The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Gu and Sun Jiaming first visited Grandma Sun and Li Hua at the Sun family’s home.

Grandma Sun’s health had improved considerably. Although she still couldn’t get out of bed, she had gained some weight and her complexion was much better. She also said she felt stronger than before.

Li Hua could now get out of bed and walk with support. She had also put on some weight, and her spirits were incomparably better than when she was with the Zhou family.

Aunt Zhao was taking care of them both, but it wasn’t tiring work. She just cooked and cleaned, all things she was used to doing. She felt it was even easier than being at her own home.

Not only did Sun Jiaming and Gu’er pay her monthly, but they also frequently gave her gifts. Her husband and son had even taken over Gu’er’s old shop for mountain goods and were doing quite well. Aunt Zhao was exceptionally satisfied with her current life, so she took care of the two women with great dedication.

After chatting for a while, Sun Jiaming took Gu’er home.

The days flew by, and in the blink of an eye, about twenty days had passed.

During that time, Gu’er and her group made a trip to the Soviet Union. They gave the US Dollars to Inspector Ivan and spent two days with Marina and her sister. When the time came, they secured the market stalls. Gu’er handed the stalls over to Ruan Huang Wenbin and his men. She had no other choice, as she didn’t have anyone else she could use there. However, she planned to gradually train her own people, because relying solely on the Vietnamese wasn’t a sustainable solution.

They had two stalls: one for retail and one for wholesale, which worked out nicely.

Everyone knew that people who secured stalls like these usually had powerful connections. That, combined with having a formidable Vietnamese man like Ruan Huang Wenbin on site, meant no one dared to cause trouble. Business was excellent. In Ruan Huang Wenbin’s own words, their only worry wasn’t a lack of customers, but a lack of inventory. He urged Gu’er and her team to bring more goods over.

Gu’er’s group transported goods over a few more times. This time, it wasn’t just them—the father and son from the Zhao family, Li Datie from the Li family, and others went along to help. Gu’er didn’t give them a share of the profits, though. Instead, she paid them two hundred yuan per round trip as hired help, and they were thrilled with the arrangement.

The inventory of goods from the Soviet Union was nearly ready, and the renovations on the department store were also complete. Gu’er and her team were very satisfied after their inspection and paid the workers their wages.

The training sessions were also drawing to a close. Gu’er had taught them everything she could think of, and Qu Feng took over the rest of the training.

Qu Feng decided to stay, and Gu’er signed a contract with him. He would have a three-month probationary period, after which he would be formally promoted to manager with an increase in salary and benefits.

Qu Feng hadn’t expected that even though he was willing to stay, she would still require a trial period. ’But,’ he thought, ’it’s not just me choosing them; they also need to assess my capabilities.’ He knew that if he didn’t have the skills, Gu’er’s team wouldn’t keep him. After all, they were looking for real talent, not to hire some deadbeat who would collect a paycheck for doing nothing.

Qu Feng understood this perfectly. He was fired up, determined to do an excellent job and show them what he was made of. ’I’ll prove I’m the talent they’re looking for.’

Gu’er was well aware of Qu Feng’s mindset. Just as he suspected, she was indeed evaluating him. ’I’m hiring a manager,’ she thought, ’so I need to see his capabilities.’ Three months would be enough for them to get used to working with each other. If he was a good fit, she would entrust the department store’s management to him. If not, there was no reason for either party to tolerate an arrangement that didn’t work.

So she was pleased that Qu Feng was motivated to do his best.

All the employees signed contracts, which provided them with a degree of job security.

Among the new staff were three members of the Li Family: Li Ying, Li Zhi, and Li Yin. They had all undergone the training and didn’t act conceited just because they were related to Gu’er; they behaved just like any other employee. The Li family was incredibly grateful that Gu’er had given their children jobs. Gu’er’s maternal grandmother visited Li Hua a few times. During her last visit, she held Li Hua’s hand and marveled for a long time. The little girl she had taken in all those years ago had grown up and become so capable. She was no longer the pushover from the Zhou family; she was a boss now, able to support Li Hua and even repay the Li family. The grandmother had truly never imagined it.

Meanwhile, Cui Feng had caused a scene twice, demanding to come to the city and work in Gu’er’s department store. Gu’er rejected her flatly, warning that if Cui Feng made any more trouble, she would rescind the job offers for Li Ying and the others. That finally made Cui Feng back down. She was genuinely scared of Gu’er now. She had seen how miserable the Zhou family had become after Gu’er forbade Li Hua from getting involved in their affairs, so she didn’t dare to truly cause a scene.

With the renovations finished and most of the inventory in place, Gu’er had the staff begin stocking the shelves according to the plan. She delegated the task of managing this to Qu Feng and Liu Yuan, as another test of their abilities.

They had also successfully recruited twenty other businesses to lease retail space in the department store.

All twenty businesses signed contracts with Gu’er, agreeing to abide by the department store’s policies, and their sales staff also went through the training program. Since they were the first group of tenants, Gu’er offered them preferential rates. Future tenants, however, would not receive the same terms.

The sign for "The People’s Emporium" was already hung up high. As the name implied, this was a department store for the common folk.

One of the retail spaces on the first floor was given to Uncle Zhao’s family, so they could sell their mountain goods there as well. Uncle Zhao and his family were incredibly grateful and promised to work hard.

Gu’er surveyed the department store. The first floor was dedicated to general merchandise and a wide variety of foods. There were cooked meats, loaves of "Gu’s Fragrance" bread, all sorts of sausages, drinks like Gewasi and soda, as well as various regional specialties and mountain products. It had everything one could possibly want.

The second floor housed the Russian goods shop and a novelty section. It was filled with all kinds of products they had brought back from the Soviet Union, as well as trendy new items sourced from Guangzhou and Wenzhou. The selection was vast.

The third floor was dedicated to clothing, shoes, and similar items.

For the time being, three floors were more than enough. The fourth floor could be opened up later if needed, but there was no call for it at the moment.

After a few more days of frantic preparations, Gu’er inspected each floor and found them nearly ready. Everything that needed to be displayed was in its place. Some stalls and sections had little in them, as they were earmarked for future tenants, but no one had leased them yet. Gu’er decided they couldn’t be left empty, so she spread out some of the existing inventory to fill the space.

They scheduled the grand opening for the fifth day of the ninth month. Lin Shan was being transferred to a post in the countryside in a few days—his orders had already arrived—and Gu’er wanted to open the store before he left. She wanted her father to be there with her to see it happen.

On opening day, in addition to Lin Shan, she had also invited the Party Secretary of Yonghong District and other officials, as well as Li Zhi’s father. With all their friends and relatives also in attendance, it was a large crowd.

What Gu’er hadn’t expected was that the vice-mayor showed up. As soon as he arrived, the seat of honor was naturally offered to him. Having the vice-mayor and the Yonghong District Secretary for the ribbon-cutting ceremony was a huge boost to their prestige. With Lin Shan, Li Quanyou, and the others also present, plus camera crews from the local TV station and newspaper, the event caused quite a stir.

Gu’er advertised a 20% discount on all items for the first three days. Between the sale and the natural curiosity people have for a new department store, crowds of shoppers flooded in.

Many had come just to browse, but they were impressed to find a huge selection of items—practically anything they could want. The store was clean and brightly lit, and the sales staff were all smiling, enthusiastic, and attentive. They even promised a full return or exchange for any problematic items bought there. Many people were tempted, and even those who hadn’t planned on buying anything ended up making several purchases.

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Finally finished the fifth Chapter for today! My husband is still waiting for me to make dinner. I didn’t take my daughter out today, but I promised to take her out to play tomorrow; her school year is about to start. I’ll add an extra Chapter tomorrow to repay all of you for your support, so there will be three Chapters tomorrow, and then we’ll be back to the regular schedule the day after.