Chapter 390: System's Hidden Reward (3)

He pulled the car over, took out his phone, and transferred 20,000 yuan to her via WeChat with an attached message: “It’s payday. Why didn’t you remind me? Ten thousand is your salary for last month, and the other ten thousand is for this month’s groceries. Keep whatever’s left over, and let me know if it’s not enough.”

He was so used to being domineering. It was payday, and instead of just paying her, he had to blame the poor girl for not reminding him. Wenren Meng was probably the most pitiful little nanny in existence.

He still had some time before the end of the workday and nothing else to do. He remembered the storefront Li Chao had reported on today—the one on Guoqing Road Pedestrian Street in the Government New District. He spun the steering wheel and headed straight there.

‘I’ve got time, so I might as well go check out that business district. Back when I managed operations, I could ignore districts where we didn’t have a store. But things are different now. My own brand is going to be opening stores, so I need to pay attention to business districts in Qingjiang Province, and even nationwide. I have to figure out where the ideal locations for my stores are.’

Guoqing Road Pedestrian Street was one of the earliest pedestrian streets in Qingzhou. However, it was different from the main Qingzhou Pedestrian Street. The former was a neighborhood-style business district, its customer base covering only the Government New District. The main Qingzhou Pedestrian Street was a different story; it covered the entire city. Even people from the surrounding prefecture-level cities visiting Qingjiang would go there for a look. So, even though street-level retail districts were in a steep decline, the impact on the main Qingzhou Pedestrian Street wasn’t as severe because its original foot traffic was just too massive.

Guoqing Road, however, was a different case. It was hit hard by the rise of shopping malls and had a lot of its foot traffic siphoned off by the main Qingzhou Pedestrian Street. Suffering a double blow, its decline in customers was much more pronounced. This was especially true as businesses, unable to sustain themselves with the dwindling traffic, frequently closed shop. The recent appearance of vacant storefronts only soured the shopping atmosphere further.

It was scorching hot. He walked in the shade cast by the storefronts, the occasional blast of cold air from a shop offering some relief. The street was sparsely populated; he suspected that at this hour, no one would be out unless they were buying necessities.

Shopping centers like Xinyue Square, however, were a different matter. People could park in the underground garage or take the subway to get there directly, completely avoiding the scorching heat. Plus, the mall itself served as a cool refuge. The impact of these shopping centers on street-level retail was therefore easy to imagine.

‘This Ruijing Commerce store on Guoqing Road has been leased for several years. I used to manage it back when I was the operations manager. I remember it could pull in around 150,000 yuan a month in sales back then, but it’s been declining ever since. For the first half of this year, it only averaged about 90,000 a month. And according to the data Li Chao gave me, last month was even worse—only 70,000 yuan in sales. If this keeps up, its revenue won’t even be enough to cover rent.’

As he continued walking, he spotted the back of a young woman in front of a small gold-recycling shop. ‘That looks a lot like Huang Lingyu,’ he thought.

Curious, he walked closer and saw that it was indeed her. Just then, he heard the shop owner say, “Miss, this necklace and bracelet of yours weigh a total of 35 grams. The current buyback price is 760 yuan per gram, which comes to 26,600 yuan. Just open your WeChat Pay, and I’ll transfer it to you directly.”

Yang Hui couldn’t figure out why she was selling her jewelry. ‘Was it because I bought her that Cartier Protective Talisman Bracelet, so she doesn’t need this other one anymore?’ he wondered. ‘No, that can’t be it. She could just alternate them. And why sell the necklace, too? Is she desperately in need of money for something?’

He recalled that her family wasn’t well-off; the Zheng Family had even paid for her college education. But she was working now and earning her own money. As a car salesperson for Lantu, she should be making at least ten thousand a month. Besides, he’d just transferred her 100,000 yuan a few days ago, worried she might be short on cash. What could possibly make her need to sell her jewelry?

Just then, he heard the shop owner add, “Miss, I can offer you a high price for that Cartier bracelet you’re wearing.”

Huang Lingyu instinctively pulled her hand back. “I’m not selling this bracelet.”

The shop owner had a sharp eye and could tell the bracelet meant a lot to her. He joked, “A gift from your sweetheart, I take it?”

Huang Lingyu’s face flushed. She said nothing, clearly tacitly agreeing. After accepting the 26,600 yuan transfer from the shop owner, she turned and left, completely oblivious to Yang Hui standing right behind her. It probably never crossed her mind that he would be in this area.

The Zheng Family had sponsored her with a total of 140,000 yuan. Afterward, Zheng Lei had always acted like her boyfriend. She could tolerate it when they were in different cities and he just sent the occasional text. But now they were in the same city, and he had expressed his desire to officially be a couple, which she could not accept. Besides, she was Yang Hui’s now, so she couldn’t let Zheng Lei have any false hope. She needed to make a clean break with him.

She had called Zheng Lei’s father to thank him for his support over the years and had also offered to repay the Zheng Family 200,000 yuan, an offer which Father Zheng accepted. Huang Lingyu had transferred 60,000 yuan to them right away. With the 100,000 yuan Yang Hui had given her a few days ago, plus the salary she received yesterday, she wanted to quickly scrape together the remaining 140,000 and settle the debt for good.

As the saying goes, being debt-free brings peace of mind. Once she paid it off, she would have repaid a portion of the Zheng Family’s kindness and would no longer have to feel guilty when facing them. Of course, if the Zheng Family ever needed anything in the future, she would certainly help if she was able.

She couldn’t wait another moment. After withdrawing the money from her WeChat, her bank account balance stood at 142,000 yuan.

‘I’ll keep 2,000 yuan to tide me over until my next paycheck and pay the Zheng Family the 140,000 first.’