2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 55 The Two Sisters' Little Thoughts

January is the coldest month in Ningbo. The damp and cold weather, combined with the changing ocean monsoon, makes people outdoors feel the biting chill.

Unlike the snowy season in northern regions, winter in Ningbo is a rainy season.

The drizzling rain was a real nuisance to office workers.

"I'm freezing! Boss, you're so mean! You have a car, yet you still make me go buy food!" Li Jinglan complained as she shivered as she entered the house.

"What does this have to do with me? You said you were tired of that restaurant and wanted to try another one, so you're the one who has to go find it."

"Oh, I was just saying that offhand. Let's eat at that place again tomorrow, it's closer."

As the weather grew colder, Tan Jincheng didn't want to go out unless there was something important to do. He spent his days hiding in the office, enjoying the air conditioning, and occasionally checking the stock market.

Since Tan Jincheng's Moutai shares first broke even on January 7, the stock price rose for four consecutive days, heading straight for over 38 yuan. At its peak, the 1000 shares of Moutai he held earned him more than 2000 yuan.

This made Tan Jincheng extremely happy. He felt that he was good at stock trading again, so he made another 5000 yuan and decided to do some short-term trading when he was bored.

The result was exactly as expected: in less than a week, 5000 became 4000.

That person who bought Zhongguo Ping An around 80 yuan and reduced the cost to 85 yuan would still be a sucker even if we go back more than 10 years.

If you have no memory of your past, don't even think about making money in the stock market using your old stock trading skills. You should just stick to doing business honestly.

"Boss, why aren't you eating? Is the food not to your taste?"

Just as Tan Jincheng was lost in thought, Li Jinglan's voice rang out again: Zhang Xupeng wasn't here today; he had gone to the packaging supplier's place.

"Huh? No, I was thinking about something. I'm not a picky eater," Tan Jincheng said helplessly.

Li Yanning and Li Jinglan are sisters from northern Anhui. As is well known, although northern and southern Anhui are in the same province, their food cultures are fundamentally different. Today, Li Jinglan bought steamed buns as her staple food!

Tan Jincheng can accept noodles, but he's not used to steamed buns; they're too dry.

"Let me tell you, boss, these steamed buns are so delicious, they're soft and filling."

"Yes, yes, but remember to buy me a portion of rice next time. If you want steamed buns, just buy your own portion."

"Oh, okay, I got it," Li Jinglan said, sticking out her tongue.

Li Yanning couldn't help but chuckle as she looked at her somewhat embarrassed cousin. She had told her to bring a serving of rice, but her cousin hadn't believed her. However, she couldn't expose her now.

He then changed the subject, saying, "Boss, why haven't you gone out these past few days?"

"It's too cold. I don't want to go out unless it's something important. I'll just stay in the office with the air conditioning on."

"We won't be taking any orders before the Lunar New Year, right? It's already December."

"We're not accepting any more orders in principle, the factory can't keep up with the production; what's wrong, are you homesick?"

"That's true. With the Lunar New Year approaching, there are far fewer pedestrians on the streets," Li Yanning said with a smile.

Li Jinglan, who had just been a little embarrassed, continued, "Yeah, I'm also a little homesick. Boss, don't you miss home?"

"I wish I could too. I wonder what my sister looks like now." These days, cell phones don't have video calls, and computer cameras don't have good resolution. Besides, we don't have a computer at home, and it's too cold to carry Tan Jinyue to an internet cafe for a video call.

"Hehe, boss, can we take an earlier holiday this year? That way you can go back to see your sister sooner." Li Jinglan chuckled.

"Don't worry, the holiday won't be very late; but I heard that people get married quite early where you're from, so you two will probably be going on blind dates when you go home, right?"

“I’m not in a hurry, I’m still young; my sister will definitely go on blind dates, she’s been on several for years, but hasn’t found anyone she likes, and my aunt is getting really anxious.”

Li Yanning glared at Li Jinglan, annoyed by her sister's loose tongue, and also feeling distressed.

Born in 1980, she is now 25 years old, which is considered an older single woman in northern Anhui, where people tend to get married earlier.

Every year during the Spring Festival, she longs to go home early, but she is also afraid to go home.

Seeing Boss Tan's mischievous look, Li Yanning suspected that Boss Tan was doing it on purpose, just wanting to find out when the holiday would be this year.

"Don't worry, the holiday won't start too late. Mr. Zhang and I aren't stingy. We'll make sure you go home in style for the New Year."

Immediately afterwards, Tan Jincheng smiled at Li Yanning and said, "Having money in your pocket gives you more confidence when going on blind dates, right, Sister Li?"

According to Tan Jincheng's observation, the two sisters are usually quite frugal. Although Li Jinglan often complains about buying this and that, the biggest thing she has bought so far is an MP4 player.

These two sisters couldn't bring themselves to buy down jackets; they were wearing the defective ones they had picked out from the last batch of samples. It seems they must have saved up some money.

"Hehe, thank you, boss. Will you still want us next year?" Li Jinglan said ingratiatingly, as she was quite satisfied with the job.

I'm especially happy to see the sales volume of my Taobao store steadily increasing this month.

"Yes, why not? As long as you work hard, I'll give you a raise after you've worked for a full year."

Li Jinglan's question wasn't strange. She had heard her sister and some former colleagues from the electronics factory say that when working in a small company, employees usually make an agreement with the boss about whether they will come to work next year. If they don't come the following year, they will ask the boss to settle their wages for this year.

If you come back the following year, the boss will withhold one month's salary.

At this time, most people have a weak sense of law, especially those in small private enterprises; signing a contract upon starting work? Forget about it.

Li Jinglan glanced at her cousin, and both sisters couldn't hide their joy.

Over the past three months, the two sisters have come to realize that although Boss Zhang has some say in the company, Boss Tan is the one who truly makes the decisions, especially when it comes to money.

Boss Tan said that I would get a raise after working for a full year, so that's basically it.

Besides the prospect of a raise, Li Yanning was also happy about what Boss Tan had just said: that he would make sure the two of them went home in style. It seemed that they would definitely get a year-end bonus or travel expenses, the only difference being how much.

Including January, Li Yanning worked for three and a half months. Her salary in October wasn't much, but her salaries in November and December were both over 5000 yuan, and her salary in January wouldn't be low either.

If there's a year-end bonus, that would be even better. Including the money I saved at my previous company, I'll be able to save over 4 yuan this year, which is the most I've ever earned since I started working!
They can certainly go home in glory.

"I wonder how much bonus Boss Tan will give us. I'm kind of looking forward to it."

(End of this chapter)