Chapter 44: Setting up a stall
Eating hot pot in winter is definitely a pleasure.
Although the temperature in Shenzhen in December is not very low, people can still feel the chill brought by the cold air from Siberia.
The hotpot restaurant is steaming hot, with cups and glasses filled with the air of everyday life.
As we pushed the door open, the waiter immediately came over with a smile and led the group of five to sit at the table by the window.
"Brother Zhao, sister-in-law, do you have any dietary restrictions?" Lin Qiu asked while scalding the dishes and chopsticks with hot water, following the habit of later generations.
Zhao Dalong looked at Lin Qiu busying himself with curiosity, and laughed when he heard what he said, "Why should we be so particular? As long as the food is cooked, it's fine!"
Lin Qiu felt a little embarrassed by his smile and pushed Wang Xiuren's arm, "Take some dishes, and order more meat!"
Wang Xiuren quickly got up and went to the front desk to look at the menu on the wall.
After a while, the waiter brought the dishes to the table one by one and placed a dish of dipping sauce in front of each person.
"Do you have any hot sauce? We have a strong taste and would like something spicier!" Lin Qiu asked the waiter.
"Sir, please wait a moment. It will be brought to you shortly."
Wang Xiuren helped put tender beef, fatty beef, marbled beef, dragon beef and other meats into the clear soup stewed with beef bones. When the hot pot was boiled, he put a large portion of beef into the bowls of Brother Zhao and Zhang Guixiang respectively.
"Xiao Wang, don't be polite, we can do it ourselves!" Zhao Dalong held Wang Xiuren down.
"That's fine! Eat more vegetables, eat more vegetables!"
Wang Xiuren sat down and put a piece of meat into Lin Qiu and Wang Shan's bowls. "Eat it quickly, or it won't taste good when it gets old."
"Don't worry about us, eat it yourself!"
"OK!"
Wang Xiuren picked up the meat, dipped it into the sauce, and stuffed it into his mouth. "This meat is good, very tender! It would be better if it was a little spicier!"
"Everything about Cantonese cuisine is good except that it's not spicy! We people from Hunan can't eat without spicy food." Zhao Dalong nodded.
"You know what, this hotpot tastes really good. We can't make it taste this good ourselves!" Zhang Guixiang felt that the restaurant had made a good choice today. The meat was fresh and tender, and it was full of gravy when you took a bite.
"That's for sure! How can someone dare to open a shop without the necessary skills?" After saying that, Zhao Dalong stuffed another piece of butter into his mouth.
"That's right!"
Wang Xiuren helped to order a few more plates of meat.
Lin Qiu poured vegetables, tofu, vermicelli, enoki mushrooms and other vegetarian dishes into the pot.
Several people were eating hot pot and chatting.
"Dalong, Sister Lin said they are saving money to buy a house. Do you think we should consider it?"
Zhang Guixiang was halfway through her meal when she suddenly remembered what Lin Qiu had told her about buying a house and she mentioned it out loud.
"Why do you want to buy a house here?" Zhao Dalong put down his chopsticks and looked at Wang Xiuren and his wife, "The houses here are not cheap!"
"It's hard for children to go to school without a house. I have no other choice." Wang Xiuren added a handful of tofu to Wang Shan. "This child has never left us since he was born. We would not feel at ease leaving him with anyone else. He can only stay here by himself."
Zhao Dalong turned and looked at Wang Shan who was stuffing meat into her mouth in small bites.
"uncle?"
Wang Shan tried hard to swallow the meat, then looked up and smiled at her uncle who had been staring at her.
"It's okay, just eat yours!"
Zhao Dalong also nodded with a smile, "This little piece of meat is indeed adorable. If it were me, I wouldn't want to give it up either."
"On the other hand, we think that instead of paying rent every month, it is better to buy the house. If we need money in the future, we can sell it directly. Houses in Pengcheng are always easy to sell anyway. And seeing that the housing prices are only going to get higher and higher, we should try our best now and try to get it as soon as possible." Lin Qiu added.
"You two are really smart and can see far ahead!"
Zhao Dalong picked up the chopsticks again, picked up a piece of vermicelli, and put it into his mouth.
Lin Qiu thought about the help Brother Zhao had given to his family over the past year, so he said a few more words.
"Brother Zhao, Sister Guixiang, I think you two can also find a way to buy a house. It will be useful for your eldest nephew when he grows up and gets married. Besides, you two will continue to stay in Pengcheng for the next few years. Instead of paying rent every month, you might as well buy it yourself. No matter how big or small it is, it will be yours."
Zhao Dalong held his chopsticks and thought for a long time, and finally made a decision.
"Okay, I'll follow you. When you go to look at the house, invite us along!"
"Brother Zhao is indeed courageous!" Wang Xiuren raised his teacup and saluted Zhao Dalong.
"What do you mean by courage? I'm just following you two smart guys. I guess I still have a long way to go if I want to really buy a house!"
Zhao Dalong also raised his teacup and clinked glasses with Wang Xiu using tea instead of wine.
Lin Qiu looked at the two good brothers next to him and continued, "Sister-in-law Guixiang, you saw today that Spring Festival decorations are selling well. How about you buy some from me and set up a stall near the vegetable market or in front of the surrounding residential areas in the next two days?"
"Isn't this bad? You carried it back from far away, and in the end I got the advantage so easily." Although Zhang Guixiang was tempted, she still felt that she was taking advantage of Lin Qiu.
"What's the big deal? We're all family. How can this be considered taking advantage? It's not like you're giving it to me for free."
"It's not easy for you to carry this on your back!"
"It's okay. I've left my boss's phone number. If the goods sell well, I'll call him and ask him to ship the goods over by truck. I'll just remit the money to him then."
Zhang Guixiang wanted to say something but was stopped by Zhao Dalong.
"Okay, since you said so, Sister Lin, then you should do your best. We will remember the friendship you two have shown us!"
"Brother Zhao, let's stop talking. We all know what you're thinking. Come, eat meat, eat meat!" Wang Xiuren stood up and added two beef balls to everyone's bowl.
"Okay, let's eat together. If it's not enough, I'll order two more plates!"
The atmosphere became more and more lively as the hot pot boiled. When everyone's stomachs were full, the two families left contentedly.
Early the next morning, at the entrance of the vegetable market, Lin Qiu stopped and talked to the market manager for a few words, then handed him a pack of Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes. With just a few words, it was decided that he would set up a stall in front of the market today.
After the administrator left, Zhang Guixiang stepped up to Lin Qiu and asked, "Aren't you going to the pedestrian street?"
Lin Qiu explained: "The pedestrian street is usually visited by people from other places, but now most of them have returned to their hometowns. Locals like to buy these during the Chinese New Year, and they buy vegetables here every day."
"That's right!" Zhang Guixiang suddenly realized.
Lin Qiu didn't say much and placed the Spring Festival couplets, lanterns, red envelopes and other decorations on the stall that Wang Xiuren and Zhao Dalong had set up with stools.
"Sister-in-law, you can sell here. If you don't have enough, come to me to get more! The newsstand is about to open, I have to hurry over."
Lin Qiu didn't waste any time. After he finished speaking, he rushed to the newsstand holding the cooked tea eggs in one hand and Wang Shan in the other. Wang Xiuren followed behind carrying a black plastic bag.
Arriving at the newsstand, Lin Qiu quickly put away the newspapers and magazines brought by the postman, lit the coal stove, boiled the marinade in the pot, put the tea eggs in and continued to cook them, and lit another stove to start cooking corn.
Wang Xiuren dragged the shelf to the front of the newsstand, put out the Spring Festival decorations, and cleaned the surrounding area with a broom.
Before long, more and more people came to the newsstand.
Lin Qiu would warmly greet all the guests coming and going, "Would you like to see the Spring Festival couplets, red envelopes, lanterns, and window decorations?"
She is beautiful and always smiling, which makes people stop and take a look at the decorations on the shelf. The items are of good quality and reasonably priced, and they are must-haves for the Chinese New Year, so passers-by, especially locals, basically pick one or two to take away.
"It seems like this business is pretty good!"
After the peak period of their turn had passed, Wang Xiuren and Wang Shan each took a corn stalk and munched on it.
"It's getting late. I'll go to work after I send Shanshan off!"
"Okay, be careful on the road and be careful when climbing the stairs!"
Lin Qiu watched the father and daughter holding hands and chewing corn.
It was less than three o'clock in the afternoon when Zhang Guixiang ran over excitedly.
"Sister Lin, everything is sold out! You don't know how good the business is, everyone is rushing to buy it!"
Zhang Guixiang danced with excitement, "Do you have a lot of this? I'll get some more!"
The profit from Spring Festival decorations is decent. Even the red envelopes with the lowest purchase price are sold at a price that is five cents higher. If I stay at the stall every day before the New Year, I can probably earn enough money to take home for the New Year.
Seeing her greedy look, Lin Qiu waved his hand in front of her and said, "Sister-in-law, pick whatever you want. I'll call the boss and send another batch over!"
There was a phone at his own newsstand, so Lin Qiu took out a small notebook, found the phone number he had written down yesterday and dialed it.
The call was answered quickly.
"Hello, who is this?"
Lin Qiu simply answered the boss, and then said, "Ten styles of Spring Festival couplets, 200 copies of each style, ten styles of blessing characters and window decorations, 200 pairs of each style, 100 pairs of large lanterns, 500 strings of small lanterns, and ten styles of red envelopes, 200 copies of each style!"
The boss who took the lead on the phone quickly wrote down the information with a pen and replied: "I will go to Pengcheng Bus Station to pick up the goods at noon tomorrow. I will call you to tell you the license plate number after the goods are shipped!"
Lin Qiu was not vague and told the address, adding: "I will go to the post office right away and remit the money to you!"
Both parties spoke very quickly and reached an agreement within two minutes. When they hung up the phone, both parties breathed a sigh of relief.
"How is it?" Zhang Guixiang came over and asked.
"Just go to the bus station to pick up the goods tomorrow at noon!"
"Then you go get the goods tomorrow at noon, and I'll come over to guard the newsstand." Zhang Guixiang immediately responded, "I'm afraid I'll make a mistake and lose the goods."
"Okay, sister-in-law, I'll go transfer the money now, you keep an eye on it for me first!" Lin Qiu opened the cash box, took out the money inside and stuffed it into his pocket.
"You go ahead, I'll guard this place!"
Zhang Guixiang answered with great enthusiasm after making money.
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