Grandmother helped her look after the two younger ones. The other two families also had children, and none of them said anything, which Chen Lishu always remembered.
Since she had to bring three children anyway, bringing a few more wouldn't make much difference.
Gu Ming jumped up, "Third Aunt, you're so kind."
Gu Pan tugged at Chen Lishu's hand, "Third Aunt, I like you the most."
Gu Xingye pinched his daughter's chubby little cheeks, "Weren't you just saying you liked Dad the most before we came? Are all your affections just for show?"
"I like Dad the most too," Gu Pan, being young and clever, added at the end, "And Mom too."
Since they were leaving early the next day, the adults departed, and the younger ones all stayed at home.
The next day, Gu Xingdong and his wife, along with Li Xiulan and Zhao Qiuyue, four adults, took the children to the amusement park for the day.
The adults' energy was no match for the children's exuberance. As soon as one was managed, another would dart off in a different direction.
Fortunately, Gu Xingdong was a steady presence. Gu Lin and Rui Rui were older and could also help look after the younger ones. Even so, upon returning home, Chen Lishu collapsed onto the sofa.
The two youngest had already fallen asleep from exhaustion before they even got home.
Gu Xingdong carried the two children to their rooms upstairs. Seeing Chen Lishu slumped on the sofa, he went to the table, poured a glass of water, and handed it to her.
"It's a good thing we only have these three. If I had two more, I'd definitely be overwhelmed." Thinking back, she couldn't imagine how her mother managed with seven children.
Gu Xingdong reached over and massaged her legs, "When you have more children, you naturally develop ways to manage them. Didn't we all have the older ones looking after the younger ones? Rui Rui and Lin Lin performed well today."
"Third Aunt, can we have soda?" Gu Ming ran over, his dark forehead glistening with sweat.
"You each had a bottle today. Drinking too much soda will upset your stomachs. Besides, we'll be eating soon, and that stuff fills you up. How about you watch some TV instead? Just try not to be too loud; your two little sisters are sleeping inside."
Hearing they could watch TV, Gu Ming happily ran to his two older brothers.
After coaxing Gu Pan and Gu Feng to sleep, Li Xiulan and Zhao Qiuyue began preparing dinner.
It was already past six in the evening when Gu Xingmin and the others arrived. The children, who had been playing all day, were reluctant to leave.
Chen Lishu was tired, and with more to do the next day, she went to bed soon after dinner.
The next day, after breakfast, Gu Xingdong took Rui Rui to school, while Chen Lishu went to the main store.
Having called ahead, Wang Aixiang, Zhao Xingwang, and others were all present. She started by holding a meeting.
"Now that we're building a factory, we need manpower the most. This is a list of the positions we currently need, which I've compiled these past two days. Li Qiang, you'll go to the newspaper office later. Remember one thing: prioritize those with work experience, retired soldiers, and their families."
"Aixiang Jie, please put up a recruitment notice on the store door later to hire two more sales assistants and a cashier. This will free you up later; the factory will need you."
Wang Aixiang took note.
"Da Zhu, the security for the factory will be your responsibility from now on. There will be many miscellaneous tasks during the construction period, so thank you for your hard work. After the workers start, you'll have to do more running around."
After speaking with Wang Da Zhu, Chen Lishu turned to Zhao Xingwang, "You'll come with me to the State Cotton Mill later."
After a few more instructions, she let everyone go about their business, and Chen Lishu and Zhao Xingwang went to the State Cotton Mill together.
"Xiao Chen, why do you have time to visit today?" Feng Wenyou, seeing her enter, cordially invited them to sit down before going to pour water for her.
"The weather this year is much hotter than in previous years," Feng Wenyou said, handing two cups of plain boiled water to Chen Lishu and Zhao Xingwang.
Chen Lishu thanked him, "It's only June, but it feels like we're already in the dog days."
"I've recently contracted a piece of land and plan to build a garment factory."
Feng Wenyou paused for a moment, then smiled, "That's great news. Building a factory involves many things. Given our relationship, please don't hesitate to ask if you need any help."
As the Party Secretary of a factory, Feng Wenyou had a broad perspective. Furthermore, Chen Lishu had given the factory considerable respect regarding Fu Hongxin's matter, and he genuinely intended to help.
After all, contract processing was not a long-term solution. It was only a matter of time before Chen Lishu built her own factory. While there might be competition, there was also potential for mutual benefit.
Chen Lishu also observed Feng Wenyou's expression. Hearing his words, she smiled, "To be honest, I've never worked in a factory before, and I'm completely in the dark right now. Thinking of Secretary Feng, I wanted to come and seek your advice."
"Anything is new at first, and you get familiar with it through practice. Managing a factory essentially boils down to managing people..."
Feng Wenyou summarized his years of experience for Chen Lishu. Finally, he said, "Talking on paper is just theoretical. How about this: I'll have someone take you on a tour of the factory, and we can discuss anything you don't understand. What do you think?"
"That would be wonderful, thank you."
Feng Wenyou stood up, "We've been cooperating for so long. It's just within my capabilities, so there's no need to be so polite."
Chen Lishu smiled, "Then I won't be polite with you, Secretary Feng. To be honest, I do have a request."
Feng Wenyou replied, "Go ahead."
"The factory has already started recruiting. Once we have enough personnel, I'd like to bring a few people to your factory for a systematic tour and learning experience."
It was common for factories to learn from each other, so Feng Wenyou readily agreed.
Soon after, Feng Wenyou called the office director and instructed him to take Chen Lishu on a tour, explaining anything she didn't understand as much as possible.
Seeing the secretary's emphasis, the office director dared not neglect his duty. He took Chen Lishu and Zhao Xingwang through the raw material workshop, visiting every area one by one.
Chen Lishu spent the entire day gaining a general understanding of the State Cotton Mill, which increased her confidence in building her own factory.
Upon returning home that evening, Gu Xingdong told her, "I've spoken with Xiao Li. He'll go to the site with you first thing tomorrow morning. You'll have to be on-site frequently during this period, so I'll leave the car for you to use."
Chen Lishu asked, "What about you?"
"We still have a bicycle at home. Besides, since it's all within the city, it's convenient for me to get around. You don't need to make the extra trip."
Chen Lishu nodded, "Once the factory is built, we'll need cars too."
"I've asked Lin Qi to keep an eye out. It's inconvenient for him to run errands without one too. If this goes through, we'll directly get two."
Currently, refrigerators, washing machines, and cars were all considered high-tech integrated products that relied heavily on imports. To buy a car, one needed a permit.
Certain southern provinces had policy advantages, and many automobile companies had emerged. A single permit was resold countless times, and a large number of smuggled cars entered the domestic market from the south.
However, a car was not cheap, costing anywhere from one or two thousand yuan to tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands.
Chen Lishu couldn't help but tease, "I didn't realize our CEO was so wealthy and generous."