Gong Ruini clutched a bag full of money tightly and dashed into the house. Even though she knew no one shady would appear around here, how could she not be nervous?
Zhao Guangran was grinning from ear to ear as well, "Today was not bad."
"A good start," Gong Ruwen was really in a good mood. Although Gong Ruini had painted a rosy picture before, he was, of course, anxious before the Spring Festival couplets were sold.
Previously, they wrote their own Spring Festival couplets. After arriving in Beijing, he saw many people’s couplets were handwritten. Would they be willing to spend money to buy them?
He never expected business to be so good, and it left him stunned.
Cao Na was also in a daze, pulling on Gong Ruwen, "We really sold so many things."
Even the "Fu" character, which was in short supply, and yet so many Spring Festival couplets were also sold out. Especially, buyers were purchasing them in sets, which shows people’s living standards are quite good now.
Though Gong Ruwen himself was also dazed, he couldn’t say that in front of Cao Na, "Yeah, we sold all our Spring Festival couplets."
With a grand gesture, he showed it was all perfectly normal, "Actually, we printed them quite well, and they were all written by us, choosing the best ones for Uncle Gong to carve."
While the "Fu" characters might not all stand out, the Spring Festival couplets definitely stood out, and they weren’t expensive. If they still couldn’t sell well, it would really be problematic.
"Hmm, hmm."
"I knew they would be a hit," Cao Na was absolutely confident in them.
"It’s getting late; I should head back too." Cao Na didn’t know they would set up a stall today, nor did she expect it to take so long.
She looked at the ti, and with her absence, she didn’t know how worried her parents would beco. Moreover, Gong Ruini and the others needed to go back to count the money; following them wouldn’t be appropriate.
Though Gong Ruini was eager to go back to tally up how much they’d earned, she had sothing to say to Cao Na, "Brother, take Cao Na to make a call, and we’ll take her ho after dinner."
Ah, eating here? Recalling Granny Cai’s cooking, it would be a lie if Cao Na said she wasn’t tempted, but is this okay?
"We’re discussing cooperation next." Yes, Gong Ruini had decided that this venture would be a partnership.
Ah, discussing cooperation? She hadn’t invested any money, so Cao Na was puzzled. What was going on?
Zhao Guangran didn’t understand either, why involve Cao Na? Although they’ve been hanging out with her lately, it doesn’t an she needs to be involved in every money-making venture.
Including her in such an obviously profitable venture was basically like giving away money.
The people wanting a share of the profit were already nurous, but since everyone sharing was like brothers and sisters, he didn’t mind. However, adding Cao Na, he truly wasn’t happy about it.
"Brother." To make Gong Ruini change her mind, only the eldest brother could do it. Zhao Guangran looked pitifully at Zhao Xuran.
Zhao Xuran didn’t understand why Gong Ruini suddenly suggested including Cao Na. If she had this idea before, she would have brought it up early on, not dropped this bombshell suddenly.
As for why to involve Cao Na, the answer wasn’t difficult to see, "I think there’s no problem."
No way, even the eldest brother agreed, is there sothing wrong with them? Zhao Guangran was furious.
"Including Cao Na will bring us more business." Zhao Xuran said calmly, "Think back to when we wrote that study guide."
Though they had a decent reputation, claiming they were highly famous would be an exaggeration, but why did their book sell for such a price? Wasn’t it because Cao Na’s father helped with the promotion?
Zhao Guangran certainly knew that, but what he wanted to say was, "That’s different from Spring Festival couplets."
"What’s different?" Gong Ruini really saw no difference. "Spring Festival couplets aren’t expensive, do you think people would be stingy?"
Maybe not every household with kids would buy exercise books, but Spring Festival couplets are different. How many people these days have good calligraphy skills?
"Otherwise, why would they ask us to sign them and insist it be in calligraphy?"
Fine, Zhao Guangran decided to go along with their decision. Actually, he didn’t have a choice; he was simply in the minority, even if Gong Ruzhi supported him, it wouldn’t matter.
Sigh, to avoid offending anyone, better agree, after all, it just ans sharing a bit of the profit, having an extra helper isn’t bad either, otherwise, like today when they were busy, it really wouldn’t be a joke.
Even with Zhao Guangran agreeing, would others still have issues? Gong Ruini felt her and Zhao Xuran’s negotiation and reasoning skills had improved significantly.
Too bad there was no strong inclination towards law; otherwise, being a lawyer wouldn’t be bad, might even beco a top lawyer. Just the thought made Gong Ruini feel particularly thrilled.
Cao Na made a phone call ho, feeling anxious as she rejoined Gong Ruini and the others. Along the way, she resolved that she couldn’t join the partnership. They were being kind, but she couldn’t be so shaless.
Before Cao Na could express her decision, she was dumbfounded by what Gong Ruini threw into her hands, which wasn’t money, but a piece of paper.
"Our partnership agreent, I like to discuss things upfront; if there are issues, we’ll work them out. Let’s not start off on good terms only to end up uncomfortable," Gong Ruini wasn’t singling out Cao Na here.
Even with the many collaborations with the Zhao Brothers, Gong Ruini preferred this approach.
Cao Na didn’t dare to look, "Uh, I..."
"Listen, we’re just working together. Otherwise, when your dad refers business to us, we’d have to pay a referral fee." Gong Ruini cut off Cao Na’s words directly.
"And when you help out, how much do we pay you? You also know there’s not much profit, and we’re out in the snowy wind," Not to ntion today’s business was good, but can it compare with wholesale?
Don’t think just because there’s plenty stocked in the factory’s warehouse now, once they establish a reputation at the market, people will seek them out for wholesale couplets, and then their business might not be as good.
And there’d be no share for Cao Na in that side of the business, which Gong Ruini needed to make clear to her. It might be uncomfortable, but it definitely needed to be clear.
Cao Na didn’t dare imagine the factory’s profits, "I never expected to have a share in selling Spring Festival couplets." So people suggested Gong Ruini was using Cao Na, but that’s not the case.
Actually, including Cao Na wasn’t about using her; rather, it was looking out for her. Many scored better than her, but did Gong Ruini include them?
So when she knew about Gong Ruini’s plans for the winter break, she intended to repay the favor. She didn’t expect that before she could settle it, she’d owe another favor. What to do, sigh.
"Why the sigh?" Gong Ruini knew Cao Na hoped not to owe favors, but here she was, "You can take the agreent ho to let your dad see."
Such a big decision, even though Cao Na had earned quite a bit of money already, she couldn’t decide on her own, needing to discuss it at ho.
Cao Na nodded, unsure what her family would think, suspecting they’d be shocked.
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