The young man had beads of sweat the size of beans on his forehead, the baseball bat in his left hand had long since fallen to the ground, he was breathing heavily, and he looked up at Zhuang Rui with an expression as if he were a gangster who had just been slapped three times and stabbed six times after sleeping with his mistress.
"I wouldn't have guessed this young man was involved in organized crime..."
"Yeah, he doesn't look that old, yet he's already the eldest..."
"Keep your voice down, don't attract that person over here."
"They don't even look alike. Haven't you seen those gangsters in movies? They all look like idiots..."
"You watch too many movies. Who wears a 'I'm a bad guy' sign on their forehead? Let's stay away from this so we don't get involved..."
The onlookers initially thought Zhuang Rui was going to suffer a great loss, but unexpectedly, things took an unexpected turn. Not only did the person who had bullied the little girl step forward to apologize, but he also staged a scene of self-harm as an apology. However, the way he was addressed as "Boss Zhuang" convinced everyone that Zhuang Rui must be involved in the underworld.
"Uncle Wu, bring those documents over. I'll go back and look at them. You can handle things here..."
Zhuang Rui was both amused and exasperated by what those people said. These days, people are too misled by Hong Kong movies. Where are there so many triads? Do they really think the national public security organs are just sitting around doing nothing?
However, Zhuang Rui also had the same thought in his mind. It had been more than ten minutes since he called the police, and no one in uniform had come. It was just like in the movies, where the Hong Kong police or the People's Public Security Bureau always came to clean up the mess at the very end.
"Okay, boss, please wait a moment..."
Wu Zhuozhi was also a little taken aback by what he had just witnessed, but he also realized something: the son-in-law of the Qin family was far more than just a director of the Jade Association. It seemed he had a background he was unaware of. When speaking to Zhuang Rui again, Wu Zhuozhi unconsciously used honorifics.
"Yang Bo, you're not allowed to cause trouble at this store again, or I'll come after you..."
Zhuang Rui took the folder of documents from Wu Zhuozhi, turned to Yang Bo and said that he didn't tell these people to leave. The group of people stood there blankly, waiting for Zhuang Rui's decision. They didn't dare to run away. If they caused trouble for their families while playing outside, they could forget about getting money from their families to live a carefree life in the future.
"Brother Zhuang, don't worry, it definitely won't happen, it definitely won't happen. I'll throw a banquet to thank you another day, you must do me the honor of attending..."
Yang Bo hadn't expected the matter to end so easily. He couldn't help but secretly admire Zhuang Rui's magnanimity. If it were them, they would have tormented the person involved to the point of near death in a situation where they were in the right.
"Let's talk about it later..."
Zhuang Rui waved his hand, holding Nannan in one arm and Qin Xuanbing's small hand in the other, and walked out of the store. He was too lazy to argue with these teenagers. Although he was only a few years older than them, with Zhuang Rui's current experience and knowledge, he was no longer on the same level as them.
Seeing that Zhuang Rui really didn't take it to heart, Yang Bo finally breathed a sigh of relief. Today's incident wasn't a bad thing for him; at least it deepened Zhuang Rui's impression of him. As for Young Master Fan, that unlucky fellow was just a medium.
However, Yang Bo was so nervous that he only noticed the woman next to Zhuang Rui when Zhuang Rui was about to leave. Although she was wearing a very tacky bright red dress, her figure, appearance, and temperament were actually better than the famous star Xu he had met before. Looking at his own newly changed celebrity girlfriend, he couldn't stand her at all. How could the difference between people be so great?
"Zhuang Rui, is your shoulder really okay?"
After leaving Qin Ruilin's house, Qin Xuanbing asked worriedly. She had seen it clearly; the stick had definitely hit him. She was afraid that Zhuang Rui would save face and stubbornly refuse to say anything.
"It's okay, I'm thick-skinned, you see..."
Zhuang Rui chuckled, lifted the little girl he was holding onto his shoulder, making the little one giggle. Children forget things quickly and soon forgot what had just happened.
Before Zhuang Rui even left the pedestrian street, he saw seven or eight policemen rushing towards Qin Ruilin from one end of the street. He couldn't help but shake his head. Their efficiency was really high. If it were a robbery, they would probably have disappeared by now.
"Let's go, I'll take you two out for a big meal..."
They got up a little late today, and it was time for dinner. Zhuang Rui drove the two of them to Quanjude. This was Qin Xuanbing's first time in Beijing, and she raved about the crispy and fragrant roast duck. She even started fighting with the little girl for food, displaying her childlike nature.
"Hello, who is this?"
Zhuang Rui always eats very quickly, and this time he was picking his teeth with a toothpick. Just as he was watching the two beautiful women, one big and one small, playfully bickering, his phone suddenly rang.
"Boss, this is Wu Zhuozhi. I have something to report to you."
The phone call came through Manager Wu's Mandarin, which had a slight Cantonese accent.
"Oh, Uncle Wu, what's wrong? Tell me, is it the police causing trouble, or are those guys causing trouble again?"
Zhuang Rui stood up and walked towards the door. The people from all over the country were arguing in different dialects, making the hall of Quanjude a bit noisy.
"No. No, none of that, boss, we've made a big deal today..."
Wu Zhuozhi sounded excited on the phone.
"A big deal?"
Zhuang Rui asked, puzzled. He had only been away from Qin Ruilin for an hour, so the police had probably just finished dealing with the matter. Wu Zhuozhi was a well-traveled man; what kind of deal could excite him so much?
"Yes, we just sold a total of 13 million worth of jewelry. Boss, even during the Chinese New Year, we didn't have such high sales figures."
Wu Zhuozhi smiled happily. In addition to his annual salary, he also received a year-end bonus. Based on the total sales for the year, he could earn more than a million yuan. In other words, the more he sold, the more he earned, so of course he was happy.
"Huh? What's going on?"
Zhuang Rui was also taken aback. He had just looked at the reports in the store. Under normal circumstances, Qin Ruilin's monthly sales were only around nine million. Today, he sold more than ten million in one day, which was indeed a big deal.
"Boss, it's all thanks to your influence. After we dealt with those officers and maden, those young men started buying things. They bought all the most valuable jewelry in the store and said they'd come back often so we could stock some higher-end items..."
Having been in the business for so many years, Wu Zhuozhi was well aware of the young people's intentions in buying things—they simply wanted to curry favor with Zhuang Rui, and he was happy to spread the word.
Right now, the young man who led the conversation with the boss is still outside. He was the most generous spender just now, buying nearly six million worth of jewelry in one go. Wu Zhuozhi deliberately raised his voice as he said this, making sure the people outside could hear him.
Although Yang Bo was young, he was very shrewd. When he saw Zhuang Rui's attitude when talking to the store manager, and when the manager handed Zhuang Rui the documents and called him "boss," he guessed that the store most likely belonged to Zhuang Rui.
Yang Bo's family's catering company is quite large, but he now looks up to Zhuang Rui with awe. Zhuang Rui has such a large business without making a fuss, which is far superior to his group of people who are always showing off.
However, after learning that the store belonged to Zhuang Rui, Yang Bo also had his own ideas. After dealing with the police, he immediately mobilized a few of his buddies to buy things in the store. He knew very well that Zhuang Rui only knew him, and would definitely remember him well when he found out about this.
That's why they say dragons beget dragons and phoenixes beget phoenixes, and a mouse's son knows how to dig a hole. Yang Bo inherited his mother's excellent business acumen.
"Oh, I see. Just open a shop and do business; if someone wants to buy, you sell..."
Zhuang Rui smiled. He hadn't expected that today's conflict would actually bring Qin Ruilin a big business deal.
However, upon closer reflection, Zhuang Rui's smile turned somewhat bitter. These businessmen's children were no simpletons either. Elegant bribery was all the rage these days. If they were really serious, these actions could barely be considered bribery. They weren't giving face to themselves, but rather to the power of their maternal grandfather's clan.
"Boss, there's one more thing I need to ask you about..."
Just as Zhuang Rui was about to hang up, Wu Zhuozhi's voice came from the other end of the line again.
"These few people have basically bought up all the high-end jewelry in our store. There's still a peak sales season at the end of the year, though. Would you prefer we restock from headquarters, or...?"
Zhuang Rui understood. It turned out that Manager Wu was already using his connections. However, as a part-owner of the store, it was understandable that he would show more concern.
After thinking for a moment, Zhuang Rui said, "Let's order a month's worth of goods from headquarters first. Order more diamonds and other jewelry, and less jade and nephrite ornaments. I'll figure something out at the end of the year."
Zhuang Rui wasn't exaggerating. Last time at the Pingzhou Jadeite Auction, he spent 380,000 yuan to bid on a piece of high-quality, glassy green jadeite, but he hasn't had time to cut it open yet, and it's still sitting in the basement of his villa in Pengcheng.
Chapter 409 Nanny
Although that piece of jade wasn't as valuable as imperial green, the jewelry made from it would be of a higher grade than the best jadeite jewelry Qin Ruilin currently had. Furthermore, the piece wasn't small; it could easily be made into thirty to fifty pendants and similar ornaments.
If all else fails, Zhuang Rui plans to sell those icy red jadeite jewelry pieces. He has already given them to the people who needed them. Zhuang Rui still has more than thirty bracelets, pendants, and small items like earrings left, which are worth more than ten million. Moreover, red jadeite jewelry is relatively rare, and other jewelry stores in Beijing probably don't have it. It can also become a specialty product of Qin Ruilin.
However, these measures can only provide temporary relief. To ensure the continued and stable development of Qin Ruilin's store in Beijing, it is essential to have its own supply channels. If it continues to rely on Qin's Jewelry for supplies, it would be tantamount to putting its lifeline in someone else's hands.
Although it's unlikely that the two families would intentionally cut off supplies given their marriage relationship, if Qin's Jewelry were to face a shortage of raw materials in the future, the Beijing store would likely be affected as well.
"Should we hire a jade carving master to oversee things, and then go and gamble on jadeite ourselves to supply the shop's inventory?"
After hanging up the phone, Zhuang Rui stood thoughtfully at the entrance of Quanjude. He thought that if it was just jade and jadeite jewelry for this one store, Luo Jiang could probably handle the job by himself. This would eliminate two intermediate links. Although the wages of the jade carvers would have to be added, the money saved would definitely be much more cost-effective than getting the goods from Qin's Jewelry.
It's important to understand that when Qin's Jewelry supplies jade to Zhuang Rui, they calculate the cost price of the jadeite, as well as the expenses incurred in design and processing. The cost price of the jadeite that Zhuang Rui obtains through gambling is definitely much lower than that of Qin's Jewelry. In addition, he can also ask the Jade Prince to supply nephrite jade, since a store doesn't really need that much. Zhuang Rui believes that the Jade Prince won't refuse him this favor.
"Zhuang Rui, who called just now? Why are you standing here in a daze?"
Qin Xuanbing's words interrupted Zhuang Rui's thoughts. After snapping out of his reverie, Zhuang Rui said, "It was Uncle Wu calling. He talked about some things at the shop. Xuanbing, I had an idea earlier. For jewelry like diamonds and emeralds, your family's main store can supply them. But for nephrite and jadeite, I'm thinking of gambling on the stones myself and then hiring jade carvers to craft them, creating our own brand..."
"You decide. If you don't like the name, we can change it. Anyway, I don't know how to manage or finance. You can make the decisions. You don't need to consult me. We can carve the jade jewelry ourselves. I can design it myself..."
Qin Xuanbing looked at Zhuang Rui with tenderness. Women always like men with ambition, and Qin Xuanbing was very happy that Zhuang Rui cared so much about her shop.
"Oh right, have you finished eating? I'll go pay the bill. Look, I completely forgot about that..."
Hiring a jade carver is something that can't be rushed, especially since it's such a big deal. We absolutely must discuss it with Qin Haoran first; otherwise, if he demands to supply goods right after taking over the shop, it's bound to raise some eyebrows.
"Alright, I already paid the bill. Where do we go now?"
Qin Xuanbing rolled her eyes at Zhuang Rui. As the saying goes, when men and women eat together, if the man pays the bill, they must be in a romantic relationship; if the woman pays the bill, they must be married. But she wasn't married to Zhuang Rui yet.
Before Zhuang Rui could answer, the little girl jumped up and shouted, "I want to go to the zoo! I want to see the giant pandas!"
"Okay, I'll take you to the zoo to see the giant pandas..."
Zhuang Rui bent down and picked up the little guy. For him and Qin Xuanbing, as long as they were together, it didn't matter where they went.
The three of them spent the entire afternoon at the zoo. The little guy had never been out to play before, even though he had been in Beijing for so long. He had a blast, and by the time they got in the car to go home, he was already asleep in Qin Xuanbing's arms.
"Zhuang Rui, I heard you came to Beijing? I've found the nanny you asked me to find last time. Are you free tonight? I'll bring her over for you to see..."
Zhuang Rui hadn't even gotten home when he received a call from Gu Yun. If Gu Yun hadn't mentioned it, he would have almost forgotten about it. His grandfather had been staying here for the past few days, and the meals had been prepared by the nanny and staff provided by the security bureau. If they left, Zhuang Rui would really be at a loss.
"Okay, Brother Gu, I'll be home soon. Bring the person over. I really have to thank you properly. Your sister-in-law is here too, let's have a drink tonight."
Zhuang Rui's courtyard house has three or four dining rooms. The old man lives in the front, and he can use the dining room in the back to entertain guests.
"Huh? Where did everyone go?"
After Zhuang Rui entered the courtyard from the garage, no one greeted him except for the white lion. After putting the little one in Qin Xuanbing's arms to bed, Zhuang Rui ran to the front courtyard and the gatehouse. He found that his grandfather was gone, and the guards had all left. In the huge house, only the three of them were left.
"Hey, they actually left after all..."
After Zhuang Rui called his mother, he learned that his maternal grandparents had moved back to Yuquan Mountain, and Ouyang Wan would be staying there for a few days. She would have someone pick up Nannan tomorrow, leaving Zhuang Rui and Qin Xuanbing some time alone.
Zhuang Rui shook his head and smiled wryly. Although the time for two was nice, it wasn't so comfortable having to cook and clean all by themselves. Fortunately, Gu Yun would be sending a housekeeper over soon.
"Zhuang Rui, I've arrived. Open the door..."
About half an hour later, Gu Yun arrived. Zhuang Rui opened the door and saw two women standing behind him, both of whom were quite old.
"Zhuang Rui, let me introduce you. This is Zhang Ma, she's an excellent cook, and this is Li Sao, she's very diligent when it comes to cleaning the house."
After leading the group to the front yard, Gu Yun introduced them to Zhuang Rui. The two women, who were probably long-time nannies, were quite surprised by Zhuang Rui's large house, but did not show any inappropriate behavior.
Zhuang Rui carefully observed the two women. Zhang Ma was probably around fifty years old, dressed simply but very cleanly, and looked very capable. Li Sao was probably around forty years old. Both of them had kind faces and didn't seem like difficult people.
Judging from his appearance, Zhuang Rui was quite satisfied. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Aunt Zhang, Sister Li, although my courtyard is big, there aren't many people living here. Look, Brother Gu, that's my girlfriend. You can just call her Xiao Qin."
When Zhuang Rui saw Qin Xuanbing coming over, he quickly introduced her to Gu Yun and then said, "Zhang Ma only needs to cook lunch and dinner every day. There's no need to cook breakfast; just buy some steamed buns and soy milk. Li Sao doesn't have much work either; she just needs to tidy up the house and buy some groceries in the morning. As for cleaning the yard, a regular cleaning company comes every week. Is that alright with you?"
These days, good nannies are in high demand. Not only do employers choose nannies, but nannies also choose employers. When Zhang Ma and Li Sao came in, they were worried that the yard was too big and that the two of them might not be able to take care of everything. But after hearing what Zhuang Rui said, they felt relieved. If it was really as Zhuang Rui said, then it would be relatively easy.
"Also, outsiders are not allowed to come in here. If you two agree, then we can start working today."
Zhuang Rui thought for a moment and added another point. He remembered watching the sitcom "I Love My Family" before, where the nanny would bring random people home and cause a lot of trouble for the family.
"We know that, we won't bring anyone here, but we haven't brought our bedding, changes of clothes or anything like that yet."
Although Zhang Ma and Li Sao had no objection to what Zhuang Rui said, they were not mentally prepared to go to work now, since they hadn't brought any daily necessities with them.