Chapter Forty-Eight
The couple couldn't stop smiling.
They had never met anyone as straightforward as Ji Wanmei. She took out 150 yuan without even blinking an eye and gave it to them.
Seeing the thick stack of ten-yuan bills, the noodle shop owner and his wife signed without hesitation and stamped the paper with red clay.
After the two witnesses had signed, Ji Wanmei gracefully wrote down her own name.
Then he counted out the money and gave it to the couple who ran the noodle shop.
The couple then took out the store's lease agreement and handed it to Ji Wanmei.
They originally rented for five years, and now there's a little over a year left on the contract, with a monthly rent of fifty yuan.
The couple took out the storefront lease agreement. Ji Wanmei glanced at it briefly and decided not to renew the couple's contract, but instead to sign a new contract with the landlord.
If the rent is calculated at this rate, and a five-year contract is signed, then Ji Wanmei can guarantee a profit for those five years.
Because she knew that after the beginning of the 2000s, both housing prices and commodity prices would rise along with the economy.
After contacting the landlord, someone from there came over very quickly.
The couple had already discussed the matter of transferring the storefront with the landlord, who was from the county and also ran a business, operating a dried goods stall in the farmers' market.
I learned that the couple was giving up their noodle shop because they planned to head south to try their luck and make a fortune.
Unexpectedly, just a few days after he was notified, someone from the store actually came to pick him up.
The landlady was a cheerful auntie, 45 years old.
Upon arriving, the first person to see Old Xu greeted him: "Old Xu, are you here to take over my shop? What's up, are you planning to open another branch for your watch shop?"
Old Xu glanced at him and said, "It's Xiao Ji who wants to take it. They're all acquaintances, so just charge them the same rent as before. Don't try to raise the price."
The landlady turned her gaze to Ji Wanmei, her eyes suddenly lighting up in astonishment: "Oh my, where did this girl come from? Wow, she's so beautiful!"
Ji Wanmei politely greeted Auntie, "Hello Auntie, my friend and I are here to take over your shop. Here's the thing, I see that their lease only has one year left before it expires, and we plan to do business here long-term. So we thought we'd just sign a new long-term contract to avoid any trouble later."
"From now on, I will pay the rent in advance every quarter."
The landlady saw that Ji Wanmei was pretty and had a sweet tongue, so of course she wouldn't make things difficult for her.
Besides, just by renting out a storefront, you can earn fifty yuan a month just by sitting there. Where else can you find such a good deal?
In 1988, housing prices were not expensive. At that time, workers lived in dormitories allocated by their work units and factories. No one had the idea of using all their savings to buy a house. Therefore, the rent for storefronts was naturally in line with income, and it couldn't rise much further.
Fifty yuan is equivalent to half a month's income for a worker, which is quite a lot.
Besides, this pretty young girl signed a five-year contract.
In other words, the landlady would have a stable income for the next five years, so she happily agreed.
In this way, everyone on all sides was happy.
After signing a new five-year lease with the landlord, Ji Wanmei paid three months' rent upfront.
In the afternoon, the couple who run the noodle shop will start packing up and empty the place within three days.
In these three days, Ji Wanmei can start preparing for the decoration and purchasing.
So, the transfer fee plus the quarterly rent cost 300 yuan. Of the 1,000 yuan investment principal given by Ji Wanmei's father, she now has 700 yuan left.
Ji Wanmei thought about it and realized she had to be careful with her spending, otherwise she was afraid she wouldn't have enough money to buy more goods.
Things went so smoothly today, all thanks to everyone's help. Now, everyone is sitting in the noodle shop chatting, and to express her gratitude, Ji Wanmei suggested:
"I'd like to treat everyone to a simple lunch at the Sichuan restaurant up ahead."
Uncle Xu, Xiao Qiang, Luo Chunyan, the landlady, and the couple who run the noodle shop are also included.
After all, these people didn't make things difficult for Ji Wanmei at all, they helped her with everything and even acted as witnesses, so it's only right that she treat them to a meal.
At this time of year, even if you order the best Sichuan dishes, a meal won't cost more than ten yuan.
Everyone quickly said no, thank you.
But Ji Wanmei insisted: "Uncle Xu, Xiaoqiang, if you don't go, you're looking down on me. I sincerely want to thank you for your help. It's just a simple meal. Besides, once our shop opens, we might need to trouble you again sometime."
Since Ji Wanmei had said so, no one declined. Anyway, it was already past eleven o'clock, which was lunchtime.
However, the couple who ran the noodle shop were a little embarrassed.
It's unreasonable for the couple to shamelessly accept a meal offered by someone who helped them.
Besides, they actually made money off Ji Wanmei, so they should be the ones to treat everyone.
So the couple made up an excuse, saying that there might be more customers at noon, and they would close after doing business for the last half day, intending to stand guard until the very end.
Besides, this is clearly a noodle shop, they have their own food, how could they have the nerve to go and freeload off other people's meals?
People of this generation are still relatively thin-skinned.
Seeing that they weren't going, Ji Wanmei didn't force them.
He then led the others to a Sichuan restaurant not far ahead.
That Sichuan restaurant was also opened by a family member of an employee of the Dongfang Factory. Because the man worked at the factory, he later brought his wife and children over and opened a Sichuan restaurant there. The business was quite good.
The factory workers usually come here when they want to eat out; the food is delicious and the prices are reasonable.
Before entering the Sichuan restaurant, Xiaoqiang suddenly stood outside and spoke a few words to a young man he knew.
The young man glanced back at the Sichuan restaurant and quickly ran away.
Luo Chunyan had been keeping an eye on Xiaoqiang's movements. When she saw him talking to an unfamiliar man, she asked him as soon as he came in, "Who were you talking to just now?"
Xiao Qiang smiled mysteriously: "You'll find out soon enough."
Luo Chunyan pouted: "Why are you keeping me in suspense?"
Ji Wanmei handed the menu to Uncle Xu and the landlady: "Uncle, Auntie, please order whatever you want to eat. Don't be shy, it's on me."
The landlady liked Ji Wanmei more and more the more she looked at her. This girl was beautiful, sweet-talking, and knew how to get along with people. She opened her mouth with a smile and asked, "Little Ji, how old are you this year? Do you have a boyfriend?"
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