RYEY -Chapter 317 The Beginning of a Bright Future

When Mother Li saw Li Huan and Zhao Hui return, she hurriedly stood up. The few people that Shouhou had brought were amazed at the dazzling array of goods in the grocery store and the steady stream of customers coming in.

Li Huan pulled his mother to the backyard and handed her a contract. “Mom, this is for you. Keep it safe—it’s the contract between our family and the government for the retail and wholesale company.”

Mother Li opened the contract and, seeing the dense lines of text, felt a little dizzy. She instinctively wanted to return it to Li Huan—these matters should be handled by him alone.

“Mom, why don’t you take a look at the partners?” Li Huan said.

“I know, it’s Qiao’s uncle, and you have Shouhou as well.”

“Look again,” he urged.

Finally, Mother Li found the line listing the distribution of shares. But when she saw Li Ming’s name, she was stunned.

“Huan, what does Qiao mean by this? Xiao Chengli and Xiao Ye Jing are her own children too—how can only Li Ming’s name be listed?”

Seeing his mother’s reaction warmed Li Huan’s heart. In her eyes, no matter the surname, all children were part of the Li family. So any money should be distributed equally.

“Mom, Qiao must have her reasons. Just trust her on this,” Li Huan reassured her.

Mother Li suddenly thought of Ye Jun’s large courtyard and Qiao’s smaller courtyard. She finally understood: what seemed like a huge fortune to her was only a part of the whole in Qiao’s eyes.

“Huan, tell me—how much money does Qiao’s family really have?”

“I don’t know the exact amount, but it definitely exceeds your imagination. Take her uncle, for instance—bringing out a hundred thousand yuan is effortless for him.”

Mother Li nodded. The grocery store had been open for nearly two months, and the growing stream of customers and rapidly increasing sales proved it.

“Huan, the store has earned a lot in these two months, but since Qiao doesn’t want the money, what will happen to it?”

Li Huan smiled. This money was just the startup capital for the store. Now that the building was ready, they would need to source the goods themselves, which required manpower, materials, and, of course, financial resources.

So Qiao had first sold large quantities of materials from her own reserves to gather the startup capital. This money would now be used to purchase goods, pay wages, and cover operating expenses.

“Mom, the people Shouhou brought today—later, get to know them properly. For anything the store needs, just tell Shouhou. He’ll arrange delivery. This money will serve as the purchase fund, and also pay wages for you, grandma, and the sales staff.”

“Nonsense! What wages? This is my son and daughter-in-law’s business. How could I take money?”

“No, Mom, this is your grandson Li Ming’s business. You should take the wages—otherwise, this kid will always treat you like free labor.”

Mother Li laughed and nodded in agreement. Whether she took the wages or not was entirely her choice.

After finishing the venison, Zhao Hui tucked the contract under his arm, carried the supper Mother Li had prepared for him, and caught the evening train to the capital, arriving the next day.

However, when he returned to the courtyard, it was empty—except the living room was piled high with burlap bags. Opening them revealed all kinds of clothes, shoes, and socks.

His wife had returned. Zhao Hui put the contract in a drawer, then pushed his bicycle and rode toward Peking University. From a distance, he saw his wife and daughter standing at the door, heads held high.

“What are you looking at?”

“Daddy, you’re back! Did you sign the contract?”

Zhao Qijun happily hooked her arm through Zhao Hui’s.

“With your old man in charge, of course it succeeded. You underestimated me, didn’t you? Honey, you worked hard.”

Qin Yue’s cheeks flushed slightly at his praise. She had spent half a month in Huacheng finding a supplier with good prices, quality, and styles.

“Have the staff been hired? Are the prices finalized? Oh, I need to apply for a business license and decide on a store name.”

“All set. Look, Mom came up with the store name—‘Qijun Clothing Store.’”

Zhao Hui had already seen it and was pleased. Everything was ready: now they just needed to stock the store and pick an auspicious opening day.

The grand opening fell on a Saturday. Cheng Qiao brought the children to join the fashion model lineup. Even the four kids wore new clothes, standing at the store entrance to showcase them.

Business was unprecedentedly good. Seeing potential trouble, Ye Jun left Xiao Chengli behind and took the other three kids away—if anything happened to the children, the loss would be too great.

The three-storefront space was converted into a two-section clothing shop. During the three-day opening promotion, almost half the stock sold out. Qin Yue sighed, realizing how crazy people in the capital were about fashion.

She would need to head south again, this time stocking both new goods and popular items, as well as small accessories like hats, scarves, gloves, and pretty shoes.

Time flew, and soon snow began to fall. Everyone worked and studied diligently, achieving gratifying results.

The Li Ming Retail & Wholesale Company in the county was now operating. Shouhou served as general manager, Tang Wei led the old team on sales, and a variety of high-quality, affordable products flowed continuously into the market.

Qiu Min handled finances. Though she had studied for a long time, her practical experience was limited. Xu Hui used weekends and free time to assist her in organizing the accounts.

Aunt Wang was clever. During the agricultural off-season, she and Wang Duocai grabbed a stall at the wholesale market. She sold whatever she could—wild goods brought by her sons, or if none, shoes and mats she made herself.

Uncle Niu followed Li Huan’s advice and rented a stall for furniture production. He worried at first about lack of business, but people loved the small stools and kang zithers he made.

Orders poured in, but one person couldn’t handle it all. Seeing an opportunity, Niqiu clung to him, wanting to become his apprentice.

With Chen Tiezhu’s support, Uncle Niu accepted Niqiu, letting him start with simple tasks to gradually grow his skills.

The Li Ming grocery store in Chuncheng became a hit. Many items could be bought without ration coupons, and prices were only slightly higher than rationed goods—affordable for everyone.

The store offered a wide variety of products, unlike the supply and marketing cooperative, which had limited selections and haughty, peacock-like staff.

At Li Ming’s store, Mother Li was famously kind. If a price was off by a little, she waved it off, saying it could be settled later.

The sales staff were courteous. Even with picky customers, they smiled warmly, showing no impatience at all.