Sunday, October 2nd, today is the triplets’ second birthday.
On last year's birthday, Xu's mother thought that the triplets were too lucky and should be suppressed. In addition, Xiaobao happened to be hospitalized again, so there was no birthday party.
I have to make up for it this year no matter what.
Early in the morning, Xu Dong went to the pastry shop in Panjiayuan to order a birthday cake for the triplets.
When Xu Dong explained his purpose, the waiter in the pastry shop apologized: "Mr. Xu, I'm sorry, we are out of cream now and cannot make cream cakes for the time being."
Whether it is animal butter or vegetable butter, there is currently a huge shortage in the market. Since the beginning of last month, pastry shops have stopped selling all cream products.
"Is there any birthday cake without cream?" Xu Dong asked again.
It doesn't matter whether the birthday cake has cream or not, the key is the sense of ceremony.
"Yes, we can also make egg cakes and chiffon cakes here."
The waiter was afraid that Xu Dong wouldn't understand, so he took out his cell phone and pulled out a few photos of the finished product.
Xu Dong took a look, pointed at a cake and said, "Let's choose this one. How much does it cost?"
"Okay, Mr. Xu, this is the chiffon cake. How many inches do you need?"
"How big of a dish are needed to feed five or six people?" Xu Dong thought for a while and asked.
The waiter immediately replied: "I recommend that you choose the eight-inch size, which is just right for four to six people."
"Okay, let's just choose the eight-inch one. How much does it cost?"
"The price of the eight-inch cake is 4,000 yuan."
Xu Dong nodded: "Still the old rules, two Fuxing cigarettes, you can mix the extra cigarettes with other snacks. When will I come to pick up the cake?"
After more than two months of continuous increases, the price of Fuxing cigarettes has risen from the original 250 yuan per pack to the current 323 yuan.
The increase was nearly 30%.
Xu Dong himself didn't expect that the cigarette market in the capital would be so popular.
"You can do it after 12 noon. You are our regular customer and we will give priority to completing your order."
"Then I'll come over in the afternoon, sorry to bother you!" Xu Dong said politely.
After ordering the birthday cake, Xu Dong went around the shop area and stall area and bought a total of five chickens, three kilograms of ribs, two kilograms of tofu, ten kilograms of fresh mushrooms, and finally some dried seafood.
Return home.
Yang Lina hugged Xiaobao and immediately stepped forward and asked, "Has the cake been ordered?"
As a mother, she hates to see her children suffer any injustice. What's more, this is the triplets' first birthday, so she can't take it too seriously.
"You've made an order. I'll pick it up after lunch. I'll take care of it. Don't worry."
After saying that, Xu Dong carried two bags in both hands and entered the kitchen.
"Cluck...cluck..."
Xu's mother was very happy when she heard the crow of chickens. After this period of accumulation, the number of air-dried chickens at home finally exceeded one hundred.
Of course, in order to buy chickens, Xu Dong spent almost 400,000 yuan. This is probably his last chance.
After New Year's Day, food supply will be tightened across the board. By then, not to mention chickens, even people will have to learn to starve.
"Did you buy chicken?"
Xu Dong shook the bag and took credit: "I was lucky today. I bought five."
"Let your dad kill them all later, and save the biggest one to make chestnut roast chicken tonight." Xu Ma ordered.
"Okay! Mom, I also bought three kilograms of ribs and two kilograms of tofu, as well as some fresh mushrooms and dried seafood. They are all in bags. Remember to take them out and put them in the refrigerator."
"I can't forget it. Mom has a good memory!"
Xu Dong found Xu's father here, and the father and son worked together to kill all five chickens. The chicken blood filled a large bowl.
Today is the birthday of the triplets. In order to celebrate the birthdays of his three precious grandchildren, Father Xu took a rare day off.
You must know that in normal times, even on weekends, Xu's father is always working, and his work enthusiasm is more than a hundred times stronger than Xu Dong's.
"Dad, have you rented the warehouse yet?"
Father Xu began to pour boiling water into the basin and prepared to pluck the chicken feathers. "We have rented it, but we didn't rent a warehouse. We rented an office building on the fifteenth floor of Jin Chang'an Building."
"Office building? Why did you think of renting an office building?" Xu Dong asked with a frown.
In his impression, although the rent of office buildings is not as expensive as that of shops, it is not cheap either.
"Of course it's because it's cheaper."
Dad Xu explained with a smile: "There are a lot of vacant office buildings now, and the prices are really cheap. After asking about it with Ma Jun, I still think it is more cost-effective to rent office buildings. The conditions of the warehouse are a bit worse."
"How much area have you rented? How much is the rent?" Xu Dong asked.
Dad Xu put down the electric kettle and replied: "It's 463 square meters in total, and the monthly rent is 12,000 yuan, which is 2,000 yuan more expensive than our store."
When Xu Dong first rented the supermarket, the rent was 20,000 yuan per month.
Later, because business was not doing well, the landlord not only waived two months' rent, but also took the initiative to reduce the rent by half, on the condition that the lease be renewed for at least one year.
Xu Dong calculated the time for housing reform, and then renewed the lease with the other party for one year.
"So cheap?" Xu Dong said in surprise.
It seems that the price of office buildings has not only not increased due to inflation, but has also fallen a lot. This shows that the current economic environment is indeed too sluggish.
"No matter how cheap the price is, it's better than not being able to rent it out. As the saying goes, if you don't lose, you make a profit!"
"That makes sense. How many years did you sign the contract?"
"Three years, the rent is paid annually, and there is no deposit."
When Xu Dong heard this, he finally felt relieved that it was not just a one-time payment.
And the price is so cheap, even if it is a loss, it will only be a loss of tens of thousands of yuan at most. With the financial strength of the old Xu family, there is no pressure at all.
Xu Dong ruffled a handful of chicken feathers and then asked: "When will you move there?"
"After the National Day, the office building will be mainly responsible for maintenance and warehousing, while sales will still be placed at the store."
There is still one week left before the National Day, so we have plenty of time.
"Dad, have you taken the opportunity to get yourself a general manager's office?" Xu Dong joked with a smile.
Xu's father waved his hand, "Your father and I don't do those vain things. An independent office is good, but I can't see the employees, so I still feel uneasy."
"What are you worried about?" Xu Dong asked doubtfully.
Are you afraid that the employees will be lazy? This is too cunning!
"You don't understand! Our company is still small. As a leader, I shouldn't feel alienated from my subordinates.
We should integrate with them, come from the masses, and go to the masses. The most important thing in running a company is to not forget the original intention."
Xu Dong was stunned for a moment by what Xu's father said, and he didn't know where he saw it.
On the surface, these words may seem okay, but in fact they are all empty talk. If they are actually applied in reality, I guarantee that they will not be used by Mao Zedong.
Xu Dong, as a former migrant worker, has worked for nearly thirty years in both his past and present lives.
The past thirty years have taught him one thing: Don't talk about ideals and the future with migrant workers. Talking about wages is the most practical and most popular thing.