She spat out a few recipes from her little broken bowl. She could make mosquito repellent cream to sell; it was effective and easy to make, and she could add it to the skincare counter now. The empty cabinet was used to sell food: dragon beard candy, layered red bean cake, crab roe pastry, etc. These were all famous pastries from the ancient palace, but people only knew their names and didn't know how to make them, or rather, they didn't know the authentic way to make them, so the taste was just average.
She had bought some wine before, but the taste was far inferior to what she made with her own recipe. She wanted to work at a counter in a department store, and she was willing to pay 5% of the profits as rent, or pay rent monthly.
Most importantly, once the deal is reached, selling things in the department store will not be illegal, you won't get arrested, it's very safe, and you won't need to get up early and work late at night to deal in the black market. This is what Yu Jiu really wants.
But not so fast. She needs to win over the sales staff first before negotiating with the manager. Although she offended the manager a little today, she has plenty of ways to deal with him, so there's no rush.
Soon it was six o'clock, and everyone left work, leaving only Yu Jiu, Sister Wu, Sister Liu, and Uncle Wang. The cleaning ladies had also left long ago after receiving instructions from the manager.
Oh, right, and the manager too; she stayed on as the supervisor.
"Hurry up and clean up, I'm going home too, I don't want to waste time here with you guys."
As soon as Yu Jiu and her colleagues finished work and grabbed their rags and brooms, the manager came over and impatiently urged them to hurry up. No sooner had she finished speaking than Xu Zijiang, who had arrived earlier, also came over with a rag, his deep, mellow voice ringing out.
"Which areas need to be cleaned?"
"Shouldn't we just sweep the floor and mop the hallway?"
Yu Jiu looked at the manager.
In reality, the cleaning in department stores is usually the responsibility of the sales clerks at their own counters, while the cleaning staff are only responsible for cleaning the hallways and such. However, the manager wanted to discipline them, so he ordered them to clean the entire building.
"Is this what you call a thorough cleaning? Doors, windows, stair railings—you can't overlook those! What if customers come in and see our department store so dirty? It'll lower our department store's image and prestige!"
The manager angrily rebuked her, saying that with that attitude, she was determined to find fault with everything today.
"Okay, I understand."
Yu Jiu nodded indifferently and got to work. With Xu Zijiang, there were five people on five floors, so each person was responsible for one floor. Yu Jiu and Xu Zijiang were in charge of the first and second floors, and above them were Sister Wu, Uncle Wang, and Little Sister Liu.
There seemed to be a lot of work, but the division of labor seemed manageable. Xu Zi first carried a bucket of water for Yu Jiu before going downstairs himself. Yu Jiu quickly swept the second-floor floor. Actually, there wasn't much dust in the department store; a simple sweep and then a mop would suffice. As for the doors and windows, she wiped them down briefly, and following the manager's instructions, she even cleaned the stair railings. She was quite meticulous; she wiped the doors, windows, and railings twice.
Half an hour passed in this process. Xu Zijiang was faster than Yu Jiu. After finishing the first floor, he mopped the stairs on both the first and second floors. He also gave the department store entrance a quick clean, even cleaning the main entrance and the department store sign. The manager couldn't find anything to complain about.
However, while there was nothing to criticize on the first floor, there were plenty of things to criticize from the second floor upwards. The manager stood with one hand on his hip, roaring like a tigress.
"This is what you call cleaning? Look at all the dust on the counter! And this window, who's going to clean this dust on it? And this floor, every step leaves a footprint. Are you sure this is clean? Redo it! You're not allowed to leave until it's clean!"
"oh."
With her back to the manager, Liu Xiaomei pouted, wanting to be angry but not daring to. The floor was just mopped and still wet; how could you not leave footprints if you stepped on it? And the dust on the windows has been accumulating for years; how could you wipe it so clean all at once? It's good enough that it's close enough.
Knowing the manager was deliberately making trouble, the group felt guilty and could only swallow their anger and continue working. Xu Zijiang frowned; it was almost 7 o'clock. They'd already been paid and had cleaned for an hour—wasn't that enough? Xu Zijiang thought this lousy job was best left to whoever wanted it; his wife wouldn't tolerate such treatment. He was about to explode when Yu Jiu pulled him back.
"It's okay, we can just do it again, it'll be quick."
Yu Jiu winked gently at Xu Zijiang, signaling him not to act impulsively. Yu Jiu was more interested in keeping this job, as it would greatly benefit her future career development.
"All right."
Xu Zi glared at the manager, then turned back to continue cleaning. He started from the second floor, wiping the windows again and drying the water stains on the floor. Another half hour passed, and the department store looked brand new.
"Is it alright now? Is there any uncleanliness left? This place is not far from the dirt roads in the countryside, and there is dust everywhere. You can't expect there to be no dust at all. If your department store has such high hygiene standards, then I will come here to walk around every day. If there is any dust, then it is your dereliction of duty as the manager."
Xu Zijiang stood up to the manager head-on, thinking he was some pushover. Xu Zijiang was tall and imposing; his furrowed brows, stern face, and sharp eyes were incredibly intimidating. The manager had initially wanted to order everyone to wipe all the counters, but after being threatened by Xu Zijiang, she dared not utter a word and silently swallowed her criticism.
"Alright, you can go back now. Remember to be on time for work tomorrow. I don't want to see any of you late again tomorrow, or it won't be as simple as just making you clean up!"
She lectured everyone with a guilty conscience and shortness of breath.
"Understood, Manager. I'll definitely be there on time tomorrow!"
Yu Jiu responded loudly, "No matter if it's windy, rainy, thundering, or hail tomorrow, we can't let her be late again. She will definitely arrive on time!"
Finally, everyone could leave. They quickly grabbed their belongings and ran off without stopping, afraid that if they stayed any longer, the manager would make them clean up again. Xu Zijiang also took the leftover wine back with him. The two rode their bicycles, and it was already completely dark, but the moon and stars in the sky provided some light for them.
Yu Jiu wrapped her arms around Xu Zijiang's waist from behind, pressed her face against his waist, and swung her legs leisurely.
"Thanks to you today, otherwise the four of us would probably have been working all night."
Xu Zijiang works quickly and efficiently; he can clean windows until they are spotless, a skill that not everyone possesses.
“You’re my wife, who else would I help if not you? It’s just cleaning. If you hadn’t stopped me, I would have taken you away long ago. Other people care about that little bit of salary, but we don’t care about it.”
Xu Zijiang remembered the manager's somewhat difficult expression and got a little angry. He was newly married, and he sent his wife to work in this lousy place. He must be crazy.
"What I really want isn't her salary, but the counter in the department store. It's very difficult to negotiate with her directly. I've seen people go to the manager before, wanting to rent the counter to sell things, but because it's privately owned, the manager doesn't agree to it. He'd rather leave the counter empty than rent it to someone else."
But if I were a department store employee, it would be a different story.
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