At 10:30 in the morning, while everyone was eating in the store, two people walked in from outside.
The two figures were so huge, like two giant towers, that they blocked most of the light at the entrance, instantly darkening the interior of the shop.
"Second Grandfather, Uncle Dongliang, what brings you here?" Xu quickly put down his chopsticks and came out to greet them.
He was just trying out the spicy braised dishes that Zhang Dezhen had developed today. This flavor is quite common, and Zhang Dezhen had seen many people make it in his hometown, so he easily made it.
The spicy braised dishes taste good, but people in Shanghai are used to eating milder flavors. Even hot pot is mostly eaten by young people, so I don't know how well it sells.
But having more flavors means having more choices, which is a good thing.
"I was on my way to the city to run some errands and just happened to be passing by." Second Grandpa reached out and patted Xu An's shoulder. "I haven't been to your shop yet, so I came to take a look. Come on, show Second Grandpa around your fast food restaurant."
Having already seen most of the sights when they entered the first store, Xu An then led the two to the second store.
The second store was bustling with activity. People were picking vegetables, washing vegetables, and chopping vegetables, but everything was busy yet orderly.
Grandpa nodded as he looked around. When he passed the baskets of fruits and vegetables, he stopped, picked up a vegetable, and sniffed it: "Is this from Xiudie's family? I heard that all the produce from her greenhouse is now supplied to your fast food restaurant."
"These belong to Uncle Lin. Aunt Hong's family has already picked most of their harvest a few days ago. The new batch hasn't grown properly yet; it will take some more time before they can be harvested."
"Xingtao, that old rascal, is quite good." Second Grandfather put down the fruits and vegetables in his hand and nodded with satisfaction: "I had always heard people in the village say that your business was doing well, but I thought it was just polite talk. Now that I see it, your business is indeed very successful."
"Hehe, it's all thanks to everyone's help," Xu An said modestly.
Store number three only had tables and chairs; the equipment hadn't been installed yet, so there wasn't much to see. The group wandered around for a bit and then left.
Xu An led the two to get their food, found an empty table in the restaurant, and sat down to eat and chat.
"Second Grandfather, what brings you to the city? Is there anything I can do to help?"
"It's nothing big, just a meeting to discuss the construction of new rural areas or something, it doesn't have much to do with our village," the second grandfather replied casually.
"How can it not be a big deal? Our village is a rural area too, isn't it?" Xu An asked, puzzled.
"Our village has too few people and no special industries, so it's difficult to make a living." The second grandfather shook his head, his expression full of regret.
Xu An thought about it and realized that there was really nothing special about the village. Everyone just did whatever made money, doing things haphazardly.
Grandpa would seize any opportunity to showcase anything of value the village had.
You should know that the streetlights in the village, the pine trees on both sides of the village, and so on, were all brought back by my second grandfather through persistent (shameless) efforts.
After searching through his memories for a long time, Xu An finally remembered something related to this new rural construction project.
As Xu Heping mentioned in a casual conversation, his maternal grandmother's family, Majia Village, had secured this great opportunity for new rural development.
However, it didn't translate into real results. The village looked bright and beautiful, with a large cement square surrounded by flower beds and straight streetlights, making it look quite impressive. But all the vegetable gardens by the river were gone.
All the houses in the village have been repainted, with white walls and gray tiles, giving them a unique charm and truly resembling a new rural village.
But once you step through the door and into the room, the floor is still paved with mud bricks, and the room is filled with dilapidated furniture—it's really just a facade.
Later, the village chief of Majia Village was imprisoned for embezzlement, but I don't remember exactly when he was arrested. I heard that he wasn't the only one imprisoned; leaders from several other villages were also arrested at the same time...
Just as the group was talking, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the shop. Xu An turned his head and saw two familiar faces standing outside the shop: Ren Peng, the owner of Yipinxiang Fast Food Restaurant, and the landlord of the shop next door.
Ren Peng received news that the construction site would soon be issuing meal subsidies, and began to inspect various construction sites under Xuguang Real Estate, preparing to open one or two more branches.
After much analysis, we discovered that the best option was actually the Bauhinia Garden construction site.
Starting from the Zijing Garden construction site, it takes only 30 minutes to reach three other construction sites under Xuguang Real Estate. Moreover, the route is circular, and after completing the delivery, you can return to the starting point. It is an excellent location.
Before anyone else could react, the owner of Yipinxiang Fast Food Restaurant came over to see if there was any opportunity to rent a shop.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he got off the bus, he saw Xu's Fast Food Restaurant, which he had been hating the most these days. With the idea of keeping to himself, Ren Peng did not intend to go there to cause trouble, but continued to pursue his purpose for the trip.
Coincidentally, Ren Peng saw a poster advertising a prime location for rent in the shop next to Xu's Fast Food Restaurant and immediately dialed the number on it.
It turned out that the shop had already been rented out, and the renter was Xu's Fast Food Restaurant; the posters had simply been forgotten to be removed.
I went to check out a few other fast food restaurants nearby, but they were either still under lease or the rent was a thousand yuan higher than the shop next to Xu's Fast Food Restaurant!
The other shops are mostly priced between 2,600 and 2,800 yuan per month, but Xu An only needs to pay 1,800 yuan for the shop he rented!
Ren Peng's inner calculations began to click rapidly.
If you give the landlord 2,000 yuan in rent and pay his penalty for breach of contract, the average rent would be 2,300 or 2,400 yuan a month, which is much cheaper than the rent for other shops.
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