Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 774 Uncle's Heart: Opening a Restaurant Leads to Prosperity
We had a long conversation at Lao Jin's house, mainly to remind Lao Jin again, and also to remind ourselves, that car repair shops are not traditional repair shops, but rather car markets that integrate buying and selling, provide after-sales service, and facilitate free buying and selling for the public!
In the future, Xu Ning plans to turn this repair shop into the largest used car market in the city, and even radiate to the three surrounding cities. At that time, he can just sit in the office and make a fortune.

Although it conflicts with Xu Ning's usual idea of ​​staying at home and living with her parents, what is the most important thing in life?
Money! In today's society, you can't get anywhere without money. Money makes the world go round. How can you live a leisurely life in a poor mountain village without a financial foundation? Are you satisfied with just a few hundred thousand yuan? For truly wealthy people, millions, tens of millions, or even billions are just fleeting clouds. What they truly yearn for is a healthy body. How do you maintain health? In the end, it still comes down to money!

Many people today understand the importance of money, but they lack the courage to burn their bridges, the perseverance to endure hardship, the vision to spot opportunities, the right timing, the smooth talk to flatter, and most importantly, the interpersonal relationships.

When Xu Ning returned, he wondered if he could achieve anything if he immediately entered the business world. The answer was no. He would inevitably face obstruction from his family and friends, and it might even end badly, with them severing ties. After all, he had a good reputation, so who would believe in a notorious little rascal?
But look at him now. He just said he wanted to do a business, and the Chai family of Wangxing, the Sun family of Sandaohe, the Wu family of Wanye, and his brothers didn't even ask why or whether he was confident. They just put money in his favor. That's the benefit of fame.

Without the experience of hunting livestock in the mountains beforehand, he wouldn't have gained fame, wealth, or connections...

At noon, Old Jin's wife specially invited the neighbor lady to cook six dishes together.

After finishing his meal, Xu Ning got up to say goodbye. He was going to chat with Liu Xuemin about everyday things. He brought some venison and bear meat for Liu's father, which, although not much, was a token of his goodwill.

Then we went to Old Yang's house. Yang Liguo had just brought his wife and children back today and was heating the kang (a traditional heated brick bed) at home. When he entered, Zhao Lan and the two children were very welcoming and escorted him from the courtyard gate all the way to the east room.

“My brother has already found a place to live. You might need to settle in before you can move in. My mom went to check the auspicious dates and said the day after tomorrow is a good day, so we'll leave then.”

Yang Liguo nodded: "Okay! The shop hasn't been cleaned up yet, has it?"

"The shop is right in front of the house, not far away. Didn't I tell you before? We don't need to do a big renovation of the shop yet. The main thing is to clean the ground..."

Zhao Lan asked in confusion, "Didn't you say before that you wanted to use wood to cover the ceiling and whitewash the walls?"

“That’s just something to look forward to later. We’re just starting out, so we can’t invest too much. After you’ve settled the shop in the city, go to the market to find the ingredients. There are people at the market who will deliver them. You might have to pay them for each delivery, but brother, you absolutely can’t skimp on that! Your focus should be on the shop, not on trivial things like sourcing ingredients…”

"I know, I just go to the market to find merchants to cooperate with, and then I ask them to find people or send people to deliver goods to me, so I don't have to get up early and work late..."

After chatting with Yang Liguo for almost an hour, Xu Ning glanced at the time and saw that it was already past two o'clock, so he got up and left.

Xu Ning returned to Qing'an Village at exactly four o'clock. He then went to the village office to call Da Zhi and Liu Eryin to discuss the pick-up time. After that, he contacted Li Tielin and Lao Zhang, asking them to help pick up the group of workers near Qing'an.

Old Zhang and Li Tielin naturally agreed without hesitation, especially since Xu Laonian had already communicated with the two of them and was just waiting for Xu Ning's call.

Two days later, in the morning.

The Xu family home was bustling with activity. Meng Ziyan and Wang Shujuan were both dressed in two layers of thick clothing. Wang Hu and Guan Lei carried the luggage and other items to the car. Xu Ning personally fed the dogs and chatted with them for a few minutes. The blue wolf seemed to know that he was leaving home, and its whimpering sounded somewhat aggrieved. This infected the other dogs, and they began to run around Xu Ning in a frenzy, almost bewildering him.

Inside the house, there was a group of people around the dining table. Sun Lianfang pouted, feeling a little reluctant. The three pregnant women had been having a good time, but now she was all alone at home. How could she feel at ease?
Xu Laonian suggested that Sun Lianfang go along as well, but Xu Ning said, "After the workers have all returned to Lengchang, let Shitou take Lianfang back to Sandaohe for a while. Lianfang, you are going to the hospital for a check-up at the beginning of next month, don't forget."

"Yes, I remember."

Breakfast was dumplings with pickled cabbage and oil filling. Xu Ning made a plate of them and then urged Meng Ziyan and Wang Shujuan to get in the car.

This trip to the city was driven by Xu Ning and Yang Jun's old Jiefang truck. Two pregnant women sat in the passenger seat, while Yang Jun and Wang Hu sat on tattered mattresses in the cargo compartment, covered with military overcoats.

Guan Lei and Li Fuqiang also got into the old Dongfeng truck and followed Xu Ning's car out of the village. They were going to Malian to pick up Liu Eryin and the others.

After a long and tiring journey, when they arrived in the city, Yang Liguo and his family of four had already packed up. They helped carry their luggage, bedding, and clothes into the car, and then sat in the car with Yang Jun. Wang Shujuan and Meng Ziyan were pregnant and were wearing thick clothes, so it was already a bit crowded in the passenger seat. There was really no way to put Zhao Lan in the car as well.

However, Zhao Lan was also reasonable. She not only gave the two pregnant women some braised meat, but also prepared a leather bag similar to a hot water bottle for them, which was also filled with hot water and was very warm to hold in their arms.

It was already 11 a.m. when they reached the street. They found a restaurant to eat at, and as they were leaving, Zhao Liguo shook his head and whispered, "If all the restaurants in the city taste like this, then I'm confident I can make this small restaurant a success!"

Xu Ning patted Zhao Liguo on the shoulder and said, "Besides Yanbin Restaurant, I really haven't eaten at any good restaurants in the city. Otherwise, why would I have invited you here?"

Xu Ning then drove to the family building, unloaded everything from the car, and Yang Jun and Wang Hu got into the driver and passenger seats.

"Brother Jun, even though the New Year is over, you still need to be careful. You need to make good use of Tiger's Type 56 semi-automatic rifle. If anything happens, just fire it. Don't be afraid of trouble! If all else fails, just risk your life. Anyway, we didn't get paid this time."

"Okay, I understand, Second Brother."

Yang Jun and Wang Hu drove away, and Xu Ning and the others carried their things into the first floor where Yang Yusheng lived.

The room was heated, and Zhao Lan took off her coat as soon as she entered. She observed the furnishings with great curiosity. They had simply never seen such a simple home before, not that they were unsophisticated. After all, the decor of a large hotel was considered very luxurious by today's standards...

"Is this your first time here, brother?"

Yang Liguo shook his head: "I brought my two children here last year, but this is your sister-in-law's first time here."

"Ah, please sit down. My brother will be back soon. My third uncle has a meeting today, which will probably last until dark."

I had just finished eating and was digesting my food, so I turned on the TV and glanced at the drama series. The current drama was still Huo Yuanjia, because this drama is very popular in mainland China.

Around 2 o'clock, Xu Long drove back in a Yellow River truck. After greeting everyone at the door and drinking half a pot of tea, he said, "My third uncle might be going to the countryside tonight... so he asked me to come over first and take my older brother and sister-in-law to the shop to take a look around and check out the location of the house."

"Shall we leave now?"

Xu Ning said, "It's too late tonight. You can stay here for the night and move over tomorrow."

"No need, let's move everything over in one trip. There aren't many things to play with, just a few quilts and two bags of clothes."

Xu Long said, "Brother and sister-in-law, why don't you stay here for the night? Er Ning will take you over tomorrow. Today, we mainly want to see if you're satisfied."

"That's fine. Your two younger siblings can stay at home. We'll cook dinner there tonight."

Wang Shujuan laughed and said, "Yes, the four-happiness meatballs that my brother made are delicious. I've been craving them for more than half a month."

"Haha, that should be easy. We'll wait for you to come back."

Then, leaving the two sisters-in-law in the house, Xu Ning followed them out.

While in the car, Xu Long pointed to a group of buildings and said, "This is the middle school, that's the primary school, and another mile over there is the high school. Our shop is located between the high school and the middle school, and it's not far from the staff quarters. My third uncle and I will be in for a treat from now on."

"Absolutely. My third uncle's favorite dish is stewed potatoes and eggplant. Last time, I made it at home and ate two bowls with sorghum rice."

"Now that we're closer, it's convenient. Order whatever you want to eat. We run a restaurant, how could we skimp on food?" The couple were both quite good at chatting. Although Yang Liguo often lingered in the kitchen, he still needed to deal with people when he was in a big restaurant, and he could easily come up with polite words. Zhao Lan was even more quick-witted and was very willing to believe and listen to Yang Liguo. Of course, this only applied to external matters. Internally, Yang Liguo had to listen to Zhao Lan. Their division of labor was very clear.

The Yellow River car parked by the roadside. After getting out, Xu Long took out his keys, opened the door, and said, "The storefront is a bit small, but the inside is quite spacious. There are a total of seven restaurants on this street. Two of them sell noodles, mainly steamed buns, dumplings, and steamed rolls. The other one sells fried dough sticks and fried cakes..."

Xu Long explained in detail that besides the noodle vendors, there were also vendors selling tofu, soy milk, and braised food, while the other five were proper restaurants. Xu Long took out two pieces of paper from his inner pocket and said:

"These were written by my third uncle himself, brother, take a look."

Yang Liguo took the paper and glanced at it. There were no words of advice on it, but rather: "Da Liu Restaurant: Fish-scale eggplant 9 mao, rice 1 mao (no coupon required)... Da Xing Restaurant: Sauerkraut hot pot 3 mao (expensive, terrible)..."

Zhao Lan stared at the words on the paper, her eyes reddening, as if something was stuck in her throat, making her feel choked and uncomfortable.

"Third Uncle... Ah, I understand."

Seeing that the couple was emotionally unstable, Xu Ning pushed open the door and said, "Let's go in and take a look."

Upon entering the store, you'll see a spacious area about six meters wide and ten meters long. Further inside, there are two small cubicles with stoves inside.

"Oh my god! It looks small from the outside, but it's huge inside!"

Zhao Lan said excitedly, "Honey, do you think this room can fit six tables? I think it can fit eight!"

Yang Liguo, blushing and gritting his teeth, said, "Of course it can! This is the kitchen, and then there's this whole bar counter..."

Xu Ning and Xu Long didn't disturb the couple, letting the family of four enjoy themselves for a while.

Three to five minutes later, Yang Liguo turned to ask, "Dalong, how much does this shop cost per year?"

"My third uncle said he'll pay for you for a year first, and we'll talk about it again next year when you've earned some money."

"Oh my god, Third Uncle, what am I supposed to say?"

Yang Liguo nodded: "Alright, since Third Uncle has given it to me, then I won't ask any more questions."

Xu Ning said, "I'll take you to get the tables, benches, and stuff tomorrow."

"Are the tables and benches all ready?"

“Yeah, my brother Bao made these from scraps, so the quality might not be as good as the ones that are sold normally. But these tables and benches are free. My brother Bao also said he would send you the sawdust and firewood you usually use for cooking. You don’t have to worry about anything. Everything that needs to be taken care of has been taken care of.”

Yang Liguo rubbed his hands and said, "Oh dear, I don't even know how to thank you guys for all this. This guy has made my face turn red."

"Haha, no need to thank me, we're all family. Besides, my Feng'er will need your help in the future."

Zhao Lan said with a smug look, "It's only right. What's this talk about taking care of her? I adore Feng'er. Jin Yumantang is my own nephew, so it's all only right that we do this for her!"

After looking at the shop, they went to see the house through the back door. The house was similar to Yang Li's house, with three rooms and even the layout was the same.

"Brother Bao had his apprentice come and fix the windows and doors. The kang (heated brick bed) in this room is also very durable; it can be lit almost instantly. It's just that the room is a bit dirty, and there are cobwebs in the corners..."

Zhao Lan waved her hand: "This is nothing. You've taken care of everything. I didn't know what to do. Now that I have something to do, I feel much more at ease."

"Okay, I'll take them to clean the house tomorrow. Da Long and Er Ning, you two go ahead and do what you need to do. I'll call you if I need anything."

"also……"

"Let's go buy some groceries first, then we'll go home and cook some dishes and have a drink."

Seeing that Yang Liguo was in high spirits, Xu Long didn't mention leaving soon, but instead drove them to the nearest market.

Even though it was just after the New Year, there were still vegetables and meat for sale in the market. Yang Liguo and Zhao Lan didn't let them spend any money. They bought some vegetables and beef and mutton, and also bought a smoked chicken at the market entrance before returning home.

Yang Liguo and Zhao Lan took over the kitchen, not letting Wang Shujuan and Meng Ziyan get involved. Xu Long chatted with his wife for a while, then said, "Brother and sister-in-law, I'm going to work. Er Ning will take you tomorrow."

"You're leaving already? After you've finished eating?"

"My third uncle is waiting for me to drive to the countryside. Let's get together at a restaurant then."

"Okay! Then I won't delay your work... Drive slowly."

Wang Shujuan and Meng Ziyan certainly couldn't be idle, so they went to the kitchen to help pick vegetables. Xu Ning, unusually, was also busy, squatting on the ground cleaning the carp.

Zhao Lan said with a big smile, "I never imagined I could come to a big city and open a restaurant. I never dared to dream of it..."

"What's there to be afraid of, sister-in-law? You know nothing about my brother's cooking skills. Maybe you're just used to it. My brother's skills are definitely good enough to make him a star in the city. Look at the place we're eating at today, isn't the food delicious?"

Zhao Lan shook her head: "It's far worse than your older brother's. The bottom of the pot even tasted a bit burnt. I was stunned after just one bite."

"Absolutely! If someone with this level of skill can open a restaurant, then I can too!"

Wang Shujuan turned her head and said with a smile, "Erning, you've never cooked at home before."

"Oh dear, I don't easily reveal my culinary skills, lest you find them unforgettable after just one bite!"

Meng Ziyan said, "Are you afraid we'll vomit after just one bite?"

"Hahaha……"

In the evening, Yang Liguo prepared six dishes. Xu Ning opened a bottle of Wuliangye liquor that Yang Yusheng had left behind, and also prepared orange soda for the two children, his wife, and his two sisters-in-law.

They sat around the table and happily celebrated Yang Liguo's housewarming, wishing him great success and prosperity in the city.

(End of this chapter)