"Chu Yu, you're back! How was Hong Kong?" Zhang Ying surrounded them, chattering about interesting things in Hong Kong. Chu Yu smiled, answered a few questions, took out the souvenirs she had bought from her bag, and distributed them to her roommates. "These are famous Hong Kong pastries. Try them."
“I’ve never tried pastries from Gangcheng before, let me have a taste.” Zhang Ying took a piece.
Chen Qiufen and Li Miao and the others also gathered around.
"It tastes really good. By the way, Chu Yu, how long did you stay in Hong Kong this time?"
"More than a month."
"More than a month?" Zhang Ying's eyes widened. "What have you been doing? Why have you been gone for so long?"
Chu Yu didn't hide anything from her and told her about the movie he was making in partnership with Hong Kong Film Company, but he didn't mention his experience of being kidnapped and threatened by Xin Yicheng. After all, Qingda is a small place, and many things get distorted as they are passed down.
Chu Yu didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble.
Zhang Ying was quite shocked. She had gone on a month-long trip and filmed a movie along the way, and the movie was even shown in cinemas in Hong Kong?
It takes at least several years to make a movie in mainland China.
They believe in taking their time to produce high-quality work, so how come the port city is so efficient?
How can a movie be good if it's made like this?
What's the name of the movie you made?
"The Legend of the Condor Heroes 1," Chu Yu replied.
Zhang Ying thought the name was strange enough. Bewitching the martial arts world? What in the martial arts world could possibly bewitch someone? Is this kind of thing popular in Hong Kong?
I don't understand it, I really don't understand it.
However, Zhang Ying had a fulfilling summer vacation. When Chu Yu was busy, she worked part-time at the store. When the store wasn't busy, she helped her husband set up a street stall. Her husband gained a lot of experience and also learned the tricks of sourcing goods from Chu Yu. They bought goods at low prices and sold them at high prices. During the peak summer season in Beijing, he earned as much as 300 yuan a day.
Nobody would believe it if I told them, but I earned a year's salary in a single day.
But that's the truth.
Zhang Ying then understood why Chu Yu had suggested that her man set up a street stall. If it weren't for Chu Yu's guidance, they would never have dared to take this step.
"Don't get too excited yet. Beijing is cold in winter, and it snows for several months of the year, so it's definitely not suitable for setting up a street stall."
Zhang Ying knew that Chu Yu was genuinely concerned for them. Otherwise, why would someone as big a businessman as him, who had already established partnerships in Hong Kong, care whether they could make a living by setting up a street stall?
“My husband and I have discussed it. We’re going to work hard while it’s still not too cold, in preparation for a slow winter. We plan to stock up on more winter coats, gloves, scarves, hats and the like. Now that we have money, we can stock up on more goods. Business will be good in the days before the Lunar New Year. If we can sell all the goods, we’ll definitely make a good profit.”
“Before the Lunar New Year, you can sell couplets, decorative paintings, calendars, melon seeds, and other similar items. By the way, I'm printing a batch of calendars this year. If your husband wants to sell them, I can wholesale them to you.”
Zhang Ying realized that she still lacked experience.
That's right! There must be a lot of people selling gloves and scarves before the Lunar New Year, but gloves and scarves are expensive to buy and don't make much profit. It's better to sell melon seeds, calendars, couplets, etc. These things have little cost and can be sold in large quantities. You can make a profit before the Lunar New Year and that's enough for the holiday.
"You want to print wall calendars? What kind of wall calendars?"
"They're basically pictures of models and actors, like this." Chu Yu handed him a few calendars, which Shen Zhuyu had brought from her hometown. She planned to give Wang Qiuping some old pictures as a reference for recruiting calendar models.
This year's calendar models, apart from those few actors, can only be found in Beijing. However, Chu Yu's film company happens to be short-staffed, so they'll take this opportunity to see if there are any suitable candidates.
Several roommates gathered around.
"This is so beautiful."
"The clothes are all so trendy."
"There are even swimsuit photos? That's pretty revealing."
This was a strange era. On the one hand, the social atmosphere was too traditional, but on the other hand, these wholesome swimsuit photos were commonplace, unlike in later generations when swimsuit photos had to be censored.
"Yes, this calendar sold well last year. It was sold out before the new year, not a single one left."
Zhang Ying was genuinely tempted; who doesn't buy a calendar for the Chinese New Year?
Old-fashioned perpetual calendars are outdated. In recent years, these portrait calendars have become popular. Chu Yu's claim that they sell well is no exaggeration. Even she herself would want to buy one to hang above her bed if she encountered such a vibrant calendar, let alone the lustful men.
"Chu Yu, it's a deal. You eat the meat, leave some soup for your sisters, and I'll sell these paintings."
Chu Yu didn't care; she wouldn't care about this little bit of money.
No one can keep all the money in their own pocket, so it's perfectly acceptable to have Zhang Ying as the general distributor.
"Okay, I'll tell you once the photos are taken and the calendar is printed."
Remembering something, Zhang Ying took out a wad of cash from her bag and said somewhat embarrassedly:
“Last year, my daughter was hospitalized due to illness. Thanks to you and your boyfriend for taking care of everything, finding a good doctor for my daughter, and even paying for the surgery. Thanks to you, my daughter’s life was saved. I’ve been thinking of paying you back, but I was afraid that my daughter’s condition would relapse and I would need money, so I’ll pay you back all at once when I’ve saved up enough.”
Chu Yu counted the money in front of her, and that settled the matter.
After paying off her debts, Zhang Ying felt completely relaxed and carefree. She deliberately avoided eating at the school cafeteria, instead buying some smoked meats and side dishes to take home. She and her husband prepared a meal together and had a nice drink.
"Once the money is paid back, the remaining money is ours."
Her husband, Cheng Qingsong, smiled, picked up a piece of braised pork from the bowl he had just cooked, and placed it on her plate.
“Honey, I can earn two or three hundred a day here. After paying back your classmate’s money, we still have more than two thousand in cash left. We also have about two thousand in inventory. We’ve finally made it through the tough times.” As Cheng Qingsong spoke, his eyes became a little moist. His daughter’s poor health had always been a heavy burden on his heart.
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