Chapter 198 Open a Supermarket

It is impossible for Gu Jianhua to be both a chef and a pastry lady. Although the bakery is small, it has all the necessary staff, including cashier, waiter, pastry chef and dishwasher.

When a restaurant opens, it needs at least five people from the front of house to the back of the kitchen.

Moreover, when they open a shop as an individual business, they cannot be like the state-owned hotels. When they open a shop as an individual business, they need to treat their customers better.

Otherwise, they won’t come to your house to eat next time.

"You are going to be a chef. I can go to the store to make pancakes during the winter and summer holidays when school is not in session, but I can't do that at other times."

During the winter and summer holidays, Su He can go to the bakery to help out, but she can't do that at other times. She can't quit her job as a teacher at Peking University for this bakery.

"My wife doesn't need you. You are a teacher at Peking University, how can you do these things in the kitchen? Your face must be yellow from the smoke all day long." Gu Jianhua shook his head.

He would not let his wife go into the kitchen to cook. Cooking is fine for one or two days, but it is not okay to cook every day with all the fumes!

His wife is a teacher at Peking University, so she is not suitable for this job.

"That's not so exaggerated. You're exaggerating." Su He scolded.

Gu Jianhua let Su He lie in his arms and said, "Without a wife, your skin will really turn yellow if you cook too much. Just focus on teaching. I will discuss this matter with my parents."

Su He sighed, "Nothing is easy."

Gu Jianhua, "That's right, money is not that easy to make, it requires hard work."

"But we have to make more money. We didn't have the opportunity before, but now the country allows ordinary people like us to start our own businesses." Su He half-rose and lay on Gu Jianhua's chest, and continued, "Jianhua, I want to buy two more shops by the end of the year."

"Buy it and keep it aside to see what kind of business will be better next year."

Gu Jianhua became interested and said, "Buy two more shops."

Su He, "Yes, I have thought about it. We need to buy ten shops in total. There will be two for each of the four children and one for my husband and me."

"Jianhua, we must take advantage of this opportunity to make more money. We have four children to support, as well as our parents. I want to take them on a trip to see the beautiful mountains and rivers of our motherland."

These wishes are simple to say, but they cost money to implement.

"Wife, you have great ambitions." Gu Jianhua chuckled.

Su He, "What, is it not possible? It's just ten shops, I didn't say I want a hundred."

Gu Jianhua hugged her and said, "Sure, let's buy more. There's no harm in it. When we get old, we can travel like our parents."

Don’t mention it, just thinking about that scene, not having to go to work, not having to worry about the family, and traveling with his wife to see the beautiful scenery of the motherland, it would be so wonderful.

Su He, "Let's travel abroad. I can speak foreign languages. Let's go to European countries."

"Okay, I'll follow you then."

Gu Jianhua thought his wife was really bold. He had just been thinking about traveling around their country when he retired, but he didn't expect his wife wanted to go abroad.

But it's not impossible.

He had never thought that he would live in Beijing before.

It turns out that people still need to have dreams.

The couple was originally talking about the bakery, but the conversation got sidetracked and they didn't know what else to talk about.

Let’s put the bakery business aside for now and wait until Zhang Chen comes over during the summer vacation.

But you can find a dishwasher first.

The day after tomorrow is a rest day.

Su He went to look for Aunt Xu next door. Aunt Xu's son and daughter-in-law were all at work, and her grandchildren were all grown up and no longer needed her to take care of them, so she and her husband retired and stayed at home.

"Teacher Su is here, please sit down quickly."

Grandpa Xu went out for a walk, and Aunt Xu was bored at home, wondering whether she should go out for a walk, when Su He came.

Su He smiled and said, "Auntie, are you sewing shoe soles?"

Aunt Xu poured Su He a glass of water and said, "Well, since you have nothing to do, I thought about making a pair of shoes for my grandson."

"Teacher Su, your pastry shop is doing really well."

Aunt Xu went to that pancake shop a few days ago, and there were waves of people coming in.

Su He smiled and said, "There are many people at lunch time, but not many people at other times."

Aunt Xu: "That's fine. We still eat at state-owned restaurants during meal times, and your stuffed buns are delicious."

No wonder the bakery is so crowded, the ingredients are really good.

The pastry skin is thin and filled with meat filling.

"Teacher Su, let me tell you, do you recognize Qian Sui'er, the young wife next door to my house?"

Su He nodded and said, "We've met before." She had met all the neighbors on their floor, and she also knew Qian Sui'er that Aunt Xu mentioned.

We met a few times and talked a few times, but we never had a deep conversation, just said hello.

Seeing that Su He knew Aunt Xu, she continued, "She is unemployed and stays at home. I told her that your child is grown up and in school, so you don't need to look after him anymore. Our country allows it now, so let her go out and sell steamed buns and stuff like that."

"Adding an income to the family, the five members of her family all rely on her husband's salary, that's a lot of pressure."

Aunt Xu said this and looked at Su He, "Do you know what people say?"

Su He shook his head, and Aunt Xu spread her hands and said, "Hey, I won't do it. It's not decent to say so."

"The husband is the only one working in the family. He relies on a salary of thirty-something yuan a month. He lives frugally and it's still not enough. How can they be respectable?"

"Besides, the country has allowed individual business operations, but she is still making trouble here, which is not decent." Aunt Xu shook her head in confusion.

Su He nodded, "Yes, let's make a living first and talk about other things later."

How can you talk about dignity when you can't even afford to eat?

Aunt Xu, "That's right. You don't know that in her family, three people share one egg. The vegetables they eat every day are either cabbage or potatoes. There is not even a bit of meat."

If not for yourself, you have to think about your children.

Her little grandson came over that day and ate an ice cream. He threw the stick on the ground, and her little son picked it up and licked it, which made her feel very uncomfortable.

Su He sighed, "She doesn't want to do it. It's useless for us to say anything. She thinks it's shameful to be a self-employed person."

Aunt Xu, "That's not what people think."

The two chatted for a while, all talking about their neighbors. Aunt Xu introduced her to the family situations of the residents on their floor, how many children each had, whose daughters-in-law were easy to get along with, and whose daughters-in-law were difficult to get along with.

Whoever is fighting, that's where they are working.

Anyway, I have said everything that needs to be said.

"Auntie, I came here today to ask you for a favor."

Aunt Xu was stunned for a moment, then said cheerfully, "Teacher Su, just tell me, as long as I can help, I will do it for you."

Su He smiled and said, "It's not a big deal, Auntie. Our bakery is in need of a dishwasher, and I thought you know a lot of people, could you introduce one to me?"

"Teacher Su, do you think I can do it?" Aunt Xu said without thinking.

She stayed at home every day with nothing to do and was very bored, so she might as well go to the bakery to wash dishes and earn some money.

The sons and daughters-in-law give them money every month as a tribute, but it is not much, only five yuan a month, which means ten yuan for two sons.

The couple were forced to take over their jobs and did not retire normally, so they have no pension.

Ten yuan a month is enough to buy vegetables and rice for daily expenses, but there is not much money left.

Su He didn't expect to find a dishwasher so quickly.

"Of course, ma'am."

"Let me tell you about my working hours first. I start work at nine in the morning and get off work at six in the evening."

Their pancake shop has more customers at noon, but not so many people at night.

"You can take a rest when there is no one in the store. The salary is 15 yuan a month, Auntie, take your time."

Aunt Xu: "Okay, okay, sure. Teacher Su, I will go to work tomorrow."

Just washing dishes for fifteen yuan a month, that's pretty good.

Aunt Xu told Grandpa Xu about this that night. Grandpa Xu was reluctant to let his wife go. "Just stay at home. It's too tiring."

"It's not that tiring. It's just washing dishes. I wash dishes at home too. I might as well wash dishes that can make money." Aunt Xu snorted.

Grandpa Xu said, "At home, you only wash the dishes for the two of us, but in that restaurant, there are many more dishes."

Aunt Xu, "Okay, okay, I've already told Teacher Su that I'll go to work tomorrow, so just leave me alone."

When Su He went to the store to eat at noon, he told the four elders about this.

Mother Gu, "Xiao He, you said you found a dishwasher. Is he young or old?"

Su He, "It's our next-door neighbor, Aunt Xu."

Mother Su remembered, "Oh, she came to our restaurant to eat before."

I packed a few pancakes to take back. She was also a talkative person and I chatted with her for a long time.

"Why would we need to hire someone when we are so busy?" Gu's mother complained.

Su He, "Mom, don't you see how old you are? You should take it easy."

Mother Gu said, "We are in good health, no worse than you young people."

Gu's mother really feels that she is in good health and does not suffer from aches and pains like the elderly.

Father Gu came over and said, "If the kids find someone, we can use them."

They are indeed not young anymore, they are just in good health.

While a few people were chatting, Mingyue Tang Zexu and his family of four came over.

Mingyue, "Aunt, I knew you were here."

Su He stood up and asked, "Why are you free to come here today? Have you eaten?"

"No, auntie. Ruirui and Jiaojiao said they wanted to eat some stuffed buns, so they came over."

Mother Gu asked, "How many do you want to eat? Is ten enough for the four of you?"

Tang Zexu, "That's enough, grandma."

Mingyue, "Let's order another cucumber."

It is more refreshing to eat the stuffing with smashed cucumber.

"Mom, can we drink soda?" Tang Ruirui asked.

Mingyue, "Come on, drink. Let's drink one bottle each."

Normally, she doesn't let her children drink soda because she always thinks it is not as good as milk.

Su He made them a pot of tea and served them a small dish of salted vegetables.

Gu's mother quickly finished baking the stuffed buns and brought them up. Mingyue joked, "My grandmother's stuffed buns are getting better and better. These ten stuffed buns are exactly the same."

Su He, "Yes, your grandma is now a pastry chef."

"Aunt, your pancake shop is a success. We have a lot of customers."

Mingyue looked at the people coming in wave after wave.

Su He smiled and said, "It's OK, there are more people at noon."

Mingyue was a little worried, "I don't know what to do with my shop. We can't run a restaurant."

Xue'er and Tang Zexu opened a stationery store because their shop was next to a school. Their business was pretty good and they didn't have many employees, so just one person was enough to run it.

The two of them also wanted to open a good business like this that required few people, so they had to rule out the catering industry first and take a look at her uncle's pastry shop.

How many people are needed in the front hall and the kitchen, and it's very busy.

Su He thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you sell vegetables, fruits, and daily necessities like a supply and marketing cooperative? You don't need too many people."

"There aren't many residential buildings around your shop, which is perfect. Besides, you don't have to worry about losing money or having no business."

We sell vegetables, fruits and daily necessities that are used by the general public every day.

The book says this is called a supermarket.

Hearing this, Mingyue's eyes lit up and she looked at Tang Zexu.

"Ah Xu, do you think it's okay? I think it's okay."

Selling vegetables, fruits and daily necessities, customers can come in and choose for themselves, and only one person, her name A Xu, is needed to settle the bill.

Tang Zexu also thought it was good, "Well, let's go back and think about it carefully."

The couple didn't think much about it, they just went back to discuss it and opened the store, called Mingyue Fruit, Vegetable and Daily Necessities Store, with a sign saying "Fruits, Vegetables, Rice, Flour, Grain, Oil and Daily Necessities" at the door.

Tang Zexu is very diligent and gets up at four o'clock every day to purchase goods. The fruits and vegetables sold in the store are all fresh, so there are many customers going to their store to buy vegetables.

The young couple finally had a way to make a living.

No more gossip and criticism from neighbors.

However, the neighbors also noticed that the couple did have some savings at home. They had been in the capital for two years, and the family of four had survived for two years relying on the savings, not to mention that they later opened a store.

Maybe he is a wealthy family.

Currently, several families who came to the capital have settled down. Mr. and Mrs. Gu Jianhua from Su He both have jobs and own a bakery.

Mingyue's family owns a supermarket and Xueer's family owns a stationery store.

Everyone has a way to make a living.

Moreover, they bought all three shops and don’t have to pay rent, which makes them feel at ease.

As expected, the bakery's turnover in April exceeded 300 yuan.

The four elders never thought that doing business could make so much money.

The monthly turnover of this small bakery is 300 yuan, which is almost as much as a worker's annual salary.

Three hundred a month, isn't that right?

"Three thousand six." Su's mother didn't even need an abacus for such trivial arithmetic.

Gu's mother suppressed her excitement and said, "The monthly sales are different, but the difference won't be too much. Not to mention 3,600, 3,000 a year is definitely fine."

She had never thought that three thousand yuan would be so easy to earn. She thought that even if she raised chickens, it would take at least five or six years to earn three thousand yuan.

And it’s a large-scale breeding.

Su's mother nodded and said, "This business is for making money, otherwise people wouldn't have done it before."

She was talking about before the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Mother Gu: "That's right."

Being a self-employed person may seem dishonorable, but it does make money. A worker like you may work very hard but only earn four or five hundred yuan a year.

Doing business directly is several times better.

Don't be too fragrant.

Aunt Xu had also been working in the pancake shop for a month. On this day, she was paid, so she went to Mingyue’s supermarket to buy some vegetables and went home to cook.

The food in this restaurant is always fresh, unlike the vegetable market, which is fine in the morning but no longer fresh when you go in the afternoon.