Chapter 370: Selling Strength is Not Shameful

Xia Juanjuan looked at Xia Shuangshan's cautious look, feeling both distressed and helpless.

She sighed and said, "You've been pooping all day, aren't you tired? And you still want to poop me?"

Xia Shuangshan laughed twice and said nothing more.

After a moment of silence, Xia Juanjuan asked again, "Where did this cart come from?"

Xia Shuangshan answered honestly: "Someone rented it out to me at the coal station. The rental fee is 20 cents a day."

"How much did you earn today?"

Xia Shuangshan was cheered up when he heard this, and his tone was full of pride: "With the fifty cents I just earned, I made a total of 1.2 yuan! Minus the two cents I had to pay for borrowing the cart, I can still make a dollar..."

When he got to the latter part, he saw that there was no smile on his lady's face, so his voice became weaker and he continued walking forward with his head hung.

After thinking for a while, he couldn't help but add a few words of excuse in a low voice: "I'm selling my labor to haul coal, so it's not shameful. One dollar a day, thirty days a month would make thirty dollars, maybe more than those workers and waiters working in factories and shops!"

I don't know when the light snow started to fall, and soon it turned into heavy snow, and the ground was covered with a thin layer of white in a short while.

Xia Juanjuan sighed and said, "I don't think you're embarrassing. You're just pulling a cart to deliver goods. Look at the people doing this on the street. At least they have a bicycle to pull. How can you pull it with your hands? Do you think you're a workhorse? It's so cold and the road is icy. If you fall, it's okay if someone sees you, but if no one sees you, I don't know where to find you!"

Xia Shuangshan knew that Xia Juanjuan was worried about him, so he chuckled and said, "I'm definitely paying attention! Your dad went to college knee-deep in the snow in the middle of winter, but he wasn't afraid to go into the mountains to hunt. The roads in this city are flat, so it's okay! I thought that Xiaowen and the others would go to school during the day, and your mom would take care of the triplets. As a big man, I can't stay idle if I don't go out and find a job. Now that there are many people in the family and the expenses are high, any profit we can make is a good thing, so you and Lizhan can have less burden. Apart from anything else, this dollar can buy more than a pound of meat, and stir-fry it. Won't the kids think it's delicious?"

Xia Juanjuan of course knew what they were thinking and had already made up her mind, so she changed the subject and talked about something else.

Xia Shuangshan felt relieved when he saw that Xia Juanjuan didn't blame him.

He had been doing this job secretly from Xia Juanjuan for a day or two, and he was worried that Xia Juanjuan would be angry and think he was embarrassing if she found out.

Passing by the coal station, Xia Shuangshan was going to return the cart, but Xia Juanjuan said she had something to do, and asked Xia Shuangshan to go home directly after returning the cart. She happened to be going to the vicinity of the school, so she picked up Xiaowen and the others.

After parting with Xia Shuangshan, Xia Juanjuan went straight to the small storefront that she had taken a fancy to last time.

This time I finally met the owner.

The owner lives in the alley at the back.

That small shop - actually it was originally a small breakfast shop of a restaurant. The restaurant next to it had been public-private partnership and was later bought out. Only this small shop was left, and the owner kept it.

There was a state-owned hotel opposite, but it was closed down and all the doors facing the street were sealed, and it became a state-owned warehouse.

Xia Juanjuan went directly to the alley to see the owner. Of course, she did not go empty-handed, but still carried a bag of apples.

The owner is in his sixties or seventies. His ancestor was the owner of this restaurant. When he was young, he was a well-known rich second-generation young man in this area and had seen the world.

But now he is old and poor. His wife died a few years ago, his son went to work in the countryside, and later I heard that he also died in the countryside. He also has a daughter, who is 18 years old, and she has not yet died.

The master is bedridden. The last time Xia Juanjuan came, his daughter took him to see a doctor, so he was not at home.

Xia Juanjuan didn't beat around the bush and just said that she wanted to buy the small shop.

The owner was helped up by his daughter. He coughed hard for a while before saying, "Why did you buy that? Private businesses are not allowed now."

Xia Juanjuan did not hide it either, and whispered: "I think that in the future, the regulation will definitely not be so strict. Now is a precautionary measure. I want to buy it first, and then do a small business when the regulation is relaxed later."

The owner was quite surprised that Xia Juanjuan was so straightforward and could not help laughing. Just as he laughed, he had another violent cough. His daughter called out "Dad!" crisply and raised her hand to rub his back.

The owner waved his hands to indicate that it was okay, took a breath, and then said, "You're showing me your true colors right now. Aren't you afraid that I'll listen to you and not sell it to you, but keep it for my own store in the future?"

Xia Juanjuan smiled and said, "If that's the case, even if we can't do business together, we're still friends. I'll just come here to get to know you as a senior in the business world. Maybe I can come back to learn some business tips from you in the future, which is not a loss."

The master nodded, and in his heart he admired Xia Juanjuan's kindness.

He hesitated for a moment, looked at his daughter again, and asked, "How much do you plan to pay?"

If my son were still alive, I would not be able to sell this store no matter what. When my son was young, the store was still open, and he must have learned some business things from what he saw and heard. Moreover, he is a boy after all, so I must give him some property.

But now, his son has died. His daughter is only 18 years old, and he has never taught her how to do business since she was a child. He is afraid that if he gives the store to her, she will not be able to run it in the future.

Xia Juanjuan smiled cautiously and said, "I dare not make a random offer in front of you, senior. Please name your price, senior."

The master coughed and laughed, "Are you here to test my bottom line? Never mind, that's it, right?"

He made a gesture of eight hundred.

Xia Juanjuan thought it was okay. After all, this was Beijing.

She bought the shop in the county seat of Mo County for 800,000 yuan. The location here is not as good as the one next to the Mo County Railway Station, but it has an advantage in that there is a two-story restaurant next door, which allows for future expansion.

He nodded and said, "Okay. Since the senior is willing to give the lowest price, there is no reason for me to bargain..."

"Wait!" the owner interrupted, "I haven't finished my terms... cough cough cough! Your business... if you don't open it, then forget it. If you do, there is a condition, that is, you have to hire my daughter to work in the store - and it can't be a menial job! No matter how bad the business is, as long as you don't close the store, you can't send my daughter away. If you agree to this condition, I will sell it. If you don't agree, let alone eight hundred, I will negotiate in person even if you offer one thousand!"

Xia Juanjuan looked up at the timid girl, who didn't seem to be cunning or difficult to get along with. She knew that her father was arranging a way out for his daughter, so she smiled and said, "Okay. I promise you this, too. Let's sign a contract. If I don't keep my word, I will be struck by lightning."

The owner didn't expect Xia Juanjuan to be so straightforward. After all, that small shop was at most a husband-and-wife shop, and there was no need to hire anyone to help. Moreover, in business, there are bound to be gains and losses, but this young woman in front of him seemed to be sure that she would not lose.

The host was also literate, so he asked his daughter to grind ink and spread paper, and they wrote a document, and they both signed and put their fingerprints on it.

As for the transfer procedure of the storefront, you still have to go to the street to do it.

Xia Juanjuan did not leave the money behind and made an appointment to transfer the property tomorrow.

Before leaving, she suddenly turned around and said with a smile: "Old man, I have studied Chinese medicine for several years. If you trust me, I will take your pulse and give you a prescription. You can try it. What do you think?"