The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 185 - 184: Hiring Employees

Xue Yue and Little Chen were in charge of the second floor. Zhang Qian was very pregnant, so Xue Yue, worried about her, had her sit in a chair, telling her to only help if they got overwhelmingly busy.

It’s true that women understand women best. Besides clothes, the one thing they can’t resist is accessories.

All morning, customers streamed into the store.

Once they came in to look, they couldn’t leave. Almost no one left empty-handed.

At noon, Xue Xingzhou went out to get them takeout, and the group ate right there in the store.

"If things keep up like this, I don’t think the three of you can handle it. You should hire a couple of employees right away."

He Lang had the same idea. "I’ll put up a ’Help Wanted’ sign on the door tomorrow."

"It’d be best to get a couple of young women in their twenties. We sell women’s clothing, and you guys are all men, which can be inconvenient at times. Besides, it’s easier for women to connect with female customers," Xue Yue said.

He Lang nodded. "Okay."

On the first day of business, they were busy until well past ten at night. Around eight o’clock, Xue Xingzhou took Zhang Qian home first.

By the time they finished cleaning up the shop, the buses had stopped running. Little Chen and Shitou ended up staying the night at the store, while Xue Yue and He Lang took a taxi home.

Xue Yue went inside and checked on her three children; they were all asleep. Leaving them at home was a last resort. Only Daya was there to look after the two younger ones and cook for them.

"We should see if we can hire a live-in auntie. It must be tiring for Daya to be all by herself."

Daya was very capable and far too sensible for her age, which made them subconsciously treat her like an adult. But she was only in her teens, still a child. Xue Yue felt a pang of guilt.

He Lang nodded. "Okay. When I’m hiring tomorrow, I’ll see if I can find an auntie to cook."

Before bed, He Lang took out the day’s earnings and counted the cash twice.

"The total is 2,673 yuan. That’s today’s revenue, not counting costs, but the profit margin should be over fifty percent. And that’s with today’s discount."

Xue Yue said, "It was our grand opening today, so of course a lot of people came. But once the sale is over, the crowd probably won’t be as big."

He Lang nodded. "That’s normal. The customer traffic will stabilize over time."

Xue Yue put the money away. "It’s getting late. Go wash up and get some sleep. We have to be at the store early tomorrow."

The next day, Shitou and Little Chen opened the store a little after seven in the morning.

When He Lang and Xue Yue arrived with breakfast, there were already customers in the store.

He Lang taped the ’Help Wanted’ sign to the outside of the glass door.

People passing by saw it and came in to ask. One woman in her fifties or sixties even came in and insisted she could do the job. "Isn’t it just selling things?"

He Lang told her they weren’t looking for someone older, which made her angry. In the end, Xue Yue had to say a few nice things to persuade her to leave.

In the afternoon, a young woman came in. She was dressed quite fashionably and had delicate features.

She walked in, looked around the store for a moment, and then asked, "I saw your ’Help Wanted’ sign on the door. Do you think I’d be a good fit?" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Xue Yue asked her, "Do you have any sales experience?"

The young woman shook her head. "No, but I buy clothes all the time, so I probably have more experience than the average person. I’m also good at putting outfits together."

She then pointed to some clothes hanging on the wall. "I think you should sell them as complete outfits. Like that trench coat—it would look great with a floral long-sleeve dress underneath. If someone buys the coat, they might just buy the dress to go with it."

Xue Yue glanced at the trench coat on the wall and thought the young woman made a lot of sense.

"What’s your name? You can stay. However, we have a three-day trial period, which is paid. After you officially start, the monthly salary is sixty yuan. If you do well, it will increase later." This salary was about average for Beijing City.

The young woman smiled at that. "My name is Guan Wenwen. The salary is fine. I just really like the style of your store. It has a very comfortable feel."

Hearing this, Xue Yue smiled too.

In the evening, another young woman came by. Her name was Yang Wenxiu. She had a delicate, pretty face. The clothes she wore were so faded from washing they had turned white, but they were very clean. Xue Yue hired her as well.

Xue Yue figured two people should be enough, so she changed the hiring notice to look for a live-in auntie to cook. That would require a slow and careful search; they had to find someone with good character.

The next day, she heard from He Lang that both young women were quick learners. This way, he wouldn’t have to be at the store all the time.

But unexpectedly, two days later, He Lang told Xue Yue he had found someone to cook.

"Where did you find her? How old is she?"

He Lang said with a smile, "An auntie in her fifties. Shitou recommended her."

Xue Yue was surprised. "Shitou recommended her? How would he know her?"

That’s when He Lang told Xue Yue about Shitou’s girlfriend.

It turned out to be a girl Shitou had met when he was running a stall at the market. After He Lang took Little Chen to Yangcheng, the girl even came to help Shitou sell clothes for a few days. However, Shitou hadn’t told them about her before. It wasn’t until yesterday, when he recommended the girl’s mother, that he finally told He Lang about it.

Xue Yue frowned. "Shitou has only known her for a few days. Can we trust her?"

He Lang thought for a moment. "How about we try her out for a few days? If it doesn’t work out, we’ll just let her go."

But Xue Yue felt that was inappropriate. "No, that’s not right. If that girl is dating Shitou, then this woman is his future mother-in-law. How can we just ’let her go’?"

He Lang put his arm around Xue Yue’s shoulder to comfort her. "Don’t overthink it right now. She hasn’t even started yet, has she? Since Shitou recommended her, let’s just see how she is. If it really doesn’t work out, don’t worry. Shitou will understand."

Since he had put it that way, what else could Xue Yue say?

Soon, the auntie arrived. She had a very easygoing appearance.

Upon seeing Xue Yue, she greeted her with a smile. "You must be the one in charge. My surname is Ge. You can just call me Aunt Ge. My daughter told me all about you. I’ll go cook a few dishes for you now, so you can have a taste."

Xue Yue nodded. "Alright then. Thank you, Aunt Ge."

Xue Yue was a bit of a picky eater. Daya’s cooking suited her tastes perfectly, and she didn’t want to hire a cook only to end up with unappetizing food. That wasn’t what she wanted at all.

Aunt Ge was quick and deft. In no time, she had served up three dishes and a soup.

The dishes looked vibrant. Xue Yue took a bite and couldn’t help but nod. "This is good. It’s delicious."

It really was quite good.

"Aunt Ge, your cooking is excellent. You can stay and work for us. Let me first tell you about the people in our family and what your duties will be."

"Okay," Aunt Ge replied.

Xue Yue explained, "This is a live-in position. I believe you know what our family business is. My husband and the others get off work rather late, and they’ll need dinner when they get back. The same goes for breakfast. In total, there are seven people in the family, so with you, that’s meals for eight. However, my husband and his colleagues usually don’t come home for lunch; they eat at the store. My daughter also eats lunch at school. I’m usually home for lunch, but I’ll let you know ahead of time if my plans change."