Wen Qiao said, "I need to find someone to ask. There's no point in you coming along. You guys go ahead and look around. I'll handle it."
Wu Yongliang also said, "Yazhi, trust Xiaoqiao. If it doesn't work, I'll go directly to the water plant's leader and call to ask."
Lu Yazhi quickly said, "Let's forget it. I'm trying to keep a low profile in my business dealings. If you make a phone call, it will be too high-profile."
Wu Yongliang chuckled.
"So what? You're in business, you're not stealing or robbing."
As they were talking, Lü Yazhi was led out by Wu Yongliang. Wen Qiao, on the other hand, went to find the person in charge of outsourcing the water plant's canteen.
I asked a director, whose surname was Qian and given name was Qian Dawang, who was in charge of the outsourcing of the cafeteria.
Wen Qiao gave a brief self-introduction to Director Qian.
He also mentioned his desire to contract the water plant's canteen to run a restaurant.
Qian Dawang glanced at Wen Qiao and thought this comrade was too young and seemed a bit unreliable.
He then said with a smile, "Young comrade, when we contract out our factory canteen, we need to pay three years' rent upfront, all at once..."
Wen Qiao followed up by asking, "Director Qian, I just heard you talking to someone about bidding. What does that mean? Do individual contractors still need to bid?"
Qian Dawang said, "That's what we say to the outside world. However, many people are asking about it now, and they all think the rent is too expensive. The monthly rent is 150 for the first year and 180 for the next two years. If you want to lease the property, you have to pay three years' rent upfront before you can pay the annual rent in installments."
Seeing that Wen Qiao was genuinely asking the question, and that the young woman was polite, courteous, and quite pretty, Qian Dawang spoke to her a few more times.
"If you really have the money, you don't need to bid. Just bring the money to me and I'll issue you the factory certificate."
Wen Qiao nodded and said, "Okay, Director Qian, I'll go home and discuss it with my family. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll go visit the cafeteria before we finalize the details."
After Wen Qiao inquired carefully, she learned that the water plant had moved from its old location to a new one. The original factory had a large number of employees and a large canteen.
Now, half of the people from the old factory have been transferred to the new factory. With fewer people, even fewer people come to the canteen to eat.
They are spending more than they earn every day.
The only option is to outsource part of the cafeteria.
After being contracted out, the canteen can be planned independently, serving both internal and external customers.
Wen Qiao felt that turning the canteen into a restaurant open to the public, and since it was originally the canteen of the water plant, it naturally had a good reputation. As long as the dishes were well-controlled, there would be no shortage of business.
If the restaurant is open to the public, the price of the food will be determined by the contractor.
However, the waiters here cannot be changed.
Wen Qiao asked directly, "If we can't change the waiters, can we choose how many?" The waiters in the canteen of the state-owned factory don't have a service mentality. If they were to treat external customers with such an arrogant attitude, it would definitely not work.
Qian Dawang said, "We'll talk about that after the contract is finalized."
Wen Qiao agreed, and after speaking with Qian Dawang, she left.
After leaving the water plant canteen, she didn't go straight home. Instead, she went to the water plant gate and gave the gatekeeper a bag of sunflower seeds and a bag of fruit.
I asked a few questions.
"Sir, isn't there a director at this water plant surnamed Qian who oversees the contracting out of the water plant's canteen?"
The old man didn't say anything, so Wen Qiao put the things in front of him.
"Sir, I just wanted to know something. I heard that the water plant is going to contract out the canteen, and the person in charge is surnamed Qian, but I don't know his name. I'm asking you for help. You can't just ask without knowing the details. Please keep the things."
Hearing Wen Qiao's explanation, the gatekeeper, who had been suspicious and wary of her, finally felt relieved.
She began by saying, "You're a woman who values character."
"The director you mentioned who's in charge of outsourcing the cafeteria, is that Director Qian? He's on the second floor of the administrative office. Go there and ask him directly."
Wen Qiao then asked, "What's Director Qian's name?"
"Qian Dawang".
Wen Qiao immediately said thank you.
I felt much calmer now; it seemed that Qian Dawang really wasn't a swindler.
Wen Qiao was still worried that Qian Dawang was a swindler, after all, he had brought up money right away, and had said so much to her...
After returning home, Wen Qiao told Shen Jichuan what had happened at the water plant canteen.
Shen Jichuan originally intended to go with them to the waterworks canteen to ask.
Wen Qiao felt that it was unnecessary to go and ask so many people, so she let Shen Jichuan stay home to take care of the children.
As Shen Jichuan listened to his wife speak, he calmly poured her a cup of tea.
"Is it possible that he was willing to talk to you so much because you are very pretty, polite, and easy to talk to?"
Wen Qiao asked doubtfully, "Really?"
Shen Jichuan smiled and said, "Of course I would. Who would refuse to talk to a pretty young girl?"
Wen Qiao smiled and said, "I'm not a little girl anymore, I'm a mother of three."
After chatting with Shen Jichuan, Wen Qiao asked again if her mother and Uncle Wu had returned.
Shen Jichuan said, "He hasn't come back yet!"
Wen Qiao thought to herself, "Then they probably won't be coming back for lunch today. When she told them to go shopping, she suggested that Mom and Uncle Wu eat out so the old couple could have a romantic meal together."
***
Wu Yongliang actually listened to Wen Qiao's advice and took Lü Yazhi to the mall.
Old Wu, a wealthy and generous man, noticed that Lü Yazhi was staring at the jewelry counter. He saw that Lü Yazhi already had a gold ring and gold earrings, and now she was only missing a gold bracelet.
I bought her a large gold bracelet weighing 35 grams.
But Lu Yazhi, feeling sorry for her, insisted, "No, I can't let you spend this money. We need to save it for your retirement."
Old Wu said, "If you like it, that's fine," and then asked Lü Yazhi, "Do you like it?"
Lu Yazhi said shyly, "Of course I like it! Who doesn't like a big gold bracelet?"
Old Wu said generously, "Then let's just buy it."
After buying the jewelry, Old Wu took Lü Yazhi to have lunch.
Suddenly, Lü Yazhi felt a sharp pain in her abdomen.
Without even having time to eat, they went to the nearest hospital where Wu Jiandong and Li Sumei worked. Seeing that Lü Yazhi's face was pale from stomach pain, Old Wu was very worried and revealed his identity as soon as they arrived at the hospital.
The woman who said she had a stomachache was his wife.
Knowing that Wu Yongliang was a military region cadre leader and also happened to be Wu Jiandong's father, Wu Jiandong was quickly notified.
Wu Jiandong was about to go to the cafeteria for lunch with his wife, Li Sumei.
He received a call from the hospital's gynecologist saying that his stepmother was hospitalized with stomach pains...
Li Sumei inwardly cried out in alarm and immediately looked at Wu Jiandong.
I blurted out, "Jiandong, your dad can't be serious, your stepmother is going to have a little brother or sister for you?"
Wu Jiandong's face darkened, and he hissed in a low voice, "Shut up."
Feeling wronged, Li Sumei quickly said:
"You had a stomachache and went to the gynecologist? Who wouldn't be suspicious in that situation?"
"Your dad is in such good health, and Aunt Lü is so young, not even fifty yet, she might be pregnant."
"Why are you angry? I'm the one who's upset. It would be really embarrassing if my son got a younger sister or brother-in-law."
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