After a long and tiring lunch, Ning Youling naturally wanted to treat her two good friends to a nice meal. It just so happened that it was past lunchtime, and there weren't many people in the stir-fry restaurant. Apart from the sound of the stoves being turned on in the kitchen, the front of the restaurant was quiet.
Chang Ru moved the stool a little closer to Ning Youling and whispered, "Lingling, can I talk to you about something?"
Ning Youling nodded and said, "Of course you can, cousin, what do you say?"
Putting aside the relationship between Chang Ru and Cheng Xiyao, just considering the two times she helped, as long as it wasn't something too outrageous, she was willing to agree.
Besides, based on her observation of Chang Ru, she knew that Chang Ru wouldn't make any excessive demands.
Chang Ru chuckled, a little embarrassed, "It's like this, you're starting school next week, and the No. 1 Middle School in the city has a weekend off. So I was thinking, if you still want to do this business, you can cooperate with me."
Chang Ru's face turned bright red before she could finish speaking.
Because she knew that although that was the claim, her request was clearly self-serving, since Ning Youling couldn't come, but her mother could!
Ning Youling was a little confused. She obviously didn't expect her cousin Changru to have such thoughts. Before she could speak, Cheng Xiyao waved her hands repeatedly, her face turning red with anxiety: "Cousin, what do you need money for? Didn't Auntie give you a lot of money?"
Chang Ru scratched her head, somewhat embarrassed, and pointed to a dilapidated-looking bookstore next to the stir-fry shop: "I just read some extracurricular books in my spare time."
Ning Youling understood instantly.
There are no e-books available now, so students who can't afford to buy novels will rent pirated copies. She's not sure if it costs a penny a day or more.
She found it somewhat amusing that her cousin Changru, a top student, would also read extracurricular books.
But then she thought about it again and felt it was a bit hurtful. Other people can top the list by reading extracurricular books, while she can only get mediocre grades in exams even if she doesn't read any.
Seeing that Ning Youling didn't speak, Chang Ru continued, "My mom gives me very little pocket money. After buying tutoring books, I hardly have any money left to read extracurricular books. Sometimes I have to borrow money from others, which is a little embarrassing."
“I can cooperate with my cousin.” Ning Youling agreed after only a brief thought. “But cousin, I want to take the self-study exam at No. 1 High School. If I pass, I will be a student at No. 1 High School in the second half of this year. Naturally, I can no longer let you do this business. In that case, are you still willing?”
Everyone says they are most afraid of doing business with friends, but Ning Youling believes that it's best to be polite first and clear things up before resorting to force. As long as things are made clear first, there won't be so many problems later.
Upon hearing this, Chang Ru breathed a sigh of relief: "If you get into No. 1 High School, I'll be in high school too, and my studies will be even more demanding, so I won't have time to read anymore. Besides, the only reason I want to secretly save some money is so that I won't be afraid to rent books I like because I don't have enough money."
She is indeed a top student, but she has put in more effort than others to maintain that status.
The endless practice tests and countless study guides consumed most of her allowance.
She had thought about it seriously. Given how popular Ning Youling's little pendant was, Chang Ru felt that she could make a lot of money even in just one semester: "How about this, I'll call Yao Yao three days in advance each time and tell you which pendants you need and how many, and then you can send them to me all at once, and I'll settle the payment for the last one with you, is that okay?"
Cheng Xiyao readily agreed: "Of course! That would save me trouble. But cousin, what did you think of the price?"
"Five cents for one pendant, is that alright?"
Chang Ru had roughly calculated that, based on the deposits paid last time and the statistics she helped compile, plus those sold separately, she had sold about two hundred pendants today. If all of these pendants passed through her hands, she could earn about ten yuan.
Ten yuan is enough for her to rent books for a whole semester.
Ning Youling did not agree, but secretly did some calculations in her mind.
The raw materials I bought last time could be exchanged for about 400 pendants, but the round-trip transportation costs to and from the city, the transportation costs to the wholesale market, and lunch, all added up to a profit of about 300 yuan.
This doesn't even take into account wages and other losses.
As the business grew, Zhou Xiuhua would definitely not be able to handle it all by herself and would have to hire people. The net profit should be able to maintain around thirty...
After quickly doing a mental calculation, Ning Youling nodded in agreement: "Okay, let's do as my cousin says. Cousin, please give the compiled data to Yaoyao on Sunday, and I'll bring it to you next week."
Before Chang Ru could even smile, Ning Youling said solemnly, "However, cousin, if your grades drop because of this, then our cooperation will have to end here."
After receiving Chang Ru's affirmative answer, Ning Youling didn't delay. After lunch, she used the last bit of time after school to draft a contract. After the two signed and stamped it, Chang Ru hurriedly took her copy back to school.
This time, because she had gone to buy more goods, Gu Senyu had already returned home when Ning Youling got home. He circled around her several times, scratched her with his paw, and expressed his dissatisfaction.
She's been waiting for so long, and she's starving!
Ning Youling didn't have time to pay attention to him at the moment. She took out fifty yuan, which consisted of one-mao and two-mao coins, and handed it to Zhou Xiuhua: "Mom, after buying raw materials and daily expenses, there are still more than fifty yuan left from the money we earned this time."
Zhou Xiuhua's hands were trembling uncontrollably as she exclaimed excitedly, "This is the first time I've ever earned so much money on my own!"
She suddenly understood the significance of her daughter making her earn money.
The feeling was completely different from asking Ning Yonghui for money. She felt that even if she spent all fifty yuan right now, she could confidently say that it was her own money!
Ning Youling found it both funny and a little sad, and joked, "Although I didn't earn this much last time, I still made sixty!"
Zhou Xiuhua waved her hand, "I didn't see the money last time either."
As Zhou Xiuhua spoke, she looked around and realized that the house was bare and there was almost nowhere to hide money: "We have to hide this money well. If your grandma finds out, we're finished."
There's no way to hide it now. There aren't many types of products available, and students haven't fully started classes yet. Zhou Xiuhua can handle the orders on her own, but once school starts, she'll open up the market at vocational schools. Plus, with all the students at No. 1 Middle School returning to school, Zhou Xiuhua definitely won't be able to complete all these orders by herself. She'll definitely have to hire someone then.
Ning Youling handed the notebook she had ordered to Zhou Xiuhua: "Mom, the number of people ordering keychains this time has exceeded one hundred. By Sunday, my cousin Changru will give me another statistic. Based on last time, it should be around one hundred. You need to complete at least four hundred keychains in a week!"
Gu Senyu meowed. He really couldn't understand why these young girls would buy this doll!
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