Chapter 219: Start working (two in one)
After three days of fun, the Pineapple Island trio will start working from today.
Fang Wei put morning jogging back on his schedule after slacking off for a few days.
Not only did he run, but when Liu Zhiyi, his running companion, heard that he was going to start his morning run, he naturally didn't sleep in anymore.
Seeing that both of them went jogging, Xu Cailing of course wanted to go too. On weekdays in the village, she would occasionally get up early to go for a run when she felt like it, but the girl was still quite interested in morning jogging in the big city of Shanghai.
As usual, Fang Wei got up early at five o'clock in the morning.
Change your clothes and shoes, wash up and have breakfast after you come back from running.
When I opened the door and came out, Xu Cailing and Liu Zhiyi from the next room had also changed their clothes and shoes.
Their biological clocks had been messed up for two days, and the two girls looked a little sleepy now, especially Cai Ling. She looked like she was about to fall asleep while standing. She hugged Liu Zhiyi, dozed off with her little head resting on her shoulder.
"Cai Ling...why don't you go back to bed? You look so sleepy."
“…I’m not sleepy! Not sleepy at all!!”
Xu Cailing rubbed her eyes and quickly stood up, but after a while, she hung limply on Liu Zhiyi again.
Liu Zhiyi: “…”
"Shall we set off now?"
Fang Wei looked at the time, it was ten past five.
The sunrise time in Shanghai is a little later than on the island. If I go downstairs for a run now, I should still be able to catch the sunrise.
It was already daybreak, and now was the quietest and coolest time of the morning.
"Well, why don't we go and ask Sister Susu? Didn't she also say she wanted to go jogging together last night?"
"..."
Fang Wei looked at the closed door of the master bedroom and guessed that Wen Susu was still sleeping in!
Not to mention that Wen Susu was still sleeping in, even Aunt Wang at home hadn't woken up yet. She would not get up until six o'clock at the earliest to go downstairs to buy groceries.
The three of them came to Wen Susu's door together and knocked gently.
"sister--"
"sister--"
"Are you awake—"
I put my ear to the door and it was quiet inside.
Fang Wei turned the door handle.
The door was not locked and opened easily.
What I saw was a spacious room with the curtains drawn, making the room dim.
The three of them tiptoed to the bedside, where Wen Susu was sleeping soundly.
The sleeping posture is not good.
Teacher Wen, who is usually elegant and ladylike, was now sleeping on the big bed with her legs spread out, half on her side and half lying prone, with one pillow in her arms and the other on her face. Her beautiful black hair was scattered on her face, neck and shoulders, and she looked like she was sleeping soundly.
The three of them looked at each other, but in the end they didn't have the heart to wake her up.
Fang Wei held the quilt and gently covered her with it, then he winked and tiptoed out with Cai Ling Zhiyi, quietly closing the door...
……
"Warm up first!"
"Hand joints, ankle joints, twist the waist, stretch the ligaments..."
The three of them walked out of the community while doing a simple warm-up.
As a natural born athlete, Xu Cailing's body coordination and flexibility are amazingly amazing. With a high kick, she can easily kick to the height of Fang Wei's head, and she jumps up and down like a spring.
The neighborhood was very quiet at around five o'clock, with almost no people around. It was completely different from the situation in the village where almost everyone got up to work at around five o'clock.
Occasionally you would see young people, but the probability of them "not sleeping yet" should be much higher than the probability of them "getting up early".
As a luxury residential area, the community also has many sports and fitness facilities.
For example, there are riding machines, Tai Chi wheels, treadmills, etc. that are very popular among old men and women, as well as single and double bars, sit-up boards, leg presses and other equipment.
Xu Cailing had never seen many of the equipment before, so she trotted over and started playing with them.
"How do you play this?"
"This is a walking machine. You hold on to the poles and stand on the pedals, then you can walk."
"……interesting!"
"Be careful not to bump your legs. If you bump your calves, you'll be in pain for a week."
Fang Wei walked over, put one of the pedals against his calf, and then let go of the pedal. The pedal shook, and he stood still, which frightened the two girls.
"Why doesn't the pedal hit you?"
"The kinetic energy generated by gravitational potential energy has been consumed. It can't return to its original height after going back and forth."
“Why haven’t I learned this!”
“Because this is high school physics knowledge.”
"…You sneaked out to study again!"
"Ah."
Fang Wei clapped his hands, jumped lightly, hung on the horizontal bar, and started doing pull-ups.
"One, two, three... sixteen, ten... seventeen! Ten... hahaha! You only made seventeen!"
He didn't have to count himself, the two girls beside him helped him count.
After finishing seventeen standard pull-ups, Fang Wei no longer had the strength to pull up. After trying for a while, he finally let go and fell back to the ground.
Hearing the girls' laughter, Fang Wei rolled his eyes: "I'm already awesome, okay! You guys come! Do it with your forehand, don't use your backhand! The movements must be standard, with your hands shoulder-width apart, your chin pulled to the bar, your arms straight, and your body cannot swing with the force!"
"Hmph, look at me!"
Xu Cailing walked to the shorter horizontal bar nearby, jumped lightly, and grabbed the bar with both hands.
"start!"
"...!!"
"Xu Cailing, I shouted, 'It's time to start!' Why aren't you moving?"
“…Eh!!!”
"One."
“┗|｀O′|┛Ouch~~”
"Two, three... Hey, hey! You can't use the force to shake!"
"Ah!"
"...Okay, forget it."
Looking at the shocked girl, Fang Wei laughed happily. Don't underestimate this simple project, as it requires a very high core strength of the upper limbs, waist and back.
After Xu Cailing finished, Liu Zhiyi also came up and tried it.
“Hmm~~~!!!”
The sound was there, and the expression was very hard, but in the end, after hanging on it for a long time, I just couldn't pull it up...
"It's not fun! I'm going for a run!"
"..."
The community is very large, and it is possible to run inside the community, but Fang Wei still took the two girls to run outside.
"Where are we going? On the main road?"
"Riverside Boulevard."
Fang Wei is still very good at choosing places.
As a riverside landscape project completed in 1997, Binjiang Avenue integrates sightseeing, greening, fitness and entertainment, and is the perfect place for morning jogging.
It runs along the Huangpu River from Taidong Road to Dongchang Road, with a total length of 2,500 meters. Opposite the Bund, the southern section is a fusion of modern architectural art and a fountain square, while the northern section has a large lawn of nearly 5,000 square meters. There is a Wangjiangyi every kilometer along the way, with public toilets, lounges, vending machines, hot and cold drinking water and other convenient facilities.
"Wow! The environment here is really great!"
"Run~!"
The three of them had already finished warming up. Fang Wei ran in the middle, while Cai Ling and Zhi Yi followed on both sides of him, and they jogged together on Binjiang Avenue.
It was still a little late when I left home. After running for a while, the sun rose from the east.
The golden sunlight fell on the bank of the Huangpu River, making it sparkle and lengthening the shadows of the three people on the runway.
"Hey, I saw the sunrise over Shanghai!"
"Fang Wei, do you feel that the sun in Shanghai is different from the sun over here?"
"It's the same sun, right? You mean the sunrise scenery is different!"
"correct."
The three of them took a break at halftime, standing by the guardrail on the bank of the Huangpu River, watching the slowly surging waves, gazing at the bustling panoramic view of the Bund in Puxi, listening to the melodious whistle coming from the river, and on the greenway full of colorful flowers, plants and trees in midsummer, a rare sense of tranquility and comfort in a big city arose in their hearts.
"Go! Keep going!"
Run to the end of the road and then turn back, sometimes jogging and sometimes walking slowly.
The sun was getting warmer, and more and more people were walking along the Binjiang Avenue. Some were jogging, some were walking, some were riding bicycles, and some were getting up early to prepare for work, hurrying on their way with briefcases tucked under their arms.
A new day in the city is about to begin.
……
When I returned to the community, it was already seven o'clock in the morning.
After the exercise, the three people were sweating profusely, but they were still full of energy.
When they opened the door and entered the house, Aunt Wang was preparing breakfast in the kitchen. She was stunned when she saw the three people sweating profusely.
"You guys...are you going for a run?"
"Yes, good morning, Aunt Wang. Is Sister Susu awake?"
"Miss, you haven't woken up yet, but you should be awake soon. If your clothes are wet, remember to change them. Don't catch a cold. I'll have breakfast ready and you can eat it soon."
"Uh-huh!"
The three of them went back to their rooms, took a shower, and changed into clean and fresh clothes.
When Fang Weixian finished washing up and opened the door to come out, Wen Susu in the master bedroom had also woken up and was hurriedly opening the door, looking anxious to rush out.
When they saw Fang Wei, Wen Susu was stunned, and Fang Wei was also stunned.
"Sister... where are you going in such a hurry?"
"Didn't you say you were going to get up early to go jogging? My alarm went off, and I accidentally turned it off, so I overslept... Did you guys oversleep too? Aren't Cailing and Zhiyi awake yet?"
"……what?"
It was visibly that the anxious Wen Susu calmed down. It was a bad thing for her to be late, but if everyone was late, then it would be fine!
"Sis...we're all back from running! I just showered and changed my clothes!"
“…Ah?! You’re the only one going? Then Cai Ling, Zhi Yi and the others…”
"They have all come back from running, and they are probably still inside taking a shower and changing clothes."
"......!! Then why don't you call me!"
"We called you and even went into your room to check, but we saw that you were sleeping soundly, so we didn't wake you up."
"..."
Wen Susu held her forehead with her hand. It was rare that she suddenly had the urge to go jogging with them in the morning, but she didn't expect that her first time would be ruined like this...
"Okay, let's go for a morning run together tomorrow morning. Sister, remember not to oversleep again!"
"Then remember to wake me up next time!"
"Next time definitely!"
"…Are you planning to go jogging every morning from now on?"
"Yeah, are you scared?"
"I, I'm not afraid of anything! I'm just afraid that you can't hold on!"
"Haha, sister, I have persisted for three years."
"..."
Wen Susu doesn't want to talk to him!
As a younger brother, you are so tenacious that it makes me, your older sister, look inferior!
Although she was lazy today and didn't go running with them, when she thought about getting up early to run with them every day in the future, Wen Susu felt her thighs starting to ache...
……
After breakfast, at half past eight, the four of them prepared to go to work together.
Xu Cailing and Liu Zhiyi, who had only been to school and never worked, both seemed very excited.
"Sister Susu, what are our working hours?" "Nine to five, and then from 12 noon to 2 pm is the break time. It depends on the situation and there are two days off a week!"
“…!! It’s so cool to work in my store!”
Xu Cailing was shocked: "So if you calculate it this way, doesn't that mean I only have six working hours a day?!"
"Hey, isn't it eight hours? The two hours at noon are also counted."
"Sister Susu is a capitalist who can't count!"
"Hahaha, it counts as working in my store anyway, the working hours are eight hours~ But considering that many students only have time on weekends, we usually don't have holidays on Saturdays and Sundays. We choose to take holidays on weekdays."
"That's not a problem at all! Sister Susu, where is our workplace? Is it far?"
"Not far, maybe ten minutes' walk."
"So, what are we going to do at work?"
"Well, we just opened our business and don't have any students yet. Your job is to help me recruit students!"
"How?"
"I've handed out flyers. If there are any customers interested, just help introduce them."
"Is this the legendary job that pays well, has little work and is close to home?"
No wonder Sister Caiwei let the three of them work for Wen Susu with peace of mind. After all, for them who had just graduated from junior high school, this kind of job was a happy job that they could not find even with a lantern.
The four of them walked and chatted, and after more than ten minutes they arrived at a newly opened, spacious and bright store.
The decoration of the store is very exquisite and elegant, with two large glass walls, allowing you to easily see the environment inside the store.
There are basic teaching equipment inside, such as projectors, computers, etc., as well as easels, drawing boards and other tools needed for painting.
There was no opening ceremony, but there were two rows of flower baskets sent by Jinhua Company next to the gate.
There are several artistic fonts on the sign: Shiguang Gallery.
"Hey, this is where you'll work for me from now on!"
Wen Susu looked up at the sign above and said with a smile, "Where's the Chinese class representative? Come and analyze the meaning of the name of the store sign!"
"Report to the teacher! The Chinese class representative is working with Ah Sheng!"
"Uh... then Zhiyi, please analyze it!"
Liu Zhiyi looked at the name on the sign, then at the font style and the design of the store logo, and thought for a moment before saying, "Hmm, Shiguang Gallery... should be an art class that captures the beautiful moments of time and focuses on emotional expression and life experience... right?"
Wen Susu snapped her fingers and was quite satisfied with Liu Zhiyi's answer!
"Very good, I passed the interview! Zhiyi was very accurate! That's what I thought! And what about Cailing and Fang Wei, what do you think?"
"I, I think so too!" Cai Ling said.
"Me too." Fang Wei said.
"...Alright! You have passed the interview!"
Wen Susu took out the key and opened the shop door.
In Lujiazui, where every inch of land is valuable, a store of nearly 200 square meters is considered quite large.
"Sister, did you rent this store?" Fang Wei asked curiously.
"Well, I rented it from my mother. All the shops around here were bought by my mother," said Wen Susu.
"..."
That’s okay, it’s our own store, you can build it however you want.
The decoration and furnishings of the studio are simple and exquisite, including chairs, drawing boards, easels, podiums, lighting equipment, multimedia equipment, plaster models, lockers, display walls, textbooks, portfolios, fire extinguishers, computers, printers and everything needed for class.
The most eye-catching location is the teaching area in the middle, which also includes a rest area and bathroom.
The shop has just opened for business, so there are no student portfolios. However, there are quite a few art paintings on the display wall, such as the classic Mona Lisa, Van Gogh's Sunflowers, Starry Sky, and the Shepherd by contemporary painter Chen Danqing. They are divided into different schools and their masterpieces, including the Renaissance, Romanticism, Impressionism, Realism, and Abstract Art.
To be cautious, Fang Wei asked while admiring these paintings: "Sister, these shouldn't be authentic, right?"
"Of course not! How can I afford these? Besides, some of them are impossible to get even if you have a lot of money..."
Wen Susu was amused and pointed to another display wall: "But these are the originals! 100% authentic!"
"Wow! These are all Sister Susu's own drawings!"
Cailing and Zhiyi looked over and exclaimed in amazement.
"Hey, sorry for making a fool of myself~"
"No wonder I said there were so few paintings in my sister's house. It turns out they were all hung here." Fang Wei also walked to the display wall and looked up.
The paintings are arranged according to the time they were drawn in different periods, such as the sketches she drew in high school, the watercolors and oil paintings she drew in college, and the sketches she drew during the three years she taught on the island.
“This is our school!”
"White Pond Pier!"
"Bai Tan Bridge!"
"A corner of town!"
Looking at the paintings above, Fang Wei and the other two had a wonderful feeling. When they first saw her paintings in art class at school, they just thought they were beautiful. But now when they saw these paintings in Shanghai, far away from her hometown, they actually felt a strong sense of familiarity, as if they had walked out of the paintings and were standing here.
Fang Wei didn't understand art, but at this moment he seemed to feel the impact brought by that art.
"How about these paintings? Are they still presentable?"
"That's amazing! Sister Susu is so amazing! In our hearts, she is a great painter! Her paintings can be put on that wall!"
"Hahaha... That's too exaggerated. I'm embarrassed to hang my painting on a famous artist's wall."
Painting, art and photography are the things that Wen Susu is most talented in, is best at, and likes the most.
Fang Wei didn’t know what level Wen Susu’s painting skills were, but she knew that it was definitely more than enough for her to open a studio and be an art teacher!
"Sister, when you first wanted to open this art studio, it shouldn't just be for teaching people to paint and making money, right?"
"Not entirely. On the one hand, it's to give myself something to do, and I really like teaching. On the other hand, I can concentrate on studying painting. I think I can have my own art exhibition in the future if I have the chance~!"
“Does holding an art exhibition make you a painter?”
"Haha, maybe."
"Sister, you will definitely become a great painter!!"
"~~~"
After staying in such an art space for a long time, it seemed as if they had developed more artistic cells in their bodies. Xu Cailing and Liu Zhiyi looked at the paintings and flipped through the books with great interest, trying to learn about this field that they had never touched before.
Fang Wei also finished touring the studio and asked curiously, "How many students do you plan to recruit?"
"About 20, and I also hired two teachers. They teach sketching and I teach watercolor and oil painting!"
"How much is the registration fee?"
"Well, it depends on what courses the students sign up for, and then it will be calculated based on the class."
Wen Susu took out the registration fee form and showed it to Fang Wei, Cai Ling, and Zhi Yi, and then explained to them:
"We currently have three classes, namely the basic sketching class, the introductory watercolor class, and the advanced oil painting class. For example, the basic sketching course lasts two months, with a total of 2400 classes, each class is two hours, and the fee is yuan per class, which does not include the cost of basic consumables. This course is suitable for students with no basic skills..."
Fang Wei did a simple calculation and found that the average hourly course fee is about 60 yuan, and this is just the basic course. The course fees for watercolor and oil painting are even higher.
From a consumer's perspective, this price is considered relatively expensive at the moment, but there is nothing that can be done about it. After all, studying art is a luxury no matter what era it is.
But from the operator's perspective, considering the location and environment of the store as well as the number of students, Wen Susu's fees are actually quite cheap, and it is estimated that they will not make much money in the end.
"Sister, isn't your fee too cheap?"
"It's not cheap! It's basically the same price outside!"
"But you have so few students. This studio is almost 200 square meters, but you only have 20 people. And considering you have three teachers, it would be more than enough to recruit twice as many students."
"Hehe, it's tiring to teach too many things. As long as I don't lose money, it's fine. Anyway, I don't have to pay rent..."
"..."
It makes sense, and Fang Wei couldn't refute it.
There is a saying that is indeed true: we are not afraid of the second generation of rich people being obsessed with material things, but we are afraid of the second generation of rich people being ambitious.
Anyway, she only has a studio to tinker with, so she can do whatever she wants at home...
As long as she can stay quiet and not run off to remote places for another three years...
But no matter what, compared to other rich girls who only know how to eat, drink, play, buy clothes, bags and go to nightclubs, Wen Susu's career ambition is quite commendable. She doesn't expect to make much money, she is just doing what she likes to do, and it is a very meaningful thing.
Fang Wei took out a calculator and gave her a detailed account.
Take the example of a course where all students are taking basic sketching.
Not to mention, if you don't count the cost of opening a store, deduct the rent and water and electricity, and only count the expenses for consumables and teachers' salaries, she can still earn at least 12,000 yuan a month!
"Yeah, I told you I calculated it and you won't lose money!" Wen Susu said proudly.
"Sister Susu is so amazing! She earns twelve thousand a month! That means she can earn two hundred thousand a year!" Xu Cailing said in surprise.
"It's one hundred and four hundred thousand," Liu Zhiyi corrected.
Fang Wei: “…”
Can business be calculated like this?!
Fang Wei finally understood why Uncle Wen and Aunt Li did not force their daughter to join the company and take over their business. There was no doubt that Wen Susu was a good teacher, but she was definitely not a qualified businessman...
Fortunately, I don’t have to pay rent. Otherwise, if I take into account the investment in opening the shop, I don’t know how many years it will take for this studio to pay back...
"No! The wages of the three of you haven't been included yet!"
"Sister Susu, we don't want salary! Just food and accommodation are enough!" Cailing and Zhiyi said hurriedly.
"That won't do. Of course I have to calculate the salary. How about twelve thousand a month... well?"
"Sister, is that too much?"
It's really funny. How can there be so many summer job offers? Fortunately, the number is not too outrageous, but twelve hundred is indeed a lot.
"It's not much. That's how it works for me. Any less won't do! That's it. Work hard for me!"
"My sister's studio is my home!!"
As expected, a big reward will bring forth brave men. For a moment, Fang Wei, Cai Ling and the other two were very motivated and they couldn't wait to pick up the mop and broom to clean the already clean studio again.
"You don't have to sweep it. Your job today is to recruit students for the studio. Here, here are your flyers!"
Wen Susu picked up a stack of flyers from the table, randomly divided them into three parts, and handed each to Fang Wei Cailing.
Art and design are inseparable. The flyers were designed by her herself, using better coated paper with a smooth surface and colorful printed fonts and patterns.
It contains photos of the store's location and environment, some portfolios, and details of fees and discounts for each course.
Fortunately, the charges that Wen Susu just mentioned were already discounted prices, otherwise if there were further discounts, Fang Wei would have gone crazy.
"The teacher introduced: Wen Susu, graduated from the Oil Painting Department of Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, her work "Eastern Dawn" won the gold medal at the 9th National Art Exhibition..."
"Wow! Sister Susu turned out to be a top student at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts! Isn't this National Art Exhibition Gold Award an amazing award?!"
"Hahaha, it's not bad. It's held every five years and is considered to be one of the more authoritative, larger-scale, and top-level exhibitions in the country."
"Replace 'relatively' with 'most' to get the correct answer, right?!"
"Hahaha, I won't mention the past honors anymore~"
"Sister is indeed a great painter!!"
"~~~"
There is nothing more joyful than the sincere praise from simple girls. Wen Susu’s lips were so upturned that she could hardly smooth them out!
"Introduction by the teacher: Xie Yuxin, graduated from the Oil Painting Department of Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts..."
"Hey, who is this sister?"
"She's my roommate. She happened to be free recently, so I asked her to come to the studio and be a teacher."
"Didn't Sister Susu say there would be three teachers? Why are there only two?"
“We’re still hiring.”
The Internet was not well developed back then, and recruiting was as troublesome as finding a job. You either had to place a job ad in the newspaper, go to an employment agency, or look for one at the talent market. You could also post a notice at the door, but this was generally only for finding more basic jobs, such as art teachers, and posting notices was still too inefficient.
While we were chatting, a young girl wearing glasses and carrying a schoolbag pushed open the shop door and walked in.
"Huh? Susu, are they the brothers and sisters you mentioned? Your students over on the island?"
"Yes, this is Yu Xin, whom I just introduced to you. This is Fang Wei, this is Cai Ling, and this is Zhi Yi..."
"Hello, Sister Yuxin~!"
"Hello~! Susu, your students are all handsome men and beautiful women, they look so energetic!"
"Hahaha, you think so too! They are very cute. I guarantee you will like them after spending more time with them!"
After a few people briefly got to know each other, they started to work.
"Then I will simply arrange the work for Cailing. You three will be responsible for distributing flyers to recruit new students today. Remember what I just said to you. If there are parents or classmates who are interested, introduce them to us. If you successfully recruit a new student, you will get a commission of 50 yuan! This is extra!"
"1. 50 per person?!"
"Yes! Keep working hard!"
"Promise to keep going!"
"Then Yuxin and I will go to the job market to recruit teachers. Remember to call me if you have any questions!"
"Uh-huh!"
"OK! Let's go! Get started!"
(End of this chapter)
