Chapter 559 – Lu Chun’s Thoughts
Lu Qiu nodded, “Yes, that’s right. They are after all the eldest sister’s husband’s flesh and blood. After the eldest sister’s husband passed away, there were only three daughters left. Their family couldn’t just ignore them.
However, those relatives who were burdened by the eldest sister’s husband had it tough. I estimate that the children will have a difficult time in the future.
But when the eldest sister asked me to help raise them, I refused. As an aunt, I can occasionally send them some things or visit them.
But bringing the children to live with me was definitely impossible. Besides, not only my in-laws might not agree, but I also didn’t have this obligation.”
Lu Xia nodded after listening and didn’t express an opinion. Then she continued to listen to Lu Qiu, “After the eldest sister knew about it, she scolded me and asked me to come find you. She said you had opened a beauty salon and made quite a bit of money, so it would be easy to raise a few children.
However, I refused to do it. I didn’t tell you, but before the eldest sister was taken away, she was still cursing at us.”
Lu Xia chuckled at hearing this. Where did Lu Chun get such confidence? How could she think that she would be idle enough to help her raise children? Was she bored and looking for things to do? She was dreaming too much.
Thinking about this, Lu Xia spoke, “She should think more about how to behave well inside and try to get a reduced sentence. It’s the first time I’ve heard of enemies helping each other raise children.”
Lu Qiu didn’t say much about Lu Chun being referred to as an enemy. After all, if it weren’t for the eldest sister, the second sister wouldn’t have had to endure so many years of hardship in the countryside.
Thinking of this, she added, “Before mom and dad left, I went to see them. Mom told me about your origins.”
“She regrets raising me, doesn’t she?”
Lu Qiu fell silent. She didn’t want to recount how her mother scolded the second sister from start to finish.
However, without saying it, Lu Xia could guess almost exactly.
She didn’t care much about what they said. She just asked, “Have you visited Lu Dong?”
Lu Qiu nodded, “Visited him twice. He was terrified. Before, he didn’t have many ideas and just followed mom’s orders. Now he’s even more silent. I told him to behave well and try to get an early parole.”
Lu Xia nodded, “Let me know when he’s released. Although he’s not a biological brother, he was raised by them after all. After he comes out, I’ll take care of him appropriately until he can support himself.”
Surprisingly, when Lu Qiu heard this, she looked at her unexpectedly. She had thought that after learning about her background, the second sister would cut off all ties with them. She didn’t expect her to be willing to take care of Lu Dong.
It seemed that although the second sister was cold, she had a good heart, even more so than she had imagined.
Thinking this, Lu Qiu breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank you, second sister!”
Lu Xia didn’t know what she was thinking, probably assuming something else, but she didn’t want to explain. She only remembered that this was part of the deal.
After parting ways with Lu Qiu, Lu Xia returned to her small courtyard. She hadn’t rested for a few days.
Qi Xiao came to visit.
It happened to be the weekend, and Jiang Junmo was also at home.
After Qi Xiao arrived, he became familiar with the children, and then he talked about recent activities.
In the past year and more, his electronics store had not only opened several branches in the capital city but also had shops in surrounding cities.
A company had already been established, and the company was not small in scale.
Lu Xia couldn’t help but sigh. Qi Xiao was indeed cut out for business, and their investment was reassuring. The invested amount had already been recouped long ago, and they would invest more to ensure their shares.
It seemed like they didn’t have to worry about losing money.
Qi Xiao didn’t have much business this time he came over; he had been busy for a while and felt tired, so he wanted to rest and dropped by for a visit.
Lu Xia also invited him to stay for dinner.
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Chapter 560 – Not Afraid of Imitation
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During dinner and chatting, he mentioned, “Sister-in-law, the beauty salon has been doing well lately. I’ve seen that you’ve already opened several branches.”
Lu Xia smiled and said, “I didn’t expect you to be so attentive to my affairs. You already knew about the shop being under renovation. But our business is small compared to yours.”
Feeling a bit awkward, Qi Xiao touched his nose and didn’t mention how he knew. He simply asked, “I’ve noticed that there are other beauty salons in the capital recently. Will it affect your business?”
Lu Xia shook her head, “I’m already aware of this. It will definitely have an impact, but not all beauty salons have our skills, and our salon offers different products. Others can’t imitate us.”
This wasn’t an unfounded statement.
Previously, there was a newly opened beauty salon where the beauticians were originally hired from their shop. Unexpectedly, they joined the shop to learn the skills.
After thinking they had learned well, they quit and opened their own beauty salon.
However, they didn’t have their own products after opening, and just knowing massage wasn’t enough. They couldn’t retain customers, and gradually they had to close down. Later, they wanted to come back, but Ye Lin didn’t agree.
When she discussed this with her, Lu Xia wasn’t surprised. Competition was common in the business world, and such incidents were normal. Even in Su Man’s store, the clothes were often imitated, but she still managed her business well.
This was the power of branding.
And the most crucial aspects of their beauty salon were their skills and products.
Especially the products, many of which were based on ancient court secrets. During this summer vacation, Lu Xia had even discussed with Master Zhong about creating a new product using the spiritual spring water, which had better effects and couldn’t be easily imitated by others.
Of course, Master Zhong didn’t know the effect of spiritual spring water. Lu Xia only told her that it wasn’t water but a high-molecular liquid extracted by someone.
Yeah, she made it sound mysterious, and Master Zhong believed her. After making and trying it, the effect was indeed excellent, making Master Zhong even happier.
This product had become the flagship product of their shop. Although it was expensive, there were many people who weren’t short of money. After using it, the effects were visible, and it was very popular.
Of course, Lu Xia only occasionally provided the spiritual spring water. She had also asked Master Zhong to keep the specifics secret, and the amount provided each time was limited within the shop for consumption.
Without mass production, she doubted anyone would pay much attention.
So, it was hard for things in their shop to be imitated, and they weren’t afraid of losing customers.
Thinking about it, Qi Xiao relaxed upon hearing her confident words.
“That’s good. It’s not easy to open a store nowadays. My electronics store is the same. I’ve made money, and in the past two years, there have been many new electronics stores in the capital. However, they don’t have the variety of products I have, so although they’ve taken away some of the business, it’s still acceptable.”
Lu Xia nodded but still reminded him, “Since you can find a source of goods, others might as well. You still need to have your own factory.”
“I know,” Qi Xiao nodded, “I won’t hide it from you, sister-in-law. I’ve thought about this before and have been hesitant about whether to open a factory. Recently, I went to the south and inquired. However, both factory employees and raw materials are substantial expenses. It’s not that easy to start a factory.”
Lu Xia nodded, “Indeed, but you can think of other ways. If you can’t come up with so much money all at once, you can try getting a bank loan or you can register a company in Hong Kong and then return to China to establish a factory. That way, it would be considered a foreign-funded enterprise, and there should be many preferential policies for foreign-funded businesses.”
Qi Xiao’s eyes brightened upon hearing this. “Yes, why didn’t I think of doing this? I used to envy those foreign-funded enterprises in the south. The government has such great policies for them! Now that I think about it, we can also become a foreign-funded enterprise. This way, we can have equal treatment, right? I’ll go back and take a look, find someone to register a company in Hong Kong.”
Seeing him ready to leave, Lu Xia quickly stopped him, “Don’t rush. The situation in Hong Kong is complicated. You better find a specialized agency to help with the registration. Don’t be afraid to spend some money.”
“I understand, sister-in-law. I won’t act recklessly.”
Lu Xia was relieved to see him taking it seriously.
