Chapter 155 Grand Opening & Crazy
Spring 1991.
The beginning of the year left a significant mark in the commercial development history of the entire Shilan Province - twenty days before the Spring Festival of that year, the first Wenli Supermarket, which became famous throughout the country fifty years later and has branches all over China and as far as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, opened.
What kind of place is Wenli Supermarket? In the words of the children of the 1990s generation, it was a place where they could buy everything. Only on holidays, birthdays, or when their parents were satisfied with their test scores would they be taken to Wenli Supermarket for a stroll. They no longer had to walk around with their eyes open. They could carry a small basket or push a shopping cart and fill it with everything.
This kind of happiness, which everyone later recalled as "the joy of shopping in the supermarket", is an indispensable part of childhood and a happiness that many children born in the 2000s who are accustomed to online shopping cannot experience.
As for Jiamoufuwomuma? In front of Wenli Supermarket, they were all later brothers, and they were foreign brothers. By the time they entered the Longguo market, the market had already been occupied by Wenli Supermarket. After a few years of entering, they gradually withdrew.
This opening was also very impressive. One year later, when the owner of Wenli Supermarket appeared on a TV talk show, the grand opening ceremony he mentioned inadvertently was enough to make people talk about it.
It is said that in the twenty days before the Spring Festival that year alone, Wenli Supermarket's turnover reached an astonishing figure. Some said it was 100,000, some said it was 300,000, and some said it was 500,000. But only the Shu family knew that the real figure was actually higher than these.
In addition to citizens rushing to buy New Year's goods for their homes in truckloads, Shu Wenming also won the benefits for employees of 70% of the city's factories and mines. Each benefit was packed in a red cardboard box, containing food and useful items. He spent the same amount of money as in previous years, but bought a lot more things than in previous years' scattered purchases. Which unit's trade union would not take advantage of this? Otherwise, they would be criticized for taking kickbacks!
The key is that the box is bright red and looks very festive, and the most conspicuous place has golden characters such as "Happy New Year" and "Happy Spring Festival" printed on it, which has a good meaning. When the employees take it home and put it on the cabinet or the coffee table, everyone can see it. How face-saving is that?
Families with many workers would like to fill the table with food, and bring their neighbors home intentionally or unintentionally. Look, these are all benefits for the employees in the family!
There are thousands of state-owned enterprises in the city of Shucheng, each of which has a minimum of nearly a hundred people and a maximum of nearly ten thousand people. Every person receives a New Year welfare gift package. Wenli Supermarket has made an unknown amount of sales from this business alone.
Even if a discount is given to the union, the profit is not high, but the advantage is that the quantity is large and there is no need to sell them everywhere. All you need to do is pack the gifts in boxes and deliver them to the door of each unit.
Such thoughtful and considerate service is better than going to the market every year to shop and then carrying the goods back to the office. Those units that did not place orders are regretting it to death.
Shu Jinyue had no idea how his second brother, a business genius, came up with this idea and how he negotiated the business. She swore that she really hadn't told him this, and that he was able to ship out so much goods within just half a month of opening, which meant that he had been negotiating orders and preparing goods at least two months in advance.
And the "significance" of these orders is not just to make this year's sales look better.
You know, every time someone receives a gift package, it is equivalent to an effective advertisement. When people see such high-quality and low-priced things, when they need to buy something in the future, will they think of Wenli Supermarket first? With so many employees in the city, and they made so many advertisements, what a huge market this will open up! How huge will the potential customer base be? How huge the profits will be?
Thinking of this possibility, Shu Jinyue's hands were shaking with excitement, "Second brother, how on earth did you think of this and how did you do it?" It takes a lot of ability to convince so many units in the city to agree to a unified purchase, and to prepare a large gift package covering food and daily necessities in a short period of time!
"You don't have to worry about this. We'll continue next year and reach a higher level."
During these twenty days, no one who went into Wenli Supermarket to buy New Year's goods left empty-handed. It was said that there were more than 40 cashiers at the checkout counter alone, working in three shifts, and their hands were cramped from working so hard.
Shu Wenming went to the bank three times a day just to deposit money. It was said that he received too much cash and had no place to put it.
"The world is really different now. Everyone who goes in to buy things takes and loads the shopping carts as if the things are free. Are ordinary people so rich this year?" Shu Linong has been a househusband for too long and has always felt that he has fallen behind the times. When he went to the supermarket to help out these few days and saw such scenes, he began to question his life.
Zhao Wanqiu laughed: "On the one hand, the people have more money, and of course our advertising is also good."
As early as half a month before the opening, Shu Wenming printed all kinds of flyers and distributed them everywhere. He also hung banners and posted advertisements in crowded places, promising that all goods would be discounted by 95% in the first half month of the opening. How tempting was that?
Coupled with the gift packages distributed by the city's employee system, the advertisement was immediately placed in the homes of employees with spending power...
"Look at the turnover. Our hard work for the past half month is worth it." Xu Wenli said happily, "It's a pity that we were too busy during the Spring Festival. It's too late. On the 15th day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, let's buy seafood directly from East Guangdong Province. Buy live ones and airfreight them here. I'll treat you."
Everyone laughed and said it was a good idea.
Shu Wenyan didn't know how much money they made, but seeing the second brother's expression, he was definitely envious and jealous, and felt uncomfortable on the way back.
"Okay, what are you smacking on? If you have to fart, just fart."
"Do you think Jin Yue and his family have a problem with us? They let the old couple and the second son's family live in such a big house, but not us. There are so many empty rooms, and the nanny and bodyguards live better than us. I'm not saying I'm really coming to live here, but they didn't even say a word of politeness, isn't that a bit too much?"
Liu Huifang looked at him with a half-smile: "Why is it? Don't you have any idea?"
With that look, she said nothing, yet it seemed as if she said everything. Shu Wenyan blushed, "We were all young, and life was hard for everyone in those years. I asked dad to subsidize us, but... but... I didn't ask him later."
Liu Huifang snorted coldly, "To be honest, every time I came back from work and went back to the old house with you, I felt so embarrassed. You are so shameless."
Shu Wenyan's face turned red and white, and his breath was stuck in his throat.
After a long silence, he began to talk about quitting his job and becoming a full-time writer.
Now the two daughters are in middle school and have grown up. Liu Huifang's career has also become bigger. Everyone is making progress, but it seems that he is the only one who is standing still. He really can't resign himself to this. What I said about the house just now was just nitpicking. The real problem lies in comparison. When compared with his brothers and sisters, he, who has always had the upper hand, is now like a piece of shit.
It's still sour, smelly and unpopular shit.
Liu Huifang was driving and was annoyed by his nagging. "Okay, then just write something first. The publisher I found for you last year said your manuscript was not good enough after seeing it. What you wrote was too sour and mean. They asked you to write something imaginative, like Ma Xiaomei. Can you do it?"
“Why should I cater to the market? Can’t I just write what I like?”
"Sure, but if you don't have any royalties, how can you support your daughter? Mengmeng's martial arts expenses are several hundred yuan a month. Who in an ordinary family can afford it? She also has to go to competitions everywhere, buy all kinds of high-protein nutritional supplements, and train regularly. Do you have the money?"
Shu Wenyan wilted.
Liu Huifang felt a little reluctant, but then she thought of what Jin Yue said and calmed down. She knew that one should not feel sorry for a man. Feeling sorry for a man would bring bad luck.
"I'm not saying I'm going to force you to make a certain amount of money a month, I'm just suggesting that you don't resign blindly. Have you thought clearly whether you're resigning to escape complicated interpersonal relationships or if you really want to be a full-time writer? If you're escaping, then writing will become your next goal to escape in the future. Do you really want to do something you hate?"
Although these words were heartbreaking, they were also what his wife truly spoke from the bottom of her heart. Shu Wenyan stopped talking. He really needed to think about it carefully.
＊＊＊
After Shu Jinyue's family finished opening the supermarket, it happened to be the Spring Festival. The hospital was also busy because a group of patients had taken advantage of the Spring Festival holiday to rush to the bookstore from all over the country for medical treatment. They came here truly because they were attracted by the hospital's reputation. Jinyue was about to start her Spring Festival holiday when she suddenly received a call saying that a number of patients came to see her and asked her what to do.
What to do? She has to do it!
"Today is New Year's Day. Does mommy have to go to the hospital too?" Little Yueliang can already speak some long sentences, just like a little adult.
Jin Yue nodded, "Yes, although today is only the second day of the Chinese New Year, many patients come from far away and their conditions are quite serious. Mom needs to go and see them."
"Well...well, can I go to the hospital with mom?"
This really doesn't sound like something a child under two years old would say. Jin Yue often wondered if his daughter was reborn. Xingxing, who is the same age as her, is a little "dull". He only knows how to eat and sleep all day. He occasionally gets upset when his sister doesn't play with him. Like these few days, he sleeps very late every day and today is no exception.
Jin Yue went to the room and took a look. The little guy was still sleeping soundly wrapped in a quilt.
"Is it okay, Mom?"
"Okay, okay." Jin Yue could only agree to his daughter's request. These days, Jin Yue gave the nanny and three bodyguards a day off so that they could have a good rest. Before leaving, he told his parents, "Xingxing is still sleeping. Go in and take a look later. Don't let him fall off the kang."
Ge Hong also had a holiday, so Jin Yue put the child in the back seat and drove himself.
During the Spring Festival holiday, there were few cars on the road, but she drove very slowly with her child in tow. In Xiaoyue's words, "slower than a snail, Mom."
"You need to be safe, you know. You should do the same at home. Don't be in a hurry when doing things, okay?"
Little Yueliang seemed to understand, but she just said "yes" to whatever her mother said. Shu Jinyue didn't expect her to really understand. The mother and daughter went to the hospital. Li Xuemei and Anna were both on the Spring Festival holiday, and Jin Yue did not ask them to come back. She just asked a young doctor on duty to prescribe medicine for her. Xiao Yueliang sat obediently beside her, watching one patient after another come in with sad faces and leave happily.
Her mother placed a small stool next to her. She sat there obediently, holding her chin with both hands, looking thoughtful.
The young girl didn’t know why this happened, but she felt that her mother must have some magical power that could make people laugh! Her mother is awesome!
The child is very well behaved. In fact, she hardly understands every word her mother says, but that doesn't stop her from listening quietly. When she wants to go to the toilet, she goes into the inner room by herself, squats there, and after using it, she wipes her butt by herself, flushes the toilet by herself, and washes her hands by herself.
The smoothness of the movement and the stability of her emotions made Shu Jinyue doubt whether she was reborn. Otherwise it really doesn’t make sense, baby.
However, she did not have time to think too much. Those who came to see a doctor at this critical moment were either busy workers who had no time at ordinary times or farmers who worked all year round, or their conditions were really serious. Shu Jinyue met mostly the latter today. She saw more than 30 patients in the morning, and there were several with severe cor pulmonale, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and coronary heart disease, two with cerebral infarction, two with leukemia, and three with severe liver disease... If the condition was too serious, she would have them admitted to the hospital, and she was busy again.
Among them there was a seven or eight-year-old child with leukemia. Shu Jinyue couldn't bear it. This child was not the same type as Xu Wenli's. This was a very dangerous and highly malignant form of leukemia. Jinyue actually wanted to give up the treatment and just go home to eat and drink well.
She just spoke to Shi Xuehai on the phone last month. They were also helpless against this type of leukemia, and Qinghuangsan had no obvious effect on it. But when I saw the expectant eyes of the child's mother, she was from Yunnan Province. After hearing that Jin Yue was good at treating leukemia, she used her annual leave to bring her child to seek medical treatment from afar.
Shu Jinyue really couldn't say that.
"It's okay, President Shu. I will do my best. I am willing to do it even if it means losing everything I have. Just give it a try." The woman pleaded.
"Ever since the disease was diagnosed, my child's father divorced me. My in-laws don't care anymore, and my parents' family are unreliable. My only wish now is to try it a little longer. Maybe it will work? Maybe God will have mercy on us." The woman said the most optimistic words, but her voice was choked, as if she had swallowed several pounds of bitter fruit.
Shu Jinyue's throat was sore. "Okay, the treatment plan is what I just told you. If you are willing to accept it, I will tell you in detail later."
The woman hesitated. "Then I... I want to ask, so I can have an idea of how much this treatment will cost. I have sold my house, and I don't have much money now. I'm going to sell it..."
The woman paused and said nothing more.
In fact, Shu Jinyue had discovered it a long time ago. Her face was extremely pale, and there were several new and old needle holes on her hands. Her child had a very rare "panda blood", which should have been inherited from her. He just took her pulse and it was also a typical sign of blood deficiency.
There is no doubt that this woman relies on selling blood to treat her child's illness.
Shu Jinyue couldn't help it, so she asked the young doctor to take the child to play in the corridor outside, where there were some children's play facilities. Then she told the woman the truth.
Three minutes later, the woman burst into tears and collapsed. The power that had supported her to cross thousands of kilometers was gone in an instant. She sold her blood, even the last drop of blood in her body, but she could not save her child.
"My suggestion is that you can use some drugs to improve his quality of life and regulate his condition, but you still have to be mentally prepared."
The woman couldn't stop crying, "But...but, I can't bear to part with it. I've spent so much money. I really can't bear to part with it. I sold everything I could. I even burned so many incense sticks to the Buddha. Why, why does the old man want to do this?"
Shu Jinyue has seen many tears from patients and their families during her many years in clinical practice, but these were the tears of a mother, and she is also a mother now.
Handing her some tissue to wipe her tears, Jin Yue suddenly remembered something he heard when he talked to Shi Xuehai on the phone last month.
Should I tell the family members?
She hesitated for a moment. "Of course, we have another solution now, which is bone marrow transplantation. However, the technology in China is not yet mature. Whether it is effective for his type of leukemia and how effective it is is still unknown. If you are willing to try, I can help you contact them and ask."
The flame that had just gone out in the woman's eyes immediately burned again, "I do, I do!"
Shu Jinyue then called Shi Xuehai in front of her and learned that it could be done in Haicheng, and that his team was also doing it. However, the child had a special blood type, and finding a suitable bone marrow would be much more difficult than for ordinary people.
“It will also cost more.”
The woman hesitated for a moment. "Then I can sell my blood. My blood is very expensive. If selling blood is not enough, I will sell my kidneys and liver. If anyone needs it, any part of it is fine."
Shu Jinyue was unable to hold back. "What nonsense are you talking about? The sale of human organs is prohibited. Don't say such nonsense in the future. Let's do the matching first. As for the cost, I can help you figure it out."
She remembered that after curing Xiao Ling's illness last time, Ling's father fulfilled his promise and donated three thousand yuan to the hospital. Jin Yue had never figured out how to use the money, but now she suddenly knew how to use it.
After the woman left, Jin Yue still called Li Xuemei and Anna, asking them to work overtime if they had nothing to do, and receive triple overtime pay. She wanted to set up a foundation to raise funds specifically for the treatment of serious illnesses for disadvantaged groups.
In fact, she didn't understand much about such policy matters. In the past, Xu Duan had always run errands for her. This time, Anna had to make a plan and then go to various departments to see if it could be done.
It would be better if there was support from the official level, but it doesn't matter if there is none. She has seen so many patients over the years, and it's not like she has gained nothing. Even a rich man like Wang Mate would have more than enough money if he just picked out the money through his fingers.
If it was for her own personal interests, she would be too embarrassed to ask for help, but this was for tens of millions of poor families and tens of millions of mothers, so she had no burden to do so.
Jin Yue gave the patient list to Li Xuemei and asked her to find some people who might sponsor the project and prepare their contact information. Jin Yue planned to call each of them one by one to "lobby" after the Chinese New Year. It was voluntary to donate or not, and she would not refuse to treat people in the future just because they did not donate. This needed to be made clear from the beginning.
The three women got together and planned for the whole day. When they came to their senses, they found that it was dark. Little Yueyue had fallen asleep while waiting for her mother. She lay obediently on her mother's nap bed and covered herself with a quilt.
Shu Jinyue felt extremely distressed and quickly carried her into the car, "Let's go home."
While driving, Jin Yue was still thinking about today's little patient, his small, shiny bald head, and the mother who sold blood. She suddenly felt a strong sense of urgency in her heart. She had to make money quickly. Only with more money could she not be short of money when she wanted to help others.
She suddenly thought of a business opportunity - if she could sell one or two of her secret recipes, would she make money faster?
In fact, the profit from running a hospital is only a small one now. It is not a black hospital that rips off customers, so it cannot save much money at all.
He took action as soon as he thought of it. When he got home, he didn't even have time to eat. Jin Yue handed the child to his parents. He couldn't contact Xu Duan, so he could only find his second brother to discuss it.
"Are you sure you need so much money? I've already told you I don't have any money, so don't try to drag me down with you."
"Don't think I don't know that you and your second sister-in-law buy books and clothes for children in poor mountainous areas and rice, flour, grain and oil for rural primary schools every year."
Shu Wenming touched his nose and said, "It only costs a few dollars to buy these things, and it's just for a good reputation. You need to invest tens of millions of real money to build this foundation. It's very likely that you will spend the money but still not be able to cure the disease, and you won't even have a good reputation. Do you think it's worth it?"
Shu Jinyue said without hesitation, "It doesn't matter whether it's cost-effective or not."
Shu Wenming stared into her eyes for a full minute, and finally gave in. "Okay, whatever you want. Jin Yue is a kind man, but you don't need so much money right away, right?"
"In fact, this little patient today is not a special case, nor is it the first one. In the past year or so, we have encountered no less than 30 patients with serious illnesses who come from very difficult families. Many of them have a good prognosis and are very valuable to be treated, but..." Because of their difficult family circumstances, even though Jin Yue has reduced the fees again and again, saving wherever he can, even saving on bed fees, it still doesn't help.
Jin Yue has always felt uncomfortable looking at these lives that clearly had hope but lost simply because of lack of money.
Shu Wenming was silent.
"I thought, since Grandma Hu left me a lot of beauty recipes, and the people of Long Country have just solved the problem of food and clothing, they don't have much demand for beauty. Sato Shizuka has always been very interested in it. She promised not to change the name of my recipe after buying it, but to keep the original name and add my trademark. Why not sell her two more?"
Shu Wenming raised his eyebrows.
"Don't worry, I will definitely not sell the recipe that can really cure diseases and save lives. Beauty is not an essential need, so I won't feel bad about selling it." If Grandma Hu knew that the recipe left behind by her family could help so many people in need after being converted into money, she would probably be happy, right?
"I have already thought of a name. It is the Pui-Yee Hu Foundation."
Shu Wenming learned for the first time, "Grandma Hu's name is Hu Peiyi?"
"right."
Let everyone who has been helped know that this love originally came from a lady named Hu Peiyi, and it was she who gave Jinyue the ability and motivation to pass on this love.
Shu Wenming was silent again. After a moment, he tapped the phone with his chin and said, "Call her. I'll talk to her when the call comes through."
Shu Wenming had gained a lot of experience over the years, and his business negotiation skills were almost catching up with Xu Duan. After Jin Yue got through, he talked with Sato Shizuka for about forty minutes and quickly finalized the deal. Jin Yue sold two secret recipes to her, and she paid 600,000.
Logically speaking, the price should have risen, and it should have been more expensive than it was back then, but the recipe that Shu Jinyue sold her was a very useless one, the sales volume would not be very large, and it was also a bit difficult to make, so she was reluctant and lowered the price. Besides, Jin Yue needed the money urgently and was too lazy to waste time.
"But I am satisfied with 600,000 yuan. This money is like free money."
Shu Wenming looked disdainful and said, "You look so ignorant."
Jin Yue was very proud of herself. Now that she had an extra 600,000 yuan, she would not keep a single cent of it. She planned to inject the money into the Hu Peiyi Foundation immediately after receiving it. With lobbying from many parties, she would be able to save a considerable fund. The only problem was how to supervise and use it. These were very professional issues, so she had to ask Wang Hongping for help.
Wang Hongping often came to the bookstore on business trips in recent years, so it was easy for the two to meet.
The brother and sister chatted for a while. Jin Yue was too tired and yawned continuously. "I won't sleep tonight. Let my parents take care of me. I need to have a good rest. I have a tough battle to fight next."
As he was talking, Teacher Shu suddenly called out from outside the door: "Jin Yue, come here quickly, there's something wrong with the child."
"What's wrong? Who's wrong?" Jin Yue stopped yawning in the middle of his yawn.
"Su Xing, he seems to have a fever. He didn't eat much all day. I went in to check on him several times, but he was sleeping."
It was common for children to have a fever, so Jin Yue was not worried. "Wasn't my mother at home today? Didn't she take care of the child?"
"I treated it. I applied a cold towel to his forehead and gave him some antipyretic medicine, but the fever won't go away. That's the problem..."
Before he finished speaking, Jin Yue had already arrived at the room of the two elders. It was the coldest time of the year in the first month of the lunar year. Su Xing was lying on the bed wearing only a thin short-sleeved shirt with a towel on his forehead. His little face was burning red, and his thin skin seemed to be burned through.
Shu Jinyue quickly touched it and found it was very hot.
Zhao Wanqiu took out the thermometer and said, "It's 39 degrees now. It was 37.5 degrees at noon. I didn't think it was serious so I didn't call you. It went up to 38.5 degrees at dusk. I gave him some of the Chinese medicine you prepared for the fever and took his temperature every half an hour. It was going down, but it went up again just now."
Jin Yue was experienced in treating children with fever, so she was not panicked. She put her hand on Su Xing's wrist and asked the old man, "When did the child start to feel unwell?"
"It seemed like it was just two days before the New Year. He was always listless. I thought he had indigestion since there were a lot of fried foods at home, so I gave him two large hawthorn pills. Later, I was busy preparing for the New Year and saw that he didn't have a fever, so I didn't tell you." Shu Linong felt very guilty and always felt that he had not raised his child well.
"It's okay, Dad. It's normal for children to get sick when they eat whole grains. I think the temperature is not high..." Before she finished her words, she felt something was wrong with the pulse under her fingertips. Before she could figure it out, she felt Su Xing's little hands moving around.
Not only his hands, but his feet were also moving around, his limbs were twitching, and his head was shaking - "Oh no, he's having a seizure!"
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