Chapter 621 | Chapter 622 | Chapter 623
Chapter 621: Buying a Car
“Don’t worry, I won’t make things difficult for you in the future.”
Ma Lixiang swore in her heart that she would work hard for Sheng Wanyan so that the boss could rest easy regarding the properties here in Shanghai.
She would repay Sheng Wanyan properly, working like a horse to show her gratitude.
Sheng Wanyan smiled softly. Being able to find a manager who knew the rules and understood gratitude was the luckiest thing to happen during her trip to Shanghai.
However, this alone wasn’t enough. When the time came, she would still need to use a few methods to tie Ma Lixiang completely to her side.
She was a businessperson who valued profits and returns, but she never did anything to harm others. It was simply a matter of mutual need and a win-win situation.
Two days later, Ma Lixiang followed the address she had been given and came to the courtyard to find Sheng Wanyan.
Sheng Wanyan introduced her to the two managers. Since they would be colleagues from now on, it was best to familiarize themselves with one another.
The three women shook hands and exchanged a few pleasant words, agreeing that as future colleagues, they would help each other out and learn from one another.
“Boss, we’re going over to keep an eye on the shop renovations now.”
“Go ahead.”
The two managers tactfully took their leave. Sheng Wanyan gestured for Ma Lixiang to sit down, poured her a cup of water, and went to her room to fetch the employment contract.
“This is the employment contract. Take a look.”
Nervously, Ma Lixiang picked it up to read, scanning it carefully word by word without missing a single line.
All the salary details, benefits, job duties, and requirements were spelled out explicitly inside.
Ma Lixiang couldn’t help but admire Sheng Wanyan. Having worked in the military district, she had signed her fair share of contracts.
Yet Sheng Wanyan, an independent business owner, had drawn up a contract that was far more meticulous and clearer than any contract she had ever seen.
“No problem.”
“If there’s no problem, just sign it. It’s in duplicate.”
Ma Lixiang smiled, nodded, and signed both copies of the contract, officially onboarding.
“Are you free today?” Sheng Wanyan asked.
Ma Lixiang waved her hands hurriedly, indicating that all her subsequent time had been arranged specifically to work hard for the business.
“I’m free. I’ve arranged everything.”
“Since you’re free, I’ll drive you around to get to know the shop locations. I’ll be troubling you a lot in the future.”
“It’s no trouble… It’s my duty.”
Ma Lixiang felt a bit anxious. As an employee talking to her boss, there was no logic in having the boss say she was troubling her.
“Thank you.”
Ma Lixiang expressed her gratitude, but Sheng Wanyan shook her head with a smile. “From now on, we are in the same boat.”
“I look forward to working with you.”
Sheng Wanyan extended her hand, and Ma Lixiang’s eyes turned red uncontrollably as she hurriedly reached out to grasp it.
“Yes! I look forward to working with you too.”
The relationship between the two seemed a bit more profound than a simple working relationship; there was a layer of shared empathy and mutual reliance.
Sheng Wanyan put the contract back in her room and drove Ma Lixiang to inspect the seven shops in Shanghai. There was one in each district, and two within the city center.
Of the two in the city center, one was located in a prime commercial area, while the other was right next to the Shanghai Film Academy.
By the end of the afternoon, Ma Lixiang had familiarized herself with all the shop locations and joined the two managers to learn about the renovation details on-site.
Sheng Wanyan went to buy several crates of soda, instructing Ma Lixiang to distribute them to the renovation workers.
Receiving the sodas, honest and simple smiles broke out on the workers’ faces. They waved toward Sheng Wanyan, who was sitting in the car outside.
“Thank you, Boss Sheng!”
“Thank you for your hard work, everyone!”
“It’s no trouble!”
Sheng Wanyan handled social courtesies flawlessly. Seeing this, Ma Lixiang immediately caught onto Sheng Wanyan’s intent; she would need to master these social dynamics in the future.
She noticed that Sheng Wanyan remained smiling and approachable regardless of what social class she encountered, without a single shred of arrogance.
Even with these renovation workers, she spoke with a warm and pleasant countenance, chatting and sharing a few lighthearted jokes with them.
The workers Sheng Wanyan had hired for the shop renovations all belonged to a single construction team. These individuals might very well become prominent figures in the construction industry in the future.
In particular, the leader of the construction team possessed immense drive to have put together such a large team; his future was bound to be bright.
In the future, the Shanghai branch could cooperate extensively with this construction team. These were all valuable connections.
Sheng Wanyan waited in the car for a while. The moment Ma Lixiang climbed back inside, Sheng Wanyan casually brought up a remarkable proposition.
“Comrade Ma, I was thinking, why don’t you learn how to drive?”
“What?! Drive?!”
Ma Lixiang was instantly dumbfounded. Sheng Wanyan immediately began listing out the benefits of knowing how to drive for her.
“Think about it. The shops are spread so far apart. When you need to handle emergencies, driving will make things much more convenient, right?”
“There’s no reason for you to waste an entire day commuting on public buses.”
“Furthermore, once you learn, I plan to arrange a car for you. The shop will cover all the expenses.”
Ma Lixiang felt her head spin. A job that came with a company car was something she hadn’t dared to dream of.
“Get your husband to teach you. I believe you can definitely do it. Come with me tomorrow to look at cars.”
Sheng Wanyan gave her absolutely no chance to refuse. After all, providing a vehicle for a city’s general manager was by no means excessive.
In the future, top executives were given houses and cars in prime downtown locations—benefits far greater than what she was offering now.
Ma Lixiang simply couldn’t find a way to refuse. The next day, Sheng Wanyan took Gu Jinshou and Ma Lixiang to a Shanghai car dealership to browse vehicles.
On the streets of Shanghai, motorcars were everywhere—even more numerous than in the Capital.
This was because Shanghai was the birthplace of the nation’s automotive industry, housing the Shanghai Automobile Assembly Plant, which maintained partnerships with certain automobile manufacturers from Country D.
When they arrived at the dealership, the staff saw the military license plate and hurriedly stepped forward to open the car door.
“Hello, are you here to purchase a vehicle?”
Seeing that a woman was the one driving, the dealership employee was momentarily stunned, but he quickly composed himself.
There was an abundance of wealthy individuals in Shanghai, so one could witness all kinds of things.
“Yes. What cars do you have available right now?”
“Right this way, please.”
Sheng Wanyan alighted from the car. When Gu Jinshou and Ma Lixiang walked inside to browse the vehicles, both grew incredibly excited.
Gu Jinshou was at an age where boys loved cars and handguns the most.
Cars nowadays were even more expensive than they had been a couple of years ago. Previously costing over ten thousand, it would probably require over twenty thousand yuan to cover all the procedures now.
The models at the dealership looked largely identical, as automotive styling wasn’t particularly diverse yet—mostly standard sedans.
“For immediate delivery, we have this model available in red and light green.”
“For other models, you would need to place an order and wait about a month for delivery.”
Sheng Wanyan looked over the options, then turned to Ma Lixiang to ask which color she preferred.
“This… how much does one cost?”
“This is the same model, so the price is identical: 18,500 yuan.”
“With the paperwork and miscellaneous fees, the total will probably come out to around twenty thousand.”
Hearing this price, Ma Lixiang chickened out instantly, quietly tugging at Sheng Wanyan’s clothes.
This was far too expensive and completely unnecessary; she could just take the bus.
“Of course, a government quota allocation is also required to make a purchase.”
“I have the allocation.”
Sheng Wanyan had already asked Gu Second Uncle to arrange it yesterday. Since Gu Second Uncle had used his connections to secure it, she could just purchase it directly.
Hearing that she possessed the quota allocation, the dealership employee grew even more respectful. Anyone who could secure an automotive allocation nowadays was bound to hold significant authority.
Chapter 622: Gu Jinshou Plays Games Until He Pukes
“What about this model?”
Sheng Wanyan preferred a different car. The previous one had a flat front and rear end, a style she truly didn’t like.
“This model is a bit more expensive; the car will cost 20,000 yuan.”
“And it will take a month to get it for immediate delivery.”
Hearing this, Sheng Wanyan nodded. A month was just about right for Ma Lixiang to learn how to drive. This style looked great and would hold some value in the future.
“This model comes in red, black, white, green, and yellow.”
“If you like it, I can take you all to look at the colors.”
“Sure.”
The dealership employee guided them to check out the colors. The available cars displayed here were not for sale; they were just for exhibition.
If one wanted to buy, the automobile factory still had to manufacture it.
“This is red, and this model is green.”
“For a lady driver, these two colors would be more suitable.”
Sheng Wanyan nodded. She opened the car door, sat in the driver’s seat to get a feel for it, and found it perfectly fine. As long as it could be driven, it sufficed.
“Let’s go with this model.”
“Alright! May I ask what color you would like?”
The dealership employee grew instantly thrilled. After all, clients who could actually complete a transaction were few and far between nowadays.
Most people just browsed around and wouldn’t necessarily buy anything in the end.
“What color do you like?” Sheng Wanyan asked Ma Lixiang.
Knowing that Sheng Wanyan was absolutely set on buying it, Ma Lixiang could only pick a white one.
“White… it will look a bit more formal.”
“Alright, white it is.”
Sheng Wanyan had also intended to choose between black and white. After all, driving it out to negotiate business partnerships would look a bit more formal.
Sheng Wanyan signed the paperwork, and the car was registered under her name. They could come pick it up in a month.
Sheng Wanyan also went to the vehicle administration office to complete all the procedures. Settling everything required around 25,000 yuan, and Sheng Wanyan handed over the money without even blinking an eye.
“Have a safe journey.”
Sheng Wanyan nodded. After dropping Ma Lixiang off at the clothing store to keep an eye on the renovations, she took Gu Jinshou out to play.
Since she had promised Gu Jinshou to take him out to unwind, she naturally couldn’t go back on her word.
“Cousin-Aunt, are you really taking me?”
Gu Jinshou was rather excited. Sheng Wanyan nodded with a smile; both Gu Tingen and Li Jiaying had agreed to this.
“Your parents said you’ve been studying very hard, so they wanted me to take you out to relax.”
“Your parents care about you, but mind you don’t get addicted, otherwise I won’t be able to help you then.”
“I swear I won’t!”
Gu Jinshou raised his hand to vow. He definitely wouldn’t get addicted. After all, even if he did, his dad had a hundred different ways to discipline him.
Sheng Wanyan brought him to an arcade game center. Since it was Gu Jinshou’s first time playing, he didn’t play very well.
However, boys seemed to possess a natural knack for these things, and Gu Jinshou caught on very quickly.
There were many boys here, and quite a few children were just watching. Lacking money in their pockets, they could only feast their eyes.
As Gu Jinshou played, a crowd of boys gathered behind him to watch. Some even waved their hands excitedly, teaching Gu Jinshou how to play.
Gu Jinshou tried every single game once. The other children were consumed with envy; they wished they could try them all too.
Sheng Wanyan truly didn’t care about the money, letting Gu Jinshou play until he was completely sick of it.
She was only responsible for paying the bills. She also bought a Tetris handheld game console for each of the children back home.
The handheld console only had five buttons—up, down, left, right, and power. Having come to Shanghai, she had to bring some gifts back for the children at home.
“Cousin-Aunt, how did you know I wanted one of these!”
“Don’t you young people just love getting in touch with novel things?”
“How was it? Was it fun?”
Sheng Wanyan asked tentatively, terrified that Gu Jinshou would tell her it was incredibly fun and that he wanted to come back in the future.
“It was alright. I’ve mastered all of them, to the point that I feel like throwing up.”
The corners of Sheng Wanyan’s mouth curled upward. Little kid, as if I can’t handle you.
I’ll just let you play until your eyes blur, until you’re sick of it, until you puke, so you’ll never want to play again in the future.
“Don’t you young people love playing these very much?”
“Uh… I don’t like it. Ugh~”
Gu Jinshou couldn’t help but gag. Sheng Wanyan pulled the car over to the side, letting him step out to puke, and handed him a few sips of water.
He didn’t puke anything up—just some sour stomach juices. After throwing up, Gu Jinshou felt completely repulsed by these games.
“I never want to play again, it’s so disgusting!”
Gu Jinshou had never experienced this kind of feeling. In the beginning, he had only felt the thrill, but now he just wanted to escape.
“Alright, if you don’t want to play, just don’t play in the future.”
“A Western restaurant just opened here in Shanghai, let’s go try it.”
Hearing that they were going to eat at that incredibly expensive Western restaurant that everyone wanted to try at least once, Gu Jinshou instantly snapped to life.
A classmate of his had eaten there before and bragged about it all over school, making all of them want to try it.
“Cousin-Aunt, that place is far too expensive. Let’s just go home to eat.”
Although Gu Jinshou wanted to go, he wasn’t without manners. His cousin-aunt had spent quite a bit of money just now for him to play games, so how could he dare let her take him to eat Western food?
“Are you really not going?”
“Not going, not going.”
“Alright then, I’ll just eat with your grandparents and parents.”
“You can just go home and cook a bowl of noodles.”
Sheng Wanyan climbed into the car as she finished speaking. Hearing that his own parents were going too, Gu Jinshou nimbly scrambled into the car instantly, his eyes completely lighting up as he looked at her.
“My grandparents and parents are going too?”
“Yes, it was all arranged beforehand.”
“I’m going, I’m going! I’ll go too!”
Gu Jinshou buckled his seatbelt, staring straight ahead with eyes full of light. Amused, Sheng Wanyan shook her head and drove to the Western restaurant.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Gu Second Uncle and the others had already arrived. Gu Second Aunt immediately slapped the back of Gu Jinshou’s head.
“This stinky brat, you really made your cousin-aunt spend a fortune today.”
Gu Second Aunt spoke crossly. Gu Jinshou lowered his head in embarrassment, feeling quite sheepish.
“Wanyan, don’t be polite when ordering food. Your Second Uncle is paying the bill.”
After scolding her grandson, Gu Second Aunt stepped forward to take Sheng Wanyan’s hand and spoke, and Sheng Wanyan nodded with a smile.
“Second Aunt, don’t scold Jinshou, he knows his boundaries very well.”
Sure enough, walking behind them, Gu Jinshou instantly regained his confidence upon hearing this.
Sheng Wanyan whispered into Gu Second Aunt’s ear, while Gu Second Uncle perked up his ears nearby to listen.
“He played until he puked. He said he wouldn’t go again even if it killed him.”
Hearing this, Gu Second Aunt burst out laughing instantly, and Gu Second Uncle couldn’t resist curling the corners of his mouth upward either.
“You really have a way.”
“If he ever likes playing games in the future, let his dad take him to play until he pukes again.”
Gu Second Aunt was thoroughly ruthless. The things young people played with nowadays were becoming more diverse, and as parents, they truly worried sometimes.
“He probably has a psychological shadow over games now.”
“That couldn’t be better.”
Gu Second Aunt was in a great mood, ordering quite a few items when it came to placing the order. The portions of this Western food were small and expensive.
However, since Sheng Wanyan had arrived and even solved the issue of Gu Jinshou playing games for them, and it was a rare summer vacation for Gu Jinshou, there was no harm in the family coming out to indulge a bit. It was only an occasional occurrence.
Gu Second Uncle spent several hundred yuan with pure joy. By the time they headed back in the end, Gu Jinshou looked a bit drained of energy.
Having puked and then eaten a steak that was only cooked medium-rare, it would be a miracle if he still had energy!
Chapter 623: Headed to Shenzhen
Gu Second Aunt possessed the highest energy. On the way back, she hummed a little ditty right into Gu Jinshou’s ear the entire time.
Gu Jinshou: “…” My grandma is truly someone you cannot afford to mess with.
Sheng Wanyan returned to the courtyard. The two managers told her about the people who had come to interview over the past two days.
They noted down each person’s situation and handed it to her to look over. Sheng Wanyan conducted another round of screening.
“Just give this to Manager Ma to look over tomorrow.”
“Understood, Boss.”
Sheng Wanyan completely handed the responsibilities of the Shanghai clothing store over to Ma Lixiang, leaving Ma Lixiang thoroughly buried in work.
To get her up to speed as quickly as possible, Sheng Wanyan didn’t show any mercy. Fortunately, Ma Lixiang possessed a fair amount of experience with these administrative matters.
Very soon, Ma Lixiang caught on. After all, she had been a section chief before, so as a manager, she became familiar with the workflow rapidly.
The small workshop was also set in motion. These older ladies had all been interviewed by Ma Lixiang. She and the two managers were now in charge of interviewing.
Quite a lot of people came to interview every day. After all, the salary and benefits were right there. However, since Sheng Wanyan required a high school diploma, many people missed out on such a great opportunity.
Fortunately, the small workshop held no educational restrictions. A few girls who knew how to make clothes successfully entered the workshop.
Gradually, the small Western-style house in Shanghai was also renovated according to Sheng Wanyan’s specifications. After all, whenever she visited Shanghai in the future, she would stay here.
Staying in her own property meant she wouldn’t have to worry about imposing on Gu Second Uncle’s family.
The lane houses were also completely refurbished. Sheng Wanyan hadn’t decided what to do with that area yet, so she had everything knocked through, leaving only a few rooms behind.
She intended to let Father Sheng utilize these two lane house clusters to open a chain supermarket once he returned from their old home.
Sheng Wanyan also utilized Gu Second Uncle’s connections to find suppliers here in Shanghai. After all, this place was far from the Capital.
The items inside her space consisted mostly of some grains, flour, rice, and brown sugar—items suitable for hiring a truck driver to haul over.
Other perishable items would spoil along the way given the vast distance.
Once the nation fully developed in the future, it would no longer be suitable for her to blatantly pull items from her space to use.
After Sheng Wanyan handed the shop duties over to Ma Lixiang and the two managers, the three women were kept so busy their feet barely touched the ground every day.
They had to keep an eye on the renovations, interview employees, and prepare for the grand openings all at once.
The shopfronts she had purchased from Ye Chenghua were already more than enough to let her enjoy her life for the foreseeable future.
Originally, she had thought searching for shopfronts would take quite some time, but having it solved in an instant left her completely free.
Once a person becomes idle, they will look for things to do—for instance, she wanted to arrange time to visit the South!
Things weren’t going very smoothly on Xu Guihua’s end, so she wanted to take the two managers over to take a look and temper them.
After all, this trip to Shanghai had been far too smooth.
Sheng Wanyan possessed a personality that executed actions the moment she spoke them. And so, once the Shanghai shops opened and Ma Lixiang got the hang of things, she moved.
Everything stepped onto the right track, and Ma Lixiang became exceptionally adept. Sheng Wanyan handed the vehicle purchase slip over to her.
“Wanyan, you’re leaving Shanghai?”
Ma Lixiang didn’t register it at first. Hadn’t they agreed she would stay until the school term began?
“Yes, to go down south to handle the branch store matters.”
Ma Lixiang opened her mouth, wanting to urge her to stay, but hearing that it was for official business, she couldn’t very well stop her.
“Does your Second Aunt know about this?”
“Yes.”
Sheng Wanyan had long since informed Gu Second Uncle and Gu Second Aunt. With Grandpa Gu’s full backing, Gu Second Uncle and Gu Second Aunt couldn’t stop her either.
“This is for you.”
Sheng Wanyan handed a wooden box to Ma Lixiang. Ma Lixiang wanted to open it to look, but Sheng Wanyan stopped her.
“Look at it when you get back.”
Seeing her acting so mysteriously, Ma Lixiang smiled. What kind of item couldn’t be looked at right now?
“Alright, alright, alright. I’ll look at it when I get back.”
Sheng Wanyan nodded with a smile. After instructing Ma Lixiang on a few work-related matters, she purchased an afternoon ticket to Shenzhen.
Sheng Wanyan knew the address of the place where Xu Guihua was staying in Shenzhen. The group was currently staying at a guest house in Shenzhen.
Shanghai wasn’t close to Shenzhen, requiring a four-day train ride to arrive. Following her usual habit, Sheng Wanyan straight up purchased all the sleeper tickets for an entire compartment.
The luggage Sheng Wanyan carried to Shenzhen was even more abundant than when she had arrived. After all, Gu Second Uncle and Gu Second Aunt had prepared quite a few things for her.
While in Shanghai, Sheng Wanyan had purchased many gifts for the family back home and mailed them directly from there.
However, for the items she mailed back, Mother Gu didn’t let anyone unwrap them, waiting until she returned to look over them together.
“Our other partner is currently over in Shenzhen.”
“The clothing brand is a partnership between her and me. I’m letting you know so you have it in mind.”
Hearing her words, the two managers nodded quickly. If Sheng Wanyan hadn’t told them, it would be bad if they inadvertently caused offense.
“Yes, Boss, we’ll keep it in mind.”
“Quite a few managers from Ice City are also in Shenzhen. You all should get to know one another and learn from each other.”
“Understood, Boss.”
The two managers noted it down. They had learned a great deal in Shanghai and broadened their horizons significantly.
They hadn’t expected to have the chance to visit Shenzhen to experience things as well. The benefits of working for the clothing store were simply too excellent.
Sheng Wanyan spent most of the train ride keeping to her compartment. Now that the country was opening up, people nowadays were even more dangerous than before.
The three of them remained highly vigilant. There were actually people catching human traffickers on the train, which had even alerted the public security officers.
The officers conducted searches everywhere, and naturally, Sheng Wanyan and the others’ compartment had to be inspected as well. Sheng Wanyan cooperated fully with the investigation.
“Oh, heavens! My grandson!”
A refined elderly lady clutched her chest, leaning tightly against the wall, her face entirely covered in tears as she wept continuously.
She had been returning to their old home with her grandson to pay respects to their ancestors. On this return journey to Shenzhen, her grandson had actually been abducted by human traffickers.
She had searched everywhere but couldn’t find him. She wanted to search the compartments one by one, but lacking the authority to do so, she had been chased out by the passengers.
She could only approach the train conductor, and once the train stopped at a station, they reported it to the public security bureau.
Now that the public security officers had arrived and were searching all over the train, the train couldn’t continue its journey.
“Nothing here.”
The public security officers searched Sheng Wanyan and the others’ compartment but didn’t find the child. The leading officer thanked them for their cooperation.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
Sheng Wanyan nodded, cast a glance at the weeping elderly lady outside, withdrew her gaze, and looked over the crowd outside.
Seeing this scene, the two managers also felt a pang of pity in their hearts. They were both mothers themselves; if their children were stolen by traffickers, if it happened to them, they probably wouldn’t want to live either.
“You two stay here, I’ll go take a look.”
The moment Sheng Wanyan’s voice fell, the two managers looked at her with worry. Human traffickers were not good people after all; what if something happened?
“Boss, it’s dangerous outside.”
“It’s fine, aren’t the public security officers right there?”
Sheng Wanyan wanted to confirm something she had caught a glimpse of just now. Hearing that the officers were present, the two managers also put their minds at rest.
Sheng Wanyan stepped out, following the crowd to watch the officers search the train car by car. Sheng Wanyan’s gaze locked onto a middle-aged man sitting in the open carriage section.
