"You're paying for me to open a shop?"
Chen Yi was secretly pleased, but quickly shook his head with a wry smile: "A-Jing, don't be silly. You're married now, unlike when you were single. A-Xia will have objections if she finds out."
"Besides, I heard from my mother that it's not easy for you to find a job in the capital. I'm helping my sister-in-law with her work now, and I get thirty yuan a month, which is pretty good."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jing couldn't help but chuckle: "I never look for a job; I always do my own thing."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yi's face showed even more disapproval.
"As for Xia, you two practically grew up together, don't you know her? Is she such a petty person?"
Chen Yi smiled faintly upon hearing this. Ji Xia was four or five years older than her. As the older sister, she was required to be sensible, take care of her younger brother, and help with household chores from a young age.
Ji Xia was the youngest in the Ji family and was spoiled growing up. She went home to work after finishing elementary school, while Ji Xia had just started school.
Ji Xia finished high school and has now been admitted to university.
Although their family backgrounds were similar, their lives were very different, so they had nothing in common.
Chen Yi forced a smile: "Even if she's not angry, opening a shop will cost a lot of money, right? Buying a boiler, tables, chairs, bowls and chopsticks, it's too expensive."
"Don't worry about that, sis. At worst, it'll only cost a few hundred yuan. I can save up that much by being careful."
“If I make more money by opening a shop, I can buy better medicine for my brother-in-law and feed my two children better. They are really too thin now. When they grow up, I will send them to school so that they will have a bright future.”
Chen Yi was greatly tempted by this; opening his own shop would surely earn him much more.
She helps collect money every day, and she can roughly calculate the cost of buying vegetables and meat each day.
According to her estimate, her sister-in-law could earn at least a thousand yuan a month. Although she had hired two people and had to pay two salaries, this amount was nothing compared to her sister-in-law's income.
However, a few hundred yuan is a huge amount of money to her, and she is worried that her mother will scold her if she asks her married younger brother to pay for it.
After hesitating for a while, Chen Yi said in a low voice, "I don't know how to do anything else. I cook and make fast food with my sister-in-law every day, but if I open a shop, I'm afraid my sister-in-law will be angry."
"Then let's make breakfast. Breakfast is simple: steamed buns, mantou, pies, tofu pudding, soy milk, boiled eggs are all fine. Make them in advance and sell them whenever you want. If you can manage, you can make two pots of bone broth to cook noodles and wontons, or steam rice noodle rolls."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yi looked troubled: "I don't know how to make this, and what if no one eats breakfast?"
"If you don't know how to make them, I can find someone to teach you. Pies, pumpkin pancakes, tofu pudding, and rice noodle rolls are all very simple."
As Chen Jing spoke, he led her to the area around the houses next to the primary school. The big-character posters that had been put up outside for sale had been torn down, and the doors were tightly closed.
He pointed to the house: "What do you think of this location? It's only twenty meters away from the primary school, and the middle school passes by here. The primary school doesn't offer breakfast, and the middle school students pass by on their way to school. If you can make good breakfast, do you have to worry about not making money?"
He quietly analyzed the situation of the students in the two schools. Breakfast prices were relatively cheaper, but a meat bun cost two cents and a steamed bun cost eight or one cent.
A serving of noodles or wontons at a state-run restaurant costs 50 cents, but here it can be a little cheaper. If you steam rice noodle rolls, made from rice flour ground from old rice, with a little minced meat or egg, it costs 20 or 30 cents a serving, with a profit margin of at least 40%.
When it comes to doing business, let alone Chen Yi, even if Chen Dasao and Ji Xia were combined, they wouldn't be a match for Chen Jing. Chen Yi also knew that he had ventured into the black market at a young age and was very knowledgeable about it.
On the way home, after listening to Chen Jing's analysis, and hearing that she could bring her husband and sister-in-law along, Chen Yi was indeed tempted.
After hesitating for a moment, she asked softly, "Do you know how to do all of these? How long will you be staying at home? Won't it be too much trouble for you?"
Chen Jing pondered for a moment: "It will probably take about half a month. Why don't you bring your brother-in-law over first, and we can discuss it together?"
The next morning, Chen Jing accompanied the old man to complete the house transfer. He then immediately found a carpenter and mason to renovate the house. It was the same carpenter who had renovated the yard last year.
Because of the tight schedule, Chen Jing offered more generous wages and asked the master craftsman to bring more apprentices over, hoping to resolve the issue within a week.
The old house wasn't big. Cracks in the walls were repaired with cement and sand. The interior walls were all smoothed with cement and sand, then plastered with lime. The roof was replaced with new tiles.
Xu Yufen was overjoyed to hear that Chen Jing had funded the opening of a breakfast shop for Chen Yi and his wife. She was finally free from her sister-in-law and could let her husband come to the city with her.
While Captain Chen and his mother were happy, they were also worried that it might put too much burden on their son. However, after Chen Jing repeatedly assured them that everything was alright, they were relieved.
Chen Yi was naturally even happier. She entrusted her two children to her mother for help, asked her sister-in-law Yang Cuihua to go back to her hometown and bring her husband Yang Lin over, and then went to the county town with Chen Jing.
Chen Yi doesn't know how to make steamed buns, mantou, or pies? No problem. Chen Jing has been operating in the black market for many years. Finding a chef who knows how to make pastries and noodles is a piece of cake.
I spent two hundred yuan to find a master chef who runs a teahouse for Chen Yi. He specially selected a few dishes, such as steamed buns, mantou, shumai, wontons, noodles, and rice noodle rolls, and had her learn them for half a month.
Half a month later, the Good Taste Breakfast Shop was ready, and Chen Yi returned after completing his studies. Chen Yi carried Er Ya on his back, held Xiao Jie's hand, and Yang Lin leaned on his crutches. The family of four followed behind Chen Jing to inspect the shop.
The small shop, which is over 80 square meters, has been renovated inside and out, and now it exudes a vibrant energy, just like a brand new house.
The floor was smoothed with cement, the walls were painted white, and several lights were installed in the house and living room, making the whole house much brighter.
Chen Jing smiled as he explained the purpose of each facility in the shop: "The two rooms and the attic in the back are for you to stay in. The kitchen and pastry room were added at the back of the house, so that cooking and making pastries are separate."
"There's a little space in the backyard. You can plant some scallions, cilantro, cucumbers, or green beans when you have time. It's up to you."
"The living room has eight tables and can accommodate forty or fifty guests at a time. There are two food carts, one for simmering bone broth and cooking noodles and wontons, and the other for steaming rice noodle rolls, which is made to order."
"The other food cart has wheels underneath. If there aren't many customers, the finished char siu buns, xiaolongbao, brown sugar steamed buns, brown sugar steamed cakes, siu mai, pumpkin cakes, etc. can be pushed outside the school gate and sold."
A cashier's table was also installed at the entrance, and a high chair was specially made for Yang Lin so that he could sit in it to sell steamed buns, mantou, and other snacks, as well as to collect payments.
Based on the equipment he had seen in Huacheng and the capital, Chen Jing provided Chen Yi with a very comprehensive set of equipment, which moved Yang Lin and Chen Yi to tears.
Yang Lin was a man of few words. He was the second child in his family and was neglected at home since childhood. After his leg was bitten off by a wild wolf, he thought his life was over.
It's unbelievable that he had this kind of luck. Not only did his wife, Chen Yi, not leave with the children, but she also opened a shop with the help of her brother-in-law.
Yang Lin's eyes welled up with tears: "Ah Jing, I won't say thank you. Just give me a figure of how much this shop cost, and we'll pay you back as soon as we make a profit."
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