Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 294 Going to the City to Buy a Truck

A hundred or so people doesn't sound like much, but once you walk into the courtyard, it's a crowded, cramped space.

Xiao Jun was standing at the entrance of the old building directing the students to line up. If they all rushed in at once, it would be a disaster. They were divided into two lines and lined up to get their food in order. In no time, the entrance of the old building became a complete mess, buzzing with noise.

Xiao Wei and Liu Hongliang stood by watching. Xiao Wei said, "It seems my dream of living alone in this little courtyard is not going to continue. It's not realistic for so many people to go that way to get their meals."

Liu Hongliang said, "What's unrealistic about it? At first, nothing is certain, but we'll get used to it in a few days. We'll just go in from the other end and eat our food inside before coming out."

Xiao Wei said, "What if there are more people later? This is only the first episode, so it's definitely the one with the fewest people. It'll probably double in number later, right?"

Liu Hongliang said, "I was just about to tell you that. I think we should move the pastry and baking practice upstairs. It's so crowded downstairs right now, and you think it's comfortable with the upstairs all empty? Why not use half of the upstairs for pastry and baking practice, and turn the downstairs into a restaurant?"

Xiao Wei glanced at the building and thought for a moment before saying, "Okay, then you arrange for someone to do it. Move the equipment upstairs. There aren't many things. If the case gets bigger, there will be at least fifty or sixty people standing around. It seems like the turntables aren't enough. How many did you bring over last time? Five? We need at least forty. Forget it, let's move them first. I still have half a month of internship left. Let me calculate and go to Fengtian to get them. Turntables, nozzles, nozzle sticks, knives, we don't have enough of anything."

Liu Hongliang said, "We need to get a bigger egg beater. We'll be using a lot of cream during the internship, and I'm afraid a small machine won't be able to handle it."

Xiao Wei said, "Tomorrow you and Sister Shang should take stock of the inventory, calculate the consumption at the factory, and then estimate the situation at the internship site. In a couple of days, let's drive to Fengtian. We'll probably need a lot of stuff, and this big car won't be able to hold it all."

Liu Hongliang said, "We should get a truck. This truck is a waste for hauling goods. Look at Xiao Jun's Wanlit truck. He cleans it every day, but it smells terrible and is full of oil. It's a waste. That truck cost over 200,000 yuan."

Xiao Wei said, "Buy trucks? What about these few? Aren't they just sitting idle?"

Liu Hongliang said, "Just for picking up people, the restaurant could actually provide a car. It's convenient for people who come to eat if they don't have a car, so we could give them a ride. And don't you need it in Fengtian?"

Xiao Wei said, "There are two Hiace in Fengtian, that's enough."

Liu Hongliang slapped his forehead, nodded, and said, "Fine, forget it, never mind."

Xiao Wei said, "Buying trucks is fine too. Forget about that Wanlit truck, let's just use it for bread delivery, take off the seats and modify the interior. Then these trucks can be used for transporting people. Oh, and if we have the chance, let's sell that 2000 truck. Keeping one big and one small Hiace will be enough."

Liu Hongliang asked, "How much will it cost?"

Xiao Wei said, "I really don't know much about this. A new car costs over 300,000 yuan, and after three or four years, how much do you think it's worth?"

Liu Hongliang said, "I'll go ask around. It's the work unit that buys them. If an individual has that kind of money to buy a sedan chair, who would buy bread?"

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Okay, you can ask around for me. I'll give you a bonus if we sell a lot."

Liu Hongliang asked, "When was that truck purchased?"

Looking at the crowd getting their food, Xiao Wei said, "Let's buy some when we get back to Fengtian. We need to haul vegetables; there are hundreds of people eating here. The pig farm will need it too, so we need to buy a good one, you know?"

Liu Hongliang said, "Jiefang, or Isuzu, anyway, there are only a few good brands."

Xiao Wei said, "Then let's go ahead with the liberation. Actually, I don't really want to buy Japanese products."

A great man once said that no matter how great the difficulties, in retrospect they are nothing but a farce.

After a week of ups and downs, things have finally settled down at the school. Everything has been adjusted and everyone is familiar with each other, so things have become much less hectic.

Xiao Wei finally found time to return to Fengtian.

In another week, I'll be starting my internship in pastry and Western-style pastry. These two fields have little theoretical knowledge and rely entirely on constant practice. If I don't prepare now, it will be too late. Especially for Western-style pastry, piping alone requires at least a month of practice, and the tools and materials used are truly considerable.

The two men took the train to Fengtian because they needed to buy a truck.

I arrived in the afternoon, took a taxi back to Nanhu, and went directly to the vegetable market to buy groceries.

"Boss, do you live in this area?" Last time Liu Hongliang came, he was directly arranged to stay at the Electric Power Guesthouse and never came to Xiao Wei's house.

Xiao Wei looked at the vegetable stalls on both sides and said, "Yes, it's not far from the guesthouse. We didn't invite you last time because there were too many people. How much are these noodles?"

"Three pieces, how about it?"

"Get a few pounds, five pounds, please. Two radishes, how much are the garlic sprouts? Three yuan too? Two bundles, two bundles are enough. Keep an eye on them, I'll come back to you for the stuffed ones."

"Do you want some chives? I'm afraid they'll freeze, so I don't put them out. They're 4.3 yuan, but I'll give it to you for 4 yuan."

"Give me some, just enough for two stir-fries. Do you have any cilantro?"

"Yes, fifteen, want it?"

"Give me two pounds, and some scallions too. I'll give you some scallions for free with this amount of vegetables."

"Boss, you must be joking. I make about ten dollars from selling these items, and I'll throw in a few pounds of scallions. How much do you want? I'll weigh it for you a bit more."

"Are these Shandong scallions? Get a bunch, will they keep well?"

After buying the groceries one by one, Xiaowei and Liu Hongliang carried them forward. Xiaohong loves to eat fish, so they wanted to buy some too, since they figured she wouldn't have time to prepare them all by herself.

I bought a few pounds of mackerel, then another five pounds of small yellow croaker, and after thinking about it, I chopped half a rack of pork ribs and asked the shopkeeper to chop them for me.

Liu Hongliang said, "You bought so much? How many meals will that take?"

Xiao Wei said, "There are a lot of people. As soon as I get back, Chen Hui and his wife will both have to come. Besides, I'm in school and don't usually have time to buy groceries. I can just pack them up and put them in the fridge when I get back."

The two of them carried the groceries back home. Passing by the cake stall run by people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Xiaowei glanced at it. Business was booming; there was still a crowd gathered around. The stall owner looked up, saw Xiaowei, nodded, and said, "Long time no see, boss! Want to buy one today?"

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "Okay, let's make another smaller one, size 26 will do."

The stall owner said, "Boss, you know what I mean. I don't have size 26, but I do have size 29, is that okay?"

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, let's get it done, hurry up." Liu Hongliang asked in a low voice, "What do we need it for?"

Xiao Wei said, "I'll treat you to this." Liu Hongliang blinked, coughed, and remained silent.

After the cake was made, they paid for it and had Liu Hongliang carry it. The two of them left the market and headed home. Neither of them was wearing gloves, and their hands were freezing and constricted, which really hurt.

After finally making it home, Xiaowei opened the door and the two went inside. Liu Hongliang put down his things and kept rubbing his hands together until his fingers were so sore he could barely straighten them.

(End of this chapter)