"Nonsense, it's not like I'm asking for your money. Alright, stop joking with me, go keep that girl company. This place is nice, but it's not as quiet as Jade Spring Mountain. I'm moving back tomorrow..."
The old man didn't want to burden his children and grandchildren. In fact, Zhuang Rui's house was quite quiet, with high walls and a large courtyard that could keep out all kinds of noise.
"Grandpa, why don't you stay a few more days? It'll be more lively here, won't it?"
Zhuang Rui quickly reassured him that as long as the old man and his mother were happy, it didn't matter if it was a little inconvenient for him to come and go.
"Alright, alright..."
The old man didn't reply, but raised his left hand and waved, indicating that Zhuang Rui could leave.
"Xiao Rui, you stay and look around the yard with Xuan Bing. I'm taking your grandparents to rest."
When Ouyang Wan saw her son coming over, she let go of Qin Xuanbing's hand. The old mother was asking a lot of questions, which made Qin Xuanbing blush several times.
"Hmm, this girl is pretty good, slim waist and round bottom, she's fertile."
Zhuang Rui had only taken Qin Xuanbing's hand and walked five or six meters when his grandmother's words made him stumble and almost fall to the ground. Fortunately, his grandmother spoke with a slight accent from her hometown, which Qin Xuanbing didn't quite understand. Otherwise, Zhuang Rui would have had a hard time that night.
Zhuang Rui first placed the antiques he brought from Hong Kong on the antique shelves in the basement. After displaying five or six exquisite porcelain pieces, Zhuang Rui felt a great sense of accomplishment. However, the task was still arduous and far from over. Looking at the hundred or so empty squares, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but feel a little troubled, wondering when he would be able to fill them all.
After showing Qin Xuanbing around the three courtyards, she fell completely in love with this grand mansion that blended modern and antique architecture. If it weren't for the fact that her jewelry design work in England was still unfinished, Qin Xuanbing wouldn't have wanted to leave.
The backyard was specially reserved for Zhuang Rui by Ouyang Wan and the others. No one lived there. The seven or eight houses next to the master bedroom were also empty. After leaving the white lion at the entrance of the backyard, this little world completely belonged to Zhuang Rui and Qin Xuanbing.
Knowing her son was returning today, Mrs. Zhuang had laid out bright red sheets and blankets in the master bedroom, making the whole room look very festive. After showering in the extremely modern bathroom, the room naturally exuded a romantic atmosphere. ...
"Zhuang Rui, wake up..."
Zhuang Rui, who was fast asleep, suddenly felt an itch in his nose. He opened his eyes and saw Qin Xuanbing scratching her nostrils with her hair. He didn't know when, but Qin Xuanbing was already dressed and standing at the head of the bed.
At this moment, Qin Xuanbing was wearing a red top with a strong old Beijing flavor. The buttons were sewn with cloth. The bright red clothes set off Qin Xuanbing's fair and jade-like face, making her even more stunningly beautiful, leaving Zhuang Rui stunned.
Coming to his senses, Zhuang Rui joked, "Whose young wife is this, running into our house?"
"Alright, get up quickly. Your aunt and the others have been up for a long time. By the way, let's go to the jewelry store in Beijing this morning. I have something to tell you."
Qin Xuanbing was shy, so she got up early in the morning. She had just gone to the central courtyard to talk with Zhuang's mother before coming back to wake Zhuang Rui up. Living in this antique mansion, Qin Xuanbing had a very strange feeling, as if she were in ancient times.
"What's wrong?"
Zhuang Rui threw off the covers and started dressing in front of Qin Xuanbing. Even though the two had been sleeping in each other's arms for the past few days, Qin Xuanbing still blushed as she watched. She paused and went to the outer room, while Zhuang Rui chuckled to himself in the room.
The courtyard house was so beautiful in the early morning. The flowers and plants along the roadside were covered with dew, birds flew to and fro on the branches of the trees in the garden, the lotus flowers in the pond emitted a faint fragrance, and the faint sound of vendors hawking breakfast came from outside the high walls, making the courtyard house full of life.
"Uncle, I want to play with Auntie."
After eating the breakfast that Ouyang Wan had bought, Zhuang Rui was about to leave with Qin Xuanbing when the little girl came over and called out "Auntie!" which made Qin Xuanbing beam with joy.
The little guy didn't return to Pengcheng with Zhuang Min and his wife. Although the courtyard was big enough and there was a white lion to keep him company, he was still a little sad that he couldn't go out to play. When he saw Zhuang Rui about to go out, he immediately ran over.
"Okay, I'll take you with me."
Zhuang Rui picked up Nannan and handed her to Qin Xuanbing. Seeing that Bai Shi had also squeezed over, he couldn't help but smile wryly. He rubbed Bai Shi's big head and said, "I can't take you out today. I'll play with you when we get back tonight!"
To be honest, Zhuang Rui still felt guilty towards the white lion. A snow mountain mastiff king like the white lion should live on the snow mountain grasslands. His home was too small for it.
The white lion is becoming more and more human-like. After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, the big-headed lion angrily pushed Zhuang Rui into a squatting position and sat down on the ground. Then it used its paws to crumple Zhuang Rui's clothes into a mess before raising its head and proudly going to inspect its territory, making everyone laugh.
"Xuanbing. What are we going to the jewelry store for? I haven't really explored Beijing properly yet. I'd like to take you and Nannan sightseeing these next few days..."
Zhuang Rui and Ouyang Jun had been to Qin's Jewelry's store in Beijing before. It wasn't far from where he lived. About ten minutes later, they parked their car near the jewelry store. It was a pedestrian street, so they had to park outside and walk over.
After getting out of the car, Qin Xuanbing held Nannan's little hand and said, "Grandpa gave us this shop. I went there today to tell him some things..."
"Oh, you're giving this shop to... us? And me a share too?"
Zhuang Rui was stunned for a moment. That shop was quite valuable. He had heard Qin Xuanbing mention before that the storefront had been bought for over 30 million yuan. Moreover, the shop was doing very well and was a place that brought in wealth. The Qin family gave it away so readily; that was quite a generous gesture.
"This is my dowry from Grandpa. What's mine is yours, so tell me, is there any share for you?"
Qin Xuanbing glared at Zhuang Rui, then quickly pulled the little girl into the shop with the Qin Ruilin sign.
"Sir, Madam, what kind of jewelry would you like to buy?"
Zhuang Rui followed him in, and a girl in a uniform greeted him. However, when she saw Zhuang Rui clearly, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Ah!" and said, "You must be Mr. Zhuang? Are you here to buy boxes again?"
The girl was Xia, the manager of the store. She had a vivid memory of the imperial green jewelry that Zhuang Rui had taken out last time. After recognizing Zhuang Rui, she couldn't help but ask him about it.
"Ahem, no, I came with my girlfriend to check it out..."
Zhuang Rui felt a little embarrassed by what she said, realizing he didn't have that many pieces of imperial green jewelry.
"Oh, Mr. Zhuang, please feel free to look around. Would you like me to give you an introduction?"
Xia was a little disappointed when she heard this. She had originally thought that she would be able to see some good items from Zhuang Rui.
Qin Xuanbing knew about Zhuang Rui's previous visit to buy a jewelry box, so she didn't ask any further questions. After looking around, she said to A-Xia, "Could you please call Wu Zhuozhi over?"
Wu Zhuozhi was the same store manager Zhuang Rui had met before.
When Xia saw that Qin Xuanbing was wearing a bright red dress that foreigners love to wear when they come to China, but she had a noble air about her and was with Zhuang Rui, she didn't dare to be negligent and said, "Okay, please wait a moment."
"Young Miss!"
The store manager, Wu, whom Zhuang Rui had met last time, saw Qin Xuanbing as soon as he came out of the manager's office and called out to her in Cantonese.
Qin Xuanbing smiled and replied, "Uncle Wu, are you getting used to living in Beijing?"
"You'll get used to it eventually, Miss. Please come inside and have a seat..."
When Wu Zhuozhi saw Zhuang Rui next to Qin Xuanbing, he quickly switched to Mandarin and invited the two into the manager's office, leaving the shop assistants outside whispering about Qin Xuanbing's identity. They all understood the Mandarin "Miss" that was called out later.
“Miss, I received a call from the chairman yesterday. I thought you wouldn’t be here for a few days. I’ve prepared all the ledgers and such, and you can hand them over at any time.”
After letting Zhuang Rui and Qin Xuanbing go inside, Manager Wu busied himself serving them tea and water.
"Uncle Wu, don't bother. I'm not here to review the accounts. Please sit down."
Qin Xuanbing's words surprised Wu Zhuozhi. He had worked at Qin's Jewelry for over twenty years. In the past, he would see Qin Xuanbing almost every year when Qin's Jewelry entertained its old employees. However, back then, Qin Xuanbing was rather cold and never spoke at the annual meeting. Now, Qin Xuanbing addressed him as "Uncle Wu" repeatedly, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.
"Young Miss..."
"Uncle Wu, just call me Xuanbing..."
Qin Xuanbing interrupted Wu Zhuozhi and continued, "Uncle Wu should already know that Grandpa transferred this store to my name, but the supply channels will still be from Qin's Jewelry, so there won't be any changes overall. Besides, Zhuang Rui and I don't have much time to manage it. Uncle Wu, I hope you can stay and continue to manage this store..."
Chapter 404 Dowry (Part 2)
Wu Zhuozhi was taken aback upon hearing this. After receiving the call from Hong Kong yesterday, he immediately began to sort out the accounts and prepare for the handover procedures. But to be honest, he had been in charge of Qin Ruilin's Beijing store since it was established five years ago. He even personally customized every counter there. Wu Zhuozhi still had a deep affection for this store.
Having lived in Beijing for so many years, Wu Zhuozhi had already bought a house and brought his wife over. Not only that, his son had returned from studying abroad and was now working in Beijing. This change had a significant impact on him.
However, Wu Zhuozhi knew that the eldest daughter of the Qin family had a rather aloof personality, and guessed that she would definitely make some changes after taking over the shop. He had already prepared himself to return to work in Hong Kong, so he was somewhat surprised to hear Qin Xuanbing say that she wanted him to stay.
"Uncle Wu, you can retain your shares in Qin's Jewelry. Furthermore, your annual salary will be increased by 300,000 on top of your current amount. Uncle Wu, you can consider it..."
When Qin Xuanbing saw that Wu Zhuozhi was silent, she thought he wanted to return to Hong Kong, so she quickly gave him the conditions she had thought of before she came. In fact, Qin Xuanbing did not really want to accept this dowry, but her grandfather was afraid that his granddaughter would suffer in the future, so he gave her this property in Beijing. It was a kind gesture from her elders, so Qin Xuanbing had no choice but to accept it.
However, Qin Xuanbing knew that she was not good at management, and Zhuang Rui probably wouldn't want to manage the jewelry store either. Wu Zhuozhi was a long-time employee of Qin's Jewelry, and Qin Xuanbing felt at ease letting him continue to manage it. That's why she offered him relatively generous terms to retain him.
Some family companies in Hong Kong will give some shares to long-term employees who have worked for them for more than 100 years. Although it is not much, it is a token of friendship. The shares that Qin Xuanbing just mentioned were allocated to Wu Zhuozhi by Qin's Jewelry.
"Miss, will all the employees here be retained?"
Wu Zhuozhi asked a question, which was actually a test.
Qin Xuanbing smiled and said, "Uncle Wu, the retention of employees has always been within your jurisdiction, and it still is. It's just that from now on, it falls under the financial management of the head office, and I... no, Zhuang Rui will be in charge of it..."
"Hey, why did you drag me into this? Xuanbing, I'm going to school next year, I don't have time to worry about this..."
Zhuang Rui was playing with his niece when Qin Xuanbing suddenly brought up the topic of him. He quickly refused, saying that this shop was Qin Xuanbing's private money, like the dowry of a young lady in ancient times. Although he didn't covet anything, it would be embarrassing for the Qin family if they found out he had taken some money.
“Zhuang Rui, I’ve already told Grandpa that you own 50% of this shop. Besides, you and Lei Lei are the only two people I know in mainland China. If you don’t take care of it, who will? This is our shop together…”
Qin Xuanbing put on a pitiful look, which softened Zhuang Rui's heart, and he nodded in agreement. In any case, he was only in charge of the accounts, and for Zhuang Rui, who came from an accounting background, this kind of work wouldn't take up much of his energy.
"Young Miss, if this can really help you, I'll stay..."
After hearing Zhuang Rui and Qin Xuanbing's conversation, Wu Zhuozhi was both amused and exasperated. Such a large asset, yet the two of them didn't seem to care. However, this put him at ease. It was just that his boss had changed from Qin's Jewelry to Qin Xuanbing herself, and he still had the final say in everything at the store. Moreover, his salary had increased, so Wu Zhuozhi couldn't find a reason to go back to Hong Kong.
When Qin Xuanbing saw that Wu Zhuozhi had agreed, she said happily, "That's great, Uncle Wu! My parents will also be coming to Hong Kong in the next few days. Let's have a meal together then. And if there's anything at the shop in the future, just ask Zhuang Rui to handle it..."
'"Why……"
Zhuang Rui originally wanted to say something in rebuttal, but then he thought that Qin Xuanbing would be returning to England in a few days and the order wouldn't be completed until after the New Year. If something happened at the store, it wouldn't be appropriate for him not to show up. So he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue, took out a business card from his handbag, and handed it to Manager Wu.
"Mr. Zhuang... no. The boss is a director of the Jade Association, huh? That will make things much easier from now on..."
Wu Zhuozhi hadn't expected that Miss Qin's son-in-law had such a status in the jade industry in mainland China. No wonder Qin Xuanbing had said earlier that she had something for Zhuang Rui to handle. With this status, he could have a certain amount of influence in the jewelry industry in Beijing.
"Okay, just let me know if you need anything, Uncle Wu. If there's nothing else today, we'll take our leave now..."
Zhuang Rui had no choice but to agree, and changed his address to Wu Zhuozhi as Uncle Wu. After all, the other party was nearly fifty years old, so calling him uncle wouldn't hurt. If he wanted to save himself some trouble in the future, he would still have to rely on this Uncle Wu.
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Qin Xuanbing stood up, preparing to take her leave, when Wu Zhuozhi stopped them with a wry smile, saying, "Miss, Boss. Yesterday, headquarters sent some faxed documents, along with a list of the remaining stock in this store. Also, this month's salary payments will be our own responsibility. These matters need to be dealt with as soon as possible. If you two hadn't come today, I would have been looking for you in the next few days."
"Oh, I see. Zhuang Rui, you're the one who should do more. You handle it. I'll take Nannan out for a walk."
Upon hearing this, Qin Xuanbing turned to Zhuang Rui. Matters like employee salaries were not something to be delayed, but she really didn't understand these things, so she could only leave it to Zhuang Rui.
"Alright, you take Nannan to play, I'll take a look first."
Zhuang Rui sat back down, looking dejected. The shop had been transferred so easily, but at least he should have paid for an extra month's rent. Was he supposed to lose money without earning a single penny?
However, when Zhuang Rui carefully examined the information Wu Zhuozhi brought, he realized he was completely wrong. Old Master Qin's transfer of the shop to Qin Xuanbing's private account was truly a grand gesture.
The Qin Ruilin Jewelry Store now boasts monthly sales of nearly nine million yuan. After deducting costs, employee salaries, and all other expenses, the net profit is as high as 45%, meaning that the store's annual net profit can reach as much as 48 to 49 million yuan.
Zhuang Rui knew before that the jewelry industry was highly profitable, but he never imagined that the profits would be this high.
In fact, Zhuang Rui didn't know that Qin Ruilin was a very reputable chain jewelry store. A profit margin of 45% was not considered high in the industry. Some unscrupulous jewelers would sell inferior goods as superior ones, and their profit margins could easily reach several hundred percent. Of course, their sales volume was far from comparable to Qin Ruilin's.
Old Master Qin's actions didn't stop there; he also transferred last month's sales revenue, as well as all the current inventory in the store, to Qin Xuanbing's name.
Although it's almost the end of the year and inventory isn't much, Zhuang Rui and Qin Xuanbing don't need to invest a single penny in the jewelry store from now until the end of the year. They can simply use the sales revenue from these few months to purchase goods from Qin's Jewelry. The funds and inventory left by Old Master Qin are sufficient for the store's normal operation.
Zhuang Rui did a rough calculation. The storefront was bought five years ago and has appreciated nearly three times since then. The storefront alone is worth nearly 100 million yuan. Adding the value of working capital and the goods themselves, Qin Xuanbing's dowry is probably no less than 150 million yuan.
This made Zhuang Rui secretly click his tongue in amazement. No wonder TV shows often portray stories of poor boys being favored by rich girls. If an ordinary person married Qin Xuanbing, it wouldn't just be a matter of avoiding decades of hard work; they could just eat, drink, and live a carefree life until they died.
"Boss, this is the payroll for the store's staff. Please see if there are any adjustments needed. Also, it would be best to hire a professional accountant for the store..."
Although Qin Xuanbing delegated authority to him, Wu Zhuozhi still took the initiative to request a finance officer. He used to completely ignore finances; all the staff's salaries, including his own, were approved and issued by headquarters. But in the future, Zhuang Rui would probably have to sign off on the payments, and Wu Zhuozhi didn't want to get involved in that area.