Riding the wind of rebirth

During this holiday, Li Yijia and Huang Ruishan also gained a lot: they learned to drive, from tractors and agricultural tricycles to the Zhouzhi Guardian truck, and even horses and mules.

However, both of them had just gotten their driver's licenses and were very enthusiastic. They took turns driving and weren't tired at all, but they didn't drive very fast. They didn't arrive at Sichuan University until seven or eight o'clock in the evening.

Plans can't keep up with changes. During the holiday, Zhou Zhi had discussed with Zhao Xing that Niu Er had worked hard for the Hongqi Village Entertainment City over the past few years, and now that he was about to graduate, Zhao Xing would definitely not be in charge of the place anymore. So, they wondered if they could take care of Niu Er and let him take over Zhao Xing's shares.

But just as the new school term began, new news arrived: Hongqi Village and Taohua Village were slated for demolition.

Hongqi Village was originally the staff dormitory of several large factories in the eastern part of the city. Now that the factories have gone bankrupt and closed down, and the workers have been reassigned, Hongqi Village appears very dilapidated.

Taohuacun was the first batch of faculty and staff dormitories of Shuda University, also known as the legendary red brick dormitory building. At first, the dormitory did not even have a toilet. Later, it was renovated to have a small toilet and a small kitchen. Even so, only senior faculty and staff could move in. The Gu family was one of the first to live in a dormitory like Taohuacun.

Later, as the school expanded, new faculty and staff buildings and academician buildings were built. The teachers were allocated new houses and moved out of Peach Blossom Village. However, Professor Gu did not care about these things and continued to live in the tenement building.

Sichuan University was among the first batch of 211 universities to be established when it entered Zhouzhi County. It has received key support from the state and has had ample funding in recent years. The province has also allocated a large area of ​​land to include the streets and communities near the original schools, in order to create a new "university town".

In recent years, this school has seen a surge in new buildings: Hong Sheng Building, Qi Yan Building, a new library, a new museum, the Clover Digital Center...

The girls all moved into the newly built dormitory buildings and lived a "bright and clean" life. As for the boys, they had to suffer for a few more years because the construction of the buildings could not keep up.

The conditions in the graduate student and doctoral dormitories are even better, but Zhou Zhi was too embarrassed to ask for a dormitory, so he usually stayed in the Hongqi Village Studio when he returned to Sichuan University.

Now things are really messed up; everything has to be torn down.

Not only is the Hongqi Village entertainment center to be demolished, but even Mingyi's noodle shop and Tianrui's cooking restaurant are within the scope of the demolition.

Shuda University is not short of money now, and the compensation terms for the demolition are quite good. It's just that the resettlement location is a bit remote. We have to move from the east to the southwest. The government plans to build a super large community there along the five roads of Yulin: east, west, north, south and central.

"Actually, we're quite reluctant to leave this place." At Tian Rui's restaurant, everyone sat down to eat together again: "Although the demolition compensation was good, it's not worth it when you factor in the lost business."

"How did the school compensate everyone?" Zhou Zhi asked.

“Brother Ming is giving us an apartment and a storefront. The apartment is 70 square meters and the storefront is about 50 square meters.” Niu Er poured himself and Tian Rui a glass of pomegranate wine that Zhou Zhi had brought.

"That's pretty much compensation based on the actual area, which seems alright?" Zhou Zhi said. "Was Sister Rui's restaurant compensated similarly?"

"Where is it!" Tian Rui said unhappily, "The downstairs is calculated on a one-to-one basis, but the upstairs is only calculated at half price. They're giving me a shop of about 300 square meters as compensation. I used to have a dormitory upstairs, but they won't calculate that for me. Luckily, I listened to you and bought a house when I married Niu Er, otherwise I wouldn't have a place to live."

"That's not bad," Zhou Zhi said with a smile. "Do your two families' elders also have their own rooms?"

“Yes, it’s just that their houses are too small based on area. Niu Er and I discussed it and decided to add some money for both sets of parents so they can each get a 90-square-meter apartment,” Tian Rui said. “There’s such a policy?” Zhou Zhi asked.

"Yes, the largest houses now are 130 yuan, then down to 110, 90, 70-something, and the smallest seems to be 50-something. They all have that. If you used to have a storefront, you can exchange storefronts for storefronts."

"Now everyone says you got the best deal. The entertainment complex was only transferred two years ago, and now they're going to demolish a lot of shops and houses."

"And those old houses you bought, those two that you used as warehouses, they're all going to be replaced with new ones now. They'll be replaced at the original area, so it's worth it."

"Hehe, this is purely luck," Zhou Zhi said. "I still have a headache. The houses have been demolished, where are we going to move the things from? And what about our game room and movie theater equipment? It's all a headache."

"And Brother Niu Er, the entertainment center is gone, and Brother Ming, your little noodle shop is gone too. Do you guys have any plans for what to do next?"

Mingyi remained calm: "Didn't you give me a new storefront? It's a bit small, but it'll be fine for selling noodles."

Indeed, with Mingyi's culinary skills, he would never starve, no matter where he went.

“We also plan to continue in the catering business,” Tian Rui said. “We have made a lot of money in the past few years, but it has also really worn us out. Taking this opportunity, we plan to not only run Chinese food and cold dishes, but also open a skewer shop. This way, we can operate all year round, and we can continue to use the channels we had when we were running the cold dishes business.”

That seems quite appropriate now. Zhou Zhi nodded: "People in Chengdu love hot pot. Opening a skewers restaurant in Chengdu is basically a guaranteed income business. I support you. As for the entertainment center, if you have anything you like, just take it over and use it."

“It’s a real shame that the entertainment complex is gone just like that,” Niu Er said. “Don’t be too sad, Zhouzi. Come on, let’s have a drink.”

Zhou Zhi didn't know where Niu Er got the idea that he would be sad, but he still picked up his cup and said to him, "Keeping you tied to the entertainment center can't help Sister Rui, and it even delays her from having a child. Now it's a good time to change the business and start a husband-and-wife shop. This is a long-term business, much better than a temporary business like an entertainment center."

"You mean the entertainment center's business wasn't going to last long?"

“At least the movie theaters won’t be open for long,” Zhou Zhi said. “Strictly speaking, those things are all showing pirated movies. In the future, when the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television shuts this down, the fines won’t even be enough to cover the costs.”

"Anyway, the risks increase as time goes on, including for arcades. Those software programs will also involve copyright infringement issues. If the authorities don't investigate, it's fine, but if they do take it seriously, then we're in the wrong."

"So it doesn't matter if we dismantle the stall now, since we haven't lost anything, right?"

"I like Zhouzi's personality," Mingyi said with a smile. "The pomegranate wine you brought back is really good. Come on, let's have a drink. I'll take two bottles with me later!"

"Let's go together." Tian Rui picked up his cup as well. "Zhou Zhi was the luckiest; he earned the most." (End of Chapter)