1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 126 You say, who is she still waiting for? (6.4k combined)

Zhou Yan first ate a plain shumai, the biggest feature of which was the thin skin and large filling. It was one bite at a time, with a thin and soft paper skin and tender meat filling, and the shumai was so delicious that it made your mouth water.

The pork and scallion filling is so delicious!
The local pork from that era had a better flavor.

The steaming process of paper-wrapped shumai is much more complicated than that of steamed buns. During the steaming process, the edges of the lotus leaves need to be rinsed with cold water multiple times to ensure the texture of the dough.

Then comes the unique way to eat it: dipping the shumai in a red oil dipping sauce. The white, translucent shumai immediately turns a bright red color when dipped in the red oil, making it spicy, refreshing, and uniquely flavorful.

good to eat!

After finishing one, Zhou Momo reached for the second one, looking at Zhou Yan and saying, "Brother, this is even better than the meat bun!"

"It smells so good, the skin is so thin, and the filling is so generous. It's so juicy and flavorful." Aunt Zhao nodded repeatedly and asked, "How much is a basket? It's so full."

Zhou Yan said, "There are two cages here, eight in each cage, 35 cents each."

"Well... it's not that expensive." Aunt Zhao nodded.

"Yes, it's not expensive." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. Aunt Zhao's thinking was starting to change. In the past, she would have thought that 35 cents a basket of shumai was expensive, so she hadn't bought any to try even after hearing about it for so long.

Earning money in rural towns is not easy, so many people save their money and only take it out when they urgently need it.

But who could have imagined that prices would skyrocket in the following years?

The hard-earned savings of several hundred or several thousand yuan can quickly lose their purchasing power.

If we're really talking about what to buy, buying a house is definitely the best investment.

Housing reform will take several more years, and Zhou Yan has already made plans: first, make money, and then buy a house when he has enough.

When I can't work anymore, I'll just lie down and become a landlord, enjoying a warm bed and family life.

Slip on my slippers, a bunch of keys hanging from my waist, I'm the most stylish person on the whole street.

What we want in life is to live freely and unrestrained.

"Business is better in the city. There are so many people coming and going, you can make money doing any kind of business there." Aunt Zhao looked at the bustling East Street with a touch of emotion, and then looked at Zhou Yan and said, "Are we planning to open a restaurant near the factory gate in the future, or are we considering moving to the city?"

"Going forward, we'll definitely have to head into the city," Zhou Yan said, his gaze sweeping across the bustling East Street.

The Jiaozhou Textile Factory is now thriving, but when Zhou Yan passed by it in his later years on his way to Suji to eat Qiaojiao Beef, the original site had been transformed into a residential area.

The wave of layoffs in the 1990s finally brought it to the surface.

Zhou Erwa's restaurant relies on the textile factory for its business, with 90% of its customers coming from textile factory workers. He definitely needs to make plans first.

Of course, it was only 1984, and the textile factory was still expanding production and recruiting workers, showing a thriving momentum.

Earning money for a few more years shouldn't be a problem, but the current turnover is stuck at 500, and we need to find a way to increase it. If there are opportunities in Jiaozhou, we can also make some arrangements in advance.

East Street extends to the riverbank, leading to the now bustling Jiaozhou Port, which faces the Jiaozhou Buddha diagonally.

The Jiaozhou Buddha is now a very popular tourist attraction, with a constant stream of tourists taking cruises from Jiaozhou Port to see it every day.

Moreover, one can buy a ticket from Jiaozhou Port to take a boat directly to places like the mountain city, which is now a very important mode of transportation for Jiaozhou residents. Therefore, the bustling atmosphere of East Street is largely due to the coming and going of merchants.

The streets are lined with shops and are quite bustling.

Dongda Street later became a popular street, filled with trendy shops. Any shop that could stand out with its signboard was extremely successful.

Zhou Yan knew very little about this era, but he did know something about Jiaozhou.

If we could buy a building on East Street, we would have a foothold if we wanted to open a shop in Jiaozhou from Suji.

You don't need to worry about renting a place or about landlords changing their minds all the time.

Moreover, if you buy a property on East Street, you can rent it out immediately and generate income.

Over the next few decades, the returns will continue to rise, making it a very cost-effective investment.

Currently, housing allocated by work units cannot be bought or sold, but private residential properties can be traded and transferred.

Most of the buildings on East Street still retain the style of the Republic of China era and are mostly private residences.

Nowadays, most houses along the street have their ground floors opened up and rented out as shops, bringing stable rental income to the landlords.

Along the way, there are photo studios, grain stores, hardware stores, and even small taverns. The most famous is the 'Jiale Grand Theater', which features Sichuan opera performances. Every performance attracts a large audience, and tickets are hard to come by.

It is extremely popular.

However, the core commercial area of ​​Jiaozhou is still near the department store and Xiaoshizi area, where the rent is more expensive. It is said that the rent for a decent shop is 20 or 30 yuan a month.

Considering the foot traffic at the department store entrance, the prices weren't outrageous.

Zhou Yan asked the owner of the tofu pudding shop a few questions. She said that the monthly rent for a 30-40 square meter shop on Zhongda Street was about 15 yuan.

"Renting a shop isn't worthwhile. You can do business just as well with a tricycle, and keep all the profits in your pocket." The proprietress said with a smile, "Some people who rent a shop work for the landlord for ten days first, and only the money they earn after that is theirs."

"Auntie, you set up your stall here every day, do you know if there are any houses for sale on East Street?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile.

"Sell? These houses are like golden goose laying golden eggs. I'm afraid they wouldn't be willing to sell them. With two storefronts, you can earn thirty yuan a month just by lying at home. Working in a factory isn't as comfortable as this." The proprietress shook her head and looked at Zhou Yan with some surprise: "Young man, you still want to buy a house? I heard that a building with street-facing shops was sold a couple of days ago in Banchang Street. It sold for more than six thousand yuan."

"Over six thousand?! That's a bit expensive!" Aunt Zhao gasped.

The landlady smiled and said, "It is expensive, but the house is quite comfortable. It's a brick and tile house. The shop on the first floor can be rented out, and people can live on the second floor."

Zhou Yan seemed to be deep in thought. In this day and age, spending six thousand to buy a building was definitely not cheap.

In an era when having 10,000 yuan was considered wealthy nationwide, someone who could afford to buy a house with 6,000 yuan must have been a self-employed individual who had made money.

However, the restaurant now makes a net profit of nearly 200 yuan a day. If you spend it frugally, you can save more than 5,000 yuan a month.

The money I earn in a month can buy a building in Jiaozhou!

When you add it all up, it doesn't seem that expensive!

The fact that there are buyers and sellers indicates that the policy is working.

Moreover, Banchang Street is not far from Dongda Street, and although there is a price difference, it shouldn't be too drastic.

This only strengthened Zhou Yan's resolve to buy a house in Jiaozhou.

In this day and age, the price of a courtyard house in a slightly outlying part of the capital should be about the same.

But I'm not afraid to admit it, he had never been to the capital in his past life.

In this unfamiliar place, if you ask someone to take a few thousand yuan and travel north by train for several days and nights to buy a house, they might be eaten alive along the way.

Jiaozhou is different. My uncle is now the Minister of the Armed Forces Department, a proper deputy section-level cadre. At least he can get backing up if anything happens, so he won't be bullied.

Of course, the upper limit for property purchases in Jiaozhou is very low; one building is enough. Once he has more money, he will definitely go to Chengdu to buy property.

He knows Chengdu well too; he can just buy things in Taikoo Li, Chunxi Road, and the Financial City without even looking.

It doesn't necessarily have to be Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen.

He has a good mindset, is content with a modest life, and doesn't have much ambition.

Zhou Momo is three and a half years old this year. Zhou Yan's goal is to get her into primary school in Jiaozhou and junior high school in Rongcheng. If she can get into No. 7 Middle School, then getting into university will be a piece of cake.
Aunt Zhao and Comrade Zhou don't understand these things, so as her older brother, he definitely has to consider things for her first.

Zhou Yan doesn't expect her to be very successful in the future, but he hopes that when she understands what she wants, she will have more choices.

After eating two baskets of shumai, the whole family was full.

Zhou Yan paid the bill and returned the steamer and dipping saucer.

"I told you I'd just leave it there and go get it, why did you have to bring it over?" The auntie said with a smile as she took the steamer.

"It was just a small favor." Zhou Yan smiled and casually asked, "Auntie, did your boss buy this house himself or rent it? I'm also thinking of starting a small business on East Street and would like to inquire about the market."

The auntie whispered, "Our boss bought this shop. If you were to rent it, a shop this big would cost at least fifteen yuan."

"Do you know how much money he spent?" Zhou Yan lowered his voice slightly.

"I don't know." The aunt shook her head and glanced at the dock again. "Our boss mentioned it a couple of days ago. It seems that the building at the intersection ahead is for sale, but the price is ridiculously high and it's a lot of trouble."

"Auntie, a basket of shumai."

"Okay! I'll get it for you!"

The auntie was busy, so Zhou Yan didn't ask any more questions, but his mind was on the building at the intersection.

Which type of shop is the most valuable?
That must be a conspicuous corner shop.

The intersection of Dongda Street faces Jiaozhou Port directly, right next to the river.

Zhou Yan pushed the car, said goodbye to his parents, and headed straight for Jiaozhou Port.

Soon, a house with blue bricks and tiles came into view.

This house is quite big!

It stands at the end of East Street, spanning East Street and Binjiang Road.

Directly opposite the main gate of Jiaozhou Port, and diagonally opposite is the Shancheng Shipping Company. Merchants coming and going by boat will see this shop as soon as they disembark.

Visitors strolling along the riverside road will also stop here to watch the cruise ships in the harbor.

This house is in such a great location!

Zhou Yan glanced around and estimated that the area occupied at least three or four hundred square meters, and that was an underestimation.

Like the other houses on East Street, they also made holes in the walls to rent out two shops, one selling noodles and the other selling braised dishes.

If Zhou Yan remembers correctly, this area was later demolished and turned into a commercial street.

The house looks quite old, with blue brick walls, flying eaves and blue tiles, and even a gate tower at the entrance. The gate is tightly closed, and it's unclear how many courtyards are inside. It looks like the house of a wealthy family in the past.

However, no notice of sale was posted on either side.

"What are you looking at?" Aunt Zhao couldn't help but ask when she saw Zhou Yan looking around.

"Is there anything good to eat?" Zhou Momo looked around.

"The lady who sells shumai said this house is for sale. The location is so good. I'll go find out more. I'll have the old man watch the car. You take Momo to the port to look at the ships," Zhou Yan whispered to her, then headed straight for the braised food shop.

Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhao's eyes widened slightly as she looked at the large mansion in front of her, wondering how much this must cost!
"Mommy, I want to see a big ship." Zhou Momo hugged her leg and swayed back and forth, her eyes full of anticipation.

"Come on, I'll take you to see it." Aunt Zhao scooped her up, said something to Zhou Miao, and walked towards the river.

Zhou Yan walked into the braised food shop. The owner, a middle-aged man, had just finished weighing a pig's head for a customer and said with a smile, "Handsome, what would you like to weigh?" "I'd like a pig's ear," Zhou Yan said with a smile, glancing at the price list on the wall.

"Okay!" The shopkeeper picked up a pig's ear and put it on the scale. "Three ounces, ninety cents."

"Okay, cut it up." Zhou Yan nodded, and only after the boss started cutting the pig's ear did he ask, "Boss, I heard this house is for sale?"

Upon hearing this, the shop owner looked up at Zhou Yan, his gaze lingering on the new watch in his hand. He smiled and nodded, "That's right. We just talked about this two days ago when we rented shops from these two businesses. If we can afford the price, they'll let us buy first, so that others won't kick us out after they buy it."

"So, do you want to buy it?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile.

"Who can afford that!" the shopkeeper scoffed, holding up one finger. "It'll cost at least this much, but the exact amount is still undecided."

"Ten thousand?!" Zhou Yan's voice rose a few decibels.

"Ten thousand might not even be enough. I think Old Mrs. Qiu's granddaughter wants at least another one or two thousand more." The shopkeeper shook his head, saying with a hint of disdain, "Those Hong Kong people just don't treat money like money."

"Hong Kong people? Why are we talking about Hong Kong people again?" Zhou Yan asked, puzzled.

"Old Mrs. Qiu's children fled to Hong Kong in their early years, leaving only Old Mrs. Qiu and Mr. Duan and his wife behind. They went to the countryside and did manual labor, but Mr. Duan did not survive."

"Two years ago, the case was overturned, and the Qiu family's old house was returned to Old Lady Qiu. She came back here to retire. She rented out two shops, earning twenty or thirty yuan a month. She plays mahjong and listens to Sichuan opera every day. She lives a comfortable life."

"Just recently, his son, whom he hadn't heard from in decades, came to his door with his granddaughter, saying he wanted to take her to Hong Kong to enjoy her retirement. Then he started making arrangements to sell the house."

"However, this matter is not settled yet. Old Mrs. Qiu is unwilling to go to Hong Kong, saying that she is waiting for someone and that she would rather die in Jiaozhou than go there."

"Old Mrs. Qiu's son stayed for a month before going back, leaving his granddaughter here to keep her company and take care of the house matters." The shopkeeper paused, looked up at Zhou Yan, and said, "You know, the old lady is over seventy years old, who is she waiting for? She's really enjoying herself in Hong Kong. When her son came, he was always picked up and dropped off in a car. I heard the watch he was wearing was a Rolex, which is worth ten thousand yuan!"

Zhou Yan was also somewhat taken aback upon hearing this. In this day and age, wearing a Rolex worth 10,000 yuan undoubtedly indicates a certain level of economic strength; one must at least be a Hong Kong businessman.

Zhou Yan asked in confusion, "If the house is worth less than one of his watches, why bother selling it? Why not just take the old lady away?"

"They're not really after the money; they just want to put an end to the old lady's idea so she'll be willing to go to Hong Kong," the shopkeeper said while making pig ears. "Whoever can resolve the old lady's concerns and get her to agree, her granddaughter would probably be willing to pay a few thousand less. Otherwise, if the old lady doesn't agree, no amount of money can buy her away."

Zhou Yan took the oil paper bag, seemingly lost in thought. So this was what the owner of the shumai shop meant when he said it was so expensive and troublesome to buy wholesale.

The house seems to be for sale, but there's no specific price, and not even a definite answer on whether or not to buy it.

"Do you perhaps want to buy this house?" The shopkeeper asked, staring at Zhou Yan as he gave him his change.

"A friend of mine is interested, so I'm just asking on his behalf. I don't have that much money to spare," Zhou Yan said with a smile, shaking his head. He already had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on.

“If you’re interested, just knock on the door and ask. These two shops are completely separate from the house. The old lady only comes when it’s time to collect rent.” The owner looked at Zhou Yan with a smile and said, “If your friend buys this house, can you help me talk to him and ask if he can still rent this shop to me? I’ll still pay the same rent.”

"Okay, I'll definitely pass on your message." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile, thanked the owner when a customer came in, and then left with the pig's ear.

As Zhou Yan walked out of the braised food shop, he looked back at the old, quaint and grand building, his brows furrowed.

If you say 10,000 yuan, then at least he has a clear goal. If he works hard for two months, he might be able to save enough.

But how could an outsider like him agree to something that even her son and granddaughter couldn't do?
Such a nice house, I don't know how many bosses in Jiaozhou are eyeing it.

Nowadays, people with 10,000 yuan in assets are rare, but don't underestimate local business owners like Huang He who have substantial wealth.

He doesn't believe someone who can afford to buy his son a motorcycle for over two thousand yuan doesn't have tens of thousands of yuan in cash on hand.

Zhou Yan's restaurant can make tens of thousands of yuan in profit a year. Fei Yan Restaurant, as one of the four major restaurants in Jiaozhou, can't possibly earn less than him, right?
He's already received the information; he'll keep an eye on it later.

The most urgent thing is to make money!

If you don't have at least 10,000 yuan in your hand, you won't even have a chance to sit at the table.

With money in hand, even if this house doesn't work out, you can buy something else later.

Just then, a cruise ship must have docked, and tourists poured out of the port gate.

"Look, there's a braised food shop over there. Let's go buy a couple of duck heads to try!"

"Buy me one, I'm going to eat MSG noodles next door!"

Many tourists headed straight for the two stores.

Zhou Yan was a little envious. Look, that's the power of location.

If he buys this house, he'll demolish it and rebuild it.

The entire first floor was converted into commercial space with a ceiling height of 3.5 meters. Fifty years from now, it won't look any shabby than the surrounding shops.

The second floor was converted into two large single-level apartments, one for his parents and one for himself. The third floor was reserved for Zhou Momo as a super large master bedroom, and a river-viewing terrace was also built to overlook the Jiaozhou Buddha across the river.

Just thinking about it makes me feel wonderful.

This braised food shop is definitely not going to stay open. It sells braised food, and you can't let someone else sleep soundly next to you.

Boss, I'm so sorry!

Zhou Yan and Comrade Lao Zhou pushed the car to the riverbank and enjoyed the river view for a while.

"Brother, I want to ride a big boat, will you take me?" Zhou Momo ran over, hugged his leg and acted coquettishly, her big eyes full of expectation.

Zhou Yan glanced at his watch, then at the cruise ship schedule beside him, and shook his head with a smile, saying, "No, the cruise ships have all closed. We definitely can't take a ride today. We'll come back next time."

"Okay..." Zhou Momo let go, her mood a little down.

"Here, I bought you some braised pig ears." Zhou Yan opened the braised pig ears he had just bought and handed them to Zhou Momo.

"I love you, Guoguo!" Zhou Momo shouted happily, picked up a piece and put it in her mouth. After chewing it, she frowned and said, "It's not as good as what Guoguo makes."

“You make braised pig ears yourself, why buy this?” Aunt Zhao also picked up a piece and put it in her mouth, shaking her head as well: “It’s too salty! And not very fragrant either, it’s definitely not as good as yours.”

"I asked the boss for some information and bought some things to ask questions. In the time it took to cut the earlobe, he told me everything," Zhou Yan said with a smile, glancing at the evaluation in his eyes.

A plain and ordinary braised pig's ear

Looking back at the crowded braised food shop, he sighed, "Look, a good storefront can sell such ordinary pig ears for three yuan a pound."

The family of four rode their bikes back to Suji, completely satisfied.

On the way, Aunt Zhao asked about the price of the house and was shocked to hear that it cost more than 10,000 yuan.

"Are you planning to buy it?" Aunt Zhao asked Zhou Yan. "Even if you can rent two shops for thirty yuan a month, that's only three hundred and sixty yuan a year. It would take thirty years to break even."

“That’s not how it works. This year it’s 360, next year it’s 500, and the year after that it’s 800. You might break even in less than ten years,” Zhou Yan said with a smile. “However, let’s save 10,000 yuan now before we talk about anything else.”

Aunt Zhao didn't understand why Zhou Yan was so confident, but seeing his firm gaze, she didn't ask any more questions.

Save it!

Save them together!

A family needs to work together to accomplish great things!
When they only had five hundred yuan, they dared to take it all out to help Zhou Yan open a restaurant, and even helped him borrow more than eight hundred yuan.

Zhou Yan knows more and sees further than they do. If he says it's worth buying, then we'll buy it.

By the time we returned to Suji, it was almost dark.

After taking a shower, Zhou Yan took out the accounts and reviewed them.

Today I spent 273.9 yuan in the city, and I still have 510.72 yuan in savings.

Away from 10,000 in savings...

The goal is still far off.

Zhou Yan took out a notebook and wrote down the names of several restaurants, along with their addresses.

This is one of the larger restaurants he saw while shopping in Jiaozhou today, and he wrote down the address.

When he has some free time, he plans to make another trip to Jiaozhou and visit each restaurant individually to see if there are any that don't make their own braised meat but are willing to buy from him.

Stir-fried and braised dishes won't sell to restaurants, but braised meat will.

The old lady had already verified this decades ago.

Tomorrow morning he will invite the old lady over to give instructions on preparing the second batch of braising liquid and on making a new round of braised beef.

An old house where a treasure.

He wasn't worried because the old lady was there to keep him calm.

Tomorrow we'll be supplying braised meat to his master; for an occasion like a banquet, you can't take it too seriously.

Then we can compile a list of the restaurants that bought braised meat from her back then, making the search more targeted.

Ten or twenty years have passed, and the old lady is now seventy-five. Whether those restaurants from back then have been passed down to future generations, or whether they still want their braised meat, is all unknown.

After putting the money and ledgers back into the box, Zhou Yan took out some letter paper, pulled out a Parker pen, thought for a moment, and began to reply to Xia Yao.

Today's trip to Jiaozhou was like a pebble thrown into his dull and busy life, and he suddenly had many topics he wanted to share with her.

For example, the distinctive tofu pudding of Jiaozhou, the house with a river view, and Zhou Momo's excitement after receiving the crayons...

His thoughts flowed like a spring, and he wrote three pages in one go.

In the letter, Zhou Yan also asked her about the complicated situation of the house owner, and how to approach a young lady from a wealthy family in a more appropriate way to gain her trust.

Having lived two lives, the person Zhou Yan had ever seen who most resembled a rich young lady was Xia Yao.

Friends should help each other and make progress together.

Zhou Yan stuffed the letter into the envelope and wrote the words "To Xia Yao".

Having a pen pal is great.

……

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Comrade Xiao Zhou and Comrade Lao Zhou went out to buy groceries.

When we came back, an old lady was sitting in the back seat of Comrade Zhou, carrying a small jar.

The car slowly came to a stop, and the old lady jumped out, still holding the jar.

"Oh dear! Grandma, be careful!" Zhou Yan, who was about to step forward to help her, was startled.

"What are you afraid of? I can pick up a carrying pole and chase the dog—I'll still make it scream! You might not even be as strong as me." The old lady waved her hand and walked straight into the restaurant, asking as she did so, "Where's my youngest granddaughter? I haven't seen my darling in so long."

　It's now a two-in-one product.

　　I'll add more chapters tomorrow; I can't finish one tonight!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)