Luo Bei initially thought that Grandpa Gu would only come to the shop occasionally, but she never expected that since Grandpa Gu said he wanted to be his teacher, he would come to the shop every day without fail, just like going to work. The most important thing is that Grandpa Gu has never come late or left early. It is said that when he was still working and had not yet retired, he was the only person in the entire company who had never been late. This is truly rare.

Grandpa Gu is particularly serious about his work. When he said before that Gu Qianyan didn’t wash the car clean, it wasn’t entirely nitpicking, but he just treated Gu Qianyan differently. In fact, Grandpa Gu has a good emotional quotient. Sometimes he said similar things to the apprentice and the master, and each time both of them accept it humbly, without any dissatisfaction. As Grandpa Gu puts it, in order to succeed in business, it is necessary to have a good location and marketing, but the most important thing is to do a good job. For example, if the car washing and waxing is done very well, leaving a good impression on the customer, why worry that they won’t come back next time?

This principle is something that everyone understands, but when Grandpa Gu speaks of it, it is particularly inspiring. At least now the new recruit washes the cars very cleanly, and customers have praised them more than once.

Grandpa Gu also advised Luo Bei not to have a fixed salary system for employees. If someone does well, they get paid the same amount as someone who doesn’t do well. People all have a lazy mentality… Those who do well should naturally earn more than someone who doesn’t.

Luo Bei and Grandpa Gu discussed for a while and informed the employees that, in addition to their fixed salary, they would receive extra bonus. This bonus is linked to the store’s revenue. If the store’s revenue increases, the bonus will naturally increase. As expected, the enthusiasm of the store’s employees was immediately stimulated.

That day, Grandpa Gu took Luo Bei out to talk about business.

“In business, you must be flexible and adaptable. No matter how many ads you post in residential buildings, it won’t be very effective. Beibei, think about it. Since this car beauty shop specializes in car business, we just need to find the right match. Like 4S shops, you can talk to their salespeople and ask them to promote our car beauty shop when selling a car, such as offering a free car wash. Chinese people are always enthusiastic about free things.”

Luo Bei hesitated and said, “But when I picked up my car before, the 4S shop would give free film coating and waxing once. Won’t that be taking away their business?”

“Sales are important. You can talk to the salespeople and offer them a commission if their customers come to our shop. Well, it is a kickback.”

Luo Bei understood immediately.

“In any industry, you need connections. It’s just like when young people go out to eat and look for restaurants on review websites. It’s all the same trick.

“Earlier, I said that Chinese people can’t resist free things. Salespeople at 4S shops know this too. Sometimes, people who can afford to buy a car won’t care about a free car wash, but it will increase the chance of them buying the car to some extent. Salespeople know this, and it’s harmless to them. Just like how 4S shops sometimes offer promotions, such as a lucky draw for the top three customers to win a TV or fridge. If you were the customer, which shop would you choose?”

Luo Bei felt a little embarrassed and said, “I definitely lean towards the one that gives gifts psychologically.”

“That’s right.”

As it turned out, Grandpa Gu still had his sharp business acumen.

He had his own aura, after all, he is the founder of a large corporation. With Luo Bei by his side, when he said they were there to buy a car for his granddaughter, the salesperson immediately welcomed them warmly. Then, without leaving a trace, Grandpa Gu used his many years of experience in sales to promote the shop. By the end of the day, Luo Bei had already closed deals with several salespeople.

On the way back, Luo Bei was still amazed, thinking that old tricks were the best.

“Beibei, once you understand the psychology of consumers, success is not far away,” encouraged Grandpa Gu. “It’s not just the 4S dealership, look, even gas stations do car business. Nowadays, no one will turn down money. Also, think about the budget hotels you often deal with… these are all potential customers.”

Luo Bei nodded thoughtfully.

Previously, they had only thought about repeat business and usually relied on leaflets and word-of-mouth from old customers for marketing. But how could these methods compare to experienced shops?

Grandpa Gu patted Luo Bei’s shoulder and said, “You’re still young, you have plenty of time to learn these tricks and techniques. Take your time, don’t rush.”

By the time the height of summer arrived, with Grandpa Gu’s guidance, the car beauty shop’s business and revenue had skyrocketed. Every time Gu Qianyan looked at the sales reports, he would say that the old man was really cunning.

The apprentice now goes to drive for Didi after he finishes work to earn money. His eloquence has also been trained, and he alone has attracted many Didi drivers to come to his shop for car wash and waxing services. Every time Luo Bei pays them their wages, she feels especially happy, especially when she sees their monthly wages steadily increasing. She is even happier than them because this means that their business in the shop is getting better and better.

Luo Bei calculated her finances and realized that with all her business ventures, including the rent from the village, her monthly income was close to 200,000. As she watched her bank balance grow, she took Grandpa’s advice and started investing in financial planning. Although the current property prices were intimidating, Luo Bei believed that she could save enough for a down payment before the next New Year.

Thinking back on it, she had become a small wealthy woman, even Grandma Luo couldn’t have imagined that she would earn so much.

Luo Bei was getting closer to her goal of buying a house, and during this time, Gu Qianyan had taken her to see many properties. What once seemed unattainable was now only a step away, and every time she thought about the future, she felt excited.

After this summer, Fang Jingzhou would officially become a primary school student.

Luo Bei thought that today’s primary school students had it harder than she did when she was a student. She had heard a female client say that she woke her son up at five in the morning to memorize English words before sending him to school. After school, the child had to attend various interest classes. And even on weekends, there was no rest, as there were more activities scheduled like taekwondo and art classes, leaving no room for relaxation.

The client sighed and said that if she had enough money, she would send her child abroad. But she couldn’t afford it, and all the children around her were learning so many things. She couldn’t let her son lose out on the starting line, could she?

Listening to these schedules, Luo Bei couldn’t help but feel grateful that she had grown up!

However, she couldn’t stop Fang Jingzhou’s Grandfather and Grandmother from making arrangements for him since they were his relatives. So, she thought that before Fang Jingzhou started primary school, she could bring him here to have a fun summer vacation. At least, it would leave him with many happy memories.

Luo Bei discussed with Gu Qianyan, who had no objections and even offered for Fang Jingzhou to stay in his luxurious mansion…

Originally, Luo Bei thought that Fang Jingzhou’s Grandmother would not agree. After all, although she had a good relationship with Fang Jingzhou, she had no blood relation with him, so who would feel at ease handing a child over to her?

To her surprise, Mother Chen readily agreed without hesitation.

She even said she would personally bring him over when Fang Jingzhou had a break from school.

Father Chen, however, was not entirely on board with the idea and said to Mother Chen, “Jingzhou is still a child, and although Miss Luo seems nice, she isn’t part of our family. It’s not ideal to leave our child with her for almost a month. I’m worried and it will cause trouble to others.”

Mother Chen wasn’t thick-skinned either. She sighed and said softly, “Do you think I’m comfortable with this? Miss Luo has always taken good care of Jingzhou. Look, she bought him several new sets of clothes for spring and several outfits for summer. Lanlan, his biological mother, doesn’t take care of him even one-tenth of what Miss Luo does. Previously, I went to take care of Lanlan and shamelessly asked her to help take care of Jingzhou. Now, I really feel bad about it. But, Old Chen, think about our family’s situation. We can only say we’re not poor…”

Mother Chen also felt heartbroken, “My daughter despised our poverty and never came back after going to university. She definitely won’t take care of Jingzhou in the future. You and I are already in our fifties, how much longer can we live? There won’t be many relatives left for Jingzhou in this world, and I don’t want him to end up like his mother. Miss Luo genuinely likes Jingzhou, and Jingzhou genuinely likes her too. Even if they don’t have any blood relations, they are closer than many relatives! I really feel sorry for Jingzhou; he has no father, and his mother is worse than having no one. He’s mature and sensible, and I really hope more people like him.”

Father Chen sighed deeply and said nothing.

In the middle of the night, when Fang Jingzhou got up to use the bathroom, he happened to pass by his grandparents’ room. He stood barefoot at the door and listened for a long while before returning to his own room. He lay in bed and then got up again to open his wardrobe, looking at the new clothes that Beibei had bought for him, touching them over and over.

Unable to sleep, he had no choice but to call Gu Qianyan on his smartwatch phone.

Gu Qianyan was awakened by the ringing of the phone. If it was someone else calling, he would have been furious, but seeing that it was Fang Jingzhou, he woke up immediately. This kid hasn’t slept when it’s so late. Did something happen?

He quickly answered the phone and said gently, “It’s already so late, why aren’t you sleeping?”

After a moment of silence, Fang Jingzhou whispered, “Uncle Xiao Zhou, am I a trouble to Beibei?”

Beibei had so many things to do, and she was so busy every day, but he still called her every day and even went to see her on his holidays… Could he really be a trouble, just like Grandfather said?

Gu Qianyan was taken aback for a moment and replied earnestly, “If you think that way, Beibei will be upset. Neither Beibei nor I think you’re a bother. We both consider you an important person. How can you be sure that you’re not Beibei’s motivation, but trouble?”

Fang Jingzhou remained silent.

It was rare for Gu Qianyan to see him like this. Fang Jingzhou always seemed like a little adult, and his words could choke Gu Qianyan.

“Fang Jingzhou, you are very important. Your Grandfather and Grandmother don’t understand Beibei. They can only see him through the eyes of secular adults. But you have to believe in the feelings between you and Beibei, otherwise Beibei will be very sad if she knows.”

After a while, Fang Jingzhou finally said, “I’m not a trouble, right, Uncle Xiao Zhou?”

“No, you’re not.”

“Then don’t tell Beibei about this. I don’t want Beibei to be sad, okay?”

“But I’m sad. I’m so good to you, and yet you questioned me.”

Fang Jingzhou had to turn around and comfort Gu Qianyan.

Before hanging up the phone, Gu Qianyan said to Fang Jingzhou, “Let’s make a pact between men. Only one thing can make you wake up in the middle of the night and feel upset.”

“What is it?”

“No money.”