A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 998 Interviewing the New Director

Gui'er nodded and said, "Okay." But in her heart she thought to herself that when she came to Hong Kong, she lived a very simple life, going back and forth between two places every day, and her only friends were her classmates, teachers, and Chen Zhongyu. On the other hand, Wu Mingqiang had already adapted to the environment here and was even thriving.

The next day, she told Chen Zhongyu about how the building Wu Mingqiang had bought could be used as a new bookstore.

Lin Peishan frowned and said, "But people have died in that place."

Chen Zhongyu laughed and said, “We are materialists. We’ve already started a revolution, why would we care about these things? Countless of our comrades have sacrificed their lives. If there really are such things as spirits, why haven’t our enemies received their retribution yet? I went to that house the other day, and I thought it was quite good, both in terms of location and structure. In particular, it has an attic on the third floor that can be used as a warehouse to store supplies. It couldn’t be more suitable. You don’t know that before we transported those medicinal herbs, I had to find a warehouse specifically for them. It cost money, and I had to ensure their safety. I was really worried.”

When Gui'er saw that he agreed, she happily said, "Okay, I'll talk to Brother Wu later and ask him to pack up the things inside so you can move in anytime."

That day, she and Lin Peishan helped tidy up the bookstore for several hours. They set up a stall at the entrance of the bookstore and discounted all the books that could still be sold to clear out the stock. Quite a few people came to patronize the store, including Liu Shaolin from the former Xingmin Daily. Liu Shaolin said with a smile, "Brother Chen, you've been missing for several days. I thought you had been murdered. Zhou Hong has been worried about you and has been nagging about you every day."

Chen Zhongyu laughed and said, "You've gone to so much trouble. I just had a little accident and got harassed by some thugs. It was an undeserved misfortune."

Zhou Hong is the female editor of Xingmin Daily. Gui'er thought about the large sum of money she had lost at the pawnshop and hurriedly asked Liu Shaolin, "Photographer Liu, does our newspaper need a lot of advertising copy right now? If so, could you recommend some for me to write?"

Liu Shaolin laughed and said, "You don't want to write gossip about the wealthy or scandalous stories about dancers, so why not write an advertising slogan? Anyone can do that, and it's so lucrative. Why would it be your turn?"

Gui'er paused for a moment, then thought it made sense and said nothing more.

When Gui'er returned home that evening, Wu Mingqiang happened to bring Zhao Ding over. Gui'er noticed that Zhao Chaofeng was slightly plump, with a round face full of flesh, which made him seem quite amiable. Although his hair was already gray, it was neatly combed back. He wore a pair of brass-rimmed glasses on his nose, the lenses as thick as the bottom of a bottle, and he would wipe them with his sleeve from time to time—perhaps because fat people tend to sweat, the lenses were always fogged up.

He wore a dark blue silk short jacket, not new, but clean and crisp, with the collar and cuffs neatly ironed. A wide cloth belt was loosely tied around his waist, cinching his slightly protruding belly into a semi-circular shape, and he had a faint smell of tobacco on him.

He smiled slightly when he saw Gui'er, stepped forward and bowed, saying, "You must be the young lady of the house? Butler Wu mentioned you, saying that although you are young, you are a very decisive person. If I could come to Juzhen Pawnshop to work, I would definitely do my best to make our shop successful."

Gui'er said politely, "Zhao Chaofeng, please sit down. I heard from Brother Wu that you are a veteran with many years of experience, so you must be very experienced."

Zhao Ding walked to the sofa on the side of the hall and sat down, smiling as he said, "I worked as a shop assistant and a clerk at Baochang Pawnshop in Guangzhou for seven years and three years as a clerk. After that, my elders brought me to Hong Kong to make a living, and my whole family came here with me. We worked at Baofeng Pawnshop for 15 years. I can distinguish between old and new jade, judge the clarity and color of jadeite, and tell the quality of gold and silver by the sound of it and by its weight. I can recognize twelve types of leather and tell the year of tanning of fur and silk. I can disassemble and identify clocks and watches; I can tell the difference between a Swiss pocket watch and a Japanese watch just by holding them. Our industry has strict rules, and I keep my mouth shut. I don't ask questions I shouldn't ask, and I never haggle when customers redeem their pawned items. If you would be so kind as to give me a job, I will do my best to serve you."

This self-introduction was comparable to a modern job interview self-introduction. Dingxiang listened from the side with wide eyes, completely stunned.

Gui'er glanced at Wu Mingqiang, observing his expression. He seemed to have already decided to use Zhao Ding. Since she herself didn't understand these things, she smiled and said, "It seems Zhao Chaofeng is an expert. I trust you with the shop. I usually have to go to school, so I, Steward Wu, and Brother Acheng will handle all the affairs of the shop. If you need anything, just tell them."

Zhao Ding was delighted to hear this and said, "Thank you very much, Miss. By the way, regarding the salary, I used to get 40 silver dollars at Baofeng Pawnshop. I think it's the same price here, right?"

Gui'er was stunned for a moment. She really didn't know how much Chen De used to earn, so she turned to look at Wu Mingqiang.

Wu Mingqiang plopped down on the sofa, crossed his legs, and said, "We're a small business, and the shop has only been open for a short time. The previous Chen Chaofeng only offered 20 silver dollars. Of course, since you're more experienced, we can offer 30. As for your original 40 dollars, that's not impossible either. It's just that if our shop breaks even and makes a profit after this year, we can increase it to 40 dollars. Let's see if the two sides can get along, okay?"

Zhao Ding hesitated for a moment, glanced at Gui'er, then at Wu Mingqiang, and finally smiled and said, "That's right. The boss trusts me and has entrusted the shop to me. If I achieve results, the boss will not treat me unfairly. Let's make it a deal."

Seeing that the matter had been settled, Gui'er warmly invited him to stay for a meal and said, "If you don't have a place to stay, you can stay at the pawnshop. There are some employees sleeping on the third floor of our pawnshop."

Zhao Ding waved his hand and said, "Thank you for the meal, Miss. My whole family is in Hong Kong, and we have a place to live there. Although my family is tiring, we still have to take care of them. I didn't tell them when I left, and now that I'm not going back, they must be worried. So I'll take my leave now."

After Zhao Ding left, Gui'er sighed and said to Wu Mingqiang, "I didn't expect hiring a pawnshop clerk to be so expensive. Our shop has just suffered such a big loss. When will we be able to break even? If we have to operate at a loss, do we even have enough funds in the books to support us?" Chen Zhongyu is opening a bookstore, and she will inevitably have to spend some money again. Although Lin Peishan also contributed some this time, it was only a few dozen silver dollars, which is still more than half short.

Wu Mingqiang quickly said to her, "Miss, don't worry. If you don't have enough money, I do have some savings."