Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 178 House Viewing (One cent + 2)

The sea lion, without even turning the corner, arrived at Sanhao Street and stopped at the intersection of Sanhao Street and Wenhua Road.

Old Chen got out of the car, and the five men followed him out. Chen Xiao said, "What are we doing here?"

Old Chen was unusually kind to his daughter-in-law, smiling and saying, "I asked someone from the management committee for help, so I'll introduce you to them. If you need anything in the future, just contact him directly." He then led the group into the building.

After taking the elevator to the tenth floor, they turned a corner in the corridor and arrived at an office. Old Chen knocked on the door, and someone inside called out, "Come in." Old Chen pushed the door open and went in, with the five younger men following behind.

"Oh, Director Chen, please come in, please come in." A short, stout middle-aged man sitting behind his desk looked up and saw Old Chen. He walked out with a warm smile and stretched out his hands from afar.

Old Chen shook hands with him, then turned to introduce them, saying, "Director Li, you haven't met him yet. This is my son, Chen Hui. Call him Uncle Li. This is my son's girlfriend, Chen Xiao. Call her Uncle Li. Xiao Xiao's family is under your management; they have several counters in the mall." Chen Hui and Chen Xiao nodded and called him Uncle Li.

After everyone sat down, Director Li asked Chen Xiao, "Which district does your home live in?"

Chen Xiao told Director Li his counter area code, and Director Li smiled and said, "Oh dear, I didn't know that before. If you need anything in the future, just come to Uncle Li, and Uncle Li will take care of it for you." Chen Xiao quickly thanked him.

Old Chen said, "These are Zhang Wei and Xia Maosheng, my son's business partners. The three of them are trying to do something together. These two have already set up a business in Longcheng. They have a vocational training center and a restaurant, both of which are owned by government agencies. Xia's aunt is Mayor Xia of Chuanzhou in Longcheng, and Zhang's elders are in the Fengtian public security and transportation systems. They are not outsiders."

Director Li kept smiling, and Chong Xiaowei and Xia Maosheng nodded in agreement.

Old Chen said, "I have to go to Beijing next week to represent the bureau for a meeting, so things are a bit urgent. I brought them over to take a look. If it works out, then I'll be working under you, Director Li, and you'll have to take good care of me."

Director Li waved his hand repeatedly: "You're too kind, not at all. There are a few places, I'll take you to see them, and you can choose whichever you like."

Old Chen said, "Just send someone to take us to see it, that'll be fine. Don't disturb your work, or I'll be sorry."

Director Li said, "No, no, your business, Director Chen's business, is my business. It's just a short walk, not far at all."

Before everyone could even settle in, they got up and took the elevator downstairs.

After going downstairs and turning right at the main entrance, at the intersection, Director Li said, "There are a few places in this area that meet Director Chen's requirements. Over there, the first floor is empty, the entire second and third floors are vacant. And over there, there's only one floor, but it's large, over 700 square meters. And then there's this building, over here." He led a few people a few steps to the right, pointing and saying, "This place is also vacant now. The first floor is over 500 square meters, the second floor is larger, the interior area is over 900 square meters."

Old Chen asked Xiao Wei, "Which one do you think is suitable?"

Xiao Wei said, "This one is the best. It has a large storefront, and both the first and second floors are usable. The storefront over there is too small, and the third floor is too high. People would find it tiring to climb the stairs."

Old Chen nodded and said to Director Li, "Director Li, let's go with this one. You guys review it and come up with a set of regulations."

Director Li said, "What procedures are needed for this? It's just a matter of a word from you, Director Chen. Shall we go in and take a look?"

Old Chen said, "There's no need to go in and mess around; we still need to renovate."

Director Li nodded and said, "Then let's go upstairs, I'll show you the contract."

I went upstairs again and returned to Director Li's office.

Director Li called over someone from the general affairs office to pour water and get the contract.

The contract arrived shortly afterward. It was a standard contract; in this era, the government held absolute power, and the contract terms were drafted and printed by government agencies. Individuals and private entities had no right to raise objections.

The two-story storefront has a total floor area of ​​over 1,500 square meters. The minimum price stipulated is 30 cents per square meter per day, but Director Li gave a discount to 20 cents per square meter and signed a ten-year lease with no price increase. This is indeed the best possible offer, as storefront rental contracts usually have room for price increases.

Director Li generously agreed to a six-month renovation period. This is usually negotiated between the two parties, but at most two months is the maximum. Considering that rent is half paid during renovations, this is quite a sum.

Mission accomplished, Old Chen shook hands with Director Li and took his leave. Everyone knew what was going to happen next, so there was no need to elaborate. As soon as Old Chen and his group of six went downstairs, Director Li ran to the General Affairs Department to check the area code of Chen Xiao's office. He had to know this, and he also had to make things clear to his subordinates, so that he wouldn't lose face if something really happened. After all, that was the head of the tiger.

When Hai Shi returned to the power plant compound, Old Chen said, "You guys can just go back. Let's discuss the details. Xiao Wei, you and Mao Sheng aren't going back to Longcheng these next couple of days, are you?"

Xiao Wei said, "It'll take another two days. Is something wrong, Uncle?"

Old Chen said, "I'll have Jian'an come over to take a look at this house tomorrow or the day after. You two come over and give me your opinions."

Xiaowei said, "Okay, you just set a time and have Xiaohui call me. It's just that neither of us really understands that, so we have to listen to the professionals."

Old Chen nodded and said, "Alright, you can go back now." He then turned and went upstairs.

Chen Hui called out, "Dad, that pig farm."

Without turning his head, Old Chen said, "Alright, I understand."

The five men looked at each other, and Chen Hui said, "How about we go inside the house and take a look?" He waved the keys in his hand.

As a result, nobody went, not even Chen Xiao.

Chen Hui reluctantly put the keys away, turned his head away and ignored the guys. Xiao Hong and Chen Xiao held hands and chattered away. Then Xiao Xiao said, "Let's cook one pot and go. Let's celebrate today."

Take a taxi to Dadong Vegetable Market.

After getting off the bus, it was noticeably colder here than in Heping, and the wind seemed stronger. I couldn't figure out why. The group of us rushed into the small restaurant, shouting and yelling.

It wasn't even four o'clock yet, and there were no customers. The owner sat alone by the stove, warming himself by the fire, a cigarette dangling from his lips. Next to him was a transistor radio playing some kind of show, and the owner squinted and hummed along, nodding his head.

As the group entered the room, Xiao Wei said, "Boss, this is so comfortable, this is life!"

The boss opened his eyes, saw it was them, chuckled, and said, "I'm getting old, you young people have it so easy. Why are you here so early today? It's not even four o'clock yet, are you eating already? Are you even going to eat tonight?"

Chen Xiao said, "Whatever time it is, eat whenever you want. Hurry up and stew it, make a lot, otherwise it won't be enough."

The boss stood up, took the transistor radio, and walked to the back, laughing as he said, "I'll make you a whole pot full, so you won't be sticking the pancakes on top, right?"

Xiao Wei said, "Those few you've made aren't enough, boss. How about you make some more potstickers? Make a lot more. We won't eat rice, we'll just have potstickers."

The boss scratched his head and said, "Fry potstickers separately? How can they taste good?"

Xiao Wei said, "It's okay, it's about the same, enough to eat. We'll eat here and you can stick to your patches over there, then we can have a drink together, okay?"

The boss nodded and said, "Okay, I've never done it this way before." He then went to the back.

(End of this chapter)