Wang Cheng had no idea Chu Yifeng had done it deliberately. After that day, however, he went quite a while without seeing Zheng Jingen again and gradually stopped thinking about the matter.
Ever since Guan Jiahe started working for Wang Cheng, life had become much easier for his family of four. This was especially true after they moved into Grandma and Grandpa’s house. With the two old people helping care for the twins, Chen Li was no longer constantly overwhelmed. The boys were already one year old and had been weaned several months ago, so Chen Li could finally carve out a little time for herself.
Guan Jiahe did not have to make deliveries every day either. The supermarkets were now ordering several times more jam than before and usually needed several days or even a week to sell through a shipment. Since Wang Cheng treated him well, Guan Jiahe sometimes spent his free time looking for other business opportunities.
Jam was meant to be eaten, but there were many ways to eat it. It could be spread on bread, baked into jam pies, stirred into tea, mixed with ice cream, or spooned onto pastry before baking. Businesses that used large quantities of jam usually preferred to order directly from producers.
Guan Jiahe recognized that opportunity. In his spare time, he deliberately sought out shops like these and recommended their jam. Naturally, he was rejected plenty of times, but good products eventually found a market. Several stores ultimately agreed to take a trial batch. If sales went well and customers liked it, they would reorder.
Because of his diligence, the Wang family jam business improved even further. Almost every day, someone called to place an order. As a result, they became short-handed again and needed to hire another employee.
Papa Wang told Wang Cheng, and Wang Cheng did not know whether to be happy or miserable because his father dragged him back to work again. Fortunately, this time they did not need someone who could drive and knew Shanhai City well. Less than two days after posting the hiring notice, several people came to ask about the job.
Wang Cheng had planned to hire a man because moving goods could be tiring. Papa Wang, however, hired a young woman instead. Her name was Guan Ying, a local girl from Guanjia Village. She wore her hair in two braids, was reasonably pretty, and had a sweet smile. She had just turned nineteen. There were many children in her family and money was tight, so she had gone out to work after finishing middle school. People said she was very hardworking. After seeing her, Wang Cheng swallowed his complaints.
“You’ll be on probation for three months. The salary is sixteen hundred. If you do well, once you’re formally hired it’ll go up another four hundred. There’s also business development. If you can bring in customers the way my cousin does, you’ll get an extra profit share. For example, my cousin brought in several stores the other day, so this month he’s already earned another two or three hundred in commission.” Wang Cheng had come up with this system the previous night. Simply raising wages might not be enough to motivate employees. If they could see a wider path ahead, they would have much more incentive.
“Thank you, Little Boss. I’ll definitely work hard.” Guan Ying was thrilled. She had been working for more than three years since leaving school, and this was the first time she had encountered a job where her first month could pay fifteen hundred yuan. Her previous jobs had paid around a thousand, with increases of only two or three hundred over an entire year. It normally took several years to reach this level.
“No need to call me Little Boss. Just call me Brother Cheng. Work hard and don’t disappoint my expectations.” Wang Cheng patted the girl’s shoulder like an elder giving encouragement.
“Yes, Brother Cheng. I won’t let you down.” Guan Ying clenched one small fist, full of confidence.
Not far away, Papa Wang watched the scene and no longer knew what to say. The reason he had gone against his son’s wishes and hired a female employee was actually part of a little plan he and Mama Wang had made.
Wang Cheng’s business was centered around Shanhai City, unlike Wang Ning’an, who was far away. Papa Wang and Mama Wang had ideas but nowhere to act on them. They did not dare be too obvious, but a few small moves were still possible. Guan Ying was someone another villager had recommended to Mama Wang.
Guan Ying was an honest, hardworking girl without too many complicated thoughts, exactly the kind of daughter-in-law Mama Wang considered ideal.
So after discussing it, the couple decided to hire her. Even if their son did not notice her at first, seeing her every day might eventually stir something. Once he discovered how good Guan Ying was, perhaps he would become interested.
Papa Wang had been ordered to observe the two, but they only disappointed him. From his son’s expression, Wang Cheng clearly regarded Guan Ying like a younger sister. And the girl herself did not seem to be thinking in that direction either. Papa Wang could practically see the characters for money, money, money reflected in her eyes. He suddenly felt exasperated. Why was Guan Ying so dense? Winning over his son was the same as winning over all that money.
“Ah!”
“Dad, what are you doing?” Wang Cheng suddenly appeared in front of him.
Papa Wang jumped. The instant he saw his son, guilt rushed out in force. “N-nothing. Oh, right. Aren’t you meeting Mr. Chu? Hurry up. Don’t be late.”
One look was enough for Wang Cheng to know his father was hiding something, probably related to Guan Ying, but he did not expose him. “Then I’m going. I’ll leave the shop to you and Cousin. Remember to tell Mom later that I won’t be coming home for dinner tonight.”
“Go on.”
Papa Wang did not suspect anything about the fact that Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng had suddenly begun seeing each other frequently. Occasionally, he even told Wang Cheng to invite Chu Yifeng over again. Wang Cheng agreed verbally, though in reality he did not dare invite him too often.
Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng had arranged to go to the mall today to buy winter clothes. A few days earlier, Chu Yifeng had seen that Wang Cheng was wearing only a jacket in the middle of winter and had immediately objected. Then the shop became busy, and Wang Cheng had no time to buy clothes, so the trip had been delayed until now.
Chengping sold clothes too. One entire street was devoted to clothing shops, but most sold women’s clothes. Out of ten stores, there might not even be two that carried men’s clothing. Rural men usually did not care much about what they wore as long as it was usable, so no one paid much attention. Wang Cheng had originally planned to make do as well, but Chu Yifeng refused.
The weather in Shanhai City was already very cold. Temperatures were one or two degrees lower than the previous year and had fallen directly below freezing. Heavy snow continued for two days, turning more than half the city white. Residents who had hidden indoors during the snowfall came out to get some air, and the long-missed crisp cold felt especially refreshing.
Shanhai City had been hit by a strong cold front this year. It was not as extreme as northern areas where temperatures dropped to more than ten degrees below zero, but old winter clothes were no longer warm enough. As a result, shopping malls had been packed recently, and even coats needed thicker versions.
The two went directly to the nearest commercial district, where there was a large shopping center. The stores were divided into high, middle, and lower price ranges on different floors. Wang Cheng wanted to go to the basement level where the mid-range clothing was sold, but Chu Yifeng dragged him up to the second floor instead. That was where the high-end brands were located. Every clothing store there carried a famous label. Unlike Chengping, the difference between men’s and women’s clothing was not absurdly lopsided. At least for every three women’s shops, there was usually one for men.
Chu Yifeng did not often shop for clothes himself, but he had good taste. The styles he chose were not flashy, and the colors were mostly subdued, which suited Wang Cheng perfectly. The only thing Wang Cheng objected to was how extravagantly the man shopped every single time.
From thermal underwear to shirts, socks to ties, pajamas to coats, Chu Yifeng piled up an absurd amount in no time. He was the sort who either did nothing or did everything at once. At this rate, they might as well move the entire store home. Chu Yifeng’s excuse was that Wang Cheng owned too few clothes, and unfortunately, Wang Cheng could not argue with that.
“Try this one.” Chu Yifeng handed him a black wool coat lined with soft fleece and of medium thickness.
“Isn’t this a little too long?” Wang Cheng held it up. It would probably reach his thighs. He had never worn such a long coat before.
“Try it.”
Wang Cheng had no choice. Fortunately, he could put on outerwear without using a fitting room. He took off his jacket and slipped into the coat. Sure enough, it reached his thighs. “Won’t this make it hard to move around?”
“You’re overthinking it.” Chu Yifeng turned to the saleswoman. “Pack this one too.”
Two saleswomen were following them by now, probably because they had rarely seen anyone shop this decisively. From feet to neck, everyday wear to loungewear, even two formal outfits, their arms were already full of clothing. “Boss Chu, did you always buy clothes like this?” Wang Cheng asked while taking off the coat. The last time had been similar.
“No,” Chu Yifeng unexpectedly denied.
Wang Cheng raised a brow in surprise. Just as he was about to ask why the habit had changed, Chu Yifeng added another sentence.
“I used to have people custom-make a whole batch for me directly.”
“…”
Before meeting Wang Cheng, Chu Yifeng had almost never bought clothes himself. He would simply commission professional designers to make more than a hundred pieces for each season, right down to his socks. In his mind, if you were going to shop, it made sense to buy everything at once.
Wang Cheng actually liked this decisive method. What he preferred was not having to spend money. Having grown up with very little, he was used to calculating carefully whenever money was involved. Yet after getting together with Chu Yifeng, he discovered that each outing somehow cost more than he used to spend in several years. He paid for the purchase himself, and several hundred thousand yuan vanished from his card just like that.