Chapter 73: The Competition Begins
The meeting with her uncle was not pleasant at all. Su Luo was about to fall asleep. From this point, it was not difficult to see that she was indeed not a businessman who could achieve great things. Look at Qin Huai, who had just drunk so much tea in Aunt Mantou's room and was drinking again now without even going to the toilet. He still smiled and listened to Su Jing reviewing the past and looking forward to the future.
After talking for a long time and nothing more than the word "fawning", Su Luo yawned and glanced at Su Jiang beside him. Although Su Jiang had been vindicated, she was still wearing men's clothes and sitting quietly beside him, as if she was listening carefully to Su Jing's speech, but in fact... Su Luo guessed that she was in a daze.
Su Luo felt extremely sorry for Su Jiang. How could such a quiet person have such a mother? Could it be a genetic mutation?
She stood up and apologized, then looked at Qin Huai and Su Jiang with sympathy. Sorry, she was leaving. Unexpectedly, Su Jiang also stood up and followed Su Luo out quietly without making a sound.
When Su Luo saw her coming out, she couldn't help but laugh, "Are you annoyed too? I'm going to fall asleep if I listen for a while longer."
Su Jiang smiled and stuck out her tongue, "I still have to go to my sister's place for a while. If I go back to Bihe Garden now, my mother will annoy me to death."
This was the first time Su Luo saw her innocent girlish look, and he felt closer to her. He took her hand affectionately and asked as they walked: "Why are you still wearing men's clothes? It's so awkward."
"I'm used to it." Su Jiang smiled, "Besides, when I'm doing business outside, I often have to attend social events, so it's more convenient to wear men's clothes."
"There is something I'm quite curious about. Don't be angry if I ask you." Su Luo was always curious.
Su Jiang smiled and nodded. Su Luo said, "I've often heard about palace fighting, the story of a cat replacing a prince, and girls pretending to be boys, but this is the first time I've seen it. Didn't anyone find out that you were a girl in all these years?"
"The people who knew about this matter were my mother's confidants, so they kept it secret. Besides, this is nothing new in wealthy families. Even if we tell the truth, we will only become a laughing stock."
"No one dares to laugh at you now." Su Luo said with a smile: "If you ask me, your mother is doing something unnecessary. What's the point of disguising herself as a man? If you become famous as a girl, wouldn't it make her proud?"
Su Jiang looked at Su Luo with a strange look in her eyes. She shook her head slowly, "If I had faced everyone as a girl from the beginning, I would probably have been married like my sisters by now, and I wouldn't have had the opportunity I have now."
Su Luo shook her head. "Gold will shine wherever it is. Even if you get married, your business talent is still there. Without the Su family's stage, how do you know that your husband's family doesn't have a stage for you to show off?"
Su Jiang lowered her head and said softly, "What I am doing now is just forced by the situation. If it is really like what my sister said, I will definitely choose to stay at home to take care of my husband and children instead of showing off."
Su Luo pouted, "Get married, have children, and spend your whole life with your husband and children. You will live a mediocre life. When you die, you will look back and realize that you have not done anything decent. You just gave birth to children. How boring is that kind of life."
"What's wrong with being ordinary?" Su Jiang looked at Su Luo, "What kind of life do you want to live, sister?"
"Hey!" Su Luo said with a smile: "Even if we can't change the world, at least we should leave our names in history. What's wrong with being a woman? Women can still hold up half the sky!"
"This idea is wrong." After Su Jiang said this, he didn't speak for a long time.
Su Luo was waiting, but after waiting for a long time, he still didn't hear anything. He couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Su Jiang was stunned. When he looked up and saw Su Luo's eager face, he realized that Su Luo had heard his mumbling. Huang Huayuan happened to be in front of him, so he smiled and changed the subject, saying that the cards you were playing in the room were quite interesting.
Su Luo was not a very focused child to begin with, and after hearing what she said, he forgot about what happened before, pulled Su Jiang into the house, and said, "I have many other ways to play, including fortune-telling, which is very fun."
When they entered the room, Yun Lang and Su Hong were fighting fiercely. Zhou Chongwen seemed to have learned it too, and took over Bao Zixing's position, also throwing the cards with a clattering sound. Bao Zixing sat aside, seemingly casually but actually very attentively handing Su a pair of needle and thread scissors. Su was absent-minded and didn't pay attention until Su Luo and the others came in, then she realized that Bao Zixing was sitting opposite her. She didn't know what he was thinking of, her face suddenly blushed, and he put the needlework in his hand into the sewing tray and took it into the inner room.
Facing Su Luo's pointed gaze, Bao Zixing was a little embarrassed. He turned around to cover up, snatched the cards from Zhou Chongwen's hand, and continued to fight. Zhou Chongwen didn't want to fight. When he saw Su Luo coming into the house, he came over and pulled her to the charcoal basin to warm up. Su Luo was warm-hearted, so she simply put her hand into Zhou Chongwen's hand and asked him to cover it for her. Zhou Chongwen glanced at Su Jiang next to him, blushed and pushed Su Luo's hand away, saying that he was going to get her some snacks.
Su Luo smiled and winked at Su Jiang. Su Jiang smiled and held Su Luo's hand, whispering, "If you like Mr. Zhou, you should let your uncle and third uncle know as soon as possible and arrange the marriage as soon as possible to avoid any accidents in the future."
Su Luo stared at her as if she had seen a ghost: "What a joke, I haven't had enough fun yet, and feelings can change. I can't just give up my life based on a momentary affection."
"After spending so much time together, you will naturally develop feelings for each other. It's not like now..." Su Jiang wanted to say something else, but stopped herself, lowered her eyes and smiled, "Several sisters in our Su family didn't even see their husbands when they got married, but now they are living well, aren't they? Since you have someone you like, you should not delay it too long."
Su Luo looked at Su Jiang and just smiled without saying anything. Su Jiang asked inexplicably, "What did I say wrong?"
Su Luo shook her head: "Su Hong said that you are naturally cold-tempered. I don't think that's the case at all. It's just that you didn't have anyone to talk to before."
Su Jiang also laughed, "I feel close to my elder sister as soon as I see her. If I talk too much, my elder sister will laugh at me."
"Who dares to make fun of me!" Su Luo hurried over and held her hand, "I feel close to you when I see you, I always feel like I have seen this sister before..." At this point, Su Luo burst into laughter, and was inspired by Su Jiang's words to become more literary, and even said such classic lines, which was really commendable. The next step would probably be to ask Su Jiang if she had the jade.
Su Jiang pursed her lips, as if she wanted to laugh but couldn't. Su Luo felt embarrassed, thinking that Su Jiang was laughing at her for laughing. She felt embarrassed in front of her sister and became surprisingly shy. Not only did Yun Lang, who was playing cards from a distance, feel goosebumps, but even Zhou Chongwen, who came back with snacks, felt uncomfortable. He secretly told Su Luo that she didn't need to pretend to be a lady, because we all knew that she was not one.
After hearing this, Su Luo's violent nature was revealed without a word. He used three punches, two kicks and three slaps, all of which were in a routine. However, this move was only used against Yun Lang before, and this was the first time he used it against Zhou Si.
The atmosphere in the house became lively again. Su Luo just liked this feeling: a warm house, the family gathered together laughing and playing. It would be best if there were some big snowflakes outside the house and a whistling breeze. Only then would she feel that she was the happiest.
Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty.
Compared to the Spring Festival Gala that can only be watched during the Chinese New Year hundreds of years later, the ancient Chinese New Year was much more lively, mainly because Su Luo had never experienced such a grand family scene. The ladies, young ladies, aunts and grandmothers from several rooms gathered together to chat and talk about everything. There were at least 20 or 30 of them. Su Luo couldn't stand this scene. They chattered as if she had entered a poultry farm. She got a headache when she heard them talking. Fortunately, the Su family didn't get involved in the excitement, so the Su Luo family stayed in the west wing to entertain themselves. It was just a pity for Qin Huai. He was closely watched by Su Jing these days, and he had few opportunities to meet Su Luo.
Aunt Mantou came to see Su Luo several times, hinting and hinting that the people in our third branch are no worse than those in the second branch. Why is it that the daughter of the second branch can manage the main store in Zhuxian Town, but the third branch can't even get a branch in other places?
Su Luo is such a smart person, she understood without any explanation, Mantou Lady wanted her to fight with Su Jing to get the management rights of the branch for the third room, and then give it to Su Xuan. Su Luo, bah! She hasn't figured out her own business yet, and she's fighting for the management rights for Su Xuan? What good will she get from fighting for the management rights? Is she just bored?
Although she had this thought, she didn't show it. She agreed with a humming and hawing, saying that if she wanted to try, she would have to wait until the end of the first month of the year and couldn't be too hasty.
When Aunt Mantou heard that it made sense, she didn't want to push Su Luo too hard, so she said, "Don't worry, I will take good care of your mother." After that, she took practical action to show her support, asking Su Tong to send 20 taels of silver to Su's family as New Year's expenses. This made Su Luo feel deeply moved. It was really pitiful for the love of parents in the world. For the sake of her son's future, Aunt Mantou didn't hesitate to send her husband to use the beauty trap.
Because Su Tong had behaved poorly before and the Su family had not yet recovered, the task of receiving Su Tong fell on Yun Lang. Yun Lang took the plate of silver with one hand and with the other hand, he casually swung Su Tong back to the East Courtyard, and his speed was comparable to that of a D-train.
Su Luo happily divided the spoils with Yun Lang. She didn't care about the matter of the steamed bun lady at all. After the karaoke competition was over and the money box was sold, she didn't plan to stay in Zhuxian Town anymore. She would tie up her mother and send her directly to Nanjing. The purpose of getting to know Qin Huai had been achieved, and the Su family would not care too much about the disappearance of the mother and daughter.
In the blink of an eye, it was the sixth day of the New Year. Bao Zixing could no longer stay any longer. He was anxious to go back to open his shop. He also said that he wanted to find old customers he had already contacted and let them practice more in the hope of winning the karaoke competition.
Su Luo was not thinking about this matter. She had to get busy. She didn't know how the manager of Qin Ji was doing with the matter she had discussed with him before the New Year. She had to find time to go and take a look.
Ignoring Su Jing's unwillingness, Su Luo forcibly dragged Qin Huai away from the drinking table of their cloth goods guild. Qin Huai was relieved and said, "I might as well not come back. No one can stand drinking every day."
"I think you seem to be enjoying yourself. Tomorrow is the seventh day of the first lunar month, and you haven't come back to visit Qin's." Su Luo said, nudging Qin Huai with her shoulder. "How are they? Those singing girls that my uncle summoned yesterday are all pretty, right?"
Qin Huai looked at Su Luo with a smile and said that those guys were not as pretty as her.
Su Luo was about to raise his foot out of habit, but later, because Qin Huai was the boss of the partner, he temporarily gave him some face.
Su Luo said she wanted to sell the cash box. Qin Huai didn't know whether he had heard about it from the owner of Qin Ji or he had market foresight, but he was not surprised at all. However, after listening to Su Luo's plan to increase her value and cheat Fatty Xue, he had a new understanding of Su Luo.
"It turns out you have a good sense for finance."
This sentence made Su Luo happy for two days, and she only came to her senses on the third day. What did Qin Huai mean by that? Did he think that she had no business sense? Hey, let's not think about it anymore. She should study the karaoke competition first. After that, she would have to discuss the publication of the famous book with Qin Huai.
The Karaoke Contest lasts for ten working days and is divided into preliminary, semi-final and final rounds. The judges are members of the Zhuxian Town Industrial and Commercial Guild. The Magistrate of Qi County was invited to present the awards. The champion will receive fifty taels of silver and the title of "King of Karaoke". The generous reward of fame and fortune and the opportunity to show off in public has made the Karaoke Contest another grand event after the Chinese New Year in Zhuxian Town. In the past, the first question people asked when they met was: "Have you eaten today?" Now, the first question they ask when they meet is: "Have you karaoke today?"
On the tenth day of the first lunar month, the first day of the preliminary round of the Karaoke Contest was held in the Flower Cabinet opposite the Cash Box. It was obvious that the Flower Cabinet attached great importance to this contest. The hired flower girls stood in two rows, one row to maintain order on the scene, and the other row to guide the contestants into the venue. The Flower Cabinet was also decorated in a very grand manner, which made Su Luo secretly admire it. With this grand display, even if the Cash Box flattered, it could not catch up.
That day, Su Luo finally met Fatty Xue. Fatty Xue enthusiastically took Su Luo's hand and asked about his well-being, trying to create a familiar atmosphere in front of others and extract business intelligence from him behind their backs.
"When the flower cabinet opened, I came to visit you, but I didn't know you went to Nanjing and missed me."
Su Luo snorted and laughed, "It was because I went to Nanjing that Boss Xue had the opportunity to catch me off guard. When I came back, you almost took away all my business."
When it comes to running a KTV, Fatty Xue's greatest success was the introduction of the singing companion system, but this was also his greatest failure, as it greatly undermined the industry rules and made KTV and brothels related units. It wouldn't be long before either KTV officially introduced the lady business or brothels opened up the karaoke market. No matter which one it was, the impact on the KTV industry was fatal.
"No, no, Boss Su is too modest." Fatty Xue smiled and asked tentatively, "Did Boss Su's trip to Nanjing go smoothly?"
Su Luo sighed, "Boss Xue, didn't you hear? I was in a hurry to come back from Nanjing because something happened at home."
"But what about Boss Su moving back to the Su family mansion?"
"That's right, Boss Xue, you don't know that my uncle looks down on my small business and keeps urging me to sell the cash box and go home to get married!"
Fatty Xue narrowed his eyes and asked, "Boss Su, are you interested in selling the cash box?"
"Of course..." Su Luo hung him for a while, "I can't sell it! Now that things have come to this, I can't think about developing outside. Qiangui is my only support. Although I can make a small profit from selling Qiangui, it is dead money after all. There is no way to continue doing business and developing. I proposed to hold the competition just to show my uncle that the future prospects of our industry are very good. If I can convince him to invest in me and acquire a few more..." Su Luo stopped talking here, realizing that he had said something wrong. He smiled embarrassedly and said, "I'll go to the door and take a look. I made a banner with my name on it to build momentum for myself. It's time."
Fat Xue laughed and said repeatedly, "Please, please." But he followed Su Luo out and saw two big red banners hanging on both sides of the flower cabinet door, one on the left and one on the right, saying that this event was sponsored by Qiangui, which was opposite the flower building.
Fatty Xue couldn't help laughing secretly. The banner was hung at the door of his house. The names of the two houses were similar. Most people present would think it was the banner of the flower cabinet. Su Luo, Su Luo, your business ideas are good, but you are still a little immature. You lost the battle for the venue rights, so you begged for the naming rights. What's the point? After the competition, the name of the flower cabinet will be deeply rooted in people's hearts. Who will still remember the money cabinet? Thinking of this, Fatty Xue curled his lips. Women, it's better to go home and get married early.
Seeing more and more people gathering around him, Fatty Xue was very satisfied with the publicity effect of this competition. Just as he was about to go back, he found that everyone passing by was holding a piece of paper with a flower print on it. Many of them were talking about it and muttering to themselves.
Fat Xue stopped a man and took a look at the note in his hand. The stamp on it was very complicated, with the words "Qin Ji", "Ten Wen" and "This voucher can be exchanged for goods of equivalent value" written on the top.
Turning it over, the reverse side had the Qiangui logo and a slogan that said "Buy goods at Qinji, sing red songs at Qiangui". I frowned and asked the man, "Can this thing be exchanged for something? Be careful not to be cheated."
The man took the exchange coupon back from Fatty Xue. "The owner of Qin's is at the cashier's door. He'll stamp each coupon he issues. It can't be fake. If you want to go, go quickly. Today is free, but you'll have to pay for it tomorrow. I heard that the coupons will be sold at 40% off tomorrow, 30% off the day after tomorrow, and 20% off the day after tomorrow."
When Fatty Xue heard this, he hurried to the cashier's side. There was a long line at the cashier's door. Fatty Xue wanted to squeeze to the front, but was pushed back by the people in front of him. Someone kindly asked him, "Have you memorized the jingle?" You have to memorize it word for word to get the exchange coupon.
What rhyme did Fatty Xue ask?
The man took out an internal cheat sheet with two sentences neatly written on it: Qiangui is good, Qiangui is wonderful, Qiangui sings terrifically, the songs are beautiful and the prices are low, the boxes are clean and the atmosphere is good, if you want to sing, you should come to Qiangui, the king of karaoke is really good! Brackets, repeat three times.
