"Okay, since we still have time, let's go straight to the management office to complete the formalities."
The old man took out a file from his person, containing all the information.
The two men, one carrying money and the other carrying documents, hurried to the management office.
Thirty minutes later, the two emerged from the management office with smiles on their faces.
"Here are the keys. Now that I've finished, I'll be leaving!"
"Okay, thank you for your hard work!"
After watching the old man leave, Lin Li tossed the key into the air and walked excitedly toward Lin Laosan's stall.
"Third brother, we've bought the storefront!"
The person hadn't arrived yet, but their voice had already reached them.
Lin Laosan, who was extremely busy, was overjoyed when he heard Lin Li's words.
"Mom, you're amazing! You found a storefront so quickly!"
"That's right, let's pack up and move our things over!"
"Okay!"
After finishing this round of work and seeing off the last customer, Lin Laosan and Lin Li quickly packed up and prepared to move to the newly purchased storefront to stock their goods.
Three minutes later, the two arrived at the newly purchased door.
Lin Li took out her key and opened the shop door.
Sunlight instantly filled the entire store, and the two rows of wooden counters gleamed with a warm luster.
"Wow~~~ This place is great, it has everything! Mom, you're amazing."
Lin Li raised an eyebrow smugly.
"I'll wipe the counter first!" Lin Laosan took a clean rag from the back of his bicycle, soaked it in the water tank, wrung it out, and walked towards the nearest counter first.
Lin Li nodded and got busy with the tasks as well.
She stood on tiptoe and carefully wiped the glass tabletop with a cloth, leaving no corner untouched.
"Mom, do you think we should take this poster down?"
Lin Laosan pointed to the somewhat faded "Shanghai Fashion Fair" poster on the wall and asked.
Lin Li straightened up, squinted and examined it for a moment: "Let's keep it for now, it can serve as decoration. Once our business is booming, we can put up our own signboard."
As she spoke, she began to organize the shelves piled up in the corner, placing them one by one under the counter. Her movements were quick and careful, as if she were afraid of scratching the surface of the counter.
The goods were piled up in sacks at the door, bulging and full of clothes carefully selected from Shenzhen.
Lin Li opened the burlap sack, took out a printed shirt, and gently shook it open.
The vibrant floral pattern was particularly eye-catching under the light, and she couldn't help but bring it to her nose to smell it; it also carried a faint fragrance of fabric.
"Hang this bright color in a prominent position."
Upon hearing her words, Lin Laosan immediately brought over a ladder and hung the shirt on the horizontal bar above the counter.
"Great, this way you can see it at a glance!"
"That's right!"
Lin Laosan happily straightened his pants.
He folded the bell-bottoms and jeans in order of light and dark color, and neatly stacked them on the shelf.
After each strip is folded, the wrinkles must be carefully smoothed out by hand.
"These high-waisted ones will definitely sell well."
He pointed to several pairs of dark blue bell-bottoms and said to Lin Li, "Last time at the stall, there were so many girls trying them on."
Although the shop was not small, the two worked together very well, and in no time, most of the goods were already laid out.
Lin Li stood at the door, examining the store's layout, feeling that something was still missing.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up. She took out a mirror she had found at a flea market from her storage space, tied it with hemp rope, and hung it in a blank spot on the wall.
"This way, customers can look in the mirror when they try on clothes," she said to Lin Laosan with a smile.
Lin Laosan smiled, revealing a set of bright white teeth: "Mom, you've thought of everything! Oh, right, we still need to write a price tag."
As he spoke, he pulled out his ledger, tore off a few sheets of paper, picked up a pencil, and began to write earnestly.
"Batwing shirt, 20 yuan"
Floral print shirt, 18 yuan.
...
The handwriting was neat and strong. After each sheet was finished, he carefully glued it to the corresponding piece of clothing.
Time slipped away quietly amidst the hustle and bustle, and when the setting sun shone through the windows into the store, the entire store had been transformed.
The brightly colored clothes were arranged in a neat and orderly fashion, looking particularly tempting under the sunlight.
Lin Li and Lin Laosan stood behind the counter, looking at the fruits of their labor, their faces beaming with satisfaction.
"I don't know how many customers will come tomorrow."
Lin Laosan said softly, his eyes full of expectation, and Lin Li patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry, we'll definitely have a great start! Our location is excellent, and our clothes are fashionable, so why would we be afraid of not having customers?"
She turned to Lin Laosan and winked, "Come on, let's go buy some firecrackers. We need to have good luck for the opening!"
"good!"
The mother and son walked happily toward the market.
"We'll need to find a salesperson after we open tomorrow, otherwise there will be no one to look after the store."
"Okay, once we buy the firecrackers, we'll write up the job posting!"
After buying firecrackers from the market, Lin Li found a piece of cardboard and began writing a job advertisement.
I had just finished writing down the salary and benefits when I heard a woman's voice behind me asking a question.
"Hello, are you hiring?"
I put down my pen, turned around, and saw a woman in her thirties wearing a red floral cotton-padded jacket and blue-gray trousers. She was holding the hand of a little girl who looked at me timidly.
"Yes, we are preparing to hire sales staff. We are going to open for business tomorrow."
The woman peeked out, looked at the dazzling array of goods displayed inside, and asked softly with a reserved smile.
"I used to work at a supply and marketing cooperative and I also sold clothes. Do you think I'm suitable?"
Lin Li watched as the woman shivered uncontrollably from the cold wind. "The supply and marketing cooperative is a secure job. Why did you decide to leave?"
Upon hearing Lin Li's words, the woman's face froze, her lips trembled a few times, and she stammered, "Because of a family emergency, I had to transfer my job."
Lin Li shook her head upon seeing the woman's expression and hearing her fluctuating voice.
"Sorry, I need honest employees."
After saying that, he turned around and prepared to continue writing the job posting.
Upon hearing Lin Li's words, the woman's voice suddenly became urgent as she said, "My husband died in an accident while on a mission. My in-laws felt that I was useless because I only gave birth to a girl, so they kicked me out..."
In desperation, the woman knelt down in front of Lin Li. "I had no choice but to transfer my job to someone else to get money. I rented a place nearby, but now I'm almost out of money. If I can't find a job soon, my daughter and I will starve to death."
Lin Li looked at the woman kneeling beside her, and at the little girl who ran over to her mother, threw herself into her arms, and cried.
"Your in-laws kicked you out, and you didn't take anything with you?"
The woman shook her head. "They even took my husband's compensation money..."
“You…” Lin Li looked at her speechlessly, “…won’t you even ask them for help? They would definitely help you, you are a martyr’s family member.”
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