After dinner, on their way home, Chen Ziqi finally spoke, looking at him with surprise.

"It's a side job." Chen Xu corrected her, still thinking about where to make money.

He used to work overtime until 8pm every day, and on his way home, he had to pass by that snack street. There were quite a lot of people there at night.

A few days before entering the dream, he noticed that the late-night snack shop was being transferred, but he didn't take it seriously at the time. Later in the dream, when he was learning cooking from 2003, he considered taking over the shop.

The location of this shop is a little off the beaten track and the area is small, so the rent should not be too high. Secondly, it is close to home, and thirdly, I can do it as a side job first. I can work during the day and make supper at night, and there is no conflict. Once the business is on track, I can do it full-time.

As a result, when I asked the owner of the late-night snack stall just now, I found out that things are not that simple.

He could accept the rent of 3,500 yuan a month. But he couldn't understand why the other party asked for a transfer fee of 50,000 yuan. With all the things in the store, 10,000 yuan would be the maximum.

He wanted to bargain with the boss, but he refused to budge and insisted on 50,000.

In desperation, he was ready to give up.

His psychological bottom line is 30,000. He can raise more than this amount, but he feels too much pressure. There are risks in any business. The first thing he considers is how much money he can afford to lose if the business fails.

The boss also explained that when he took over the store, he paid a transfer fee of 50,000 yuan, and he had to at least get that money back, otherwise it would be a big loss. It's not that the store has no business, but they have urgent matters, so they have no choice but to transfer it.

Chen Xu asked him what the urgent matter was.

It turned out that his daughter-in-law was pregnant with twins and was about to give birth. When the time came, both the older and the younger ones would need someone to take care of them. His sons would definitely not be able to take care of them all by themselves, so they discussed letting them go back, and they agreed.

Seeing that the due date was approaching, his son called them every day to urge them to give birth. They originally thought of closing the shop for a month or two and then reopening it. Later, they thought that after their daughter-in-law finished her confinement, she would not be able to take care of the two children, and they didn't know how long she would have to stay at home. So they simply transferred the shop.

Chen Xu could tell from his tone that he was reluctant to part with the store and that the transfer was a move he had no choice but to make.

Suddenly, he had an idea and proposed to the boss to rent the store and its equipment to him for a few months. After a few months, when the boss came back, he could continue to run the store.

The boss was obviously tempted, and after discussing with his wife for half an hour and asking about his basic situation, he finally agreed to the plan, on the condition that he had to pay 20,000 yuan as a deposit, and only asked him for 4,000 yuan in rent.

Chen Xu agreed and agreed to sign the contract tomorrow.

Judging from the conversation, the boss and his wife were quite kind and said they would treat them to a meal. However, Chen Xu did not agree and insisted on paying the bill.

He still has 10,000 yuan in his card now, and his salary is still two days away. Even after he gets his salary, it will probably not be enough.

I still have to borrow from others.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Chen Ziqi was surprised and asked, "You've been working for two years. You can't even take out 20,000 yuan, right?"

Chen Xu felt that she was deliberately provoking him and didn't want to pay any attention to her.

Chen Ziqi added, "Otherwise, I'll lend it to you."

Chen Xu was unmoved. He patted her head and said, "You should keep your money for yourself."

"Don't move my head."

Chen Ziqi tried to open his hand, but missed it. She wrinkled her nose at him and said, "You are so stubborn. I don't even want to lend you money. You deserve not to make any money."

As they talked, they returned to the rented house.

Chen Xu took a shower, took his briefcase and car keys, and said, "I'm going out. You sleep here alone tonight. Remember to lock the door. If you have any problems, call me. Also, don't run around. I'll bring you breakfast tomorrow morning."

Chen Ziqi was packing up, and when he saw him talking endlessly, he said impatiently, "I know, hurry up and leave, you are more nagging than my dad."

Chen Xu then left. He rented a single room, and although he could sleep on the floor, she was already fourteen or fifteen years old, and it was inconvenient for them to sleep in the same room. Even if they were siblings, they had to avoid suspicion.

He drove to the company and planned to stay there for one night. A hotel would cost a lot of money for one night, so he had better save as much as possible.

When I arrived at the company, it was exactly eight o'clock and some people in the department were still working overtime. When I saw him, I was a little surprised and asked him why he came at this time.

"I remembered that there is some unfinished work. You guys go about your business." Chen Xu responded, went to his seat, turned on the computer, and started working.

That’s great, let’s prepare what we need to do tomorrow first.

At around nine o'clock, several other colleagues had left and he was the only one left.

He turned off the computer, walked to the window, picked up the phone, and dialed Old Tang's number. "Hello, it's me. Is it convenient to talk now?"

Then, I heard the sound of a door closing. "What's the matter? Tell me."

Chen Xu said, "Do you have money now? Can you lend me 10,000 yuan? I'll pay you back after two months when I get paid."

"When do you want it?" Old Tang didn't ask any more questions.

"Before get off work tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll give it to you tomorrow."

Chen Xu prepared a lot of things to say, but he didn't expect that he didn't ask anything. In the end, he just said, "Thank you."

"Let's leave it at that for now. My wife has finished her shower and I'm going in. We'll talk tomorrow." After saying that, Old Tang hung up the phone.

Chen Xu breathed a sigh of relief. The 20,000 yuan deposit was finally settled. He sat back in his seat, took out a pen and paper, and began to write down the ingredients he would buy tomorrow.

In the dream, I can't remember most of the details of the cooking skills I learned from 2003. The only thing I can remember now is the secret recipe for making soup.

He had watched TV dramas in the past, where he saw how valuable the century-old soup of a century-old shop was. Many noodle shops were supported by a pot of old soup, and the longer the soup was boiled, the better the business.

Of course, he had never been to those century-old restaurants, so he didn’t know what the taste was like. The soup made in 2003 was indeed very delicious, and he thought at the time that it should not be worse than those century-old soups. So he paid more attention to it and remembered it very carefully.

The raw materials are not many, they are all some common ingredients, but it is a bit troublesome to make and you have to prepare them in advance.

After he listed all the things he wanted to buy, he tore off the paper, folded it, and put it in his pocket. Then he got up and walked to the living room, lay down on the sofa, and began to sleep.

(End of this chapter)