Li Mengxue did what she said and went to inquire about the craftsmen who could repair the courtyard house the next day.
Nowadays, many craftsmen have come out of retirement and make money with their skills.
Just go to the places where private carpenters and bricklayers run businesses and you'll be sure to find one.
Because those who had this skill at that time all learned it from their family, and even if they didn't know how to do it, they had connections and resources in that area.
We gathered all the people before the New Year and agreed to start construction after the New Year.
However, they did not start with her courtyard house, but started to renovate the clothing store first.
The store still has promotions before the New Year this year, but the opening time after the New Year has been postponed to after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, leaving half a month for renovation.
Before the New Year, Qian Duoduo had already hired two shop assistants who had started their internships. They could also help with the New Year's activities, so there was no need for Wang Lingling and Qian Lailai to stay in the store to help.
Wang Lingling didn’t go home for the New Year last year. She had planned to go back to Hai City this year, but she changed her mind after buying a house so quickly after receiving the dividends. She hurriedly called her family and Xie Shiyan’s family and asked them to buy tickets to come to the capital to celebrate the New Year. She would also like to show them her achievements and fulfill her filial piety!
Qian Lailai also wanted to ask her parents to come to the capital to celebrate the New Year. Although her parents had almost treated them as their daughters and provided no support since they sent them to the countryside, before that, except for being more partial to her younger brother, they had not done anything unfair to her sisters and had fulfilled their responsibilities as parents.
They were able to study and were supported to go to high school, and the sisters still have feelings for their parents.
But the parents were too clear about the distinction. They favored their son and left all the family property to him because they would depend on him in the future. Therefore, they were determined not to come to the imperial capital and did not want to take advantage of their daughter. They only told their daughter that if she remembered their kindness, she should go home to see them. They would not come to the imperial capital.
They had no way to take the money, so they could only give up.
Chen Zhihe returned home early to celebrate the New Year. She and Qian Duoduo bought train tickets back to Hai City on the first day of the New Year, planning to go back to Hai City to visit their parents while the clothing store was closed for renovation.
Yi Qingqing and Yun Guyuan bought their train tickets back to Nanping early this year, and not long after dividing the dividends, they left the imperial capital.
This year is my sister-in-law's first year of starting her own business. A letter from home said that the business of "Yijia Braised Food Stall" is very good. There are rarely any braised dishes made every day left. Sometimes family members or former colleagues want to eat them, and they have to save some in advance, otherwise they will be gone.
Her sister-in-law told her that she must go back this year no matter what, not only to share the dividends, but also to discuss the development of new braised dishes for the braised food shop next year and buying a bigger house for the family.
The letter didn't specify what they were like, but the spices used in the family stall were all ordered by Yi Qingqing from Li Mengxue and sent home in batches, with a large bag sent every week.
Just by looking at the rate at which the marinade was consumed, she had an idea in her mind.
The profit from braised dishes is much lower than that from selling clothes. The profit from their clothing store is almost half of their revenue, but for braised dishes, especially the braised dishes at home, it would be good if they could get 10%.
The ready-made clothes in their store can be considered luxury goods in this era, but the braised food stall at home adopts the strategy of small profits but quick turnover, and the money earned is hard-earned.
Although Yi Qingqing's marinade recipe is good, most people are still very frugal nowadays. No matter how delicious the braised kelp is, if the price is high, not many people will be willing to buy it, so the money earned from each braised dish is very little.
It's a small stall, and my sister-in-law is the only one who is the main force, with my parents helping out occasionally. The amount made in a day is limited, so even if it's all sold out, the total revenue won't be very high, and the total profit will be even less.
But this is compared with working in a clothing store. Compared with working in a factory, it is definitely a far cry from working in a factory.
Yi Qingqing was also very satisfied. Now that the braised food stall was successful, her brother and sister-in-law had also mastered the method of getting rich and would become the first group of people to get rich after the opening up.
This way, her parents can worry less about their children, and family relationships can be more harmonious.
It was only the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month when Yi Qingqing and her friends arrived in Nanping.
This year, the annual holidays at Nanping Textile Factory and Machinery Factory are quite long. They start their holiday on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month and return to work on the 8th day of the first lunar month after the New Year.
After the holiday, Yi's father, mother and brother all helped out at the braised food stall. They also planned to take advantage of the time before the New Year to make more braised food and earn more money, and then set up the stall again after they go back to work after the New Year.
So only Brother Yi, who was unable to help, took time out to pick up Yi Qingqing and Yun Guyuan at the train station.
"Mom is helping at the stall, and Dad is cooking at home, waiting for you," said Yi Zhigang.
"Mom and sister-in-law aren't coming back for dinner?" Yi Qingqing asked.
Yi Zhigang shook his head: "No, I'm busy these days. We can just send some food to them after we finish eating."
"I'll go with you later!" Yi Qingqing really wanted to see what her family's stall looked like.
"Okay!" Yi Zhigang said with a smile: "Thanks to the stewed dishes you taught us to make, our 'Yijia Stewed Food Stall' has become a big hit in Nanping! I'm afraid the dividends after the New Year will shock you! I never thought we could make so much money!"
"It's not easy to set up a stall. Without my sister-in-law, I wouldn't be able to cash in on my skills. Now it's so nice that I can easily get dividends!" Yi Qingqing said.
"That's true. Setting up a stall is indeed too tiring. Your sister-in-law gets up early and goes to bed late every day. She's busy all the time. It's more tiring than working in a factory. I think she's become thin from exhaustion!" Yi Zhigang still felt sorry for her.
After Yi Qingqing and her friends returned home and finished their meal, they went together to deliver food to their mother and sister-in-law.
When she arrived at the stall, Yi Qingqing felt very distressed when she saw her mother and sister-in-law busy selling braised dishes on the street in the middle of winter.
Although they were all wearing thick coats and it was hard to tell whether they had lost weight, the braised food stall was really busy. Even after noon, people were still coming one after another.
It's so cold, setting up a stall outdoors and being so busy is really cold and tiring.
"Mom, sister-in-law!" Yi Qingqing called out.
When Zhao Xianglan heard the voice, she took the time to look over and waved at her: "Girl!"
"Oh, this is your daughter! She is so pretty. Does she have a girlfriend?" The person who came to buy the braised dishes was a regular customer who knew Zhao Xianglan.
"Got it. Look, the one behind is it. They are both top students from Imperial Capital University!" Zhao Xianglan boasted and promoted it at the same time: "My daughter and son-in-law love our braised dishes! Especially this braised dried tofu!"
The man had only bought braised kelp: "Then give me some braised dried tofu!"
"Okay!" Zhao Xianglan weighed it for her immediately.
After calling her "daughter", Yi Qingqing was completely ignored: "..."
Her mother seemed to enjoy it.
"Qingqing, come and sit here, there are stools at the back!" Su Cai took the time to greet her.
"Sister-in-law, you and mom should eat first, we will come to help sell," Yi Qingqing said.
It's already past one o'clock, they must be starving.