After renting the shop, Huang Wanzhen went to the hospital without stopping and took out Xiuqing who was staying there for treatment.
"The infectious inflammation of her vulva and internal organs has basically healed, but you have to watch out for recurrence in the short term. I'll prescribe some medicine for her later. It's best to have her clean it with medicine every two days." Dr. Fan said seriously.
Huang Wanzhen nodded seriously, "Okay."
The two of them got into the rickshaw. Xiuqing moved to the side uncomfortably. Huang Wanzhen thought she was feeling unwell and asked, "What's wrong? Do you need to go back to the hospital?"
Xiuqing lowered her head, not daring to look Huang Wanzhen in the eye. "I'm fine. Don't go back. Going back will cost money." After a pause, she continued, "Doctor Fan said my disease is contagious. I'd better stay away from the young lady to avoid infecting you."
Huang Wanzhen breathed a sigh of relief. "It's not that easy to get infected. Besides, didn't Doctor Fan say you're basically recovered? No need to be so cautious."
Xiuqing lowered her head and said nothing. Huang Wanzhen sighed, but she hadn't found the words to comfort her yet. Xiuqing murmured a few words, but her voice was too soft for Huang Wanzhen to hear clearly. "What did you say? I can't hear you clearly. Speak louder."
"I said, Miss, you spent so much money on me. As long as you don't mind, I will work like a cow or a horse to repay you for the rest of my life."
Huang Wanzhen smiled and said, "Don't worry, I've found a way for you to repay me. I'm planning to open a shop on Dengshikou Street to sell some women's items. You can run the shop for me, without any wages."
Xiuqing suddenly looked up at Huang Wanzhen, like a wounded little animal, with red eyes, nodding continuously, "Okay, okay, I am willing to run the store for you for the rest of my life."
When they arrived at the shop, Huang Wanzhen took her on a tour inside and out. "This used to be a bakery. We don't need to throw away these shelves. We can use them to display the goods we sell later."
Xiuqing nodded, took out a piece of linen from her bag and began to wipe the shelf.
"Don't worry about that for now. I'll take you to buy some bedding and daily necessities. Even though it's still a little warm now, it's already the beginning of autumn, so it can get cold anytime soon."
After buying it and simply decorating it, Huang Wanzhen left a key to Xiuqing and said, "Don't go out at night. If you have anything to say, we can talk during the day. Be careful when you are alone."
Xiuqing nodded hurriedly, "Yeah, I'll make a note of it."
Seeing her well-behaved, Huang Wanzhen couldn't help but nag a few more words, "Xiu Lan knows quite a few words now. I'll ask her to come over and help you. You can learn a few words from her every day. I'll also buy you a dictionary. If you don't know a word, just look it up in the dictionary. In less than a year, you'll be able to read a newspaper."
For a moment, Xiuqing was mesmerized by what she heard. "That's great—"
"If this shop really makes money in the future, I have to hire a male clerk, otherwise I will suffer if someone comes to cause trouble." At this point, Huang Wanzhen thought of her previous plan to practice martial arts. In this world, women are seriously looked down upon, and it is common to see men beating women in the street. If she has some martial arts skills, it would be more reliable.
"Okay, it's getting late. I'll help you install the door and then I'll go back. I'll come back tomorrow."
The next day, Huang Wanzhen took Xiulan to the shop on Dengshikou Street. When Xiuqing and Xiulan met, they first hugged each other and cried bitterly, and then held hands and reminisced about the past.
Huang Wanzhen ignored the two of them, opened the big bag she brought, and placed the things inside on the shelf one by one. When Xiuqing saw this, she hurried forward to help, and Xiulan followed. Huang Wanzhen gave the space to the two of them and went to wander around the backyard.
After a while, I returned to the shop. "These things will be arranged like this in layers from now on. Xiulan, take out my paper and pen."
"The floral soap is two dollars, the lipstick is five dollars, and the perfume is also five dollars."
"For now, I'll just sell these three products. Tomorrow, Xiulan will accompany me to Dashilar to buy some fabric. I plan to design a few dresses and sell them in the store."
On the second day, Xiulan followed Huang Wanzhen to Dazhalan outside Zhengyang Gate. This is the intersection of the inner city and the outer city. There is a large flow of people, and there are shops, teahouses and theaters on both sides.
"Ever since I followed the king on his campaigns, I've endured hardships and hardships year after year." The graceful voice carried through the street, stopping Xiulan in her tracks. "Miss, it's Farewell My Concubine! Listen, Concubine Yu is singing."
Huang Wanzhen came over and had never been to any other entertainment venues except the Eight Great Hutongs. She was attracted for a moment and pulled Xiulan to the door of Guangde Building and looked inside.
The waiter in a blue cloth gown said with a smile: "Miss, come in and have some tea. We have the best Longjing tea here."
Huang Wanzhen smiled and was about to refuse, but she caught a glimpse of the oil paint on Ba Wang's face on the stage and said, "Come on, Xiulan, let's go in and sit down."
Huang Wanzhen ordered two bowls of tea, a plate of orchid beans, and a plate of fried peanuts. She drank, ate, and watched the show at the same time. How wonderful it was!
Good times are always short. After singing Farewell My Concubine, Huang Wanzhen took Xiulan out of Guangde Building. They first went to Ruifuxiang to order cloth, and then went to the opera supplies store to order a lot of oil paints.
As they sat in the rickshaw to Dengshikou, Xiulan couldn't help but ask, "Miss, why did you buy so many oil paints?" Her daughter had listened to an opera and perhaps fell in love with it and wanted to learn to sing it. But she didn't need so much oil paint.
Huang Wanzhen folded her arms in front of her chest and gave a mock laugh. "I have a plan."
The two of them arrived at the Dengshikou, and the shop was already open. When they walked in, Xiuqing was dusting the shop with a feather duster. "Miss, Miss, I sold two bars of rose soap."
"Oh? We're open now?" Huang Wanzhen laughed cheerfully. "Then I need to hurry up and decide on this plaque. What do you think we should call it?"
"Furongju." Xiulan blurted out, "Miss, you have been beautiful since you were a child. When I was a child, I heard the old people in the Huang Mansion say that Furongju is just right for you."
Speaking of Furongju, Huang Wanzhen complained about it when she first came here, but when she thought that 'Sister Furong' had not been born yet, she just let it go.
"Yes, let's call it Furongju. It's a good name. We sell things for women. If you buy things from our store, they will become more and more beautiful as they grow. Doesn't it fit the name of Furong?" Xiuqing couldn't help but nodded in agreement.
Huang Wanzhen swallowed the refusal and went to the shop on the street that made plaques and ordered the plaque of "Furongju".
Because she was busy opening the store, Huang Wanzhen waited until the last day to report to Beiman Girls' High School.
Everything was going well, except, "Our school is a closed-door teaching school, and we encourage all students to live on campus." Instructor Chloe looked at Huang Wanzhen with a smile.
Huang Wanzhen stood there motionless as if struck by lightning. Has the education system in Beijing started to roll so early?
"But I need to go to school on foot." She said weakly.
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