Chapter 329: The Sanitary Napkin Exper (1/2)
With only one week left before graduation, the four of us roommates rented several bachelor gowns and posed all over campus. The students in our class had a farewell dinner together. After three drinks, the boys hugged each other and sobbed uncontrollably. No matter how many obstacles and shortcomings we faced, these four years of university were our most precious memories of youth and a time we would never forget!
The day after the farewell dinner, Dali mysteriously said he would take me someplace to cheer me up, which probably meant good news.
He drove me to a drugstore that mainly sold women's toiletries. Seeing the impressive display of sanitary napkins on the shelf, I asked, ”Are you choosing something for Youyou? Don’t ask me anything, I don't know much about this stuff.”
”Have you ever seen anyone give sanitary napkins as gifts?” he said, bursting out in laughter. “Let’s go in and talk.”
He dragged me into the store, and several employees who were tallying up the stock shouted, ”Hi boss!”
I was so surprised I couldn’t keep my mouth closed. ”D-did you open this store?”
”What’s that expression of yours?” complained Dali. “I’m not breaking the law and it's good business. What do you think? You didn’t expect this, did you?”
I felt embarrassed by my gaffe. This was indeed different from what I imagined. Picking up a pack of Little Bear Dula sanitary napkins, I suddenly recalled where I had seen them. ”Isn't this produced by Ye Shiwen's father's company?” I asked, scratching my head.
”Yes, it’s all thanks to his help that we’ve managed to open the store!” he laughed. “Let’s go for lunch and talk as we walk!”
Dali described the process of how the store came to be. After Ye Shiwen dropped out of school last year, he went to work at his father's company. He practically started from the bottom and ran around looking for distributors. During the Lunar New Year, he chatted with Dali over the Internet, mentioning his plan to set up a distribution center in Nanjiang City. As it happened, Dali also wanted to start a business. Hence, the two hit it off.
Dali used the money I gave him to rent and furnish the store, as well as hire employees. After much effort, the store finally had its grand opening yesterday. All the products in the store were purchased from Ye Shiwen at factory prices. Ye Shiwen would receive 10% of the profits; I would receive 40%, and the remaining 50% would be used to run the business. Even if we didn’t sell all our stock, Dali assured me we wouldn’t make any losses. With the rich kid Ye Shiwen on our side, we were guaranteed to have a stable income.
Additionally, the production costs were very low. As long as it was beautifully packaged, the price could be doubled. In Dali’s words, it was simply gold!
Upon listening to his eloquent words, my mouth fell agape. ”You sneaky little bastard! Quietly doing this all by yourself! I’m really impressed.”
”It's all thanks to your startup fund,” he chuckled. “By the way, should we sign an equity agreement?”
”What equity agreement! I understand that costs can outweigh revenues in the first three months of any business,” I repeatedly motioned with my hands. “It’s not easy at the start, so don't worry about my share. Let's get the store up and running first.”
Dali pointed to a restaurant and said, ”Here we are!”
”Can't you just find a McDonald's? There’s no need for such extravagance.”
”I won't have to pay for this meal,” he laughed. “Let's go.”
We walked to the private rooms where Ye Shiwen came out to greet us, all dressed up in a casual suit. After coming out to work for the past six months, he was less defiant, more mature and steady, and more pleasing to the eye than when we first met.
We exchanged pleasantries after such a long separation. Ye Shiwen got the waiter to serve our food. After downing a glass of Baijiu, his eyes were slightly misty. ”Song-ge, I heard that you’ve solved a lot of cases in the past six months. Compared to you, my experience seems insignificant,” remarked Ye Shiwen. “I heard that you’re graduating soon. What a pity! I wish I could stand beside you two and take a graduation photo!”
”Since you’ve taken this path, there’s no need to regret anything,” I comforted. “While you envy others, many envy you!”
”Ah, I do regret a little still,” he sighed. “When I returned to Nanjiang City yesterday, I went to visit Ah Juan’s tomb and I stood there for a long time, remembering the past. I stared at her picture and cried my heart out,” he said, eyes red with grief.