Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 265 Response
Around 2 p.m., the steam from the kitchen of Shuxiangju had not yet dissipated, and the lobby was filled with the smell of cooking oil.

The employees, holding enamel bowls, ate around several wooden tables put together. The shredded potatoes and pork in their bowls were glistening with oil, and the Mapo Tofu, coated in chili oil, looked appetizing. But the usual enthusiasm for praising Chef Han's cooking skills was completely gone today.

Han Chunyan shoveled rice into her bowl, her short, ear-length hair falling to the side of her face, obscuring the sorrow in her eyes.

She secretly glanced at Zhang Hongqi across from her. This tall man usually loved to talk about the latest happenings in the village, but today he was quietly drinking his soup.

Lin Qiaomei put down her chopsticks, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing the rim of the bowl. Her gaze swept over the wooden sign "Shuxiangju" on the wall, and her brows furrowed even more. She had heard about the sale of the ground floor shops and wanted to help, but she was powerless to do so.

At the counter, Tan Jingya sipped her hot and sour soup. The pepper in the soup made her throat feel tight, but she couldn't suppress the panic in her heart.

She was wearing a well-fitting black dress, her hair was neatly combed, but the soup spoon she was holding was still trembling slightly.

She regretted that when Section Chief Wang came the day before yesterday, she didn't invite him into the private room in time. Instead, she let Section Chief Wang speak in the lobby, and as a result, the employees overheard the news that "the ground floor shops are for sale." Now, the whole restaurant is in a state of panic.

In truth, she herself was worried about this matter, but as a manager, she could only pretend to be calm and do her best to maintain the restaurant's normal operation. But the news had already spread, and there was no way to hide it anymore.

She sighed softly, inwardly blaming herself for not being quick-witted enough: she clearly saw that Section Chief Wang had something to do, so why didn't she invite him into the private room first?

Suddenly, there was a screech of brakes as a white Volga pulled up at the bottom of the steps.

Tan Jingya's eyes lit up, as if she had grasped a lifeline. She immediately stood up to greet him, her voice filled with barely concealed urgency: "Mr. Li, you've arrived?"

Hearing the commotion, the employees put down their bowls and chopsticks and were about to get up, but Li Zhe waved his hand and said, "You guys eat your food, don't worry about me."

"Have you eaten? If not, I'll have the kitchen make you something?" Tan Jingya followed behind him, her tone solicitous.

"No need, I've already eaten." Li Zhe had barely finished speaking when he headed straight for the second floor. Tan Jingya quickly followed, and a murmur of discussion immediately filled the lobby.

"Do you think Mr. Li can handle it? What if the new landlord doesn't want to rent it?" Han Chunyan asked in a very low voice, her eyes full of worry.

Zhang Hongqi put down his soup bowl and scratched his head: "It should be possible, right? Boss Li is very capable; this car alone is worth tens of thousands."

Lin Qiaomei glared at them both and lowered her voice, "Don't make wild guesses. Finish your meal first, getting to work is the priority." But she herself wasn't sure, and she couldn't pick up any tofu with her chopsticks.

In the largest private room on the second floor, Tan Jingya brewed a pot of tea using a thermos.

Li Zhe sat at the round table, his fingers lightly tapping the surface. His voice was calm but questioning: "Why does the atmosphere in the lobby feel off? Did you tell the employees that you're going to sell the ground floor shops?"

He heard about this from Li Weidong yesterday, so he rushed over today to deal with it. As soon as he entered the door, he could feel that the employees were different from usual.

Tan Jingya lowered her head, like a child who had done something wrong, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers: "I... I was Section Chief Wang, who was in the lobby. The news came too suddenly. She had just said that the ground floor shops were for sale, and before I could react, my employees overheard it. It was my fault; I should have invited her into the private room first."

"What exactly did Section Chief Wang tell you? Tell me in detail." Li Zhe picked up his teacup and blew on the tea leaves on the surface of the water.

Tan Jingya composed herself and recounted the events of that day in detail: "Section Chief Wang said that their company was experiencing operational difficulties and needed to sell the ground floor shops to pay the employees' salaries. He also said that they had no intention of breaking the contract and that even if the ground floor shops were sold, we could still negotiate a renewal with the new landlord."

Li Zhe pressed further: "Section Chief Wang didn't say who made the decision to sell the house? Did the housing management bureau approve it? How much will it be sold for, to whom, and when?"

"I...I forgot to ask." Tan Jingya was stunned when she heard the news. She felt like the sky was falling and didn't care about the details at all.

Li Zhe finished his tea and put the cup down with a soft "clang": "Here's what I'll do. Go to the Chongwen District Catering Service Company and find Section Chief Wang. Ask him about the person in charge of the sale, the price, the time, and whether the Housing Management Bureau has approved it."

"Okay, I'll go in a bit." Tan Jingya quickly agreed, feeling half relieved—with Boss Li making the decision, she was finally less panicked.

Li Zhe got up to leave, and Tan Jingya hesitated for a moment before asking softly, "Mr. Li, wouldn't you like to say a few words to the employees and try to calm them down?"

Li Zhe paused, turned to look at her, and said, "There's no need."

In his view, it's all empty talk to talk about things that haven't been resolved; besides, he also wanted to take this opportunity to see which employees were genuinely working for him and which had ulterior motives.

After going downstairs, Li Zhe walked to the counter, took out a small notebook from his pocket, scribbled a couple of lines on it, picked up the phone, and dialed. After two beeps, a man's voice came from the other end of the line: "Hello, this is the Housing Management Bureau."

"Is Section Chief Lin Weimin here?"

"This is me." There was a pause on the other end of the line, followed by a laugh. "Is this Brother Li? Need something?"

"Brother Lin, there's something I'd like to ask you for help with. Are you free right now?"

"I'm in my office, come over here."

"Okay, see you in a bit." Li Zhe hung up the phone, left the restaurant, and drove his car away down the street.

Twenty minutes later, Li Zhe parked his car in front of the Dongcheng District Housing Management Bureau.

This gray brick building is quite old. A wooden sign that reads "Dongcheng District Real Estate Administration Bureau" hangs at the entrance. Inside the gatehouse, an old man is wearing reading glasses and reading a newspaper. Li Zhe greets the old man and goes straight up to the second floor—he had been to Lin Weimin's office a few times before when he was handling the paperwork for the courtyard house.

"Knock, knock, knock." Li Zhe knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Pushing open the door, Lin Weimin was sitting behind his desk reading documents. On the desk was an enamel mug with the words "Model Worker" printed on it.

The office wasn't big. Against the wall stood a metal filing cabinet crammed full of thick documents. A map of Beijing's city proper hung on the wall, and a potted green ivy sat in the corner, its lush leaves adding a touch of life to the otherwise monotonous room.

"Sit down, let me pour you a glass of water." Lin Weimin stood up, poured a cup of tea from the thermos and handed it to him. "So, brother, what brings you here?"

Li Zhe took the water glass and got straight to the point: "Brother Lin, you know my restaurant, Shuxiangju? It's the Sichuan restaurant on Chongwenmen West Street. The other day, the Chongwen District Catering Service Company said they wanted to sell the ground floor of that shop, and I wanted to ask you about it."

Lin Weimin paused for a moment, then nodded: "I seem to remember what you're talking about. Wait, I'll look it up for you."

He walked to the filing cabinet, opened the door, and rummaged through a pile of folders labeled "Chongwen District" for a long time before finally pulling out a stack of documents. He then returned to his desk and began to look through them.

"Found it. The property that Chongwen District Catering Service Company applied to sell is the ground floor shop at No. 43 Chongwenmen West Street, a two-story building with a total area of ​​220 square meters, which matches what you said."

“That’s right, it’s this one. We signed a five-year lease with them, and we’ve only used it for a little over three months. Now they want to sell the house…” Li Zhe sighed softly, somewhat helplessly.

Lin Weimin took a sip of tea and slowly said, "Renting out a house doesn't affect its sale, and it can be sold legally during the lease term. But don't worry, according to regulations, even if the house is sold, your original five-year lease is still valid for the new landlord. They can't terminate the lease arbitrarily, nor can they raise the rent."

Li Zhe knew perfectly well that Lin Weimin was only referring to "theoretically".

If you encounter an unreasonable landlord, they have plenty of ways to make things difficult for you, and it will be very difficult to protect your rights then.

He frowned: "Brother Lin, has the Chongwen District Catering Service Company found a buyer yet?"

"I really don't know." Lin Weimin put down his teacup, looked at Li Zhe, and suddenly laughed. "Brother, you wouldn't be thinking of buying this shop, would you?"

Li Zhe didn't hide anything and nodded: "That's the idea. The restaurant has been open for more than three months and business has been good. We just installed a telephone and ordered air conditioning recently. It would be too much of a loss to let the shop affect business."

Lin Weimin clicked his tongue twice and gave a thumbs up: "Brother, you're really something. This is the first time I've ever seen someone buy a shop specifically to do business."

"Brother Lin, I had no choice but to say this." Li Zhe shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Lin Weimin smiled and continued, "To be honest, if you were to buy this commercial property, you would actually have an advantage. According to the 'Regulations on the Management of Privately Owned Houses in Cities,' the seller must give the tenant three months' notice in advance, and the tenant has the right of first refusal under the same conditions."

If they don't sell according to the rules, you can go to court to invalidate their sale. Simply put, as long as the price is the same, if you want to buy it, no one else can take it from you.

Li Zhe's eyes lit up: "Brother Lin, do you know how much they want to sell it for?" Lin Weimin stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and said: "Based on the current market, it probably won't be less than 30,000 yuan."

"Can we negotiate the price?" Li Zhe pressed.

Lin Weimin shook his head: "I dare not say, it depends on what their company thinks."

"House prices have risen quite a bit recently, even more expensive than when I bought my courtyard house last year," Li Zhe remarked.

Lin Weimin laughed: "That's right, housing prices have indeed risen quite a bit after the New Year. Moreover, you bought that courtyard house last year, which was a real bargain. I thought the price was too low at the time. Courtyard houses with clear property rights are hard to find now."

Li Zhe knew in his heart that he was able to buy that courtyard house thanks to Tan Jingya.

At the time, Mrs. Ji was in a hurry to go abroad and wanted to sell the house as soon as possible. Several people were watching, but Tan Jingya blocked the door and sent the other clients away. Mrs. Ji was so angry that she sold the house to him at a low price.

He suppressed his thoughts and asked again, "Brother Lin, do you know the person from the Chongwen District Catering Service Company who is in charge of selling this property?"

“I know him. His surname is Feng. He’s the vice president of their company.” Lin Weimin thought for a moment and added, “He came to handle some paperwork that day and even treated me to a meal.”

Li Zhe immediately said, "Brother Lin, could you help me make an appointment with him? I want to talk to him about buying the ground floor commercial space."

He had dealt with Section Chief Wang a few times before, but this time, when the commercial space was to be sold, Section Chief Wang didn't even give him a heads-up—either she was unreliable, or she didn't have the authority. To get things done, you had to find someone who could make the decisions.

Lin Weimin readily agreed: "No problem, I'll call Vice President Feng in a bit and schedule a time for you."

Li Zhe stood up and said gratefully, "Thank you, Brother Lin, I'm sorry to trouble you with this."

"Don't be so polite with me, we're like family." Lin Weimin waved his hand. "You sit down and wait a bit, I'll call now." With that, he picked up the phone on the table and dialed.

Li Zhe sat to the side, watching Lin Weimin talk to the person on the other end of the phone, and gradually felt more confident...

……

As evening fell, twilight, like a thin veil, slowly enveloped Chongwenmen West Street.

Tan Jingya rode her bicycle and stopped in front of the Shuxiangju restaurant. In the basket was a black backpack containing the documents she had brought back from the Chongwen District Catering Service Company that afternoon.

She raised her hand to tidy her wind-blown hair, took a deep breath, and then pushed open the glass door of the restaurant.

Upon entering, one sees Wang Jianjun sitting at the square table by the window, holding a purple clay teapot in his hand, slowly sipping his tea, looking completely carefree, as if the shop sale crisis facing the restaurant had nothing to do with him.

Looking at him like this, Tan Jingya felt the anxiety that had arisen from her afternoon's travels rise up again.

"Manager Wang, has Boss Li come back?" Tan Jingya placed her black backpack on the chair next to her, her voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible fatigue.

Wang Jianjun took a sip of tea, his Adam's apple bobbing, before slowly replying, "No." His tone was flat, revealing no trace of worry.

"Okay." Tan Jingya replied without saying anything more and turned to walk towards the kitchen.

The kitchen was filled with the fresh aroma of ingredients, and the sounds of chopping vegetables and mincing meat filled the air.

She walked to the food shelf, flipped through the neatly arranged green vegetables, and then lifted the lid of the container of meat to take a look—the lush green lettuce, the pork belly with its alternating layers of fat and lean meat, and even the commonly used dried chili peppers were all neatly arranged.

Perhaps because Li Zhe had come at noon, the employees were more motivated and had higher morale, much better than their lifeless state yesterday, which made her feel a little relieved.

Around 5 p.m., the number of pedestrians on the street gradually increased, and the restaurants also began to have customers.

"Please come in, how many are in your party?" Zhang Hongqi greeted them, his voice soft but warm.

Fang Xiaoli and Han Chunyan carried tableware, their steps light and quick as they moved between the tables. Tan Jingya also got busy, helping to take orders and urge the food to arrive. Her fingertips traced the familiar names of the dishes on the menu, and the sounds of customers chatting and laughing, clinking cups and bowls filled the air. For the time being, her worries about selling the ground floor shops were left behind.

Around 7 p.m., as the number of guests gradually decreased, Wang Jianjun got up from his seat and slowly walked to Tan Jingya's side: "Manager Tan, is there anything else today? If not, I'll head back now."

Tan Jingya looked up at him and saw that he was still clutching the teapot in his hand, without a trace of anxiety on his face.

She thought to herself, "I really don't know whether to praise your composure or your carefree attitude."

She opened her mouth, wanting to ask the other person if they weren't worried about the restaurant closing down because of the sale of the ground floor shops, and everyone losing their jobs. But the words stuck in her throat.

"Manager Wang, I need to talk to Mr. Li. I reckon he won't be coming to the restaurant by now, so I'll head back first. Could you please keep an eye on things at the restaurant?" Tan Jingya straightened her clothes, trying to keep a calm tone.

"Oh, that works too." Wang Jianjun was taken aback for a moment, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, but he readily agreed. "You can go back now. Don't worry, I'll take care of things at the shop."

Tan Jingya gave Lin Qiaomei a few instructions, such as "Remember to check the water and electricity and clean up before closing the shop at night," and then went to the kitchen to give her a few more instructions.

When she came out of the kitchen, she saw Wang Jianjun already sitting behind the counter, holding a teapot in his right hand, taking a break from his busy work to drink.

Seeing his composed demeanor, Tan Jingya felt a strange sense of peace.

She suddenly realized that Wang Jianjun's calm and unhurried demeanor was perhaps more effective than telling his employees more comforting words like "Don't worry, there will be a way."

He's Mr. Li's cousin, and even he's not worried, so the employees' anxiety is naturally lessened.

But then she thought again and wondered: Was he really not in a hurry, or was he just pretending? If he was pretending, then his acting skills were too good;

If that's true, is it because of strong mental fortitude, or did they already know Li Zhe had a solution?

Filled with questions, Tan Jingya picked up her backpack, said goodbye to the restaurant staff, and left.

She pushed the bicycle parked at the door, pedaled, and rode towards No. 7 Suzhou Hutong.

Pushing open the backyard gate, the yard was quiet. The north room was dark, the windows were pitch black, and there was no one in sight.

Only two figures darted over in a flash—it was Gold and Flame.

Gold wagged its fluffy yellow tail and rubbed against her leg; Flame circled around her leg, its red fur standing out in the dim light, its little tail wagging like a rattle.

Tan Jingya squatted down, patted Jinzi's head, and scratched Huoyan's chin, a smile appearing on her face.

She got up and went into the west wing, turned on the light, and the dim yellow light illuminated the cozy room.

After a quick wash and changing into light blue loungewear, I sat down on the edge of the bed to rest for a while when I heard Jinzi and Huoyan's excited cries coming from the yard.

Tan Jingya walked out of the west wing and saw Li Zhe walk in through the hanging flower gate. His steps were a little unsteady, and he had a hint of drunkenness on his face. Two buttons on his collar were undone.

"Mr. Li, you're back." Tan Jingya went up to him, reaching out to help him, but then thought it inappropriate and stopped in mid-air.

"Sister Tan, you're back quite early today." Li Zhe looked up, his voice tinged with the smell of alcohol.

Tan Jingya withdrew her hand and replied, "Manager Wang is keeping an eye on things at the store, so I came back first. This afternoon I went to the Chongwen District Catering Service Company and talked to Section Chief Wang about the sale of the ground floor shops. I was just about to report to you."

Li Zhe took out his key, opened the door to the north room, and turned on the light. "Okay, come in."

(End of this chapter)