After buying the shop, Liu Meiyun took the time to draw a decoration drawing.
Since she was selling clothes, the shop had to be spacious and bright. She planned to tear down the exterior walls facing the road and replace them with glass display windows, as well as the chandeliers on the roof, tiled floors, mannequins, clothes drying racks, and dressing room mirrors. Liu Meiyu was exhausted just from decorating the shop.
Although Yao Shunliu wanted to help her share the burden, the most he could do was to look for materials in the market and find two reliable bricklayers for her.
"Master, please help me build three fitting rooms here. They don't need to be too big. I want to install mirrors on the walls."
"And here, make this curved counter for me according to the drawing. It should stop here, and don't protrude too much."
Liu Meiyu was holding a drawing she had drawn and explaining it in detail to two bricklayers in the store.
Yao Shunliu asked around for a long time before he found two skilled bricklayers in the suburbs of Beijing. However, he found it difficult to understand the drawings given by Liu Meiyu.
They usually just take on odd jobs like helping people build new houses and so on. This is the first time they have taken over a decoration shop and it is something very special. Three walls have to be made of glass. Wouldn't it mean that everything inside can be seen from outside? How unsafe is that?
"It's okay, Master. Just follow the instructions on the diagram. I'll also install a rolling shutter outside the glass."
Seeing that Liu Meiyun was so persistent, the master had no choice but to start the work according to what Liu Meiyun said.
It was at this time that Lu Changzheng came in and saw his wife working very hard. He resisted the urge to disturb her and waited patiently at the door.
It was the master at the door who saw him and told Liu Meiyu, who then discovered him.
"Why are you here?" Liu Meiyu looked surprised.
"We just got off school and came here together on the school bus."
Liu Meiyun had told him about buying a shop and opening a store when they talked on the phone some time ago, so he came over to take a look today.
Glancing at the drawing in his wife's hand, Lu Changzheng's eyes were full of admiration. He thought that if his wife didn't study economics, she could also study design.
Liu Meiyu had thought about it before, but later she gave up. Everyone has their own expertise, and she was more interested in making money.
"How about this shop?" Liu Meiyu hadn't seen Lu Changzheng for almost a month. She couldn't help but hide her joy and took the man to carefully tour the still shabby shop.
"I've made this into a counter. I can put a few fashion magazines here. There's also a small room at the back that can be used as a warehouse. Isn't that great?"
Liu Meiyun was showing off like a trophy, her eyebrows curved into a crescent, her voice was crisp and sweet, Lu Changzheng didn't care about the appearance at all, his eyes never left her, he just perfunctorily said: "Well, not bad, my wife, you really have good taste."
“…”
Seeing the man's attentive look, who agreed to everything, Liu Meiyu didn't expect him to come up with any constructive ideas. She just gave some instructions to the two bricklayers and took the man away.
"Let's go to Quanjude to eat roast duck. After eating, we can bring two back home. Xiaobao and his friends have been talking about it for days."
Last month, a Quanjude roast duck restaurant opened in Hepingmen. My grandfather’s friend sent one to our family. The triplets were like hungry wolves. After eating, they were still not satisfied and kept making noises for two days. They insisted that Liu Meiyun take them to buy two more.
"Okay!" Lu Changzheng nodded with a smile, thinking about how much his three sons eat, "Buy three, so they can eat enough at once!"
"What a waste if you can't finish it." Liu Meiyu glared at him.
"Okay, okay, then buy two." Lu Changzheng quickly changed his words.
The couple walked into Quanjude arm in arm.
There were more people than they had imagined. After all, this old brand had a reputation. Unlike those newly opened snack shops on the street, the errand boys in the lobby were so busy that they didn't even have time to take a break. They wouldn't even have the dishes on the table yet, but when they saw customers coming in, they would shout and usher them in.
There were rows of roasted and greasy ducks hanging on the stove at the door, which made people drool. Lu Changzheng ordered one.
Liu Meiyu ordered two vegetarian dishes to go with the meal, and also asked for two bowls of rice for Lu Changzheng.
The Quanjude roast duck at that time still tasted pretty good. Liu Meiyu tasted it carefully. Seeing that Lu Changzheng across from her was eating fast, he ate the duck meat directly with his rice and finished two bowls of rice in no time.
Liu Meiyu was too lazy to ask him how it tasted, and it was useless to ask.
Lu Changzheng ate and drank his fill, and sat there contentedly watching Liu Meiyu chew her food slowly.
"Meiyun, who are you going to invite to your clothing store? Yao Shunliu's wife?"
Liu Meiyun shook her head, "Sister-in-law Xiulan can't do that. She has to take care of the children."
"So what are you going to do?" Lu Changzheng asked curiously.
"When the shop is almost finished being renovated, I'll put a job posting at the door and see if anyone comes."
Liu Meiyu is not worried about recruiting people. There are so many unemployed young people now. The country encourages self-employed individuals to start businesses in order to solve the urban employment problem and promote economic development.
Once she posted the job advertisement, she wasn't afraid of not being able to recruit anyone, but she was afraid of recruiting the wrong person.
"How many people do you plan to hire to look after the store?" Lu Changzheng asked again.
Liu Meiyun raised her eyes and said, "Two, young and pretty girls."
"What?" Liu Meiyu glanced at the man and wiped her mouth with a tissue. "Did you introduce him?"
"No, where can I get it?" Lu Changzheng rejected it outright and lowered his head to fiddle with his chopsticks.
Liu Meiyun kicked the man and said, "Lu Changzheng, you are not good at lying, but you know how to do it with your little tricks?"
"Meiyun" Lu Changzheng raised his head again with an innocent expression.
"Okay, that's fine."
Liu Meiyu drank some water and was about to leave, but was grabbed by Lu Changzheng.
"Wife~" the man drawled out the last line of his voice.
"If you have something to say, just say it!" Liu Meiyu glared at him.
"My comrade, he has a younger sister and his family is in a difficult situation..."
Lu Changzheng carefully watched the changing expression on his daughter-in-law's face.
Seeing Liu Meiyun sitting there without saying anything and with a serious expression, he immediately felt uneasy and said, "Wife, I just mentioned it casually, don't be angry. If you are unhappy, just pretend I didn't say it."
"I'm not angry."
It's not that serious.
This was not the first or second time that Lu Changzheng liked to help his comrades. In the past few years, he had sent money and tickets to his comrades many times. Liu Meiyun never criticized him for this.
As men, they are connected by comradeship, and each time they lend money, although it takes a long time, people will always pay it back, it is not a bottomless pit. Liu Meiyu still feels that such a Lu Changzheng, no matter how old he is, is always full of affection and loyalty, and his heart is burning.
But borrowing money and bills is quite different from arranging a job.
"Changzheng, I opened this shop to make money, not to do charity. When I recruit employees, I will only hire suitable ones." Liu Meiyu reminded the man first.
Seeing that his wife was not angry, Lu Changzheng breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "I know, so I want to take you to my comrade's house later. If you think it's inappropriate, we can just sit there and leave without letting anyone know."
"You've already planned this out, right?" Liu Meiyu raised her eyelids.
"Really not." Lu Changzheng protested, "You just said you wanted to recruit people, and I suddenly remembered. It's better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. Isn't this what you always say?"
"Don't be so mean to me. You always remember to compliment me at critical moments." Liu Meiyu pinched him hard.
After leaving Quanjude, the three brothers decided to go see their old comrades from the Long March, so the food that was about to be served was gone.
The couple packed a bag and went to visit an old comrade-in-arms during the Long March.
Lu Changzheng took Liu Meiyun with him on a bicycle, which took a full forty minutes, and Liu Meiyun's legs were numb from sitting.
When they saw a bus stop nearby, she squeezed the man's waist again and said, "Didn't you say this place is remote and there are no buses?"
"Really? I forgot. Maybe it became available recently." Lu Changzheng played dumb.
He really likes to take his wife for a stroll around Beijing on a bicycle. It is so inconvenient to take a car. It takes a long time to get there, and there are many people in the car, and his wife can't hold his waist all the time.
"Just make it up." Liu Meiyun believed that he was up to something and said unhappily, "My butt is numb from sitting. I'll ride my bike when we get back and you can walk!"
If I had known this earlier, I would have ridden two bicycles instead of suffering like this.
"It'll be there soon. I'll rub it for you when I get home. My dear, please bear with it. You can sit on my clothes when we get home." Lu Changzheng said sorry, but his eyebrows were raised all the time, and the smile at the corners of his eyes was almost splitting to the back of his ears.
The home of Lu Changzheng's comrade-in-arms is located in a narrow bungalow courtyard on the outskirts of the city. The small courtyard has only three or four rooms at a glance, but there are about a dozen people living there, including old, young and strong. But there is no young and pretty girl, and I don't know which one of Lu Changzheng's comrades-in-arms is.
However, when this family saw the guests coming into the yard, they all looked over with curiosity.
"Oh, you are here to seek peace!" A woman holding a child came up to them with a smile, her eyes fixed on the thing in Lu Changzheng's hand.
Lu Changzheng nodded and said, "Hello, sister-in-law. I am Heping's comrade-in-arms. May I ask if he is home?"
"My second brother has gone out, but he will be back soon. Come in and sit down, don't stand at the door." The woman held the child in one hand. While she was leading Lu Changzheng and his wife to the yard, she reached out to grab the things in Lu Changzheng's hand with her other hand, "You're still carrying things..."
"Let me carry the things, and you go lock the bike. What if it gets stolen?" Liu Meiyu interrupted the woman, snatched the nutrients and roast duck that Lu Changzheng had brought for his comrades, and then sent the man away.
The woman holding the child awkwardly stopped her hands in mid-air and stared at Liu Meiyu with a frown. She was so beautiful that she was blinded by it. As soon as she entered the yard, she wished that all the men in the house would stare at her.
"Hey, girl, just find a place to sit. That's Heping's room. He hasn't come back yet."
Not getting what she wanted, the woman was too lazy to even greet him. Not only did she not pour him a glass of water when she entered the house, she was even too lazy to find a bench for Liu Meiyu.
"Okay, sister-in-law, go ahead and do your work. I smell like your child has pooped."
People are unwilling to greet Liu Meiyun, and Liu Meiyun is too lazy to pay attention to her.
"Who is it? Who is looking for peace?" In the yard, an old lady was sitting on the stone steps at the door. Several children were squatting beside her and were handing stacked paper boxes to the old lady. The old lady couldn't see with her eyes, but her hands were deftly touching the paste and pasting the paper boxes.
Just at this time, Lu Changzheng also locked up his bicycle and came into the yard. Liu Meiyun pulled Lu Changzheng to the old lady and said, "Hello, grandma. We are friends of Brother Heping. We came to see him."
The old lady fumbled around, put the newly pasted paper box aside, waved her hand to send her grandchildren away, and then said, "Heping brother and sister have gone to help someone haul coal. You sit for a while, they will be back soon."
After saying this, he ordered a little grandson to pour tea and bring stools to the guests. It was obvious that he knew what kind of person his daughter-in-law was.
The couple didn't have to wait in the yard for long before the brother and sister came back.
"Peace!" When Lu Changzheng saw his comrade coming in from outside, he couldn't sit still and went forward to hug him.
"Lu Changzheng!" Zhao Heping was shocked. He remembered that he was still dirty, so he pushed the man away, saluted properly, and then punched Lu Changzheng on the shoulder. "Why are you in my house?"
"I just came to see you." Lu Changzheng was not to be outdone and punched back.
Next to him was a little girl with two braids. Her face was also dark because she followed her big brother to help carry coal. However, her facial features were good-looking and her eyes were dark and bright. However, her clothes were covered with patches and her shoes had holes in them.
"Is this Sister Heping? She's really pretty." Liu Meiyu walked over and handed her something with a smile: "This is what Changzheng brought for you."
The girl looked at the obviously expensive item in Liu Meiyun's hand and was a little shy to take it. She just looked at her brother and when she saw that her brother didn't say anything, she took it from Liu Meiyun and said crisply, "Thank you, sister."
The girl took the things and just as she was about to take out the key from her pocket to put it back in the room, the woman who had previously failed to get any good things from Liu Meiyun while holding her child showed up again. She didn't care that the guests were still in the courtyard and reached out to her: "He Mei, is this the roast duck from Quanjude? It's time for dinner, put it on the table quickly so that grandma can taste it."
She stared at it for a long time and said why it smelled so good. She went back to the room and thought about it with her man, then she remembered that this was the taste of Quanjude roast duck!
"Auntie, these are gifts from my brother's comrades-in-arms. We will deliver them to grandma's place ourselves. It's time for dinner at your house, so hurry back!" The girl quickly dodged the woman and carried the gifts back into the house without even giving the woman a good look.
"What the hell is this girl doing here?" the woman complained unhappily. When she turned around, she saw Liu Meiyu's beautiful eyes looking at her sharply. She was a little embarrassed for a moment and then returned to her room in a bad mood.
"Hello, sister-in-law, I'm Zhao Heping. I often hear Chang Zheng mention you in his letters." The man was covered in black coal slag and didn't dare to get too close to Liu Meiyu for fear of dirtying her.
Liu Meiyu stood up straight, saluted the man, and then smiled and said, "Brother Heping, I heard that you and Changzheng were both in the Yu Province Military Region. I used to be in the Yu Province Art Troupe. I also performed in your army, but my leg was injured, so I didn't have the opportunity to go on stage."
"I know. Changzheng told me in his letter that I hadn't been discharged from the army when you came. I saw your troupe perform. But this guy kept it a secret. We didn't even know when he married a girl from the art troupe without saying a word."
Or I didn't perform on stage that day.
That performance was also the last one Zhao Heping saw in the army, and he will never forget it for the rest of his life.
With just two sentences from Liu Meiyu, the caution and restraint in Zhao Heping's eyes were shattered to pieces, and the sense of distance disappeared instantly.
"You don't know, sister-in-law, but when Lu Changzheng was in the army, he boasted that he never wanted to get married in his life..." Zhao Heping's smile became more natural. He put his head directly to the faucet and washed off the coal ash on his hair in a few strokes.
One of the man's sleeves was empty, and he rinsed his head clean with just his one good arm.
Lu Changzheng was standing right in front of him, and he showed no intention of lending a hand. He just kept talking about one topic after another with him.
We are all men, and we can best understand men’s self-esteem.
"Sister Meiyun, this is the bracken my friend and I picked in the countryside. We brought it back and dried it. Try it." In just a short while, while Lu Changzheng and Zhao Heping were reminiscing about their comradeship, Zhao Hemei had already neatly prepared a few side dishes mixed with the Quanjude roast duck they brought, and set the table in a "rich" manner.
"It's delicious." Liu Meiyu tasted it and praised it sincerely.
Zhao Hemei's eyes lit up, and while eating, he couldn't help but secretly glance at Liu Meiyu, thinking that she was so beautiful.
Besides, her voice was so gentle, and when she was chatting with her brother and the others, she was cheerful and generous. She was different from all the women she had met before, as if she had a unique charm that made her particularly yearn for her.
If his elder brother can get married in the future, Zhao Hemei hopes that he can have a sister-in-law like Liu Meiyu. She doesn't have to be that pretty or attractive, but just not as annoying as her cousin's sister-in-law!
However, I don’t know when her elder brother will be able to get married. Look at Brother Lu, he is two years younger than her elder brother, and his children are already so grown up.
Alas~
Whenever Zhao Hemei thought about her elder brother's marriage, she would sigh and feel sad.
Her family is so poor now, and her eldest brother only has one arm left. The two of them, brother and sister, can't even raise the money for the bride price, so how can they find a wife for her eldest brother?
After dinner, Lu Changzheng and Zhao Heping were still chatting animatedly.
Liu Meiyu went to the kitchen to watch Zhao Hemei wash dishes, and chatted with her and looked around.
"Hemei, I heard from my husband that your eldest brother bought this house with his military retirement money?"
"Yes, my eldest brother bought it!" Zhao Hemei nodded and replied Liu Meiyu.
"Then why are there so many people living here?" Liu Meiyu asked curiously.
"They all came here with my grandparents. My grandparents had several sons. Our parents died early, so my brother and I were raised by my grandparents. My brother bought a house originally to invite my grandparents to live here, but my uncles and aunts insisted on following my grandparents to the city to enjoy a better life."
Although grandpa and grandma raised them, there were many cousins in the family, and they loved each other, which eventually led to the current situation. Not only was the house occupied, but even the job that the eldest brother had finally got after retiring from the army was persuaded by grandpa to be given to the eldest cousin, just because the eldest cousin had one more arm than her eldest brother and could be assigned to a workshop job with a higher salary!
What’s the use of having a high salary? Not a penny is given to their family, and they even stingy with their grandparents.
There is really no shortage of excellent relatives.
Meiyun Liu would rather face the best customers than deal with the best relatives.
If she can get the best customers, she may also gain orders and a sense of accomplishment. What can the best relatives bring to her?
"Have you ever thought about moving out?" Liu Meiyu asked tentatively.
Zhao Hemei shook her head with a stubborn expression: "My brother wants to take me out to rent a new house, but I won't. I still have to pay the rent. This is the house my brother bought with his retirement pay. Although it's for grandpa and grandma, it's also our house. Why should I give it to them? I'm going to stay here till the end!"
Well, not a softie yet.
Liu Meiyu nodded in her heart.
Of this brother and sister, although Zhao Heping is a little foolishly filial, the younger sister is quite opinionated.
"Hemei, you and your elder brother are now relying on hauling coal for others to make a living?"
"Yes, Sister Meiyun, although the work is dirty and tiring, it pays 20 cents per trip. My brother and I can earn a few dozen a month if we work hard. It's just that it's not so easy in the summer."
Zhao Hemei liked chatting with Liu Meiyu, and she especially liked the fact that there was no excessive pity and sympathy in the way they looked at their brother, and the same was true when they looked at themselves.
Like her brother, Zhao Hemei doesn't like being looked down upon by others, and she dislikes sympathy and pity from others even more.
"My friend plans to open a clothing store in Beijing after the New Year. They seem to be short of a salesperson and asked me for someone. Do you want to try?" Liu Meiyu asked casually.
Zhao Hemei was so shocked that the bowl in her hand almost fell into the pool.
"Sister Meiyun, are you serious?" Zhao Hemei looked at Liu Meiyun in disbelief, her voice trembling slightly: "I... Can I? What are the conditions?"
Liu Meiyun thought for a few seconds, "It should be that you have to be smart, be able to speak, be able to sell clothes, be patient with customers, and be able to read, do math, and keep accounts."
"But I've never sold clothes? Is it like the supply and marketing cooperative?" The girl was very honest.
At that time, unless you had worked in a supply and marketing cooperative or a department store, who could sell clothes?
"I'll write you the address of the store. They'll probably open a few days before the Chinese New Year. Go ask them a month in advance and I'll let you know. Whether it's successful or not is up to you."
Liu Meiyu has not yet obtained her business license, and the shop has not been renovated. It will take several months for everything to be completed. She also plans to wait until the school is on winter vacation, go to Guangzhou in person to pick up the goods, and then open the shop early during the two days of the Chinese New Year when everyone needs to buy new clothes.
"Sister Meiyun! Thank you!!! Thank you so much! You are truly my great lady!"
Liu Meiyu wrote the store address to her, and the little girl's eyes turned red with excitement.
"Don't thank me too early. Don't blame me if you are not selected."
"No!" Zhao Hemei was already very content and grateful. How could she dare to blame others? As long as she could have a chance to interview for a job, she would be thankful.
You know, it is not easy to find a job in the city at this time.
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