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“Aunt Sugar!” Shota, who only sees his aunt a few times a year but always receives gifts when she returns, called out sweetly upon seeing her.
“Good boy!” Bai Tang pinched Shota's smooth cheek and went to her room to get a two-foot-tall Transformer model to hand to Shota.
Shota's eyes lit up, almost glued to the model.
“Thank you, Aunt!”
“Play by yourself!” Bai Tang ruffled the top of his head; his soft hair felt very nice.
Shota beamed with a bright smile and ran to the sofa to play with the model. Bai Tang walked over to Bai Ma.
“This child has grown much taller compared to last year!”
“Kids grow fast!” Bai Ma replied. “Not only has he grown quickly, but he’s also become more sensible. Oh, it’s heartbreaking for a child without a father!”
“Doesn’t he still have you two as his godparents?” Bai Tang smiled and changed the subject, asking about Bai Ma's other relatives.
“Zhang Rui is bringing his girlfriend home at the end of the year!” Bai Ma became frustrated at this point. Zhang Rui was Bai Tang's and Aunt Er's son, a year older than Bai Tang, and he already had a girlfriend while her own daughter showed no signs of dating.
“Ah! Then I need to hurry and prepare a meeting gift!” Bai Tang pretended not to notice Bai Ma's resentment and mused, “What should I give? A jade bracelet or a jade pendant?”
“Just send something random. Don’t show off like a nouveau riche,” Bai Ma believed in keeping wealth discreet.
“Understood!” Bai Tang saluted.
Wu Xuemei knew Bai Tang was coming home, so she left work early. By six o'clock, both families were seated at the dining table. The delicious Yangzhou Cuisine had everyone exclaiming how good it was.
“Tang Tang, which restaurant did you buy these dishes from? They are really delicious! Next time, I'll bring my colleagues to eat,” Wu Xuemei said, taking a bite of the Lion's Head, so tasty that she almost swallowed her tongue.
“I made them myself; you can't buy this outside!” Bai Tang took all the credit for herself. She couldn't exactly tell Wu Xuemei that these delicious dishes were packed from ancient times, could she? Fortunately, her cooking skills were decent. While wandering in the Red Mansion World, she learned some local specialty recipes. With fresh ingredients from ancient times, although she couldn't replicate the flavors of a restaurant, she could manage about 70-80% of it. And that 70-80% was still better than what modern restaurants served.
“That's great, Tang Tang! With such good cooking skills, Uncle and Auntie will be enjoying life,” Wu Xuemei laughed. She knew what the girl was thinking and didn't mention anything about "having good cooking skills can win a man's heart."
“Mei Mei, how's your job going? Is it tough? What's your salary?” Bai Tang asked without hesitation.
“I earn around 1,800 to 1,900 a month now. If I get more orders, I can make about 2,300 or 2,400,” Wu Xuemei's expression darkened a bit. Her education level wasn't high, and she couldn't find an easy job with good pay. She could only work as a salesperson running around all day long, leaving her little time to spend with her son.
“I see! How about coming to help me? I can pay you 2,000 a month, but the working hours are flexible; you can work from home too,” Bai Tang had already thought about what she wanted to do before coming home. She didn't want to continue with a nine-to-five job; she wanted to open an Online Store for more freedom and ease. After returning from the Red Mansion World, this idea became even more solidified since she wouldn't have to worry about sourcing products!
Wu Xuemei was tempted; flexible working hours and being able to work from home meant she would have extra time to spend with her son.
“Tang Tang, what kind of work is it? What can I do?”
“I want to start a website where you help me take orders and ship them out while also answering some customer inquiries. I can handle the rest like sourcing products,” Bai Tang explained.
“An Online Store? What are you planning to sell?” Wu Xuemei had heard about making money through Online Stores before and knew the barriers to entry were low. However, without capital or sourcing channels, it seemed like just an idea.
“I want to sell some Embroidered items and Classical Crafts.” Bai Tang put down her utensils and took out an embroidered handkerchief to give to Wu Xuemei. “This is for you!”
Wu Xuemei took the handkerchief and saw that it was embroidered with lifelike plum blossoms, as if she could smell their fragrance.
"This exquisite embroidery must be expensive, right?" Wu Xuemei exclaimed, unable to put down the handkerchief.
Bai Tang smiled but did not answer. Twenty copper coins for an embroidered handkerchief and ten coins for a string were truly too cheap!
Xing Xiaokang's big eyes rolled around as he looked at his mother and then at his aunt. The child understood from their conversation that Aunt Sugar had given his mother a job, which meant that she wouldn't have to work as hard anymore and would have more time to spend with him. He was extremely happy, feeling that it was great for his aunt to come back.
The child squinted with joy, sipping the noodle soup—his main dish was noodles. "Dumplings for sending off and noodles for welcoming," White Mother had already prepared the noodles.
"Kid, what are you laughing about? Aren't you on summer vacation? Then help your mom out more; your aunt will pay you when the time comes," Bai Tang said with a smile to Xing Xiaokang.
Xing Xiaokang's eyes lit up as he excitedly asked, "Does that mean I'm working my way through school?"
"Sure!"
"Wow, then I have to tell Liu Shun and make them envious!"
"Liu Shun? Who is that?"
"He's my classmate, my best friend."
Second, Bai Tang took a refreshing break. After resting enough, Bai Tang began looking for a house. City D is a third-tier city with not many high-end properties, but many mid-range developments have environments and qualities that are not inferior to those in large cities. After visiting three properties and comparing the available options, Bai Tang purchased two new homes: one with three bedrooms and two living rooms, and the other with one bedroom and one living room, both on the same floor. Bai Tang planned to let Xing Xiaokang and her son live in the one-bedroom apartment. Given their close relationship, Father Bai and Bai Mama would surely be reluctant to separate from Xing Xiaokang. Plus, since Bai Tang had the money, she didn't mind paying an extra two hundred thousand. At that point, she would symbolically charge Wu Xuemei three to four hundred yuan in rent as an employee benefit, which Wu Xuemei would definitely not refuse.
"Ms. Bai, do you have a preferred renovation company?" the saleswoman asked with a bright smile. She was thrilled; she hadn't expected that this seemingly ordinary woman was an invisible rich person. From entering the sales office to going to see the properties, it took only two hours for her to finalize the purchase with full payment. It was truly unexpected! Ha ha, other salespeople would surely be jealous of her, but that was because they lacked vision!
"Do you have any good recommendations?" Bai Tang was quite troubled by the renovation process; it seemed too complicated. She hoped to find a company that could handle everything at once.
"My boyfriend works for a renovation company. He also bought a new house in Binhuh Park and has done renovations for several places," the saleswoman seized the opportunity to promote her boyfriend's business.
"Great! Please help me contact him. I hope he can handle all the renovations at once without me having to run around!" Bai Tang decided to give the saleswoman a chance, and since she lived in the area, she probably wouldn't take advantage of local residents.
"Okay, I'll contact him right away!" The saleswoman was even happier now and immediately called her boyfriend. When he heard the news, he was very excited and rushed over to the sales office, arriving in less than ten minutes.
"Hello, Ms. Bai! My name is Lu Heng!" Lu Heng appeared to be around twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, tall and built more like an athlete than a designer.
"Hello!" After shaking hands with Lu Heng, Bai Tang discovered that his new house was actually in the same building as hers, just one floor below.
"What a coincidence!" Lu Heng laughed. "I'll give you a twenty percent discount!"
"Thank you so much!" Bai Tang smiled and accepted the offer. They quickly signed the renovation contract before Bai Tang took her leave.
"Today was quite profitable; let's celebrate tonight! I want to eat barbecue!" Bai Tang overheard the saleswoman say to Lu Heng.
"No thanks; I have social engagements tonight. You can find someone else to go with you!" Lu Heng's tone was clearly dismissive.
Bai Tang quickened her pace to leave the two, as it seemed their relationship was not very harmonious!
The house had been purchased, and renovations had begun. Bai Tang finally had time to handle matters for her Online Store. Opening an Online Store was simple, but there were too many stores online, and since Bai Tang hadn’t paid for any promotional fees, her shop was lost among the multitude of others.
“Tang Tang, this won't do! Our store has no reputation, and people aren’t coming to us. It’s been over half a month, and we haven’t made a single sale!” Wu Xuemei had already quit her job to help Bai Tang manage the store at home.
“Mei Mei, it’s normal for a new store to be like this! Don’t worry, all our products are high-quality; they will definitely sell.” Though she said this, Bai Tang felt a bit anxious. Good wine doesn’t fear being in a deep alley, but in today’s society, who has the time to wander into an alley looking for wine? Bai Tang considered whether she should let the website exploit a bit and spend some money on advertising for the store.
Before she could make a decision, she heard Wu Xuemei excitedly shout, “Tang Tang, we have a sale!”
The first order was for a single embroidered handkerchief and a wooden cosmetic box. However, these two items already totaled three thousand yuan—everything in the store was not cheap, which was also the main reason no one had bought anything until now.
“Hengdian World Studios?” Wu Xuemei wrote down the recipient's address and speculated, “Could it be that a costume drama crew is buying our stuff?”
“Who knows!” Bai Tang's eyes lit up. If they could really tap into the costume drama crew market, then selling items from their own store wouldn’t be a problem in the future. She hoped that this buyer had good taste and could recognize the quality of their products.
The buyer indeed had good taste. A week after sending out the items, the buyer placed another order. This time, he ordered ten embroidered handkerchiefs, ten wooden hairpins, sixteen hair loops, and two cosmetic boxes.
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