On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, it was time for the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) shops in Deyang to open for business. Deng Fangping and Shu Hui cleaned the entire shop inside and out, mopped the floors with baking soda, sealed the cracks and holes in the walls, removed a few insects, and threw away a lot of odds and ends.
The two moved the table and chairs to the doorway so they could clean it more thoroughly and passersby would peek in.
"Boss lady, it's not open yet? I can't wait!"
Deng Fangping replied cheerfully:
"No, it'll open tomorrow. Let's clean up first today, so you can eat with peace of mind."
"You guys are really thoughtful. I was so busy before the New Year that I hadn't had a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) for half a month, and I was really craving it."
"Come over tomorrow and I'll give you a small gift."
"Okay! I'll be there on time tomorrow!"
Shulan was impressed, as this was her first time there. They were just cleaning; the shop wasn't even open yet. This was already the 30th person to ask if it was open. The roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) shop had high customer loyalty; no wonder Shu Hui and Deng Fangping looked so different.
Who would have thought that these two women had only been out of the countryside for six months? They hadn't even shaken the mud off their shoes yet they were surprisingly adept at being business owners.
"Mom, Auntie, the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) business is so good!" Shulan asked as she helped mop the floor.
"Business is good. Your mother and I have earned enough for our retirement by running the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) shop."
Shu Hui looked proud. She and Deng Fangping had started the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) shop together, and it was practically her child.
I used to farm in the countryside and didn't have a penny to my name. Now I've saved three to five thousand yuan and I feel that's enough for my retirement.
Shu Hui was quite satisfied with her life. Chu Yu was right; divorce was nothing. Women don't have to live without men. It was a simple truth, but it took Shu Hui many years to understand it.
When Xiao Wang arrived with a woman, Shulan assumed they were there to inquire about the opening date again. However, Xiao Wang wiped his sweat, smiled, and showed her his identification.
"I'm Xiao Wang from the Industry and Commerce Bureau, and this is Xiao Tong from the Jiangxi Evening News. The director instructed me to interview Sister Shu Hui and Sister Fang Ping as entrepreneurial role models in Deyang, to be published in the Deyang Daily. Who knew that Xiao Tong from the Jiangxi Evening News would be so interested in your stories? As expected, our report will be published in the provincial newspaper."
Provincial newspaper? Shu Hui nervously wrung her hands. Deyang newspapers were fine, at most people in Deyang would know about her divorce, but if it was published in the provincial newspaper, wouldn't the whole province know about it?
Shu Hui was afraid people would laugh at her for being divorced and ashamed, and she was afraid that the news would spread to the students at Dezhong High School and people would talk about Chu Yu. She absentmindedly brought out chairs for Xiao Wang and Xiao Tong.
"Please have a seat. The shop is a mess, and we're cleaning it up now."
Deng Fangping is fine; being in the provincial newspaper is a good thing. It won't have a big impact on the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) shop's sales, since they don't lack business. But these days, reputation is so important. Chu Yu said that reputation can be converted into money, and having an officially recognized good reputation would also help Shu Hui's remarriage.
"It doesn't matter where it's published, since it's all just an interview anyway," Deng Fangping said with a smile.
The two welcomed Xiao Wang and Xiao Tong inside.
Xiao Tong looked around the Shu family's roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) shop.
It was completely different from the dirty and chaotic fly-strewn shops she remembered.
Shujia Roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) shop is clean, cozy, and full of human touch. The kitchen design with transparent glass windows is a pleasant surprise.
The two female owners had just come from the countryside, but they were more particular about hygiene than city dwellers, and the shop had many clever touches.
I heard that one of them was abandoned by the man who got into university, and came to Deyang with her three daughters to make a living. It's not easy for a divorced woman to get to this point.
Xiao Tong was full of confidence; she was sure she could uncover a heartwarming story from this little shop.
Xiao Tong brought a camera with her. Shu Hui and Deng Fangping cleaned up the room for her to take pictures. After they washed up and dressed, they agreed to be interviewed by her.
Shulan was afraid of disturbing them, and having nowhere else to go, she went to Mandarin.
The women's clothing store had staff on duty from the first day of the Lunar New Year. Chen Yun and Fang Fang were both in the store. It wasn't that Chu Yu was exploiting the employees; business was good during the Spring Festival. Many people came from other places to Deyang for the market, and the people had bulging pockets and were ready to spend money.
Chu Yu wanted to take a few more days off, while the two of them wanted to open the shop as soon as possible in order to increase their commissions. After discussing it, they decided to come on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
"You two are too diligent, making it seem like Shen Zhuyu and I are neglecting our duties." Chu Yu flipped through the notebook to check the accounts.
Fang Fang hung up the clothes. "There was nothing we could do. Business was just too good. We couldn't bear to see ourselves not making any commission."
"That's right. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, we went to the market and sold more than 20,000 yuan worth of goods. Fangfang and I calculated that our overtime bonuses were quite substantial."
Chu Yu is a generous boss who is exceptionally generous with pay and commissions, never deducting anything, and even giving double commissions for overtime work.
Not to mention holidays like Chinese New Year.
Overtime pay and double commission combined are not a small amount; the two of them can earn seventy or eighty yuan in just a few days.
These days, how much is a salary? You earned seventy or eighty in just a few days, that's pretty good.
All the winter clothes from before the Lunar New Year were sold out; now they're selling red clothes from Chuyu Warehouse.
Thanks to the 1983 Spring Festival Gala, red clothes became an instant hit in an era dominated by blue, black, and gray.
The 84% viewership rating of the Spring Festival Gala is no joke. As soon as the show ended, many people went door-to-door looking for red clothes. Merchants were desperate, wishing they could stock up on more red clothes, but they couldn't find any!
The manufacturers didn't have any red clothes, the wholesale markets didn't stock them, and they had no inventory either. They tried everything they could to find manufacturers and wholesalers, but after searching for a long time, they found that they couldn't find many red clothes on the market.
In this situation, Mandarin could produce a room full of red clothes.
Red down jacket, red shirt, red knitted skirt, red sweater, red hat, red scarf, red fur coat.
The women's calendar boosted Mandarin's brand awareness, and the red dresses gained an early advantage. Women from all over Deyang flocked to the clothing store, afraid that if they were a second late, the red dresses would be snatched up.
In the past, women didn't wear red clothes, not because they didn't like to, but because they dared not. Now, the Spring Festival Gala has set an example, breaking the taboo, and everyone wants to buy a red dress to take home.
Selling 20,000 yuan worth of goods on the second day of the Lunar New Year is really nothing!
The clothes were all snatched up. Some clothes were stolen before we even had a chance to try them on. Chen Yun had collected too much money and was afraid of being robbed, so he didn't dare go home at night. The two of them locked the shop door tightly and slept on the second floor of the shop.
Fortunately, Chu Yu arranged a rest room for them, with two small beds inside, so they could sleep there for a few days without any problem.
Chu Yu knew business would be good, but she didn't expect that after returning from the New Year, she would have another 100,000 yuan in income.
Shulan listened to her plan to calculate the accounts and her eyes widened. The amount of money recorded on the paper made her speechless. She never thought that a clothing store could make so much money.
Everyone said that Mandarin's business was good, and she thought she could make at most a thousand yuan a day, which was considered an astronomical price by Shulan.
Shulan knew the profit margins in the clothing industry. Chuyu could earn 20,000 yuan a day. After deducting the cost, that meant at least half of it was profit. What did that mean? Shulan didn't dare to think about it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
