Renting a house
Liu Xiangmei replied, "Yes, the taste is alright, isn't it?"
Learning from your daughter is still learning!
Liu Hai nodded: "The spicy chicken tastes very authentic. It would be even better if the Sichuan peppercorns were from Sichuan and Chongqing!"
Liu Xiangmei only said that she would go back to the vegetable market later to see if they had anything to sell.
Liu Hai was even more satisfied. Just as he was about to leave, he turned around and said, "Sister, there will be an inspection at the construction site tomorrow. They won't allow you to set up a stall. Remember to come back in a couple of days!"
It was like a bolt from the blue; the smile on Liu Xiangmei's face instantly froze.
"Really? When will the examination be finished?"
Liu Hai was also annoyed by the inspections, because he couldn't get such delicious boxed lunches during the inspections, which made him even more annoyed. He thought for a moment and said, "It usually takes about a day, but sometimes it can drag on for several days. It's hard to say."
After saying that, Liu Hai left with his wife.
Wang Caihua turned around and glanced at Liu Xiangmei, who looked dejected, and said to Liu Hai with a sigh, "Street vendors have it tough too."
Liu Hai laughed, "Doing business is never easy. If you have the money to open a shop, you won't have to worry about being kicked out."
The two voices reached Liu Xiangmei's ears, and she paused in her work of tidying up her stall.
If you don't open a shop and just set up a stall every day, you'll only be able to make money like this, where not only do you have to rely on the weather, but all sorts of unexpected events will also happen.
If I were to open a shop...
Sigh, opening a shop is not an easy thing!
Well, if the construction site can't be sold for the next few days, then it can't be sold. Anyway, she doesn't plan to come to the construction site after the students start school.
Despite trying to comfort herself like this, Liu Xiangmei still felt terrible.
After returning home, Wang Yao, who had already started reading, heard that her mother had been silent since she came home. Looking into the living room, she saw her mother sitting on the cool bed, looking sullen.
What's going on?
Wang Yao quickly closed the book and sat down next to Liu Xiangmei, whereupon she heard Liu Xiangmei explain that stalls could not be set up at the construction site tomorrow.
After hearing what her mother said, Wang Yao breathed a sigh of relief. She thought something terrible had happened!
“It’s okay. You’re already exhausted from making over a hundred boxed meals by yourself. It’s good that you don’t have to do it at the construction site anymore. Let’s just sell them at the entrance.”
Liu Xiangmei sighed; that was all she could think about now.
Liu Xiangmei felt a bit uncomfortable all afternoon. Although she felt that making more than a hundred boxed meals a day was stressful and tiring, not wanting to do it and not being able to do it were two different things.
Now that she has been suddenly notified that she can't do it anymore, Liu Xiangmei is thinking that as long as she can do it, she can do not only more than a hundred, but also two hundred or five hundred.
Of course, these were all just her wild thoughts.
Wang Yao didn't want her mother to stay at home thinking about money she couldn't earn, so after finishing her study plan for the day in the afternoon, she insisted on taking her out for a walk.
When I got downstairs, I saw the landlord calling on workers to move things.
Liu Xiangmei greeted her, "Sister Xu, busy, huh? Are you moving?"
“Yes, my husband has been rehired to work at the bank. Since the bank is close to Hejie Street, we discussed moving to a house there. I can also help my son with his business when I go there.”
Liu Xiangmei nodded, "That's great, the whole family can look after each other if they live together."
Seeing that all the furniture in the landlord's house had been moved out, Wang Yao asked, "Aunt Xu, does that mean your house is empty now?"
Xu Chunhua shook her head and said, "How could that be? It would be such a waste to leave such a good storefront empty. I'll put up a rental notice in a bit."
Seeing that Xu Chunhua was busy, the mother and daughter didn't chat for long and walked away hand in hand.
As Liu Xiangmei walked along, she looked at the shops on both sides of the road. It was almost dinnertime, and every small restaurant was bustling with activity.
Then I think about myself. I'm also in the food business, but now I can only wander around on the street.
It wasn't until they reached the end of Dingyuan Road that Liu Xiangmei finally made up her mind and said to Wang Yao, "Yao Yao, what do you think about me renting the landlord's storefront?"
A smile appeared on Wang Yao's lips, and she breathed a sigh of relief. "Great! Now that we've rented it, we can do business peacefully every day."
Actually, when she learned at noon that the landlord was moving out, she had already considered renting the house. She was worried about how to persuade her mother, but she didn't expect her mother to come to her own conclusion.
Liu Xiangmei knew that her daughter had always wanted her to open a shop, but she couldn't make up her mind. She felt that if she couldn't make a living by setting up a stall now, she wouldn't have to pay any price, but if she actually opened a shop, she would have to pay a lot more if the business failed.
But after today, she realized that one cannot always be afraid; to achieve high returns, one must take on high risks.
Of course, with her and Yao Yao's current skills, the risk of opening a shop is not necessarily high. Haven't you seen those owners who are not very good at cooking still running their shops very successfully?
Having figured all this out, Liu Xiangmei pulled Wang Yao and hurried back. They needed to rent the shop before anyone else knew, since shops near the county's No. 1 Middle School were popular, not to mention the front gate, even the back gate shops were quite sought after.
Just then, they saw the landlord posting a rental notice as soon as they got back, and Liu Xiangmei quickly stepped forward to stop him.
Xu Chunhua was overjoyed to learn that Liu Xiangmei wanted to rent the property.
“I told you long ago, you have such good skills, you should open a shop, it’s a waste to just set up a stall.”
Xu Chunhua told her daughter-in-law to take the movers away first, while she led Liu Xiangmei and Wang Yao on a tour of the house, inside and out.
The layout of the first floor where the landlord lives is different from the layout of the upper floors. After all, the upper floors were originally built for rental purposes, so they were all built in the style of rental apartments.
The first floor is different. There is a large living room when you enter through the main door. Now that all the furniture has been moved out, it looks even more spacious. After passing through the living room, there is a kitchen at the very back.
There are two small bedrooms on the right side of the living room and one large bedroom on the left side, next to which is a bathroom.
Overall, the layout is very suitable for a restaurant. The landlord said that her house is about 100 square meters and the rent is set at 100 yuan per month, payable annually.
Liu Xiangmei felt a little heartbroken; storefronts really are different!
However, this price is acceptable; it's still a bit cheaper than the one in front of the county's No. 1 Middle School.
Liu Xiangmei and Wang Yao exchanged a glance and decided to rent the place. However, Liu Xiangmei wanted the rent to be paid every six months for the time being, since she had never run a business before and if things really didn't work out, she wouldn't lose too much money.
Xu Chunhua also expressed her understanding, saying that paying every six months is fine, and she believes that the mother and daughter will definitely renew their lease.
The landlord is writing the rental agreement now, and Liu Xiangmei is going home to get the money immediately.
Half an hour later, Liu Xiangmei sat on the cool bed with the brand-new contract in her hands. She was still a little dazed. When she handed the money to Xu Chunhua, she was a little hesitant and wondered if her decision was too hasty.
Wang Yao understands her mother very well. After all, her mother has been a farmer for decades and never thought about doing business. In less than ten days, she moved from the village to the county and went from setting up a stall to opening a shop. For her mother, this leap was indeed a bit too big.
Let alone her mother, even she herself, who had lived in a southern city for more than ten years, was uneasy when she was preparing to open a shop, constantly doubting whether she should open a shop at all.
Wang Yao didn't want her mother to remain immersed in self-doubt, so she said, "Mom, let's think about what to do after we open the shop!"
Liu Xiangmei asked, puzzled, "It must be a food business, what else could it be?"
“There are many kinds of food businesses. You see, there are vendors selling stir-fries, various kinds of noodles, and dumplings and rice noodles on the street... You used to sell boxed lunches at a stall. After opening a shop, you can offer dine-in service. What are your plans?”
Hearing this, Liu Xiangmei felt even more like crying. She hadn't thought things through before renting the shop; it was such an impulsive decision!
She took a deep breath and said, "I still plan to sell stir-fries, after all, I've done that before."
Wang Yao nodded, thought about the layout of the rooms on the first floor, and then thought about how they would mainly be doing business with students in the future.
Finally, she suggested, "Mom, let's sell buffets!"
"What is a buffet?" Liu Xiangmei had never heard of it before.
Wang Yao's idea of a buffet is slightly different from the hot pot buffets of decades later: "We prepare a dozen or so dishes at once, and each customer can choose whatever they like."
She paused for a moment and then added, "Each customer can get one serving of food, but rice is all-you-can-eat."
"All-you-can-eat rice? Won't we be eaten out of business?"
Wang Yao shook her head. "If some people eat a lot, then there must be some who eat less. Most of our customers are students. Let's not even talk about the boys, but how much can the girls eat?"
Liu Xiangmei had never heard of this model before and thought it was quite interesting. Since her daughter said it was okay, they would give it a try.
"What about tonight? Will we still offer a buffet?"
"No, we'll sell barbecue tonight."
"Barbecue? You mean the grilled skewers that your second aunt said are sold on River Street at night? But I don't know how to make them."
Wang Yao said, "I can."
Liu Xiangmei was puzzled, "The recipe you looked at even wrote down how to grill the skewers?"
Wang Yao choked, "No, but I am not very talented, but I have a very good tongue and nose. I will go to River Street one day to smell and taste it and I will know."
Liu Xiangmei rationally felt that Wang Yao's statement was unreliable, but she couldn't help but believe Wang Yao in her heart.
Oh well, whatever. The rent has already been paid. Now they're just feeling their way in the dark, let's see if it works!
The next step is to clean up the first floor and replace anything that's missing.
Wang Yao drew a rough layout of the house on paper and discussed with Liu Xiangmei how to arrange it.
The mother and daughter planned to put the entire living room space into a dining table, place the cashier and serving counter at the far end of the living room, and convert the three bedrooms into private rooms.
After going through all the planning, Liu Xiangmei realized that paying rent was only the first step, and there were many more steps that would cost money later.
What pained Liu Xiangmei the most was Wang Yao's suggestion to buy a freezer, not only for the kitchen but also for the front of house. After all, a restaurant can't be without drinks, right? And if they start a barbecue business in the future, they can't be without beverages, can they?
So this is money that has to be spent.
Early the next morning, Liu Xiangmei set off for Lianchi Town on her tricycle as usual.
Liu Xiangchun had been waiting for a long time. Before Liu Xiangmei had even parked the car, he rushed over and asked, "Why is the amount of food reduced again today?"
She wasn't worried about not being able to earn money, but rather about something happening to her younger sister.
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