Chapter 94 Look, this is the power of money
At this moment, she was the only one at the stall with her two children, Mingrui and Mingxi, and they had no way of leaving.
Shi Xiaoai could only ask a familiar customer to go to the station to call Wang Xiaofeng, while she and the customers moved all the tables and chairs in the stall outside.
Wang Xiaofeng was still confused when she brought Kaikai back, and her face instantly turned dark when she saw that the stall had a power outage.
She didn't even go in, and just said, "I'll go to Courtyard No. 1 and take a look!"
Then he ran into the alley.
She was gone for half an hour.
The longer Xiao Ai waited, the more she felt something was wrong.
If the circuit breaker tripped or the plug fell off, it would only take a few minutes to fix. Why would it take so long?
She looked across the street and found that Shi Daxi and his guys were all standing outside watching this side, each with an undisguised look of gloating on their face.
After a while, the lights in the shed suddenly lit up.
"The phone is ringing!" Kaikai cheered.
Mingxi Mingrui also jumped for joy.
It was almost eight o'clock at this time. The people going to school or work had already left and the morning rush hour was over.
Although moving the tables and chairs outside the shed did not take much time, it must be said that the sudden power outage did affect Shi Xiaoai and his team's business.
Mainly because of the dark shed, some customers subconsciously don't want to go in.
Wang Xiaofeng ran back in a sweat, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the lights come on again.
She rushed to Xiao Ai and explained, "I just went to Courtyard No. 1 and saw that the fuse was blown. The office was not open yet, so I had no choice but to run home and ask my mom to find an electrician. Fortunately, it was finally fixed."
Shi Xiaoai nodded.
Wang Xiaofeng looked around and continued, "Kaikai and I should go to the station for a while. There are quite a lot of people there. We haven't even settled down yet and haven't sold a single cake."
Shi Xiaoai agreed.
Wang Xiaofeng took Kaikai away, and business here returned to normal.
But this normal state did not last long. After about twenty minutes, the lights went out again.
The guests exclaimed again, but Xiao Ai no longer had the initial surprise.
She asked someone to call Wang Xiaofeng back again.
This time, no one needed to say anything; everyone sensed something was wrong.
Wang Xiaofeng said angrily: "I'll go over and take a look!"
Shi Xiaoai stopped her: "You stay at the stall, I'll go."
She did not go to Courtyard No. 1, but went directly to the office.
This was Xiao Ai’s first time to come to the office after signing the contract. Her first reaction after entering the door was that this place is really brand new compared to before!
All the walls of the office have been repainted, and a brick-red wall skirt has been specially made, making it look neat and bright.
Not only that, the old desks and chairs have all been repaired and given a new coat of paint.
In addition, the office has added new items. Two red leather-covered electroplated folding chairs are placed in the most conspicuous position at the entrance.
It is shiny and very eye-catching.
You know, this is the most fashionable thing nowadays, and only large institutions or factory offices have it.
The appearance of such a chair in such a small street office is really eye-catching.
Shi Xiaoai knew that the office's ability to upgrade was closely related to the management fees she had paid for half a year.
According to the original agreement she signed with the office, the management fee was to be paid monthly.
As a result, when their house was being renovated some time ago, Director Yu also came to join in the fun.
She looked at the work crew Cheng Yang had brought in and repeatedly praised the professionalism of the craftsmen and their excellent work. The topic somehow drifted to the office, and Director Yu lamented that the office building hadn't been renovated in ten years, that the paint was peeling off, and that it leaked in the summer.
The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. Shi Xiaoai immediately proposed to revise the agreement and change the monthly management fee payment to a semi-annual payment, so that she could pay the half-year fee in full at once.
Director Yu was shocked when he heard her proposal and seemed unable to understand why she did this?
After all, who would mind spending money?
Why not do something else with the money? Why do you have to pay such a large sum of money first?
But Shi Xiaoai insisted on making the change, and even joked that it was to relieve the office of its worries, and that they could use the money to improve the office environment.
When District Director Ou came to Xiao Ai's house, he made it clear that the district would not take the management fees generated by her cooperation with the office in opening the tea stall, and the office could use it at its own discretion.
Therefore, Director Yu couldn't help but be tempted by Shi Xiaoai's proposal.
Afterwards, Xiao Ai quickly paid off the six-month management fees, and the office used the 120 yuan to completely renovate the office.
"Hey, Xiao Ai, why are you here at this time? Who is watching the stall over there?" Seeing her coming, an aunt immediately stood up to greet her.
The other sister-in-law also turned her head and asked, "Xiao Ai, is there something wrong? Didn't Master Wang just go to check the wires? Why hasn't it been fixed yet?"
Seeing her, the few staff members who stayed in the office all surrounded her with concern.
See, this is the power of money.
Although Shi Xiaoai could not say that everyone's concern for her was related to the management fees paid, she had to admit that this money made everyone remember her kindness and were willing to provide her with help within their ability.
This was also one of the reasons why Xiao Ai was willing to pay so much money at once.
Another reason is of course the desire to have a deeper connection with the office.
Her business is getting better and better. Even though she doesn't advocate doing business now, it's inevitable that some people will be jealous.
In case someone is behind the scenes, it is better to have an office as a backing than to act alone.
The monthly management fee is too small a bond between the two parties.
If there are any changes here, such as a change of leadership, Shi Xiaoai and the tea stall will likely be put in a passive situation.
In order to avoid this possible trouble, she would rather spend the money that she should have paid in the first place.
Seeing everyone gathered around, Shi Xiaoai explained, "The power is out over there again. I want our technician to go over and take a look. Is there a problem with the wiring, or is there something else wrong?"
Although Shi Xiaoai spoke in a calm tone and even smiled while talking, what kind of people are these aunties and grandmas in the office?
They are all old people who have been doing mass work in the alley for decades.
The people they come into contact with the most are those in the alley, and they are well aware of the tricks they might play.
They knew that either Shi Xiaoai had offended someone, or that a group of people had teamed up to cause trouble for her.
So an older aunt immediately said, "Don't worry, Xiao Ai, I'll go with you."
As she spoke, she instructed the people beside her, "Xiao Wu, go find Master Wang and have him go directly to Courtyard No. 1. I'll go with Xiao Ai to see what's going on over there!"
Hearing her say this, others also responded.
Another person said, "I just saw Director Yu go to Room 16. I'll go look for her and ask her to come over too."
Shi Xiaoai thanked everyone and walked out of the office with the aunt surnamed Liang.
On the way, Shi Xiaoai asked about the situation in Courtyard No. 1. Aunt Liang told her, "Hey, Courtyard No. 1 is the most complicated courtyard in our entire alley. Speaking of which, the people living there shouldn't be considered our residents anymore. They should have moved away long ago."
But look, none of them are leaving, they are all staying here, which makes our work more difficult!"
"They should all leave?" Shi Xiaoai frowned. "Aunt Liang, what do you mean?"
Aunt Liang explained: "The original owner of Courtyard No. 1 has been found. They used to run a cloth shop, but during the movement they were affected and the whole family was evicted.
Our office received a notice before that according to the return policy, this house must be returned. Last month, the owner's daughter also came to handle the formalities and the real estate certificate was obtained.
This house is now privately owned, so the previous residents must move out! The city has allocated resettlement housing to all these people, and I heard the location is pretty good!
But who knew they said they were used to living there and refused to move. What did they mean by used to living there? They just wanted to occupy both rooms because they thought the little girl was not in charge and couldn't kick her out.
At this point, Aunt Liang showed a look of contempt.
Shi Xiaoai listened quietly without responding until the two of them walked to the gate of Courtyard No. 1 together.
Before the two of them even entered, they heard someone inside complaining loudly: "Who cut this? Who is so naive that they're not afraid of being electrocuted?!"
Aunt Liang took a few quick steps and said, "It's Master Wang. Master Wang has walked in front of us."
Shi Xiaoai hurriedly followed her in.
As soon as I entered, I saw a middle-aged man standing on a ladder, holding a cut end of wire in his hand and yelling at the people below.
Seeing them come in, the engineer held up the end of the wire and shook it at them, then said, "Sister Liang, come and take a look. The people in this yard are really desperate. They actually cut the wires! The main switch of this house is outside, and they are not afraid of electric shock!"
Hearing him say this, Aunt Liang's face suddenly became serious.
Are you kidding? If anyone in this yard is in danger of electric shock, it will be the responsibility of their office. This is a safety accident!
Her face darkened as she shouted, "Who did this? Stand up!"
The people around him were all silent.
"Whoever did it had better admit it voluntarily. Don't wait for us to investigate. If we find out, you'll be in big trouble! This is crazy. How can you do such a thing? Don't you even use your brain?!
If one person gets electrocuted, won't the whole hospital be in trouble? This electric shock thing is no joke! If someone gets touched, they will be in trouble!
Aunt Liang is, after all, an old employee of the office. She is familiar with every household she visits and they all respect her to a certain extent.
After hearing what she said, those who originally thought it had nothing to do with them finally understood and realized that electricity was not something that could be touched casually.
So some people began to look intentionally or unintentionally at a man who was leaning against the wall with his hands in his sleeves.
Feeling everyone's gaze on him, the man raised his eyelids and said indifferently, "What are you looking at? I didn't cut it, why are you staring at me?"
Some of the neighbors curled their lips, and some turned their faces away, but everyone's eyes clearly said that the person who cut the wires was him!
Aunt Liang also noticed it. She asked with a stern face, "Yang Daming, do you dare to say that you didn't cut the wire?"
Yang Daming stiffened his neck and said, "I dare to say it! I dare to say that you are wrongly accusing me! What makes you say that I cut it? Did you grab my hand?"
"you!"
Faced with his indifferent attitude, Aunt Liang obviously had no solution.
She snorted and ignored the man, instead looking at other people.
She said, "This line is connected to the tea stall outside, which is run by the office. When we first connected the line to our hospital, I remember that Director Yu came to talk to you in person, and none of you expressed any objection.
Furthermore, our office has not taken advantage of our neighbors, and the electricity subsidies have been paid on time. Am I right about that?"
Several of the neighbors glanced at each other, but no one objected.
Aunt Liang continued, "Since you agreed to it in the first place, and there were no conflicts, why did you cut the wires for no reason?
If you have any opinions, we can discuss them. What do you mean by cutting without saying anything? Do you have any opinions about our office?"
Hearing her mentioning the word "office" all the time, Yang Daming felt that this couldn't go on any longer.
If she continues talking, the people she has finally won over will soon lose their hearts.
In fact, Yang Daming had no ill will towards Shi Xiaoai's tea stall. Although he didn't have much money, sometimes he couldn't help but buy a stone bun to satisfy his hunger when he passed by.
But yesterday, Shi Daxi came over and offered to subsidize them five yuan a month if they did not let Shi Xiaoai use the electricity in the yard.
Five dollars!
The monthly electricity bill for their entire No. 1 Courtyard is only five or six yuan. With this subsidy, they won’t have to pay for electricity in the future!
Compared with Shi Daxi's proposal, the one dollar that Shi Xiaoai gives every month seems too little.
After Shi Daxi left yesterday, Yang Daming held a meeting with several families in the courtyard who were more powerful, and took out the two dollars that Shi Daxi had left behind as a token of his sincerity.
Everyone was excited at the thought of receiving such a subsidy every month in the future.
In order to get the five dollars that was about to be in his hands and to show his deterrent power in the courtyard, Yang Daming interrupted Aunt Liang.
He said, "Aunt Liang, you don't have to keep calling us 'office'. You're trying to pressure us. Everyone knows that the tea stall is owned by Shi Xiaoai's family. It's just called an office."
We didn't make any mistakes, so why are you making such a fuss about us? Not to mention you haven't figured out who cut it yet, even if you did, what could you do to us?
What did we do? Didn't we just cut the wires in our own yard? How could that be wrong?
Don’t even mention giving money. What’s wrong with giving money? Does giving money make you the boss?
I'm going to make this clear today: we don't want Shi Xiaoai's family's money! We just don't want her to use our electricity. We don't want her to use it. Is that okay?
Even if you use the name of the office to pressure us, we dare not speak out.
We don't want her to use it, so what? Is this illegal? If it is, you can call the police to arrest us!"
As he spoke, he took a step forward, patted his chest hard, and acted like a righteous man.
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