Chapter 45
That night, Zhan Mu smiled deeply while holding Teacher Cui's contact information. He even went back to the rental house and rummaged through the drawers to see if he had any decent-looking clothes.
"What are you doing? Looking for a white shirt and suit pants? Selling insurance?" Lu Chaoge sat beside him, sipping candied pear, his posture elegant and relaxed.
Zhan Mu felt he was being sarcastic, twisted his lips, and asked, "Yeah, what's up, Chief of Staff Lu? What insights are you planning to share?"
"No, it's good to dress formally." Lu Chao smiled and said, "I just think you are quite motivated."
"Nonsense." Zhan Mu actually found a certain XXL white shirt that he bought when he was in college. He remembered that the Youth League organization asked him to buy it, but he forgot what it was for. Now Zhan Mu has lost weight, and this shirt is too big for him.
He put it on, straightened his collar, and said, "Since we're doing business with the school, the copying stuff is probably for teaching materials. My image has to be in line with that of an intellectual, right?"
Lu Chao smiled, as if amused. He stood up and suddenly waved his hand. A translucent map appeared in front of him. He explained, "Just now, I checked the area near this No. 2 Middle School for you. Coincidentally, look here, isn't there a place called Hongchang Printing Factory?"
"Oh, yes." Zhan Mu leaned over to take a look, nodded, and then said to Lu Chao with emotion: "You really are Staff Officer Lu."
Lu Chao replied, "This printing factory has records in the company. What's even more coincidental is that the registered legal representative is also surnamed Cui."
"You mean to say that the business of the No. 2 Middle School Printing Factory is run by Teacher Cui himself?" Zhan Mu paused, his heart sank, and his enthusiasm was immediately chilled.
"If I ask, he'll probably just turn me down," Zhan Mu said, feeling frustrated. "That's what I'm saying. The more stable a society becomes, the more closed the flow of information between classes becomes. It's hard to get promoted even if you don't have connections or background, no matter how capable you are."
After hearing what he said, Lu Chao's expression became more amused, as if he was surprised by his sharpness and wisdom, and as if he felt regretful because of his insight.
Yes, Zhan Mu, you are smart, but so what? Your parents have no money or power and cannot help you. If you want to make a name for yourself in a completely unfamiliar field, you have to overcome many difficulties and it depends on whether the original king of this mountain agrees and is willing to let you have a share.
"I still have to spend some money to treat him to a meal." Zhan Mu said: "If you want to do something, you have to do it to know the result."
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The next day.
Zhan Mu did not add Teacher Cui after getting his contact information. Instead, he took some time to stroll back to No. 2 Middle School to take care of the security. On the bulletin board inside the school, he saw what Cui Yongguang looked like in his ID photo and memorized his face.
Zhan Mu even found out that the math teacher, the head teacher of Grade 8 Class 2, would be in the afternoon of the day after tomorrow. After all, some things needed to be discussed in person; sending a message was impolite and informal.
"Good things take time, don't panic." Staff Officer Lu turned into a little boy again and stood beside Zhan Mu to remind him.
Haha, it was Zhan Mu who sneaked into the school with the excuse of bringing his elementary school cousin to see what the junior high school he was about to attend looked like.
After finishing his work, Zhan Mu was returning to his shop to guard it when he saw a girl with an impressive figure waiting at the door from afar.
It was the pink-haired singer I met at the bar last night.
"Um, are you the boss?" From a distance, the pink-haired girl seemed to recognize him and said, "Can you help me with the photocopying?"
Zhan Mu agreed, took out his key and opened the door. As he was lifting the shutter, he heard the pink-haired girl suddenly say, "I saw your renovations when I passed by before and thought it was an internet cafe. It turns out it's a copy shop."
"Did anyone open an Internet cafe in this town before?" Zhan Mu chatted casually.
Turning around, the pink-haired girl smiled at Xiao Lu and whispered, "How cute!" She then replied, "Someone opened one, but it closed down soon after. It couldn't make it. This town is generally dominated by elderly people running dollhouses, so there's no business."
That investment is too big, I can’t do it, Zhan Mu thought.
He took the information handed to him by the pink-haired girl and glanced at it briefly. It was a medical record from the hospital, and it seemed like someone had cerebral palsy.
Zhan Mu was too embarrassed to show her emotions. She just asked how many copies she wanted and then pressed the button to operate the machine. Lu Chao chatted with her: "Thank you, you are a customer of our store."
"It's very expensive, Boss Zhan." The pink-haired girl glanced at Lu Chao and asked Zhan Mu, "How much does this electronic data person cost?"
If she hadn't told him, he would have forgotten it. It was Ren Anjing who gave it to her. Zhan Mu didn't answer her directly, but just said it was okay.
After the transaction was completed, the pink-haired girl paid 1 yuan, but she was reluctant to leave and kept talking to her, as if she was treating this place like a milk tea shop. Zhan Mu chatted with her for a few words, but finally couldn't stand it anymore and said, "I don't hire girls here."
"No." Li Lizhen waved her hand, looking embarrassed, and said in a weak voice, "Boss Zhan, I'm just looking for trouble. Haha, will you still come to listen to my singing tonight?"
What the hell is this for? To attract customers.
Lu Chao looked at Zhan Mu with a subtle expression. He was dressed respectably and had a good demeanor. Although not a particularly handsome man, he was certainly dashing. Most importantly, he had opened a shop, giving the illusion of financial resources.
"Master Zhan is so charming." Lu Chao laughed strangely, unable to distinguish his emotions, and turned around to sit in front of the computer desk to surf the Internet.
"Haha, I shouldn't. I'm very busy with work." Zhan Mu laughed awkwardly, trying to pretend that the conversation was awkward. He didn't want to continue chatting with Li Lizhen. She looked to be only in her teens, younger than Zhan Mu's sister Zhan Miao.
Li Lizhen wanted to say something else, but Zhan Mu pretended not to see her. She felt embarrassed and had to leave.
As soon as the people left, Mr. Guo, the furniture dealer next door, came over, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan. He started chatting with Zhan Mu, saying, "She's not a good girl, Lili. She's dishonest. As a child, she didn't study and loved to steal things. Her father has cerebral palsy and lives on the minimum living allowance. He's lazy and gluttonous. He sent her out to work before she even finished junior high school. Now she's singing for people in that Hongjie bar."
"Where is her mother?" Zhan Mu asked curiously.
"Her mother and father were divorced. They were poor and the family was very poor. She had a younger brother at that time, and her mother took him away. Lili then lived with her father." Grandpa Guo shook his head, unable to tell whether he felt pity or sympathy.
Lu Chao turned into an adult again, put one hand on Zhan Mu's shoulder, and asked, "When you saw her, did it remind you of your sister?"
"You're crazy." Zhan Mu turned around and glared at him.
When Grandpa Guo saw Lu Chao, his expression was horrified. He knew that he was a fake robot, but he looked so much like a real person that it caused him to experience the uncanny valley effect.
After the chat, Zhan Mu joined the Laojun Village community work group shared by his third father. As soon as he clicked on it, he was asked: @Zhan Master print, copy and take photos
AAA Qiaojie Beauty Salon: "Dear brother, can you please print 50 copies of this file for me? I'll pick it up later."
It's a questionnaire about the customer's skin or something.
Zhan Mu said: Okay sister, add me.
Finally, on the second day of opening, Mr. Zhan, the only business on the street, finally had some sales.
Someone actually came to ask for an ID photo, but unfortunately, the camera that Master Zhan bought had not returned yet, so he had to refuse for the time being.
At the same time, Zhan Mu also realized the negligence in his business, such as scissors, staplers, and other miscellaneous office supplies... He added them to the shopping cart for easy purchase next time.
Half a day passed in a daze. Zhan Mu stretched himself. He felt like he had done nothing, but he had been busy all afternoon. Just as Lu Chao came back with the cold noodles he bought for Zhan Mu, he met Grandma Zhan who came for a stroll.
Lu Chao froze, not knowing whether to leave or not.
He watched as Grandma Zhan took out a cabbage, five or six tomatoes, and a bag of eggs from her backpack and said, "Here, take them. I think your child must have done something wrong. I picked them from the field. They haven't been sprayed with pesticides. Take them and eat them. You can save a few cents."
Zhan Mu's face, which always resented the world, relaxed a little. He seemed at a loss, blaming himself. He smiled awkwardly and said, "Um... Third Dad and the others? Why don't you keep them for yourself?"
"You don't dare to take it?" Grandma Zhan said angrily, "I'm calling you to eat! Is grandma trying to harm you?"
Zhan Mu accepted it, blinked, pouted and said, "Thank you, grandma."
Lu Chao came in and smiled apologetically.
"This is..." Grandma Zhan said awkwardly. Zhan Mu laughed and explained, "It's an electronic doll I bought, which is what they call a cyber data man on the Internet." Lu Chao smiled, turned into a small cube and lay back in his bag.
Grandma Zhan exclaimed in surprise, but after the novelty wore off, she realized it was fake. She thought it was a toy for young people, so she didn't take it seriously and continued chatting with Zhan Mu.
Changing the subject, Grandma Zhan suddenly said, "Your mother called me a few days ago. She still agrees that you can come back and open a shop. Hey, do you really want to return to your hometown?"
Zhan Mu blinked and heard his grandmother say, "How about you tell your mother and husband that my old house, especially the pigpen part, is really about to collapse. You can contribute some money to repair the house. It will be a good opportunity for you to live there in the future."
Zhan Mu was startled and inexplicably nervous. He asked, "So, how much is it, Grandma?"
"It's only about 80,000 or 90,000 yuan." Grandma Zhan said, "I can't take it out now. I have no choice. I'm old and can't make any money. I can only hope that one of you descendants wants to come back and live with me. I can only enjoy your life when you do."
"...I, I can't say." Zhan Mu remembered what his mother had said before, that our family has not received much help from our grandparents, so he is unwilling.
Zhan Mu frowned, raised his voice, patted his grandmother's hand on her knee, and said, "I'm also doing business. You might as well rely on me as opposed to my parents. Really."
"You?" Grandma Zhan smiled and pursed her lips, looking happy but also unbelieving. "How much money does your child have?"
The sun was setting and the grandmother and grandson were chatting again. Zhan Mu looked at the mud on his grandmother's trouser legs, her short silver hair, her wrinkled face, and a pair of old cloth shoes, and he felt very uncomfortable.
More than 80,000 or 90,000? Zhan Mu thought it was not much, but he couldn't come up with it. The funny thing was that even a grandmother with five children couldn't come up with that much money.
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