Chapter 108: Mom's New Store Finally Opens

  People say that the National Day holiday is a golden week, and this statement is not wrong at all. Looking at my dad's busy appearance, I know that Yiyuan Hotel has made a lot of money this time. Except for the first day of the National Day, when my dad and I watched the military parade together, he was very busy in the following days and was rarely seen. According to my mom, some big shot came from City B to our city N, and Yiyuan Hotel had the honor of receiving him, so there can't be any mistakes or omissions at all.

  Moreover, there are rumors circulating that this person has come with a mission this time, seemingly related to the bidding issue of the hotel service industry. If any hotel can get a share of it, it will be an incredible profit. Seeing my dad leave early and return late every day, even yawning while washing his feet sometimes, I know how difficult and worried he is.

  The National Day holiday has already passed more than half, today is October 5th. My dad rarely came back early today, and we were watching the special episode of "Happy Dictionary" in the living room.

  Nan Zheng just saw the whole family watching TV, and walked over to sit down. Lu Huqing saw that her brother-in-law had returned early today, so she asked, "Brother-in-law, how was it? You came back quite early today, wasn't it relatively smooth?"

  "Alas, it's not easy. This eight-character idiom isn't even a single stroke yet, and I don't know which one is which. But even if you're going to hang yourself, you still need to take a breath, right? I've been working non-stop for a week now, and the people below me can't take it anymore. So today, I let them off early so they could go home. You say it's hard to get a seven-day holiday, but I've been keeping my employees on a tight leash. If they didn't say anything to show some understanding for me, I wouldn't be able to bear it either."

  Lu Jieqiong hastily comforted him, "Honey, it's not easy to make money these days, they understand you. By the way, have you had dinner? I always leave some food for you every night, just in case you come back hungry at night, thinking that it would only serve as a midnight snack."

  Dad took off his coat and said, "Now that you mention it, I'm actually quite hungry. Today, I had lunch with a group of people from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau in the city. All they did was drink. The dishes were hardly touched. Can you get me a glass of water first? I'm parched."

  No wonder I smelled a faint smell of wine as soon as Dad came in, it turned out he had been drinking tonight. I quickly got up and said: "Mom, you go heat up some food for Dad to eat. I'll get him a glass of water." Then went to the water dispenser to pour a cup of water and brought it back for Dad to drink.

  Dad took over the water cup and smiled: "My baby is obedient and will sympathize with others."

  Dad opened his mouth, and another wave of alcohol smell came out. I fanned my hand and frowned, saying: "Dad, how much wine did you drink today? The smell is so strong!"

  "Dad sniffed himself and said, "It's okay, I didn't drink much. Today I had your Uncle Ye to help me block the wine, so I didn't drink a lot. Just three or four liang. But I can smell the wine on myself too. I remembered that later when we were toasting, Li Kezhang who was sitting next to me accidentally spilled some wine on my body."

  I nodded, so that's how it is. My old man, whether before my rebirth or after, has always been able to hold his liquor but not smoke. His nickname used to be "Southern One Jin" (One Jin being a unit of measurement), and three or four liang (a smaller unit) really isn't much for him. And that one jin was also not enough to get him drunk; I reckon he'd need a few more liang to actually get drunk. Lu Jieqiong was heating up food in the kitchen, while Lu Huqing asked, "Brother-in-law, this time your hotel is providing free accommodations for people from B City, shouldn't there be some benefits to bidding? Otherwise, wouldn't it be a loss?"

  "Who says it's not? This is what others have prepared. At first, when we heard that someone was coming from above, all the hotels wanted to host them. But after they really arrived, those people were so arrogant and gave us headaches. Moreover, I heard that regarding the bidding issue, they originally planned to come up with a surprise, but as soon as they found out that we had all received wind of it, they immediately became unhappy. Luckily, on the day of the welcoming banquet, the big hotel didn't join in the commotion, otherwise, we would have been the first to be affected. It's really hard to guess what those above are thinking."

  Lu Jieqiong came out of the kitchen, carrying hot rice and dishes, and said with a smile: "Husband, come to the dining room, dinner is ready, there's braised pork hock that you love."

  Nan Zheng just responded: "I'm coming." Nan Zheng went to the dining hall, and Lu Huqing also went over to continue discussing the bidding issue with his brother-in-law. The living room was left with only me, my cousin, and my aunt.

  Nan Zheng had just finished eating when Lu Jieqiong said, "Husband, are you busy tomorrow?" Nan Zheng looked up and asked, "What's wrong? Is there something going on?"

  Lu Jieqiong shook her head and said, "Huh, I knew you've been busy these past few days, dizzy from running around. Who would remember that my store in the Purple Gold Building is opening tomorrow? Originally, we were going to open on National Day, and no matter how busy you are, you'd have to take a day or two off. But then people came from above, stirring up trouble for all of you. However, it's not a big deal if you can't come tomorrow, I still have my younger brother Mao Ge, and Xiaoxiao's parents, as well as Zhang Jiong and his family will all be there to support me, so I'll be fine."

  "Just finished eating, put down chopsticks, and said seriously: 'How can that be, the first store of my wife's opening, I must go to congratulate. Thinking back, you had this idea long ago, after marrying me, always working hard for this family, putting aside the ideal of opening a store. This time, it's a rare opportunity, I couldn't miss it. Let me think... tomorrow we have a meeting to discuss the plan, afterwards... hmm, I can still make time. What time is your store's ribbon-cutting ceremony? Maybe I can still make it.'"

  Lu Jieqiong covered her mouth and laughed, saying: "What's with the ribbon-cutting ceremony? This store doesn't have much reputation yet, it can't handle such a big fuss, just sending a nice-looking flower basket is fine."

  "How can that be, wife? Your store is opening, and it's on our family's property, so we don't even need to pay rent. How can we not have a small ribbon-cutting ceremony? It's that largest storefront we looked at last time that nobody rented, right? It looks more majestic than the others, how could it not be famous? Don't worry, once your store opens, many people will definitely go to support you, and I'll be the first one there."

  "Come on, sis, your husband is right. As the boss of Imperial Gold Building, how can you be so stingy? We'll make it a grand affair tomorrow, don't worry about what others think. You're not worried that the head of Niuliu will have an opinion, are you? Actually, there's no need to be. What you did back then was already very kind and generous. You wanted to become a partner with Niuliu, but they looked down on us. Your dream has always been to open your own store and sell your own designs, but Niuliu didn't give you that opportunity. As the saying goes, 'different paths don't converge', so you didn't owe them anything. On the contrary, you brought in a new consumption model with the membership card, and when you were at their store, you were always thinking about promoting it and making money for them. And finally, when you left, the headquarters sent someone to replace you, so why should you compromise? When you're not comfortable doing something, there's no efficiency, so it makes perfect sense that you'd want to strike out on your own."

  Lu Jieqiong listened to her husband and Mao's words, suddenly feeling enlightened, and nodded heavily. October 6th was a good day and a sunny day, it was really suitable.

  Early in the morning, Lu Jieqiong got up and busied herself with the final preparations. At 8:18 am, her first store, Z Xuan, was about to open.

  She named it with the intention of being simple and easy to remember, and considering that there are still few letters in the names of various stores at present, she took this name under the inspiration of her family's treasure. It is said that every woman should have a favorite dress, and the "Z" in Z轩 is taken from the first letter of the Chinese pinyin of the word "钟爱" (zhōng ài), which means "to love deeply". One day she wants to make Z轩 a well-known clothing brand all over the country, and even go abroad, going global.

  My brother and I knew that my mom's store was going to open this morning, she had just left, we got up immediately after, finished washing and having breakfast, then my brother and I went to the flower shop to buy flowers, preparing to give them to my mom as a surprise.

  I took a glance at my watch, it was already 7:30, so I urged, "Brother, hurry up, we must arrive before 8 o'clock. Although mom said it's okay to arrive around 9 o'clock, but I think dad mentioned yesterday that the ribbon-cutting ceremony will definitely be before 9 o'clock."

  Lu Zhanfeng was hailing a taxi, but for some reason, the taxi drivers were very busy that morning. Several taxis passed by, all carrying passengers. "Cousin, it's not that I'm not in a hurry, but we really can't hail a taxi. Why don't we go to the other side and take the bus? I saw several number 9 buses pass by already. Look, there's another one stopped at the red light over there." "Okay, okay, let's hurry over. But do you have coins ready?"

  "Sister-in-law, come out with me, don't worry, I'll always bring coins."

  The No. 9 bus stopped at the station, and only then did I see that there were really a lot of people on it. Looking at my watch again, it was already 7:40. Gnashing my teeth, I still got on.

  No wonder, people who start work at 8 o'clock don't all set out at this time, and the No. 9 bus passes through a road with various shopping malls and companies, so it's no surprise that there are so many people. After my cousin and I squeezed on, we wanted to find a place near the back door, but it was impossible, and we could only be squeezed into the front of the back section, unable to even find something to hold onto.

  However, this crowded bus doesn't even need handrails; when the driver brakes, people just fall onto each other and won't even tumble over. You can imagine how dense the crowd is on the bus.

  Lu Zhanfeng was squeezed very uncomfortably, but still managed to say: "Cousin, are you okay? Fortunately, you said let the florist take care of delivering the flowers, otherwise if we had taken the bus, wouldn't all the flowers have been squished flat?"

  The first update is here, my writing is a bit slow to warm up, but the female lead will shine soon, now it's accumulating power. I don't know what you think about who the male lead is, please leave a cute comment. The comments section has been deserted for days, and my heart feels chilly. And as always, votes, votes, votes, if you think it's okay, give one vote, okay?