Chapter 173: Lip Balm

Boss He paced back and forth in his office, unable to sit still.

After waiting for quite a while, he finally saw his secretary return.

Boss He couldn’t care less about anything else, hurriedly walking over and asking: “Did you follow them?”

The secretary felt somewhat ashamed, lowered his head and said: “No, President He. Should I keep following them for the next few days?”

Boss He thought for a moment, and said slowly: “Follow them, but be careful when doing things. Just seeing who he meets is enough, don’t mind the rest. Also, be careful, don’t let people notice.”

“Yes.”

Boss He didn’t suspect that it was the people he brought to Dongchang who leaked the news. Even the secretary only knew there would be a large batch of goods arriving recently, but didn’t know specifically what it was. Exactly because of this, when Bai Zimu opened his mouth today, it truly shocked him.

He pondered over those few trusted aides in his office, but couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he thought. Those people had either been with him for a long time, or were big businessmen in the south. How could a half-grown teenager in Dongchang City possibly get connected with them?

The secretary asked in a low voice: “President He, should we change the time for tomorrow’s meeting?”

Boss He said: “No.”

He sat in his office chair with his eyes closed to rest his mind. After a while, he finally spoke:

“Discount coupons, lotteries, these little tricks can only be played for the first few days of opening. Can Baichuan really keep giving things away forever? Also, the Three Golds (wedding jewelry), I just don’t believe it, could there possibly be people getting married every day? Doing business means you can’t panic. After this initial period, it still comes down to endurance. Just wait.”

His furrowed brows slowly relaxed. The funds on hand were his biggest trump card.

Thinking back to the two boys he saw at Baichuan today, he actually felt a bit of appreciation for talent in his heart. Especially the tall boy beside Fang Jin, that brat was truly not bad. His bones were hard enough, his temper was slippery enough, and he looked like someone not to be trifled with.

It’s a pity he was the young master of Baichuan and couldn’t be taken under his own wing.

This left Boss He feeling somewhat regretful.

Bai Zimu sat waiting in the Baichuan Hypermarket staff office.

He had finished his summer homework long ago. If he was going home, he had to wait to take the car back with his brother. He also had an appointment to go to the garment factory today, so he couldn’t leave by himself.

After waiting for a while and eating a small plate of watermelon, Lei Dongchuan came looking for him.

He took Bai Zimu out, and while walking, asked him:

“What was that about the Walkman today? Do you really know? Where did you hear the news from?”

Bai Zimu said: “I know a little.”

“Mn?”

“Cousin Fang is graduating and interning at a bank. I heard an internal gossip he mentioned, saying a few managers at his bank all received the latest Sony Walkman as gifts from a client. Young people all like electronic products. He mentioned the model to me, and I searched it online, this model of Walkman only has those two colors.”

Lei Dongchuan figured it out and asked:

“Is it the bank the He family cooperates with in the provincial capital?”

“Mn, I was originally just guessing too, but looking at his reaction, it was indeed given by the He family, and it’s the large batch of goods they’re preparing to stock next.”

Bai Zimu also learned of this matter unintentionally.

He had a good memory, and by connecting things together, he formed a guess. If Boss He hadn’t come today, he probably wouldn’t have brought it up either.

Bai Zimu walked beside Lei Dongchuan with his bag slung diagonally, muttering in a low voice:

“I just saw that Boss He was too idle, so I gave him something to do, saving him from running out everywhere recognizing relatives.”

Lei Dongchuan rubbed his head and smiled: “Avenging me? You’ve grown up, know how to care for your brother.”

Bai Zimu said: “Half and half.”

Lei Dongchuan asked: “What’s the other half?”

Bai Zimu looked up at him: “Brother, Boss He’s secretary came to look for Old Fang a few days ago. He found a time when no one was around and gave him a watch.”

Lei Dongchuan was curious: “Did Old Fang accept it?”

“Of course not.”

Lei Dongchuan put his arm around his shoulder, sighing with emotion:

“It’s a good thing he didn’t meet Du Wei, otherwise Boss He would have suffered a double loss today. Old Fang is stingy to himself, but that kid Du Wei is a money-grubber. If he took the stuff and was asked questions, he’d probably only say ‘thank you’ to the He family.”

Bai Zimu was amused and laughed.

Their group of people had slowly accumulated some money and improved their family situations, but the poorest person was still Fang Qi. After so many years, only he had a pair of socks worn out and mended before wearing them again; he had never seen anyone so stingy to themselves. Bai Zimu remembered it, feeling a bit concerned, shook Lei Dongchuan’s hand and said:

“Brother, Old Fang’s family owes a lot of money. I asked him last time, but he didn’t say. Help him out more in the future, Old Fang is a pretty good person.”

“I know, I’ll think of him when there’s good stuff.”

Lei Dongchuan agreed, taking Bai Zimu out to take a car, making a trip to the garment factory.

Dong Yuxiu was busy in the design studio. She had a design team on hand, and a few young designers inside especially liked Bai Zimu. As soon as Bai Zimu went in, he was pulled by them to try on clothes.

Lei Dongchuan casually found a workbench to lean and sit on, his long legs stretched out, and still holding a sports water bottle in his arms, sitting there watching for a while.

The first few outfits were not bad, mostly leaning towards a sporty and casual style. The colors were also primarily light, very suitable for Bai Zimu. When he saw the later ones, he noticed something slightly different. Lei Dongchuan waved his hand for him to come over. When his brother got closer, he reached out and wiped his lips, asking:

“What did you apply? So shiny.”

“A little lip balm.”

Lei Dongchuan looked up and saw those few designers looking at him with shining eyes, deeply afraid the other party would drag him to try on clothes, and preemptively said:

“Can you lend me two outfits, suits or something would be best, I’ll return them tomorrow.”

“Sure, I’ll go get them for you.”

Someone went to get two suits. When they came back, they saw Lei Dongchuan leaning on their workbench, encircling Bai Zimu in his arms, looking down and using his fingers to twirl his slightly curly hair to play. Doing this repeatedly, he teased the other until he was unhappy, and only then raised his hands with a smile, making a posture of surrender.

The relationship between the two was so good that it left no room for a third person to approach.

That designer inexplicably didn’t dare to step forward rashly. After waiting for a moment, and seeing Lei Dongchuan look over, she then hurriedly brought the clothes over.

Lei Dongchuan thanked her, looked around, and said to Bai Zimu:

“You stay here and keep Auntie Dong company, I’m going out to buy some things.”

“Okay.”

After Dong Yuxiu finished being busy in the design studio, she came next door to bring them tangerine peel mung bean paste. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] After asking, she found out Lei Dongchuan had just left.

She smiled and said: “What should we do? I thought Dongchuan was here, so I specially bought some extra mung bean paste. The two of us can’t finish all this.”

Bai Zimu said: “I’ll take it back for Brother.”

Dong Yuxiu tapped the tip of his nose, dotingly saying: “Good, good, good, knew you wouldn’t forget him.”

She smiled and asked Bai Zimu, “You’ve been at Baichuan all day today, right? In the morning your Grandpa called looking for you. He said the Lucky Transfer Beads over in Pingjiang City are finished, asking when you need them. If it’s urgent, he can send them over tomorrow.”

Bai Zimu shook his head and said: “No rush, wait a few more days.”

Dong Yuxiu said: “I don’t know what idea you’re having, can’t figure you out. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Mom bought a mobile phone for you, you take it. This way, if you have anything in the future, you can contact Grandpa directly, saving him from worrying when he can’t find you.”

She brought a box over and handed it to Bai Zimu. It was a currently latest Nokia candy bar phone, a very compact one.

Bai Zimu saved his mother’s number and asked her with a smile: “Does my brother have one?”

Dong Yuxiu smiled and said: “Yes, you two have one each. Here, it’s right in this bag, you take it back to Dongchuan later.”

She stepped forward and tidied Bai Zimu’s collar, “There are also a few good clothes, three outfits for each of you. Take them back and wear them first, you won’t be able to wear them once school starts in a few days.”

The school required uniforms, and Dong Yuxiu felt a little regretful. She had made so many clothes, and every outfit suited the little friends in the family so well.

If possible, she wished she could have him change into five outfits a day.

On the other side.

After Lei Dongchuan left the garment factory, he went to find Fang Qi in the car and asked: “Old Fang, want to earn some extra cash, coming or not?”

Fang Qi said without hesitation: “Coming.”

Since seeing Boss He earlier today, Lei Dongchuan had been holding a trick in his stomach. Having pondered over it pretty much on the way, he took Fang Qi and went straight to He Jiale Hypermarket. The two changed into a set of clothes in the car, and he even specifically had Fang Qi use water to style his hair a bit to look more mature. Taking him, they went straight to the He family’s electronics section, intending to rush to buy their TVs.

Since Boss He refused to introduce the supply channel, they could just buy them back, it was the same.

At most they wouldn’t earn a single cent. Whatever price they bought them for from the He family, they would just sell them for the same price at Baichuan.

Lei Dongchuan and Fang Qi bought Changhong TVs for a whole night, carrying them all back to their own hypermarket late at night.

…

The next day.

When Baichuan Hypermarket opened for business, the people who came to shop all discovered one thing, which was that Baichuan actually also had Changhong TVs.

The exact same goods as the He family next door, at the exact same price.

When customers saw it, the people from He Jiale Hypermarket also quickly received the news. They even specially sent someone over to take a look. After returning, they were completely dumbfounded; the packaging wasn’t even opened, and the side still bore their store’s special promotional price!

Upstairs in the office.

The secretary reported to Boss He with fear and trepidation:

“President He, Baichuan also has Changhong color TVs for sale…”

Boss He was bewildered for a moment, and hurriedly asked: “Where did they get the color TVs?”

The secretary: “It… it was bought from our store and carried over. Heard from the shopping guide in the first-floor electronics section that it was done by those two people from Baichuan last night.”

“Outrageous!”

Boss He was so angry he slapped the table. A surge of anger had nowhere to vent. After pacing in circles in the office and cursing a few sentences, he was so angry he laughed:

“It must be the idea of that little brat beside Fang Jin. He even used words to squeeze me yesterday. I could tell during the bidding that day, he was just offering advice from the side, he has the most schemes!”

Those two boys from Baichuan said they didn’t know how to run a supermarket, and even tried to trick his lecturer team into going over to give classes. Failing to trick them, they simply pulled a move like this.

Boss He was extremely angry. He had never seen such a thick-skinned brat.

However, the young master of Baichuan seemed to be addicted to playing this game, actually coming back the second night. The shopping guide was dumbfounded. Having been specially instructed, she hurriedly reported upon seeing this situation, not daring to sell to them.

Fang Qi returned empty-handed, feeling somewhat ashamed:

“Boss, the Changhong color TVs over at the He family are now limited purchase. Everyone can only buy one per month with their ID card, my quota is used up.”

Lei Dongchuan had a mint in his mouth, nodded and said:

“Alright, thanks for your hard work, go back and rest, I’ll make a call.”

Lei Dongchuan made a phone call, and quickly called over a dozen people.

Du Wei took the lead. By the time he brought the guys to the parking lot here, the mint in Lei Dongchuan’s mouth hadn’t even been finished.

Lei Dongchuan explained the situation to him. Upon hearing it, Du Wei immediately beamed with joy and said:

“Boss, rest assured, guarantee to complete the task!”

Lei Dongchuan said: “Be polite, don’t carry them all away, leave a few for them.”

“Alright!”