Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 274 The Mother-in-Law Arrives

Xiao Wei thought for a moment, nodded and said, "Okay, then let him work here after the New Year. We can set up a finance office for him upstairs, since the cash flow from tuition fees and such is quite large here. Actually, among our businesses, only the dance hall is unpredictable; we can at least estimate the daily revenue for billiards."

Xiao Hong said, "Next year, we can add a small hut at the entrance, just big enough for one person. It can be used to collect money and sell tickets, but we can't let that old black guy and his gang touch the money. It's fine at first, but it will definitely cause problems in the long run. The number of people each day is unpredictable, so ten people would cost twenty yuan."

Xiao Wei asked, "What about the karaoke bar and the billiards room?"

Xiao Hong leaned against Xiao Wei, pouted, and thought for a moment before saying, "I don't know what to do. It would be fine if there was a uniform fee for billiards, but that would be a bit of a hassle. What about karaoke bars? People would pay for each song they requested. Who would come then?"

Xiao Wei said, "How about the karaoke bar just charges by the hour? Anyway, people only stay for a few minutes. Fifty yuan an hour, tickets for entry, unlimited tea and drinks, unlimited singing, okay?"

Xiao Hong thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "It might not work. What if we go in and have two or three tables? I think Huang Laowu is quite smart. He shouldn't have any other ideas about money. Let him keep an eye on the karaoke bar. Anyway, you've spoken up, so it doesn't matter to you whether you make money or not."

Xiao Wei said, "That's true. This karaoke bar is mainly for the hotel's needs. If the people from the bureau want to have some fun after eating and drinking, they can go over and sing and dance for free. Okay, let's do it this way then."

Xiao Hong said, "Billiards can actually be charged like in a dance hall. You can buy by the hour or by the number of times. You get a card, they collect the money and give you a card, and then the manager there just swipes it on the card."

Xiao Wei said, "Forget it. It's okay to sell tickets in a centralized way because the dance hall is hard to manage since there are so many people. But if we do it like this for billiards, it will be too obvious. Let's not bother. But getting some cards like you said would be fine. I'll discuss that with Huang Laowu another day and see what he thinks."

He put away the ledger, placed the folded slip in his bag, checked the time, and asked, "What are we doing this afternoon?"

Xiao Hong stretched and said, "What can I do? I'll just eat and take a nap, then watch TV in the afternoon. It's so cold, where can I go? Besides, there's nowhere to go. In Fengtian, I could at least hang out with my classmates, but I don't know anyone here."

The phone rang, and Xiao Hong reached out to answer it: "Hey? Dad? What's up? Why did you suddenly decide to call?" She turned to look at Xiao Wei and silently said, "My dad."

"Huh? Oh, umm, when are you coming? The 28th? Okay, you're a leader, you must be busy. Want to talk to Xiaowei? Oh, okay, I'm hanging up now." After hanging up, Xiaohong said, "My mom's here, she wants us to pick her up tonight, my dad's coming on the 28th."

Xiao Wei asked, "Which train?"

Xiao Hong said, "It's the same train. If you're coming from the county, you can only take this train. Otherwise, you have to go to the city a day earlier, which is even more troublesome."

Xiao Wei stood up and said, "I'll go tell my parents, and then I'll tidy up that empty room."

Xiao Hong stood up too: "Let me help you with that. Luckily there are plenty of rooms, otherwise we wouldn't have enough room."

Xiao Wei picked up his backpack and said, "Old Xia and Xiao Hui aren't here. They can stay in any room. There's no room available."

After putting Xiaowei's backpack away in his room, the two of them went to tell Xiaowei's parents that Xiaohong's mother was coming over, and then started tidying up the room. They moved the water dispenser from Xiaohui's room, dusted the whole room, made the bed again, found and arranged the blankets, and put away the thermos, basin, toothpaste, toothbrush, and towels. By the time the two of them had almost finished tidying up the room, Xiaobing had come back with his winter vacation homework, and they had lunch.

The employees on both sides took their lunchboxes to get their meals and went home to eat. Of course, they could also sit down and eat in the dining hall if they wanted, as everyone was eating the same food.

The female workers in the canteen all went back to find a place to sit and eat. Guan He was definitely eating with her husband, while the four girls from the training area preferred to squeeze in with Xiao Wei's family. They also brought their own lunchboxes, and after getting their food, they didn't leave but stayed at the table, eating and chatting with everyone. Liu Hongliang and Xiao Jun were definitely eating with Xiao Wei's family as well, so An Zhonghua was the only male left.

This guy felt uncomfortable leaving after getting his food, and he also felt uncomfortable staying. The main problem was that he didn't consider himself an employee here, so he didn't get along well with everyone.

Xiao Wei invited him, "Just eat here. What's the point of you eating alone?" An Zhonghua sat down at the table and smiled.

Sister Li's father-in-law's surname is Guan. He eats all three meals here every day and is paid 300 yuan a month. However, the old man never eats here. He always takes his food back to the night watchman's hut to eat. Apart from that, he is quite kind and always smiling. Xiao Wei's father would go to the night watchman's hut during the day to keep him company, have a smoke, and chat with him, afraid that an old man would get sick from being bored here.

At 7:30 p.m., Xiaowei drove Xiaohong and his mother to the train station to pick up Aunt Wang.

The snow had stopped, but the wind was still strong, and the temperature outside was at least minus twenty-five degrees Celsius. There were significantly fewer people at the station exit than usual. Most of the small hotels and unlicensed taxis that usually scrambled to pick up customers were nowhere to be seen, with only a few still persisting, and they were shivering from the cold.

Aunt Wang, fully bundled up in a cotton hat and thick scarf, emerged from the station. If Xiao Hong hadn't arrived, Xiao Wei and his mother might not have recognized her. The four of them didn't exchange a word, got into the car, and quickly ran towards the yard. It was just too cold.

Back in the courtyard and inside the house, Aunt Wang removed her armor.

Holding a bowl of hot water and leaning against the radiator, Aunt Wang said, "Oh my god, I almost froze to death on this trip. The train's heating wasn't on, and it was so cold on the train that I couldn't even feel my feet. It was so miserable."

Back then, the train staff were responsible for heating the trains. The boiler was located at the end of each carriage, and there were often times when the boiler would inexplicably stop working.

Xiaowei's mom said, "Xiaohong, change your mom's shoes, hurry up and eat something hot and warm, then we'll chat in bed."

Xiaowei and Xiaohong busied themselves with the task. Aunt Wang changed into new shoes, and her feet felt more comfortable. She sat down at the table to eat, and after drinking a bowl of hot soup, she felt refreshed all over. She had really been chilled.

After dinner, Xiaowei's mother and Aunt Wang went to Aunt Wang's room to talk, while Xiaohong and Xiaowei tidied up.

After cleaning up, putting away the dishes and chopsticks, wiping the table clean, and taking out the trash, Xiaohong and Xiaowei went hand in hand into Aunt Wang's house.

Xiaowei's mother and Aunt Wang both took off their shoes and were talking under the covers on the bed. When they saw the two of them come in, Xiaowei's mother said, "Xiaohong, come up here. I'm not warming your mother up properly. My feet are so sore."

(End of this chapter)