Let's put opening the shop aside for now and talk about it after I finish my postpartum confinement.
The immediate problem is moving.
The move took a week, and Sun Lifang didn't let anyone buy any furniture or anything else. "Let's take a look first, there's no rush to buy everything at once."
These days, people like to use patterned tiles when decorating. There's a type of embossed tile where lotus flowers, roses, bamboo, and other plants are raised.
Bright and novel, Du Weiguo brought them the blueprints, "There are Hello Kitty, Persian cat, and puppy patterns that little girls love the most. Do you want to decorate a room for Xinya?"
The renovation only covered the first and second floors. They hadn't decided what to do on the third floor yet, but Du Weiguo suggested making a walk-in closet for the children.
“I see other stores have this too, more for the same price. Don’t worry, consider it a gift for Xinya.”
Teasing the little girl, these days embossed ceramic tiles are really popular. Du Weiguo, who does high-end decoration, has seen many people build walk-in closets.
In Shanghai at that time, a walk-in closet was still a fashionable term, and not many families could afford to install one.
Sun Lifang asked her husband, "Aren't there that many rich people?"
There really is.
"Wealthy people may not consume high-end products, luxury cars, or expensive watches, but they will definitely invest in their children's education and home furnishings."
Zhou Yunshi told his wife, "Don't underestimate Du Weiguo. The orders he took last year, even if you calculate it, the profit won't be less than this amount."
He gestured with his fingers to indicate a number.
Two million?
Seeing the man's reaction, Sun Lifang exclaimed in surprise, "Twenty million?"
How could that be?
What was the GDP per capita in 1998?
That's not a lie, Zhou Yunshi said: "A villa worth ten million will cost four or five million to renovate."
Even in later generations, buying a 20 million yuan apartment would mean spending no less than 10 million yuan on renovations.
"So, don't look down on them just because they're unsophisticated; their wallets are bulging."
There are many tricks to decorating, and even fewer that are done well.
Even so, Sun Lifang still found it hard to believe that they could earn 20 million yuan.
Later I heard that they also had two furniture factories, and each TV and refrigerator cost four or five thousand yuan. They had their own supply sources, so twenty million yuan was not a lot.
At this moment, he casually offered to give Zhou Xinya a walk-in closet, and he wasn't joking.
Sun Lifang gave Zhou Yunshi a wink, signaling him to handle it.
Holding his daughter, Zhou Yunshi took her to the Du family's house for dinner.
I invited the renovation workers to dinner at Du Weiguo's house. I ordered dishes from a restaurant and went over.
Sun Lifang stayed home to tidy up the nooks and crannies, took out the quilts that had been dried in the sun, spread them out, and then called Sister Miao to have dinner together.
It's nice to eat together as a couple, in peace and quiet, with the stroller beside you – that's satisfying.
When the doorbell rang, Sister Miao went to open the door.
A mixed-race girl with tanned skin was crying at the door.
This is Pei-Lin, An Pei-Lin, the child Sister Miao took care of for six years.
"Why are you crying?" Sun Lifang invited her in and brought her tissues.
What little girl cries so bitterly? Her tears dried on her cheeks, and her large, long eyelashes, typical of Europeans, were clustered together, making her look like a delicate Barbie doll.
This is a true old-fashioned wealthy businessman. Sun Lifang heard from Sister Miao that the An family runs an auction house, and the mother is a beautiful Turkish woman who imports handmade carpets and paintings from both domestic and international sources.
For handicrafts, it's hard to estimate the price.
She came from a wealthy family and was the only girl, so she was pampered.
Why are you crying like this?
Wait a minute, Sun Lifang noticed her arm. "Who grabbed that?"
In winter, thick clothes make it hard to see, but the girl was wearing a white cashmere sweater underneath, so the red bloodstains were faintly visible.
An Peilin continued to cry, throwing herself into Sister Miao's arms like a frightened fawn, large tears falling from her big eyes as she sobbed, "Go home, please go home."
As he spoke, he shook Sister Miao's arm.
"Have you eaten yet?" Sister Miao changed the subject, asking her to take off her sweater to treat her wound.
The girl immediately let out a piercing scream, "Ah—"
I said I'm going home!
The noise startled the two children in the stroller awake. Afraid that the children would be frightened, Sun Lifang bent down and began to soothe them.
The girl continued, and after she finished shouting, she began to plead with Sister Miao, "Don't lie to me, I don't want to be home alone, they all bully me."
"No one is helping me, I can't go on living."
Turks' eyes are actually quite similar to those of people from Xinjiang; they are clear-cut black and white, and large and round.
Underneath the sweater she had taken off were two bloody scratch marks. The girl pursed her lips, tears streaming down her face, her whole body trembling, and stubbornly said, "If you don't come home with me, I will never look for you again."
Sister Miao was the person who spent the most time with her, and to her, she was like a mother.
But now even her mother doesn't want her anymore.
"You promised you'd always be there for me and watch me grow up."
Why did you lie to me?
The girl's emotions were very unstable; her deep-seated hatred was manifested in a small child.
He gritted his teeth, tilted his head back, and was still trembling.
"What's going on?" Sun Lifang guessed it might be domestic violence, but the girl resisted and backed away, squatting in the corner of the cabinet and glaring at her warily.
The girl kept repeating one sentence, "You can't see me, you can't see me, you'll never see me again."
"Go to hell, go to hell, go to hell."
Whether she was speaking to someone else or to herself, An Peilin rested her chin on her knees and hugged herself.
This was originally just a matter between Sister Miao and her. Sun Lifang brought over tissues and disinfectant bandages, intending for them to handle it themselves.
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