"What are you doing here? Are you here to see me make fun of you?"
Song Qi was sniffing and speaking in a stuttering voice, his red, frozen fingers still gripping the back seat of Liu Meiyu's bicycle, his face still stained with tears.
"Well, I'm just joking." Liu Meiyun held the handlebars of her bicycle and said indifferently, "It's not funny, so I'm going back."
"Liu Meiyun!"
Song Qi glared at her with a tearful voice, pouted his lips, and couldn't help but let his tears fall. He looked so aggrieved, just like the expression he had when he couldn't win an argument with Liu Meiyu in the dormitory before.
With a sigh, Liu Meiyu put her bicycle aside, grabbed Song Qi's arm and rubbed it on her face.
After wiping away her tears, she said, "Okay, stop crying. Do you want to rub shoulders with me on the street again? I don't have any money with me today."
"I didn't do that."
Song Qi sobbed, one hand unconsciously grabbing the edge of Liu Meiyu's clothes, tears still hanging on his eyelashes, his face still had that innocent look.
"If you don't want to make trouble, just talk nicely. I'm not your mother. There's no point crying in front of me. I just passed by and saw someone who looked like you, so I called out. If you think it's hurtful, I'll leave right away and I won't tell anyone that Miss Song is washing dishes here."
Song Qi's condition was much better than Liu Meiyu had expected. Her stomach was flat and although her face looked haggard, she looked more energetic than the last time she saw her on the street, when she looked distraught and howling like a ghost.
"Whatever you want, you can say whatever you want! I've lost my face anyway!"
Song Qi held back his tears, glared at Liu Meiyu angrily, then turned around and walked back.
"Oh, I'm just kidding."
Seeing that she had lost her popularity, Liu Meiyu pushed her bicycle and chased after him to appease him.
Song Qi walked while silently shedding tears. The pitiful look was completely different from the Miss Song who used to quarrel with her in the dormitory and try to win.
"Why are you crying?" Liu Meiyu followed beside her and saw Miss Song completely immersed in her sadness. After thinking for a few seconds, she asked, "Did that man bully you just now?"
Song Qi finally reacted and paused.
My shoulders trembled, and I simply squatted in the corner, buried my face in my elbows, and cried my heart out.
Thanks to the fact that there were not many people around, Liu Meiyun parked her bike against the wall and walked over to comfort him: "Why didn't you say anything just now? You only knew how to throw the bowl, but didn't know how to seek justice for yourself."
"How can I seek justice!" Song Qi raised his face, tears and snot all over his face, and shouted at Liu Meiyun in grievance and anger: "That old turtle bastard said he would give me a box of frostbite cream, but he took the opportunity to touch my hand!"
"I should have hit him on the head just now. If he died, the worst that could happen would be that I would go to jail!" Song Qi added bitterly.
Liu Meiyun couldn't help but say, "You think too much. A broken bowl can't kill anyone."
“…”
Miss Song, who couldn't get the upper hand in front of Liu Meiyu, cried for a while and calmed down before standing up from the wall. However, halfway through, she fell directly on Liu Meiyu because of numbness in her feet and asked others to help her go home.
Song Qi, who moved out of the government compound, lives in a small house of more than ten square meters in the shantytown.
After Liu Meiyu went in, she didn't see anyone else. The small house was shabby and simple, and it leaked when it rained. There were two plastic buckets in the house, both of which were filled with water.
"Where are your uncle and aunt?"
Song Qi poured two cups of hot water from the kettle for himself and Liu Meiyun, and then he was busy poking the coal stove. When he had time, he pretended to be relaxed and said, "My dad was in jail for ten years. My mom divorced my dad and remarried last month."
“…”
Liu Meiyun was really surprised.
She was not surprised at all that Song Qi's father was in jail. He was able to frame his best friend for the sake of selling gold bars, and he always thought of using money to solve his problems. If he was caught, he would be sent to jail in a matter of minutes. But she did not expect Song Qi's mother to act so quickly.
"You also find it ridiculous, don't you? All my house and property were taken away. My mother said she was worried that I couldn't live a hard life, so she found me a stepfather who could make money."
The corners of Song Qi's lips curled up in self-mockery, forming a smile that was uglier than crying.
Liu Meiyu pursed her lips, not knowing how to comfort her. After a long while, she asked curiously, "Then why do you live here by yourself? Don't you have an uncle who is a diplomat?"
On the way here, she had been thinking that a skinny camel is bigger than a horse, and that even if the Song Qi family fell from power, she would not end up in a place like this, washing dishes in the middle of winter.
Song Qi: "My uncle was afraid of being implicated, so he had already drawn a clear line between us. This is the house my grandmother left for my father. I don't want to live in my stepfather's house and have to live under the dictates of others. It's better for me to stay here by myself."
Such a big change happened in the family. Miss Song Qi, who used to have the best food and the most expensive clothes, can only poke the coal stove in this shabby little house. Her pair of white and tender hands were covered with frostbite in just a few months.
Such an experience could be a devastating blow to anyone.
But Song Qi's current condition made Liu Meiyu look at this delicate young lady with a new respect.
At least he was still washing dishes and making a living. He didn't become depressed and cry at home, complaining about the mockery of fate. He was quite strong-willed and didn't even rely on his wealthy stepfather.
Liu Meiyun: "So what are you going to do? Change restaurants and continue washing dishes? And what about your studies?"
"What's wrong with washing dishes? Let me tell you, I'm really good at washing dishes now. I wash them quickly and cleanly." After drinking a cup of hot water, Song Qi started talking nonsense as if he was drunk.
Liu Meiyu raised her eyebrows and said mercilessly: "You are quite powerful. On average, you break 6 plates a month. Anyone who doesn't have a lot of money can't afford you."
"I'm in this state, and you're still against me, you heartless woman."
Song Qi didn't want to cry at first, but in front of Liu Meiyu she didn't know what happened and couldn't control her tears.
And it was out of control, so he just gave up and sat on the ground without any image, with tears and snot streaming down his face.
"I knew you hated me, wuwuwuwu... You hate me and yet you come to laugh at me, you mean-spirited woman, how have I ever offended you? I'm in this situation now, I have no home, no money, and I'm still being harassed while washing dishes for others. That old turtle bastard, I really regret not hitting him with a brick just now, and that fat woman, she always wants to deduct my salary, black-hearted capitalist..."
Although Miss Song broke down and cried loudly, she was not idle either. She cursed this and that, looking like she had a lot of grievances to express, but she kept using the same few curse words over and over again.
Hearing Song Qi's crying, Liu Meiyu immediately thought of her three children at home.
She walked over, put her hand on the girl's head, and softened her tone: "Don't cry, the soundproofing is not good, the neighbors will come to your house later."
Liu Meiyu wanted to say something to comfort her, but as soon as she said that, Song Qi started to cry even harder. She put her sleeves over her face and continued to curse as Liu Meiyu said, "She came to my house, so I'm not afraid of her. Who can't look fierce and evil? And she blamed me for knocking over her pickled cabbage vat..."
“…”
Finally, when Miss Song cried until she was out of breath, she began to burp uncontrollably. When her mouth was finally free and no one could scold her, Liu Meiyu poured her a cup of hot water: "Don't cry, if I were more vicious, I would put some medicine in the water to make you mute. You've been crying for so long, aren't you afraid of lack of oxygen?"
"You are vicious." Song Qi grabbed the cup and drank the water, not forgetting to emphasize.
Liu Meiyu rolled her eyes and felt that Miss Song really deserved the term "naive and innocent".
"Okay, okay, I'm vicious. Not only am I vicious, I'm also a black-hearted capitalist." Liu Meiyun sat next to her and said seriously, "For the sake of being roommates, I'll introduce you to a job. A clothing store is going to open next week near the Friendship Store. You can go there to sell clothes. The base salary plus commission is definitely much more than what you get from washing dishes in a restaurant. You'll work eight hours a day, and you'll be deducted for being late or leaving early. You'll have four days off a month."
After Liu Meiyu finished speaking, she thought for a moment and added: "If the service attitude is bad and offends the customer, the penalty will be doubled. If you are not qualified during the three-month trial period, you will be fired directly."
"Really...?" Song Qi stopped crying, stared at Liu Meiyu with tearful eyes, an expression of disbelief on his face.
"You can find out for yourself if you go and see if it's true or not. Can I sell you out?"
Liu Meiyun pulled the person up from the ground. Looking at Miss Song whose eyes were swollen to a slit, she sighed and said directly, "You know about Huamei Clothing Store, right? They opened one in Central City last year, and they are going to open a second one on Friendship Road soon. There are many foreigners there, and they need salespeople who can speak some English. This is the only skill you have. It's better than washing dishes in the cold weather. Aren't you afraid of getting sick from touching so much ice water?"
People say Song Qi is stupid, but he was able to get into Huaqing University and was good at English.
She is smart, but she also has a love brain.
Song Qi, who hadn't heard anyone care about whether she was cold for a long time, couldn't hold back her tears again and threw herself into Liu Meiyu's arms, crying her heart out.
Liu Meiyu regretted not leaving immediately after giving the instructions. It had been many years since she had heard such torturous crying.
After leaving the shantytown, Liu Meiyu went to the home of her business partner Yao Shunliu.
It has only been a year since the two of them partnered to open their first Huamei clothing store in the central city last year. Not only has the money they invested in the store been recovered, but they have also made a lot of money.
Liu Meiyu happened to have some money on her that she had exchanged for gold bars in Shanghai, so she used the money to ask Yao Shunliu to look for a new store on Youyi Road. After it was renovated in the same style, it would officially open next week.
Originally, Liu Meiyu was still worried about the salesperson problem in the second Huamei clothing store. She opened the clothing store opposite the Friendship Store. There were many foreigners in the vicinity, and the salesperson could not not understand a word of English.
It just so happened that Miss Song was short of a job, so I did her a favor and helped her solve her problem.
"Meiyun, let me find a store. I've looked at two more in the south and north of the city these days. Both have good locations, but we've invested all our funds in new stores, so we can't afford to open more."
Over the past year, Yao Shunliu has witnessed Huamei Clothing Store grow like an old hen that lays eggs. When the sales volume continues to grow, he laughs out loud in his dreams.
So when Liu Meiyun came back from her trip to Shanghai and said she wanted to open a second branch, he started preparing without hesitation.
He would even like to open a third or fourth store, or even a dozen if he has enough liquid funds. But currently, the sales from just one or two clothing stores are not enough to support their expansion.
Moreover, liquidity is not the biggest obstacle to their expansion. The biggest obstacle at present is the problem of supply and transportation.
Yao Shunliu has to go to Yangcheng in person to pick up goods every time. It was not so bad when he only had one clothing store before, but now he has to take care of two stores at the same time, which is really a bit too much for him.
The key is that private transportation is not allowed now. Even if he finds a stable source of goods, people would not dare to send large quantities to the capital.
"Brother Yao, don't worry. I'll figure out the supply problem. As for the storefront, I'll reserve it once I've saved enough money after the second store opens, to prevent someone else from getting there first."
"Oh, I know. I'll do it after I finish my work in two days."
Yao Shunliu nodded. When he heard that Liu Meiyu could solve the supply problem herself, he immediately felt relieved and no longer doubted Liu Meiyu's ability.
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