As the New Year approached, the hospital remained as busy as ever, devoid of the festive atmosphere typically associated with the holiday season.

Chuxia’s department was not as busy compared to others, and Elder Tang didn’t work every day.

Chuxia and Ye Mengchun were interns, and with Elder Tang not coming, they had more time to study.

Mrs. Tang was considerate.

Chuxia’s request for New Year’s leave was approved almost immediately.

Chuxia had spent several New Years in Beijing, so preparing for the holiday was second nature to her.

She managed to buy all the necessary items within two days.

As she was about to prepare some fried meatballs and tofu, she received a call from Jiang Shengnan.

“Mom.” Chuxia and Cen Huai’an had visited the northwest last summer and stayed for half a month before returning to Beijing.

The northwest summer was perfect for fruits, and they enjoyed a variety of sweet grapes daily.

Besides grapes, they sampled many local delicacies, enjoying their time immensely. Cen Huai’an and his friends also had a great time in the family compound.

Little He had tried learning Go, but he was no match for Cen Huai’an, who always won.

When Little He learned that Cen Huai’an had skipped a grade, he worked hard to study ahead, evidently preparing to skip a grade himself.

Ultimately, Little He successfully skipped a grade, as Chuxia learned through An’an.

Back home, Chuxia was curious and couldn’t help but ask Cen Huai’an.

She knew he kept in touch with Little He, and if Little He had succeeded in skipping a grade, he would certainly have shared it with Cen Huai’an.

Chuxia smiled and told Jiang Shengnan about the New Year plans, her tone carrying a hint of guilt, “Mom, the winter break is too short. I won’t be able to bring An’an to celebrate New Year with you.”

“It’s okay,” Jiang Shengnan said nonchalantly. “This year, your dad and I will return to Beijing for New Year.”

Chuxia’s eyes lit up with surprise, “Mom, really? When will you and Dad arrive in Beijing? Zhengnian and I will pick you up.”

“You don’t need to come,” Jiang Shengnan replied. “We’ll return to the old residence ourselves.”

The “old residence” Jiang Shengnan referred to was the traditional courtyard house.

She called not only to inform Chuxia and Cen Zhengnian about their return but also to ask Cen Zhengnian to have the courtyard cleaned up.

After Chuxia relayed this to Cen Zhengnian, he paused his chopsticks and looked at Chuxia, “Mom and Dad are coming to Beijing for New Year but won’t stay with us?”

Chuxia shook her head, “Mom wants to stay at the courtyard. She said it’s more convenient to visit Grandpa and others from there.”

In fact, Chuxia understood that Jiang Shengnan and Cen Father might be worried that staying at the research institute would make her uncomfortable since the institute’s residence only had one floor, with no separation between upstairs and downstairs.

Chuxia didn’t mind, and despite her efforts to persuade Jiang Shengnan otherwise, Jiang Shengnan insisted.

Chuxia had no other option.

Cen Zhengnian nodded, “Then we’ll go with Mom’s arrangement.”

Cen Huai’an, who had been listening intently, immediately spoke up, “Mom, Dad, I’ll go clean the courtyard.”

Chuxia placed a meatball on his plate, “With your small frame, how long will it take you to clean? I’ll go with you tomorrow.”

Although Chuxia and Cen Zhengnian no longer lived in the courtyard, they visited occasionally and had it cleaned.

Thus, the courtyard didn’t have much overgrowth and was relatively easy to tidy up.

Chuxia, as usual, asked Jiang Zhida for help finding someone. He, being in business, knew various workers and trustworthy cleaners.

Soon, Jiang Zhida arrived with a round-faced girl, around seventeen or eighteen.

“Leave it to Zhao Di. She’s very efficient.”

Zhao Di gave Chuxia a simple smile, making her cheeks even redder.

Chuxia noticed she had frostbite on her hands.

“Alright.” Chuxia trusted the people Jiang Zhida recommended and took Zhao Di to clean the main house, with An’an following along.

However, Zhao Di appeared anxious when she saw the two of them working, clutching her clothes and looking as though she was about to cry, “Let me do the work. The boss is paying me. If he sees I haven’t worked properly, I won’t get paid.”

Seeing Zhao Di was genuinely distressed, Chuxia decided to leave with An’an.

She turned to Jiang Zhida, who was leisurely strolling in the living room, “How do you treat your employees? Zhao Di is about to cry from the thought of working a little.”

Jiang Zhida turned, looking puzzled, “When did I ever exploit my employees? She’s not one of mine; she’s a worker hired by one of my store managers.”

Jiang Zhida frowned, “I’ll check it out.”

His store has clear regulations, and it’s fine to follow them. However, if someone tries to leverage their position for personal gain, he absolutely will not allow it.

Jiang Zhida only opens one store a year in the capital and hasn’t expanded to many stores.

The market in the capital is limited, and having too many stores would lead to saturation, making it difficult to sell the goods.

He personally selects the managers for his stores, ensuring their capabilities are solid.

However, due to his busy schedule with setting up a factory in Yangcheng, he and Qian Ran have indeed been neglecting the management of the three stores recently.

Chuxia said, “You know them all, so it’s unlikely you’ll find any issues by checking the stores yourself.” She smiled slightly and added, “I’ll take An’an to check. They don’t know us.”

Jiang Zhida’s employees only know him and Qian Ran, not Chuxia, who is the hidden owner.

When Jiang Zhida opened each store, Chuxia sent flower baskets.

However, she was too busy with her studies at school at that time to visit.

Since Jiang Zhida sold electronic and audio-visual products, Chuxia was only interested in the English tapes he helped with and had no time for other entertainment.

“Great idea,” Jiang Zhida’s eyes lit up. “How about you go tomorrow?”

“Now,” Chuxia said. “You stay here, and An’an and I will go for a walk.”

Jiang Zhida urged them to go quickly.

Jiang Zhida’s three stores are located in busy areas of the capital city.

Chuxia and Cen Huai’an first went to the Xidan store.

The store stood out prominently on the street.

When the store was being decorated, Chuxia had helped review the design.

Jiang Zhida had also hired art students to design the store, giving it a unique style that was both sophisticated and not overly ostentatious.

The store’s interior design featured many elements related to electronic and audio-visual products.

For enthusiasts, entering the store was like stepping into an ideal paradise.

At the store’s entrance was a radio playing soft music by a Hong Kong star.

Passersby would slow down to listen a bit longer when they walked past.

Chuxia and Cen Huai’an walked in.

The store was very quiet, but soon a sales clerk approached with a smile and asked what they needed.

Cen Huai’an had never been to his uncle’s store before.

Zhang Lu had been there and wanted to bring him along, but he declined because he was busy with chess and martial arts.

He also wasn’t interested in the singers and songs Zhang Lu mentioned.

Today, however, walking into the store with his mother, Cen Huai’an discovered many things he had never encountered before, and they were quite fascinating.

What had looked messy on paper during his mother’s discussions now appeared beautifully realized.

Chuxia told the sales clerk that she wanted to browse with her child, and the clerk smiled and said, “Of course, if you need anything, just let me know.” She then stepped back.

Chuxia glanced at the clerk’s name badge and took note of it.

The maid responsible for cleaning the courtyard, Zhao Di, was not an employee of this store, as Jiang Zhida had mentioned.

Cen Huai’an was attracted by a tape with a cover he couldn’t understand.

Unlike other tapes with bright colors and singer’s portraits, this one had only strange letters and symbols.

Chuxia came over, looked at the tape, and said softly, “This is a Russian language tape. If you’re interested, you can buy it to listen to at home.”

“Okay.” Cen Huai’an took the tape and picked out a few others in languages he didn’t recognize.

Chuxia was familiar with many of the singers on the tapes.

Some were popular now and continued to be so in later years.

She also picked a few tapes, but only chose English ones since she didn’t understand the others.

Chuxia and Cen Huai’an took their time browsing the store as they wanted to see how it was managed.

After a while, carrying many tapes became inconvenient.

The same sales clerk came over with small baskets to help them carry the tapes.

There were three sales clerks in total.

The store was busy, and everyone was attending to their own customers, but the clerks remained diligent, keeping an eye on the people choosing tapes.

With no surveillance cameras, theft was quite common.

If the clerks failed to notice stolen items, they would have to compensate from their wages.

Chuxia walked around and asked the clerk what sold the most recently.

The clerk indicated the tapes in her basket and said, “Tapes are quite popular, as are electronic watches. Would you like to see some?”

“Recommend something for me,” Chuxia said.

As she was picking an electronic watch, she suddenly asked, “Do you always treat customers this warmly?”

The clerk smiled and said, “We are professionally trained to ensure every customer has a pleasant experience in the store.”

Chuxia didn’t ask further. She picked an electronic watch for Cen Huai’an and asked if he liked it.

Cen Huai’an put on the black electronic watch and nodded, “I like it.”

“Good, we’ll buy this one then.”

At checkout, a male customer was caught stealing and denied it, accusing the store of defamation.

The clerk next to Chuxia apologized and handed over the items to another clerk to continue with the checkout while she went to handle the situation with the customer.

Chuxia observed the scene and noticed that the clerks were not only polite but also firm when necessary.

The dispute was resolved quickly.

She quietly asked the clerk handling her checkout, “The store manager seems impressive. Is she always this strict with you?”

The clerk shook her head immediately, looking up with admiration, “No, our manager is very nice. She does the most work in the store, and we all learned from her!”

Her eyes shone with genuine respect, and Chuxia could see she was speaking from the heart.

After paying, Chuxia took Cen Huai’an to Gulou Dongdajie and Wangfujing Street.

They also enjoyed a delicious meal at a renowned restaurant.

The Wangfujing and Xidan branches were similar, with highly professional managers.

However, the manager of the Dongdajie branch, where Zhao Di worked, was different.

Chuxia noticed upon entering that although the manager appeared friendly on the surface, his enthusiasm was superficial.

He seemed slick and biased in his treatment of customers.

Chuxia observed this through his changing demeanor towards different customers, something ordinary patrons wouldn’t notice.

She had also asked Cen Huai’an, who was sensitive to emotional cues.

“Mom, I don’t like this manager,” Cen Huai’an quietly told Chuxia.

While browsing, Chuxia overheard the manager reprimanding the staff twice for not retaining customers.

From Chuxia’s perspective, customers left because the store didn’t have what they wanted, but neither the manager nor the staff considered noting these items for future stock.

Their problem-solving skills were inferior to those at the Wangfujing and Xidan branches.

Chuxia didn’t make any purchases and noticed that the manager’s enthusiasm diminished once she decided not to buy anything.

As she left the store, she glanced back. Despite the similar music played in all three stores, this one lacked the comfort of the other two.

Upon returning to the courtyard, Zhao Di had finished cleaning and left.

Jiang Zhida had already settled her payment.

In just one day, the courtyard was refreshed.

The kitchen’s coal stove was lit, with an aluminum kettle perched on it.

Chuxia and An’an placed the tapes they bought on the table, poured a cup of water, and then discussed the situation with Jiang Zhida and Cen Huai’an.

“The Dongdajie manager is indeed underperforming, and the staff he manages are inadequate,” Chuxia said.

Although the staff were not entirely to blame, a competent staff member should have demonstrated their skills, even with Jiang Zhida’s high wages.

This was a significant oversight.

Jiang Zhida frowned deeply, “Wang Zhiqiang wasn’t like this before. He was always among the top performers at the first store.”

Without high sales performance, he wouldn’t have become a manager.

The manager of another branch had similar sales figures to Wang Zhiqiang’s.

“It might be a case of ‘the tiger not being in the mountain, so the monkey is king.’ Perhaps, when he was at the headquarters, he was under supervision, so his true nature didn’t show. Now, as a store manager, his shortcomings are revealed.”