Reborn as a Tough Army Wife
Chapter 152 - 147: Looking After the Store

Chapter 152: Chapter 147: Looking After the Store

So, after much contemplation, Zeng Weiguo came up with an idea and said to Fang Pingying, "Pingying, what do you think about this?"

He paused briefly, then continued, "I will find you a shop for half a year, during which I will take care of the rent. You just need to buy the ingredients and make the cakes, and I won’t take any share from the sales."

"However, you need to sign a contract with me. If I want the management rights to your cakes within these six months, you must give me priority and cannot sign with others or sell them elsewhere first. If you give them to me, I will sell them in my department store. As for the profit sharing, we can discuss the specifics later."

"Selling them in a department store?" Fang Pingying was skeptical, feeling that it might not reach that stage within six months, and breaking into the market with a new brand wouldn’t be so easy.

Zeng Weiguo noticed her doubts and explained with a smile, "Of course, if we do sign a contract later, I will repackage your cakes and sell them officially. Just like this won’t work, even if the quality is excellent, if the grade does not match, people won’t want to buy it."

Fang Pingying saw that her Uncle Xiao Juzi, although shrewd in business, seemed reliable and sincere. By offering the shop himself, he was clearly showing his sincerity.

This was a temporary contract, and Fang Pingying was willing to sign with him, but she couldn’t speak as definitively as he did, giving him priority over the management rights in the future would not be a problem.

But the condition was his offer must be at least the same as what others would offer. Obviously, she couldn’t prioritize him if his offer was worse than others.

Fang Pingying also discussed some details with him, such as what she mentioned was only about the management rights, and if anything else came up later, they would have to negotiate separately and be clear about these details in the contract.

Fang Pingying expressed all her concerns, which somewhat surprised Zeng Weiguo.

He had heard from Xiao Juzi that Fang Pingying was a military wife from the countryside and thought she might not understand much beyond her work, but unexpectedly, she considered many things more thorough than him, and her legal awareness was strong.

Even though it was only signing a temporary contract for now, she was very serious.

Zeng Weiguo originally thought highly of Fang Pingying’s cakes and genuinely wanted to collaborate with her, especially with Xiao Juzi’s connection making him feel sorting these matters out was beneficial and saved him the trouble of explaining, as Fang Pingying understood all on her own.

Afterwards, Zeng Weiguo took note of everything Fang Pingying said and mentioned drafting a contract to get her signature and seal once ready.

Eager to sort out the shop matter, he then mentioned he had a nearby shop and immediately wanted to show it to Fang Pingying.

Fang Pingying nodded, asking Xiao Juzi beside her, "Juzi, are you coming with us or resting here for a while?"

Zeng Weiguo looked at Juzi, concerned about her pregnancy, and suggested, "Juzi should find a place to sit here for now, she shouldn’t overexert herself in her condition."

Juzi scolded Zeng Weiguo with a glance, hugging his arm, "Uncle, I’m fine. I’m just pregnant, not disabled, walking isn’t a problem."

Zeng Weiguo smiled and lightly scolded her, "Stop talking nonsense."

It was evident that Xiao Juzi and her uncle had a very close relationship; to an outsider, he might seem like her biological father.

Honestly, Fang Pingying felt envious; she had lived two lifetimes and never had such affection from elders.

As Xiao Juzi insisted on going, Fang Pingying observed there was no comfortable place nearby for her to rest, so she smilingly said, "Since Uncle Zeng’s shop isn’t far from here, it’s better for Juzi to come with us. It’ll be boring for her to stay here alone."

Though Zeng Weiguo allowed Fang Pingying to call him ’uncle’ just like Juzi did, Fang Pingying had no uncles, and it was difficult for her to address him like that, so she called him Uncle Zeng.

Uncle Zeng did not object to the title; he smiled and nodded, "Alright, let’s all go together, and come to my house for lunch afterward. Your aunt has been missing you for a long time."

Afterwards, he specially told Fang Pingying, "Pingying, you should come too."

Fang Pingying felt it was somewhat inappropriate to visit his house just after their first meeting and politely declined, "I’d better not. Zhiyong is waiting for me to come back and cook lunch."

Hearing Luo Zhiyong’s name, Zeng Weiguo smiled lightly, "Zhiyong is capable, he can cook for himself. I’ve been to your house several times before you married him."

"Yeah, come along, Sister Fang. Otherwise, when you leave later and I go home alone, you wouldn’t be reassured," Xiao Juzi came over and coaxed Fang Pingying, "Besides, my aunt is very easy-going, don’t worry, she’ll be very welcoming."

Since both Juzi and Zeng Weiguo said so, it was hard for Fang Pingying to refuse, so she agreed to go to Zeng Weiguo’s house for lunch after checking the shop.

Zeng Weiguo’s shop was close to the provincial city railway station, in a good location with a lot of foot traffic and spacious inside.

The front part was a storefront, followed by a kitchen, bathroom, and a small bedroom.

If it were up to Fang Pingying to rent a shop on her own, she might have not been able to afford such a good place.

Checking the place, she noticed that no extra money was needed for renovations, only some wooden shelves and counters for displaying goods.

These installations were mentioned by Zeng Weiguo as something he could handle; a few wooden shelves were no big deal.

This meant, now they just had to wait for Luo Honglan to arrive; they could start anytime after buying some materials for cake-making.

Speaking of Luo Honglan, Fang Pingying quickly excused herself to Zeng Weiguo and Xiao Juzi, and sent a telegram from the post office near the railway station to her home.

Because she had already discussed with Luo Honglan at home, Fang Pingying didn’t write much as the telegraphs charged by the word and were expensive, so she only wrote: "Hong Lan, come to the provincial city immediately."

At noon, Fang Pingying went with Xiao Juzi to Zeng Weiguo’s home for a meal. Since it was her first visit, she didn’t feel right showing up empty-handed and bought some fruits along the way.

Zeng Weiguo’s wife, Jiang Hong, was an ordinary housewife, very enthusiastic and easy-going.

Upon opening the door and seeing Xiao Juzi, she playfully complained, "You naughty girl, finally decided to visit, huh? I called your office several times, always being told you’d be here soon, I waited at home for days but saw no one."

"Auntie, look I’m here now," Xiao Juzi almost jumped into the house, pointing at Fang Pingying and introducing her to Jiang Hong, "Here, let me introduce you, this is Sister Fang, her husband and Huang Lin work in the same office, and she will be going into business with my uncle as well."

(To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com) or cast a monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)