Chapter 138 Hongshan Jade Pig Dragon

Shi Xiaoai felt that this was truly an era full of treasures.

But after seeing so much, she calmed down and knew that it was impossible to take it all in.

Although these things are not expensive, the turnover period is too long. In addition, they are heavy and fragile, making it inconvenient for them to carry them with their children.

So she just looked at it and had no intention of buying it.

Seeing that Xiao Ai only turned around but didn't buy anything, Cheng Yang was a little unsure.

He leaned over and said, "If there's something you particularly like, you should buy it. We're leaving now and we don't know when we'll be back next time."

Shi Xiaoai knew he was doing her a favor, but she still said unforgivingly, "Buy more? If you buy more, I'll have to sell the shop."

Cheng Yang moved his mouth. He didn't want to argue with his wife, but he couldn't help but mutter, "Not really. I'll buy it for you."

Shi Xiaoai smiled and said nothing more.

The two walked around again, and after confirming that there was nothing they particularly liked, they prepared to go back. However, they did not expect that this attractive couple had already attracted everyone's attention.

After realizing that they were not just strolling around casually but were really interested in these things, some people immediately came forward to chat with them, especially the middle-aged man Xiao Ai had asked before.

The man had started paying attention to these two people when Shi Xiaoai first asked him about the celadon vase. Seeing that they had walked around for a long time but had no results, and were about to leave, he quietly approached them.

Perhaps Cheng Yang's intimidation was enough, the man didn't dare to talk to Shi Xiaoai. Instead, he moved closer to Cheng Yang, touched him affectionately, and asked, "Brother, what do you want to collect?"

Cheng Yang frowned slightly, then quietly stepped aside and said calmly, "Just take a look."

"Then there's nothing you're interested in?" The man looked expectant.

Seeing him like this, Shi Xiaoai knew that he must have something to take out, so she answered directly: "I don't want to buy porcelain. Too much of that stuff takes up too much space. Do you have anything else? Take it out and let me see it."

The man was certain that the woman was the head of the family this time, so he didn't talk to Cheng Yang. Instead, he turned to look at Shi Xiao Ai and said with a smile, "Sister, if you want something good, just come to me. Don't tell me, I really have something good!"

After saying that, he looked around and mysteriously took out a dirty object from his pocket that looked no different from a small stone.

Cheng Yang took a look and frowned: "What is this?"

There was obvious disdain in his tone.

Shi Xiaoai clenched her fists where no one could see.

The object wasn't big, about the length of two adult fingers. It was oblate and ring-shaped, with a hole on the side and cut marks on one side.

The surface of this thing has turned white over a large area, and it looks gray and almost no different from ordinary pebbles.

But its shape is so similar! It looks so much like the most famous accessory of the Hongshan culture - the jade pig dragon!

Shi Xiaoai couldn't be sure because Qin City was too far away from Hongshan.

Hongshan culture originated in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, more than a thousand kilometers away from Qinshi.

At that time, transportation was not as developed as it is in later generations. Unless something was specifically carried and preserved, it would not be taken so far away from its place of origin.

The time that Hongshan jade has been accepted by the world is not long. It was not officially named until 1951.

It is not widely accepted among ordinary people, and even many collectors may not be able to recognize its value at this time.

In this situation, what is the probability of seeing the real Hongshan Jade Pig Dragon in Qin City?

Shi Xiaoai herself couldn't explain it clearly.

She took the thing and looked at it carefully in her hands.

From the texture to the appearance, she was increasingly certain it was a piece of green jade. Regardless of whether it was a jade pig dragon, it was undoubtedly an old object.

She asked the man, "How much does this cost?"

The man stared into her eyes for a long time, then hesitantly said, "Fifteen?"

Shi Xiaoai raised her head.

Before she could say anything, the man immediately smiled innocently.

He grinned and explained, "This thing didn't come easy. It's a toy for someone's kid. It was said to be a gift from an old expert who was sent down from the village. The kid treasures it very much."

"How can I sell it to you when it's so precious?" Shi Xiaoai asked.

The man rubbed his fingers together and said, "I bought it with money. Aren't little kids supposed to listen to their parents? Why should I be afraid of crying when I can sell it for money?"

After hearing this, Shi Xiaoai's heart moved, and she felt as if she knew the origin of this thing.

It is estimated that the old expert was transferred here from Inner Mongolia, and this thing was brought here by the old man.

It is likely that the elderly do not understand its value, so they just give it to the child they like.

The people who escorted him here didn't understand it, so this little thing escaped the disaster and was not destroyed.

It seems that it really should belong to itself.

At this moment, Xiao Ai made up her mind to buy it.

Seeing this, Cheng Yang was sure that his wife wanted this thing, so he started to bargain: "Five yuan, if you want to sell it, then sell it. If you don't want to sell it, forget it. It's just a broken stone, five yuan is enough."

When Shi Xiaoai heard him speak, she pretended to be disgusted and handed the jade pig dragon back to the man.

Looking at the couple's attitude, the man felt a little unsure.

He quickly handed the item back to Shi Xiaoai and said, "Five dollars is five dollars. I didn't say I wouldn't give it to you."

As he spoke, he took out a bunch of random little gadgets from his pocket, including pottery bowls, clay whistles, and all kinds of other things.

Looking at those things, Shi Xiaoai's mouth twitched. She now really believed that this person had taken back all the children's toys.

How hateful this is!

However, there were no serious items among those things, so Shi Xiaoai declined his suggestion to add one and bought the jade pig dragon for five dollars.

At this point, she was completely satisfied and felt that this trip was truly worthwhile.

Cheng Yang and his comrades had two more meals together. One night he did not come back and sat down with his companions to talk and chat for the whole night.

After that, everyone went their separate ways and started their life journey anew.

The whole family also returned to Yuncheng.

This trip to Qin City lasted only seven days, which was not very long.

But when we got home, everyone felt at ease and relieved.

It was a little after one in the afternoon when they got home. Shi Xiaoai thought that they should not go home to cook, but just eat something in the store.

When they returned home to put their luggage away, they found a table full of prepared food, which had been thoughtfully covered with a dish cover to keep it clean.

Shi Xiaoai walked over and took a look. She saw a casserole of clear chicken soup, a steamed fish, a portion of stir-fried clams with ginger and scallions, and a plate of garlic-stirred vegetables.

Because of the hot weather, the dishes are still warm to the touch and just right for eating.

"Did Xiaolin do this?" Cheng Yang also leaned over to take a look.

"Yeah." Shi Xiaoai smiled and said, "His skills seem to have improved."

The children cheered when they saw the food and then ran out to wash their hands. The food in Qin City was generally salty, which was a nice touch, but it didn't really suit the children's tastes.

Everyone was very happy when they suddenly saw the food at home.

The group of people ate quickly. After sitting in the car for more than ten hours, the children were all exhausted. After eating, they went back to their rooms and went to sleep obediently.

Shi Xiaoai tidied up a little and prepared to go to the shop to take a look.

Cheng Yang knew she was thinking about the opening of the new store, so he didn't stop her. He just asked, "Are you coming back for dinner tonight? Try to come back. I'll make some shredded chicken porridge."

"I'll try my best. Don't wait for me. I'm not sure myself." Shi Xiaoai said, but she was thinking about putting the issue of buying a refrigerator on the agenda.

Otherwise this summer would be really miserable.

At that time, refrigerators were not yet popular in China, and some people with better conditions turned their attention to televisions.

But Shi Xiaoai was not really interested in those 9-inch and 12-inch black and white TVs. She felt that they were tiring to look at. It would be better to wait a few years and buy a color TV in one go!

Besides, there are not too many TV programs nowadays, and watching too much TV is not good for children’s eyes.

But she wanted a refrigerator.

For a foodie, the refrigerator is much more tempting than the TV.

Although domestically produced refrigerators are not available yet, Friendship Store already sells imported refrigerators, but they are too expensive. A single-door refrigerator costs more than a thousand yuan!

You still have to make money, you have to make money!

Shi Xiaoai sighed in her heart.

Wang Xiaofeng and Li Min are very efficient. Within this week, they have recruited all the staff for the new store.

Considering that they still need to open more branches, training more backup forces at one time will only benefit them, so they did not deliberately limit the number of recruitment places this time.

A total of sixty-five people were hired, from front desk staff to kitchen helpers to cleaning staff.

Of course, the requirements are still the same as for the previous group of employees - no salary will be paid during the training period, only two meals will be provided.

Because of the example of snack shops, people are still scrambling to get in under these conditions.

Director Xu from Qingyun Street was so happy that his mouth was almost grinning from ear to ear that she had solved so many employment problems for the educated youth at once.

All requests for the snack shop were given the green light.

Not only did they proactively help the snack shop contact a nearby primary school, allowing them to use their classrooms and playgrounds for free training during the summer vacation, but the office also spent a lot of money to buy notebooks and pens for every successful employee and teacher.

Encourage them to make progress.

The teachers who came to the training this time were still introduced by Song Chunyu, but they were no longer her apprentices, but her old colleagues.

She recommended a total of four masters, two of whom were senior service technicians, one white-casseroles chef, and one red-casseroles chef. All of them were experienced workers with decades of experience.

The old people are all skilled in martial arts, but they have to retire early to make room for their children.

The oldest of the four is just over sixty, and the other three are only in their early fifties.

Shi Xiaoai offered them a high salary. Each person received a basic salary of 80 yuan for one month of training, plus meal allowance and cooling-off fee.

All in all, it's over a hundred dollars.

This income is almost more than double their retirement salary.

In order to earn so much money in such a short time, every master is eager to give all his skills and teach them with all his strength.

These students have all experienced hardships, so they naturally want to seize this learning opportunity more tightly. Everyone studies very hard and seriously.

So, even though the training had just started for two or three days, many people already looked quite capable.

Seeing this situation, Shi Xiaoai was very satisfied.

She called Wang Xiaofeng aside and said, "When you have time, ask these masters if they are willing to stay. If they are, their treatment can be comparable to Aunt Song's."

Wang Xiaofeng nodded. "That's what I meant. If we open three more branches this year as planned, we still won't have enough people. We can't stop recruiting and training."

Shi Xiaoai patted Wang Xiaofeng on the shoulder with relief: "Okay, okay, you've made progress. You know how to think three steps ahead. I'll feel more at ease when I hand over this shop to you from now on."

Wang Xiaofeng was a little surprised and asked, "Sister, why are you handing the shop over to me? What are you going to do then?"

She looked at Shi Xiaoai suspiciously as she spoke: "You don't want to be a hands-off boss, do you?"

Shi Xiaoai was immediately amused by her anger.

He asked back, "What's wrong with me being a hands-off boss? I've finally trained you all, can't you just let me take a break? Otherwise, what's the point of me going through so much trouble to teach you?"

Wang Xiaofeng smiled and curled her lips without saying anything.

She knew that her sister was just talking and venting, but in fact she was a person who worried more than anyone else.

If she really handed the shop over to me, she must have some new plans.

If she were left completely idle, she would probably be the first one to lose patience.

Shi Xiaoai really wasn't prepared to sit idle.

She wants to set up a central kitchen.

If you want to run a successful branch, quality control is a big issue.

Only when the quality is guaranteed and the taste remains consistent can the business last long.

To meet all these conditions, the simplest and most effective way is to set up a central kitchen. All materials will be distributed by the central kitchen, and each branch can sell them after simple processing.

This is the most appropriate method both in terms of management and cost saving.

Setting up a central kitchen is not an easy task. Everything from personnel to venue, equipment, and even transportation vehicles needs to be taken into consideration.

Therefore, after confirming that Wang Xiaofeng and Li Min were able to do a good job in training and opening new stores, she decided to devote her attention to the new project.

The location was easy to find, as many houses were built in Courtyard No. 1. In addition to the business premises, there was also a row of houses in a more remote area at the back.

Those rooms are currently being used as warehouses, but there aren't many things in them. With a little tidying up, it would be no problem to free up three or four rooms.

Shi Xiaoai’s idea is that as a flagship store, the current layout of the snack bar will remain unchanged, and the open counter will still be used normally, but the kitchen area of all new stores will be reduced to leave more space for the front hall.

Apart from the venue, staffing is not a big problem.

Aunt Song and her team are now a very mature team.

They can be divided into two parts, one part still stays in the front open counter to work, and the other part comes to the central kitchen in the back to train new people.

Anyway, the things they produce are nothing particularly complicated. They are all various snacks, buns, wontons, and stone steamed buns. All they need is a skilled worker who can practice more. There is no need for advanced skills.

Such workers are easy to find.

If the venue and personnel are not a problem, then the biggest problem becomes the equipment.

The purchase of equipment involves money.

So it all comes down to money.

Shi Xiaoai sighed.

Sure enough, once you start a business, no amount of money is enough!