Eight people, six dishes, and one hot pot. Nothing was left and they ate it all up. We were really carrying out the "Clean Plate" campaign to the end.
Li Mengxue, Qian Lailai and Wang Lingling were all full. They ate the most among them. Although their skirts were slim-fitting, they still left some room, but now that room was not enough and their abdomens were stretched out.
The three sisters looked at each other, feeling embarrassed.
"How about we not wear our new dresses and go shopping today?" Li Mengxue said tentatively.
If they really go out like this, it won't be a street trip for sisters. Others might think it's a street trip for pregnant women, and she can't afford to lose face.
She wasn't the only one who thought so.
Qian Lailai nodded: "Aren't we going to see Qingqing's shop on Jinma Street? The shop has been vacant for quite some time, it's dusty, it would be painful to wear a new dress and get it dirty. It's better to wear old clothes to work. After everything is cleaned, we can go there together wearing new dresses."
"Yes, yes, yes. We still have work to do later and we can't get our new skirt dirty," Wang Lingling also said.
"Then let's go change clothes!" Li Mengxue decided.
Section 236
Yi Qingqing, who didn't eat more or less, touched her belly which was slightly soft and inconspicuous. Just as she was about to express a different opinion, her sisters covered her mouth with one hand and held her with two others, dragging her into the house.
Two fists are no match for six hands, so Yi Qingqing gave in without much struggle.
After dinner, several of them held their boyfriends’ hands and went to Jinma Street in pairs.
"This location is really good!" Li Mengxue said when they arrived at Jinma Street.
They got off the bus at the Factory Yard Station. This Factory Yard Station was not the yard of a specific factory. Several factory yards in this area were gathered together. It was a large residential area, and all the buildings were tube-shaped buildings built after the liberation.
Walk along this street to the intersection and turn the corner, and you will reach Jinma Street.
This street is not long, only a few dozen meters in total. It is full of two-story buildings with two rooms connected together. It is much older than the tube-shaped buildings mentioned above. It is full of old buildings. Even the trees on the roadside are thicker and older than those on the residential street just now.
The street office is in the first small building on the corner.
"This place is next to the residential area. We can come here if we want to set up a stall later. It's close!" Qian Lai said.
"Why do we need to come this way?" Yi Qingqing pointed to the end of the street. "There are state-owned restaurants and stores just around the corner. It's the closest shopping place near this residential area. People from these compounds have to go through Jinma Street to go to work. So even though most of the shops on this street are empty, there are many people passing by. It's not deserted at all. When the time comes, you can put your clothes in front of the store, which is much better than setting up a stall."
"Really?" Li Mengxue knew there was hope as soon as she heard it.
"How could it be false? You'll know when you wait until the rush hour after get off work," Yi Qingqing said.
She didn't buy the shop casually. One reason was that the two houses on Jinma Street were relatively well preserved. Another reason was that they were in a good location. Once the individual business was allowed to operate, the shops on Jinma Street would definitely become popular and would be absolutely prosperous shops.
In the original book, there was no Yi Qingqing, the female supporting character who got a three-courtyard courtyard house as soon as she started school. Li Mengxue did not work as hard as she does now to buy a courtyard house. She just went to the Housing Authority frequently, and did not give gifts to the clerks in the housing sales office to help her pay attention to courtyard houses and promise her great profits.
When she went back with Gao Yinghua for the New Year and returned to the capital, Wang Jingyi had already given up selling the house and went to Hong Kong.
Li Mengxue bought a larger courtyard house this summer, but it only has two entrances and is not located in Luoguxiang. She has never seen a shop on Jinma Street.
When they reached the door of No. 8 Jinma Street, Yi Qingqing stopped and said, "This is it. This building is mine, and the one next to it belongs to Ayuan. If our clothing store expands, we can also rent Ayuan's shop."
"This house is so beautiful and antique," Li Mengxue praised.
"I heard from the previous owner that this used to be a teahouse," said Yi Qingqing.
She took out her key and unlocked the door.
"Cough, cough, cough!" Yi Qingqing fanned the dust in front of her, and the wind from opening the door blew up all the dust in the room.
Qian Lailai rolled up her sleeves and swept the floor with the broom she brought. Surprisingly, only one-third of the dust was swept away. "It's right not to wear a new skirt. The dust is too heavy. It will take some effort to clean it up."
Several people looked around the shop and found that it was really full of dust and even some cobwebs.
But ignoring these things, this shop is still pretty good.
The front hall on the first floor is very spacious, and there is a back hall inside, which was the original tea room, kitchen, and utility room. The area is not small, and the total area is not much smaller than the front hall.
Going up the stairs, the second floor is a series of separate rooms that were previously used as teahouse boxes. There is also an attic above that was previously a temporary residence for the store’s employees.
"The front hall on the first floor is enough for opening a clothing store. The second floor can be used as our office, employee lounge, and tailor's studio. The attic on the top can be used as a fabric warehouse. What do you think of this arrangement?" After looking at the entire shop, Li Mengxue already had some ideas about the preliminary decoration of the future clothing store.
"That's great. We don't have any ideas in this regard. Just do as you wish," Qian Lai said.
Wang Lingling had no objection: "Mengxue, you have a lot of ideas. If you need anything done, just give me a call and you can direct our actions!"
Yi Qingqing had no objection and acted as the hands-off manager from now on: "I will put the investment funds into the public account in the next two days. You can decide how to run the store. I only need to know the result."
"..." Li Mengxue felt depressed when she saw her sisters looking like they believed everything was decided by her.
Lailai and Lingling are fine, one listens to her because he has no other ideas, and the other just wants to follow orders, but Qingqing... seems to not care about anything and only acknowledges investment and dividends.
Although she knew she wanted to be a hands-off boss, she was still a little uncomfortable when it came to this: "I say, you trust me so much, isn't it a bit too hasty? Especially you, Qingqing, aren't you afraid that I will run away with your money?"
"How could I follow you if I don't trust you? Trust people and don't doubt them. Don't employ people you don't trust. It's hard to find a major shareholder like me who is willing to invest in your business. You will lose money if you run away," Yi Qingqing said confidently.