Catering God

Chapter 111 Modern Slums (5k)

In early winter, the afterglow of autumn has long passed.

The trees on both sides of the street were left with only bare branches, and most of the pedestrians were wearing down jackets, and some even prepared scarves and cotton hats early.

It rarely snows in Handu. If God is in a good mood, he may give us a few snowflakes a year, but they are gone in the blink of an eye before we have time to appreciate them.

"This used to be a supermarket, but business wasn't good. They didn't even spend much on the transfer fee. It's 200 square meters, and at 70 yuan per square meter, the monthly rent is only 14,000 yuan... But only 110 square meters are on the first floor, and the rest are on the second floor."

Lu Cheng stood on the side of the road, chatting with Jiang Feng about various situations in the store.

Jiang Feng nodded: "That's enough."

"Have you got your business license?"

"It only took one trip to change the door sign."

It is easiest to get a supermarket business license, but it will be a little troublesome if it involves selling tobacco and alcohol.

Tang Wenjun jumped out of the truck and directed the workers to move the goods into the supermarket. He then walked up to the two people and said, panting:
"Lao Jiang, what are you thinking? Why do you suddenly want to open a supermarket?"

"The supermarket makes money." Jiang Feng said.

"Making money? You need to listen to what you're saying."

Tang Wenjun's eyes widened, thinking he had misheard. He pointed at the street and said, "No, look at how many supermarkets and convenience stores there are on this street. Otherwise, how could this supermarket go bankrupt?"

This street is said to be next to Hanchuan University, but its actual location is very bad because it does not face any gate of Hanchuan University.

The nearest one is the back gate of Hanchuan University, which leads directly to the dormitory area. But unfortunately, there are several small and medium-sized supermarkets at the entrance of the back gate, which basically divides the customer flow.

It is also difficult for students to come here because the right side of this street is a deserted development area.

Basically all the passenger traffic comes from the residential area behind it.

But there are three or four supermarkets, convenience stores and small shops on this street. It is difficult to survive if you want to open a store here, let alone make money.

Moreover, their store is the farthest from the entrance of the community.

This is also the reason why the previous tenant who opened a supermarket here went bankrupt.

"The boss who sold our shop probably laughed at us behind our backs..."

Tang Wenjun said with a pout.

How bad is the location of this shop?
When Lu Cheng and Tang Wenjun came to discuss the transfer, the boss was waiting in the supermarket with a sad face. When he heard that someone was going to transfer his shop, his face was about to burst with laughter.

I drafted the transfer contract on the same day, fearing they would go back on their word.

The boss heard that Lu Cheng and Tang Wenjun rented the shop to open a supermarket, so he sold the shelves and other miscellaneous items in the store to them at a discount.

He walked away patting his bulging wallet.

"He doesn't know how to run a business, so of course his business is bad. Can you compare me with him..."

Jiang Feng was dismissive of this.

It seems to have its own ideas.

"Come on, tell me, how are you going to run your business?"

Tang Wenjun's curiosity and unwillingness came together. He wanted to see what Jiang Feng was up to.

Could it be possible that he could revive this extremely unlucky and rubbish shop?
Jiang Feng did not rush to answer Tang Wenjun's question. Instead, he looked down at his watch and raised his head and said:

"Lao Lu, have you bought all the fruits and nutritional supplements I asked you to buy?"

"I put it in the trunk of the car a long time ago."

Jiang Feng had previously approved 5 yuan and asked Lu Cheng to buy a second-hand car, which would be convenient for his travel.

Because we often have to travel to the central kitchen, it is very inconvenient to travel without a car.

Jiang Feng did this not only out of generosity, but also to improve work efficiency.

Jiang Feng nodded when he heard this, "That's about it, drive me to the school gate to pick someone up first."

"Where are you going?" Tang Wenjun asked puzzledly.

"I'm going to run some errands. I'll leave the rest of the things here to you."

After Jiang Feng finished speaking, he left with Lu Cheng.

Tang Wenjun looked at the backs of the two people leaving and scratched his head in confusion.

Huh? wrong!

Jiang Feng still hadn't told him how to run this supermarket.

"This guy...just likes to keep us in suspense."

Tang Wenjun shook his head and muttered.

……

Huang Hao received a call from Jiang Feng and hurried to the school gate.

At the school gate, he saw Jiang Feng standing next to a car, walked up to him, and said in confusion:

"Jiang Feng, why did you suddenly call me out? Is there something wrong?"

Jiang Feng just called him and asked him to put down everything he was doing and come out for a while.

"Get in the car first."

Jiang Feng opened the car door and urged Huang Hao to get in.

Huang Hao followed Jiang Feng into the car, confused.

In the car, Jiang Feng briefly introduced the driving route to Huang Hao.

Then he said: "Next I will take you to see someone."

"Who?"

"Uncle Qi."

"what!"

Huang Hao's eyes suddenly widened, as if he had heard something incredible.

After walking only a few kilometers, the group arrived at a very dilapidated old community.

"What is this, an old residential complex or a village in the city?"

Huang Hao looked at the buildings in front of him and suddenly felt confused.

"It's not a village in the city, it's more of a residential community." Jiang Feng replied.

Strictly speaking, it is not a commercial housing community built by developers.

Instead, it is a group of self-built buildings built by local people, one next to another, forming a large building complex and dividing the streets.

The purpose is to rent it out, as there are many factories around it, and it is specifically rented to migrant workers from other places.

Its internal structure is also very simple. Most of the units are single rooms and do not even have independent toilets. There are only one or two public toilets on each floor.

Even after another ten years, you can rent a single room of only a few square meters without a bathroom here for less than 100 yuan.

It can be called a modern version of a slum.

Jiang Feng took out the apples and nutritional supplements that he had prepared in advance from the trunk, took half for himself, and gave the other half to Huang Hao.

"Come on, follow me."

Jiang Feng said this and took Huang Hao into this "concrete prison".

The journey is left outside because it is not convenient to park here. Although there are streets inside, they are very narrow.

He could only park his car outside, and next to the airport road, so he would have to move his car if someone came.

"This place is full of self-built houses built by locals. Later, they were gathered together and given a very nice name, Changle Community."

As Jiang Feng spoke, he skillfully led Tang Wenjun through the streets and alleys.

At first glance, it looks like a row of buildings connected together. If you don’t know, you might think it is a single building. But when you get closer, you can see that tiles of different colors can separate them.

The second floor and above are rental houses, and the first floor is mostly shops.

Huang Hao followed Jiang Feng and looked around.

There are a few sparse customers in the barber shop, most of the people in the teahouse are middle-aged and elderly people, and a few children are playing at the door of the convenience store. In addition, there are delicatessens and driving schools... squeezed into this street which is only slightly wider than an alley. Although small, it has everything.

"The people who live here are all migrant workers from other places, and some even have families with them. Don't be fooled by the simple appearance of this place, the rent is quite cheap."

Seeing Jiang Feng so familiar with the place, Huang Hao couldn't help but feel curious: "Old Jiang, have you been here before?"

“I’ve been here before…”

Jiang Feng glanced at a couple passing by, and memories flooded his mind.

These young people in their twenties are all employees of nearby factories. They earn a monthly salary of 2000 yuan and live in these cheap rental houses.

After Jiang Feng graduated from university, he lived here in order to start a business and live frugally.

He still remembers it clearly.

The room was too small and had no windows. In order to prevent the room from being filled with the smell of oil smoke, he shamelessly set up the stove in the corridor, and the gas stove and gas tank had to be tied with iron chains.

Otherwise, if I go out during the day, I won’t even be able to cook when I come back at night.

There is a couple living in the next room who particularly likes to watch Chow Yun-fat's movies. When they come back at night, they turn up the TV volume very loud.

The young couple squeezed into a single room of about ten square meters, without even a window, and the door was usually not opened.

The bed, wardrobe, TV and gas stove are all squeezed into a small single room.

Don’t ask Jiang Feng how he knows the furnishings in other people’s houses so well. When the couple cooks at night and there are no windows, they still have to open the door to get some fresh air.

He would go to the bathroom and occasionally glance at it.

He was a bachelor at the time and was particularly envious of this kind of cohabitation life for couples.

It’s just that things have changed. Looking back, those were such hard times…

It was this experience that made him vow to become a rich man and live in a house with a private bathroom. However, he did not expect that after working hard for half a lifetime, he would end up with nothing.

Jiang Feng shook his head and took Huang Hao into a building.

Huang Hao looked at Jiang Feng, who was leading the way, and suddenly became curious. He asked, "Old Jiang, how did you know Uncle Qi's home address?"

In this narrow corridor, every time you speak there is an echo, which is really suitable for shooting a horror movie.

Jiang Feng lowered his voice slightly:
"You only need to pay 100 yuan to get Uncle Qi's home address from the cafeteria aunt."

Huang Hao was stunned.

He wondered how Jiang Feng found out, but he didn't expect it to be so simple and crude.

Soon, he followed Jiang Feng to the rooftop.

There are only a few single rooms hastily built on the roof. The rent here is the cheapest. Of course, it may leak on rainy days.

Next to the house in the center, a shed was built to shelter from wind and rain.

There was a dining table and a few worn-out stools under the shed.

The stove was set up at the door of the house, using a broken wooden table and a few tiles.

The person standing in front of the stove cooking was Uncle Qi.

Huang Hao was delighted when he saw this: "Uncle Qi!"

Uncle Qi, who was cooking, turned around and saw Huang Hao and Jiang Feng, and was immediately stunned.

When the two walked up, he came to his senses, his face showing surprise and confusion: "Xiao Huang... why are you here?"

He seemed to not remember Jiang Feng's name very well, but just had a vague impression of it, so he didn't call out his name.

Jiang Feng and Huang Hao came over with gifts and put everything on the table.

Jiang Feng said, "Uncle Qi, we came here specially to see you."

Huang Hao: "Yeah, Uncle Qi, I didn't expect that we could find this place... These fruit milks and nutritional supplements were bought by Jiang Feng as a small token of my appreciation."

When he first came, he felt a little embarrassed to come empty-handed when he heard Jiang Feng say that he was here to visit Uncle Qi.

However, Jiang Feng had already bought everything, so he didn't let Huang Hao spend any extra money.

Huang Hao was also honest. He pointed out right away that these things were bought by Jiang Feng.

"You guys...you guys just come, buy something..."

Uncle Qi was trying to refuse, but his nose suddenly felt sore and he quickly rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.

He didn't expect that after he was fired as a mere cafeteria worker, there were still students who cared about him.

An indescribable emotion crept into my heart.

"Take it back quickly, I can't accept it..."

"No, Uncle Qi, it's just a little gift. Please accept it. We came here specially to see you."

Jiang Feng said with a smile.

Uncle Qi saw that he couldn't persuade the two of them, so he had to accept the things and then said:

"You haven't eaten yet, right? I'll have this dish ready soon. Would you like to have a bite?"

"Okay."

Jiang Feng did not refuse.

He pulled Huang Hao and found a small stool to sit down.

Soon, Uncle Qi prepared the meal.

He brought three dishes to the table, the same old three: shredded pork with fish flavor, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and shredded potatoes.

Uncle Qi wiped his hands on his apron and said embarrassedly: "I brought all these ingredients back from the cafeteria before. I have been eating these recently... Please don't dislike them."

In fact, he has been eating these three dishes since he started working in the cafeteria.

Huang Hao shook his head and said with a smile, "No way, Uncle Qi, I've been missing your shredded pork with fish flavor these past few days."

Jiang Feng nodded, indicating that he agreed with what Huang Hao said.

Uncle Qi was immediately happy when he saw this. He turned around and brought out an electric rice cooker from the house and started serving rice to Huang Hao and Jiang Feng.

There was obviously not much rice left, so it was all given to Jiang Feng and Huang Hao.

Then he took another bowl, put some dishes in it, and brought it into the house.

Jiang Feng stood at the door and glanced.

There was an old man lying in the room.

In the room of a few square meters, there is only a bed, a TV and a wardrobe.

After Uncle Qi came out, Jiang Feng couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Qi, who is this?"

"Oh, this is my wife, your aunt. She got spondylitis a few years ago and has been lying in bed all the time."

Uncle Qi replied.

Then he sat down and had dinner with Jiang Feng and Huang Hao.

There was no rice in his bowl, so he just ate the vegetables.

At the dinner table, Jiang Feng and Huang Hao also got to know Uncle Qi's family situation.

Uncle Qi's son works in a nearby leather shoe factory and lives in the factory dormitory on weekdays.

A few years ago, Uncle Qi’s wife was diagnosed with spondylitis and was brought to Handu for medical treatment. Unfortunately, this disease is incurable.

I can’t die.

If I were to live, I could only live in bed and need someone to take care of me all the time.

I have to spend a lot of money on medicine every month.

For an ordinary family, it is a disaster.

Seeing that his son was already living in poverty, Uncle Qi decided to stay in Handu to work and take care of his wife at the same time.

It was only last year that I found an opportunity. Through an introduction, I got a window in the cafeteria of Handan University and started a small business.

Uncle Qi described the whole process with a smile on his face and was very cheerful.

But Huang Hao listened.

But I felt a little uncomfortable.

He didn't expect that Uncle Qi's family conditions were so difficult, and he was unwilling to go along with the supermarket owner to sell at a high price.

Uncle Qi was unwilling to go against his conscience and make money from students. He would rather be kicked out, even though life at home was already difficult...

He kept saying that he wanted to speak up for Uncle Qi, but because he was worried that his studies would be affected, he gave up halfway and deleted the post.

Thinking of this, the 1.89-meter-tall man from Northeast China couldn't help but have tears in his eyes.

Jiang Feng noticed Huang Hao's emotional fluctuations and quickly told him what had happened in school before.

Uncle Qi was very shocked when he heard this. He didn't expect that he, a mere cafeteria worker, would receive so much care and support from his classmates... For a moment, he was choked with tears.

He patted Huang Hao on the shoulder:

"Thank you so much, Xiao Huang... Although I don't know what a forum is, please don't let this affect your studies. If that happens, I'll feel guilty."

Received comfort from Uncle Qi.

Huang Hao felt a little better, but when he thought of Uncle Qi's bad thing, he sighed.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Jiang Feng said with a smile, "

"Uncle Qi, actually, we came to you today to ask for your help."

As soon as these words came out.

Uncle Qi and Huang Hao were both surprised.

"Help? How can I help you?" Uncle Qi looked confused.

Even Huang Hao didn't understand what Jiang Feng wanted to do for a while.

Then, Jiang Feng said seriously, "I opened a supermarket outside the school and would like to invite you to be the honorary store manager. The monthly salary is 3,000 yuan, plus commission."

If you tell others about this kind of treatment, people will definitely rush to apply for the job.

You should know that ordinary workers in the local leather shoe factory only earn 2,000 yuan a month and can only take two days off a month at most.

"Supermarket...Manager?"

Uncle Qi was immediately confused by Jiang Feng's words.

At the same time, he was also very surprised that the seemingly ordinary student in front of him was actually a young boss.

Jiang Feng hurriedly explained: "Honorary Store Manager, your job is actually very simple. You will be in charge of the cash register in the store, working eight hours a day and having two days off a week."

"Oh... the cashier."

Uncle Qi finally understood now.

Huang Hao nudged Jiang Feng with his elbow and asked, "Old Jiang, when did you open a supermarket near the school?"

"Just these two days, I'll tell you later..."

After Jiang Feng finished perfunctorily answering Huang Hao, he continued to say to Uncle Qi:

"Uncle Qi, if you are not satisfied with the salary, we can still discuss it..."

"No, no, no..." Uncle Qi waved his hands quickly, and then explained a little awkwardly:
"I was just wondering, do cashiers get such high salaries..."

Uncle Qi scratched his head. Even though he was in his forties, he still felt a little embarrassed and uneasy when faced with such a thing.

　I once lived in a place like this, in a rooftop cubicle. Later, when I started my own business, I rented a cheap shop downstairs to use as a workshop for making braised food. I partitioned off a small room with boards and used it as a bedroom, which was filled with the smell of braised food. Clothes hung outside at night were stolen... The thief was quite polite. He took my clothes, my work clothes, and the children's clothes, which he had outgrown, neatly folded and placed at the door of the rolling shutter... I don't blame him. We're all poor, and life is hard.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)