Chapter 62

The next morning at six o'clock, Li Dad and Li Mom had already gotten up to wash up. After brushing his teeth and rinsing his mouth, Li Dad said to Li Mom, "Honey, I'll go to the station to buy tickets first."

Li Mom, who was brushing her teeth, nodded. Li Dad turned and left the bathroom. Just then, she remembered something and hurriedly chased after him, mumbling, "It's only a dozen hours to Wencheng. Why don't we just take the hard seat? We can tough it out and save a lot of money."

Li Dad smiled, "I'd like to buy hard seats, but your sister-in-law is coming along. Isn't it a bit inappropriate for her to take the hard seat?"

Li Mom then remembered and quickly said, "Then let's get the hard sleeper!"

"Alright." Li Dad responded, turned to leave, and Li Mom returned to the bathroom mirror to brush her teeth. Just about ten seconds later, Li Dad came back. Li Mom asked in surprise, "Why did you come back?"

Li Dad raised his hand and showed three train tickets, "Here, I bought the tickets."

"Are you performing magic?" Li Mom was dumbfounded, "How could it be so fast?"

"Your son bought them." Li Dad shrugged, looking pleased, "The tickets are on the coffee table. I guess he went out last night to buy them."

"This kid..." Li Mom smiled bitterly, "Does he think his dad is getting old? Afraid you'll have trouble buying tickets?"

Li Dad sighed, "No, the kid isn't afraid I'll have trouble. He's afraid we'll suffer to save money."

As he spoke, he handed the tickets to Li Mom, "Here, look. Soft sleeper, one upper berth and two lower berths, all in the same compartment."

Li Mom glanced at the price on the ticket and felt a twinge of pain, but thinking of her son's thoughtfulness, she was deeply moved. She said to Li Dad, "With such a good son, we'll probably enjoy a peaceful life in our later years."

When Li Mu woke up, it was already past ten o'clock. As soon as he opened his eyes, he heard voices in the living room. After getting dressed, he found that his aunt had come over.

Seeing Li Mu come out, his aunt, Sun Qinqin, quickly smiled and greeted him, "Little Mu, you're awake."

Li Mu nodded and smiled, "When did you come, Aunt?"

"I've been here for a while." Today, when Sun Qinqin looked at Li Mu, her eyes were different from before. Although this boy was her junior, she had heard from her second sister and brother-in-law about his capabilities, which were indeed quite frightening.

A young man in his early twenties earning money and planning to spend tens of thousands to open a store for his parents was something she had never imagined. If it weren't for Li Dad and Li Mom telling her personally, she wouldn't have believed it.

When Li Mu went to Wencheng to sign the contract, she had already learned everything from Li Dad and Li Mom. Faced with such a good opportunity, she was so excited that she couldn't sleep all night.

Sun Qinqin was excited not only because of the 1,500 yuan base salary promised by Li Dad and Li Mom but also because of her desire for new things.

She was not yet old, having married Li Mu's uncle at eighteen and now being in her early thirties. She was quite adaptable and had done various jobs over the years, giving her more experience than the average state-owned enterprise employee.

Recently, when Sun Qinqin started working at a supermarket, she discovered that the various rules and systems behind it were a very attractive field of study. From the placement of goods to the sales techniques of salespeople, and even the supply chain concepts she had heard about, Sun Qinqin developed a strong desire to learn more.

As the training date approached, Sun Qinqin took the initiative to visit, hoping to gather more information to prepare herself.

Li Dad and Li Mom only had a vague understanding of the entire specialty store plan. As they chatted, they realized they couldn't answer many of Sun Qinqin's questions. Fortunately, Li Mu had just woken up.

Li Mu sat on the sofa and listened to his aunt's questions, most of which were about the specific responsibilities of a store manager, and a few about the future of the industry.

"Aunt, many of your questions are key points for the training. The headquarters has systematic textbooks and case studies that will teach you how to be a good store manager, how to manage your team, and how to motivate them to achieve the best sales performance. As for the industry's prospects, I am very optimistic."

Li Mu hadn't worked in the clothing industry before, so he couldn't answer the specific details.

Sun Qinqin nodded, feeling both nervous and excited, "I am very interested in these things, but I'm not sure if I have the ability to do it well."

Li Mu smiled, "If you put your heart into it, you will definitely do well!"

Sun Qinqin didn't stay long at Li Mu's place; she still had to go home to cook for the family. After chatting for a while, she got up to leave. Li Mu saw her off and then hurried to the bathroom to wash up. After finishing, he received a call from an unknown number.

As soon as the call connected, the other party introduced themselves.

Jinling Chengyu Construction Engineering Co., Ltd.

Li Mu's eyebrows raised; this was the decoration company designated by the provincial agent.

So they contacted him so quickly?

In the call, the other party told Li Mu that they needed to send personnel to take photos and measure the actual dimensions of the storefront. Then, the designer would create the plans based on the headquarters' decoration manual. After the construction drawings, design renderings, and quotes were completed, they would communicate with Li Mu. If everything was fine, they would immediately send the construction team.

Li Mu asked about the construction time for a space of about 170 to 180 square meters. The other party replied that it would take 20 to 25 days. Many materials were designated by the headquarters, and items like shelves would be shipped directly from the headquarters, so the renovation would be very fast.

Li Mu was quite satisfied with this timeline and immediately scheduled the data collection for the next afternoon.

Thinking about his schedule for the next day, he realized he had quite a lot to do. In the morning, he had to go to the driving school for class and start practicing. In the afternoon, he needed to accompany the decoration company's personnel to collect data. His parents and aunt were leaving on the train at around seven in the evening, and he had to see them off...

As for the simple plan for the semi-finals tomorrow night, he definitely didn't have the time. He couldn't follow every game like a nanny. Otherwise, how would he manage when they went to Yanjing for the finals?

...

Zhao Kang hadn't seen Li Mu for several days. He wanted to invite him to dinner, but Li Mu declined, saying he had promised to have dinner with Su Yingxue.

Zhao Kang didn't blame Li Mu for prioritizing his girlfriend over his friend. Instead, he prepared to update Li Mu on recent developments over the phone.

Li Mu said, "Let's go to Green Island Ice House after lunch and talk in person."

"Alright!"

At that time, Haizhou didn't have any coffee shops, only a few teahouses and ice houses. The teahouses were filled with middle-aged people playing cards, while the ice houses were popular among young people. They had booths and private rooms, and you could sit in the air-conditioned room all day with just a few dollars' worth of ice cream.

After lunch, Li Mu and Zhao Kang took a taxi to Green Island Ice House and found a quiet booth on the second floor.

After sitting down, Li Mu ordered some cold drinks and snacks and asked Zhao Kang, "How was your trip to Yanjing?"

Zhao Kang smacked his lips, looking nostalgic, "A big city is a big city. There are hundreds of bus routes and even a subway. Zhongguancun is also very impressive, with many internet companies clustered there."

Li Mu nodded, "Zhongguancun will definitely be the center of China's internet industry in the future."

"I also visited Renmin University and the vocational college I applied to," Zhao Kang smiled. "We are very close, just two bus stops apart, and both of us are near Zhongguancun, which is just a few stops away."

Li Mu smiled, "That's great. It's good to check it out in advance."

Zhao Kang asked, "By the way, what have you been up to these past few days? I heard from my parents that Uncle Li and Aunt Xiao have both voluntarily applied for early retirement?"

"Um, you've heard about it?"

"Not just heard, now everyone at Xiling Coal Mine is talking about it, saying that Uncle Li and Aunt Xiao are planning to go into business and look down on their jobs at Xiling Coal Mine."

Li Mu smiled helplessly. Everyone thought that those who voluntarily left state-owned enterprises were going into business, which was a bit vague but basically correct.

As they talked about this, Li Mu thought of Guo Yuhang, and a hint of anger flashed across his face.

Zhao Kang, who was sensitive, noticed Li Mu's unease, "What's wrong? Something on your mind?"

"Um." Li Mu nodded and shared his suspicions.

"Damn it, this must be Guo Yuhang's doing!" Zhao Kang almost immediately concluded after hearing Li Mu's analysis.

Then, Zhao Kang asked Li Mu, "Do you want to get back at him? Find two or three people, get a sack, and when the opportunity arises, put it over his head and beat him up. Run away after that, and the police won't be able to find out who did it!"

"No point." Li Mu waved his hand, "Beating someone is the most boring solution. Besides, his father is wealthy and influential. If he uses his connections with the police and investigates thoroughly, they might still trace it back to us. Then we'll be in direct conflict. Guo Lin has been the mine manager for so many years and has embezzled at least a few million. He could crush us with money."

"Then what do we do?" Zhao Kang blurted out, "He used such underhanded tactics against your uncle and aunt over such a small matter. Can you swallow this?"

"Of course not." Li Mu's eyes flashed with a hint of ruthlessness, "To take down Guo Yuhang, we need to find his and his family's weaknesses. That might have a significant impact."

As he spoke, Li Mu suddenly looked at Zhao Kang, "We must control the core members of the Douban forum. Teach them how to use proxy IPs when they have the time. It might be useful in the future."