Chapter 177 Quitting In the blink of an eye, Tang Hong had already...
In the blink of an eye, Tang Hong had been transferred here for half a month. During this half month, the comrades of the Women's Federation complained and groaned endlessly.
A simple ban on being late or leaving early was enough to cause a lot of complaints, let alone Tang Hong's requirement that everyone's leave requests be approved. Normally, if someone had an urgent matter, they could ask a colleague or neighbor to pass on a message and ask for leave on their behalf, or even have a family member ask for leave on their behalf.
When Director Shen was around, if there was a real emergency and there wasn't time to ask for leave, it was fine to make it up later. Director Shen didn't hold it against anyone.
But that won't work with Tang Hong.
With her, you must appear in person to explain the reason for your leave and obtain her approval before you can take leave.
Behind her back, everyone grumbled that this request was unreasonable, because Sister Wang almost got into a fight with Tang Hong.
Here's what happened: A few days ago, Ms. Wang's son had a fever. Her husband was away on a business trip, and her mother-in-law was sick. Besides Ms. Wang, there was no one else at home to take care of the child. With two sick people to care for, Ms. Wang couldn't spare the time to ask for leave from work, so she contacted her neighbor in the next office and asked them to pass on a message. Finally, the child's fever broke the next day, and she went back to work. But as soon as she arrived, Tang Hong told her that she had been absent without leave and that she would be disciplined.
Sister Wang certainly couldn't admit it. She clearly had a neighbor pass on a message, so why was Tang Hong accusing her of unexcused absence? Tang Hong didn't care. She insisted that Sister Wang's leave request hadn't been approved by her, which meant she was unexcused, and she was determined to discipline Sister Wang to prevent her from relying on her seniority to act recklessly at work and disregard her superiors' orders.
Sister Wang felt wronged and angry. She had worked at the company for so many years and had never bullied newcomers because of her seniority, nor had she ever disobeyed her superiors. Tang Hong was twisting the truth and putting such a big label on her, which she refused to accept!
Although Sister Wang usually jokes around with Mingxi, she has a temper. When Tang Hong angers her, she directly starts arguing with Tang Hong.
Tang Hong saw this as the perfect opportunity to establish her authority, so she accused Sister Wang of disobeying organizational arrangements and said she would have Sister Wang suspended from her post and sent her home.
Upon hearing this, Sister Wang pounced on Tang Hong and scratched her face. When Tang Hong tried to retaliate, Mingxi stepped forward and pulled the two apart.
To be fair, Mingxi was also bad. When Sister Wang was beating Tang Hong, she didn't lift a finger. But when Tang Hong realized what was happening and was about to fight back, Mingxi led the office staff to pull the two apart.
The frame is clearly biased.
It was obvious to everyone else in the office.
However, everyone noticed but didn't expose it. Instead, they cooperated with Mingxi to step forward and pull Tang Hong away.
Since Tang Hong was transferred here, she hasn't done anything of substance. She just finds fault with everyone and causes trouble for everyone. Who can be without complaints about her?
They're all taking sides to get revenge right now.
Tang Hong was suddenly scratched hard on the face by Sister Wang. She tried to retaliate but was pulled away by the people in the office. Furious, she disregarded her boss's dignity and started yelling and screaming like a madwoman.
This commotion alerted the other offices and the leaders.
One was a long-time employee with over twenty years of service, and the other was a director who had just been promoted a few days ago. They started fighting right there in the office, like two kindergarten kids.
When the leader arrived, he thought the whole thing was absurd. After listening to Sister Wang and Mingxi and the others explain the whole story with a straight face, he found it even more absurd.
When did my company start requiring a leave slip to be considered as taking leave?
When did it become stipulated that absenteeism would result in disciplinary action?
How come he didn't know about this policy?
Despite Tang Hongping's arrogant demeanor and domineering attitude in the office, she was actually quite nervous when facing her superiors. She swallowed hard, her eyes darting around, and she didn't dare to make eye contact with them.
The leader glanced at Tang Hong and almost laughed in anger. He was now starting to doubt whether his decision to transfer Tang Hong was wrong.
However, since she was someone he had personally transferred, he still gave Tang Hong face in front of everyone and didn't say anything. He simply downplayed Tang Hong's nitpicking as her being too strict with discipline.
In the end, Sister Wang and Tang Hong each received a fair share of blame.
Tang Hong was wrong; she was too inflexible. She could have been more lenient with Wang Dajie's special circumstances. Wang Dajie was wrong; she was too difficult. If she disagreed with the leader's punishment, she could have appealed to higher authorities, instead of resorting to violence at work, which had a very negative impact.
Both of them were at fault, so their faults offset each other, and in the end, apart from receiving a reprimand, neither of them was punished.
Sister Wang was quite satisfied. She wasn't stupid; if she had gotten into a fight at work, especially against her immediate supervisor, she wouldn't have fared well. Now, she had vented her anger by beating up Tang Hong and even got the supervisor to rescind the disciplinary action Tang Hong was about to issue. She considered it a win.
Tang Hong had her opinions, but she didn't dare to say them, since her boss's expression wasn't pleasant.
In front of everyone, the leader didn't say anything to Tang Hong, but afterwards, he took her to his office and gave her a thorough reprimand. He bluntly stated that if Tang Hong couldn't do a good job as director, she should go back to her original position.
Mingxi heard these words with her own ears; there was no exaggeration whatsoever.
Ahem, of course, Mingxi didn't eavesdrop on purpose. She just happened to be passing by the leader's office and happened to have sharp hearing, so she overheard the leader's reprimand.
Returning to Tang Hong, Mingxi thought that Tang Hong would learn a lesson from being criticized by her superiors, settle down, and stop causing trouble.
Unexpectedly, Tang Hong remained incorrigible and the very next day announced in her office that she would strictly enforce ideological education among the staff of the Women's Federation.
Tang Hongyi stated sternly that some employees within the Women's Federation were backward in their thinking, lazy in their work, and did not take their duties seriously during work hours, thus failing to complete the tasks assigned by the organization. In response, she decided to strictly limit the number of times everyone went to the restroom during work hours and also called on everyone to voluntarily work overtime.
Mingxi was full of questions; she genuinely felt that Tang Hong was being a bit outrageous.
How does going to the toilet relate to laziness at work? And why are we encouraging everyone to work overtime?
Is she sick?
Little did Tang Hong know that she felt wronged. She had just been transferred here and her position was unstable. Her words carried little weight in the office, and there were many troublemakers in the office, such as Mingxi, Yu Xiaomin, and Xiao Li. None of them were the obedient type. In addition, there were many senior and difficult-to-move people in the office, such as Sister Wang and Sister Zhang.
She couldn't establish her authority, and while she wanted to gain favor with her superiors by making contributions, she didn't have any achievements to make in the short term.
She didn't adapt well to the work of the Women's Federation. She couldn't find fault with other people's work, but she could interfere in management.
Only by strictly managing and enforcing discipline can its value be truly realized.
Especially after she was scolded by her superiors, she became even stricter with discipline, thinking that managing the discipline of the Women's Federation well would be a merit and she could ask her superiors for credit.
It's tough on Mingxi and the others. Now, every day when they come to work, Tang Hong doesn't go into her own office. Instead, she moves a chair to sit in the middle of the large office, keeping a close eye on everyone. If anyone goes to the restroom, she follows them closely, timing how long they're in there. If it takes a little longer, she'll urge them at the door.
Mingxi had just come out of the restroom when Tang Hong, with a stern face, said, "You were in the restroom for ten minutes, which is longer than the average time spent in the restroom. What were you doing in there?"
Mingxi: "What can you do in the toilet? Of course, you can use the toilet."
Mingxi ignored Tang Hong and turned to leave.
Tang Hong wouldn't let it go, grabbing her and saying, "No, you can't leave. You have to explain yourself clearly. Why did you take so long in the toilet? Were you using the toilet as an excuse to slack off?"
Mingxi's temper flared up: "Slacking off my ass! I'm on the toilet, can't I stay on the toilet a little longer?"
Tang Hong: "How can you prove that you were squatting in the toilet and not slacking off?"
Mingxi was genuinely amused and exasperated. How was she supposed to prove this?
Mingxi glanced at Tang Hong: "Are you deliberately picking a fight? Fine, you want to prove it? I'll show you. Come on, let's go to the toilet and see for ourselves. If you're still not satisfied, I'll take it out and shove it in your mouth, okay?"
Tang Hong was clearly the one who started the trouble, but she deliberately got angry first. With a dark face, she pointed at Ming Xi's nose and said, "Hey, what kind of attitude is this!"
Mingxi: "I was going to ask you what your attitude is. I've never seen a director squat outside the toilet all day long, watching how long others spend in the toilet. If you ask me, you shouldn't be a director, you should just change careers and become the director of the department, and just manage the toilets."
Tang Hong was so angry her nose was almost crooked. She was panting heavily: "You, you... Mingxi, how can you treat your leader like this? Do you have a problem with me or..."
Before she could finish speaking, Mingxi interrupted her: "Yes, I do have a problem with you, I have a lot of problems with you."
Mingxi had long since given up on tolerating Tang Hong.
These past few days, Tang Hong has been openly and subtly targeting her. The tasks assigned to her are mostly organizing documents—last year's and the year before's documents, all old and useless files. Each task results in a huge stack, tedious and numerous, clearly Tang Hong deliberately making things difficult for her. It's the same with work hours. If she arrives on time, Tang Hong insists she's late; if she leaves on time, Tang Hong accuses her of leaving early. She's quick to label her as having a poor work attitude.
The key point is that Tang Hong learned her lesson after what happened with Sister Wang last time. She keeps bringing up disciplinary action and criticizes people for ages.
If Tang Hong were to escalate the situation and threaten to punish Mingxi, Mingxi could seek redress from higher-ups. But Tang Hong didn't. If Mingxi were to go to the higher-ups, it would only make her appear unruly and a troublemaker, and the higher-ups might even turn around and criticize Mingxi.
Mingxi had no choice but to suppress her dissatisfaction.
The more she tolerated it, the more Tang Hong took advantage of her, going further and further each day.
Today, Mingxi's pent-up dissatisfaction has reached its peak.
Mingxi, facing Tang Hong's murderous glare, stood firm and said bluntly, "Yes, I'm dissatisfied with you. I've never seen an office director like you. You don't read reports, you don't approve them, and you just squat outside the toilet all day watching how long everyone takes to use it. You say it's to improve work efficiency, but in reality, you're just nitpicking and finding fault with everything. Every time we finish using the toilet, you criticize and lecture us for ages, and every time it takes longer than we do to use the toilet! If we show any dissatisfaction, you label us as backward-thinking and unenthusiastic. You know perfectly well whether you really want to enforce discipline or just want to use this opportunity to show off your leadership!"
Mingxi's words directly stripped away Tang Hong's facade of being a fair and just leader, causing Tang Hong to catch her breath.
What made it even harder for her to breathe was that Mingxi and her voice had alerted several colleagues working in nearby offices. Even though this was a government office, the colleagues there also loved to watch the excitement.
Hearing the arguing, everyone came out to see what was going on.
Mingxi's words were heard by these people in their entirety.
Tang Hong subconsciously looked to her right—in the direction where her other colleagues were standing.
Among the gazes of the crowd were curiosity, disdain, and contempt.
Tang Hong's face flushed red and then turned pale, a mixture of shame and anger at being exposed, her expression extremely unpleasant.
Her image as a director is completely ruined.
Actually, Tang Hong was overthinking it. In the first place, she didn't have the image of a director in everyone's mind.
Tang Hong thought she had done a good job and that no one else knew, but in reality, people in several nearby offices had long heard about her behavior.
Everyone already knew that the new director of the Women's Federation was difficult to get along with.
Saying we're hard to get along with is being polite; to put it bluntly, we should say we dislike each other.
Seeing Mingxi and the others living in dire straits, everyone whispered among themselves that it was fortunate their office director wasn't someone like Tang Hong.
Tang Hong was completely unaware that the image she disliked had become deeply ingrained in people's minds. She stubbornly believed that Ming Xi had ruined her reputation in public, and she was furious and shouted angrily.
"Mingxi, how dare you speak like that? I'm your boss!"
Mingxi: "Leader, leader, leader, all you can say is that you're the leader, nothing else?"
Mingxi glanced at Tang Hong and said lightly, "Besides, if you acted like a leader, I might respect you as such. But the way you are now, do you deserve to be treated like a leader?"
Her casual remark instantly made Tang Hong furious.
Tang Hong pointed at Ming Xi's nose and jumped up and down frantically: "You, you, you, if you dare to say another word, I'll punish you and suspend you from your job!"
Mingxi scoffed, "So what if I get punished? So what if I'm suspended? I don't want to work here anymore anyway."
After saying that, Mingxi didn't even bother to glance at Tang Hong, and turned to leave.
Tang Hong didn't immediately understand Ming Xi's meaning. Only after Ming Xi's figure disappeared from her sight did she realize that Ming Xi had actually left!
She just walked away like that?!
She really doesn't take her position as a leader seriously at all!
A surge of anger rose within Tang Hong, and she roared at the now-gone corridor, "You actually dared to leave! Do you believe I'll count this as absenteeism and fire you?!"
Tang Hong shouted loudly, but Ming Xi, who had already left, naturally wouldn't respond to her; all she could hear was her own echo.
Mingxi turned and left. As she walked out of the company gate, she was momentarily dazed, unsure of where she was going.
Mingxi paused for a moment, then quickly made up her mind, turning to the left to go to the matchmaking agency to find Zhao Sulan.
I just had a fight with Tang Hong and said I was quitting, but it was just a sudden thought that popped into my head in anger.
Just like before when they said they'd quit and go home to open a matchmaking agency, most of them were just talking the talk.
After all, she was quite happy working at the Women's Federation. Her colleagues were all acquaintances, interpersonal relationships were simple, her leaders were easy to get along with, there wasn't too much work to do, her job was easy, and her salary and benefits were quite good compared to others in the same category.
So Mingxi never considered resigning.
But now that she's calmed down, she's started to think.
Tang Hong had been targeting her all along, and today she's torn off all pretense and exposed Tang Hong's true colors. If she continues to work at the Women's Federation, Tang Hong will probably make things difficult for her.
And to be honest, although the Women's Federation's salary and benefits are good, they are nothing to Mingxi right now.
She might as well quit her job and go home to run her matchmaking agency.
Mingxi wasn't one to hesitate or procrastinate; she quickly decided to resign.
If she really wants to resign, she should tell her mother first.
Mingxi strolled towards the matchmaking agency. Today, Weining had driven her to work on his bicycle, so she had to walk there instead.
Fortunately, the matchmaking agency wasn't far away, and Mingxi strolled over and arrived at her destination in no time.
Today is a weekday, so there aren't many people at the matchmaking agency. Besides Aunt He and Zhao Sulan, there's only one round-faced middle-aged woman there.
Mingxi recognized the round-faced woman. After a moment's thought, she remembered that the woman was a parent who had come to inquire last Sunday. She wanted to enroll her daughter, but Mingxi had a requirement: anyone enrolling their child had to bring the child along.
So this lady couldn't register last time, but I didn't expect her to come again today.
Moreover, it seems she came alone today.
Mingxi wondered if the woman's daughter disagreed with the blind date, which was why neither of the two applicants showed up.
If that's the case, then that won't do.
Their matchmaking agency's bottom line is that they cannot go against the wishes of the parties involved, otherwise wouldn't that be forcing good people into prostitution?
Mingxi felt a chill run down her spine and decided to wait until the old woman left before asking Aunt He what had happened.
Mingxi was pondering this matter when the three people in the room heard footsteps and turned around.
The three of them were all taken aback when they saw Mingxi standing at the door.
Aunt He: "Hey, Mingxi, what brings you here?"
Today is Wednesday, a workday. Mingxi should be at work, so why is she here?
"Is your company on holiday?"
Aunt He thought to herself, "No wonder it's the Women's Federation. It's a public institution, so easy. They can give us a holiday whenever they want."
Zhao Sulan knew Mingxi better; seeing her like this, she knew something must have happened.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
Mingxi didn't mince words and said directly, "I had a fight with Tang Hong and I'm quitting."
"What?!"
Aunt He exclaimed in surprise.
She wasn't surprised that Mingxi and Tang Hong argued, but rather that Mingxi suddenly decided to quit.
That's the Women's Federation, a public institution, a good office job, a secure job.
It's such a pity that Mingxi just quits like that!
Aunt He felt a pang of heartache whenever she thought about how good the Women's Federation's treatment was.
Zhao Sulan frowned: "What happened? Did that Tang guy bully you again?"
Mingxi: "Ugh, it's not exactly bullying, it's just disgusting. I went to the bathroom today..."
Mingxi recounted what had happened that day. Aunt He couldn't stand it the first, baring her teeth in disgust: "Hey, how can your department head be like this? While others are using the restroom, she's squatting by the door timing them. Doesn't she find it smelly?"
Aunt He curled her lip in disgust. She thought all leaders were like the directors of steel mills, imposing and powerful, with everyone responding to their every word. She never imagined that there were leaders who treated their leaders like toilet "directors".
Zhao Sulan breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the whole story.
"Fine, if you don't want to do it, then quit and go home. Anyway, Mom can support you."
Zhao Sulan had heard Mingxi complain about Tang Hong a lot lately, and knew that Tang Hong was targeting her daughter openly and secretly. She had long wanted to get rid of Mingxi.
Anyway, the family doesn't need Mingxi's salary, so why let the child go out and suffer?
Upon hearing Zhao Sulan's words, Mingxi revealed a row of white teeth, chuckled, and hugged Zhao Sulan's arm affectionately, saying, "I knew you loved me the most, Mom."
Zhao Sulan: "You are my daughter. If I don't love you, who will?"
Mingxi stopped talking and just kept grinning foolishly.
Aunt He, who was standing nearby, clicked her tongue in amazement. Her daughter was quitting her job without a second thought, and the mother wasn't worried at all.
This is something Zhao Sulan would do.
Only she would spoil a child like that.
If it were her, even if she also thought that the man surnamed Tang was no good, even if she knew that if the child continued to stay at the company, the man surnamed Tang would definitely make things difficult for him.
She certainly couldn't let her child quit their job so easily.
It's such a waste to quit such a good job.
Although Ms. Tang is the director, she can't do anything else besides giving people a hard time.
If you quit your job over something so trivial, what will you eat and drink, and how will you support yourself?
But then she thought about it again, and realized that Mingxi was different from her son. Mingxi was not short of money; the matchmaking agency was doing well, bringing in several hundred dollars every month. In addition, she heard that Mingxi also did business with Guan Lixin and received dividends every quarter.
Aunt He hadn't inquired about the specifics. Although she loved gossip, she knew that some things were better left unsaid. However, she did know a little bit: Guan Lixin's shop was doing well, and he received several thousand yuan in dividends each time.
Several thousand!
Even if Mingxi doesn't work, she can still live a life of luxury.
After thinking about it, Aunt He also felt that it didn't matter if Mingxi resigned, since the family could afford to support her anyway.
The round-faced middle-aged woman who had been standing to the side opened her mouth in surprise.
What kind of people are these? One quits his job without a second thought, another lets his own daughter quit her job without stopping her, and yet another isn't surprised at all by what he sees.
Is she the only one who thinks it's a waste to quit such a good job?
The round-faced middle-aged woman was in a daze and couldn't help but start to doubt her life. Could it be that it's so easy to find a job in Beicheng now, with positions to choose from all over the place?
So the daughter of the matchmaking agency owner just quit her job like that?
Considering there were still outsiders present, Mingxi didn't say much. After the round-faced aunt left, Mingxi pulled Aunt He aside to whisper among herself.
Zhao Sulan could tell from Mingxi's expression that she was up to something bad, but she didn't stop her.
My daughter has been feeling wronged for so many days, she wants to vent her anger, so let her vent.
Mingxi and Aunt He whispered to each other for a while. After a long while, Aunt He patted her chest with a big smile and said, "Don't worry about leaving this to me. I guarantee I'll handle it perfectly."
Zhao Sulan didn't hear what the two were whispering about, but when the next day a rhyme circulated that "There's a Director Tang in the Women's Federation, who's not a director but a station chief, who stands guard in front of the toilet every day and loves to watch people squat in the outhouse," she understood what was going on.
Without a doubt, Mingxi was definitely talking about this with Aunt He yesterday.
That's right.
This jingle was written by Mingxi and spread by Aunt He.
Hmph, Tang Hong has been targeting her for so long. Even though she resigned, she can't let Tang Hong get away with it.
Tang Hong prides herself on acting in accordance with rules and regulations, so surely she's not afraid of others knowing about her glorious deeds?
While having Aunt He sing rhymes all over the streets to find children, Mingxi also chatted with people everywhere, spreading the word about Tang Hong's deeds at the Women's Federation these days.
Rhymes spread very quickly, especially since there's often gossip behind them. Soon, Tang Hong's name and her story spread throughout the entire North City.
Tang Hong knew about this, of course. Ming Xi was cunning and mischievous. Just in case Tang Hong didn't know, he deliberately bribed the children near Tang Hong's house with candy to recite this rhyme.
Tang Hong was furious. She guessed that it was Ming Xi who came up with the rhyme, but since Ming Xi had already submitted her resignation and was going through the resignation process, there was nothing she could do about it.
As for the children, she had no way to deal with them.
The children, having accepted the candy, kept their promise and sang rhymes around Tang Hong's house every day. If she came out to chase them away, the children would scatter. Seven or eight children would scatter like little birds, and she couldn't catch them all. If she went to the children's house to ask the adults for an explanation, they would be polite on the surface, but as soon as they saw her out, they would say she deserved it.
At home, just like at work, Tang Hong likes to put on airs. When interacting with her neighbors, she often makes a big deal out of nothing, criticizing everyone for trivial matters.
Because she and her husband are both leaders, they all seem to get along well on the surface, but behind her back they are all quite annoyed by her.
Everyone felt very relieved to see Tang Hong fail this time.
While gossip and rumors circulated widely outside, Tang Hong's home remained eerily silent.
Her son looked dejected, his eyes filled with resentment as he gazed at Tang Hong.
Tang Hong was also furious. Her son had a girlfriend, and they were about to get married, but today the girl's family suddenly sent word that the wedding should be called off. Upon inquiring, they learned that the girl's family had also heard the recent gossip, and they felt that Tang Hong was harsh and unkind, treating her subordinates this way, so she couldn't possibly treat her daughter-in-law any better. That's why they decided to cancel the wedding.
To make matters worse, not only did Tang Hong's son's girlfriend hear about the rhyme, but even his boss at work heard about it.
The leader who mediated the conflict between Tang Hong and Sister Wang last time called Tang Hong over with a dark face and gave her another good scolding.
He thought he could finally scold Tang Hong and make her stop causing trouble, but Tang Hong not only didn't wake up, she became even more outrageous. Before he knew it, Tang Hong had caused a mess.
Now not only is Tang Hong's reputation ruined, but her workplace's reputation is ruined too!
It's all Tang Hong's fault!
After scolding Tang Hong, the leader turned around and promoted Sister Wang, adding a deputy director position to the Women's Federation office.
There was originally no deputy director in the office.
Sister Wang is a long-time employee of the company, familiar with people in other departments, and wields considerable influence in the office; her words carry weight. The leadership's promotion of her is essentially a way to sideline Tang Hong.
Tang Hong was transferred here by the main person in charge, and she hadn't made any serious mistakes. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to transfer her back so quickly. It would be better to keep her as the director as a figurehead, and actually find someone else who can take charge.
Of course, the leader also harbored many grievances against Mingxi, thinking that although Tang Hong had problems, Mingxi was indeed too disorganized and undisciplined.
She could have reported the problem to the organization first, but instead she caused all this trouble. She's such a troublemaker.
Upon hearing that Mingxi had submitted her resignation, he approved it without a second thought. It's better for such a troublemaker to leave as soon as possible.
Sister Wang was promoted to deputy director by a twist of fate. Although she was a deputy, her salary and benefits were the same as the director's, and both increased by half.
While Sister Wang was happy, she also felt a little guilty.
Actually, she got promoted because of Mingxi.
But Mingxi left the company instead...
Feeling guilty, Sister Wang took some things and dragged Yu Xiaomin and Xiao Li to Ming's house to visit Mingxi.
I also advised Mingxi to return to her workplace.
Sister Wang: "Xiaoming, you know what kind of person I am. I won't bother with the formalities. Let's get down to business. I'm the deputy director of the office now, and I'm in charge of everything there. Tang Hong's words are completely useless. Don't worry about her giving you a hard time or making things difficult for you again. Just come back."
"Yes, Xiaoming, please come back. Without you, I don't even enjoy my lunch."
"Okay, Xiaoming, you can come back to work now."
Yu Xiaomin and Xiao Li flanked Mingxi on either side, echoing her sentiments.
Mingxi smiled and shook her head: "Sister Wang, Sister Xiaomin, Sister Li, I know you're doing this for my own good, but I don't plan to go back to work."
Yu Xiaomin asked anxiously, "Why? Don't be afraid of Tang Hong, she's..."
Mingxi waved her hand: "No, it has nothing to do with Tang Hong. I just decided what I want to do."
Mingxi wasn't joking; she had genuinely thought about what she wanted to do.
Actually, when talking about this, we have to mention Guan Lixin.
When news of Mingxi's resignation spread recently, Guan Lixin, who was at home taking care of the children, immediately went to her house to find out what had happened.
Based on Guan Lixin's understanding of Mingxi, he knew that Mingxi would definitely not suffer a real loss.
But isn't this just curiosity?
He also wanted to hear gossip.
Guan Lixin, carrying a child, mingled with a group of middle-aged women, going to listen to their gossip. After listening to the gossip, the women, who had grandchildren, saw Guan Lixin's son, Rou Dan, and naturally started talking about parenting.
As they talked, the topic veered off course.
"These photo studios nowadays are really something else. A few days ago, my nephew took his baby to a photo studio for his 100-day celebration, and I was surprised to find that they prepare a whole bunch of props, and they can even do makeup on the kids, making them look like Sun Wukong or Nezha or something..."
"Hey, I saw it last time too. Not only do they provide props for babies' 100-day celebrations, but they also offer wedding dress rentals for couples to take wedding photos."
"What the heck, wedding photos?"
"You don't know what a wedding dress is? It's what foreigners wear for their weddings, the white one..."
"That white stuff looks awful."
"Hey, that's what you call outdated. Foreigners dress like this for their weddings, and it's popular among young people now."
Guan Lixin interjected, "Yes, ma'am, you don't know, taking wedding photos is all the rage now. At that photo studio in the west of the city, a set of four photos, including the photos, developing, makeup, and dress, all adds up to forty yuan. And for that, you have to make an appointment."
Guan Lixin's baby Roudan's 100-day photos were taken at a photo studio in the west of the city. He had heard that the studio could take wedding photos, and he was tempted to have He Li take some too.
When they got married, this kind of thing wasn't popular yet.
I'm itching to buy it just looking at it now.
He heard there's some new technology that can print color photos, and he wants to get a 10-inch one to hang at home; it looks so nice.
But when I inquired, I found out that their appointments were already booked until after the National Day holiday.
Let's forget about it then.
He might as well have Xu Fei take a picture for him instead of wasting his time.
The older women were all speechless when they heard Guan Lixin's words.
However, the older women's main concern wasn't making an appointment, but rather that a set of photos cost forty yuan.
What kind of photos are these? They're not food or drink, yet they cost a month's salary!
“You young people don’t know the value of money when you’re not in charge of the household. Forty yuan for a few photos is not worth it at all.”
Guan Lixin muttered to himself, "Doesn't this have special significance?"
"What's so special about that? If you ask me, eating meat is still the most practical thing to do."
"That's right, forty yuan, that's a month's salary."
"You'll understand when you start supporting your own families."
"..."
The older women started criticizing him all at once, and Guan Lixin, unable to withstand their barrage of words, could only look to Mingxi for help.
Unexpectedly, Mingxi stared at a corner of the room with bright eyes.
Guan Lixin turned his head to look, but there was nothing there. What was Mingxi looking at?
Little did they know that Mingxi was eyeing her own future gold mine.
If Guan Lixin hadn't mentioned it, she would have forgotten that the booming wedding photography industry of later generations was still in its infancy.
She remembered that it was in these few years that, due to the development of photography technology and the spread of color photography and color printing technology, wedding photography developed, and by the 1990s, wedding photography studios were everywhere.
In other words, wedding photography is definitely a blue ocean market right now!
Although Mingxi had never been married in her previous life, she had heard her colleagues complain that wedding photos were expensive, costing several thousand yuan per set, and even more expensive for top-quality photos with excellent service, usually costing tens of thousands of yuan.
Mingxi's eyes lit up; she had an idea—she was going to open a wedding photography studio.
No, the term "photo studio" isn't used anymore; people call it a "photo studio."
Mingxi has no shortage of money, but he lacks manpower.
To run a wedding photography business, you need a photographer who knows how to take pictures.
Mingxi immediately thought of Guan Lixin's friend, Xu Fei.
If Sister Wang and the others hadn't come, Mingxi would have been on her way to the Guan family to ask Guan Lixin to invite Xu Fei out.
At this moment, Sister Wang and the others looked over curiously, and Mingxi didn't hide it, directly telling them her idea of opening a wedding photography shop.
The three of them, including Sister Wang, were taken aback.
Mingxi said she wanted to do business?
Although Mingxi had previously run a marriage agency, which could be considered a business, in the minds of Sister Wang and the other two, the shop was for Zhao Sulan. Moreover, introducing potential partners to others, strictly speaking, could not be considered a business.
So when Mingxi said she was going to do business, they were still quite surprised.
Yu Xiaomin: "Mingxi, are you going to do business?"
Xiao Li: "Mingxi, have you thought it through?"
Mingxi smiled and nodded: "Yes, I want to do business. I've made up my mind."
The three people in front of him fell silent upon hearing this.
They originally wanted to persuade Mingxi, but seeing Mingxi's bright eyes and determined look, they swallowed back the words they were about to say.
Since Mingxi has already made up her mind, then they should support her.
Sister Wang: "Xiaoming, good luck! I'll hire you to take my son's wedding photos when he gets married."
Yu Xiaomin: "Count me in too. When I get married, I'll ask you to take my wedding photos, and you'll have to give me a discount."
She hugged Xiao Li and said, "Xiao Li, we both need a discount!"
Mingxi chuckled and agreed, "Discounts for all of you! Discounts for all of you! I'll give a discount to any of you three who come!"
However—
She glanced at Xiao Li and Yu Xiaomin teasingly and said, "You two should talk about it again when you find someone!"
Yu Xiaomin clenched her fists to encourage herself: "Just you wait!"
Even if it's just to take wedding photos with Mingxi, she still needs to work hard to find a partner this year.
After laughing and joking around for a while, Mingxi and the others realized it was getting late, so Sister Wang and the other two said their goodbyes. Mingxi saw them off at the door and then turned and headed towards Guan Lixin's house.
She didn't stand on ceremony with Guan Lixin and immediately laid out her ideas as soon as she entered the room.
Guan Lixin finally understood why Mingxi had been in a daze that day. He looked at Mingxi in surprise, never expecting that Mingxi would actually plan to do wedding photography.
However, upon further reflection, Mingxi owns a marriage agency and has a large customer base, giving her a natural advantage.
Moreover, he could tell from their previous collaboration on a poster shoot that Mingxi had a lot of ideas and offered many constructive suggestions during the shoot, showing that she was knowledgeable in the field.
Thinking about it this way, Mingxi is really suited to open this wedding photography business.
Guan Lixin: "Okay, I'll contact Xu Fei for you and ask, but he might not be willing to work for you."
Guan Lixin explained to Mingxi that Xu Fei's family was well-off; both his parents were artists. Xu Fei inherited his parents' artistic talents, was somewhat aloof and arrogant, and dreamed of becoming a great director. He had little interest in taking commercial photos like this.
Guan Lixin had begged the other party repeatedly before finally persuading them to help.
Now that Mingxi wants to hire Xu Fei as a photographer, that won't be easy.
Even if Guan Lixin hadn't said anything, Mingxi could have gotten a general idea from her interactions with Xu Fei. However, she didn't know any other photographers, so she said, "Could you arrange for him to come out first? I'll ask him and see. If that doesn't work, I'll think of something else."
Guan Lixin readily agreed when he heard Mingxi say this: "Okay then."
After finishing their business, Mingxi turned to leave, but Guan Lixin called her back.
Guan Lixin: "I'll make an appointment first. Once your wedding photography shop opens, you'll have to take a set of photos for me and He Li."
"Absolutely!"
Mingxi thought it was something serious.
So that's what it is.
She readily agreed and then waved goodbye.
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Author's note: Something came up yesterday and I'm only getting around to the 10,000-word update now. Sorry.
There will be another update tonight!
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