Mu Xiaoya drove the car near the studio. From a distance she saw a brand new door plague, H&Y, two huge English flowery alphabet, artistically carved on the door, letting everyone that passed it to feel a sense of fashion from this studio.
Mu Xiaoya parked the car, walked quickly to the door, she couldn't wait to push it open.
The sun poured in from the floor-to-ceiling window, paving the ground with brilliance, surrounded by lush greenery from all sides and fresh design, which made people feel comfortable when they look at it. In the studio, there were several desks and several workbenches which weren't packed and close to each other. And in the corner, just like Mu Xiaoya's original idea, a small coffee bar was installed, with all kinds of coffee appliances on the bar.
This… is the 'surprise' Fang Hui said to me last time real?
"You look so silly." Didn't know where Fang Hui came out from, she only looked at Mu Xiaoya who was blankly standing on the door, and made fun of her.
"Fang Hui, this… how did you do this?" Mu Xiaoya couldn't help asking, although she hadn't done any decorations herself, she also had eyesight ah. Just talking about the coffee appliances on the bar, they can't be bought if you don't have hundreds of thousands. Indeed, she wanted to make a coffee bar at first, but she just planned to buy something similar online and install it wherever.
"How much did you spend on this decoration? The sofa, bookshelf, desk, there's no peculiar smell at all. We can't install these things with our little bit of money ah. Moreover, this decoration is completely different from the original design you gave me."
"Is it better or is it worse?"
"Of course it's better! The question is, where did the money come from ah?"
"We didn't spend any money." Fang Hui said proudly.
"Didn't spend any money?" Mu Xiaoya blanked, "How is it that you didn't spend any money? Is it your dad…"
Fang Hui's family was quite rich, and it's not impossible for Father Fang to support his daughter in starting a business.
"My dad bought two bottles of wine over, and I put them in the refrigerator. We'll drink together when we start our business." Fang Hui said.
"It's not your dad? Then?"
"One of us has a nouveau rich daddy, the other married to a wealthy and influential family. If it's not me, then…" Fang Hui stopped to let Mu Xiaoya digest the information.
"A person from Bai Chuan's?" Mu Xiaoya guessed, "How come? I didn't even tell them where the studio is."
"You can find anything with money ah. Besides, when we registered, didn't we write down the address on the business license? Now the industry and commerce website has online publicity and one can check them if they want to." Fang Hui gave Mu Xiaoya a bottle of water from the refrigerator and said, "On that day when you were out of Yun City, someone came to the door, said that he's Bai Chuan's brother's assistant, bringing along a designer directly to me. They didn't bother me with the design plan, material selection, decoration, labor and other expenses, I only gave the keys and went home to sleep."
"But I remembered that you wanted that coffee bar, so I told them, and voila~!" Fang Hui sat down on the sofa and continued, "Doing all of this for free, the only requirement they gave me was to not bother you with renovations during your honeymoon."
"Bai Zheng?!" Mu Xiaoya never thought that Bai Zheng would find someone to decorate her studio.
"Didn't you find it weird that I never took the initiative to find you in the past half month?" Fang Hui asked.
"I thought that you just knew how to be tactful ah." Mu Xiaoya smiled sheepishly.
"Bah! You ran out for honeymoon yourself and made me renovate a large studio like this. If someone didn't help, I would've bothered you to death." Fang Hui said in annoyance. It was already good to let Mu Xiaoya spend her honeymoon in their initial stage of pioneering this business, but Mu Xiaoya still dares to think that she won't bother her at all?
"Then, how much does this cost?"
"It's about five or six hundred, there's no need to think about it too much, just think that this is the Bai family's gift for you." Fang Hui made the decision for Mu Xiaoya.
"…" Mu Xiaoya was at a loss for a time, thinking that she really couldn't afford this with her current economic strength, so she had to keep this in mind and wait for an opportunity to return the favor later.
"I made some plans in the past two days. The studio won't have any business in the early stage, thus we won't need many people, we can just hire one or two people." After visiting the studio, the two started talking about work.
"I don't have any opinion. When do you want to open then?" Mu Xiaoya asked.
"How about tomorrow? We can put two flower baskets and set off firecrackers or something."
"…isn't it too casual?"
"I also don't want to be casual ah, but the problem is that there's not a lot of people around here, if we organize a big event with no one to watch, wouldn't it be such a waste of money and energy then?"
Mu Xiaoya nodded, thinking that what Fang Hui said made sense, "By the way, how were the design drawings I sent you before?" She also didn't just go on vacation when she went to the cherry garden, she drew several design drawings that were passed on to Fang Hui.
"I already gave the blueprint to my uncle." Fang Hui's uncle was the owner of a shoe factory. There's a very large shoe processing factory under his hand, making international brands, and also producing a few shoes to sell himself. Mu Xiaoya made a pair of women sneakers during the final exam of the second semester and gave it to Fang Hui as a birthday gift. Fang Hui really liked it and was seen wearing it when she went home by her uncle, thus he asked Fang Hui to take it off for him to copy.
Fang Hui had a quarrel with him at the time, but she successfully made her uncle spend 5000 yuan to buy Mu Xiaoya's first design. Later, Mu Xiaoya cooperated with the other party several times, Fang Hui also helped to talk about the share from her design drafts. Two of her designs were sold very well, which gave Mu Xiaoya some profit, and that's how she managed to save 300 thousand yuan to open their business.
"My uncle, that unscrupulous merchant, said again that he wanted to buy out*, so he got cursed by my mom." [*to purchase the right of the design's production]
Mu Xiaoya couldn't help but laugh.
"After being re-educated by my mother, my uncle finally accepted my proposal." Fang Hui said excitedly, "Now the shoes has been put into production and my uncle agreed to sell it in his store and online store first, putting our trade mark on them, and adding our website URL inside the product box."
"This good?" not just helping them sell in retail, but also helping them advertise.
"However, we have to share half of the profit with him." Fang Hui added.
"Of course we should, such a good distribution channel and free advertising can't be bought with just a little money." Not to mention how much her own design drafts' worth, just with how Fang Hui's uncle paved the way of a complete distribution channel for them, even if she didn't receive a share of the profit, it wasn't necessarily not doable.
"Who made him my uncle? Shouldn't he help his nephew starting her business?" Fang Hui's convenient take was justified.
"I finally know why the rich are getting richer, it's because they help each other." Mu Xiaoya sighed.
"You think ah, excelling in college, mixing in society, one should have high EQ and wide connections. If it weren't for my uncle, how can I dare to open studio?" Although she didn't lack money, she's also not so foolish as to throw away money like a toy.
"How many shoes did our first batch were put into production?"
"I originally planned to set aside 300 thousand for this early stage's cost, planned to do less at first, wait until we gain some profit back then continue to produce more, but now we didn't even spend a dime on the decoration, so I just throw in the 700 thousand altogether." Fang Hui said.
"All?" Mu Xiaoya was shocked.
"Don't worry, with my uncle's distribution network, even if the sales situation is less than ideal, it won't be difficult to cover the cost, rest assured ah." Fang Hui said with confidence.
Mu Xiaoya was really not as good as Fang Hui in selling things, seeing her so determined, she didn't say anything more.
The two also discussed the sales plan after the shoes went on the market, the official flagship store's operating method, and the matter of recruitment. After talking about these big and small things, afternoon came in a flash. Mu Xiaoya looked at the time, it was already more than 5 o'clock. Remembering her promise with Bai Chuan, she got up from the chair.
"Fang Hui, I have to go home now."
"Eh? Why?" Fang Hui was just screening a few resumes to show Mu Xiaoya.
"I promised Bai Chuan to go back at six."
"…I don't think you're looking out for your husband, you're just like a mother who has a child ah, have to go home and cook for the child as soon as you get off work."
"Where do you single dogs understand the romance of us, married couple?" Mu Xiaoya attacked verbally.
"You hurry roll out! You think you guys can ridicule us singles, what's wrong with being single? I'm single today, that doesn't mean that I'll be single tomorrow."
"Tsk tsk tsk, then I have to wish you the best romantic encounter tonight."
Fang Hui listened happily, and just when she was laughing, an express delivery boy came from the door, carrying a big box in his hand, "Excuse me, which one is miss Mu Xiaoya?"
"Me." Mu Xiaoya was surprised.
"Hello, this is your courier, please sign here."
Mu Xiaoya signed the paper and looked at the big box with a confused expression.
"What did you buy?" Fang Hui asked.
"I didn't buy it ah." Mu Xiaoya also wanted to ask.
"What is this thing?"
"It looks like a jigsaw puzzle." There's a shop information on the delivery list, which was a Taobao shop that specializes in jigsaw puzzles.
Regardless, Mu Xiaoya just shoved the puzzle into the back seat and drove home. She tried to rush, but still got home late because of the traffic jam. At this time, Bai Chuan had been waiting for her for more than ten minutes at the door.
Mu Xiaoya didn't expect that Bai Chuan would be waiting for her at the door and she felt guilty at once, "Sorry, I'm late."
"It's okay." Bai Chuan wasn't angry, because Mu Xiaoya had improved a lot compared to before. In the past, Mu Xiaoya would always told him that she would come to see him in two days, but every time she walked out, it would be one or two months before they can see each other again. It was only ten minutes this time, so it can be said to be really quick ah.
At dinner, it seemed that the other Bai family all had to attend social engagements, so Mu Xiaoya and Bai Chuan simply ate dinner and went back to their room. Mu Xiaoya opened the jigsaw puzzle she received in the afternoon, revealing a nearly 50 inch puzzle frame and five big bundle of puzzle pieces.
"How much pieces are there?" Mu Xiaoya turned over the documents, glanced at the numbers and suddenly exclaimed, "Five thousand?!"
Who did this puzzle come from, and they also knew the address of the studio. Mu Xiaoya turned over the packaging bag and found a complete picture of the puzzle: A pair of a man and a woman sitting in front of a wooden house while eating watermelon.
"Liang Nuonuo." With just one glance, Mu Xiaoya already knew who sent this package of puzzles. This chap actually took their photos to custom-make such a large puzzle, "How can I arrange such a big puzzle ah?"
Mu Xiaoya impatiently took out her phone and began to reason with Liang Nuonuo, "Liang Nuonuo, what do you mean by sending me such a big puzzle ah?"
"Aish, it arrived so soon. How is it? Do you think that photo is particularly artistic? No need to thank me, it's my wedding gift for you." Liang Nuonuo said with a smile.
"The photo is good, but why did you make it into 5 thousand puzzle pieces ah? How can I piece them together ah? Don't you know I have a hard time even just looking at a map?" Mu Xiaoya was 100% sure Liang Nuonuo was intentional.
"Such a good looking photo, of course you have to piece it together slowly so it can have more appeal, good luck oh~" After saying this, Liang Nuonuo just hung her phone and stopped talking with Mu Xiaoya.
"…you did it on purpose." Mu Xiaoya said fiercely, but there's no way to get revenge on her ah. When she turned around and was about to put away the puzzle, she found Bai Chuan was on the floor while doing something.
"Xiao Chuan, what are…" Mu Xiaoya squatted down to take a look and suddenly stopped talking.
She saw Bai Chuan sitting cross-legged on the floor with the opened puzzle packages beside him. Bai Chuan held the scattered puzzle pieces and quickly put them together with an unbelievable speed. Some of the pieces were placed in the middle and some in the corner, with fast and determined movements, as if he didn't need to think, he placed the pieces right where they belonged.
Mu Xiaoya looked at him quietly, and after half an hour, she already saw her own face on the puzzle board.
Five thousand pieces of jigsaw puzzles can be pieced together with just a glance, so… is this another skill of someone with scholar syndrome?