Chapter 519 – Ye Lin is in a Relationship
“Do you know that Ye Lin is in a relationship?”
“Hmm?” Lu Xia was a bit surprised when she heard, “I didn’t know. She’s in a relationship? When did that happen? She didn’t mention it when I saw her a few days ago.”
Since things started going well at the beauty salon, Lu Xia had been going there less often. With the addition of her summer internship, her visits became even less frequent, and she hadn’t heard about Ye Lin having a partner.
But Ye Lin was keeping it quite tight-lipped, not even telling her. Lu Xia decided to ask her when she had the chance.
Later, Ye Nan mentioned, “We’re not sure if she’s in a relationship. We just heard from Second Aunt that she’s been acting a bit strange lately, often giggling and showing an interest in dressing up. We suspect something’s going on, but when we asked her, she didn’t say anything. Our family is a bit worried, so they asked me to inquire.”
Lu Xia shook her head after hearing this. “I really didn’t know. But I’m off tomorrow, so I’ll visit the beauty salon and ask her then.”
“Alright.”
The next day, on her day off, Lu Xia ignored Jiang Junmo’s pitiful expression and went to the beauty salon by herself, leaving him behind.
When she arrived, the beauty salon was quite busy.
As more and more customers came in and were increasingly satisfied with the salon’s services, and as they could visibly see the effects of the treatments after a few sessions, word spread, and the number of customers grew.
The few beauticians before were no longer enough, so Master Zhong urgently trained a few more, and they were now ready to handle customers.
Fortunately, the salon had a large area. During the initial renovation, they had partitioned the second floor into fifteen small rooms, allowing them to accommodate a large number of customers at once.
Master Zhong had also transformed. Although she had taken good care of herself before, being dependent on her family made her somewhat lack confidence.
However, after working in the salon, mentoring apprentices, and interacting with customers, she gradually gained confidence.
Furthermore, as the manager of the salon, she had the technical expertise, and her beauty advice was always valuable to customers.
Customers trusted her, and sometimes, they specifically requested her services, even if she was busy, they were willing to wait for her.
It could be said that her popularity among customers was even better than Ye Lin, the owner.
Of course, due to her ownership share, Master Zhong was considered a co-owner.
She was very grateful to Lu Xia and the others for giving her this opportunity. She worked diligently and trained apprentices sincerely without holding back any secrets.
Of course, she knew that the better the business of the shop, the more profit share she would receive.
In addition to profit share, she also received a salary, as did Ye Lin. Lu Xia was clear about this aspect.
Profit share was profit share, and salary was salary. Ye Lin and Master Zhong had been working, so they deserved to be paid a salary, and the amount was quite substantial, much more than what ordinary workers earned.
This made Master Zhong admire Lu Xia, the big boss.
When Lu Xia arrived that day, Master Zhong was busy attending to regular customers.
Although she was a supervisor, she needed to attend to customers during busy times. Moreover, the salon had a commission system for the staff, so the more work, the more they earned. Master Zhong was quite willing to do so.
Lu Xia didn’t see her at first, so she chatted with Ye Lin for a while. After the crowd thinned out around noon, she invited Ye Lin to have lunch together.
Ye Lin was pleasantly surprised and agreed without much thought.
The two went to a nearby restaurant and reserved a private room.
Ye Lin thought Lu Xia wanted to discuss matters related to the salon, so as soon as they sat down, she began reporting on the salon’s situation.
“Currently, our beauty salon’s reputation is growing, and more and more people are coming. I heard that some even travel a considerable distance to come here. It seems our beauty salon is gaining fame in Beijing.”
Lu Xia nodded and smiled after hearing this. “You’re doing a good job.”
*
Chapter 520 – Opening a Branch?
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Ye Lin chuckled, “Recently, many customers have been asking if we should open branches in other areas. I was a bit hesitant and wanted to hear what you had to say.”
Lu Xia nodded and asked, “So what do you think?”
“I want to open one!” Ye Lin thought for a moment and said earnestly.
“Our current customers in the store are already at saturation point. Every day, new customers come in. The beauticians are overwhelmed. Even if we have enough beauticians, the store is not spacious enough. During peak times, customers have to wait for a long time. I’m afraid continuing like this will lead to customer loss,” she continued.
Lu Xia nodded after listening, “Then let’s do it. The store is already profitable, so opening a new store should be feasible. However, opening another store will probably make us busier. Are you sure you can manage two stores?”
Ye Lin fell silent for a moment and then looked up confidently, “I can, I can handle it!”
Lu Xia smiled, “Good, let’s do it then! I can help with finding a store. We can use the same interior design as the current store. As for apprentice training, that’s up to you and Master Zhong.”
“By the way, have you discussed this idea with Master Zhong? After all, she’s a partner, and we shouldn’t decide without her.”
Ye Lin nodded, “We’ve already discussed it. Master Zhong also wants to open a branch. Managing just one store is too tiring for her.”
Lu Xia understood, “However, if we open a branch, the profit sharing for everyone might take some time.”
“Don’t worry, we’re aware of this. We’ve already set aside a considerable amount before. Besides, we still have our salaries. Master Zhong mentioned that she doesn’t spend all her salary every month now. She’s even moved out of her family’s home and is planning to find a wife for her son!”
“Oh? That’s good!”
Seeing that they had figured things out, Lu Xia felt relieved. After all, she wouldn’t be responsible for this later. As long as they can handle the workload, it’s fine.
“However, if you have extra money, you can buy more of my shares. After all, you’ll be managing the store, and it doesn’t feel right for me to take such a large share.”
Ye Lin shook her head in refusal upon hearing this, “No! This store was your idea, and you invested the most money. You should be the big boss!”
Lu Xia tried to persuade her for a while, but Ye Lin didn’t budge. There was nothing more she could do for now.
Later, Ye Lin brought up another matter, “By the way, there’s something else I’d like to discuss with you.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about the makeup business in our store. I think it’s becoming redundant.”
“Hmm? Why do you say that?”
Ye Lin analyzed, “When we first opened, we were afraid we wouldn’t have customers, so we used makeup as a selling point to attract them. But now, we have more and more customers, and we don’t need that anymore. Moreover, people outside are gradually learning our techniques and are doing makeup quite well. A new bridal shop recently opened in the capital, and they also offer makeup services using techniques similar to ours. They’ve gained a lot of customers, especially those getting married.”
Lu Xia was surprised, “There’s a new bridal shop already?”
“Yes, and they have many popular white wedding dresses from abroad. They look really nice. Also, their approach is quite similar to what you initially told me.”
Lu Xia nodded upon hearing this, “If that’s the case, you can decide on your own. After all, the beauty salon doesn’t rely on that for profits. I was just concerned that you might be reluctant since it was your first job.”
Ye Lin smiled, “I don’t have any reluctance. I now prefer the beauty industry more.”
