Chapter 64 Chapter 64 Wandering on the Edge of Danger
Nancheng TV was recently airing the classic martial arts drama "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," a show that appealed to all ages, and even Shen Bokang was captivated, hunkering down in front of the TV set every day. Meanwhile, another TV station was airing the equally popular "Shanghai Storm," and Yu Wan, captivated by the elegant "Brother Fa," would compete with Shen Bokang for the TV every day.
Although the leading actors and the plots are slightly different, overall, these two dramas are almost the same as what Liu Mianmian had watched in her previous life, so she was not addicted to them at all.
Shen Weizhuo has never had much interest in TV dramas, so naturally he would not participate in the battle for TV sets.
Only Aunt Liu and Uncle Wang were left, one supporting Yu Wan and the other supporting Shen Bokang, so the four of them often fought over the TV.
Of course, Shen Bokang and Wang Shu were defeated repeatedly.
So one day, Shen Bokang came home from get off work and brought back a TV.
The black and white TV was small in size, but it was enough for two middle-aged martial arts fans.
The two sides made peace, and when Aunt Liu prepared melon seeds and tea, she also generously helped them prepare it.
"You don't like those two TVs?" Shen Weizhuo sat in front of the desk and turned to look at Liu Mianmian who was leaning on the bed.
Liu Mianmian took a pen and wrote and drew on the notebook: "It's okay, you can watch it or not. The main reason is that it's a bit cold recently. My hands and feet are frozen when I sit there watching TV." Moreover, after being used to watching the high-definition TV dramas in later generations, the picture quality of TV dramas at this time is really unacceptable!
Shen Weizhou pondered for a moment: "Then let's buy a TV and put it in the room?"
Liu Mianmian looked at him: "Don't you think it's too noisy?"
Shen Weizhou: "I'm afraid you'll be bored."
Liu Mianmian had no choice but to tell the truth: "The TV's resolution is too low, and it's actually quite tiring to watch."
She thought about it, then suddenly turned around with her pillow in her arms, and then she lay on the pillow with her legs crossed and looked at Shen Weizhou: "You said Hong Kong movies are so popular now, why don't we buy a few TVs to play the movies and charge admission?"
Shen Weizhou's eyes flickered as he said, "The TV station broadcasts it for free. No one would pay to watch this, right?"
Liu Mianmian laughed and said, "You might not know this, but in the south, there are video recorders that are specifically designed to play TV. Television stations only play the same few movies over and over again, but video halls can play a lot of movies. Moreover, television stations only broadcast two episodes a day, but video halls can watch a lot of movies at once. It's like any open space can be used for dancing, but young people still prefer to go to dance halls for the same reason."
Society is changing with each passing day. In the first half of the year, people only danced during company gatherings. In the second half of the year, two dance halls emerged. Young people were no longer satisfied with dancing in the conventional way, and they were proud to dance in the dance halls with ball lights hanging on them.
Dancing to your heart's content under the colorful lights, that's what youth is!
Shen Weizhou had a headache. He simply put away the documents on the desk, walked to the bed and sat down. He asked, "Have you been to the ballroom?"
Confidential units often have to conduct ideological and safety education. Recently, the unit has repeatedly told everyone not to go to dance halls. It is said that the people there are all kinds of people, and young people are prone to fighting when they get excited. Moreover, if researchers go to such places too often, even the iron will of researchers may be corrupted.
Shen Weizhou's serious look made Liu Mianmian laugh: "What if I've been there? What if I haven't been there?"
Shen Weizhou naturally wouldn't tell her not to go to the dance hall. Instead, he grabbed her hand and said aggrievedly, "Nothing. It's just that our unit has an internal regulation that strictly prohibits everyone from going to the dance hall. I can't go with you, and I don't know if it's safe in the dance hall."
Ouch, this is a step backward to advance!
Liu Mianmian teased him deliberately: "If you can't accompany me, I'll ask someone else to accompany me. There are a lot of young men in our western restaurant."
Shen Weizhuo thought about it and realized that it was true.
When the second daughter of the Lin family was recruiting waiters, the primary requirement was that they had to be good-looking and tall. In addition, she was willing to spend money and offered high salaries, so the waiters in the Western restaurant were all very good-looking and well-proportioned.
Although Liu Mianmian calls others young men, she is actually not older than them. They are almost the same age, and some may even be a little older than her.
Shen Weizhuo has been busy with work recently. The institute attaches great importance to the project he is in charge of. They propose to make a breakthrough before the Spring Festival and report it as a New Year's gift. The time is tight and the task is heavy, so he can only work overtime.
He was able to get off work on time thanks to his quick work, but others, unable to keep up with his pace, had to move their bedding into the office.
Even so, he spent much less time at home than before, even less than Liu Mianmian, who no longer even went to play the piano.
Shen Weizhou suddenly realized that it was not good for his wife to do nothing all day long. She would be easily tempted by decadent places. He frowned and suddenly asked, "Do you want to find a job?"
Liu Mianmian was so happy that she reached out to touch his forehead and said in an exaggerated tone, "You don't have a fever, why are you talking nonsense?"
Shen Weizhou leaned over and hugged her.
Liu Mianmian looked up and kissed him, saying, "I'm a boss now. Do you know what the best boss is like? The best boss wouldn't do anything and would just wait to get paid, ordering employees around all day long. They'd claim they could pick the moon just because they could draw a circle, and then when their employees got their hands on lunar soil, they'd say it was rubbish. That's the kind of boss you hate."
She pointed at herself and said, "I want to be a boss that everyone likes, and govern by doing nothing."
This is a bunch of fallacies and heresies.
Shen Weizhou was speechless and asked again, "Moon soil?"
Liu Mianmian felt a pang of uncertainty, not knowing if the original owner's knowledge included this. She continued to speak confidently, "Yes, lunar soil. I love learning, okay? I often read newspapers and listen to the radio. I have great confidence in the world, especially in China's aerospace industry. I believe that in the near future, we will have astronauts landing on the moon."
Shen Weizhou raised his eyebrows slightly and chuckled: "You are full of confidence in the aerospace industry."
Liu Mianmian kissed him again: "I have more confidence in your career. Although I don't know what you are doing, I believe you must be the best...well..."
The rest of the words were blocked by Shen Weizhuo's lips.
As the weather gets colder, Liu Mianmian is able to increasingly practice the principle of "a good boss doesn't care about anything else but collecting money", and spends all day in the yard basking in the sun and reading novels.
She asked Liu Anmin to buy various novels from Hong Kong from Guangzhou, and Liu Anmin also sent her a package of magazines.
Compared to martial arts novels, those magazines that don't look like normal publications are more explicit, with stories about female spies who use pornography to exchange for information and innocent high school students who go astray. They use a lot of space to describe in detail how some small green websites will turn into pornographic ones.
It is said that these magazines are extremely popular in Guangzhou.
Liu Anmin also turned bad.
However, it is also possible to take a critical look at magazines that are popular among the people.
Besides critically reading magazines, Liu Mianmian also listened critically to radio programs. Shen Weizhuo's work had allowed him to obtain access to overseas radio stations, so he could critically absorb international news. During the day, when Shen Weizhuo was away, Liu Mianmian would critically listen to the stock news program on Hong Kong City Radio.
Fortunately, she liked to sing Cantonese songs in her previous life and worked hard to learn Cantonese. Otherwise, even if she could receive the program, she probably wouldn't understand it.
Of course, as an ordinary girl who grew up in Qianjin Township, the original owner certainly had no chance to come into contact with Cantonese, so when other people in the family asked her if she could understand it, Liu Mianmian just said that she was used to listening to Manager Chen speak in the Western restaurant and could understand a little bit.
Based on the little bit she understood, she has bet correctly on nearly ten stocks in a row. Recently, every time Ms. Xu Huiyun calls, she says that her aunt at home has already determined that Miss Liu is a stock god.
It is said that paparazzi squatted outside Ms. Xu's mansion every day, wanting to interview her, and the radio station also called her several times, inviting Ms. Xu to do a show. Ms. Xu was annoyed and resorted to "feudal superstition", saying that a master had told her that her fortune belonged only to herself, and if others wanted to take advantage of it, it would only backfire and they would lose everything.
After that, no one outside dared to ask her to help them trade stocks.
When Xu Huiyun talked about this on the phone, both parties laughed out loud. Liu Mianmian was overjoyed and praised her: "Ms. Xu, you are the sharpest woman I have ever met!"
Xu Huiyun said on the other end of the phone: "Then come to Hong Kong City. Ms. Xu will take you to the brokerage firm personally."
Liu Mianmian smiled and replied, "Next year, the Chinese New Year is almost here. It's too late this year. I'll go next year if I have the chance."
As New Year's Eve approached, Liu Mianmian received a lot of good news. The clothing store business was booming. Although batch after batch of goods were shipped out, they were still not enough to sell. In the end, Liu Anmin bought up all the leftover goods from several wholesale stalls and brought back a full carriage of goods, but it was almost sold out.
The fish from the pond in Qianjin Township were said to be selling for a very good price in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year. The oil press quickly opened after the equipment arrived. Building on the initial publicity, they adopted Liu Mianmian's strategy of offering one free pound for every three pounds of oil pressed, and the business got off to a successful start.
In contrast, business at Western restaurants has declined slightly. Of course, this is mainly because the Spring Festival atmosphere is strong during the period before the New Year, so naturally fewer people eat Western food.
Before Liu Mianmian could say anything, Xu Haitang was extremely anxious. He rushed to No. 9 Qiuzhi Lane as soon as the lunch break ended.
"I agree that during the Spring Festival, people are influenced by the atmosphere and prefer to eat traditional dishes. However, it is also true that more people visit relatives and friends and entertain guests during the Spring Festival. While the total demand increases, our business declines. I think this shouldn't be the case," Xu Haitang said seriously.
Liu Mianmian: “…”
Sometimes being a boss alone can be quite frustrating.
Xu Haitang didn't need Liu Mianmian's feedback; she continued on her own, "Especially during the Lunar New Year, when everyone has plenty of money, it's normal to spend a little money on a Western meal that you wouldn't normally eat. So I thought we shouldn't relax during the Lunar New Year; on the contrary, we should innovate. I've already asked a few chefs to develop some new products. Also, doesn't everyone like going to dance halls these days? Those young people should be our potential customers, so I was thinking, should we advertise in a dance hall?"
Liu Mianmian: “Hmm?”
Xu Haitang smiled sheepishly and said, "Aren't the girls and boys in our restaurant all good-looking? I was thinking, should we organize them to go to the ballroom and do an opening dance? Wear our store's clothes and tie a ribbon with our restaurant's name on it. That way, others will remember us when they see us."
Liu Mianmian: “………………”
Is this still Xu Haitang?
Are you sure it wasn't someone's soul that was possessed?
How could Xu Haitang come up with such an advertising method?
Handsome men and beautiful women, dancing in groups, the temptation of uniforms... Tsk, why does it feel like her restaurant is already on the dangerous edge of "skirting the edge"?
"Wouldn't this be a bad thing?" Liu Mianmian asked.
Xu Haitang said seriously, "Boss, don't have any prejudice against dance halls. I've visited both of them. They're actually very legitimate businesses, just for young people with common interests to dance together. I think the atmosphere in that one called Disco Together is quite good, especially the one called Disco Together. Their boss thought my idea was great and offered to let us dance for free for a week."
What else could Liu Mianmian say? She could only feel socially frustrated for the girls and boys in the restaurant.
However, she felt that Xu Haitang had been fooled: "Although we went there to advertise, we organized a group of handsome men and beautiful women to perform a show. Isn't the opening dance a performance? How can we dance for free for a week? He should pay us the performance fee."
"Ah?" Xu Haitang's eyes widened. "But, those of us who want to promote the restaurant..."
"Think about it from another angle. If he hired the South City Dance Troupe, wouldn't he have to pay them a performance fee? Wouldn't they promote themselves during their performance? Of course they would, so it's the same principle. They can't refuse us compensation just because we're organized by the restaurant."
Liu Mianmian thought for a moment and said, "We can come up with a name, like the Zhijiangxi Restaurant Song and Dance Troupe. Look, we're a song and dance troupe too, so the performance fees are legitimate."
This time it was Xu Haitang's turn to be speechless.
She originally thought that using this method to promote the restaurant would be a good idea. When the dance hall owner said it was free, she was very grateful and felt that she had met a good person.
But after hearing what Liu Mianmian said, Xu Haitang thought about it from another perspective and felt that the dance hall owner was too cunning and was ungrateful after getting the advantage.
"Then I'll go talk to him again." Xu Haitang stood up.
Liu Mianmian reminded her: "When the time comes, you can give them a share of the performance fee from the dance hall. According to their standards, the store will also give them a share of the performance fee. Also, ask Teacher Jin to introduce someone to train them, and the teacher's fee will also be paid by the store. After you agree on the performance time, remember to tell me."
She has no interest in dancing, but she is interested in watching girls and boys dancing in uniform.
Especially the girls and boys that you are familiar with.
If you dance well, it's a feast for the eyes; if you dance badly, it's just laughable.
To be honest, the idea Xu Haitang came up with is quite interesting. Not only Western restaurants, but also Jingjing Clothing Store is suitable. There are young and beautiful sales clerks in several stores... Well, Jiang Hongmei and Liu Anmin can also take the lead in the dance.
Xu Haitang left in a hurry.
Shen Weiyun, who had been studying in the west wing, came out. Winter break had already begun, arriving a few days ago. She'd returned home and complained to her parents, brother, and sister-in-law about how difficult medical school was. But despite her complaints, she still diligently studied her professional textbooks every day. As she put it, the more she read during the winter break, the less hardship she'd endure next semester.
"I heard you talking about a dance hall?" winked.
Liu Mianmian asked back: "Are there any dance halls in the capital? Have you ever been there? Did you go alone or with someone?"
Shen Weiyun was immediately amused and sat down next to Liu Mianmian: "Well, I don't have time to study every day, so how can I have time to go to a dance hall? But I heard there are dance halls, several of them. My senior sister from the same building has been to one."
She shook Liu Mianmian's arm and said coquettishly: "Are you going to the dance hall? Take me there, take me there!"
Liu Mianmian smiled and lowered her voice: "The girls and boys in our restaurant are going to perform in the dance hall during the first month of the year. I will take you to see it later, but..."
She paused and crossed her arms, "Don't tell your brother."
Shen Weiyun nodded vigorously: "I know, I know. If I don't tell my brother, he will be a conservative and jealous person."
Liu Mianmian: “…”
This is really my sister.
On the other side, Xu Haitang had already rushed to the "Disco Together" dance hall.
It was broad daylight, and the ballroom was empty. The owner, Wu Heng, with his messy hair, came out of the lounge. "Hey, isn't that Manager Xu? What's up? Is that performance you guys have ready?"
Xu Haitang slightly processed what Liu Mianmian said and said it again in a tactful way.
Wu Heng twitched his lips, almost laughing out of anger: "Those unskilled people in your restaurant just come here and wiggle around casually. I'm lucky enough not to charge you any money, and you're still asking me for performance fees?"
He has strong facial features and a not-very-noticeable scar on his cheek. He has a ruffian temperament, especially when he squints at people, he looks nonchalant, a little fierce, and a little bad.
Xu Haitang silently took a step back, barely mustering the courage to argue, "Mr. Wu, you haven't even seen our song and dance troupe perform yet, so how do you know we're just filling in the gaps?"
Wu Heng couldn't help but laugh. "No, you came here yesterday and said we were just going to do a simple dance for the restaurant waiters. What happened? After one night, it turned into a song and dance troupe? Your boss is really something. Are you trying to blackmail me?"
Xu Haitang silently took another step back.
Wu Heng tutted, pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, took out a cigarette, lit it and took a puff before saying, "Alright, since this is a song and dance troupe, have your people come over and perform for me. I have to see it first before I can decide if you're worth it, right?"
Xu Haitang calmed down and said in a flurry, "Okay, thank you, Boss Wu. We'll try our best to arrange the program before the New Year, and we'll officially perform on the third day of the Lunar New Year. I wish you a happy cooperation!"
She extended her hand, but seeing that Wu Heng had no intention of extending his, she withdrew her hand and nodded: "Then, Boss Wu, see you later."
She walked away with her high heels clicking.
Wu Heng stood there, looking at the woman's back as she pretended to be calm, and the corners of his mouth twitched.
Even though he is extremely timid, he pretends to be fearless.
Seeing the back of the woman in the suit suddenly starting to jog after walking out of the ballroom door, Wu Heng finally couldn't help laughing out loud.
She closed the door, probably thinking it was closed so he couldn't see it, but she didn't know that the door hinge was a little broken and it was difficult to close.
Just say that this person is extremely timid, right?
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