I can travel back and forth in 1986

Chapter 103 Apprenticeship?

Zhang Beichuan dialed Jiangxia's number, and the call was answered quickly.

On the other end of the phone, Jiang Xia's voice came through like a barrage of bullets.

"Zhang Beichuan! Where have you gone? I've called you over a dozen times and you haven't answered!"

Zhang Beichuan rubbed his temples and said evasively, "I just took a nap, and my phone is on silent. What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Tell me what's wrong!" Jiang Xia's voice was urgent. "Come with me to the design company this afternoon!"

"Didn't we agree to get the shop design done first?"

"You have to come with me this afternoon. I'll send you the address. Be there at 2 PM sharp!"

Before Zhang Beichuan could respond, the line went dead.

Zhang Beichuan looked at the phone that had been hung up, smiled helplessly, and remained as impulsive and decisive as ever.

He glanced at the time, then dozed off for a while.

At 2 p.m., Zhang Beichuan went to the design company as promised.

As I pushed open the door, the receptionist looked up, but before she could speak, I heard Jiang Xia's clear voice from inside.

"Here it is!"

Zhang Beichuan looked in the direction of the sound and saw Jiang Xia sitting on the sofa in the reception area.

She changed her outfit today, wearing light blue jeans with a white T-shirt, and her hair was tied into a neat bun, making her look much more capable.

"You've finally arrived. Let's go inside and find the designer," Jiang Xia said, standing up.

After following her into an office, the two quickly began discussing the interior design with the designer.

Since it's a self-service barbecue restaurant, the layout of the store is very important.

On the one hand, we need to take into account the efficient guidance of customers from the entrance to the dining area, food area, etc., to avoid crowding and improve table turnover efficiency.

On the one hand, it's necessary to balance efficiency by placing easily accessible and filling ingredients, such as fruits, in areas where customers can easily access them.

Pastries, beverages, and cooked food.

High-value ingredients such as meat skewers are placed relatively far back in the store.

Once the flow of movement is clear, the rest is much simpler, mainly involving determining the exhaust pipes for the dining table layout and simple interior decoration.

The three discussed for more than three hours and determined the general style and functional areas.

"Then we'll start designing as soon as possible, and we expect to have a first draft in about a week."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

With this major matter settled, Jiang Xia looked much more relaxed.

The next step is to wait for the design draft to be completed and, once confirmed to be in order, to begin preparing for the renovation and purchasing equipment.

It was almost 5 p.m. when I came out of the office building.

"Are you hungry?" Jiang Xia asked.

"Not bad." Zhang Beichuan glanced at the time. "What, is Boss Jiang treating us?"

"Dream on!" Jiang Xia rolled her eyes at him, but then dragged him toward the parking lot. "Wait with me for a bit. I have an appointment to look at the car."

Zhang Beichuan instantly understood: Jiang Xia had been busy learning a trade from Uncle Zhu these past few days and hadn't had time to sell cars to prepare start-up capital.

The designer just estimated the renovation cost, which is roughly the same as what they had expected. The total cost of the renovation and its completion will be no less than 200,000 yuan.

Two hundred thousand is not a large sum for Zhang Beichuan now.

These days, back in 1986, under the organization of grandparents and others, men, women, and children of Shihe Village, whenever they have free time, go around buying eels from various villages.

He can collect at least 5,000 jin of eels a day, which can be sold in 2026. Adding this to his previous savings, he now has a full 110 in his account.

Million.

He could easily come up with the money to renovate the shop all by himself.

Things that are too easily obtained are often not cherished.

Therefore, Zhang Beichuan said nothing and accompanied her to wait for the used car dealer to come and look at the car.

The whole car inspection process was quick. The car had no major accidents, only some minor scratches, and the condition of the car was quite good.

"Miss, the car is fine. Just go with my price: 138,000!"

Jiang Xia was reluctant to part with it, but there was nothing she could do. Considering that there would be many other places where she would need money in the future, every penny counted!

"Brother, could you add a little more to round it up to 14?"

The car dealer chuckled. "Miss, the price I've offered is already the absolute maximum. If you don't believe me, just ask anyone. If they offer more, I'll add another five hundred!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xia hesitated for a moment.

"Okay, let's add another 888, making it 138,888. You send it, and I send it too."

The car dealer hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed. He wrote a purchase contract, paid Jiangxia 108888 yuan first, and the remaining 3 yuan would be transferred after the ownership was transferred.

Watching the car drive away, Jiang Xia stood there, staring at the taillights for a long time.

"You can't bear to part with it?" Zhang Beichuan handed her a bottle of mineral water he had just bought.

Jiang Xia unscrewed the bottle cap and tilted his head back to take a big gulp.

"It's hard to let go, but I have to..." She paused, then her tone suddenly lightened. "But it's good, out with the old, in with the new! Once our barbecue restaurant is up and running, I'll get a better one!"

Zhang Beichuan smiled as he watched her feign nonchalance.

"Alright, then if Boss Jiang becomes successful in the future, don't forget to give me, his partner, a boost."

"Absolutely!" Jiang Xia waved his hand. "Come on, let's go have dinner. Consider it a celebration of my rebirth!"

"Oh? The sun has risen in the west?" Zhang Beichuan feigned surprise.

"Stop talking nonsense, are you going or not?"

"Yes, of course I'll go!"

Zhang Beichuan wanted to ask her about her family's lighter parts factory, since he figured he might as well buy parts from someone else and keep the profits within the family.

In addition, he also wanted to ask Jiang Xia if he could learn some experience from her father.

In 1986, it wouldn't be long before it officially started operating.

Jiang Xia rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Then what are you standing there for? Where's your car? I'll do you a favor today and let you get closer to the public."

The two chatted and laughed as they approached a bread truck parked not far away.

Jiang Xia glanced around and opened the passenger door without saying a word.

She sat down, adjusted the chair, put her legs on the attached center console, and took out her phone to send Zhang Beichuan her location.

"Driver Zhang, let's go!"

Seeing Jiang Xia's carefree expression, with not a trace of reluctance from before, Zhang Beichuan smiled.

"Oh, by the way," he said as the car drove out of the parking lot, "a friend of mine wants to buy a batch of lighter ignition devices and constant flow valves, what's the price?"

"Who is it?" Jiang Xia turned to the side, looking at him with curiosity.

Feeling a little uncomfortable under her gaze, Zhang Beichuan said casually.

"Hey, you don't know me? I'm a childhood friend, Chen Mo."

"Oh, how much does he want?"

"Let's talk about the price first," Zhang Beichuan continued while driving. "I heard him say that initially it'll be at least 50,000 to 60,000 each. It might be more later."

"Fifty or sixty thousand..." Jiang Xia muttered to himself. The quantity was pitifully small. "These things only cost a few cents each, how much less can the price be? I'll just waive the shipping fee for your sake."

Zhang Beichuan didn't expect to get much of a discount, since the unit price was indeed fixed.

"Okay, can you get me 60,000 of each kind first? I'll transfer the money to you later."

"Okay, I'll tell my mom when I have time tonight. Send me the address, and I'll let you know when the goods are shipped."

Zhang Beichuan responded and then tentatively asked.

"By the way, I heard you say last time that your dad also knows about lighter casing manufacturing?"

"Hmm, what's wrong?" Jiang Xia turned slightly to look at him.

"That's perfect. My childhood friend has taken over an injection molding factory in Maohou and wants to set up a lighter assembly plant. The casing is the foundation, but he has no experience and is afraid of making mistakes. Plus, the technology here is better, so he wants to learn from them."

While keeping an eye on the road conditions, Zhang Beichuan tried his best to make his tone sound casual.

Jiang Xia put her leg down from the center console, looked at him with a surprised expression, and then laughed.

"Your childhood friend, are you out of his mind with too much money? Going all the way over there to set up a factory and open a lighter assembly plant? Doesn't he know that almost all the disposable lighters in the world come from here?"

"It's a long story, it's to settle a debt," Zhang Beichuan said without hesitation. "Of course, he said he wouldn't learn it for nothing."

Jiang Xia didn't bother to delve into these matters, after all, he was just Zhang Beichuan's childhood friend, not hers.

"Considering our friendship, I'll ask my dad, and we won't need the money."

Having narrowly escaped danger, Zhang Beichuan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, then you'd better remember that, he's in a hurry."

"I know, I know, I'll ask about it when I get home tonight."