Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 254 Old Xu's Dilemma (2018+)

Xiao Wei's dad said, "It looks nice, but what's next?"

Xiao Wei said, "Billiards, cake shop, karaoke bar, dance hall, and the steamed buns and dumplings in the side room will also start selling tomorrow."

Xiao Wei's dad said, "That's great, it's a shame those big houses are just sitting idle."

The car was parked in the dam area, and Huang Laowu, Heizi, and Lao Hou watched as the car walked out of the billiard hall.

The six people got off the bus, and Huang Laowu asked with a smile, "So this is Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang? Hello, Uncle and Aunt, you must be tired from the journey?"

Xiao Wei said to his parents, "This one you call Lao Wu, this one is Hei Zi, and this one you call Xiao Hou. They work at this billiard hall."

Xiao Wei's parents nodded and greeted Huang Laowu and the others. Xiao Wei's father asked, "How's business?"

Huang Laowu said, "It's alright, there are quite a lot of people. Uncle, come and take a look after we finish eating."

Xiao Wei's dad said, "Okay, I'll come over for a stroll later. Have you eaten yet? Want to come along?"

Huang Laowu said, "We ate here tonight. You guys should come inside; it's cold outside."

After exchanging a few polite words, the six of them went around to the front of the restaurant from the side and entered through the main entrance; the back door had just been locked.

The carpentry work was almost finished, and they were cleaning up afterward, waiting to apply the paint after dinner. The smell was so strong that they couldn't eat afterward. Six people came in, and Old Xu greeted them, "You brought them back? These must be Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang?"

Xiao Wei's dad said, "Call me brother, call me brother and sister-in-law, let's stick to our own ways. Is this a new arrangement?"

Xiao Wei said, "Dad, this is Director Xu from the lumberyard. He came to renovate our rooms into private rooms. The entire third floor has been converted into private rooms, and the second floor has also been renovated. The first floor was just finished because it didn't look high-class enough before."

The young soldier looked around, then whispered to Xiaowei's mother, "Mom, are we staying here?"

Xiaowei's mother patted her youngest son's head and said, "This is the restaurant your brother and his family run. We'll go back to our new home after we finish eating."

Xiaowei and Xia Maosheng went to the kitchen. Xiaowei said, "Xiaohui, show my parents what's going on. We'll cook."

Chen Hui said, "Come on, Uncle and Aunt, let's go upstairs and take a look. It looks so beautiful now that it's been renovated. It's completely different from before."

The four of them went upstairs. Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng cooked vegetables and heated up steamed buns. Old Xu stood at the kitchen doorway, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and said, "How's it? Doesn't it look better than before?"

Xiao Wei said, "Of course! What's the point of doing it if it looks like nothing happened? Do you guys still want some food?"

Old Xu waved his hand and said, "I'm not eating anymore. If I eat again tonight, where am I going to put the food?"

While busy working, Xiao Wei said, "Brother Xu, to be honest, I think I can develop in this direction, the overall wooden component decoration. You have resources in this area and a good eye. There are more and more people doing business now, and the business is getting bigger and bigger. I think the shop design and decoration area can be successful in the future."

Old Xu took a puff of his cigarette, thought for a moment, shook his head, and said, "I'm just a small supporting factory. I don't have much autonomy. Even if I wanted to do it, I couldn't."

Xiao Wei said, "Why don't you do it yourself? Why don't you contract out your farm?"

Old Xu said, "I'd like to know, but where am I going to get the money? This place isn't big, but you can't even think about leasing it without tens of thousands of yuan."

Xia Maosheng, who was frying oil, turned his head and said, "That's expensive! What does tens of thousands of yuan include?"

Old Xu said, "We have our own forest farm, otherwise where would we get all that timber each year? Equipment, workers, land, tens of thousands are not an exaggeration."

Xiao Wei said to Xia Maosheng, "If Xiao Hui's side is successful, this place will definitely be a hit once Xiao Hui opens."

Xia Maosheng whispered, "How about we give it a try?"

Xiao Wei shook his head and said, "We can't do it, this is too specialized."

Xia Maosheng turned to Lao Xu and asked, "Brother Xu, are you sure your venue can be booked out? For how many years?"

Old Xu said, "Others have talked to me about this before, I heard a bit of what they said, but I don't know the specifics. Why?"

Xia Maosheng said, "Brother Xu, go back and figure it out. Then we can consider partnering up. The three of us will put in some money, you do the work, and then we'll see if we can find some business. If we make money, we'll split it up. How about that?"

Xiao Wei said, "Hey, this is good. I believe in Brother Xu's abilities. This will definitely work."

Old Xu said, "Then you can book the place. Once you've booked it, it's yours to do whatever you want with it. I'll just go to work as usual."

Xiao Wei said, "Then it's pointless. If you don't join in, it's pointless whether we book the place or not. First, we don't know anything about it, and second, none of us have the time or energy to run another business. Brother Xu, think it over, go back and discuss it with your wife. If it's okay, we can do it together; if not, then forget it."

Old Xu took a couple of puffs, threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stomped it out, rubbed his face, and said, "What's there to discuss? I know how much money we have. These days, you can't even borrow money. This isn't just a thousand or two thousand. If I could just make money, I would have done it already."

Xiao Wei tilted his head and put the vegetables in the pot, stirred them, added some soy sauce and broth, and said, "You don't need to invest any money. You just need to keep working here as long as you can. You can't quit during our contract period, so you can keep working. We'll invest 70%, and you'll get 30%." He stirred the vegetables, added some oil, poured them onto a plate, scrubbed the pot with a wok brush, and asked, "How is it?"

Xiao Wei's mother came downstairs, and Lao Xu made way for her. Xiao Wei's mother nodded to Lao Xu and went into the kitchen.

Xiao Wei dabbed some oil in the wok and said, "Mom, do you want some water? There's some in the thermos." Xiao Wei's mother shook her head and said, "No, I'm going to eat soon. You can cook now? When did you learn?" She watched in amazement as her son skillfully flipped the wok and stir-fried the vegetables.

Xiao Wei said, "In just these past few months, I enrolled in a chef training course and got my certificate. Lao Xia was my classmate in the chef training course."

Xiaowei's mother smiled and said, "You're really capable, so quiet. Why don't you take it upstairs now?" She picked up the stir-fried dish and went upstairs, her face beaming. Her son had made something of himself; she was even eating his cooking. She felt incredibly happy for a moment.

Old Xu leaned against the doorframe again, glanced at Xiao Wei's mother's back, and said, "Young boss, what did your parents do at home before?"

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "What can I do? Farm, of course. My family lives in the mountains, and farming is just enough to feed the whole family."

Xia Maosheng poured the oil into a strainer, wiped the stove with a rag, and started preparing the sauce, asking, "Brother Xu, wanna try it?"

Old Xu lit another cigarette, bit his lip, thought for a while, and said, "I'll go back and discuss it, and find out how to package it. We'll talk about it again in a couple of days, okay?"

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, you decide this. We're just joining in the fun. But you'd better hurry. If we do this, and Xiao Hui's side too, then three-tenths of the profits will be yours. If we're late, it'll all be gone."

Old Xu glanced at the cabinets and shelves that had just been set up in the room and nodded. Actually, he wanted to do it, but he didn't have any money. If he partnered up, he would feel reluctant to let Xiao Wei and the others take the lion's share, so he was conflicted.

Xiaowei's mother and Xiaobing carried the dishes upstairs several times. Xia Maosheng and Xiaowei finished preparing the dishes and carried steamed buns and a large bowl of stew upstairs.

(End of this chapter)