Hearing his wife comforting him at this hour, Gu Yanxiao felt both heartache and relief. He quickly said, "Wife, I have a comrade-in-arms who was a martial arts practitioner before joining the army. Several of his fellow apprentices can't find suitable jobs now. I was thinking of arranging for them to stay by your side to protect you. You won't have to worry about your safety no matter where you go in the future. What do you think?" Xia Liang had heard Gu Yanxiao mention this comrade-in-arms before. His master was a martial arts practitioner who had adopted many disciples when he was young. Most of these children were orphans or abandoned on the roadside because their families couldn't afford to raise them. These disciples were like his own children. He not only taught them martial arts but also let them live in his home. Back then, he didn't adopt many people, and he was young and strong enough to barely make ends meet. Now he's older, but the number of children he adopts continues to grow. After all, many families who favored sons abandoned their daughters. The old man couldn't bear to see them freeze or starve to death on the roadside, so he took them all home. But as time went on, there were too many people, and even a wealthy family like his couldn't afford to eat them all! Those with a promising future, like Gu Yanxiao's comrade-in-arms, were lucky enough to be recruited into the army, while the unlucky ones could only stay at home and farm. When Gu Yanxiao told him that his wife had died in an accident, his comrade-in-arms thought of his junior brothers and sisters who had no way out, so he shamelessly told Gu Yanxiao about it.
Gu Yanxiao said, "My comrade-in-arms is quite capable, and his fellow apprentices shouldn't be too bad either. Once they arrive, take a look and if they're not up to par, call me and I'll have him send more people." Actually, his comrade-in-arms couldn't possibly be indifferent, and his fellow apprentices were practically starving; how could he let such a good opportunity pass by and send a few half-baked individuals to get in the way? But since it involved Xia Liang, Gu Yanxiao was extremely cautious. The two talked for a while longer before hanging up. Xia Liang then slowly returned home. After sitting on the train for two days, it was impossible not to be tired. After washing up, she fell into a deep sleep; she had many things to do tomorrow.
The next day, the brother and sister went straight to the shop. Ji Xiaodie had already opened the door. There were only a few customers in the shop. Seeing Xia Liang and the others return, Ji Xiaodie excitedly went up and called out, "Sister-in-law, you're back?" Seeing how happy she was, Xia Liang guessed that she had adapted well these past few days, so she smiled and asked, "How is it? Is it alright?" Ji Xiaodie was very happy: "Sister-in-law, being self-employed is much more interesting than working a regular job." Xia Liang shook her head helplessly: "Nothing is easy. Every industry has its advantages and disadvantages. It mainly depends on whether you like it or not. If you like it, then a little trouble is a small problem in your eyes. If you don't like the job, then a little trouble will be quite disgusting." Ji Xiaodie nodded like a chick pecking at rice: "I think being self-employed is very interesting. I want to be self-employed, but I don't know what to do. Sister-in-law, what do you think about me selling clothes like you?" Xia Liang smiled but didn't say anything, but she already had a plan in mind.
Ji Xiao didn't return until noon. Although there weren't many customers in the shop, there was a steady stream. After seeing off the last customer, Xia Liang called him into the kitchen. Seeing his beaming face, she knew the matter was settled. She still asked with a smile, "How did it go?" Just as Xia Liang expected, Ji Xiao smiled and said, "It's done, sister-in-law. He bought all three hundred units, and the money has already been transferred to my savings account." Xia Liang was surprised. To be able to handle such a large sum by himself was truly impressive. The group discussed dividing the money. Xia Liang suggested that she, Xia Rong, and Ji Xiao each receive 100,000 yuan, but Ji Xiao said that he hadn't found the goods, and that Xia Liang and the others had almost been harmed. Xia Liang laughed and said, "You did find a sales channel. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been able to sell this batch of goods so quickly. Besides, we didn't find the goods; he loaded them himself. Let's do this: in the future, whenever there's business like this, we'll split it equally." Ji Xiao was a straightforward person and agreed without saying much. Xia Rong simply did whatever Xia Liang said.
After Xia Liang left, she thought of something and said, "Xiao Die, if you can convince your family to let you be a self-employed individual, I can let you franchise our store. I can give you the clothes in my store at my purchase price." Actually, what Xia Liang wanted to do was not a simple clothing store, but a clothing factory. Franchise stores would have people joining in the future anyway, at most she would just earn a little less from Ji Xiao Die.
Xia Liang arranged all the watches she had brought back on a cabinet and put up the celebrity posters the shop owner had given her at the entrance. Young people passing by would exclaim whenever they saw the posters, "Isn't that a big star from Hong Kong? She's so beautiful! Look, it says below that we sell the same leggings as the big star, let's go in and take a look!" This wasn't uncommon; celebrity worship in China knows no age. Xia Liang had made another big profit. But was processing alone enough to sustain her business, or would she need to expand?
That day, Xia Rong received a call from his hometown. When he returned, Xia Liang noticed that although his expression was normal, he seemed to be in a bad mood, so she asked, "What's wrong? Is something bad happening at home?" Xia Rong took a deep breath and said, "Mom just called and said the garment factory closed down, and your sister-in-law lost her job. She's at home taking care of the kids and isn't in a good mood. Xinran just got scolded by your sister-in-law." Thinking of her mischievous daughter, Xia Rong couldn't help but smile indulgently, but thinking of her naughty son gave her a real headache. Yes, Xia Rong and Zhou Xiaohui later had another son, younger than Xia Liang's son, Gu Yunxi. He was eight years old this year and a particularly mischievous child. She guessed that the two children were causing trouble at home, and coupled with Zhou Xiaohui's already bad mood, it made things even worse. Xia Liang also thought of her own two children. She hadn't seen her daughter in a long time, and she missed them very much. Speaking of being laid off, Xia Liang immediately had an idea. She went to the alley and called Ji Xiao, who arrived shortly after. As soon as she entered, she asked, "Sister-in-law, is there something you need?" Xia Liang then explained her thoughts: "Could you help me find out if there are any closed-down factories nearby? I want to buy one to make a garment factory."
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