Chapter 236
Lv Minjuan from the dormitory also returned and brought some yams and dried bean curd sheets to Zhou Jiani, saying, "Since you have a place to cook, I brought some for you."
She also gave Zhou Jiani a bag of peanut cakes and said, "This is what my mother made herself."
Zhou Jiani also took out a small bag of fruit from her bag and said, "Give it to Auntie and Fengya." Then she asked, "Are they here yet?"
"He's here... Wow, this apple is delicious," Lv Minjuan said casually. "When I first came back from vacation, my dad was very unhappy. He said he didn't want my mom to come over anymore, saying he had no one to take care of her. He even asked his daughter-in-law to do the laundry. How could ordering a daughter-in-law around be as easy as ordering your own wife around? He also said the food at home wasn't to his liking. In short, he was always causing trouble."
"But during the Lunar New Year, the head of our neighborhood office came to my house and said I was the pride of our area and that my father was a good parent. He immediately put my father on the spot, hahaha. Plus, I was so stubborn, he even talked to my brother and sister-in-law, telling them that if their children wanted to count on me, they had to pay now. If they didn't want to count on me, I'd leave it at the end of the holiday and leave home. I'd never go back again. I wouldn't recognize any of my nephews or nieces."
"Our old man gave in, and my brother and sister-in-law also promised to take good care of him, and now they've brought my mother out again."
Lu Minjuan's mother has been in the capital for a few months, and her personality is still a little gentle and soft, but there have been some changes after all, and Minjuan's mother is now willing to come out and help her daughter take care of the children.
It’s so worry-free. You don’t have to worry about which daughter-in-law is making trouble all day long, and you don’t have to worry about the old man glaring and scolding people.
Feng Ya was very easy to take care of. Although their life was very tight, she felt comfortable. So when her daughter said she wanted to go back to the capital, she quickly packed a few more sets of clothes and followed her, fearing that she would not be able to get out.
Lv Minjuan sincerely thanked Zhou Jiani: "It was right to bring my mother out. Thank you for enlightening me at that time."
"You don't have to be so polite..." Zhou Jiani asked casually, "Auntie, besides taking care of Fengya, what else do you do to pass the time?"
While making the bed, Lv Minjuan said, "Sometimes she does some needlework, but there isn't much needlework to do at home, so she follows the neighbors in the compound to take on some odd jobs at the match factory, helping to paste matchboxes. But there are many idle people in that area, so this job is not always available..."
Zhou Jiani took a broom to clean the dormitory and asked, "How is your needlework skill?"
"It's okay. My mother makes all the clothes our family wears." Lv Minjuan asked in surprise, "What do you want to make?"
Zhou Jiani briefly talked about how she led local villagers to make hair ties in the countryside, but later it didn't work out for some reason, as well as the hair ties she saw in the department store a few years ago and how Liu Ailing imitated her.
Lv Minjuan knew about some of Zhou Jiani's achievements before, and she heard a lot about her when she worked at the Bin County Weaving Factory. Everyone praised Zhou Jiani when they mentioned her, saying that the weaving industry she brought up not only increased local income, but also solved the employment problems of many people.
In addition to the weaving industry, the plastic greenhouse that was previously suggested for the village has now become a project that the county is preparing to focus on supporting.
I didn't expect that she also led her fellow villagers to make hair circles, and I didn't expect that someone would borrow her ideas to make money.
Zhou Jiani put down the broom, opened the bag, and poured out the hair bands her grandmother had made recently. Lu Minjuan's eyes lit up, and she rushed over with a low exclamation: "Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, all of this was made by you?"
Each one looks good.
Zhou Jiani said, "If Auntie can do it, I'll send the drawings and samples to her so she can make the hair bands at home when she's free. I'll pay for the labor..."
Lv Minjuan wasn't worried about whether or not it could be sold. Since others had copied Zhou Jiani's methods and were able to sell them, Jiani was sure she could too. So, she said, "Okay, come over and talk to us when you have time in the next couple of days."
Zhou Jiani also stated her conditions in advance. The quality must be guaranteed, especially the stitches that best reflect the workmanship, which must be neat and fine.
Lu Minjuan opened her luggage and took out a coat to show Zhou Jiani the stitching and workmanship, saying, "This is what my mother made herself."
The stitches are indeed neat and fine, so there will be no problem making a hair tie.
It wasn't difficult for Lu Minjuan to look at those hair bands and she felt a little tempted.
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "Don't even think about it. If I wanted to get my classmates to do this, I would have thought about it long ago. This thing looks simple, but it actually takes up a lot of time. Our main task is to study, so don't put the cart before the horse. Of course, you can help me on the weekends and help make a few."
Lu Minjuan thought about it and agreed. She wanted to keep her position as a class committee member, so she couldn't slack off in her studies. If she, a class committee member, took the lead in doing handicrafts, how would she convince others in the future?
It is true that Zhou Jiani did not want to delay everyone's studies, but she also had selfish motives. There were too many people in the school, which would not only easily lead to the leakage of styles, but also easily cause other unnecessary troubles.
So she never thought about developing a handicraft business in school.
I also thought about it distractedly. Liu Ailing supplied so many goods to the department store before the New Year, and then brought them back to Qi Yang to sell. Those goods were definitely not made by her alone. It is very likely that she developed them with the help of her classmates.
When there are too many people, things become chaotic and all kinds of thoughts can arise. I wonder if Liu Ailing will be able to control the situation if something really happens in the future since she has done so in such a high-profile manner.
The two of them cleaned the dormitory, fetched some water, ate something in a hurry, and then started working on the trial printing of the department magazine.
Because it was mimeographed, everyone was busy until their hands were black every day, but that couldn't stop everyone's enthusiasm. The joy on their faces and the fighting spirit seemed to be contagious, and even Zhou Jiani felt particularly fulfilled.
When they had some free time, Zhou Jiani and Lu Minjuan went to the house they rented.
Lu Minjuan's mother was very happy to take on this handicraft and was very grateful. The simple old lady repeatedly assured her that she would do it well, fearing that her daughter's classmates would be dissatisfied with her.
Zhou Jiani asked her to look at the drawings, and combined with the actual samples in her hand, Lu Minjuan's mother said that she could fully master it, and started cutting on the spot, trying to make the simplest style.
In response to Zhou Jiani's request for confidentiality, she also hurriedly assured him, "Don't worry, I won't let anyone else see it."
Zhou Jiani explained with a smile: "The main reason is that we haven't even launched our own products on the market yet, and as a result, counterfeit products have appeared on the market, affecting product sales and market value."
Lu Minjuan's mother didn't think it was that complicated. She was worried that after the neighbors knew about it, some bad-intentioned people would report it or something like that, so she planned to do it secretly in the future and seriously told Feng Ya not to tell anyone.
Feng Ya nodded seriously.
When the little girl was with her father, she was not welcome at home and had developed a submissive character. She has not completely changed now. She subconsciously believes that she has to listen to what adults say, and she will be beaten if she doesn't.
Although he had never been beaten by his mother and grandmother, the muscle memory of being beaten was still there, and he said obediently that he remembered it.
Before school started, Bai Haoyang came to the school to find her.
It was also about posting on Moments, and asked: "Sister-in-law, are you ready to deal with that guy?"
Zhou Jiani laughed: "How do you want to clean it up?"
Bai Haoyang was very direct: "In this part of the capital, it's not easy to deal with him. First, find someone to put him in a sack and beat him up."
Zhou Jiani thought for a moment and said, "Forget about the sacks. I'm also planning to earn some pocket money while studying. I'm already looking for someone to do it. If things don't go well with the department store, can you help me find a way to steal their business?"
Bai Haoyang was about to agree when he heard Zhou Jiani say, "Before that, I need a stable source of fabric. Even scraps of cloth will do. The prettier and brighter the better. Besides scraps of cloth, can you also help me find somewhere to make those sequins with holes, small beads, and hairpins..."
Bai Haoyang patted his chest hurriedly and said, "Sister-in-law, I'll go find someone to ask. You wait for my good news."
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "I really don't have enough time to develop the small commodity industry. So, if you join me, you will be considered my partner and I will give you 20% of the profits."
Bai Haoyang is a righteous person, but of course he is happy to earn some pocket money besides being righteous. After all, he is dating someone, and he wants to send gifts to her. He also plans to go to Qiyang every holiday, and go to Qiyang with his girlfriend to see a movie, buy snacks, etc. When he gets there, he can't let his female comrade pay for it.
Of course it would be best if I could earn some extra money with my sister-in-law.
He chuckled and raised a finger: "Sister-in-law, one percent, one percent is fine, I'm not greedy."
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "You'll have plenty of errands to run in the future, and I wouldn't feel good about giving you only 10%. But there's a principled issue here: you can't neglect your studies, and your grades can't drop. You can ask Wanxia to help too, and I'll pay her a salary."
"Okay, you are my sister-in-law, and Brother Ming is my brother. Sister-in-law, I'm going to get busy."
Bai Haoyang left like a gust of wind.
Zhou Jiani went to Qiu's house to celebrate the Lantern Festival. After the Lantern Festival, the university officially started.
In addition to studying, Zhou Jiani was busy with printing work. During this time, she went to Lu Minjuan's house to pick up the goods, delivered new fabrics and rubber bands, and settled the wages with Minjuan's mother.
It's just that getting some DIY materials these days is not as convenient as it is in later generations. Bai Haoyang got a batch of cloth scraps before school started, and then went to find those small accessories according to Zhou Jiani's requirements. He didn't bring any news until the first weekend after school started.
He came with Yu Wanxia and said, "We don't have glass beads, but we do have plastic beads. I heard about a factory that makes plastic hairpins. Should we go take a look?"
The factory was a bit far from the capital, so the three of them took the letter of introduction and took a bus. It took them nearly four hours on the road, and they definitely couldn't return that day. They planned to stay there for one night and come back on the weekend afternoon.
There are not many types of plastic beads in the factory, but the colors are very bright. There are no rice-grain beads, only mung bean-sized or soybean-sized beads. Some beads have holes, and some do not.
Zhou Jiani was not particularly satisfied, and the factory was not very satisfied with them either. These days you can’t just buy goods if you want to. You need a letter of introduction and a purchase order.
This trip was in vain.
On the way, Zhou Jiani had another idea. She thought about contacting Li Jingdang and seeing if he could help her purchase some accessories from Guangzhou when they went to attend the Spring Canton Fair.
Of course, that will be a few months later, and the current problem still needs to be solved.
Yu Wanxia said, "My aunt's relatives work at the supply and marketing cooperative. I'll see if I can get a purchase order."
Zhou Jiani was also racking her brains and whispered, "Don't worry, when you get back, go to the mall and see if the hair bands are still selling."
She went there once after the New Year, but the product was out of stock. Now Liu Ailing has started school, and she doesn't know if the product has been restocked.
Bai Haoyang said: "I will go with Wanxia."
After returning to the capital, they split into two groups. Zhou Jiani went to the post office and called Qi Yang to ask Su Meiqiao for help.
Aunt Su works in an import and export unit, so she should have more channels than her to deal with small accessories like this.
"Why didn't I think of Aunt Su earlier..."
As expected, when Su Meiqiao heard what she wanted, she immediately said, "I'll ask for you... but how much do you want? Less will cost too much, and more will you be able to use that much?"
The high cost means that the price of the hairband has to be raised, but that kind of plain hairband can be sold for 22 cents. She added accessories, improved the workmanship, and the fabrics she chose are also beautiful. Overall, a three-cent increase is not too much, right?
Besides, her only shortcoming was that she had sufficient capital. Since she was asking Aunt Su for help, she could not ask for a small amount of materials. So she asked Aunt Su on the phone to help her find out the purchase price corresponding to the purchase quantity, and she would decide when the time came.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
