Chapter 178 Preparations for Opening The next day, Guan Lixin brought Xu...
The next day, Guan Lixin invited Xu Fei out, and Mingxi extended the invitation to Xu Fei with great sincerity.
As Guan Lixin had predicted, Xu Fei declined Ming Feixi's invitation. He was currently working odd jobs at the film studio with his father's old friend's crew and didn't have time to be a photographer at Mingxi's wedding photography shop.
However, he did introduce someone to Mingxi—Fu Yu, the daughter of Master Fu from the state-run photo studio on Ping'an Road.
When Mingxi first heard Xu Fei mention Fu Yu's identity, she thought Xu Fei was teasing her.
Her own father is a photographer at a state-owned photo studio. If he wanted to get into a state-owned photo studio, it would be a piece of cake. Why would he come to her photo studio, which doesn't even have a storefront?
Xu Fei: "Hey, don't worry, let me explain."
Photography is different from other professions. Photography equipment is expensive; for the average person, a single camera can cost several months' salary, which is a sum not everyone can afford. Moreover, it's not easy to get started in this field; becoming a qualified photographer requires at least several months of training.
Therefore, it is extremely difficult to train a qualified photographer.
However, this was no problem for Fu Yu. Her father was a photographer at a state-owned photo studio, and she grew up in the photo studio. When she was three or four years old, while others were still playing house, she was developing photos with her father in the darkroom of the photo studio.
So don't be fooled by the fact that this girl is only 22 years old this year; she actually has over 20 years of professional experience and can be considered a veteran in the photography industry.
Moreover, the Fu family only has one daughter, Fu Yu. Logically speaking, after she grows up, she should go to the state-run photo studio with Master Fu and work there for the rest of her life, just like Master Fu.
In fact, after graduating from high school, Fu Yu did work at a photo studio with her father for a period of time.
Fu Yu grew up in a photo studio. Her colleagues were either her senior classmates or her uncles and elders. After she joined the photo studio, she was "taken good care of". Every day, she just moved props and cleaned up. Her work was very easy.
But this is not what Fu Yu wanted. She started developing photos with her father when she was three and started handling cameras when she was five. She joined the photo studio wanting to be a photographer, not a general assistant.
She shared her thoughts with her senior classmates, uncles, and even her father, but they just laughed it off, saying that she was a woman and didn't need to think so much. They said that with their help, Fu Yu could easily earn her salary by doing odd jobs.
Fu Yu said it wasn't good, so she resigned.
Because she resigned, she angered her father and was kicked out of the house. But she managed to save money by doing odd jobs and bought a camera. Now she makes a living by working as a tour guide at various scenic spots in Beicheng and charging for taking photos.
Xu Fei and Fu Yu met during a field trip. Both were photography enthusiasts and had a good relationship. When Xu Fei heard that Ming Xi was looking for a photographer, Fu Yu was the first person he thought of.
After hearing Xu Fei say this, Mingxi thought Fu Yu was a good person.
His personality suits her taste.
She asked Xu Fei to help her arrange a meeting with Fu Yu, as she wanted to meet him.
Xu Fei agreed and brought Fu Yu to meet Ming Xi that afternoon.
When Fu Yu appeared in front of Ming Xi, Ming Xi was somewhat surprised because Fu Yu was not quite the image she had imagined.
Fu Yu is very beautiful. She is tall, slender, with delicate features and fair skin, and looks rather frail.
Mingxi didn't react for a moment, but Fu Yu extended his hand first: "Hello, Comrade Ming."
Mingxi snapped out of her daze and immediately extended her hand: "Hello, hello."
Fu Yu sat down and went straight to the point: "I heard that Comrade Ming wants to open a photography studio specializing in wedding photography? Why?"
"To make money."
Fu Yu was frank, and Ming Xi didn't beat around the bush either; she openly revealed that she was after money.
Making money is nothing to be ashamed of.
Mingxi: "At the beginning of last year, the newspaper reported that Haicheng opened its first photography studio specializing in wedding photography. It is said that on the opening day, the studio was packed with people, blocking the entire street. At the end of last year, a newly opened private photography studio in the western part of Beicheng offered wedding portrait photography services, and the store's appointments were booked until October 1st of this year. Beicheng has a resident population of over ten million. I don't know exactly how many newlyweds there are each year, but I know it must be a very large number. A huge wedding market is right in front of me, and I believe that I can make a lot of money in wedding photography!"
Mingxi didn't just blurt things out; she had done her research.
After Mingxi finished speaking, not only Fu Yu, but even Xu Fei was stunned. He looked at Mingxi in surprise, not expecting that Mingxi had done so much research beforehand.
Fu Yu raised an eyebrow, a sharp glint in her eyes, and looked directly at Ming Xi, asking, "You've explained it to me so clearly, aren't you afraid I'll be tempted to go out on my own?"
Mingxi smiled and said, "The answer is no, but there are two versions of the reason: the truth and the lie. Which version do you want to hear?"
"Oh?" Fu Yu asked with interest, "What is a lie?"
Mingxi: "The lie is that I'm not afraid, because this market is so big that you can't handle it all by yourself. Even if you go solo, it won't stop me from opening a shop. As for photographers, I believe that as long as I'm willing to spend the money, I can find a suitable one sooner or later."
Fu Yu chuckled: "Is that a lie? Then what's the truth?"
Mingxi spoke frankly: "The truth is you don't have money. The focus of wedding photography is on the wedding dress and the accompanying services. You can't make it work if you only have a photographer and don't have money to invest in other things."
"Hahahaha! Mingxi, why are you saying such blunt truths!" Xu Fei fully demonstrated the reaction of a good friend who would tease someone, and burst into wild laughter.
Fu Yu, whose heart was pierced by Ming Xi's words, "You have no money," wished she could travel back in time and kill her curious self.
Why are you so curious? Why do you always have to ask why? Now look what's happened.
Fu Yu shed a tear for her poverty, but then raised her head and nodded: "I'm willing to join your photo studio."
After she finished speaking, as if she suddenly remembered something, she asked, "By the way, how much salary do you pay me per month?"
Mingxi wanted to laugh. Was it a bit late to ask about wages after already agreeing to the meal?
However, she still answered, "Xu Fei has shown me your work. I believe in your skills. If you come work at my shop, I'll pay you two hundred yuan a month!"
Fu Yu opened her mouth in surprise, her fairy-like appearance now looking somewhat distorted.
Two hundred yuan is not a small amount.
Fu Yu's father was a master photographer at a photography studio, earning only about eighty yuan a month. Ming Xi offered her more than double that salary right from the start.
Holy crap, that's three times the price!
Before Fu Yu could even catch her breath, Ming Xi added another incentive: "If you're willing to help me train apprentices, I can give you an extra sixty yuan every month!"
Fu Yu: "Deal!"
This time, Mingxi was surprised; she hadn't expected Fu Yu to agree so readily.
But she loves being around straightforward people like that.
Although they had reached an agreement with Fu Yu, Mingxi didn't even have a shop yet, so Fu Yu couldn't start work for a while, but Fu Yu didn't mind.
If she can't take photos, she can continue taking pictures of people along the moat during this time.
The group of fishermen by the moat were the most generous. Whenever they caught a fish, they would ask her to take a picture. Even those who didn't catch any fish would ask her to take a picture when they went to the market to buy fish.
She can earn three or four yuan a day just by taking pictures of those fishermen!
Fu Yu left happily, and Ming Xi set off again to find a shop.
Finding a wedding photography studio is difficult. First, it needs to be large; second, the location shouldn't be too remote, preferably in a prominent spot; and third, the property shouldn't be too expensive, otherwise Mingxi won't be able to afford it.
Actually, you could rent a shop, but Ming-hei prefers to buy one.
Her photo studio is different from other shops; the decoration must be exquisite, which will cost a lot of money. If she rents a place, she will have to redecorate when she moves, which will take time and be another considerable expense.
Mingxi searched on her own, dragged Wei Ning along with her, and even asked Aunt He and Guan Lixin to help inquire.
And so, after half a month, Mingxi finally found a shop that suited her taste.
It has a great location, right across the street from the department store. It's a two-story Western-style villa.
The house was owned by an elderly couple of professors, and the price wasn't high. The only problem was that the house was in a terrible state of disrepair.
There's another story behind this. I heard that the elderly couple who owned the house had studied abroad in their younger years, so they were sent to the countryside a few years ago. The house ended up in the hands of someone else, and the previous tenants didn't take care of it, so it got into this state. Later, when the house was taken back, the elderly couple didn't have the energy to fix it up. Now they're going to live with their son in another city, so they're planning to sell the house.
The homeowner knew the interior was in terrible condition, so he didn't ask Mingxi for more money. He said it was a two-story villa, but it was actually three stories including the attic, with a large garden. The old professor asked for eight thousand.
This price is really not expensive.
Mingxi negotiated with the other party and cut the price down by another 500 yuan, finally settling on a price of 7,500 yuan.
After buying the house, half of the Ming family's savings were gone. With renovations, inventory, and hiring coming up, Mingxi approached Guan Lixin and sold his shares in the clothing store to him.
Mingxi did this for two reasons. First, she genuinely needed money. Second, she had benefited greatly from investing in Guan Lixin's clothing store, essentially letting Guan Lixin make money for her. Now that Guan Lixin's clothing store was preparing to open its third branch, with profits from all three stores still split at the original 10% ratio, she felt she had gotten too good a deal. Mingxi simply took this opportunity to return the shares.
Guan Lixin originally intended to lend Mingxi money if she needed it.
I never expected Mingxi to want to sell her shares.
He hesitated for a moment, but then agreed, and bought back Mingxi's share for 20,000 yuan, based on Mingxi's original investment.
The next day, Mingxi went to the bank with Guan Lixin to withdraw 20,000 yuan. The day after that, she found a renovation team and started demolishing the walls of the small villa.
The exterior of the villa was relatively well-preserved, but the interior was in a terrible state. Mingxi directly ordered a renovation team to tear down the entire interior and renovate it.
She didn't know anything about design, so she specially went to the School of Architecture at Beicheng University to invite a college student back, told the student her ideas, and asked the student to help her create design drawings.
I must say, college students are really useful.
The same applies even in the 1980s.
Mingxi didn't spend much money to get a very satisfactory design.
She gave the design drawings to the renovation team and asked them to renovate according to the drawings.
The renovation work went on for three months with great fanfare, and under Mingxi's supervision, it was finally completed.
The night the villa was finished being renovated, Mingxi ran to Weining's house with her luggage, called Weining out, gave him a kiss, and then took the train to Guangdong overnight.
Mingxi brought Zhao Sulan with her this time; her goal was to purchase costumes for the filming.
Mingxi planned very thoroughly. The most popular suits at the moment must be paired with wedding dresses. Several different styles of wedding dresses should be purchased, and it is best to prepare several of each style at different price points so that the price range can be distinguished.
Some people are not comfortable with white wedding dresses and will prepare several other colors.
Besides Western-style wedding dresses, there are also traditional Chinese wedding gowns, military-style dresses that were popular a few years ago, and simpler red suits...
Besides clothing, there are also accessories, props, photography equipment...
Before coming, Mingxi had asked Guan Lixin for information, and Guan Lixin introduced her to several shops. In addition, after arriving in Guangdong, she asked Zhao Sulan for information from locals.
Mingxi and Zhao Sulan spent a week in Guangdong without a break, running around outside every day. In the end, they both got a shade darker from the sun and lost weight.
However, their efforts paid off, and the mother and daughter bought everything on their to-do list.
The next day, the two of them carried their luggage back to Beicheng and headed back home.
What are the items you purchased?
Mingxi had already arranged for a truck to transport it back.
There was too much stuff for the mother and daughter to carry back on their own, so Mingxi decided to spend some money to save herself some trouble.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Sorry I'm late again. Here's one chapter for now, and another one will be released tomorrow afternoon.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com