Chapter 24: Mom Became the Store Manager

  The days passed by uneventfully, and at noon when I was writing furiously, my mother happily announced to everyone: "I have some good news to tell you. Starting from next Monday, I will be working at a women's clothing store in Nihonbashi, and not as a salesperson but as the manager! There are even four employees under me!"

  "That's great, mom! Where is your workplace at the ladies' clothing store? One day I'll go with my cousin to see how you work."

  "That store is just on Chaomen East Street, right across from the movie theater, it's very easy to recognize. Our store mainly targets women from 18 years old to 45 years old. Sweetheart, you're not old enough yet, wait until you turn 18 and come visit mom's store often..."

  We all sincerely wish her happiness, and mom is indeed very happy, hasn't even gone to work yet, has arrived at our store. Everyone asked about the specific situation again, knowing that the situation was like this: Mom was unintentionally planting a willow tree, one day when she went to the big market to buy vegetables near the cinema, there was actually a women's clothing store that was about to open, with a recruitment notice on the glass door for a store manager and several sales staff, requiring 20-40 years old, junior high school education or above, experienced candidates preferred.

  My mom and dad discussed it and went to apply with a try-out mindset. My mom thought that since she didn't have any experience, the position would naturally be just a salesperson. However, who knew that the person in charge of hiring was an old acquaintance of my mom's? They asked her some relevant questions and discovered that although my mom had no experience, she had a unique sense of aesthetics and creativity when it came to clothing. After further inquiry, they found out that my mom was a high school graduate, and they sincerely invited her to be the store manager. During their conversation, my mom learned that the person in charge used to follow her husband on business trips and had experience in various industries. This time, she came to N city to visit old friends and saw the development of the city, so she wanted to open a women's clothing store in N city, which is Niang Yi Ren (also known as a chain store).

  She won't be coming around often, so she hopes to find a suitable person to manage it for her. If managed well, the store manager can participate in investment and become one of the shareholders. If one day the store manager is capable enough to buy out the store, that's not impossible either. This isn't a windfall from heaven, after all, Mom will become a franchise member later on, and when the time comes, things will naturally fall into place.

  On Monday morning, Mom wore the uniform provided by the store, neat and tidy, full of confidence, went to the women's clothing store. In the evening, Dad smiled and welcomed her back, asking: "Wife, how was your first day at work?"

  "It's actually quite tiring, standing all the time, and this week is our store's grand opening promotion week, attracting a lot of attention. The clothes in our store are indeed very new and stylish, and the same style is also limited, not easy to be identical. Moreover, the service in our store is also polite and warm, the person in charge once told me that customers are God, we should make them feel at home. Our store also has a membership card system, I heard that the membership card system is a recent development, and it has been well received in coastal cities. Baby, you were actually able to think of membership cards because of poker cards, you're really our lucky star."

  "Right, baby, Dad's small restaurant is getting better and better now, our family's life will also get better. You and Zhānfēng must study hard and get into No. 1 Middle School. You two are our hope, if you study well, no matter how hard we work, it'll be worth it." "Got it, we'll work hard." My brother and I responded in unison, as if making a vow. I quickly ran to the sofa, gave my mom a back massage and shoulder rub, "Mom, is it comfortable? Is the strength okay? Here, here, do you want me to use more force?"

  "Baby, where did you learn this set of back massage skills? Not bad, it's quite comfortable, much better than your dad's technique."

  "Mom, as long as you're comfortable, I'll give you a back massage every day. And with your current job, you have to stand for a long time, it's easy to get waist and back pain, why don't you do some exercise with me instead?" Mom closed her eyes, relaxed, and murmured "uh-huh" before falling asleep quickly, she was really exhausted.

  I must get my mom to exercise with me, in her previous life she worked as a toy inspector and had to keep her head down for long periods of time, which led to chronic back pain and waist soreness, at its worst it was so severe that she would feel dizzy and couldn't even roll over while sleeping. After going to the hospital for a check-up they found out she had a herniated disc and cervical spondylosis, and even had two vertebrae with bone hyperplasia, which can only be treated but not cured. I was also short and slightly chubby in my previous life, this time around I want to exercise with mom and strengthen our bodies.

  On Sunday, my cousin and I finished our homework and planned to surprise my aunt by visiting her. Considering that taking the bus only costs 50 cents per person and is a direct route, while taking a taxi costs 3 yuan, we decided to take the bus. When we arrived at the station, after waiting for about five minutes, the bus came, but who knew it was so crowded? There were no empty seats, and even standing room was scarce.

  Oh, I see. There are always a lot of Chinese people, and the buses are always crowded. Although it's 9 am now, which is neither rush hour nor off-peak hour, there are still many people. I just forgot that today is Sunday, and with the sunny weather, there are even more people out and about. After getting on the bus, my cousin and I got separated - he stood near the front door, while I stood in the middle section of the bus.

  The bus is really slow, it stops at every station, but why does someone get off at every stop? I'm getting tired from standing, the bus starts and stops and I almost fall over, when it jerks forward my nose hurts, when it jerks backward I almost fall down, it's really testing my physical flexibility, I'm about to lose my waist, luckily my feet are still on the ground, but I know there's a human cushion behind me, so I'm not too worried. But in my mouth, I'm still repeating: don't step on me, don't step on me, don't squeeze me, don't squeeze me.

  Suddenly, a warm voice whispered in my ear: "Xiao Xiao, are you okay?" As he spoke, his hand reached out to help me up. I looked up from the bottom and saw that it was Wu Hanwen, who still had a gentle smile on his face despite our predicament. My eyebrows were probably furrowed together in distress. "Come stand by my side, there's a railing here, you won't get squeezed like earlier." What a wonderful offer! Although he wasn't rescuing me from a life-or-death situation, having someone to block the crowd behind me was a huge relief, haha.

  I smiled and said, "Okay, thank you." Luckily I met Wu Hanwen, if I had met Xuan Yuanrui, he would have laughed at me when he saw my appearance. Why did I suddenly think of him? He wouldn't appear here anyway, thinking of him is always a bad omen. At this time, our Xuan Yuanrui was sneezing on the side, thinking it was a sign of a cold. After I stood in front of him, I really wasn't squeezed so tightly again, and we chatted casually.

  "I asked: 'Wu Hanwen, where are you going? At which station will you get off?'"

  "I'm going to Chaomen Street, I'll go to Fenghuang Store to buy something." Good students are indeed good students, they went to the store to buy on their own over the weekend. "How about you?" "Me? I also got off at Chaomen Street, I'm going to find my mom. Hehe, my mom is the manager of a newly opened Niu Xiang Yi Ren women's clothing store there, and the clothes inside are really beautiful. I recommend Wu Ayi to go buy clothes there, it will be worth the value." Wu Hanwen smiled and replied: "Okay, I'll definitely let my mom know, she loves buying clothes the most. This is a great thing for her."

  Finally getting off the car, I took a deep breath of fresh air on my own, waved goodbye to Wu Hanwen, and went with my cousin to the Niuniu Yiren women's clothing store. After walking for a while, I saw the four characters "Niuniu Yiren" and was about to excitedly pull my cousin in when a sentence "Little girl" interrupted me. I turned around to see Xuan Yuanrui, asking: "What are you doing here?"

  "This isn't your family's place, why can't I be here?"

  "Oh, if this mountain were mine and this tree were planted by me, you'd have to pay a toll to pass through here. But since it's a public road, please continue wandering around here, I'm going in."

  "Then I'll go in with you too." "You're going in, aren't you? This is a women's clothing store." I pointed at the sign and looked at him again. I admit my thoughts were a bit impure - could it be that this young man has a cross-dressing habit? How can this be good? I heard Old Man Ding say he's the only heir of the Xuan Yuan family for three generations. But this person is always a bit strange, so it's not surprising if he has such an unusual hobby. Heh heh, now I've got something to hold over you - just wait and see how I'll tease and threaten you in the future.

  "What's with that look? I'm here because my brother recommended this store, saying the clothes are really nice. My mom's birthday is coming up and I want to buy her a gift." Oh dear, it turns out I was overthinking things. My brother rubbed his head and said: "Xuan Yuan, you have a great memory! I just casually mentioned that my aunt is the store manager here, and the clothes are nice... you remembered all that, and you're so thoughtful to want to buy clothes for your mom, you're really filial!" But when he said the word "mom", he clearly paused. I was about to scold him a bit for telling me this, but now I couldn't say anything. At this point, Xuan Yuan seemed to realize something and said: "What are we still doing standing outside? Let's hurry in! It'll be good to have you guys help me pick out some clothes."

  After going in, I saw my mom introducing a young girl to a piece of clothing. The girl was about twenty years old, and my mom was introducing her to a pink-colored coat with puffy sleeves that looked very dreamy. The girl seemed hesitant, so I walked up and said: "This dress looks great, doesn't it, Xuan Yuan?"

  I winked at him, and Xuan Yuan indeed nodded in agreement, saying: "En en, it looks great, walking the princess route, anyone who wears it will be very cute. Or I'll buy this for my cousin. Her 20th birthday is coming up soon." The girl heard this and quickly said: "Okay, just this one, I tried it on earlier and felt pretty good, but the price made me a bit hesitant. However, didn't you say that this was the grand opening sale, and there won't be such value-for-money clothes in the future? And you'll give me a membership card, so I'll take this one."

  Xuanyuan smiled at me, and I forced a smile back at him. My brother-in-law chimed in from the side: "Xuanyuan, didn't you just say you were going to buy a gift for your mom? Now it's my sister again! You two are really a match made in heaven!"

  "Who is born a perfect match for him. He lies without batting an eye. This is called being slick."

  "Just now I don't know who winked at me. The phrase 'born a pair' is quite good." He said with an even happier smile.

  "After Mother finished the ticket, she said to me: 'Darling, Zhan Feng, how did you guys come? You didn't even say a word beforehand. And is this Xuan Yuan classmate? I often hear Darling and Zhan Feng mention you.'"

  "Aunt, my cousin and I came to give you a boost of energy, but we didn't expect your business to be so good and for you to be so busy. We wanted to tell you in advance, otherwise it would have caused you trouble and wouldn't have achieved the surprise effect."

  "Yeah, business is pretty good, Auntie's busy but happy too. At noon, Auntie invited you guys to try the new place on West Road that just opened, the one that serves Crossing Bridge Rice Noodles. If Xuan Yuan doesn't have anything going on, he should come along too."

  "He's busy", "I'm not busy", Xuan Yuan and I said at the same time. I looked at Xuan Yuan and said: "Aren't you going to buy a dress for your mom? After buying the dress, aren't you going back to prepare? Didn't you say your mom is having a birthday?"

  "I was going to buy a birthday gift for my mom, but I didn't say today is her birthday. Auntie, I'm fine, and I also want to try the crossing rice noodles here."

  I muttered under my breath, "It's not like we don't have money, why do we need to join in on the fun..." "Xuan Yuan classmate, don't mind her, okay? Baobei is just that kind of person, if you ignore her, she'll be fine. She usually says at home that you're quite impressive, and also hopes that Xuan Yuan classmate can help our Baobei make progress together." Xuan Yuan looked at me with a smile, saying he didn't mind.

  Later, my mom chose a purple windbreaker with her adult vision and Xuan Yuan Ruo's description of his mother, which looked both mysterious and elegant. Naturally, we had lunch together at noon, and I really didn't expect that Xuan Yuan Ruo's pre-meal etiquette was exceptionally good, very much like a noble son, but I guess he also came from a famous family, it's really "people compare to people and die", I must strive for our family's happy life!