It's all luck.
Yesterday, her younger sister called her, hurriedly told her what dishes she wanted and how much of each, and then hung up. She only realized the amount of food was wrong when she got home.
Liu Xiangmei explained it to her again, then glanced at Chen Xiu beside her and asked, "Sister, I definitely can't manage the shop by myself alone. I'm thinking of having Xiu'er come to the shop to help me. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiu's eyes lit up, and before her mother could speak, she quickly said, "Auntie, I'm willing to go."
Liu Xiangchun was initially shocked by the news that his younger sister was going to open a shop, but when he suddenly heard that his younger sister was going to take her daughter to the county town, he was a little taken aback.
After thinking for a moment, he asked, "You've never run a business before, can you do it?"
Liu Xiangmei sighed, "Whether I can do it or not, I have to do it. I have no one to rely on now, so I have to do it myself."
These words brought tears to Liu Xiangchun's eyes; his younger sister's life was just too hard.
She took Liu Xiangmei's hand and said, "If you have any difficulties, remember to tell your older sister, okay?"
Liu Xiangmei forced a smile, "My biggest problem right now is that we don't have enough manpower. It all depends on whether you're willing to let Xiuer come with me."
Liu Xiangchun patted him on the shoulder and wiped his nose. "What's there to be reluctant about? You're her aunt, how could you mistreat her?"
As she spoke, she pushed Chen Xiu forward a little, "When you go to your aunt's place, remember to be quick and helpful, and share the burden with your aunt."
Chen Xiu nodded quickly.
Ever since she returned from the county town, she had been thinking about going out to work hard like her aunt, but she didn't know what she could do there.
I had originally planned to go and help out at my aunt's place, but I was too embarrassed to ask. Unexpectedly, my aunt offered to help me in the county town today, which was exactly what I wanted.
When Liu Xiangmei brought Chen Xiu home, Wang Yao was reading a book. She always makes the most of every spare moment to catch up on as much junior high school knowledge as possible before the start of the new semester.
She was very happy to see Chen Xiu arrive. This was something she and her mother had discussed last night. In fact, even with Chen Xiu, the shop probably wouldn't have enough staff, but they would leave it at that for now. They didn't know anyone else in the county town and didn't dare to hire anyone rashly.
According to the plan, their task this morning was to first tidy up the first floor of the house and then make fifty boxed meals.
By noon, people who came to buy boxed lunches were very surprised to see that Liu Xiangmei had moved her stall from the entrance on the first floor to a room on the first floor, and that the first floor was now completely empty.
They were even more surprised to learn that Liu Xiangmei had already rented the first floor and planned to open a shop.
"Boss Liu's information network is really impressive. We didn't even hear any news, and you've already secured this place."
"That's right. My relatives have been asking around on this road and Xuefu Road for days, but they haven't been able to find any houses for rent."
Someone said sourly, "We've been old friends for so many years, and Sister Xu didn't even bother to let us know before renting out the house. Really!"
Liu Xiangmei had always known that storefronts on these two streets were in high demand, but she never expected them to be even harder to find than she had imagined.
She chuckled and said, "It's all luck. I happened to see Sister Xu moving yesterday when I went downstairs, and I casually asked her about it. Sister Xu hadn't even put up the rental notice yet, so I rented it. Hahaha, what a coincidence!"
Hearing her say that, everyone could only say that Boss Liu was lucky, and then sigh at the shop's unattainable value.
Some people weren't interested in the shop at all; they were focused entirely on the boxed lunches Liu Xiangmei sold.
"Congratulations, Mr. Liu! Will you raise prices drastically after opening your restaurant?"
"That's right, Mr. Liu, please don't raise prices too much! We're all regular customers!"
Liu Xiangmei shook her head and said, "Don't worry, it will definitely not increase significantly, and even if it does, everyone will definitely feel it's a good deal."
"If you raise prices, who will think it's a good deal? Mr. Liu, you're really joking."
Liu Xiangmei didn't say much, just smiled mysteriously, "Then everyone, let's get ready. By the way, my store is scheduled to open on August 30th. Everyone is welcome to come and have a look."
Was that the day for student registration?
Liu Xiangmei replied, "Yes, the day school starts is a good day."
After that, every customer who came to buy boxed meals was informed by Liu Xiangmei that the restaurant would open on August 30th and that everyone was welcome to come and support it, until August 29th.
After Liu Xiangmei finished her business and returned home, she saw that Chen Xiu had cleaned up the kitchen and living room spotlessly. She felt relieved; it was so nice to have someone help her!
She gestured for Chen Xiu to sit down next to her: "As you can see, your aunt is just starting out and is figuring things out as she goes. You'll definitely be busy following along with your aunt. Right now, your aunt will give you four hundred yuan a month. Once things stabilize, we can increase it. Is that okay?"
What's wrong with that? Many people don't even earn that much these days!
Chen Xiu nodded quickly, "Thank you, Auntie, I will do my best."
After discussing the salary, Liu Xiangmei went downstairs to call Liu Xiangqiu.
Chen Xiu sat on the cool bed and couldn't help but grin. Today was truly the happiest day of the year for her. Even the cicadas chirping outside didn't bother her anymore!
Wang Yao came out with a cup to pour water and saw Chen Xiu's silly look. She went up to Chen Xiu and asked, "Sister Xiu, what are you laughing at?"
Chen Xiu is very happy now. She feels like she has just passed through a mountain, and all the troubles that used to weigh on her seem to be nothing anymore.
Looking at Wang Yao, who had a gossipy look on her face, she suddenly felt the urge to talk.
So Wang Yao heard a story about a bully who wanted to take advantage of a respectable girl, but the girl refused, which led to her whole family being oppressed.
"He's such a jerk! Are you really going to put up with this? What right does he have? Oh, you don't want to marry him, so he won't accept your lotus roots, and he won't even let others accept them. What kind of robber is he? I really want to punch him twice."
When Liu Xiangmei returned, she saw an angry Wang Yao and Chen Xiu trying to comfort her.
"What's wrong? Why are you arguing with your sister Xiu?"
Wang Yao was furious at the moment and was about to tell her mother about the injustice suffered by Chen Xiu's family, but after thinking about it, she turned to ask Chen Xiu for her opinion instead.
After Chen Xiu nodded in agreement, Wang Yao started chattering away, finishing her sentence in one breath.
Liu Xiangmei never expected that there was such a story behind her older sister's family switching from growing lotus roots to growing vegetables. Like Wang Yao, she also wanted to beat up that family, but at the same time, she felt sorry for the girl in front of her.
She patted Chen Xiu's head and asked, "Are you worried sick? Don't overthink it. It's all those bullies' fault. If you don't like someone, you can't marry them. There's only one reason a girl should get married: if she likes him and wants to marry him. Do you hear me?"
With tears welling up in her eyes, Chen Xiu nodded, her voice choked with emotion, "Auntie, you're so kind. Thank you, Auntie, thank you so much!"
Thank you for bringing me out of Lianchi Town!
Liu Xiangmei's eyes also welled up with tears as Chen Xiuzhao said, "Alright, alright, it's no big deal. Your parents are doing quite well now, growing vegetables and raising livestock. You should stay with your aunt from now on. As long as your aunt has something to eat, she will definitely not let you go hungry."
Wang Yao clicked her tongue in admiration: "Mom, you really have the air of a big sister. From now on, we'll follow your lead!"
As he spoke, he stood at attention and saluted Liu Xiangmei.
Liu Xiangmei didn't want to watch her act silly and told her to get back to her bedroom immediately.
The three were chatting and laughing, preparing to take a nap, when they heard someone knocking on the door.
Upon opening the door, the visitor was Liu Xiangqiu, followed by Sun Dong, who was panting heavily.
Why are you here at this hour?
Liu Xiangqiu rolled her eyes, walked in, and poured Sun Dong a glass of water as if she were at home.
Seeing that she was self-sufficient, Liu Xiangmei was too lazy to greet them and sat on the cool bed waiting for her reply.
Liu Xiangqiu then asked with a stern face, "Liu Xiangmei, you've really made something of yourself! You didn't say a word when you rented a house outside the county, and now you've rented a place for your restaurant without a sound. How are you so capable? If there wasn't a place where you could use me, were you planning not to tell me?"
Liu Xiangmei cried out that she was wronged, saying that she had rented the house on a whim yesterday and did not have time to tell anyone.
Just now on the phone, the two of them were worried about the phone bill and hung up before explaining the whole story. Now that he heard the whole story, Liu Xiangqiu felt a little relieved.
Liu Xiangmei found it amusing. "You were in such a hurry that you made Sun Dong ride his bike to the city under the scorching sun to take you? You got here so quickly, the bike must be smoking by now! No wonder Sun Dong is so exhausted!"
Liu Xiangqiu rolled her eyes at her again, "It's all your fault. You just do whatever comes to mind and don't explain things clearly, making everyone anxious."
After clarifying the situation, Liu Xiangqiu brought up the question Liu Xiangmei had asked on the phone earlier: "You rented the house. Did you tell your landlord you wanted to build a stove?"
“Yesterday when we signed the contract, Yao Yao discussed it with the landlord. We just planned to build a simple stove with some bricks. We will still burn coal in the stove. The current coal stove is a bit small, so we thought we would build a new one.”
Liu Xiangqiu said, "Yaoyao thinks things through more thoroughly than you do. Okay, I understand. I'll find a craftsman to come over this afternoon, and it should be finished today."
Upon hearing this, Liu Xiangmei immediately launched into a barrage of compliments, saying things like, "Thank goodness we have Second Sister," and "Second Sister is truly amazing..."
They didn't send Liu Xiangqiu and Sun Dong away until they had made Liu Xiangqiu feel quite flattered.
Sun Dong had no chance to express his opinion throughout the process. He was exhausted from cycling back and forth and was also forced to take on the responsibility of finding someone to build the stove.
Sun Dong may not be reliable in other aspects, but he is very commendable in making friends. He seems to have acquaintances in every profession, from bricklayers and carpenters to blacksmiths.
The stove builder he found was very skilled; the stove he built perfectly met Wang Yao's requirements and also made Liu Xiangmei very satisfied.
The stove couldn't be used immediately after it was built; it needed to be left to dry for a few days. This was why Liu Xiangmei was in a hurry to find someone to build the stove, since she needed to open her business on the first day of school in a few days.
While the stove was drying, Liu Xiangmei was not idle either.
The next morning, he took Chen Xiu to make and sell boxed lunches, and in the afternoon he went to Hejie with Liu Xiangqiu.
The reason was that Liu Xiangmei wanted to save money and planned to use second-hand tables, chairs and benches in the restaurant. However, because she needed a large quantity, she had to visit several second-hand stores to find the right ones.
After finding a car to help send her back, Liu Xiangmei made a lot of arrangements.
The original living room area has now been transformed into the restaurant lobby. After the counter and two dining tables were placed side by side at the back, ten square tables were placed in the remaining space.
The three bedrooms were converted into three private rooms, each with a round table.
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