Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 171 The Drunken Pig Plan

Chen Xiao asked Xiao Wei, "What exactly did you say to Uncle Chen? How big of a store are you opening?"

Xiao Wei said, "Let's build a decent one, over a thousand square meters. I don't know the specifics right now, it depends on what Uncle Chen does. Anyway, this shop is for you and Xiao Hui, so just do whatever you want. Why worry about so much?"

Chen Xiao said, "You all know what Chen Hui is like all day. He still has to go to work, so all this work, inside and out, is just my responsibility. I've never done this before, what am I supposed to do? Where can I learn?"

Xiao Wei said, "Why are you worrying about this? You just need to manage the people and collect the money. Let others do the work. Just hire a manager. You just need to manage the money and straighten out the purchasing. You'll understand the rest after a few days. With Uncle Chen around, how could you possibly suffer losses?"

Chen Xiao looked into Xiao Wei's blurry eyes and asked, "How do you manage the purchasing? Where do you buy them? What do you buy?"

Xiao Wei paused for a moment, then said to Chen Xiao, "You two are a perfect match. You should get married soon; it's not easy to find another one like that."

Xiao Hong patted Xiao Wei on the shoulder: "What are you saying? Can't you have a little patience? Xiao Xiao, if you ignore him, he's going through menopause."

Xia Maosheng laughed and said, "Xiao Wei is aging prematurely. Hey Xiao Xiao, all you've been doing lately is preparing to open a restaurant, haven't you thought about it? Haven't you gone to take a look and think about it?"

Chen Xiao said, "Where do I look? I've been thinking about it. I even went downstairs to my apartment to ask how much rent is. What they said wasn't as complicated as you guys are making it out to be. It's just about renting a place, hiring a chef, setting up a few tables, and trying to make it as big as possible so we can make more money. They said we need to find a decent chef. By the way, why are chefs' salaries so high? I asked around, and they all said eight hundred or a thousand. That's enough for my brother to hire two sales clerks."

Xia Maosheng asked, "Where did you ask that?"

Chen Xiao said, "I know all those places up ahead. Where else can I ask?"

Xia Maosheng looked at Xiao Wei and said to Chen Xiao, "What you're doing is different from what you're asking about. You're focusing on unique flavors. Besides, they rely on picking things up, while your business relies on connections. Do you think you can make money running this roadside stall? You might as well go sell your tape recorders."

Xiaohong glanced at her watch and said, "Alright, I can't chat with you guys anymore, I have to go to school. Xiaoxiao, come over to play tonight, bye!" She hurriedly left with her schoolbag on her back.

Xia Maosheng asked Chen Xiao, "Aren't you going to Sanhao Street today?"

Chen Xiao said, "They don't open that early, it's 8:30, that's still an hour away. Where are you going?"

Xia Maosheng said, "Let's go to the Cultural Palace. There's an exam there tomorrow, so let's go check it out. We also need to go to the Thirteen Latitude."

Xiao Wei said, "Chen Xiao, if you don't go to Sanhao Street, will your brother be able to manage?"

Chen Xiao said, "It's not that busy over there. I just stay there most of the time. What's wrong?"

Xiao Wei said, "Let Uncle Chen find you a place to work for a month, at a big hotel, to learn and see what it's like."

"What are you guys chatting about?" Chen Hui came in from outside. "Boss, two bowls of tofu pudding and half a gluten pancake, please." He pulled up a stool and sat down next to Chen Xiao.

Chen Xiao said, "Can't you eat less? Look at your belly."

Chen Hui said, "Eat less at night. Haven't you heard people say that you should eat a good breakfast and a full lunch so you can eat less at night? That's the way to health, understand?"

Chen Xiao said, "I think you eat until you're stuffed in the morning, then eat until you're stuffed at noon, and then eat until you can't walk at night, and then you have a little something to eat in the middle of the night."

Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng both laughed. Actually, they ate just as much as Chen Hui, but Chen Hui was just chubby and his flesh would show after eating a little.

Chen Hui asked, "What were you talking about just now? Where's Xiao Hong?"

Xiao Wei said, "She went to school; it's early there. I was just saying, I'll have your Uncle Chen find a bigger restaurant for Chen Xiao to work at for a month, so she can see and learn from them."

The shopkeeper brought over the tofu pudding and the gluten pancakes. Chen Hui took a couple of sips of the tofu pudding and said, "Yeah, my dad said the same thing last night. I have to go to work, so Xiaoxiao has to watch the shop most of the time. He said he'd find a place for Xiaoxiao to learn how to run the shop in the next couple of days. Is it okay if your brother can help? You should talk to your brother in advance."

Chen Xiao said, "I'm fine here. Never mind, I'll go over there later and tell my brother that I won't be going starting tomorrow. I'll stay home and learn how to run a restaurant. It's just running a restaurant, is it really that hard?"

Chen Hui said, "Yes. I've been staying with them for the past two days and I've figured it out. Opening a small restaurant is easy, but if you want to run a high-end restaurant to entertain my dad and his family, it's not so simple. The location, the decor, the chefs, the waiters, even the heating and lighting all need to be taken into account. And then there's the purchasing. There are too many shady dealings involved. You have to learn how to pick and choose vegetables and meat, and you have to be familiar with the market prices, otherwise you'll be in big trouble."

Xiao Wei asked Xia Maosheng, "Old Xia, do you still remember that pot of food from Dadong Market?"

Xia Maosheng nodded and said, "Remember, isn't that the place Chen Xiao took us to? What? His bone-cutting wasn't as good as An Laowu's. He's just relying on his special pig. If you gave him a regular pig... Damn, I get it. Xiao Hui, go get that pig, find some connections, and hire him to raise it exclusively for you."

Xiao Wei said, "Actually, when I first planned to bring An Laowu over, I was thinking about this family's pigs and taking over their pig farm. Then I asked your dad to find the leaders of the winery. Their pig farm also needs electricity, right? So we contacted the power supply station, cut off a few pigs, and took over the farm without any problem. We just had to raise the price a bit, as long as we didn't let them lose money."

Xia Maosheng slapped the table, leaned forward, and said, "Holy crap, Xiaowei's brain is absolutely amazing. Xiaohui, listen to Xiaowei, your restaurant is guaranteed to be a huge hit, their pigs are just too special."

Xiao Wei said, "See if we can find a decent place on the outskirts of the city and move his pig farm there. If all else fails, you can find a truck to haul the pigs away. Just hide this road and try not to let anyone who cares find it. Then you'll have more than half the job."

Chen Hui nodded vigorously and said, "Okay, okay, okay, I'll listen to you. I'll tell my dad when he gets home tonight. The meat there is really delicious. Xiao Xiao and I even went twice more afterward, but I never thought we'd book the whole place."

Xiao Wei said, "There are quite a few wineries in Fengtian. You can find someone to lease all the lees and haul them away yourself. It's a small matter for your dad, but it will allow you to expand your pig farm considerably. Talk to the boss and see if you can invest some shares. That way, things will be much more stable."

Xia Maosheng said, "Hey? Can't we do this with seafood too? Let's find someone in the seafood business to invest in, and have Xiaohui's dad pull some strings so we can guarantee we won't run out of in-demand seafood. Then our two restaurants will be a cut above the competition."

Xiao Wei said, "We can give it a try, but I don't know much about it, so I can't say for sure. Actually, as long as we handle the meat part well, the other problems won't be too big. We're mainly focusing on meat here, especially on An Laowu's side."

Xia Maosheng said, "Shall we also transport the pigs from this side then?"

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Right now, we need to make sure Xiao Hui's situation is stable. Once things are settled on his end, if there's any spare capacity, we'll move from here first. Later, when we have some free time, we still need to find a place in Longcheng to raise our own wineries. Linghe Winery is so big; there's plenty of room for them."

Xia Maosheng clapped his hands and said, "That's right, raising them in Longcheng, there are two or three wineries, I'll go get them. Xiao Hui, have you noticed, the two of us combined aren't as quick-witted as Xiao Wei? I have to admire his brain."

Xiao Hui put down his empty bowl, wiped his mouth, and said, "That's why people call them devils."

(End of this chapter)