construction site
As the furniture was gradually moved in, Liu Xiangmei's small restaurant was gradually completed.
That evening, the mother and daughter, along with Chen Xiu, stood in the hotel lobby, their hearts filled with anticipation.
"Mom, there's something you might have forgotten."
"Huh? What's up?"
Wang Yao: "Our restaurant doesn't have a sign yet."
Look outside, some shops even have colored lights on their signs, while my restaurant's signboard is still bare.
Liu Xiangmei slapped her forehead, "I forgot about something so important! I'm so busy! Quick, let's all rack our brains and come up with a good name."
The three brainstormed for a while. Chen Xiu suggested calling it Haoxiangguan, Wang Yao suggested calling it Laodifang Restaurant, but Liu Xiangmei shook her head and rejected it, saying, "What Laodifang? This is a new restaurant."
Wang Yao also felt that "Hao Xiang Guan" was too straightforward, so in the end she chose one from the dozen or so names Wang Yao provided and named it "Hao Zai Lai Restaurant".
Now that we've decided on the name, we need to find a place to make a sign, which will take place tomorrow.
The morning of the third day was the same as the first day. In the afternoon, under Sun Dong's guidance, they found a skilled craftsman to make a signboard. After that, they went to Hejie again, but this time to the wholesale market.
Although it's called a wholesale market, it's actually not very big. Today, they came here to look at second-hand freezers.
Because Liu Xiangmei didn't see anyone selling used freezers at the secondhand market last time, she assumed that freezers could only be bought brand new.
As a result, when Liu Xiangmei asked Liu Xiangqiu yesterday where it would be more cost-effective to buy a freezer, Liu Xiangqiu said that she would have Sun Dong take her to the wholesale market to buy a second-hand one today, and that the freezer in her family's small shop was bought from the wholesale market.
Entering the wholesale market, you'll find everything from small cups and bowls to large refrigerators and washing machines; the stalls are tightly packed together, leaving no gaps whatsoever.
Sun Dong stopped at the fourth stall in the second-to-last row and called out into the stall, "Old Kou, Old Kou, are you there?"
"Hey, hey, hey, over here!" Someone sat up and poked their head out from behind the counter.
Liu Xiangqiu whispered to Liu Xiangmei, "Sun Dong's buddy."
Immediately, Sun Dongyang said loudly, "What are you sleeping for? Business is here!"
As soon as Liu Xiangmei entered, her eyes were drawn to her; it was the first time she had ever seen so many electrical appliances at once.
After joking and chatting with Lao Kou for a while, Sun Dong said, "My sister wants to buy a freezer for her restaurant. Find her a good one, and don't try to fool us."
Hearing this, Old Kou objected: "When have I ever lied to you? The freezer you bought from me years ago is still working perfectly!"
Sun Dong quickly replied perfunctorily, "Yes, yes, you, Lao Kou, are the most honest in business. Hurry up."
Finally, Liu Xiangmei hesitated between the two models of freezers, unsure which one to buy. However, after being persuaded by Liu Xiangqiu, she bought both.
They said that if you don't want it anymore and want to get a new one, you can bring it back to Lao Kou for depreciation.
Okay, since she imagined a freezer would cost two or three thousand yuan, she can only afford one at most right now.
But here, a used one only costs around 500 yuan, and it's in relatively new condition. It's much cheaper than she expected, and since she can use it anyway, she bought both.
Wang Yao, who was at home, saw through the window that a delivery truck had brought in two freezers at once, and hurriedly slipped on her slippers and went downstairs.
"Mom, why did you buy two? That's great!"
Great! Now that we have our own freezer, we can enjoy ice cream as much as we want!
Liu Xiangmei could tell what she was thinking just by looking at her excited expression, and snorted inwardly, "Dream on!"
Of course, the fourth day was different from the previous days, because Wang Yao took some time to go to the construction site yesterday afternoon and learned that the inspectors had left and her family's small food stall could be set up again.
So that morning, Liu Xiangmei's boxed lunch business recovered to 120 boxes. With Chen Xiu's help, Liu Xiangmei felt less pressured and less overwhelmed.
After finishing her work, Liu Xiangmei rode her tricycle with seventy boxed meals toward the construction site.
As soon as she arrived at the construction site, she saw workers coming out one after another. Liu Xiangmei quickly raised her voice and shouted, "Boxed lunches, boxed lunches, delicious and inexpensive boxed lunches, boxed lunches, boxed lunches, economical and affordable boxed lunches..."
Regular customers heard her voice and quickly walked over, while new customers asked the people next to them, "How much is a serving?" as they followed her toward Liu Xiangmei's stall.
Soon, a large crowd gathered in front of Liu Xiangmei's stall. Liu Hai and Qin Lao were just about to find a restaurant for lunch when they saw this scene at the door and knew that Liu Xiangmei had brought her boxed lunch stall today.
The two quickened their pace in tacit agreement. They hadn't had a taste of this for several days. They had been busy these past few days and hadn't thought about it much. Now that they suddenly saw it, their mouths were already watering before they even tasted it.
As soon as I stepped outside the crowd, I heard Liu Xiangmei's voice from inside, "Three yuan a serving, delicious and inexpensive."
Someone joked, "Boss, you've finally arrived! We've been looking at several restaurants these past few days, but none of them can replicate your flavor!"
"That's right, boss, your boxed lunches have spoiled my palate. You'll have to come here more often from now on, or I won't be able to eat."
They were all rough, tough guys, and someone joked, "I think you're not losing your appetite because you didn't get to eat the boss's lunchbox, but because you can't see such a beautiful boss!"
"Get lost, stop being so irresponsible. I genuinely love the boss's boxed lunches..."
Everyone chatted while waiting to buy their boxed lunches.
Liu Xiangmei ignored the lewd jokes and only expressed her gratitude to the workers who liked the boxed lunches.
Then I told everyone, "I can only come for two more days at most, and then I can't come anymore. I'm really sorry."
Upon hearing this news, everyone quickly asked, "Why? Why aren't you coming anymore? Your business is so good here, you should come more often!"
Even the guy with bangs who was originally on the outer edge couldn't help but squeeze forward and ask, "Boss, why aren't you selling anymore?"
Although he had only eaten at this restaurant once, the delicious spicy chicken and fish-flavored eggplant he had eaten there were still vividly etched in his memory.
Liu Xiangmei also remembered Liu Hai. A few days ago, when this man told her that there was an inspection at the construction site and that she couldn't set up a stall, she was so sad that she forgot to thank him.
Upon seeing her again, Liu Xiangmei quickly said, "Thank you for telling me about the inspection at the construction site that day, otherwise the lunch I made the next day would have been wasted."
He handed Liu Hai a boxed lunch and said, "This boxed lunch is on me."
Liu Hai refused, and while taking out his money, he asked, "Is it because of the checkup a few days ago?"
Seeing that he threw the money directly into the cash box, Liu Xiangmei didn't have time to argue with him and continued to get lunch boxes for the others.
He added, "That's one reason. I felt that setting up a stall was a bit unstable, so I simply opened a restaurant instead."
Then, raising his voice, he said, "My shop is located at No. 42 Dingyuan Road, diagonally opposite the back gate of the county's No. 1 Middle School. It's called 'Good Come Again Restaurant.' We'll officially open on the 30th, the day students register for the new semester at the county's No. 1 Middle School. Everyone is welcome to come and support us!"
One of the workers thought about the location and said with dissatisfaction, "Boss, it's a bit far from our construction site. Why don't you just open a shop nearby? There are several construction sites around here, so business would definitely be good."
Liu Xiangmei laughed, "Where would I find a shop to open nearby? I only managed to snag this shop because I was lucky. If you think my cooking is alright, you're welcome to come and try it on the 30th."
Having already received his boxed lunch, Qin Lao asked, "Still selling stir-fried dishes?"
Liu Xiangmei said, "Yes, but it's not a menu-style meal. It's a completely new format that guarantees large portions, is economical, and ensures that everyone who comes in can eat their fill."
A completely new format? What other formats are there for dining? This boss really knows how to create a spectacle!
Some people are very interested in Liu Xiangmei's promise of "eat your fill, eat until you're stuffed".
"Boss, we're all men who do manual labor. It's not easy for us to eat until we're stuffed. The price must be high, right?"
As everyone was talking, Liu Xiangmei had sold out of the boxed meals in her box. She told everyone to rest assured that the meals would be affordable and gave them a final reminder of the opening time and location before packing up and heading home.
Wang Yao was still faster than Liu Xiangmei today, after all, she sold fewer boxed meals and didn't have to travel as far.
When Liu Xiangmei rode her tricycle home, she saw Wang Yao hunched over her desk, writing and drawing.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com