"We 17 veterans opened a flower shop."

Recently, a video of an old flower shop spread through social platforms.

In the video, the "tough guy" wearing camouflage clothes and black booties is busy in the flower shop. They hold pink roses in their hands, trim branches with pink flower knives, roll up wrapping paper and tie ribbons to complete the packaging of a bunch of flowers.

"There is a tiger in your heart, but you can smell the rose", a poem by sigrid Sason, a British poet, seems to be a true reflection of the veteran of Changzhou Flower Shop 17 in Jiangsu.

These "tough guys" used to be comrades-in-arms of the same army, and they got together to start a business after retiring. Still continuing the "collective life" of the military camp: eating, living and dressing together, running 5 kilometers every morning.

Not only that. Flower shops have also been implementing "militarized management", and mistakes in their work will be "corporal punishment". The flower shop is open 24 hours a day, and 10 people are on duty in two shifts.

"Online Celebrity Flower Shop"

Mao Yunqing, a 24-year-old, never imagined that a joke played by his comrades-in-arms when they were lying down two years ago would make them twist together in the flower shop again, causing widespread concern, and even many TV stations invited them to appear on the show. Now, they have become "Internet celebrities".

Mao Yunqing is the owner of this old flower shop who lives in Changzhou, Jiangsu. He joined the army in his junior year at Nanjing Forestry University, and joined an ace unit of China Army. During this period, he was named "Flying Tiger".

According to Mao Yunqing's memory, in September of 20 15, one night before leaving the army, after the lights were turned off in the dormitory, everyone lay in bed and talked about their future plans. When he confided that he was "ready to go home and start a business", many comrades echoed "Let's stay together". At that time, he just said it casually and didn't take it seriously. Unexpectedly, on the fourth day after returning to Changzhou, people came one after another.

Xie Xipeng from Dazhou, Sichuan Province was the first follower. Xie Xipeng, 2 1 year-old, said that everyone used to call Mao Yunqing "Lao Mao". This "old" mainly refers to rich social experience and sophisticated handling. In addition, Lao Mao is reliable and flexible, and everyone "listens to him", so he was elected as the "monitor" of the flower shop.

In a short time, seven comrades-in-arms came to Changzhou one after another, pooled their retirement expenses together, and formed an entrepreneurial team of eight people, which soon got started.

Because the idea of Mao Yunqing's flower shop has been brewing for a long time, as early as a week before retirement, he asked his family to choose a shop. When the comrades arrived, everyone was like clockwork, and it took a week to complete the simple decoration and start business.

"Why do you think of flower shops after you leave the army?" The reporter asked.

"I majored in horticulture in college and won many prizes in the national horticultural competition. I also sold flowers part-time during my college years, and my relatives also opened flower shops, so there are some channels and contacts to enter floral art. Start a business from an industry you are familiar with. " Mao Yunqing said.

As time goes by, veterans continue to join. Up to now, the membership of this flower shop has reached 17, from Sichuan, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Henan, Heilongjiang and other provinces and cities 1 1. The oldest is 28 years old and the youngest is 2 1 year old.

Militarization management

17 veterans, from all directions, naturally retained their habits in the army.

"Except for three local comrades who went home and three who lived in flower shops, others rented houses of more than 70 square meters and slept in Datong stores." Qilu, from Suqian, Jiangsu, said that they get up at 6 o'clock every morning, do morning exercises, run 5 kilometers around the flower shop, carry logs and do push-ups.

Run 5 kilometers and check once a week. 2 1 min 30 seconds is considered as qualified. Mao Yunqing will pinch the bell at the finish line, and those who fail will be criticized or punished.

Like the army. In Mao Yunqing's view, these habits are not only to urge comrades-in-arms to "not slack off and not relax", but also to make everyone "energetic and healthy" to work.

Even the flower shop they run is open 24 hours a day, and a dozen people are divided into two classes, "taking turns to be on duty." After work, each class should gather for a summary meeting.

At the same time, 17 people, including Mao Yunqing, made a more specific division of labor: 4 people were responsible for transportation and 2 people were responsible for marketing. Since the wedding has gradually become the main business of the flower shop, two people are arranged to be responsible for the wedding planning, and the rest are responsible for the overall work such as floral arrangement.

"Every soldier has obsessive-compulsive disorder. In the army, he folded the quilt. When he sees a little wrinkle, he will smooth it out. We don't allow customers to collect flowers, and there is a petal problem. " Mao Yunqing's pursuit of flower quality is almost harsh. Any comrade-in-arms who accidentally makes mistakes will be punished by "corporal punishment", "either doing push-ups on the spot or running 5 kilometers".

Qilu said that once, a comrade-in-arms accidentally changed the water and spilled it on the petals. The next day, he found that the petals were basically faded, and he was directly punished for running 5 kilometers.

In Mao Yunqing's view, the effect of strict management standards is obvious. In the process of selling flowers, the quality is better than other flower shops, and it is more efficient to undertake activities.

"What should you do if you are such a strong management and encounter differences of opinion?" The reporter asked.

"We usually have a meeting to discuss, and the decisions formed by the discussion must be obeyed." Mao Yunqing said.

"Don't get married before the age of 30"

A dozen burly men stood in the flower shop, unsmiling and looking out coldly.

At the beginning of the business, some people were surprised by the actions of these veteran flower shops and cast a different eye.

Mao Yunqing has a deep memory of those years. I once met a girl and asked him, "How do big men open flower shops?" They looked at the shop and were afraid to go in. The serious atmosphere makes people feel like a "black shop". So business was once bleak.

Mao Yunqing and his comrades-in-arms thought of many ways, such as taking the initiative to attack on Valentine's Day night, wearing signature camouflage clothes and carrying a bucket of flowers, and scattering them at the gates of major shopping malls in Changzhou City to sell flowers on the spot.

Mao Yunqing told the newspaper that this method has been tried and tested. Couples will feel fresh every time they see it, and then there will be a military plot. Therefore, "the turnover of each Valentine's Day can reach more than 65,438+10,000 yuan". It is in these activities that the reputation of flower shops has accumulated and developed to this day.

A number of shop assistants said that during the difficult period of the flower shop, Mao Yunqing insisted on paying everyone, but was rejected. Because they regard this flower shop as a common cause, not working for others, they don't need anyone to pay them.

They suggested to Mao Yunqing that the balance of the flower shop could be used for additional investment. "After the cause is really done, wealth can be distributed according to work."

Many shop assistants interviewed are almost stubborn in their insistence on the above ideas. To this end, they also agreed to "not get married before the age of 30", to start a career before getting married, and to "do business wholeheartedly."

"We will continue to attract like-minded senior people, hoping to build the most executive wedding planning team in Changzhou, and then expand our business to neighboring cities." At the end of the interview, Mao Yunqing said.

Well done, give them a compliment!