Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 424 Cooperation

Li Weibing looked at Xiao Wei and thought for a moment before saying, "Two hundred thousand, is that alright?" There's basically no profit at that price.

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "Okay, let's say 250,000. No, I'll give you 300,000. Make sure it's sturdy; it might last for years, so let's not have any problems along the way."

Li Weibing was sitting next to Xiao Wei. He reached out and patted Xiao Wei's arm, saying, "Okay, that's fair. I didn't handle things well today, sorry. I'll punish you three times later. Is that alright?"

Xiao Wei said, "We don't usually drink much. Let's just have fun and drink slowly. Once it's over, let's just let it go. There's no right or wrong in this matter. From my perspective, you guys are the ones who broke the deal I made. From your perspective, your way of making some money has been cut off. But since we were the ones who made the deal first, let's just let it go. We're all still young, and we have plenty of time."

Wang Gang suddenly asked Chen Hui, "Dude, you really dare to order the artillery brigade's power to be cut off?"

Xia Maosheng said, "Last autumn, Xiaohui cut off the electricity to Taiyuan Street in Fengtian. The director of the management office at that time was incredibly arrogant and only stopped the project after he was dismissed."

Wang Gang gave Chen Hui a thumbs up and asked, "Aren't you afraid of causing trouble for your old man? Won't he give you a piece of his mind?"

Chen Hui smiled and said, "I'm not causing trouble, and I'm in the right."

Chen Weibing asked, "What are you guys doing in Fengtian?"

Xiao Wei said, "The three of us went into several small businesses together, such as a restaurant, a food factory, and a training school."

Chen Weibing raised an eyebrow: "Is running a restaurant really that profitable?"

Xiao Wei took a sip of tea and said, "Fengtian is a big city, and there are more rich people there. Ordinary people can't afford to go to our restaurant."

Wang Gang asked, "Can't afford it? How much would it cost per meal for eight people? That's the restaurant in your area."

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "Eight people, a meal would cost at least a thousand, not counting the cost of alcohol. The price of alcohol varies so much. The most expensive wine in our area costs several thousand a bottle, it's French."

Zhang Jun turned to Xiao Hong and asked, "Really, Xiao Hong? Xiao Wei wasn't bragging, was he?"

Xiao Hong shook her head and said, "No, he was underestimating the price. I've been there more often than him. If we don't count the alcohol, the average price per table is usually between 1,500 and 1,800 yuan. Those restaurants don't even need to put anything on the table and they just charge several hundred yuan for a seat."

Wang Gang slapped his thigh: "Holy crap, that brutal? Is that guy stupid enough to go?"

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "It's all about class. We spent hundreds of thousands just on the renovation of our place. The tea is all Longjing and Tieguanyin, there are folk music performances, and even cigarettes. For now, our place is probably the highest class among the hotels in Fengtian."

Li Weibing said to Wang Gang, "Actually, doing it this way in Huanglongfu should also work, but damn it, we don't have the money to invest."

Chen Hui said, "You don't have hundreds of thousands? How do you make money? You can buy a house worth hundreds of thousands if you want to, right?"

Li Weibing shook his head and smiled, saying, "We're friends now, so let's not mince words. We're just trying to squeeze out a little money whenever we can. It looks impressive to outsiders, but it's all empty talk. We don't have the money to buy this building. Even if we resell it, we might make a maximum of 100,000 yuan, which isn't as much as we made building this shop for you. And these opportunities don't come around often."

Xia Maosheng said, "Why not start your own stable business? There are plenty of profitable businesses these days."

Li Weibing said, "We've been thinking about it too, but we don't know what to do. Look at Chagan and Xingcheng, that's about the size of the area. And to be honest, capital is also a problem. We don't want to work on small projects, and we can't handle big ones. Our families are all in the military, and they're very strict with us."

The owner pushed open the door, and the waiter brought in the dishes. The owner placed a bag of mare's milk wine on the table and helped arrange the food. The mare's milk wine was all in sheepskin bags. First came the "pig-killing stew," which is basically white meat and blood sausage, served over charcoal in a large pot in the middle to stew and eat as you go. Then, one dish after another was served, filling the table.

Zhang Jun said, "Come on, let's eat and talk." He picked up a bottle of liquor, unscrewed it, and poured drinks for everyone. Chen Hui's expression changed, and he covered his glass, saying, "I don't drink this. Boss, give me beer." Xiao Hong and Geng Hui giggled.

Wang Gang looked at Chen Hui and said, "What's wrong? This wine is delicious. It's smooth and sweet."

Xiao Wei said, "He's traumatized by drinking. He got drunk in a yurt the day before yesterday."

Wang Gang said, "So you're offering a hada (ceremonial scarf), right? Three big bowls. You ate them all?"

Chen Hui nodded, and Wang Gang laughed and said, "Awesome. That bowl is just one bag, damn it." He still poured Chen Hui a glass of beer, treating the beer incident as a joke.

Li Weibing asked Xiao Wei, "Dude, what kind of business is worth doing around here?"

Xiao Wei picked up his chopsticks and put some blood sausage into Xiao Hong's bowl, saying, "I've never walked around this street before, so I can't say for sure. High-end things definitely won't work. With fewer people, relying entirely on government agencies isn't reliable. We need to do something more accessible to the general public for long-term success."

Xia Maosheng said, "Actually, they can run billiard halls and dance halls, and they're not afraid of thugs causing trouble. As long as there are young people, they can make it work."

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "That works, but I'm worried they won't like it. The military base should have two or three-story buildings, right? A single floor of four or five hundred square meters would be enough. We could rent a whole building, with a dance hall on the first floor, a restaurant on the second, and a billiards hall on the third. Doing that, making tens of thousands of yuan a month shouldn't be a problem."

Li Weibing thought for a moment and asked, "I haven't heard that these things are particularly profitable, but they're all available here."

Xiao Wei said, "It's the same business, it depends on how you do it. In a billiard hall, if you set up the best marble tables and put up twenty or thirty at once, you'll definitely make money. You don't have to do it that way with restaurants. You can specialize in large banquets like weddings and birthday parties, or you can rent the venue and charge by the day. As for dance halls, it goes without saying, as long as the space is big, you'll make money. Just get a band to accompany you."

Li Weibing thought for a moment and said, "This will require a lot of investment; it'll easily cost five or six hundred thousand."

Xiao Wei said, "If managed well, doubling the value in a year is no problem, so investing some money is worthwhile."

Wang Gang clinked glasses with Zhang Jun, took a sip of wine, and stuffed a slice of pork into his mouth, saying, "The problem is, even if we're willing to invest, we can't afford it; we can't even borrow it."

These second-generation rich kids are definitely better off than ordinary people, but they don't necessarily have a lot of money. It wasn't until the late 90s that they really became wealthy. Right now, they're not exactly respectable.

There were wealthy individuals, but they were all concentrated in the government. The late 80s were the era of permits and approvals, and the military didn't have many resources. The commercial boom of the 90s was the era of smuggling, and the second-generation rich kids in the military started to get powerful. They had a lot of people, and they could use armed escorts, making all highway robbers and bandits look like paper tigers.

Xiao Wei said, "You guys find a place, and once you've found one and set it up, I'll invest some money. Just give the shares to my brother. He'll be getting married and settling down here, so he needs some money to support his family."

Li Weibing glanced at Wang Gang, considered for a moment, and said, "How much can you bet?"

Xiao Wei said with a smile, "It's only a few hundred thousand in total. You can see for yourselves, I'll make up whatever amount you're short."

Wang Gang asked, "Dude, how much money do you guys actually have?"

(End of this chapter)