Chapter 157 Work Begins
early morning.
The tractor from the lumber mill arrived at the department store carrying the lumber that Zhao Yi needed.
Two carpenters also arrived at the department store.
Thanks to Li Mingzhu's help, the hardware market also sent the necessary materials over.
The two masters first built a canopy as required by Zhao Yi, and the canopy was built all the way to the repair shop. The dining tables and chairs were placed between the two storefronts, so that the rain would not splash on the customers, and there was also a place for the customers to shelter from the rain.
The carpenter did not contract the work to Zhao Yi, he just did his best and was paid one dollar and twenty cents a day for his labor, and Zhao Yi provided them with one lunch.
The two also brought two apprentices.
The labor fee of one dollar and twenty cents is already a sky-high price, almost as much as the salary of a salesperson in a department store. Lunch is also provided, so the salary is higher than that of a salesperson.
The two apprentices did not receive any salary.
Being able to have lunch with the master is already a great treatment.
Soon, the two apprentices dug two pits according to the master's requirements. The pits were about one meter deep. The carpenter also placed two pieces of wood with one end burnt in the pits and asked the apprentices to start filling them with soil.
This way the charred wood will decay slowly underground.
It took more than two hours to erect the six pillars. The two carpenters then began to get on high stools to prepare for laying the beams. They had materials from the hardware market to get the nails, and the two carpenters did not make any mortise and tenon structures.
Making mortise and tenon structures is not as fast as using nails, and Zhao Yi doesn't plan to do it for a lifetime, so five or six years will be enough.
It happened that pork began to be fully supplied to the market at that time, and their small restaurant could not compete with those big hotels, so the rest of the work was left to Zhang Xiang and Chen Fen.
When Zhao Yi came to work, the three beams had already been laid out, and after the three horizontal beams the main body of the canopy was almost ready for laying wooden boards.
"Master Zhou, you guys are really early."
Zhao Yi greeted him with a smile.
"We have to be worthy of the salary of the owner. We will definitely make a awning like this for you today so that it won't delay the customers' dinner tonight."
Master Zhou said with a smile.
As he spoke, Zhao Yi threw over two packs of cigarettes, and the two men reached out to catch them.
"Then I'll trouble the two masters to be more attentive."
Zhao Yi smiled and nodded.
The size and length of the materials for the awning are all determined at the timber factory. They don't need to be recut when they come here, which makes it convenient to build. If they need to be sawed again, we will definitely not be able to finish the work today.
At noon, the two masters began to reinforce the bottom, and after the reinforcement was completed, they began to lay the wooden boards. At this time, the two apprentices were brushing wood wax oil on the wooden boards to be laid in the afternoon.
This is also something that is relatively easy to buy nowadays. Although it does not provide as long a protective effect as paint, it is still a layer of protection.
Wood wax oil is made from lacquer tree fruit, which is what Zhang Xiang picked when he didn't follow the team to raise chickens and sold to the lumber mill at a certain time. These things are generally very common in rural areas.
So it is easier to buy.
The customers who came to the restaurant at noon looked at the awning that Zhao Yi had asked the carpenter to make with some curiosity, wondering what it was used for.
But they were more curious about today's supply.
People are now accustomed to looking at the blackboard first when they walk into a restaurant.
Because it was a habit formed in the state-owned restaurants, if I gave the wrong names of dishes, I would be scolded at best and beaten at worst.
That is, you click on whatever is written on the blackboard.
"Hey, we have braised fish today. Comrade Chen, give me one portion."
A customer shouted happily when he saw the braised fish.
Nowadays people address each other as master, comrade, etc. If you call someone boss, they will get angry with you. They don’t want to be sent to the cowshed for reform.
Zhao Yi prepared lunch for the two masters and two apprentices at home. The dishes were no worse than those in the restaurant, except that there was also a portion of braised fish.
Nowadays, when carpenters go to work at other people's homes, they have to eat whatever the host eats. Even if someone eats plain noodles for lunch, they have to follow suit. This is life nowadays.
Seeing such dishes, several people were a little surprised, but seeing Zhao Yi's sincere look, they picked up chopsticks and started eating.
"Let's not drink at noon while we work. We can drink in the evening. That way it won't interfere with our work."
Zhao Yi said with a smile.
When they heard that they would be entertained with drinks in the evening, the smiles on their faces became even brighter.
They used to take a break after meals, but now they don’t even take a break and just start working with tools. It’s rare to meet such bosses, so you have to treat them as family members and not be vague.
People in the restaurant started paying their bills and leaving.
They all looked back curiously, wondering why those people ordered dinner for the evening after they had finished eating. Not only did they order, they also paid a deposit. They only felt relieved after having Comrade Chen write a receipt.
Don't people just go to restaurants and eat whatever they come across?
Although the food in this restaurant is not as good as the state-owned restaurant across the street, the meat dishes are really delicious and worth the money.
I have a feast three times a month and there is no pressure in life at all.
After dinner time, Chen Fen took her two younger sisters to clean up and followed Zhang Xiang to prepare the customized dishes for the evening.
It will be too late to start cooking after people arrive. We have to prepare these dishes now and put them in the steamer at 3 pm so that people can eat hot dishes as soon as they arrive.
The afternoon passed quickly.
The awning has been completed, the tarpaulin has been laid out, and a lot of straw has been placed on it.
At this time, Zhang Jing had already finished work. She was in a particularly good mood when she saw that the awning had been completed. The carpenter and his apprentice followed Zhao Yi to help set up the long table bought from the second-hand market.
Soon the dishes were cooked and brought over, along with a bottle of Fenjiu.
"How can this be done?"
The two carpenters knew the value of the wine. This was Fenjiu which cost three yuan a bottle.
"Don't be embarrassed. You guys did such a good job, so we have to treat you better. Let's not talk about anything else, just eat and drink well."
Zhao Yi poured wine for everyone and said with a smile.
After finishing this, we have to build the wooden house, which is a delicate job.
Two light bulbs were installed inside the awning to facilitate customers who like to drink, as these customers usually drink late at night.
You can drink for hours by ordering a dish of cold pork skin or beef skin. Some people bring their own wine, while others buy half a pound of wine in the restaurant.
Zhao Yi was not afraid of throwing away the wooden plates, as all the cold dishes were served on wooden plates.
Li Mingzhu and Tu Jiao came to the restaurant with smiles on their faces, and were happy to see the booming business.
They also came to support the restaurant on its first day of opening, and today they mainly came to see the awning built by Zhao Yi.
They had no shortage of meat to eat. Zhao Yi would send them some once a month, sometimes fish, sometimes wild boar meat.
"This guy is really good at everything. I thought he was only good at repairing home appliances, but I didn't expect he is also a good cook."
Tu Jiao said with a smile.
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