Currently, Hong Fen Jia Ren only has four regular employees: Lu Hua, Ga Mei, Lu Yin, and Su Jin Feng. Bai Sheng plans to hire a few more. This will free up more of Lu Hua and Ga Mei’s time to focus on management, which is more conducive to the shop’s development.
The recruitment notice was posted on the promotional board in front of the shop, and quite a few women came to apply that day.
Two women who previously worked with Su Jin Feng at Hua Shang Ready-to-Wear unexpectedly discovered that Su Jin Feng was working at Hong Fen Jia Ren. They also noticed that she wore light makeup and a particularly beautiful shade of lip rouge every day, making her look younger and more attractive.
They had expected her to live a miserable life after being divorced by Lu Da Peng, but they were surprised to see her thriving, even more so than before.
What stroke of luck had she stumbled upon?
Hong Fen Jia Ren was located diagonally opposite Hua Shang Ready-to-Wear. Seeing how popular Hong Fen Jia Ren was and how well its employees were treated, the two women privately approached Su Jin Feng, hoping she could put in a good word for them with the owner so they could also work at Hong Fen Jia Ren.
Su Jin Feng looked at them coldly and said in a low voice, "Sorry, I don't know you."
"Hey, Su Jin Feng, what do you mean by that? We worked together for almost half a year, how can you not know us?" one of the women retorted angrily.
"Hmph, you actually have the nerve to say that," Su Jin Feng said, laughing with anger. "Back then, when the owner of Hua Shang falsely accused me of seducing him, I asked you to come forward and testify. Did you know me then? Did you know me when I was spat on and cursed by so many people?"
The other woman said sheepishly, "We also didn't dare. If we had helped you, our reputations would have been ruined. After all, everyone looks out for themselves first, right?"
Su Jin Feng nodded. "That's right, you're absolutely right. Then I need to look out for myself. I won't help you because seeing you makes my heart grow cold! If you have the ability, go find my owner yourself."
After speaking, she turned and left without looking back.
The first woman watched her retreating back, pouted, and said mockingly, "Hmph, what's so great about her? No matter how proud she is, she's still a woman abandoned by her husband. Without a man to protect her, she'll eventually be treated like a prostitute! We'll see!"
"Forget it, don't say anything more. Let's go apply to the owner ourselves. We have more experience than she does, and I don't believe the owner won't hire us," the other woman said confidently.
She also wanted to quickly get away from the owner of Hua Shang, that pervert. He had been getting more and more outrageous lately.
However, when they approached Bai Sheng, Bai Sheng directly rejected them, simply because they were employees of Hua Shang Ready-to-Wear.
"Why not? Owner? Didn't you say that those with work experience are given priority? Both of us have years of sales experience, we are very capable and diligent, and we can definitely help you sell a lot of goods."
Bai Sheng looked up at them and said in a low voice, "We at Hong Fen Jia Ren need to hire honest, upright people with good character. Are the two of you such people?"
The two women fell silent. It was clear that the owner was deliberately targeting them, and it must have been that wicked woman Su Jin Feng who had spoken ill of them to the owner.
"Hey, ladies, could you please move aside? We still need to apply," impatient women in the queue urged them. The two women had no choice but to leave dejectedly.
By the end of the day, Bai Sheng had successfully hired several employees. These new shop assistants were all trained by Ga Mei.
Finally, it was Lu Hua’s day off.
She planned to visit every cosmetic shop in the capital, starting with Lan Mei Ren.
After breakfast, she took Ga Mei and Ding Xiang out, and had Lu Tong drive the carriage.
Ding Xiang poked her head out and asked, "Lu Tong, Lan Mei Ren is at number 18 Nanfeng Street. Do you know the way? If not, you can ask me."
Lu Tong smiled and said, "Yes, I know. I passed by Nanfeng Street the other day when I was taking a sister from Chunfeng Lou."
Ever since his madam frequently had him drive the carriage, he had been deliberately memorizing the routes. He intended to become thoroughly familiar with the capital, which would make his work for his master and madam more efficient in the future.
Ga Mei teased, "Tong Tong, are those sisters from Chunfeng Lou beautiful?"
Lu Tong's cheeks instantly turned red, and he immediately shook his head. "I don't know. I... I didn't look at all."
Seeing his embarrassed state, the three girls in the carriage all burst into laughter.
"Tong Tong, you're already 15 years old, aren't you? Have you thought about getting married? What kind of wife do you want to marry?" Ga Mei deliberately tried to tease Lu Tong.
The redness on Lu Tong's face gradually spread to the roots of his neck, and he mumbled, "I... I haven't thought about it yet."
The carriage was filled with another burst of tinkling laughter.
Ding Xiang glanced at Lu Tong, who was driving, and suddenly found this young man rather cute.
The carriage arrived at Nanfeng Street, and the three of them alighted. Lu Tong drove the carriage to a secluded spot on the street, waiting for them.
The three took a deep breath and entered Lan Mei Ren. They were instantly captivated by the dazzling array of products.
Lan Mei Ren's shop was quite large, selling not only rouge and powder but also various kinds of jewelry.
The products were divided into different sections according to their type, allowing customers to choose freely. However, each section had shop assistants keeping watch to prevent theft.
The three split up. Ga Mei went to chat with the shop assistants to understand Lan Mei Ren's background. Ding Xiang went to inquire about the main types and prices of rouge and powder.
Lu Hua, meanwhile, tried the cosmetics to check their quality.
When she reached the lip rouge section, she tried several testers. She found that the quality of the lip rouge was far inferior to their own, and there was no comparison at all.
However, the porcelain bottle of one of the lip rouges was very small and exquisite. She really wanted to pick it up and look at it, but as soon as she reached out her hand, another hand appeared and reached out as well.
Their hands accidentally brushed against each other. The hand was fair, with long, slender fingers, clearly a man's hand. Lu Hua was startled and immediately withdrew her hand, instinctively looking up at the owner of the hand.
At that glance, Lu Hua froze.
The man before her was about fourteen or fifteen years old, with delicate features, bright eyes, and a faint smile. He exuded a gentle and refined aura, making people feel very comfortable.
"Excuse me, young lady, you... you want to buy this bottle of lip rouge, don't you?" the delicate-featured man asked softly.
Lu Hua realized she had lost her composure for a moment, and immediately regained her senses. She said with a hint of shyness, "No, it's not that. I just thought the small porcelain bottle was exquisite and beautiful. Sir, please proceed."
After speaking, Lu Hua stiffly turned to walk away.
"Young lady, please wait!" the delicate-featured man called out from behind her.
Lu Hua turned around. "Sir, is there... something else?"
The delicate-featured man smiled. "It's like this, I wanted to ask, young lady, would girls your age like lip rouge like this?"