned to ask Guan Lixin, "Do you need more investment to open your shop?"
Guan Lixin laughed: "What, you still want to invest in me? Then I welcome it!"
Mingxi actually thought so too. If the money stayed with her and Zhao Sulan, it would only earn interest in the bank. It would be better to invest it with Guan Lixin.
They all knew what kind of person Guan Lixin was, and they weren't afraid that Guan Lixin would deceive them.
Mingxi's only concern was that Guan Lixin had no shortage of investment. She had roughly calculated that Guan Lixin had about 200,000 yuan in savings. With that money, he could easily work on his own without Mingxi.
Guan Lixin said that Mingxi overestimated him.
He has indeed made a lot of money lately, but he can't touch the money for purchasing goods, he can't skimp on bribing officials, he has to buy the shop, and there are still renovations and paperwork to do. After opening the shop, there are also costs for labor, utilities, and other things. Although he has enough money on hand, if Mingxi could make an additional investment, he would naturally be able to make things a little easier.
Guan Lixin: "To be honest, Xiaoming, I'd love for you to invest in me right now."
Mingxi and Zhao Sulan were willing to invest money, and Guan Lixin hoped that others would invest money in him. The two sides hit it off immediately and made a decision.
Mingxi invested 20,000 yuan, which is considered a 10% share for her and Zhao Sulan. They will not participate in any store operation or management, and will receive dividends every three months.
That's how the matter was roughly settled.
However, Guan Lixin and Mingxi agreed that they would sign a formal and standardized contract the next day.
As the saying goes, business is business. Public matters are public and private matters are private. When it comes to money, it's much better to discuss things clearly beforehand than to have them all mixed up later and then argue about them.
After finishing their business, the pot and the dishes they had ordered were served. He Li stood up and said, "Alright, alright, let's eat now that we've finished our business. We came here to eat, so come on, Xiaoming, let me pour you a drink. Let's have a toast together to celebrate."
"Yes, Xiaoming, we have to have a drink. From now on, you're my official partner, so we absolutely must have a drink!"
Mingxi was going all out today, raising her glass and shouting, "Come on, drink! We won't leave until we're drunk!"
"Haha, Xiaoming is so generous!"
Everyone raised their glasses in celebration, the clinking of glasses mingling with their laughter.
The copper hot pot was bubbling away. Mingxi picked up a piece of mutton that had changed color after cooking, dipped it in sesame sauce, and ate it. Her eyes then fell on the skinny monkey on the other side of the table, and she asked curiously how the skinny monkey had been managing things since Guan Lixin opened the shop.
Skinny Monkey scratched his head and said honestly, "I haven't decided yet. Brother Guan told me that I've saved up a lot of money these days and I can open my own shop to do business, but I haven't decided what kind of shop I want to open. I asked Brother Guan what I should do, but he couldn't think of anything either, so he just let me work for him."
Skinny Monkey had said before that he wasn't cut out for business.
When he set up a stall with Guan Lixin, he always did whatever Guan Lixin told him to do. If Guan Lixin wasn't around, and he was allowed to do business on his own, Skinny Monkey felt he wasn't up to the task.
Guan Lixin, seeing how skinny Hou was doing, didn't feel comfortable letting him go out and do something else. So he had skinny Hou also contribute some money and stay in the store as a nominal manager for the time being. It was a nominal manager position because whether skinny Hou was in charge or Guan Lixin was in charge, skinny Hou would take Guan Lixin's orders.
Speaking of this, Guan Lixin suddenly remembered something and asked Mingxi, "I remember you know someone at the department store?"
Mingxi: "Ah, right, why?"
She actually knew some of them: Huang Pingping's mother and Meng Dongchun's sister-in-law Lin Xi both worked at a department store.
Guan Lixin sighed and said, "I'm opening a shop, and you need to hire sales clerks. I want to find experienced sales clerks..."
Mingxi understood.
An experienced salesperson must have worked in a department store.
So Guan Lixin asked Mingxi to inquire so that Mingxi could ask people she knew if they would be willing to work at his clothing store.
Although Mingxi understood Guan Lixin's meaning, she was not very hopeful. She said, "I'm not trying to discourage you, but I don't think it's very likely that you'll be able to get the sales clerks working at the department store to switch jobs to your company."
Department stores, no matter what, are state-owned enterprises; working there is considered a secure, government-funded job. Guan Lixin's store, however successful, is still a privately owned business.
In most people's eyes, being a sole proprietor is unsafe. Nobody knows if the policy will change again and revert to the old way, where sole proprietors are not allowed to open shops. Wouldn't that mean losing their jobs?
It's really hard to expect someone to give up a perfectly good job at a department store and work at Guan Lixin's shop.
Guan Lixin had been so busy lately that he was confused. After hearing what Mingxi said, he realized that his idea was far-fetched.
He scratched his head and took a sip of wine.
Mingxi advised him, "Your shop isn't even finished being renovated yet, and you're already thinking about hiring people. That's a bit premature. There's no rush to hire people. What's most abundant in Beicheng right now? Unemployed young people. You can put up job postings once your shop is finished. If you're worried that the sales staff you hire won't have sales experience, then you can spend a couple of days training them properly."
She said, "When you were setting up your stall before, you always said the same few phrases. Why don't you summarize them into a script and teach them how to say them?"
Guan Lixin thought for a moment and said, "That would be feasible."
Mingxi: "I think it's much better to train them yourself than to hire someone from a department store. Many of the sales clerks working in department stores have bad tempers."
Department store sales clerks are paid by the government, and under normal circumstances, the leaders cannot fire them. As a result, many sales clerks are arrogant, bad-tempered, and look down on others. In the early years, there were signs on the walls of department stores that read "No beating customers".
Although the attitude of department store sales clerks has improved a lot in recent years, there are still a few who are arrogant. Department stores are state-owned, so it's not a big deal if there are such sales clerks. But if all the sales clerks in your private clothing store are like that, who would want to buy clothes from you?
Guan Lixin nodded: "What you said makes sense."
Guan Lixin put down his chopsticks: "Xiaoming, what do you think..."
He had barely finished speaking when He Li nudged him with her elbow: "We're eating. If you don't eat, Xiaoming needs to eat too. Whatever it is, we'll talk about it after we finish eating."
Guan Lixin slapped his forehead: "Ah, right, let's eat first, eat..."
He picked up his chopsticks and invited Mingxi to eat.
Mingxi wasn't one to be polite to Guan Lixin; she brandished her chopsticks and started grabbing pieces of meat.
To be fair, Guan Lixin was right about one thing: hot pot is all about eating meat.
The dinner lasted until almost 10 p.m., and Mingxi and Zhao Sulan returned home after 10 p.m.
Mingxi had been drinking that night and went to bed late, so unsurprisingly, she woke up late the next morning.
When she opened her eyes, it was already 7:05.
Mingxi's eyes widened, and with a quick flip, she sat up, put on her shoes, got out of bed, and hurriedly dressed and washed up.
"Oh, Xiaoming, you're only just getting up? You're late today. Hurry up, or you'll be late for work again."
Mingxi got anxious and didn't even have time to respond to Aunt He's teasing. She hurriedly washed up, didn't have time to eat breakfast, grabbed her bag in one hand and a piece of brown sugar steamed cake in the other, said "Mom, I'm leaving first," and rushed out to work.
Mingxi rushed to her workplace, stumbling and crawling. As soon as she went upstairs, she saw a female colleague standing at the office door. She could only see the woman's back and not her face, but she felt that the woman looked unfamiliar.
She called out to the other person, "Comrade?"
The woman turned around when she heard the voice, and when she saw the other person's face, she was stunned.
"Wang Hongmei?"
Mingxi never expected to see Wang Hongmei again. The last time she saw Wang Hongmei was when she had just transmigrated and took Wang Hongmei to find Du Hai to demand an explanation.
Wang Hongmei turned around and was also taken aback when she saw Mingxi: "Ming...Mingxi?"
She pursed her lips, somewhat surprised, and asked, "You... how come..."
Mingxi explained simply: "Oh, I work at the Women's Federation now."
Wang Hongmei stared wide-eyed in surprise. She lived quite far away and wasn't one to join in the fun or gossip. She had heard before that Mingxi had taken over Zhao Sulan's job as a matchmaker. Back then, her mother had said at home that Mingxi was just messing around, and who would hire a clueless greenhorn like Mingxi as a matchmaker?
She never heard from Mingxi again after that, and she never expected that Mingxi would be working at the Women's Federation now.
This is quite a big change.
Seeing Wang Hongmei's reaction, Mingxi smiled and said, "What, are you surprised?"
"No, not exactly." Wang Hongmei bit her lip. "It's just that I heard from others that you were going to be a matchmaker, but I didn't expect you to quit and work at the Women's Federation."
Mingxi: "No, I'm also a matchmaker."
She playfully curled the corners of her mouth and said, "Being a matchmaker is just a side job. If you need someone to introduce you to someone, you can come to me."
Wang Hongmei gave a dry laugh and said, "Well, I'm married."
Mingxi's smile faltered for a moment, but she quickly recovered and said with a smile, "That's wonderful news! Congratulations! When was the wedding?"
Wang Hongmei: "The wedding was held at the beginning of this month."
Mingxi: "Congratulations! I wish you and your loved one a happy marriage and a long and harmonious life together. I only just found out myself. If I had known earlier, I would have gone to your wedding to join you for a drink."
When talking about her husband, Wang Hongmei blushed shyly.
Mingxi exchanged a few pleasantries with Wang Hongmei. Although their relationship was somewhat awkward, ultimately, they had no grudges against each other. When Zhou Cuihua caused trouble at the Ming family's house, she eventually apologized to Zhao Sulan, so Mingxi considered the matter closed. Therefore, seeing Wang Hongmei now didn't bother her at all.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Wang Hongmei's awkwardness had mostly dissipated, and Mingxi got down to business: "I haven't asked you yet, what brings you here today?"
Wang Hongmei's eyelashes fluttered a few times, like a startled butterfly. She pursed her lips, glanced at Mingxi, then quickly lowered her head and whispered, "I want to consult about divorce."
Mingxi: "Huh?"
Wang Hongmei just got married, so why is she consulting about divorce?
Seeing Mingxi's reaction, Wang Hongmei belatedly realized that her words had been ambiguous, so she quickly explained, "No, it's not that I want a divorce. I'm here to consult on behalf of my cousin. She wants a divorce."
"Oh, I see." Mingxi took a deep breath and said, "This matter can't be explained in a few words. Come into my office with me, and we'll sit down and talk about it in detail."
Wang Hongmei hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the Women's Federation office before finally nodding heavily, as if she had made up her mind, and followed Mingxi into the office.
Mingxi led Wang Hongmei to his desk, pulled up a chair for her to sit down, and asked in a low voice, "What brings this comrade here?"
Mingxi whispered, "They're here to consult about divorce on behalf of a relative."
Sister Wang responded with an unsurprised "Oh," as this kind of situation was not uncommon in their Women's Federation.
Some were too embarrassed to come themselves, so they asked others to inquire about divorce matters. Others were too embarrassed to let outsiders know that they wanted a divorce, so they made an excuse that they were inquiring about divorce matters for others.
Not surprising.
Mingxi sat back down and looked at Wang Hongmei: "What question does your cousin want to ask?"
Wang Hongmei: "My cousin wants to ask, if she divorces her husband, can she take her child with her?"
Mingxi: "Have you discussed this with the man? Does he not want her to take the child away?"
Wang Hongmei nodded and Mingxi said, "If the negotiation fails, then the only option is to file for divorce and fight a custody battle."
Mingxi: "Tell me about your cousin's family situation. How many children does she and her husband have? Are they boys or girls, and how old are they?"
Wang Hongmei: "I only have one child, a girl, who is four years old this year."
Mingxi: "Does your cousin have a job?"
Wang Hongmei shook her head, Mingxi frowned, and pressed, "Does your cousin's husband have a job? What does he do?"
Wang Hongmei bit her lip: "He is an officer at the Cultural Palace."
Mingxi frowned even more deeply. Looking at Mingxi's expression, Wang Hongmei felt uneasy and anxious. She asked anxiously, "Is the chance of my cousin being able to take the child away not high?"
“That’s how it is,” Mingxi explained. “If a child over two years old files for divorce in court, the judge will assess the situation based on both parents’ financial capabilities, family circumstances, and other factors, and will give priority to awarding custody to the parent whose circumstances are more suitable. Does your cousin not have a job and live in her own home?”
Wang Hongmei shook her head.
Mingxi: "Your cousin has no job and no house. The court may think that your cousin is not capable of raising the child. The man's conditions are obviously better than your cousin's. If the man does not give up custody of the child, the probability of the child being awarded to your cousin is not high."
"If the man is..."
Wang Hongmei spoke eagerly, but stopped mid-sentence and didn't continue.
Mingxi: "Hmm? What about the man?"
Wang Hongmei shook her head: "No, it's nothing."
Mingxi could tell from her expression that what Wang Hongmei was about to say involved her cousin's privacy, and she couldn't continue.
Mingxi understood. She thought for a moment and reminded her, "Custody cases are different from divorce cases. In custody cases, the judge mainly considers which parent can provide better care for the child. Even if the man is at fault in the divorce, as long as it cannot be proven that his living environment is detrimental to the child, the possibility of awarding custody to the man is greater than that of your cousin."
Wang Hongmei bit her lip, lost in thought.
Mingxi didn't say anything more. She had already said what she needed to say. If her cousin Wang Hongmei really wanted a child, she should find a way to make sure the man's living environment was not conducive to having a child.
Wang Hongmei pondered for a while, then looked up and said, "Well, if we were to go to court..."
She stammered, then fell silent halfway through her sentence. Mingxi assumed she was worried about finding a lawyer for the lawsuit, so she asked, "Are you worried about finding a lawyer? If so, don't worry, we can help you find free legal assistance."
Wang Hongmei shook her head: "No, that's not what I wanted to ask."
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