Chapter 51
When we arrived at the provincial capital, it was only a few days away from May. Normally speaking, it was a bit late to start selling summer clothes at this time.
But there was no other way. Qin Xiang had just started her career and didn't have enough money. She couldn't go to Guangzhou without some family background. So at this time, she was already moving at her fastest speed.
Because of this, she hasn't been able to go to school recently. Fortunately, the school had a monthly test at the beginning of the month and she did well in it, otherwise Teacher Ning Sumei would definitely have to take her back to study.
Even so, Qin Xiang was still studying on the way back and forth. Fortunately, she spent a little more money to buy a seat ticket. Qin Yang sat outside while she studied inside.
The environment on the train is not good and there is no room for negotiation. I will just learn as much as I can.
When they arrived in the provincial capital, the two of them went to the freight station to inquire. They learned that the goods wouldn't arrive until the next day or the day after. They hurried back to find the old man. Unexpectedly, he raised his eyelids and said, "You've come at a good time. Our owner came this morning, and I've already inquired. This shopfront isn't for sale, but we can lease it to you long-term. The agreement is already written. You can take a look and sign it if you agree. I'll hand it over to you."
Qin Xiang felt a little regretful when she heard that the house was not for sale. To be honest, if she were the landlord, she would not sell the house either. Although the location of the house was good, the price would not exceed three to five thousand yuan at most. On the contrary, if it was rented out, because of its good location, she could make at least fifty yuan a month, which would be a lot in three years.
Qin Xiang took the agreement and looked at it, stunned. The rent on it was only 25 yuan. She was surprised and said, "Uncle, didn't you say 50 yuan a month?"
Who doesn't like a good deal? But the difference between the two is quite large. She also checked the rents of houses around here, and even houses half the price cost twenty yuan a month.
The old man snorted, "You're lucky. Our owners are kind people. They learned that you're self-employed, so they changed the price. But this is only for three years. After three years, the rent will be based on the market price."
This gives people time to make money.
Qin Xiang couldn't help but sigh that this landlord was a kind person.
Moreover, when she looked at the terms of the rental agreement, she found that every item was very reasonable and could not be more perfect than those in later generations.
Qin Xiang glanced at the place where the landlord signed. It was a character with a rounded and full stroke, and it also had a nice name: Meng Huaiqing.
What a nice name.
Qin Xiang took out a pen and was about to sign without hesitation.
Qin Yang held her hand and said, "Have you thought about it? Do you really want to rent this place?"
"Rent, there's no reason not to rent." Qin Xiang signed her name and asked her third brother to count out 900 yuan and gave it to the old man. The old man also happily gave her a set of keys. "This one is downstairs, and this one is upstairs. I live here. If you have any questions, just tell me."
Qin Xiang breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him solemnly, "Thank you very much, sir. What's your name?"
"No need to mention your surname Ge, just call me Old Man Ge."
After saying this, Uncle Ge chased them away.
Qin Xiang hesitated for a moment. "Uncle Ge, is the landlord still in the provincial capital? If there's a chance, could I treat him to a meal to express my gratitude?"
I save half of her money every month, so I should treat her to a meal.
Uncle Ge curled his lips and snorted, "My master doesn't care about your meal. I'll just run the business well since I got the advantage."
Qin Xiang said regretfully, "Then we have to treat you to a meal as well."
"No, the old man is used to it."
Although Mr. Ge's attitude was not very good, Qin Xiang did not force him. To be honest, she was anxious to open the door and go in to see her territory. She just wanted to see how fun it was from the outside.
And the goods are already on the way, so she has to take advantage of this time to clean up the store, paint the walls, and open it as soon as possible.
The brother and sister said goodbye to Uncle Ge, went out, opened the door at the front of the house, and pushed it open.
From the outside, you can only see a corner of the house. Because there is no light, it looks pitch black.
However, when Qin Xiang opened the door and walked in, she was stunned again.
She thought that the shop would be dusty and messy after being vacant for so long.
But I didn't expect it to be so clean inside. Except for some cobwebs in the corners and some dust on the floor, the rest of the place was in pretty good condition.
There are even a few counter tables in the room, which are obviously left over from the previous business.
Even Qin Yang couldn't help but sigh, "This house is really nice."
It was obvious that the house had been vacant for many years. But what was remarkable was that it had been preserved so well over the past decade, with no signs of shattering on the huge windows on both sides of the street.
This really saves Qin Xiang money and effort.
Of course, the walls here are not white enough due to age, but overall it is very good.
The decoration certainly cannot be compared with that of later generations, but she believes that as long as she cleans it up well, it will be just as good.
They have to paint the walls, install the ceiling, and install the right light bulbs. They are very busy.
Qin Xiang shared her idea with Qin Yang. Qin Yang knew that this job was not easy, so he immediately said, "Let's buy some things now and paint the walls first. We can do other things while they're working."
So the brother and sister went out to the department store next door to buy tools and materials, and started working when they came back.
Clean the place first, then clean the walls, brush the walls and sweep the floor.
While Qin Yang was painting the walls white, Qin Xiang went to the second floor to clean up.
The layout of the second floor is different from that of the first floor. It is obviously prepared for living. The downstairs is two large rooms connected, while the upstairs is divided into two small rooms and a small living room. What is rare is that there is also a small toilet and a small kitchen.
Both work and life can be solved here.
Qin Xiang was full of energy, but when it got dark they realized a problem: there was no electricity here.
Well, the brother and sister worked in the dark for a while in the room, and Qin Yang came up to her and said, "That's all for today. Let's go back to the guesthouse and rest. Tomorrow morning I'll have someone come over to install the light bulb in the ceiling and connect the power."
In fact, there are electrical wires in this room, but they have been there for too long, and Qin Yang is afraid that it is not safe, so he decides to replace them all.
The two locked the door and came out. They happened to see Mr. Ge from next door sitting on the curb with a stool to enjoy the cool air. Seeing the two come out, he said, "He's quite capable."
Qin Xiang smiled and said, "It's not good to waste such a good place."
Uncle Ge smiled, a rare moment. "You've got good taste. There's absolutely no better shop around here. You're also lucky. Someone asked before, but ran away when they heard I offered fifty yuan."
At this point, Qin Xiang finally understood that fifty yuan a month might have been a lie made up by the old man, or maybe she was really lucky and happened to meet the owner of the house coming here, otherwise she might not have been able to rent the house.
As they were talking, a car stopped in front of Uncle Ge's house. Qin Xiang glanced and saw that it was another Mercedes-Benz.
A young man with slicked-back hair got off the car and invited Mr. Ge to get in the car in not very fluent Mandarin.
Uncle Ge was a real uncle. He snorted and said, "No, tell him I'm full and I'm not going anywhere. I'll just stay here."
The young man tried to persuade the old man a few more times, but when he saw that the old man refused to get on the bus, he left helplessly.
Qin Xiang said hello to Uncle Ge and returned to the guesthouse.
Qin Yang said, "It seems that Mr. Ge has a special relationship with the landlord."
"It's indeed unusual. If it was just a simple master-servant relationship, would they have let Daben come to pick him up? And he still has that attitude?"
But this matter has little to do with them. Being able to rent a storefront and get a preferential price for three years is already a great deal for them.
Thanks to the country's development in the past two years, more and more people have come to the city to do odd jobs. Even though it is the busy farming season now, people can still be found in some places.
So Qin Yang successfully found two people to help, paying each person two dollars a day. Qin Yang calculated that he could finish the job if he worked faster. After all, he had finished painting the walls yesterday evening, and all he had to do today was to install the ceiling and light bulbs.
As for light bulbs, Qin Xiang naturally wanted to follow the style of later generations. However, the provincial capital had not yet formed a large-scale lighting market, so he had to go to a department store to buy lamps. But there were only two types to choose from. He had no choice but to choose the most suitable one in the store and install more.
While Qin Yang was leading people to pull wires and install light bulbs, Qin Xiang was not idle either. She first bought more than a hundred clothes hangers from the department store, then spent a lot of money to buy some fabric from a nearby merchant, and then bought some iron wire. Then she thought about installing a fitting room in the corner.
The storefront is so big that it is impossible not to install a fitting room.
After looking around, we finally chose the location under the stairs and installed three in a row. The only place next to the fitting room was the cashier counter, and the table in the room could also be used.
At noon, Qin Xiang went to a small restaurant and packed some food. The three workers ate in the store and continued to work.
Qin Yang went to the railway freight station and brought back the goods they had imported when they went to Guangzhou.
The clothes were piled in the corner. Qin Xiang watched them busying themselves and thought about setting up a stall at the door tomorrow.
At this time, Uncle Ge strolled over and said, "Little girl."
Qin Xiang went over and said, "Uncle Ge, I'm free."
Uncle Ge hummed, glanced at the busy people in the store, and said, "Have you got the license?"
Qin Xiang was stunned for a moment, then slapped his head, "Oh no, I forgot about this."
Uncle Ge rolled his eyes, looking as if he expected it. Qin Xiang wasn't as familiar with the provincial capital as Uncle Ge was, so he hurriedly asked, "Uncle, do you have any connections?"
Although she had lived in the provincial capital for so long in her previous life, the people she knew probably haven't even reached the provincial capital yet. If she wants to find someone related to industry and commerce, she is really not as good as someone like Mr. Ge who has lived there for so many years.
Uncle Ge came over to ask, obviously intending to help. Otherwise, the store would be sealed off by the Industrial and Commercial Bureau right after it opened after renting a house. That would be a waste of time.
Uncle Ge nodded and said, "Come with me tomorrow with your ID."
Qin Xiang nodded, "Okay."
At the end of the day, the ceiling and light bulbs were all installed. The next morning, Qin Xiang followed Uncle Ge to apply for a license, while Qin Yang took three workers to clean up the upstairs. There was nothing upstairs, so regardless of other things for the time being, the bed must be prepared.
Qin Yang bought two beds from a flea market, an old round table, and four matching chairs. He decided to buy the rest when he had time.
After paying the workers, Qin Yang was not idle either. He sorted out the clothes temporarily according to Qin Xiang's instructions.
The newly painted walls are not suitable for hanging clothes for the time being, but the glass windows on both sides facing the road cannot be left idle.
I asked someone to weld two iron racks, hung the clothes on them one by one, and then placed them against the glass window, filling them up.
Qin Xiang came back at noon, and as soon as he came in, he called Qin Yang, "Third brother, let's go have a meal with Uncle Ge."
Qin Yang was surprised. When they invited Mr. Ge to dinner before, the old man had directly refused. Unexpectedly, he agreed this time.
Qin Xiang whispered, "The old man is a nice guy, and he has strong connections. I think we can get our license in three days."
This surprised Qin Yang, "So powerful?"
"Of course not." Qin Xiang laughed. "Come on, we'll pack up this afternoon and set up the stall at the door tomorrow."
There are actually people setting up stalls in the square here, but Qin Xiang feels that the location in front of his store is good and the flow of people is good, so there is no need to go far away.
And as far as she knew, there was a large night market in this square in the provincial capital. The location of their store was really good. As long as they made good use of it, there was no way they wouldn't make money.
The two of them came out and prepared to take Uncle Ge to a state-owned restaurant for a meal. After all, although the state-owned restaurant had declined, the chefs there were still quite good. But Uncle Ge was not willing to go, and instead took them to a small courtyard, saying, "The chefs here are much better than the chefs in the state-owned restaurant. Their ancestors specialized in this."
In the past years, many old craftsmen have remained silent and their skills have been hidden. It was only in the past two years when the environment has improved that they began to open up businesses quietly.
The environment is better now, and no one is cracking down on speculation, so this small courtyard is open for business.
The weather was a bit hot at this time. There were four tables set up in the small courtyard. A large banyan tree with lush branches and leaves was planted against the south wall, which just covered the courtyard. Once you entered the courtyard, you would enter a cool place, which was particularly cool and comfortable.
The three of them sat down in the courtyard. The proprietress smiled and took out the menu and asked them to order. Qin Xiang was not familiar with it, so she gave the choice to Uncle Ge.
Uncle Ge was very satisfied with the two people's conscientiousness, and ordered four dishes and a soup without hesitation. "They are all their specialties, but they just took a little longer to prepare."
After all, it's a husband-and-wife shop and there are other customers, so they really can't go too fast.
Qin Xiang said, "It's a good time to take a break after a busy morning."
While they were talking, the proprietress brought over some tea. "Have some green tea. It's brought from Laoshan. It tastes pretty good."
Uncle Ge seemed to come here often. He poured the tea and drank it with familiarity. "This is really good."
Qin Xiang and Qin Yang also poured some to taste.
Unfortunately, Qin Xiang was a vulgar person. In her previous life, after becoming Mrs. Wang, she drank imported coffee and didn't really know much about tea. Now, although the green tea tasted a bit bitter at first, the aftertaste was fragrant and really good.
Qin Yang and she are indeed siblings. They drink tea like a cow drinking water and can't understand anything.
Mr. Ge was quite disgusted by this. "If you want to do business but don't even understand the basic tea drinking culture, you are no better than someone who has lived abroad for many years."
Qin Xiang was embarrassed. Although she didn't know who the old man was talking about, it didn't stop her from admiring him.
Well, she's too vulgar.
Qin Xiang said sincerely, "Then we can be considered neighbors from now on. Uncle Ge, please give us some guidance when you have time."
Uncle Ge was satisfied, "That's more like it."
After waiting for nearly an hour, the food was finally served. Qin Xiang also understood why Uncle Ge ordered so much, because the food was not large in quantity, but the taste was exceptionally good.
Qin Xiang was actually quite good at cooking. After all, she had been a nanny in her previous life, so cooking was a basic skill. However, she wasn't particularly keen on food, so she was too lazy to cook.
After a lunch, both the host and the guests had a great time. The three of them returned to the store. Uncle Ge took a look around, made some small suggestions, and then went back to rest.
Qin Xiang envied, "I really want to live like Mr. Ge's life sooner."
Qin Yang was happy. "Actually, you can do that now. You're a millionaire now, so you don't have to worry about spending money."
Qin Xiang rolled her eyes at him and said, "We've only just started. There's still a long way to go."
More than 20,000 yuan is definitely a huge sum of money in those days, but it won’t be enough in ten years, let alone twenty years.
Therefore, if you want to retire early, you must accumulate funds to a certain level in advance so that you can rest assured.
Besides, life is so long and there are so many things to enjoy, so it is really not enough if you don’t have enough money.
So some of it really takes time to endure.
The brother and sister couldn't be idle in the afternoon either. They hung two racks with clothes early. One rack was dedicated to hanging skirts and tops, and the other was dedicated to hanging jeans, shorts and trousers. They were neatly placed there, which was pleasing to the eye.
By the time they finished packing, it was already six o'clock. They were about to go out when two girls came in and asked, "Is this a clothing store? Are you selling these clothes?"
Qin Xiang was stunned, then nodded with a smile, "Yes, but it hasn't opened yet."
The girl said regretfully, "Can it be sold now? I saw a beautiful red dress."
Qin Xiang hurriedly said, "Then come in and take a look. We have a fitting room here, you can try it on."
This time, Qin Xiang bought more than ten kinds of red skirts, including dresses and skirts, all to cater to the popularity of the movie. She knew that this popularity would last for a long time until the "yellow skirts are popular in the streets" craze appeared, and clothing began to become colorful.
Qin Xiang turned on the light here, and the girl saw the red dresses up close. She took off the one she liked and saw other red dresses. She was dazzled for a moment and didn't know how to choose.
There was a red dress on her left hand and a red dress on her right hand. The girl was confused. "They both look good. Which one should I choose?"
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