1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 183 The family works together to open a branch store under the name of Dingsheng Decoration.
"You've arrived! Come in quickly, I have something I want to tell you."

My cousin's eyes lit up when she saw the two of them; she couldn't wait to share her grand ambitions with them.

"Going it alone isn't impossible."

Gu Bin didn't dampen the enthusiasm, but instead offered a better suggestion: "However, starting a company is not easy. At the very least, the registered capital is a considerable expense. In my opinion, instead of starting from scratch, it would be better to cooperate with Dingsheng and open another branch, bearing the profits and losses ourselves. This way, we can not only guarantee our customer base, but also operate independently without being affected by external forces."

"I think it works"

Auntie was secretly delighted and took the lead in responding: "Gu Bin knows more. Going it alone is too hasty. A new company with no reputation, who would want to hire us for renovations?"

"Row."

My cousin wholeheartedly agreed: "As long as I can make my own decisions and stop putting up with Li Xiao's nonsense, it doesn't matter whether I use Dingsheng's name or not. As long as I can make money, I don't care if they laugh at me for being shameless and taking advantage of Dingsheng."

There's no need to care about what others think.

Gu Bin smiled and chimed in, "I'll talk to Wang Fan and ask him to send someone to go through the formalities again and add the branch's address to the head office's business license. He should agree."

"My brother-in-law is the best! Thank you so much! I bow to you in gratitude."

My cousin jumped up from her chair excitedly and bowed to him.

"Sister Leilei, you're too kind."

Gu Bin was both amused and exasperated, and hurriedly reached out to help the person up.

"Let's settle on this."

Grandma comforted him, saying, "You two should discuss what to do next and try to open the shop as soon as possible."

"okay."

The whole family was delighted and responded enthusiastically.

-

"You need to rent a storefront to open a branch, right?"

"Renting a shop costs money."

“I’ll pay for it. My daughter wants to start a business, and as a mother, I have to support her. I heard that the buyout of seniority base is 2000, and 300 for each year of seniority. So the buyout money would be 7500. I’ll take out all of that money, and if that’s not enough, I’ll have my funeral savings.”

"Has Auntie's retirement been settled?"

"Who knows what else might happen? They're offering two options for resignation: one is to take the buyout money and have nothing to do with the company anymore, then pay for your own pension and receive a pension upon retirement. The other is to not receive any money, but the company will pay for your pension. It's all about finding your own way. It's always good to have some money. I've thought about it and I'll choose the first option. With the money, I can help Leilei a bit. As for Liu Jian, if he wants to get married, let him save up his own money. I can't control that anymore."

"My cousin is going to cry now."

“Why is he crying? He didn’t have to hand over a single penny of the money he earned. He was allowed to keep it all for himself. When he was patrolling the mountain, his meals and lodging were all provided by the government, and he even received an extra subsidy every month.”

"Working in the mountains is tough, but the pay is really good. Otherwise, everyone would want to work as much as possible while they're young. These days, making money is the most reliable thing. With money, you can have everything. If you don't have money, it's hard to get married."

"Ah!"

Far away in the southern mountains, my cousin, who was patrolling the mountain with his teammates, was suddenly chilled to the bone and sneezed for no apparent reason.

-

"Is Leilei still operating her shop in the small commodities market?"

Seeing the family chatting so enthusiastically, the aunt also had an idea and wanted to go out and earn money: "If you haven't hired anyone, why don't I do it?"

"What will happen to Nana if you go to sell clothes?"

My cousin was taken aback and subconsciously glanced at the baby in her grandmother's arms.

"Nana, I've come to see you!"

Grandma coaxed the baby with a kind smile, saying, "You all go out to earn money, so you don't need to worry about things at home."

"whee."

The baby also loves his grandma, and grinned back at her with a toothless smile.

"Grandma, aren't you tired taking care of the child all by yourself?"

My cousin felt sorry for my grandmother and didn't want her to suffer.

"It's alright, my old bones can still handle it."

Grandma smiled with satisfaction, her eyes filled with love: "When you were little, I raised you all. Nana is already six months old. Your aunt is taking good care of her. Her little arms and legs are quite strong. I can take care of her all by myself."

"My aunt isn't home, so please take the public phone away."

My cousin was still worried: "This way, Grandma won't have to stay in her little room by the phone in the freezing cold, suffering like that, just to earn a pittance for pocket money."

"The phone number doesn't need to be cancelled."

My uncle had his own idea: "Move the phone into the south balcony. If someone wants to use it, let them come into the yard. That way, your grandma can watch the phone at home instead of having to stay in the small room."

"Then the hut would be ruined."

My aunt was a little conflicted: "The magazines we ordered before the New Year haven't sold out yet."

"A few magazines, if they don't sell, so be it."

My uncle added, "Put some odds and ends in the hut, and when you have enough, sell them to a scrap collector."

My aunt muttered under her breath, "These days, even scrap metal gets stolen. Several old cardboard boxes that my mom kept in the yard were taken away."

"Could we make use of the cabin?"

The aunt ignored her aunt and tentatively asked, "If we set the branch's address here, we won't have to rent a storefront outside, right?"

"That's a great idea!"

Upon hearing this, my cousin beamed with joy: "How come I didn't think of that?"

"I think it works!"

The uncle responded enthusiastically.

"Converting it into a storefront is probably not an option."

Gu Bin's well-intentioned reminder poured cold water on the three of them: "The application materials required to open a branch store clearly stipulate that proof of the branch store's operating location is required, such as a lease agreement. Without a suitable storefront, the approval will not be granted."

"Ugh."

Upon hearing this, both the uncle and aunt sighed in unison.

"Then let's find a shop."

My cousin is like an unkillable cockroach, full of fighting spirit: "Let's rent a small storefront near the old East Gate and make do for a few years. When we make a lot of money, we won't have to be so stifled. I want to buy an entire floor in the most prosperous area of ​​the city center as our office."

"Good, that's ambitious."

The uncle gave a thumbs-up, showing his strong support: "Leilei is awesome, your uncle supports you."

"Don't listen to her bragging."

My aunt seemed disgusted, but she was actually laughing very happily.

-

With a goal in mind, the family had something to look forward to, and the previous gloom was swept away.

Gu Bin called Wang Fan and told him about his cousin's desire to open a branch store.

Wang Fan didn't take his cousin's hastily assembled guerrilla team seriously at all, but out of respect for Gu Bin, he readily agreed.

My cousin was very excited and took my aunt out for a stroll that afternoon to look for a suitable shop.

My uncle stayed home and tidied up the courtyard. He also built a plastic canopy over the passageway between the small house and the south balcony to make it easier for people to come and go, and to keep them dry in the rain or snow.

Gu Bin climbed the ladder to help him with the work, while Lin Xiyu was also busy, using the carrots she had stored before the New Year to make fillings for carrot and meat dumplings.

Before dark, my aunt's husband returned from a performance out of town, bringing much joy to the busy family. "Ever since he married your aunt, whenever he comes to your maternal grandma's house, we eat dumplings every single meal."

When her uncle came in, he saw Lin Xiyu making dumplings and laughed: "Today is the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. I thought I could get a good meal, but when I came back, it was just dumplings."

"It's good enough to have dumplings to eat."

Grandma smiled and scolded, "You didn't even tell us you were coming back. Xiulian and Leilei both thought your performance wouldn't end until after the fifth day of the Lunar New Year."

Where did the mother and daughter go?

My uncle looked around but didn't see my aunt and cousin, which puzzled him.

"The two of them went to look for storefronts."

Grandma sighed with deep emotion, "A lot has happened while you were away."

"What's wrong?"

Uncle's expression changed: "Could someone be sick?"

"That's not true."

Grandma didn't intend to hide anything; she picked out the important parts and told them what had happened at home.

"Oh my goodness!"

My uncle, who is used to Shandong storytelling, said with a great sense of humor: "Those two are really amazing. They gave me such a big surprise as soon as they walked in the door."

"More shocks than surprises, right?"

Grandma laughed and scolded, "Your real mother isn't here, so you don't need to call her that so affectionately."

"Hey, hey."

Uncle touched his nose sheepishly, a rare look of embarrassment on his face.

"My cousin hasn't come back yet."

Lin Xiyu imitated her uncle's tone, jokingly saying, "If he knew, he'd definitely have the same expression as my uncle, and yell, 'Oh my dear grandmother!'"

"You're being naughty again."

Gu Bin heard his uncle's voice in the yard, climbed down the ladder, and entered the house to hear this: "You dare to tease your cousin? Be careful he comes back and hits you."

"It's uncertain when he'll be back."

Lin Xiyu said nonchalantly, "Maybe by the time I come back, I'll already be back in school."

"Liu Jian doesn't know about this?"

Uncle smiled with relief: "Thank goodness, thank goodness, I wasn't the last to find out. Those two did something so big without my knowledge. If they don't even value their son in their hearts, where would I, the head of the family, put my face?"

"Xiulian didn't tell you because she didn't want you to worry about her."

Grandma knew perfectly well what was going on and spoke up for her daughter: "You've already worked so hard performing in the countryside during the Lunar New Year, and she doesn't want to cause you any trouble at this crucial time."

"Let Xiulian retire if she wants."

The uncle was more optimistic: "It just so happens that Leilei wants to start her own business. With her help, she can make things easier."

"That's what I think too."

Grandma and he thought alike: "Xiulian has been an accountant all her life. She may not be good at anything else, but she can still help Leilei with the accounts. She is definitely more trustworthy than a stranger. With her helping to manage the accounts, Leilei will have less to worry about and won't be easily fooled."

"That's the truth."

Uncle laughed and chimed in, "Mom is the one who thinks things through. With you here, this family will never fall apart."

May Grandma live to be a hundred years old.

Lin Xiyu chuckled and echoed her with a smile.

"I hope Grandma can really live to be a hundred years old."

Grandma smiled and said, "I've watched you all get married, start your own families, and have many children and grandchildren."

"It will definitely work."

Xu Yi, a clever little fellow, chimed in enthusiastically, "Grandma is 100%, no, 300%, she'll live to be 100!"

"Yeah."

The baby seemed to understand and imitated his older siblings, clapping his little hands and babbling in agreement.

"Hahaha."

Grandma felt relieved and couldn't stop smiling as she looked at her filial sons and grandsons.

-

My cousin and aunt went out to look for a shop, and coincidentally, they found a storefront for sublet on Qinglong Back Street, not far from Lishan Road.

It turns out that the owner of that shop was in the clothing business. After the small commodities market opened, business became increasingly difficult, and even selling at a loss was not enough to sustain it.

The shop had already closed down before the Lunar New Year, with a "For Rent" sign posted on the door, but no one had come to inquire.

The shop owner was very anxious. After receiving his cousin's call, he rushed over from home in less than half an hour.

My cousin knew perfectly well that the sublet shop wasn't a brand new property.

The original lease was set to expire in three months, and renewal required contacting the actual owner of the storefront.

"You can only rent this place for three months. If the landlord doesn't rent it to us after that, it will be very detrimental to our future business. We need to renovate, and we also need to go to the industrial and commercial bureau and tax office to complete the procedures and change the company address."

My cousin, with her silver tongue, rattled off a whole bunch of persuasive arguments, leaving the visitors with no choice but to lower the rent to the lowest possible level and sublet the shop to them at a loss.

My cousin wasn't satisfied with that, so she forced him to reveal the homeowner's true identity.

A 12-square-meter storefront facing the street costs 400 yuan a month in rent.

My cousin was very satisfied with her results and immediately paid three months' rent and signed the lease agreement.

-

Dinner was exceptionally lively. With my aunt's husband there, he was like a one-man stand-up comedy routine, keeping the atmosphere as lively as ten people could.

Grandma was happy when her cousin told her that she had rented a shop, and she drank a couple more cups of wine.

After dinner, Lin Xiyu called her cousin up to the fourth floor and gave her the 10,000 yuan that Wang Fan had given her, telling her to use it first so that she could have funds when she needed to buy renovation materials.

My cousin initially refused to take it, but she only agreed after Lin Xiyu said it was for investment and profit sharing.

"You've given me all the money, what else do you need to spend?"

"I still have enough to go to Shanghai to wholesale clothes again."

"Does any wholesale market in Shanghai have spring clothes? Wool sweaters don't sell well after the New Year, so we can't stock up on too many."

"Have"

Lin Xiyu knew what to do: "That area is very big. There's a wholesale market for export clothing. I'll go back to school a few days before the New Year and take a look around. If I find anything suitable, I'll ship it back to you."

“I’m not going to manage the clothing shops in the small commodities market anymore. I’ll leave them all to my aunt. You tell her the bottom price for the wholesale, and I’ll tell her that it’ll be the same as before, with you two splitting the profits 50/50.”

“50/50 won’t do. The shop is yours, and we should pay you rent for the money we make. How about this, my aunt and I will split it 40/60, and she can give you some of the extra money. You two can discuss the exact amount yourselves.”

"Okay, it's settled then. I won't be coy anymore. Once the branch makes money, I'll give you a big red envelope."

"Okay, I'll wait. The good days ahead will depend on you, sister."

"Hahaha"

My cousin was delighted to hear this and genuinely remarked, "It's always been more enjoyable for the two of us sisters to chat. I wish you weren't in school; I would still prefer doing business with you."