Chapter Forty-Four
"Meimei, this isn't right. If I don't contribute anything, isn't that just taking advantage of you?"
Although Luo Chunyan's family background was not as good as Ji Wanmei's, as a modern woman, she still had her own self-respect.
Especially when it comes to her good friend, she doesn't want to take advantage of her in every way.
Just like before, when they went out together, Luo Chunyan couldn't let Ji Wanmei pay the bill every time. Even if it was just something that cost a few cents, she would pay the bill a few times. Only in this way could there be a balance between the self-respect and equality between friends.
Now, it was clearly agreed that the two of them would open a shop together.
As a result, not only could Luo Chunyan not come up with the capital, but she also wanted to collect Ji Wanmei's salary and commission. How could this be justified?
Luo Chunyan shook her head repeatedly: "No, Meimei, although you don't mind, I can't do this. Why don't you ask others and see if they are willing to share with you? You know, several hundred yuan is such a large sum of money. My parents simply can't afford it. Even if they could, they would save it for their younger siblings' schooling."
“My parents’ attitude is very clear. Working in the factory, although the work is tiring, provides a stable monthly salary and can supplement the family income. But opening a shop involves risk; if we lose all our capital, that would be our whole family’s livelihood. So…”
Ji Wanmei took Luo Chunyan's hand and said gently, "Chunyan, don't be anxious, listen to me first."
"I said I didn't need you to put up any capital because my dad has already agreed to provide it for me. But I can't let my dad put up the capital for nothing; he'll also have to take 50% of the shares in my shop."
"In other words, this store has become a joint venture between my father and me. As for you, you are the store manager I hired. Because I trust you and believe in your abilities."
"Think about it, if I hire someone else from outside, wouldn't I still have to pay them a salary? We're selling goods, so to keep our workers motivated and enthusiastic, we definitely have to give them a commission. Since I'm going to hire someone I don't know, don't understand, and don't trust anyway, why don't I just pay them the same salary?"
"Don't you think that makes sense?"
Ji Wanmei's voice was soft and gentle, which gave people a very convincing feeling.
Luo Chunyan was somewhat persuaded by her words, but she still hesitated, biting her lip.
She was willing, of course, but even if she went to help Ji Wanmei with the shop and didn't have to take any risks, she was afraid her parents would still disagree.
"Oh, let's not worry about that now. Let's go out and check out the store first."
Without saying a word, Ji Wanmei pulled Luo Chunyan out of the compound.
Luo Chunyan was originally a very cheerful person who longed for the outside world, but because she was born into such a family and was the eldest daughter, her parents had particularly strict requirements and expectations for her, and she herself felt that she had a heavy responsibility.
When a person's mind is burdened with too many mental constraints, their steps forward will always feel exceptionally heavy.
She simply couldn't do what Ji Wanmei did, doing whatever came to mind.
Sometimes, Luo Chunyan really envied Ji Wanmei for being born into such a family.
It was already past nine o'clock when the two left the compound.
Today is June 30th, and tomorrow will be July.
It was very hot, and the sun was scorching the cement ground. Luo Chunyan didn't have much pocket money, but she still went to the popsicle vendor and bought a popsicle for herself and Ji Wanmei.
This was the best she could afford to treat Ji Wanmei to.
Anything more expensive would be beyond her means.
Ji Wanmei took the popsicle, smiled at Luo Chunyan, and the two walked hand in hand into the street, heading towards the center of the county town.
A dozen minutes later, the two arrived at the county center.
Ji Wanmei planned to first go and see the shop that her father, Ji Xingguo, had mentioned, and then go and see the one that Lei Tingjun had mentioned.
“My dad said to go find Uncle Xu, the watch repairman, first. He will take us there.”
Upon arriving at the watch shop, Ji Wanmei went in and greeted him: "Uncle Xu, are you busy lately? My dad asked me to come and find you. He said you've helped me find a storefront. I wonder if it would be convenient for you to take us there to have a look?"
Old Xu was sitting in front of the watch counter adjusting the watch movement gears when he heard this. He looked up, and when he lifted his glasses, he saw that it was Old Ji's precious daughter. He hadn't seen her for a while, and he felt that the little girl had grown into a graceful young lady. He almost didn't recognize her.
When she first walked in, I thought she was a girl from some big city in out of town.
Old Xu quickly put down what he was holding and came out from behind the counter with a smile: "No rush, no rush. So you two are going to take over the shop? I asked your dad why he's taking over the store, but he wouldn't tell me."
Ji Wanmei was very polite and said with a smile, "Well, my friend and I are thinking of taking over a store and opening our own general store. We're so grateful to Uncle Xu for this."
"No trouble at all, come on, I'll take you there. It's not far, just a two or three-minute walk to the right from my shop."
Uncle Xu led them to the noodle shop.
Before the storefront was officially sold, the couple who ran the noodle shop continued to operate their business as usual.
However, because a "For Sale" sign was posted at the entrance, business has not been as good as before.
Very few people come to eat noodles; there are only one or two occasionally.
Passing customers who see the sign for sale usually think that the business must be bad, and as for why the business is bad, they assume it's because the noodles aren't good.
If it's not tasty, why go to their place to eat? Go eat somewhere else.
So these days, around nine o'clock in the morning, there are only one or two customers visiting the store, and they are all regular customers who used to come here often.
The couple who ran the noodle shop sat at the entrance, looking somewhat worried and sighing.
Yesterday, two people were vying to take over their store, but today they've disappeared without a trace.
They thought they could take the opportunity to ask for a high price, at least to make a profit on train tickets to the south, so the couple quickly posted a notice for the transfer of the shop yesterday afternoon.
Who knew that once the notice was posted, business would immediately suffer?
Normally, I could sell dozens of bowls of noodles a morning, but this morning I only sold a dozen or so.
When Lao Xu brought Ji Wanmei over, he saw the couple sitting at the door sighing deeply.
Upon arriving at the place, Ji Wanmei looked up at the name of the noodle shop, suddenly remembered something, and took out the address note that Lei Tingjun had written for her the night before from her bag.
The address above is exactly the same as this noodle shop's!
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