Tianbao is only three and a half years old, and I was a little worried about leaving him with his teacher, Shuyan. Besides, there's no such thing as missing a class in kindergarten, so I simply asked the teacher for leave and took Tianbao to the store.
"Boss, why did you bring Tianbao here?" Zhang Huaxiu asked in surprise when she saw Tianbao behind Shu Yan.
“My landlord suddenly took the house back, and I haven’t had time to look for a place these past few days. So, I’ve decided to let Jingjing stay at her tutor’s place, and Tianbao can stay at the shop for a while. I’ve already told your sister-in-law.” Shu Yan turned her head and pulled Tianbao over. “Tianbao, this is Aunt Xiuxiu, you know her before. This is Aunt Yingying. You have to be good at the shop from now on, don’t run around, and definitely don’t run outside, understand?”
"Okay." Tianbao looked left and right; it was his first time visiting his mother's shop.
The clothing store was still quite busy. Tianbao was initially interested in running around, but later he got bored and sat behind the cashier playing with his toy cars.
As the number of balloons dwindled, some people, hoping for a lucky draw, decided to buy a piece of clothing and enter the prize draw. One person even won an electric fan, which attracted even more people to buy clothes.
After lunch, Shu Yan and the others tidied up the clothes they had tried on and thrown away in the morning. When they were almost done with their work, more customers came in to buy clothes. Just when they could finally take a break, Shu Yan saw Tianbao fall asleep leaning against the clothes.
She tidied her clothes to make herself more comfortable. People used to say that children should be raised by their parents, and that it's not good for grandparents to raise them. That's true, but many people don't have the means. They're all ordinary families; how can they support their parents or raise their children if they don't earn money? But how can they earn money while raising children? Only when she truly faced this problem did Shuyan understand the hardships of being a parent. She wondered how her mother had managed to get through it all, running the fruit shop, doing laundry, cooking, and taking care of the child.
It is said that only when you raise children do you understand your parents' hearts. Shu Yan can now understand her parents' hardships, but unfortunately she can no longer be filial to them. Every time she thinks of this, Shu Yan feels particularly sad.
"Boss lady, someone is looking for you outside."
Shu Yan looked up and saw Old Hu standing at the gate. She quickly went over to open the door, "Why aren't you coming in?"
"I was afraid of disturbing your business." This is a women's clothing store, and Lao Hu was worried that it wouldn't be appropriate for a man like him to go in alone.
"It's alright, plenty of men come shopping with their wives." Shu Yan didn't want others to know about the investigation into A Le. Some things, once one person knows, will be known by a second, and eventually by everyone. But taking Lao Hu to the warehouse wasn't a good idea either. With so many eyes watching, it was bound to cause some gossip.
"Xiuxiu, could you keep an eye on Tianbao for me? I'm going with him to check out the house," Shuyan explained before leaving with Lao Hu.
There was a small park not far from Chengnan West Road. After finding a slightly secluded spot to sit down, Shu Yan asked, "Did you find anything?"
"I actually found some things, but I don't know if they're useful or not. You can see for yourself."
Judging from his tone, he must have found something very useful. Shu Yan took the information. The top one was about Fan Xiaomei, who sells children's clothing. Her information was relatively simple: she was from Ning Province, was married, had a two-year-old son, and was a cousin of A Le. At the beginning of this year, she opened a children's clothing store here with A Le's help.
The second document was about Zhu Hong. She was a local from Nancheng. Her husband was a junior manager in a factory, and she ran a men's clothing store here. She used to live at No. x, Building x, Lane x, Fuqian Street. Shu Yan stared at the address. Wasn't this the apartment she used to rent? So this apartment belonged to Zhu Hong?
Shu Yan couldn't help but overthink it. How could it be such a coincidence? She had a conflict with A Le, and then her brother-in-law suddenly showed up. It seemed that Zhu Hong had just used this as an excuse to take back the house.
Immediately open Ah Le's information. He is only 20 years old this year. He graduated from junior high school at the age of 16 and went to work in Nancheng. Through a friend's introduction, he became a nanny in a wealthy family. Later, he actually got together with his employer. After the female owner found out, she beat him up and threw him out.
The lady's family was no ordinary family. The man's success today was entirely due to the lady's father's support. He knelt and cried to beg for the lady's forgiveness, but not long after, the two got involved again. He bought a house for A-Le in the southern district of the city and opened a clothing store. Shu Yan looked up at Lao Hu with skepticism, "I didn't make a mistake, did I?"
“There’s definitely no mistake in the investigation. This matter caused quite a stir back then, and many people knew about it. They only kept it quiet out of respect for that lady. If it weren’t for this investigation, I wouldn’t have known that he was keeping a mistress outside. His reputation has been very good these past two years, and he seems to love his wife very much.” Old Hu didn’t expect to uncover such a big fish. He took out another piece of paper and handed it to Shu Yan. “This is A Le’s lover’s address and his home phone number.”
Shu Yan looked up at Lao Hu and smiled, "You're quite thorough in your work."
"There's no way around it; in our line of work, you can't be careless," Old Hu said with a hint of pride.
"Okay. Thank you for your help this time." Shu Yan gave an extra hundred when paying the balance. "I don't want a third person to know about this."
"Don't worry about that, it's standard practice, and I, Lao Hu, wouldn't dare to break it."
Upon receiving the information, a flash of malice crossed Shu Yan's eyes. She had initially thought that A-Le would just come to cause trouble and annoy her. She hadn't expected A-Le to deliberately ask Zhu Hong to cancel the hotel reservation. A-Le herself didn't care and could just find any hotel, but Shu Yan had two children with her. Since A-Le was heartless, she shouldn't blame Zhu Hong for being ruthless in return.
Determined to exact revenge, Shu Yan found a public phone booth on her way home and called her lover's house. It was lunchtime, and someone answered immediately.
"Hello, who is this?" The voice was very gentle.
"Hello, is this Zhang Baizong's house?"
"Yes, who are you?" The woman frowned slightly. Lately, she had been feeling uneasy, as if something bad was about to happen.
Do you know Yang Le?
The woman's heart skipped a beat. She glanced at the man eating and asked, "Of course, or perhaps you are?"
"I won't beat around the bush. I had a little conflict with Yang Le, so I had someone investigate her to find out why she's so brazen. The investigation revealed a very interesting story. She came to Nancheng at a young age to make a living, and she got involved with her employer. After being kicked out by the mistress, the employer soon came back to her, not only buying her a house but also opening a clothing store for her. You don't need to doubt me; just ask around in the Post and Telecommunications Community in the South District." Shu Yan felt that the other woman's demeanor was rather calm. According to the information, this woman really liked her husband; otherwise, she wouldn't have insisted on marrying a poor boy against her parents' wishes, and she would have forgiven him after what happened. So, knowing that her husband was still with A-Le, her reaction would definitely not be like this.
"I understand. Can you tell me who you are?" The woman's fingers gripping the microphone turned white, but her tone remained very calm.
"You don't need to know who I am, but we're in the same boat. As someone who's been there, I sincerely tell you, a leopard can't change its spots." Shu Yan couldn't help but say, then felt a little annoyed that she had said too much.
"Who is it?" Zhang Baizong asked gently.
“A friend of mine.” The woman smiled, then said to Shu Yan, “I understand. I will investigate this matter thoroughly. If it’s true, hehe…”
The woman's final chuckle sent chills down Shu Yan's spine, but who cared? A scumbag and a mistress, neither of them were good people.
On the last day of the event, Shu Yan put up several large red advertisements and sent two temporary workers out to hand out flyers. There were many people, even busier than the previous days. Shu Yan didn't have time for Tian Bao and bought him a bag of snacks to eat at the cashier.
After finally finishing her work, Shu Yan took a sip of water, and her clothes were tugged at. "Mom, I want to pop balloons too."
"Alright, I'll give you one too." Shu Yan had noticed that Tianbao wanted to get one, but she hadn't agreed until now. Now that it was the last day, she let him get one too.
As a result, he randomly pricked a fan and won one. Shu Yan glanced at Xiu Xiu and confirmed that she hadn't deliberately arranged it; it was just real luck.
"Mom, did I win the lottery?"
"You got it! Our Tianbao is amazing! From now on, this electric fan will be in your room for you to use." Shu Yan pinched his little nose.
"Really? Thank you, Mom." Tianbao struggled to pull the electric fan behind the cashier, refusing to let Shuyan help, overjoyed.
After the event, Shu Yan, Zhang Huaxiu, and Yingying started taking stock of the inventory and summarizing their experiences, such as which styles sold well and which didn't, and why...
Generally speaking, older people care more about practicality. For example, they might buy a dress hoping to wear it in autumn, winter, and spring. Younger people, on the other hand, don't care as much about practicality. They value style more and are willing to accept anything that looks pretty.
People who come to Chengnan West Road to buy clothes are generally willing to spend money, and most of them value the style and quality of the clothes.
"After the event, business will definitely not be as good, so be prepared. In your spare time, you can learn about clothing matching, and also learn how to handle unexpected situations. For example, if a customer brings back an item to return, you absolutely cannot ask the customer in a questioning tone. If you anger the customer and an argument breaks out, we, the shop owners, will definitely suffer."
"I'm sorry," Yingying said, lowering her head shyly.
"I'm not blaming you, but I hope you can handle similar situations better next time. Regarding customers, we'll be using a rotation system from now on. That means if Xiuxiu serves one customer, Yingying, you'll serve the next one. Whether you close the deal depends on your own abilities. The other person can help out; mutual support makes it easier for customers to buy. These are all sales techniques. Remember to write your name on the order slip; don't blame me if you don't. I've been very busy these past few days, so please keep a notebook to record things. I'll also keep a general ledger, and we'll reconcile the accounts at the end of the month when we calculate salaries. It's your own salary, so please pay attention."
"Understood." The two women exchanged a glance. If they had previously lacked confidence in their commissions, they now valued them more than anyone else.
"Nothing else. I might be a little late tomorrow as I need to look for a place to stay. I should be fine, and I'll get there as soon as possible." Shu Yan has been staying at a hotel with Tianbao for the past few days. She goes to check on Jingjing before going to the shop in the morning, as she's worried about disturbing Teacher Liu if she goes back too late at night.
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