All the beddings had been washed and the blankets been sun dried. They only need to make their beds and they would be all set. There was a total of two rooms. One for Shu Li and Pingan and one for Niuniu.
“Pingan is getting to be a big boy. Why don’t you give him his own room and share a room with Niuniu?” Shu Yan couldn’t help but suggest.
“Pingan is weak and had always been sharing a bed with me. Besides, many children in town sleep with their moms and dads till they are in their teens. What’s the problem?” Shu Li was surprised when she heard what Shu Yan had said. All the kids around her had always been sleeping with their parents. She never realized that that was an issue.
Never mind about the town, even in their village, many families had 4 ~ 5 members in the same house and some poorer family even upward of 10 in one house. Nobody ever said that was bad.
“That is because their situation doesn’t allow for it. If you are in a better situation, you can afford to make better decisions. Pingan might be feeble but he is a boy and should be more independent. You don’t want him to always rely on you, do you? We will all get old one day and can’t take care of them for life. Not to mention that he will get married and have his own children one day.”
Shu Li went silent for a little while and, gritting her teeth, decided to listen to Shu Yan’s advice and have Pingan has his own room and Niuniu to share one room with her.
Their place took only one day to get ready. Shu Li insisted on moving there with her children that very night no matter what Shu Yan said to her.
“I have caused you enough troubles. We should move now that our own place is ready.” Even if they were real sisters, she shouldn’t continue to trouble Shu Yan. Shu Yan had already done enough for her.
The remodeling of the front half of the shop began the next day. All they needed was a fresh coat of paint and add a few shelves. Chen Fei that that would take at most a week. Shu Yan looked around front and back and looked for a sign shop to have a sign made. Shu Li came up with the name of the shop on her own. She named it Happy Stationary.
She said because going to school is a happy event and being able to buy extra reading books and exercise sets would be even happier. Shu Yan went silent for a little while after she heard Shu Li’s reasoning. She really wanted to tell her that most students here were really not that happy.
With Chen Fei taking care of the remodeling, the next biggest issue that they need to resolve was where to get inventory from. Feng Zeyu happened to have someone working as a security guard for a publisher who had their own print shop. They would be able to get inventory at a good price. With Feng Zeyu as their guarantor, they could only pay half upfront and pay the rest after the inventory had been sold. That was another big saving.
As for stationary, there were specific markets for that. Shu Yan asked around and brought Shu Li there once. Shu Li would be able to do that on her own going forward.
The store opened up only 20 days after Shu Li’s arrival to City Nan. That was indeed a record speed.
On the first day, Shu Yan, Feng Zeyu, and even Hu Ruixue sent over flower baskets. Shu Li bought some fire crackers herself and that was the stationary’s grand opening. Their sales topped 600 yuan on the first day. Even though the notebooks and stationaries only went for a penny or two each but they were very profitable. 600 yuan gross still provided them with 300 yuan net profit.
Looking at the change, Shu Li could not believe that she could make more than what Lu Qingwei make in half a month in just a day.
“Am I dreaming, Little Sister?” Shu Li pinched herself. “Ow. I am not dreaming. 300 yuan a day? That mean…… 9,000 yuan a month….. Oh mi, I am going to get rich?”
Shu Yan chuckled and said, “You made a lot in day one because of promotional activities. You won’t be able to make this every day. Also, business will be slow during summer and winter vacation time. Just be prepared.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” Shu Li smacked herself over her head and finally recovered from all the money. “Don’t worry. I am just in shock. I understand. I will be happy with 100 yuan a day from now on.”
“Well, you can aim a little higher than that,” said Shu Yan with a smile. “Take care of this shop first and you will be able to open up branch stores later. All you will need to do is to visit the store daily and collect the money. Save up more money and you will feel much better once you are able to buy your own place in City Nan.”
“Right. I do need to buy a house. Pingan is doing much better after using the herbal medicines prescribed by the herbal doctor. I feel so much more relieved now.” Shu Li smiled happily. “Now I can focus more on other things. I will save up a lot of money and send my children to college then buy a house so I can have a home.”
Everyone says that money gives men courage. But that applies to women just the same. Only when Shu Li realized that she was capable of making money when she had the confidence to say such a thing.
