novelraw Chapter 347 - 344: I Got You Something
Chapter 347 - 344: I Got You Something
Lin Lan looked at the shoes piled up in the shoe store, smacked her forehead, and said, "I got so busy I forgot. I should go get Ren Jing and Yang Liu to come stock the shelves."
Shuiqing heard this and said, "They don’t live far from here. I’ll go get them."
Lin Lan nodded. "Okay. Once we get the merchandise set up, their training will be more or less complete."
"Bro, take the bike." Li Xiangyang gave the bicycle keys to Shuiqing, then went to the department store to help Old Li and He Li stock merchandise.
After Shuiqing left, Lin Lan recalled the display methods and size-tracking systems she had seen in shoe stores. She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen to jot them down, then went to the clothing store next door.
Little Xue and Little Mei took out the ironing board. They first opened the bags containing the suits and ironed them, while Yongmei and Qiaohui hung the clothes on the racks.
Tong Xinglan, Zhang Xiuqing, and Zhao Xiaohui helped hang the wool sweaters and other clothes that didn’t need ironing.
Watching Little Xue and Little Mei work so efficiently, Lin Lan nodded in satisfaction. She went to get a bottle of paste, a pair of scissors, and a stack of white paper, then returned to the other store and cut a pile of small paper slips to have on hand.
A little while later, Shuiqing returned with Ren Jing and Yang Liu. Their parents had come along as well.
The group exchanged a few pleasantries.
Lin Lan said to Ren Jing and Yang Liu, "Let me explain our methods for displaying merchandise and tracking inventory."
The two replied respectfully, "Okay, Auntie Lin."
Lin Lan took a pair of shoes out of an open cardboard box and said to Ren Jing and Yang Liu, "For the display shoes on the shelves, it’s best to use the smallest size."
She glanced at the quantities recorded in the ledger. "For this style of women’s shoe, for example, the smallest size is a thirty-four and the largest is a thirty-nine. You’ll take out a size thirty-six,
stick a paper slip on the sole that lists how many pairs of each size we have, and then put it on the display shelf. That way, when a customer wants to buy a pair, we’ll know what we have in the warehouse."
When Lin Lan finished, she looked at the two of them. "Did you get all that? If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me."
Ren Jing and Yang Liu nodded. "We understand."
"Good. I’ll walk you through a few pairs, and then you can do the rest."
Lin Lan led the two of them as they took the shoes out of their boxes. They went by the style number on the shoebox, picked out the smallest size, counted them, recorded the number on a paper slip, and pasted it to the sole. The rest of the boxes were carried to the storeroom and stacked neatly on the shelves.
After watching for a while, the parents of Ren Jing and Yang Liu also got the hang of it, and the four of them jumped in to help.
With more than a dozen people working, it was past midnight by the time all the merchandise was finally set out.
After inspecting the products on the shelves, Lin Lan thought, ’Li Xiangyang is a natural-born businessman.’ The merchandise he’d sourced was excellent in both style and quality.
The group worked late into the night and were all hungry. Li Xiangyang invited the parents of Ren Jing and Yang Liu to have a late-night snack at Lin Changyou’s restaurant, but they smiled and declined, saying their children were waiting for them at home.
Shuiqing said they were all friends and there was no need to be so formal, but Li Xiangyang just smiled and said they would get together tomorrow.
After seeing the four of them off, Zhigang prepared to close the rolling shutter door and rest.
Lin Lan was suddenly reminded of the security measures at their old pastry shop. Pointing at both ends of the shutter door, she said to Li Xiangyang, "Tomorrow, find someone to weld two floor locks on the inside of the shutter. After Zhigang goes in, he can lock them, and we won’t have to worry about someone prying the door open."
Hearing this, Li Xiangyang and the others nodded repeatedly. "That’s a great idea. We’ll get a welder to come tomorrow and install floor locks in all the shops."
Zhigang laughed. "I’m a grown man, I’m not scared."
Old Li chuckled. "Hey, better safe than sorry. Once they’re installed, you’ll be able to sleep more soundly too."
Yang Zhigang thought about it and agreed. "Alright. You all be careful on your way home. I’m closing up and going to bed."
Lin Lan and the others rode their bikes back. When they reached the entrance to the alley by the vehicle factory, Li Xiangyang asked, "Little Lan, should I arrange for a vehicle to move our things tomorrow?"
"There’s not much to move. It’s just a few clothes, we can carry it all in one bag."
Hearing this, Old Li said, "Moving is a big deal. I’ll go pick an auspicious date for it tomorrow."
Lin Guoliang also nodded. "Exactly. Pick a proper date before moving."
Since everyone was saying so, Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang had no choice but to go along with their wishes.
「The next morning」
As soon as Lin Lan came out of the pastry shop, Li Xiangyang arrived. The two of them got on their bikes and headed toward Limin Street.
"Little Lan, houses in Yangcheng City are hard to buy. We’ve asked Old Zhang to keep an eye out, and I also spoke with Uncle Da and the guesthouse owner. They’ll let us know as soon as there’s any news."
"There’s no rush. If we find something suitable, we’ll buy it. If not, buying in the East Market is fine too."
"I ran into Xu Huan in Yangcheng City this time. It looked like she was sourcing goods too."
"Going forward, more and more people will get into business. After all, it doesn’t require a lot of technical skill. As long as you have a good eye, know how to source products, and manage the business well, most people can make money."
"You’re right. Did anything happen at home while I was away?"
"Just a small thing. It seemed to have something to do with that girl, Xu Huan... but it was cleared up later."
Li Xiangyang’s heart sank. ’This must not be as simple as it sounds,’ he thought. ’If Little Lan had gone with them, she definitely wouldn’t have gotten out so easily.’
’Why would Xu Huan target Little Lan for no reason? It was probably Li Jing pulling the strings. Looks like I need to pay Chen Jingsheng a visit.’
Seeing him looking down without a word, Lin Lan smiled. "It’s nothing. Look, I’m standing right here in front of you, perfectly fine! It’s all in the past, so don’t worry."
Li Xiangyang squeezed the brakes, stopping to look at Lin Lan. "I know. But if anything like that happens again, don’t you dare go with anyone."
Seeing his serious expression, Lin Lan felt a warmth in her heart and nodded. "I’ll remember."
Li Xiangyang reached out and briefly squeezed Lin Lan’s hand, which was resting on the handlebar. "Mm! Let’s go. They’re waiting for us."
Lin Lan shot him a playful glare. "You’re the one holding us up! We still haven’t put the price tags on at the shoe store!"
"I’ll help you put them on." Li Xiangyang remembered the jewelry he had bought for Lin Lan in Yangcheng City and smiled. "Honey, I have a few things to show you later."
Lin Lan turned her head to look at him. "What did you buy now?"
Li Xiangyang grinned. "Nothing much. I saw Uncle Da buying some, so I bought a few things too."
"Hmph!" Lin Lan snorted lightly. "Keeping secrets, are we!"
Li Xiangyang looked at her with a grin. "For now."
Chatting as they went, they soon arrived at Limin Street. He Li and Old Li were already busy in the department store.
When He Li saw Li Xiangyang approaching, she quickly waved him over. "Brother, can you come tell this gentleman how to use this watch?"
"You go ahead and get the watch set. I’m going over to the shoe store." After saying this, Lin Lan locked her bicycle and walked across the street.
Little Xue had already opened the shoe store. Ren Jing and Yang Liu were cleaning up inside, and when they saw her arrive, they said, "Auntie Lin, someone just asked about that pair of red shoes, but we didn’t know the price."
"It’s alright. If she likes them, she’ll be back."
Lin Lan went to the clothing store next door, brought back a bundle of price tags, and started pricing the merchandise.