In the first Spring Festival Gala in 1983, Cyndi Lau had the honor of watching the show in the audience as a military dependent.
The whole family, including the grandfather, was extremely excited that day.
The old man was dressed in military uniform, with medals of honor hanging all over his shoulders. He sat at a round table in the front row with his old comrades, while Liu Meiyun and her sons sat in the audience seats at the back.
The whole family wore new clothes and dressed neatly. Liu Meiyu even put on some light makeup.
After sitting for several hours in a row, the only thing Liu Meiyu was thankful for was that the triplets were all grown up now. Even if they couldn't sit still, they would control themselves according to the situation and would not give up and cry for no reason.
And because it was new and lively, the three brothers were particularly excited. They watched all the programs with gusto and were full of energy.
Lu Changzheng even regarded watching the performance as a glorious mission for the organization. He sat upright and straight, and when it was time to applaud, he almost won the title of Top Ten Action Model.
In addition to being attracted by the show and seeing the host standing on the Spring Festival Gala stage in a gorgeous red dress, Liu Meiyun, as a boss, was already thinking about the production and sales volume after the New Year.
Not only red skirts, but also a pink suit worn by a Hong Kong star and a red sweater worn by a movie star. Now she just hopes that Director Hao will be more supportive after the new year. According to her estimation of the influence of the Spring Festival Gala, one production line may not be enough.
As for Director Hao, the amount of funding approved for the factory this year has been reduced, and the orders from the sales department are not good enough. These small things of Huamei Clothing have gradually become a life-saving straw.
On the other hand, Huamei became a household name instantly because of its sponsorship of Spring Festival Gala costumes and the launch of the "Same Style as the Spring Festival Gala" before the beginning of spring.
The franchise advertisement that had been posted in newspapers for a month without any response was discussed again after the Spring Festival. Yao Shunliu stayed in the store every day to answer calls from all over the country asking about franchise matters, and he could talk for several hours at a time.
Looking at the bosses who were willing to join the company and recorded in his notebook, Yao Shunliu couldn't help but sigh, it turned out that everyone was making money quietly.
In the past one or two years, the "traders" and self-employed people are really just as Liu Meiyun said. The ten thousand yuan households are actually nothing. Most of them pocket the money and leave quietly.
At last count, there were about 20 bosses who were interested in joining the franchise. However, they had to pay a one-time franchise fee of 80,000 yuan, so they had to come to Beijing first to investigate the real situation.
Therefore, during this period after the Chinese New Year, Liu Meiyun and Yao Shunliu were almost busy.
I have to rush to launch new store models, receive wave after wave of bosses who come to Beijing for inspection, show them the store decoration, and take them to the factory to visit the production line. Dining and socializing are of course inevitable.
Yao Shunliu originally thought that as a grown man, he would definitely take the place of Liu Meiyu in matters like socializing. However, once they sat down at the dinner table, he finally realized what it meant to be a smooth and tactful person in business negotiations.
Liu Meiyu dealt with those people with ease.
"Boss Liu, isn't your 80,000 yuan franchise fee a bit too high? We all sincerely want to cooperate with Huamei, and your franchise fee of 80,000 yuan is not less than a penny. You also require that the store location and decoration must be unified according to your requirements. The investment cost is too high. We have worked hard to save up that little money, and we dare not take such a big risk all at once."
At the dinner table, a boss poured Liu Meiyu a glass of wine and tried to bargain, and several small bosses around him nodded in agreement.
Yao Shunliu was about to go up to stop him from drinking, but Liu Meiyu drank the wine in one gulp. Her movements were crisp and clear, with a smile on her face, but her tone was very firm: "Bosses, you have traveled a long way by train for several days and nights to Beijing to visit the clothing store. You must have considered it in your mind before, otherwise you wouldn't have wasted so much time. Our franchise fee is a unified price nationwide, and this price is also determined based on the profitability of the Huamei brand. It will definitely not be this price next year."
"I also know that some bosses are still undecided due to various considerations. For today's meal, we are all just making friends. If the bosses are unsure, I personally suggest that they can wait and see next year."
Yao Shunliu's eyelids twitched when he heard this, and several bosses also frowned, thinking that Liu Meiyun was impatient.
After a pause, Liu Meiyu continued with a smile: "I'm not saying this to drive away customers. It's because we have signed several franchise stores in the past few days. If you are worried, you can wait and see how our franchise stores perform this year before making a decision. After all, 80,000 yuan is not a small amount. You can wait and see. If you are still interested in joining next year, I will definitely be here to greet you."
“…”
Liu Meiyu's seemingly pertinent words made everyone at the dinner table become more active.
People are willing to come all the way to Beijing to inquire about the franchise store’s business. It can be said that everyone sitting at this table has tasted crab meat.
Liu Meiyu said that the agency fee would increase next year, and advised them to wait and see, but everyone at the dinner table knew that crab meat could never be obtained by waiting.
Huamei Clothing Store has opened three stores in Beijing in just two years. If they didn't want to make money, would they open so many stores so quickly? The sportswear was popular all over the country from Beijing before, and now it has appeared on the Spring Festival Gala. When they set out from their own city, they heard people talking about the "Spring Festival Gala style" in the store.
Yao Shunliu was feeling very nervous while eating the meal. They didn't have any franchise customers who had already signed contracts. All those who were interested were sitting at this table.
And following Liu Meiyu's words, everyone nodded and said they would wait and see and make a decision next year.
Yao Shunliu finished the socializing with others without changing his expression. The next day, before he even arrived at the store, he saw three or five bosses waiting at the door with cash in hand...
"Boss Yao, I've paid the money first. Can the store renovation and staff training be carried out immediately?"
"Me too, I came here early in the morning."
“…”
Yao Shunliu took out the contract with a smile on his face and asked them to sign it. It turned out that those who were most enthusiastic in saying that they would see next year at the dinner table yesterday were the first ones to come to the store to sign the contract today!
The matter of joining the agency was handed over to Yao Shunliu, while Liu Meiyu was busy registering a decoration engineering company.
Of course, private companies were not allowed at that time, so she asked Lu Changzheng's childhood friend to help her find a company to affiliate with before she was able to get the business done.
After the company was established, Liu Meiyu formed an engineering team, which were the same masters who had previously done decoration for Huamei. She asked them to recruit capable people from their own village to be responsible for the decoration of franchise stores across the country in accordance with Huamei's decoration style.
After a month of negotiations, nearly 12 franchise stores signed contracts. They earned nearly a million from franchise fees alone, and there was also money for decoration and income from wholesale purchases from these 12 franchise stores.
When Yao Shunliu finally did the math, he was shocked to find that this business was so profitable that they could earn millions a year just from the franchise fees!
Liu Meiyu was busy from the beginning of spring in 1983 to the beginning of summer. She was in charge of franchise stores, renovation projects, production lines, new samples, personnel training, and contracted land. She checked every level and kept an eye on every step, not daring to be careless at all.
Whether it is the Huamei clothing business or the newly established "Hua'an Construction" decoration team, for her, they are currently in the important stage of laying the foundation. Only if she pays close attention to it, there will be fewer troubles in the future.
Of course, Liu Meiyu, who is busy with her career, has no time to relax at home.
During the summer vacation, Lu Erbao was still thinking about going to Shaolin Temple to learn Kung Fu. Since no one at home supported him, he could only train Liu Meiyun on his own.
"Mom, it's just one summer vacation. Please, just let me go." Lu Erbao pulled Liu Meiyu's arm and shook it.
Liu Meiyu was getting impatient with being pestered, "Don't beg me, I want to ask you, can you wash your sheets yourself while the sun is shining?"
She hadn't checked it for a few days, and the sheets were wrinkled and even had a hole in them. She didn't know whether Erbao was sleeping or rolling around in the bed.
"Mom, if you promise to let me go to Shaolin Temple, I will wash right away." Lu Erbao took the opportunity to negotiate terms.
Liu Meiyun laughed: "If you don't wash it right away, I'll let your dad beat you when he comes back."
"Mom, why are you like this?" Lu Erbao looked depressed: "Are you still my beautiful and gentle mother who never hits your precious son?"
"From now on, I am your stepmother, and your father is also your stepfather." Liu Meiyun took off Erbao's bed sheet and threw it on his head. "Go and get the needle and thread. I will teach you how to sew. In the future, you can roll on the bed and practice martial arts secrets for me. If the bed sheet is torn, you can sew it yourself."
"Mom, I'm a boy, why should I learn needlework? I don't want to learn!" Lu Erbao's face was full of resistance.
"If you want to roll around in bed, you have to learn needlework and sew for yourself. Look at how long it's been since you changed your sheets? Do you sleep at night or attend martial arts competitions? And your socks, how many pairs have been torn this month? You don't study hard in school, and you're addicted to martial arts practice every day. I didn't say anything to you, but you're still asking for more, right?"
Before Liu Meiyun gave birth to the three of them, she thought that as someone who had seen the world and had read chicken soup for parenting on the Internet, she would be able to teach children with ease. She would definitely be a good-tempered, gentle mother who would not hit or scold her children, and she would definitely be able to raise her children to be lovable, smart and sensible.
But practice has proved that she is wrong.
It's not that the children become more sensible as they grow older; instead, the older they get, the more she can't help but want to beat them.
"My classmates all practice martial arts, and we have agreed to go to Shaolin Temple together during the summer vacation. Mom, if you don't agree, I will run away from home! I have already promised my classmates, I can't go back on my word!"
Lu Erbao plucked up his courage and took the risk.
Liu Meiyu took a deep breath and tried her best to control her temper. "You guys left home and wanted to go to the Shaolin Temple in Songshan to learn Kung Fu?"
"Yeah!" Lu Erbao nodded firmly.
"Then don't spend the next summer vacation. Just become a monk. You will live and eat in Shaolin Temple from now on. You don't have to go back to school, do summer homework, or go home. In the future, your father and I will go to Shaolin Temple to see you during the holidays. I look forward to you becoming a sweeping monk!"
"No way!" Lu Erbao shook his head and refused: "Mom, I have inquired, you can go there to learn Kung Fu without becoming a monk. As long as you have wisdom, the master there will take you in. I will go there to study for one summer vacation and will not become a monk."
"Are you so sure that you are intelligent?" Liu Meiyu was both angry and amused when she heard what he said.
"Of course I can do ten somersaults at a time now. I can do front and back flips. Mom, if you don't believe me, I'll show you."
Lu Erbao actively ran to the yard at home, wanting to show his mother a lesson. However, just as he started, he was suddenly hit on the butt with a cane, causing a burning pain.
Lu Changzheng held the cane in his hand, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot: "Lu Yunhua, are you itchy again?"
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