Chen Lishu: "Zhang Xue also got married last month."
Yang Lili: "Really? I thought she and Li Zhiwei were getting along well."
Chen Lishu: "Zhang Xue married a soldier. About half a year after you left, Li Zhiwei went abroad. By the way, where are you living now? Are your husband and Niuniu doing well?"
Yang Lili's smile faded slightly: "We divorced. He didn't agree to me going abroad, so we divorced before I left."
No one knew how much she had paid to reach this point.
However, it was all in the past.
Before parting, they exchanged contact information.
Yang Lili returned to the mall, and the staff greeted her enthusiastically: "Manager Yang."
Yang Lili nodded: "You get back to your work, I'm going upstairs to find Manager Sun."
Saying this, she went up the stairs.
When Chen Lishu returned to the hotel, Nan Haitao and Sun Chang had not yet returned.
They did not return until past four in the afternoon.
"How did the negotiations go?"
Nan Haitao picked up the water glass on the table, poured himself a glass of water, and after drinking it all in one go, said: "They neither agreed nor refused. They only said they would report the situation truthfully to their superiors."
Chen Lishu nodded: "Things cannot be rushed. I also said today that I would wait for their news."
"Tomorrow, Xiao Sun and I will visit other malls to assess the situation. Some malls are already implementing a contract system, perhaps we can focus on that aspect."
After all, contracting to individuals with strong flexibility and autonomy makes cooperation easier as long as there is profit.
The next day, Chen Lishu did not rush to the department store to ask for an answer. She went to the siheyuan first.
In the courtyard, clothes and quilts were drying on clothes racks made of bamboo poles. A few half-grown children were playing cops and robbers with paper guns in their hands. Upon seeing Chen Lishu enter, the children paused, then ran away in a swarm.
A little boy in split pants followed behind, trying hard to catch up.
An old woman sitting on the steps under the eaves of the west wing saw this and called out: "Run slower, be careful not to fall."
"Aunt Zhao, are you watching your grandson?"
Seeing it was her, the other woman quickly stood up: "Young lady, what brings you here? Are you here to look at the houses?"
Chen Lishu nodded: "Last time I received your letter saying two families had moved out, so I thought I'd come and take a look."
"Yes, yes, one family just moved out last week. I've been keeping an eye on them for you. When they left, they basically didn't move the furniture inside. I have the keys, I'll take you to see them now."
The old woman said this, untied a set of keys from her waistband, and then opened the two rooms in the east wing.
Chen Lishu looked inside, and the two rooms were tidied up very cleanly.
"Besides taking care of my grandson, I don't have anything else to do, so I helped clean up. It will be more convenient for you if you move in."
Chen Lishu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "I knew it was the most reliable decision to entrust this matter to you, Auntie. Thank you for your hard work."
Aunt Zhao waved her hand: "It's nothing anyway. My son has been looking for a house too, and he should have news in the next couple of days. He's expected to move out before the end of the month."
Chen Lishu nodded: "Thank you, Auntie, for looking after things during this time. I will arrange for someone to collect the houses before I leave, and I will also settle the rent for this month and waive it for you."
The aunt immediately beamed: "Oh, thank you so much. There aren't many landlords as accommodating as you these days."
Chen Lishu changed the locks on the two houses, informed Aunt Zhao, and then left.
"After comprehensive consideration, we are temporarily not considering the entry of your brand. After all, we also need to consider the ideas of other brands. To be blunt, cooperating with an unknown brand like yours could affect the mall's reputation. If there's an opportunity in the future, I hope we can cooperate again."
Although the other party was tactful, their refusal was very clear.
"I know that the brand's reputation might not be enough now, but in terms of quality and design, we are second to none compared to top brands. We are very popular in the provincial capital. If you give us a chance, I guarantee you won't be disappointed."
Chen Lishu was quite confident about this cooperation, as the Shanghai side had already agreed.
However, no matter how Chen Lishu promoted it, the other party firmly stated that they would not consider it for the time being.
Finally, she had to leave in disappointment.
As soon as she reached the mall entrance, Yang Lili came in from outside and asked, "How did it go? Did Manager Sun agree?"
Chen Lishu shook her head: "He said he's not considering it for now."
Yang Lili frowned: "How could this happen? I went to see him after we parted yesterday, and the conversation was going well. Why don't I go with you again and try to persuade him?"
Chen Lishu pursed her lips: "Forget it. I've said all I need to say. If he can't recognize my brand, further discussion is meaningless."
"What are your plans now? I'm going back south in a couple of days. If there's anything I can help you with, please don't hesitate to ask."
"I can only try to find other partners. Please let me know before you leave, and I'll host a farewell for you."
Yang Lili nodded. With both of them busy with their own matters, they parted ways.
Nan Haitao's progress was not smooth, but it was not entirely without results.
He successfully signed supply contracts with two individual stallholders in malls.
A total of two hundred pieces of clothing. He had already called Zhao Xingwang, and the shipment would be arranged that afternoon.
Chen Lishu: "The shipping fee from the provincial capital to the capital is not cheap. If we ship every time, it won't be cost-effective for us."
Nan Haitao: "But, there's no good solution for now. Land and labor are relatively cheaper in the provincial capital. If only we had a warehouse in the capital, it's also not far from Shanghai, so it could serve as a transit point."
"Your suggestion is good." Chen Lishu: "The matter of entering the department store didn't go smoothly. I thought about it carefully on the way back. If it doesn't work out, we can open our own store. This will also solve the transit point issue you mentioned, killing two birds with one stone."
Nan Haitao: "But choosing a store and choosing a warehouse are different. We don't know anything about this place, and we haven't done any research. If we choose the wrong location in the end, not only will it not be profitable, but we might even lose money."
Another point is that renting a warehouse doesn't cost much, while opening a store might require several times the investment.
Chen Lishu: "Who says there aren't good places? We'll open the store next to the clothing department store. Since they look down on our brand, I'll make it bigger and stronger to show them."
Hearing her words, Nan Haitao found it somewhat amusing: "This shouldn't be done out of spite."
Chen Lishu said very seriously: "I am not acting out of spite; this is a decision I made after careful consideration. Firstly, opening a store in the capital is only a matter of time. Secondly, the capital is a central city with developed media. Once we have our own physical store, it will be much more convenient for publicity in the future."