Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 173 Han San (Give a penny +1)

As soon as Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng entered the room, this was the scene they saw: Second Sister, holding a ballpoint pen, stood by the desk, pointing and directing, with people buying, moving, and delivering goods spinning around under her commands.

"What do you want?" The second sister asked without looking up, writing on the sales slip while rapidly tapping on the calculator.

Xiao Wei looked around at the busy workers and customers, and said to his second sister, "We called a few days ago about that training course."

The second sister looked up, glanced at the paper, and continued writing, saying, "From Longcheng, right?"

Xiao Wei smiled and said, "Yes, Long Cheng, you have a great memory."

The second sister finished calculating, wrote the total on the sales slip, straightened up, and said with a smile, "What good memory? I'm an old lady now. I only received two calls from pastry training classes, one from Longcheng and one from Fengtian. The one from Fengtian came a couple of days ago."

Xiao Wei said, "They didn't explain it clearly over the phone, so I came over to take a look and see if it's feasible.

Second Sister said, "Alright, you two sit down for a while. I'll arrange the goods. Xiang Chun'er, Xiang Chun'er, call San Ya Zi over, call San Ya Zi, tell him to come over."

Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng pulled up two plastic stools and sat down on the side. There was a heater burning against the wall in the room, so they could warm themselves up by the fire.

About ten minutes later, my second sister was still busy, and the business in the shop was quite good.

"Second Sister, did you call me?" A tall man, half a head taller than Xia Maosheng, walked in. He was in his thirties, with his hair combed close to his scalp, and it was hard to tell if it was parted or not. He was wearing a long black coat that was half leather and half cotton, and had military-style hooked glasses.

Second Sister looked up at him, beckoned, and said, "Come here, Third Brother, these two are the ones from Longcheng who called the other day, the ones who want to start a class. You talk to them, go to the back and talk, I'm too busy." She turned to Xiaowei and Xia Maosheng and said, "This is our boss, he's the one who organized this, you two talk to him properly, I can't explain it clearly either, look how busy I am, haha."

Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng stood up, nodded to the boss, San Yazi, and said, "Hello."

The boss pulled out a box of Shenyang cigarettes, lit one for each of them, and asked, "When did this arrive? Have you eaten yet?"

Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng accepted the cigarettes and said, "We arrived yesterday and have already eaten."

The shopkeeper lit cigarettes for the two men and said, "Let's go to the back. There are too many people here, it's too noisy and chaotic." He led the two men out of the house and into the alley. After walking about fifty meters, they turned into an old building, went up to the second floor, and opened the door to enter the house.

The room was spacious. The original walls had all been demolished, leaving only the load-bearing parts. The room was filled with goods, and the strong smell of additives filled the air.

The boss walked straight to the corner of the room, where there was a table and a few stools. He bent down, plugged in the electric heater, squatted down and looked at it until it glowed red before standing up and saying, "Sit down, warm yourself by the fire. This is the warehouse; not many people come here. What are your surnames?"

Xiao Wei said, "My name is Zhang Wei, and I live near Nanhu. This is Xia Maosheng, from Longcheng. We run a stall in Longcheng. What's your surname, boss?"

The boss took a puff of his cigarette, smoothed his thinning hair, and said with a smile, "My surname is Han, and I'm the third son in my family, so you can just call me Third Brother. My ancestral home is in the Hubei and Hunan region, where boys are called 'Yazi' (a local term for children)." "Ancestral home" refers to one's ancestral origin; most Han Chinese from Northeast China have their ancestral homes in the interior of China.

Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng greeted each other, "Third Brother."

Third Brother turned the electric heater around to make it easier for Xiaowei and Xia Maosheng to bake, saying, "Western-style pastries are quite popular in the south now. They used to be mainly sold in hotels catering to foreigners, but now ordinary people are eating them too. Birthday cakes, bread and biscuits, mooncakes, egg tarts—these things aren't really popular here yet, they're just starting out. Right now, the birthday cakes here are all made by people from southern Zhejiang, they're powdered sugar, they don't look good or taste good. I was thinking, maybe it would work if we brought these things over. By the way, how big can your class be? Longcheng isn't a big place, and, don't be angry, it's a bit poor, and there aren't many people. How to put it, I'm afraid it won't be very effective."

Xiao Wei said, "The vocational and technical training center of Longcheng Labor Bureau, which we contracted, is preparing to recruit students from all over the province. We will provide food, accommodation, and certification."

Han San paused for a moment, then sat up straight and said, "The Municipal Labor Bureau?"

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Yes, the Municipal Labor Bureau."

Han San asked, "Is it just a sign, or is there a designated space?"

Xiao Wei said, "We're planning to open a separate classroom and run several classes. We're thinking of starting with cooking, pastry making, and Western-style pastry. We'll figure out the rest later."

Han San threw his cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out, then lit another one and asked, "How big is the yard? Is it a single-story house? How many rooms?"

Xiao Wei said, "The training center in front is a three-story building, with each floor being about 300 square meters. There's a courtyard in the middle, and there's another two-story building in the back, which I plan to use as a food factory. It's about 600 square meters on the first floor."

Han San did some mental calculations and said, "Damn, that's huge! The school grounds alone are a thousand square meters. That's enough. It's enough for eight classes, let alone three, with both classrooms and dormitories. How's the heating?"

Xia Maosheng stubbed out his cigarette and said, "The training center is heated by the municipal heating system, so the heating is quite strong. It's right next to the municipal government."

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Yes, it's separated from the government building by an alley."

Han San nodded and thought for a moment, then said, "That works. There's enough space. We can do internships at the food factory. This food factory is quite large, over a thousand square meters. That's considered a big factory. So, how will your chef training program arrange internships?"

Xia Maosheng said, "We also booked a restaurant. It's the same one we booked at the same time. It's a three-story building with plenty of space, and it's already open for business."

Han San exclaimed in surprise, "Damn, you two are really going big! You have powerful connections. How much did you pay for this? Can it last? For how many years?"

Xiao Wei said, "It's been nine years, nine years at both ends, covering the salaries of about twenty people. That's all the money. Old Xia's aunt is the mayor of Chuanzhou. We also have a friend who didn't come today; his dad is from Fengtian, so he has some connections."

Han San gave a thumbs up and said, "You have guts and vision. This direction is definitely profitable. Let me put it this way, you can definitely survive in the training industry for twenty or thirty years. This thing is all about connections, and your connections are strong enough, so there won't be any problems."

Xiao Wei asked, "Boss Han, is it possible for us to cooperate? We came here specifically for this."

Han San said, "Okay. A couple of days ago, a princess came. She has a house of about 200 square meters. She was so arrogant. I talked to her for ten minutes and I got angry. She was putting on airs. If she had a third of your resources, I would work with her."

Xiao Wei said, "Then what should we do? Neither of us is very familiar with this. He works for the government there and doesn't have time, so I'm the only one who can figure it out."

Han San said, "Here's what we'll do: we'll set it up where you are. We can recruit students from the whole province, or even the whole Northeast. Anyway, there's enough space, and the costs are lower there, so it should work. Why don't you just recruit students from the whole Northeast for both your chef and pastry classes? It's all the same whether you're herding one sheep or a flock. That way, our reputation will spread instantly. You can go back and ask the labor bureau if you can get the provincial stamp, that would be even more impressive, you know? I'll provide the equipment and everything else, but you know the conditions, right? All materials, raw materials, and additives must come from me, and I won't charge you a single penny. Is that okay?"

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "That's feasible, but we recruit students from all over Northeast China, and we don't have the resources. How do we manage that? Just give up?"

(End of this chapter)