svetikya Chapter 3: Ye Chen and the Charming Aya
Chapter 3: Ye Chen and the Charming Aya
The digital mall is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the staff work in shifts. The morning shift is divided into two periods: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The night shift runs directly from noon to 10 pm, with a one-hour dinner break in between.
Ye Chen works the early shift, Lin Feng works the late shift. Zhong Liang said, "Square assignment is a skill; the male-to-female ratio needs to be right. Whether you can solve your life's major event while on the road to wealth depends on your own capabilities. That's all I can help with."
After he finished speaking, he glanced at Ye Chen with a meaningful look in his eyes, as if to say, "Kid, if you don't settle your life's important matters here, you'll be in big trouble."
He then added, "A loyal and virtuous store manager like me, who works tirelessly and is concerned about the country and its people, is a rare find. My children, don't let my good intentions go to waste."
...At this point, Ye Chen and Lin Feng completely lost faith in the store manager.
Ye Chen thus began his first job. Although he was mentally prepared, he was still astonished by the size of the digital mall when he walked into the store.
The store was packed with counters, and on the right was an outsourced mobile phone repair shop. The slightly burnt smell of rosin and soldering iron filled the air. He sniffed as he passed by, a hint of pleasure on his face, and his expression was even somewhat relaxed.
Sixteen one-meter-long glass counters were arranged in a circle around the center of the hall, forming a rectangular display case six meters long and three meters wide. Apart from Aya, the sales manager who was on leave today, the four female sales staff on the morning shift stood behind the counters. All were in their early twenties, with excellent looks and poise. They wore dark blue suits and red bow ties, creating a vibrant and youthful scene.
There are eight counters along the right wall, with four light boxes hanging on the wall; these are counters for domestic mobile phone brands.
Ye Chen had done some research; selling mobile phones wasn't necessarily difficult. Domestic knock-offs needed to emphasize currently popular features, such as MP3 and MP4 playback, and domestic brands followed a similar approach. As for major international brands like Sony Ericsson, Nokia, and Motorola, each had its own selling points. Huayu mainly sold Nokia phones, but their Sony Ericsson counter had a prized possession: the Sony Ericsson P1i, priced at 5999 yuan. He'd spent half the night yesterday flipping through mobile phone magazines; this flagship phone featured a full keyboard and touchscreen, representing the top-of-the-line business phone at the time, and also the most expensive model in the store.
"Why are you all standing in the middle? Aya took the day off today and went to the counter by herself." Zhong Liang cursed as he came out of the office and found the counter empty.
"Let that newbie go." The one who responded was Chen Jiao, slightly chubby, her face still bearing baby fat. According to Zhong Liang, Chen Jiao was the daughter of a shoe factory owner who didn't want to go to school, so her father sent her here to experience the harsh realities of society.
"Newcomers can't work at the counter. It's you, Chen Jiao, go over there." Zhong Liang didn't stand on ceremony and called her name directly.
Despite Zhong Liang's seemingly carefree attitude, he is a man of his word in the store. Once he arrives at the store, he transforms into a handsome man in a suit and leather shoes.
Just then, a middle-aged woman with wavy, permed hair, wearing a red floral dress, a gold watch on her wrist, and carrying a handbag rushed in. Zhong Liang's eyes lit up; a big client had arrived.
However, instead of heading to the sales counter, she went straight to the mobile phone repair counter, and Zhong Liang's face immediately fell.
But he was still not giving up, standing by the cashier like a vulture waiting to prey on its prey.
Ye Chen followed Zhong Liang's gaze and saw the woman standing in front of the repair table gesturing to the repairman. She frowned slightly, then nodded and put down her phone.
Ye Chen's heart skipped a beat: "Once the repair counter declares 'treatment ineffective,' won't this deal go to the sales counter? Is this what Zhong Liang is planning?"
He saw from afar that the repairman handed a Nokia 1100 to the beautiful woman, whose brows were furrowed tightly, clearly looking down on this low-end feature phone.
Ye Chen asked Zhong Liang, "Did you get a new phone at the repair shop?"
"No, during normal phone repairs, the repair station will provide a spare phone to prevent customers from being without a phone during the repair process," Zhong Liang replied.
The beautiful woman didn't accept the spare phone, seemingly intending to wait in the store for it to be repaired. She was leisurely browsing the store counters. Chen Jiao, who was about to head to the counter, immediately went to greet her. The other three saleswomen only glanced up before continuing with their tasks. Two were busy checking Nokia feature phones, while another was applying lipstick in front of a small mirror.
Ye Chen saw Zhong Liang nod and thought to himself, "It seems that the old fox Zhong Liang approves of Chen Jiao's approach."
"Brother Chen, could you please pour me a glass of water?" Chen Jiao called out, then bent down and took a cell phone from the counter, handing it to the woman. The woman fiddled with it casually for a moment, then handed it back.
Ye Chen walked over to the repair counter and glanced at it. The woman was repairing a large-screen phone with only one button. He immediately remembered the mobile phone magazine he had read yesterday; that all-touchscreen phone must be the Apple phone featured on the magazine's homepage.
An idea immediately formed in his mind. He quickly walked up to Zhong Liang and whispered, "Send the P1i to Chen Jiao?"
Zhong Liang glanced at Ye Chen with a surprised look, then suddenly smiled and nodded in agreement.
While serving tea, Ye Chen handed the P1i to Chen Jiao and whispered something in her ear. She was stunned for a moment, but then immediately understood.
"Sister, here's a Sony P1. You can take a look. If it's suitable, a boss like you might consider buying a phone as a backup. In situations like today, you can pick it up and use it immediately, ensuring you don't miss any customer calls."
The woman seemed interested in Chen Jiao's statement, took the P1 from her, played with it for a while, and then suddenly asked, "Do you accept credit cards at your store?"
"Yes, you can pay by card," Chen Jiao replied quickly.
The woman learned some more about the phone from Chen Jiao, and after a token discussion about the price, she bought it without hesitation.
The other three female sales representatives were stunned for a long time, their faces showing expressions of "This is also possible".
The early shift at the digital mall made a few more scattered sales. When the shift changed at noon, the sales staff on the evening shift were incredulous that Chen Jiao had sold the P1i.
Chen Jiao pointed at Ye Chen, then turned back and mingled with them, clearly overjoyed.
Lin Feng said to Ye Chen, "Brother Chen is awesome! He's a legend in his first battle!"
Ye Chen smiled and went back to his dormitory for a midday rest.
In the afternoon, Chen Jiao invited her colleagues on the early shift out for milk tea. With a slight blush, she invited Ye Chen to join them. Although Ye Chen was tempted, he wanted to take advantage of the moment to review the morning's transactions and politely declined. After reviewing the day's events, Ye Chen gained a better understanding of the mobile phone industry.
After Chen Jiao and the others left, someone else came to the dormitory. The footsteps were light, and a girl dragged a suitcase into the dormitory.
The girl had a pretty face. When she saw Ye Chen standing at the dormitory door, she paused for a moment, then smiled sweetly.
Ye Chen was so captivated by that smile that he was at a loss for words, his heart pounding like a deer: the ancients were right, there really is a beauty whose smile can topple cities.
A girl's clear voice rang out, "Hello, I'm Zheng Ya. Everyone calls me Aya."
"Hello... I'm the new guy... Ye Ye... Chen." Hearing Ye Chen's slightly stuttering self-introduction, Aya laughed heartily and said, "Jiao Mei called, I know you. Brother Chen, don't be nervous, Sister Aya won't eat you."
She ignored Ye Chen and leisurely returned to her dormitory.
It was four o'clock in the afternoon, and Chen Jiao and the others still hadn't returned. A loud bang came from the bathroom, followed by a scream, and then Aya's voice: "Is anyone there? Come help me!"
Helpless, Ye Chen put down the magazine in his hand and went to the bathroom door, which was locked.
He asked through the door, "I'm the only one in the dorm. What happened?"
"Brother Chen..." Aya recognized Ye Chen's voice, and after a moment of silence, she spoke, "My foot is stuck, come in and help me."
Ye Chen... suddenly felt a little short of breath. What should he do? He twisted the handle, but the door was locked. However, these kinds of old bathroom doors usually have a screwdriver knob to prevent bathroom accidents, so it wasn't difficult to open.
A melodramatic plot unfolds.
As soon as Ye Chen opened the door, he saw Aya sitting on the ground, her body tightly wrapped in a bath towel, her curves blurred, her long black hair still dripping with water, her small feet stuck in a broken porcelain basin, the smell of blood mixed with the fragrance of shampoo permeating the cramped space.
Ye Chen noticed yesterday that the old-fashioned porcelain basin had fine cracks. It looked like it suddenly broke when Aya stepped on it, and her foot got stuck in the porcelain shards.
The scene was far too suggestive, and to avoid suspicion, he quickly closed his eyes, only to hear Aya's anxious voice, tinged with a sob:
"Don't close your eyes! Quickly help me get my foot out, it's stuck."