Three days before the opening of the Youyi Road branch, the posters and flyers that Liu Meiyu had asked the printing factory to print in advance were also released.
When we opened our first clothing store, we used small card redemption coupons for advertising. This time, we used posters and flyers, as well as a 20% discount on all items for the first three days of opening.
There were three salespeople in the old store. Liu Meiyu directly transferred Chen Lili, who had the most outstanding business ability among the three, to the branch store as store manager.
When the old store first opened and recruited salespeople, she hired one more person with the intention of opening a branch in the future.
After working for a year, the three of them were doing very well in terms of work attitude and performance, especially the educated youth who had once worked in the countryside and returned to the city. Although she was not as outstanding as the eloquent Zhao Hemei in terms of business, once the store encountered some problems and she and Yao Shunliu were not around, most of the time it was Chen Lili who made the decisions.
So Chen Lili was promoted to be the manager of the new store, while Zhao Hemei continued to stay in the old store as the manager.
In addition to doubling their base salaries, Liu Meiyun also gave Chen Lili an extra subsidy for opening a new store.
"Sister Meiyun, just give the flyers to Xiao Song and me. It's so cold, you should go home and spend time with your children."
Chen Lili looked at the several large boxes of flyers in the store. Not only did she not feel worried at all, but her face was full of fighting spirit. She wished she could distribute them all even if she had to sleep.
After working at Huamei for a year, her monthly salary was higher than what her parents and older brother earned in the factory. Now that she had saved some money, she simply moved out of her home and rented a house near the branch to make it easier for her to commute to get off work.
"You guys go ahead and post it first. I'll go home and have dinner and then join you guys."
When Liu Meiyu received a call from the printing factory in the morning, she rode her bicycle to the store to check the quality of the flyers. The three boys at home had a day off and were still sleeping soundly, but their mother had already gone out in the cold wind to make money.
"Meiyun, do you really not want the job assigned by the school and want to start your own business?"
It was only when Song Qi came to the store for an interview two days ago that he found out that the Huamei Clothing Store, which has become famous in the streets and alleys of Beijing this year, was actually opened by Liu Meiyu and others in partnership.
Moreover, Liu Meiyu gave up her stable job in a state-owned enterprise and went to great lengths to graduate early just to start her own business.
Song Qi used to think she was stupid, but now when she looks at Liu Meiyu, she always feels that she is crazy.
"What did you say? I've got my diploma." Liu Meiyu counted the flyers and signed the order after confirming that there was no problem. She settled the bill with the person at the printing factory and gave Song Qi a thick stack of flyers.
"Come here, Comrade Xiao Song. You are good at English. I will give you the flyers for Youyi Road. Smile more and try to attract more foreign customers on the opening day."
Liu Meiyun chose to open her second branch on Youyi Road, targeting the foreigners who live near the Youyi store. In addition to popular winter warm clothes such as cotton-padded coats, down jackets, sweaters, etc., the store also has a set of well-made suits, as well as small items such as silk scarves and handkerchiefs that she purchased from textile factories.
Although foreigners did not account for a large proportion of the Beijing population in the 1980s, they themselves were living advertisements.
In the past, when people talked about Friendship Store, they would automatically think of foreigners. Now Liu Meiyun has opened a branch of Huamei near the Friendship Store. As long as it attracts a certain number of foreigners, Huamei Clothing Store will automatically leave a similar impression in people's minds as Friendship Store, and people can buy clothes there without foreign exchange coupons.
Capturing customers' curiosity is also a major sales technique.
"Then you can't shirk your responsibility for the commission you mentioned."
Song Qi felt that this job was not difficult. It was just a matter of tricking people into buying clothes.
Liu Meiyu couldn't help but remind her: "If you offend the customer because of you and they come to me to cause trouble, I will have to reduce your salary, not to mention the commission."
Liu Meiyu is not worried about Song Qi's business ability. What she is worried about is the spoiled daughter's temper that has not yet been completely eliminated.
"Got it!" Song Qi curled his lips and went to work holding the flyer.
"Wait a minute." Liu Meiyun grabbed her and handed her a pair of woolen gloves from the store. "This is an employee benefit."
He then stuffed the jelly cream in the bag into her pocket and said, "Your pig's hoof hands are really affecting the image of my store."
Song Qi, wearing warm woolen gloves and holding a thick stack of flyers in her arms, stood at the door of the store, staring blankly at Liu Meiyu riding away on a bicycle like a gust of wind. She suddenly felt a sore nose and her eyes couldn't help but redden.
"Sister Meiyun is a very nice person."
Chen Lili patted Song Qi on the shoulder, her face full of pride and admiration: "I have never seen a sister as smart, beautiful, able to make money, and especially kind as Sister Meiyun. If she were my sister, I would die of happiness."
Song Qi sniffed and didn't want to talk.
"mother!"
As soon as Liu Meiyu returned to the military compound by bicycle, Xiaobao ran out to greet her with a fragrant roasted sweet potato in his hand.
"Where did you get the roasted sweet potatoes?"
Xiao Bao tore off a piece and passed it to his mother. "My eldest brother wanted to eat it. Grandpa took us out to buy it this morning."
"You want to eat it, right?" Liu Meiyu stroked her little son's head. It would be a miracle if she believed what he said.
"Mom, is it sweet?" Xiaobao quickly changed the subject.
"Sweet." Liu Meiyu pulled her younger son into the house, took off her coat and scarf, rubbed her hands, and saw her grandfather teaching her eldest and second son how to play chess.
"Why don't you learn to play chess from Grandpa?" Liu Meiyu asked while washing her hands.
Xiaobao munched on the fragrant roasted sweet potato and shook his head: "Playing chess is not fun, Mom, today is a day off, shall we go ice skating?"
"Have you finished your homework?"
As soon as homework was mentioned, Xiaobao's expression immediately turned listless and he complained: "Mom, can you please stop talking about homework? Can we just play for a day today? I haven't played for a long time."
Liu Meiyu thought about it and it seemed that she had just bought new ice skates for the three of them after returning from the Long March holiday last week. This kid might be mentally ill.
"Mom has work today. If you finish your homework, I can consider taking you out to play for two hours in the afternoon."
Liu Meiyu still has to distribute flyers today. There are so many flyers, and Yao Shunliu is busy with other things. If it depends on Chen Lili and Song Qi alone, it will take a long time to distribute them.
"Then I'll go write it now!" Xiaobao smiled and quickly ate the roasted sweet potato in his hand.
"Be careful not to choke." Mother Wu looked on worriedly.
The grandfather was teaching his eldest and second son how to play chess in the study. At first the scene was quite harmonious, but after a while, the two brothers started fighting.
Dabao pushed Erbao: "Just play if you want to, why are you making trouble?"
"I'm not cheating. I didn't let go of you and you ate it. I wasn't there in the first place."
Erbao held his own "cannon" in his hand and refuted with confidence.
"You are just kidding. I clearly saw you put it down. You can't afford to lose!"
"I'm not cheating! You can't afford to lose." Erbao pushed back angrily, "Who said I lost? I haven't let go yet. I was going to leave here."
"You are just a liar! I don't want to play with you anymore, you are so stupid and lazy!"
It would have been fine if he hadn't figured out the rules after playing for a long time, but grandpa had already said that he couldn't regret his moves. Yet, after playing for a long time, Erbao was either getting tangled up in some move or starting over.
Dabao did not hide his disgust.
"You are the stupid one!" Erbao grabbed Dabao by the collar, angrily.
"Why didn't you call me stupid when you copied my homework?"
The two brothers started fighting over the chessboard after a disagreement. The old man couldn't pull them apart and just stood by with his crutches, anxiously watching.
"Lu Yunzhong, Lu Yunhua!"
Liu Meiyu walked into the study and saw Dabao pressing Erbao and preparing to punch him. She shouted angrily and quickly pulled the two brothers apart.
"Are you two itchy? You're fighting so early in the morning. What if you bump into Grandpa?"
Liu Meiyu is not worried about the triplets' friendship which capsizes every now and then, but the old man is old now, and if he gets bumped into something, the two brothers won't be able to beat him up.
"I'm fine." Grandpa Lu waved his hands and took out three small artillery carts he had carved from the drawer and gave them to Dabao and Erbao, coaxing them kindly: "You two stop fighting all the time. This chess game is not fun. Let's not play it anymore. Grandpa made a artillery cart for you, one for each of you."
"Thank you, Grandpa!"
When the eldest and second child saw their mother was around, their expressions changed faster than turning the pages of a book. They were hugging each other and shaking fists one second ago, and now they were hugging each other's shoulders and acting cute in front of Liu Meiyu.
"Grandpa, where's mine?"
When Lu Xiaobao was asked to "do his homework", he ran out of the room as if he had super hearing, with black sweet potato skin stuck on his mouth.
"All of them, all of them." The old man smiled and gave Xiaobao's artillery cart to him.
Ever since the triplets were born and they would cause a lot of noise when they were fighting over toys, whenever grandpa prepared gifts for the three brothers, they would all be exactly the same.
Now the three brothers' rooms are each filled with many small gadgets that the old man has carved whenever he has time over the years.
"Grandpa, they are about to graduate from elementary school, so please stop coaxing them." Liu Meiyu has said this almost a thousand times. Although it has no effect, she can't help but say it subconsciously.
Grandpa and Aunt Wu spoiled the triplets without any limits.
A few years ago, the old man would still say a few words, and when he was serious, his words were more effective than Lu Changzheng's. But in the past two years, the old man began to take advantage of his seniority. As long as Dabao and the others didn't make any mistakes in principle, even if they made Lu Changzheng so angry that he was fuming, they could "turn a disaster into a blessing" in front of the old man.
"You haven't graduated yet." The old man stood up with the help of his cane and said to his grandson's wife, "I'll go see what we have for breakfast. You're already hungry."
Dabao and Erbao tacitly helped their grandfather walk to the dining room, avoiding Liu Meiyu's cold glares.
The unromantic Lu Xiaobao followed behind the old man and shouted, "Grandpa, didn't you just eat two roasted sweet potatoes? Are you hungry so soon?"
“…”
After breakfast, Liu Meiyu originally planned to let Mother Wu watch the triplets do their homework at home while she went out to hand out flyers. However, before she even walked out the door, she heard the three brothers huddled together, "plotting" whose house to visit and who to play with later.
Mother Wu is a soft-hearted person. If the triplets act coquettishly, they will have to leave their homework until the evening.
"If you don't want to do your homework, come out and work with me today."
Seeing that the three of them were not behaving well at home, Liu Meiyu thought of taking them out. They might be too tired to go to the ice rink in the afternoon after walking around.
"Okay! Mom, just arrange all the work for me!"
When Dabao heard that he could go out to work with his mother, he was so happy that he quickly went back to his room to put on his coat, fearing that Liu Meiyu would regret going out.
The second baby, Xiaobao, also reacted and hurriedly followed his eldest brother. The one looking for gloves looked for gloves, and the one with a scarf wore a scarf. The three brothers worked together to help each other at critical moments, and soon stood at the door fully armed and followed the old man and Wu Mom waved her hand and couldn't wait to go out.
"Let me make it clear first, you have to listen to my instructions when you go out. Whoever doesn't listen will not be taken with me next time." Liu Meiyu threatened while pushing the bicycle.
"Yes, sir!"
Dabao was quick to grab the back seat of his mother's bicycle and show off to his two younger brothers.
Xiaobao rode a bicycle with Erbao on it, following behind Liu Meiyun. The three brothers talked nonstop all the way.
After finally reaching Friendship Road, Liu Meiyu gave each of the three of them a stack of flyers.
"It's on the street in front. If you can finish distributing these flyers within the stipulated time, I'll take you to eat hot pot this afternoon."
Liu Meiyu mainly wanted to eat something hot because it was such a cold day.
Dabao and Xiaobao had no objection. Instead, they felt it was very exciting to be able to work with their mother.
Erbao asked cleverly, "Mom, can hot pot be converted into wages?"
"What do you think?" Liu Meiyu raised her eyebrows.
Lu Erbao curled his lips and saw two words in his mother's eyes: "No hope".
Liu Meiyun took her three sons to the streets to distribute flyers because she didn't want them to make noise at home. She just wanted them to experience the hard work of making money, but the triplets enjoyed it.
In the middle of winter, their faces were frozen red by the cold wind, but they were still handing out flyers all over the street. When they met foreign friends, they communicated with them by guessing and gestures, and some even dragged people into the store without any shyness.
"This is the clothing store my mother opened. Uncle can buy clothes here at a low price."
Lu Xiaobao didn't care whether people could understand him or not. He just kept talking about his own things, pointing his arm in the direction of the store, for fear that people would confuse left with right.
"Cheap, cheap!" Lu Erbao thought of a word at the critical moment and gestured to the blond-haired uncle with great pride.
Seeing his two younger brothers embarrassed, Lu Dabao sighed, walked over and blurted out an English sentence: "You can buy the cheapest clothes here."
The foreigner was surprised. He didn't expect that such a young child could speak a few words of English. This is very rare in China.
It's a pity that Lu Dabao only knows a few simple sentences. When the foreigner spoke a few more words to him, he could hardly understand.
Liu Meiyu looked away for a while and saw that the three Dabao brothers had dragged a foreigner to the store door. She hurried forward and explained to them in English.
The person who responded to her was speaking Chinese, which was a bit clumsy but understandable.
"Your child is very smart and brave." The foreigner praised him generously.
"Thank you," Liu Meiyu said politely.
"Can I go in and take a look?" The foreigner saw that this clothing store was very different from other places, both in terms of its decoration and the clothes for sale in the windows. The styles were novel and not rigid, and the colors were also diverse. He immediately wanted to go in and take a look.
Although the restaurant is scheduled to open officially the day after tomorrow, the customers have already come to the door and there is no reason to turn them away.
Liu Meiyu brought people in and patiently recommended the most fashionable military coats in China's winter, which are timeless and warm.
The foreigner originally just wanted to go in and take a look, and buy a sweater or something, but as Liu Meiyu was talking, when he came out, he already had two big bags in his hands, which included sweaters, a military coat and a suit.
As the first customer of the branch, and a foreign friend at that, Liu Meiyun generously gave him two silk scarves and a pair of woolen gloves.
"Mom, we made money!"
The three brothers Dabao watched in the store when Liu Meiyun was selling clothes. As soon as the customers left, the three brothers couldn't wait to count how much money they had earned.
"Well, you guys are awesome." Liu Meiyun first praised them, then took out a few small bills from the income and distributed them to the three brothers, "This is your reward this time, distribute according to work."
"Why does Dabao have more than my brother and I?"
When Lu Erbao saw that Dabao had obviously more salary than him, he protested to his mother.
"Dabao just helped with the translation. Wages are distributed according to the value of labor." Liu Meiyu explained to the brothers calmly.
Xiaobao couldn't accept it: "I was the one who pulled that uncle over here."
Erbao nodded and agreed: "Yes, my brother and I pulled it together, and I even gestured."
"Yeah," Liu Meiyun also nodded, indicating her agreement with their hard work, and then said, "Because the value of Dabao's labor is temporarily irreplaceable among the three of you, and it is relatively more important."
Erbao and Xiaobao frowned, but they were still not convinced.
"Well, the three of you will split up and see who can bring back a foreign customer the fastest. Mom will reward you with another 2 yuan."
In order to let the triplets experience firsthand what the value of labor is, Liu Meiyun patiently opened a practical course for them.
Then, as expected, Dabao, a top student who could speak a few simple English sentences, completed the task quickly.
On the other side, Erbao and Xiaobao, one relying on gestures and the other on brute force, spent a lot of effort, but people just thought they were kids playing on the street and didn't take it seriously at all.
"How about it, now you know what labor value is?" Liu Meiyu took the opportunity to preach.
Although Erbao was unwilling, he still nodded and put down his boastful words: "My brother can speak a few words of English, it's nothing great, I will learn it when I get back, and I will definitely beat him next time."
Liu Meiyun rubbed her second son's head, feeling relieved that her earnest encouragement and education method had some effect, but her stubborn and stubborn classmate Lu Xiaobao retorted: "Why not just stop selling things to foreigners?"
“…”
Liu Meiyu's long speech was choked by her little son.
Among the three brothers, Lu Xiaobao is the one who hates studying the most. She is like a frost-bitten eggplant when it comes to studying. However, she is very obsessed with playing. I don’t know who she took this from, because neither she nor Lu Changzheng has this problem.
After handing out flyers for a while, Liu Meiyu saw that it was almost time, so she fulfilled her promise and took them to the Shichahai ice rink to play for half a day.
The triplets are full of energy. Once they put on their ice skates, they are like Nezha riding on the wind-fire wheels. Not only do they run around everywhere, they also try to learn how to "spread wings like an eagle" from their eldest brother.
Liu Meiyu, who is just turning 30, does not have enough energy to waste on the ice with them. Her three sons even complain that she stares too closely and skates too slowly, and their movements are not as agile as those of their eldest son.
“…”
So in just a moment, Liu Meiyu moved from inside the rink to outside, and turned into an old mother leaning against the railing, staring at her three sons in the ice rink with a loving smile on her face, just like the countless parents she had seen playing with their mobile phones while waiting for their children next to the amusement facilities when she was shopping in the mall.
All she needs now is a cell phone.
Looking at the healthy and free figures of the triplets on the ice rink, and thinking about the scene when she and Lu Changzheng came here a few years ago, Liu Meiyun suddenly felt as if several years had passed in the blink of an eye.
After leaving the ice rink, Liu Meiyun took the three of them to Donglaishun to eat hot pot hot pot meat.
"Big Treasure, Second Treasure, Little Treasure, let's make a deal first. Order as much as you can eat. Don't waste it, and don't just eat meat."
When Liu Meiyu entered, she did not forget to give the three of them some instructions.
The three brothers nodded in tacit understanding, and did not fight over the order. They waited until the first round of dishes was empty before they touched their empty stomachs and said they were not full.
Liu Meiyu was not a stingy mother. She thought that the three brothers had just had so much fun that they must have a good appetite, and they had also done some good business today, so she generously ordered more dishes for the three brothers.
But when the second round was all gone, the three brothers still complained that they were not full. She sighed and said, "If your mother didn't make money, I wouldn't be able to support you three big eaters."
"Mom, I will earn money to support you in the future, and I will buy you whatever you want to eat." Lu Erbao raised his head, his mouth full of food, and he did not forget to say nice words.
But why does what Liu Meiyu said sound so provocative?
Dabao was more honest and directly contributed his salary from today's earnings: "Mom, I still have money. I can buy you whatever you want to eat now."
"Thank you, Dabao."
Liu Meiyu was not polite to her eldest son. She accepted whatever the child gave her as a gift.
"Mom, this biggest piece of meat is for you to eat."
Xiaobao had food in his mouth, chewing and being attentive at the same time.
"Okay, stop talking when you have something on your mind. You'll have enough to eat today, but if anyone takes longer than usual to do their homework when they get home tonight, this will be your last hot pot meal this winter."
In the foggy restaurant, Liu Meiyu ordered more food for her three sons while uttering threatening words.
Dabao and the others all grinned with satisfaction and nodded in agreement.
The mother and her four children were chatting noisily, and the scene was warm and harmonious. The boss saw that the triplets were likable and their table had spent a lot of money, so he generously gave them an extra plate of potato chips.
"Comrade Bai Ting, what's wrong? Do you know that family?"
The man knocked on the table and saw that the female comrade who had asked him out for dinner was staring at the guests at the table in front of him, so he asked curiously.
"Oh, I don't know him." Bai Ting came back to her senses, poured a glass of wine for the man, and then continued with a smile: "Manager Wu, do you want to reconsider what I just said?"
"Even if we can't do it, we can still be friends."
Bai Ting handed the man a can of "tea leaves" and said, "This is the tea leaves sent from my hometown. Manager Wu, take it back and try it."
The man stared at the exposed corner of the tea jar, frowned, and said nothing for a long time.
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