novelraw Chapter 348 - 345: Rich Cow Dung
Chapter 348 - 345: Rich Cow Dung
Time flies when you’re busy. By the time Lin Lan had finished pricing all the shoes, Ren Jing and Yang Liu had managed to clumsily sell a pair.
Ren Jing rubbed her face. "I was so nervous just now!"
"We sold a pair of shoes," Yang Liu said, nodding excitedly.
Lin Lan looked at the two of them and reminded them, "Don’t forget, you also need to cross off the size of the pair you just sold from the tag on the sole."
"Oh!" Ren Jing quickly grabbed a pen to cross it off.
"The prices are all marked. Just sell them according to the price tags."
Lin Lan looked at them and continued, "Remember, the customer is our bread and butter. Don’t be like the salesclerks at the department store, giving customers attitude. After your probation, if I get more than three complaints about either one of you, you’re fired on the spot."
The two of them nodded emphatically after hearing this. "Auntie Lin, we’ll remember."
"Good. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can go ask Little Xue and Little Mei. I’m leaving the shoe store in your hands."
The two exchanged a glance and nodded firmly. "Understood."
Lin Lan left the shoe store and went to check on the shop next door. There was only one customer inside. The New Year had just passed and the seasons hadn’t changed yet, so business at the clothing store was bound to be slow for a while.
Business at the general store was more stable, though. Small appliances like watches, wall clocks, and hair dryers always sold well.
When Li Xiangyang saw Lin Lan arrive, he said to Old Li, "Dad, go pick out a good day. We should move to the house on Yucai Road soon."
Old Li chuckled and gave him a light punch. "You brat, look how impatient you are."
Lin Lan found him amusing too. "Dad, you have plenty of time to go look this afternoon. The days on the calendar aren’t going to change."
Old Li chuckled and grabbed the car keys. "I’ll go take a look now, just to put someone’s mind at ease."
He Li couldn’t stop grinning when she heard that. Li Xiangyang shot her a glare. "Go hang that wall clock properly."
Lin Lan remembered the restaurant needed a refrigerator. "Xiangyang, does Uncle Da have any refrigerators left?"
"He should still have some. Is it for Dad and the others’ restaurant?"
"Mhm. Go give Uncle Da a call and ask him to set one aside for us."
"We ordered three from him yesterday. I’ll head over there now and check."
"Okay, I’ll watch the shop while you’re gone."
Li Xiangyang grabbed the car keys and left. Lin Lan and He Li went back to helping customers together.
Xu Huan and Qian Kun walked into the shop and asked He Li, "Comrade, is the unit next door for rent?"
"Lin Lan, someone’s asking if you’re renting out the unit!" He Li called out to Lin Lan, who was searching for stock under the counter.
Lin Lan stood up and looked coldly at Xu Huan. "It’s not for rent."
When Xu Huan saw Lin Lan, she looked like she had seen a ghost. She grabbed Qian Kun and spun around to leave. ’So the shop next to the general store belongs to the butcher’s family, too.’
The thought left an incredibly sour taste in Xu Huan’s mouth.
Qian Kun looked at her, confused. "Do you two know each other?"
A lie came readily to Xu Huan’s lips. "That woman’s products aren’t clean. I ate something she sold and got diarrhea. When I went to confront her about it, she turned it all around and blamed me."
Qian Kun nodded. "Honey, a person like that has bad character. We’d better not rent her shop. I think we should just take the one we looked at earlier."
Xu Huan nodded listlessly. "I guess we have to. I’ll go find a carpenter and a plasterer to fix up the shop."
Qian Kun glanced at her. "All right. I have to get to work."
Xu Huan waved him off. "Go on! I have to go find someone." ’I need to find Shen Hao,’ she thought. ’He lost his job because of that incident with Lin Lan. If I don’t get him on my side and he finds out I’ve opened a clothing store, there’s going to be trouble.’
After watching Qian Kun walk off into the distance, Xu Huan rode her bike past the clothing store, paused to look at it for a moment, then continued to the upcoming intersection, where she turned right into a small alley.
In the distance, she saw a scrawny man walking toward her. Xu Huan pedaled a few times to speed up, stopping just in front of him. "Shen Hao, where are you headed?"
The moment Shen Hao saw her, he flew into a rage, pointing a finger at her as he cursed, "Xu Huan, you fucking bitch! I thought you were my friend, and you fucking cost me my job!"
Xu Huan looked at him, her face a mask of apology. She got off her bike and bowed. "Shen Hao, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know my mom was going to blame it all on you."
Shen Hao continued to swear at her. "You fucking... What good is a ’sorry’? Can it get my job back? I’m telling you, this whole thing made my dad so mad he was hospitalized! You owe me!"
Seeing his relentless anger, Xu Huan said, "Shen Hao, I’ve been to Yangcheng City. Let me tell you, the clothes there are dirt cheap. If you’re interested, I’ll take you with me next time. I guarantee it’s a better gig than being on the joint defense team."
"You really went to Yangcheng City?" Shen Hao stared at her. "You’d better not be bullshitting me, or else..."
Xu Huan nodded emphatically. "I really did. I’ve been looking for a retail space for the past two days. In a bit, I’ll take you to see the goods I imported. I’m telling you, you can buy a sweater for a few yuan and sell it at a stall for over ten. You triple your money in one go."
Shen Hao’s eyes widened. "People selling clothes make money that easily?"
Xu Huan smirked. "Of course. But the expenses are high, too. The round-trip fare and shipping fees add up. Still, if you bring back enough stock, one trip can be very profitable."
By the time she finished, Shen Hao was mostly convinced. "Fine. Take me to have a look. If this thing really works, we’ll call it even. I still have a couple of buddies on the joint defense team. Whether you’re running a stall or a shop, they’ll provide cover."
Xu Huan nodded. "The goods are at Qian Kun’s dorm. I’ll take you."
Shen Hao gave her a surprised look. "You’re still with that short stack?"
"Who else would I be with? He’s the one who can take me to Yangcheng City and front me the money for stock." Xu Huan glanced at Shen Hao. "We’ve already registered our marriage. I’m a married woman now."
"Pah!" Shen Hao spat. "A beautiful flower planted in a pile of cow dung."
’He’d always thought he was too ugly to pursue Xu Huan. If only he’d known...’ His thoughts shifted. ’Then again, even if I had chased her, I wouldn’t have had that kind of money to pay off her debts and open a shop for her. It would have been like a blind man lighting a candle—a total waste of wax.’
"Well, it’s rich cow dung," Xu Huan said self-mockingly. "At least he’s good to me and is willing to fund my business."
Shen Hao looked at her and nodded. "That’s true. You can’t do anything without money."
Xu Huan tilted her head with a smile. "Let’s go. I’ll take you to see the merchandise. Once I sell through most of this shipment, you get the capital together, and I’ll take you to Yangcheng City to stock up."
"Okay." Shen Hao stepped forward and took the handlebars. "I’ll pedal."
Xu Huan nodded and hopped onto the back rack. The two of them then headed for Qian Kun’s dorm at the vehicle factory.
The bachelor dorms at the vehicle factory consisted of a row of two-story buildings, with each unit being a small suite. When Xu Huan opened the door, Shen Hao’s eyes immediately fell on the bundles stacked against the wall.
He counted them—over a dozen bundles. He looked at Xu Huan, astonished. "Holy crap, that’s a lot of merchandise. How much did you spend?"