Today was the start of the school year, bound to be very busy, and Xu Nian’an had arrived at the store early.
At half past seven, just as he had rearranged the goods, he saw a woman standing at the door. He raised a smile and said, "Hello, welcome! What would you like to buy?"
"I, I..." Wei Hong walked into the store somewhat awkwardly and said, "Yesterday, a girl, a very beautiful girl, said she would have me work here."
"Are you Wei Hong?" Xu Nian’an came out, seeing her very anxious and said, "You don’t have to be nervous. You came early, so I didn’t realize it was you. I heard from Nianhua that you have a daughter. You came so early, what about your daughter?"
"I sent my daughter off to school," Wei Hong explained. The words of Xu Nian’an eased Wei Hong’s nerves significantly as she said, "My, my daughter won’t get in the way of my work, what can I do?"
Wei Hong really wanted this job opportunity, thus she was afraid that Xu Nian’an might not want her for the job anymore.
"The work you’ll do is very simple, just selling things," Xu Nian’an briefly explained and said, "All these products are priced, just collect the money when people pay."
Wei Hong looked at the various small accessories in the store, so pretty, she tried hard to remember the price of each item.
"This is Ban Lin, and she will work with you in the future," Xu Nian’an said, looking at Ban Lin who was bringing goods down from upstairs, "This is Wei Hong, you’ll be colleagues from now on."
"Hello, Sister Wei Hong," Ban Lin called sweetly.
"Hello, you can just call me Wei Hong," Wei Hong felt embarrassed being called "Sister Wei Hong."
"Sister Wei Hong, my grandma told me to only call someone Aunt if they are much older than me. Sister Wei Hong seems to be just a few years older than me, so I can’t call you ’Aunt Wei Hong,’ can I?" Ban Lin said cutely and playfully.
Wei Hong laughed as she talked with Ban Lin. It was a relief that Ban Lin was so easy to talk to; she was determined to work hard.
Xu Nian’an asked, "Ban Chuan, when will you go to register?"
"I’ll go in a bit. Registration today is quick, I’ll come over to help after that," Ban Chuan said with a smile.
"No need, you better study hard. We’ll manage here in the store. My little sister is here today too," Xu Nian’an replied. He was just about to tell Ban Chuan that he planned to invite the dormitory folks to dinner tonight when a familiar voice came from outside the store.
"Nian’an, so this is the store you opened?"
Ji Shuqin had uncharacteristically been intimate with his wife after returning home yesterday, and today, bright and early, he had come with four radios. He was shocked to see Beautiful Boutique too; the rent in this area was not cheap. Moreover, peering from the entrance, the bright lights and a dazzling array of accessories even made him, a man, want to step in for a look.
"Shuqin, have you eaten breakfast?" Xu Nian’an asked.
"No." Ji Shuqin placed the radios on the cashier’s desk and asked, "Nian’an, can you really sell these radios?"
He was anxious about this matter; if he couldn’t sell them, he would lose his investment.
"Let’s try, it’s definitely better than letting them gather dust at home," Xu Nian’an picked up a radio to check it out. The radio was quite new. He turned it on to test it and, indeed, the thing wasn’t bad at all.
"Purchased for fifty?" Xu Nian’an asked, holding the radio.
Ji Shuqin nodded, saying, "Nian’an, just sell them for more than fifty, any amount is fine."
Xu Nian’an thought for a moment, took out a price sticker, and directly wrote a price on it—seventy yuan; this was the price he had seen elsewhere before.