Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 380 Billiards City?

Xiao Wei said, "Isn't the food factory famous?"

Li Bing said, "Come on, are you kidding me? Brother cake and eggs? Brother steamed buns? Brother billiards hall is more like it, this won't do."

Brother Zhai laughed and said, "This factory name is Xing, but it's really not suitable for this place. Why don't you call it Baolilai? Anyway, he quit." Sister Zhang picked up the kitchen knife in her hand and said, "How about Lilai? Lilai means profit, isn't that great?"

Xiao Wei said, "Sis, can you put that knife down? You don't feel comfortable without it, do you? And then you keep gesturing with it, it's terrifying."

Sister Zhang glared at Xiao Wei and brandished the knife a few times, but then went over and put the knife back on the chopping block.

Li Bing muttered to himself, "Lilai? Lilai cake, Lilai bread, Lilai steamed buns, they do sound quite appetizing."

Xiao Wei said, "This name sounds so familiar. Oh, that Brother Xie from Andong used to work at a food factory called Limin. Limin? Lilai? Goldlion? I think there's a foreign brand called Goldlion, right?"

Li Bing said, "Yes, they sell clothes there, but they're really expensive. A short-sleeved shirt can cost several hundred yuan."

Xiao Wei shook his head and said, "Forget it, let's not think about it for now. I'll go to the back and take a look. Sister Zhang, Brother Zhai, and Li Bing, see if you can find someone to sell steamed buns. Let's find someone first, and then we'll try what we just said."

Brother Zhai said, "Finding someone is definitely possible, but you have to mark the area, right? Otherwise, some places won't have anyone selling, while others will be crowded with people, which would be terrible. If you ask me, we should drive around and see if we can find a grocery store or something."

Xiao Wei said, "We can do the assigned work area, but forget about grocery stores. Let's find places like bed sheet factories or valve factories that can't pay wages, or those laid-off workers in the construction industry. At least they can take this job seriously, and besides, it's also a way to help them out. They can earn two or three hundred yuan a month."

Ding Chunyan strolled into the kitchen and came over. Sister Zhang asked, "Chunyan, do you think 'Lilai' sounds good for a cake shop?"

Ding Chunyan said, "I don't understand, but I think most signs and such are three characters long, right? Only place names are two characters, aren't they?"

Xiao Wei waved his hand and walked out, saying, "Alright, you guys discuss it. I'm going to check on Lao Wu." He went out the back door, passed between the boiler room and the coal shed, and came to the back dam.

The ground is dry now, the snow has long since melted away, and tenacious little grasses have sprouted from the edges and corners.

Both billiard cake shops had their doors open; the weather had indeed warmed up.

As soon as I arrived, I heard a noisy commotion coming from the billiard hall. It's never quiet here once it's open for business. There are several times more people watching the fun than playing billiards. They're all crowded and making a ruckus inside. However, the air inside is much better now that the door is open, and the smoke has a place to escape.

Huang Laowu and Lao Hou were standing between the billiard hall and the cake shop, smoking and talking. Lao Hou looked up and saw Xiao Wei walking over. He waved and said, "Xiao Wei, you're free today? Haven't seen you for days."

Xiao Wei walked over and said, "You went to Andong, and then stayed in Fengtian for two days. What are you two doing standing here?"

Huang Laowu glanced at Lao Hou and said, "Well, we saw that the grocery store is renting out space, and we were thinking about setting up a few more tables there. The space there isn't small. I asked Lao Sun and he said he could give up half of it, and if we tidy it up, it would be about 200 square meters."

Xiao Wei glanced at the grocery store; the Baolilai sign was still there. He said, "Oh yeah, I hadn't thought of that. If he wants to rent it to you guys, just do it. What's there to discuss when it comes to making money?"

Huang Laowu scratched his head and laughed, saying, "Is this a small matter? Shouldn't we discuss it?"

Xiao Wei asked, "Hey Lao Wu, you smoke too, how come your teeth are so white?"

Huang Laowu laughed and said, "You'd have to ask the teeth about that. How would I know? They're naturally beautiful, that's all. What can I do if they're not yellow?"

The three men laughed, and Lao Hou asked Xiao Wei, "Xiao Wei, do you think he can do it?"

Xiao Wei squatted down, looked at the grocery store, and said, "Sure, why can't we do it?"

Huang Laowu and Lao Hou also squatted down. Huang Laowu took out a cigarette and gave one to Xiao Wei, saying, "Aren't you going to invest money? We have to scrape together money from all over the place. Do you think everyone is as rich and powerful as you?"

Xiao Wei gestured back and forth with his hands and said, "If you really want to do it, you can talk to Lao Sun and ask him to move the grocery store over here. Then turn the whole grocery store into a big billiards hall. You two think about it. The amount of stock he has now is enough for this side. Put a row of counters against the wall and then put another one horizontally inside. That should be enough for him. Then clear out the other side and put all the counters on it. You two think about it."

Huang Laowu raised his eyebrows and excitedly slapped his thigh, but his face immediately fell again: "How will the rent be calculated?" The billiard hall is currently rent-free, as it is Xiaowei's investment. If the grocery store moves here and they go to the grocery store, then the rent will have to be calculated twice and then adjusted.

Xiao Wei said, "It's okay, just subtract this side from the room size. Let's sign a five- or ten-year contract. I have a nine-year contract here, which is enough. If you still want to work after nine years, we can discuss it again. There's no use thinking about something that far ahead now."

Huang Laowu stroked his chin and thought for a while before saying, "That works, but what about our side? That room needs cleaning and renovation, and we also need to pay rent. I estimate the investment will be at least several hundred thousand, right? Damn, forget it. We originally just wanted to put three tables there, and now we've made thirty. What good is our little bit of money?"

Xiao Wei said, "We can't set up thirty tables. If it gets too big, we can't do it like this. We'd need a bar to sell cigarettes and drinks, and we'd need to make the money collection and timekeeping proper. We'd also need to leave a place for people to rest and keep warm. Besides, if we set up too many tables, would there be enough people to come and play? I think twenty tables is about right. Any more than that wouldn't be interesting."

Huang Laowu did some mental calculations and said, "Twenty cases would amount to three hundred thousand or four hundred thousand. Even if the three of us scrape together every last penny, we'd only get fifty or sixty thousand. One-eighth? One-seventh?"

Xiao Wei said, "You guys must have made quite a bit of money after running this business for a few months. Where's the money?" The three of them shared two tables, and each table could easily bring in six or seven thousand yuan a month. Over these few months, each of them could definitely make around thirty thousand yuan.

Huang Laowu laughed and said, "So all that money was borrowed and couldn't be paid back. We're not like you who have it in your pocket. Besides, we still have to spend money on things like smoking, drinking, and playing a few rounds of cards. It all costs money."

Xiao Wei said, "You must have spent at least 30,000 yuan in these past few months, right? Even if you pay back the money, do you still have half left? You've spent over 10,000 yuan in these past few months? What have you been doing? Eating money? Losing it gambling?"

You have to understand, this isn't the future. There aren't that many places to spend money these days. A full-time worker only earns a little over three hundred a month. How can that support a family or even save any money?

Huang Laowu lit another cigarette, glanced at Lao Hou, and said to Xiao Wei, "Lao Hou and I both have some money. Lao Hei ran out of money and even borrowed some from Lao Hou and me."

(End of this chapter)