YM778.TV Chapter 807: Tube Building
Gu Zi was impressed. Guan Xin was indeed a journalist by profession, extremely dedicated, and would not let any potential hot topic slip by. “You can do it for the newspaper, but you have to promise me that you won’t publicize it before we open,” she said.
Although Sister Hua’s Gourmet Shop was currently thriving, it was located in a small town and was not yet significant enough to instill a sense of crisis in the city’s merchants. However, if the newspaper were to heavily publicize that Sister Hua’s Gourmet Shop was planning to open a branch in the city, wouldn’t that be equivalent to notifying the city’s merchants in advance, allowing them to prepare for battle? This was certainly not acceptable; that wouldn’t do.
Guan Xin pulled Gu Zi into her car and reassured her, “No, no, I understand what you’re saying. But you need to take me to see the store you’ve chosen. I need to prepare, take a few photos, and think about the focus of the interview. If our competitors snatch the hot topic, I’ll be devastated.”
Gu Zi hadn’t expected that Guan Xin, who dressed like a young man, could be so attractive when she showed her girlish charm. Indeed, the beauty of a girl was diverse. She looked at Guan Xin with appreciative eyes and said with a smile, “For your charming appearance, I’ll take you to see the place. Let’s go.”
Guan Xin drove fast, and they soon arrived near the store. After taking photos, Guan Xin admired, “Gu Zi, you should be a spy. You’ve managed to keep the opening of a store a top secret. If you hadn’t told me that the house was going to be a store, I wouldn’t have noticed.”
Gu Zi got back into the car and said, “Just drop me off outside the Jifu New Village. I have other things to do. Actually, the interior decoration of the house is all done, and all the furniture and equipment are in place. Only the exterior facade is not yet decorated, which I guess will be done a couple of days before the opening.”
Guan Xin gave her a thumbs-up again. After arriving at Jifu New Village, Gu Zi got out of the car. Instead of heading directly into the residential area, she walked towards a few standalone buildings outside the Jifu New Village. Guan Xin’s mention of opening a store reminded her of her sister-in-law’s request to find employees.
They were planning to open a branch in the city. At that time, Li Hua would move to the city to manage the branch, leaving the shop in the town to An Yun and Aunt Yang. The branch would need another employee to assist, and it would be best if the employee lived in the city for quicker adaptation.
Li Hua was not familiar with the city, so she asked Gu Zi for help. Gu Zi thought it was not difficult and agreed, deciding to focus the employee recruitment on the standalone buildings.
Ever since Gu Zi moved here, she had noticed this place. It was a cluster of residential buildings standing independently outside the Jifu New Village. They were quite old, and according to Grandma Gao, despite their proximity to Jifu New Village, the people living within were ordinary residents. The houses had been passed down through two generations, and those who still resided there were from impoverished families, with no better place to go, clinging to the homes of their forebears.
Gu Zi walked in, the ground in front of the cylindrical building still muddy. A few children were chasing each other, their short-sleeved shirts ill-suited for the chilling weather. The scene was a stark contrast to the prosperous Jifu New Village. Although it wasn’t Gu Zi’s first visit, she couldn’t help but feel moved.
A middle-aged woman noticed Gu Zi, her eyes lighting up as she took in her appearance. She approached enthusiastically, asking, “Miss, who are you looking for? I know everyone here, I can certainly help.”
Gu Zi glanced at the woman, confirming her as the target. Instead of hiding the gold bracelet on her wrist, she took it off, saying, “My puppy was taken by someone from here. That puppy is very important to me. If you can help me find who took it, even if we don’t find the puppy, this gold bracelet is yours.”
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman’s eyes filled with greed. She reached out to grab the bracelet from Gu Zi’s hand, but Gu Zi stepped back, warning sternly, “The reward comes only after finding the person. If you try to snatch it, I’m sorry, but we have a large Tibetan Mastiff at home, trained by my military officer husband, and it specializes in biting faces.”
The middle-aged woman withdrew her hand, but her eyes remained shifty. After a moment’s thought, she seemed to come up with an idea and quickly said, “Madam, it’s a coincidence. I heard a dog barking last night. It came from next door. Those people are destitute. They must have taken your poor puppy to eat.”
As she spoke, the woman walked towards a house on the first floor, kicking at the door and spewing venomous words, “Zhang Yao, you little whore, open the door for me. I was wondering why your door was closed all day. Turns out you stole someone’s dog and are hiding at home eating it. Get out here now.”