Chapter 437 Opening a Shop
Nan Zhiyi and Li Xiaoxuan waved to them.
Zhao Liping took off her coat, revealing a gray turtleneck sweater underneath. Chen Wenjuan carefully folded her camel coat and placed it beside her; her light brown suit made her complexion look radiant.
"Sister Liping, Comrade Chen," Nan Zhiyi greeted the two people sitting opposite her with a smile.
Chen Wenjuan gently pressed her hand: "We've met so many times, why are you still so distant? I'll call you Zhiyi like they do, so you can call me Sister Wenjuan too."
“That’s perfect, Sister Wenjuan.” Nan Zhiyi readily agreed. “You look much better than the last time I saw you.”
Chen Wenjuan's eyes crinkled with fine lines: "Look, Zhiyi knows how to talk. Xiaoxuan, you should learn from her."
Li Xiaoxuan feigned displeasure: "Ha, it's clear that you've forgotten the old one for the new."
The waiter came over at the right time, and Nan Zhiyi asked, "Sister Liping, Sister Wenjuan, what would you like to drink? Please don't be shy."
“Let’s order the most expensive thing,” Li Xiaoxuan interjected, “Zhiyi is treating today.”
After the tea and snacks were served, Zhao Liping took a sip of coffee: "It's been a long time since I've seen Zhiyi. Are you busy at school every day?"
Nan Zhiyi: "I've been so busy lately, not just with school matters. Around New Year's Day, there were all sorts of summary meetings, New Year's gatherings, and various tea parties with Gu Xiao's troops."
"The closer it gets to the end of the year, the busier we are." Zhao Liping nodded in agreement. "Our hospital is having a professional title evaluation recently, so we have to reorganize all the medical records."
Li Xiaoxuan stirred her coffee and laughed: "Only those of us with leisurely jobs, like Sister Wenjuan's, can steal half a day of leisure."
Chen Wenjuan ate her cake in small bites and said softly, "There's a good thing about being idle, and there's a good thing about being busy. It's better than doing nothing."
Hearing Chen Wenjuan say this, Li Xiaoxuan suddenly sat up straight. "Sisters, Zhiyi, I've just been too free lately. I've been thinking about opening a beauty salon. What do you think? Want to invest?"
Nan Zhiyi lowered her eyes to look at the black tea swirling in her cup. She knew that Li Xiaoxuan and Chen Wenjuan both held sinecure positions in the cultural system and were indeed quite relaxed on weekdays, but opening a shop was no child's play.
Chen Wenjuan gave Nan Zhiyi an approving look.
This girl looks gentle, but she has a deep and complex mind.
She gently stirred her coffee: "Xiaoxuan, it's fine if you want to try it out. I happen to have a shop facing the street, it used to be a bookstore, the lease expires next month. You can take it if you want, it's spacious and even has a small courtyard."
Li Xiaoxuan happily grasped Chen Wenjuan's hand: "Thank you, Sister Wenjuan!"
Zhao Liping added, "You can contact my cousin about the equipment. He works at the Light Industry Bureau and knows manufacturers in Guangzhou. I heard there's a facial steamer now that you can just plug it in." Zhao Liping also thought that even if they lost money, it wouldn't be a big deal, since Xiaoxuan's family wasn't short of cash. Besides, how could a family like theirs really lose money...?
Seeing that both her older sisters had expressed their support, Nan Zhiyi sighed softly, "Xiaoxuan, I'll just contribute some money and take a stake. I'm too busy with school affairs to spare any more time."
"That's enough!" Li Xiaoxuan affectionately took her arm. "Who doesn't know that Zhiyi is a big spender? Funds are the most important thing."
The four of them sat for a while longer, listening to Li Xiaoxuan chatter on about how many wives and young people nowadays like to go to beauty salons, and that doing this now is a sure-fire way to make money.
Chen Wenjuan laughed and said, "Even if you lose money, you can probably make it back by sweet-talking your family."
Li Xiaoxuan chuckled and urged, "Alright, hurry up and drink. We agreed to go upstairs for a beauty treatment today, and maybe secretly learn some tips while we're at it."
Nan Zhiyi and the other two smiled, put down their teacups, grabbed their coats, and followed Li Xiaoxuan upstairs.
The four of them walked up the spiral staircase to the top floor, where they were greeted by a door with frosted glass and the words "Liren Skin Care Center" in gold lettering.
A waitress in a pink uniform smiled and opened the door, releasing a warm and inviting aroma accompanied by piano music.
The interior walls are covered with beige wallpaper with a subtle pattern, and several potted green plants are placed in the corner.
A row of dressing tables against the wall has oval mirrors embedded in them, and various glass bottles and jars are neatly arranged on the tabletops.
The innermost room was divided into several beds by a beaded curtain, and a steam generator with a transparent mask stood next to each bed.
The four were seated on a sofa. A waiter handed them hot towels to wipe their hands, while another waiter brought them herbal tea and snacks.
"Would you like to provide full-service nursing care for the four of you?" The supervisor asked respectfully as she brought over the registration book.
Li Xiaoxuan nodded: "We need to steam our faces, then apply a face mask, and do a hand treatment." Turning to her friends, she explained, "I heard they just got a new pearl massage cream."
Nan Zhiyi took off her coat and saw Chen Wenjuan curiously touching the metal instrument next to the beauty bed. When the attendant turned on the steam machine, she shrank back.
"You all relax." Zhao Liping had already been helped to lie down by the waiter. "The principle is similar to the nebulizers used in hospitals."
Nan Zhiyi did as instructed.
Warm steam rose, and Nan Zhiyi closed her eyes, feeling the warmth as her pores opened.
I could hear Li Xiaoxuan chatting with the waiter:
"Is this machine made in Guangzhou?"
"Brought from Hong Kong, comrade. Would you like to try the newly arrived seaweed face mask?"
Chen Wenjuan suddenly let out a soft "Ah".
Nan Zhiyi turned her head and saw Wenjuan staring at her face, which had just been covered with a face mask. She couldn't help but laugh: "Sister Wenjuan, do I look like a blue-faced monster?"
Chen Wenjuan also joked, "You're like a little monster in 'Journey to the West' who reveals his true form."
After the treatment, Nan Zhiyi looked in the mirror and saw that her face was indeed glowing, and her hands also looked fairer and more delicate.
She looked around and saw that all four faces in the mirror had a rosy glow. Li Xiaoxuan looked at her with a grin and said, "Zhiyi, look at these results! We're definitely opening this beauty salon!"
It was almost dusk when I finished my facial.
Chen Wenjuan softly suggested, "How about we grab a quick bite together? I heard a new Huaiyang cuisine restaurant opened next door. My treat."
Zhao Liping glanced at her watch: "I'm on night shift tonight, I have to rush back to the hospital for rounds."
Nan Zhiyi also took the opportunity to say that she was going home to be with her children, and added politely, "Next time I'll treat you, and I'll invite Sister Wenjuan to her favorite squirrel mandarin fish."
“It’s settled then!” Li Xiaoxuan hugged each of the three women in turn, and finally held onto Nan Zhiyi tightly. “I’ll be able to draft the articles of association in a couple of days… Come to my house then, and we’ll discuss it properly.”
"Okay, see you then."
The four figures dispersed into the twilight as snow fell.
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