Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 195 Money Falling from the Sky

The call was answered quickly: "Feed? Where are you looking?" It was a man.

Chen Hui said, "I'm Chen Hui. Is Aunt Liu home?"

The man smiled and said, "Xiao Hui, wait a minute. (Sister Liu, Xiao Hui is calling you.) Just a moment, he'll be right there."

The phone was immediately answered by Xiao Liu: "Hey? Xiao Hui? Didn't you go to sign some contract? What's up? Did the car run out of gas?"

Chen Hui said, "It's not Aunt Liu. I need to talk to my dad. Can you tell me his office phone number? I can't remember it."

Xiao Liu paused for a moment, then said, "You're really something, kid. You even forgot your dad's phone number? 6503***, did you write it down? Are you in a hurry? Should I call him for you?"

Chen Hui said, "No need, Aunt Liu, you can hang up now. I'll call my dad."

Xiao Liu said, "Okay, I've brought the labor service department's official seal. You can just come to me to get it stamped when you get back. I'll hang up now." The call ended.

Manager Chen, who was standing to the side, had already believed it. He excitedly slapped his left hand with his right fist, instantly clearing away all the pent-up frustration in his heart. He let out a long breath, and Sister Wu also looked at Chen Hui with a beaming smile.

He dialed again, and after a few rings, Old Chen's voice came through: "Feed? This is Chen Xiangnan."

Chen Hui said, "Dad, it's me, Xiao Hui, I have something to tell you."

Old Chen said, "Weren't you going to the cold storage to sign a contract? What's up?"

Chen Hui glanced at Manager Chen, reached for the phone handset and put it to his ear, automatically suspending the speakerphone function: "Dad, I'm at Donglaishun. Here's the thing, things are a bit awkward between here and the cold storage. We wanted to install a transformer ourselves, but the cold storage probably got someone involved, and it's been stuck and they haven't gotten it done."

"Yes, I've looked at everything. The design documents and security details have been entrusted to us. Yes, I said I would charge a fee."

"What else could it be? The cold storage manager changed and they're probably going to check things. Right, nothing else. We have a lease agreement, a proper one, right, there's definitely no problem." As he spoke, Chen Hui glanced at Manager Chen, who nodded vigorously.

"Okay, then I'll have him write an application to get it back? Hmm, okay, alright then, I'll talk to him when I get back. Xiao Wei's here, right next to me, do you want to say something? Oh, okay, I'll definitely listen to him, bye." After hanging up the phone, Chen Hui said to Manager Chen, "My dad said your lease agreement needs to be taken along with the application, this needs to be on file to prove you have the right to use it."

Manager Chen said, "Hey, Xiao Wu, get a copy." Back then, there were no photocopies, but the wisdom of the people is powerful. Generally, when signing contracts that need to be kept for a long time, seven, eight, or ten copies are signed at a time for backup. And they are all originals, which are much better than photocopies.

Shang Wu ran to the cabinet, took out the key, opened the cabinet, found a file bag, took out a contract, put the file bag back, locked the cabinet, and handed the contract to Chen Hui.

Chen Hui took a look at it. It was a standard lease contract for the cold storage, with a lease term of fifteen years, costing 200,000 yuan per year, and an annual increase of 5%.

Chen Hui closed the contract, slipped the application inside, and said, "Alright, you can pick up the receipt yourselves. I won't deliver it to you, okay?"

Manager Chen said, "Okay, okay, no need for you to make the trip back and forth."

Chen Hui said, "Okay, just wait for our call. It'll take three or four days at the latest. Don't blame me for this; you had to find out for yourself, understand?"

Manager Chen smiled and said, "I understand, don't worry, there won't be any mistakes. Um, Xiao Wu, has the purchase contract been signed yet?"

Sister Wu said, "He signed it, but he has to take it back to get it stamped. Oh, right, manager, the mold payment, the deposit, and that other thing—you need to sign that so I can write a check."

Manager Chen slapped his forehead and nodded, saying, "Right, right, sign it. Brothers, don't laugh at me, to tell you the truth, if this isn't resolved soon, I'll lose all my hair. How much is the mold fee?" Manager Chen sat down, picked up a pen, and wrote in a notebook that Sister Wu handed him.

Sister Wu said, "The mold costs 36,000, and that's the deposit. Wait a moment while I calculate it... The total cost is 155,000, and the 40 is 62,000."

Manager Chen waved his hand and said, "No deposit needed, just pay directly. A few hundred thousand yuan isn't a huge amount. Brother, I'll give you the full payment for the goods. You just need to deliver the goods on time. It'll be the same from now on. You can come and get a check anytime you need the goods. To be honest, we don't lack cash, we lack connections and favors."

Xiao Wei said, "Brother Chen, I'll ask something I shouldn't, but you guys aren't short of money, so why is things so tense with the cold storage company?"

Manager Chen said, "We've come this far, so I won't lie to you. I'm sorry, but we can't make up for it. When we signed the contract to rent this place, we paid 50,000 yuan. Look at the contract; it's only been a few days, and they've changed people. This one's even worse; they want to collect the water and electricity bills on our behalf, making us pay 46,000 yuan a month. Our water and electricity bills are around 30,000 yuan a month in the summer and less than 20,000 yuan in the winter. You do the math, that's how much is that? And what about after that?"

Nowadays, the rent for cold storage generally includes water and electricity costs, but back then it was optional. Generally, people who rented long-term cold storage facilities chose to pay for water and electricity themselves.

Xiao Wei asked, "What about the other tenants? It can't just be targeting your family, right?"

As Manager Chen wrote, he said, "They are usually small tenants, with short tenancy periods, and they are all locals." Xiao Wei understood.

After signing, Manager Chen put down his pen and said, "Take the check and go outside. Walk a bit towards the bridge, about forty meters, to the ICBC branch. You can cash it right away. That's all I'll say. I'll treat you to drinks after this is all over."

Sister Wu took the notebook, glanced at Manager Chen, and went out to get the finance department's signature. Back then, the purchasing department generally had the authority to issue cash checks for a certain amount, but for larger amounts, they had to communicate with the finance department beforehand to reconcile accounts, in order to avoid bounced checks, and the penalties for bounced checks were quite severe.

After Sister Wu left, Manager Chen took out cigarettes and offered them to the group, saying, "We've really met by chance. A small business deal has solved such a big problem for me. I'm really excited. Now that we've met, just let me know if you ever need anything from me. I may not be as good as you guys in Fengtian, but if you need anything in Tianjing or Beijing, I'll definitely know more people than you. I'll do what I can, and I'll run errands for you if I can't."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, we'll definitely come and bother you then. Brother Chen, where are you from?"

Manager Chen said, "My hometown is Fengcheng in Liaodong, but I've been working in Beijing for over ten years. My wife and kids are there. In the end, I came full circle back here, haha."

Xia Maosheng asked, "Brother Chen, didn't your sister-in-law come back with you?"

Manager Chen said, "The child needs someone to take care of him while he's in school. Anyway, I can go back once every month or two, so it's not a big deal. I can't just move my household registration back because of this, can I?"

(End of this chapter)