Chapter 45 Are you ready to retreat? (4000-word chapter
There is a restaurant specializing in Shandong cuisine at the intersection of Central Avenue and Annan Road in Qicheng City, called 'Shangshanfang'. The dishes are very authentic and the owner is also a good person. It doesn't matter who comes to eat. When paying the bill, basically
They will keep a few dollars off, which is not a big benefit, but over time, customers have a very good impression of this restaurant.
Eating here is not about eating. It is very comfortable to eat here and you feel respected. Therefore, there are many repeat customers and the business is getting more and more prosperous.
When Xia Zekai came here with his wife and two daughters, it was difficult to find a parking space.
After walking around the two lanes on the east and south side of the hotel, I filled in a vacant seat that someone else had just vacated.
"Let's go, brother, they might have been here long ago." Xia Zekai hugged the chubby Tongtong, and Luo Xiyun also held the girl in his arms, and the couple walked side by side to the main entrance of the hotel.
It's strange to say that other hotels either have their doors facing south and north, or east and west, but the door of Shangshanfang faces northwest. This way it doesn't feel out of place at all, but rather pleasing to the eye.
"Brothers, younger brothers and sisters, you are here." The eldest brother Xia Yunfei was standing smoking in front of the hotel. When he saw his cousin's family, he greeted him with a smile.
He spread his arms and started to hug Tongtong and Yatou: "Tongtong, girl, do you two still remember me?"
The girl nodded innocently: "Remember, good afternoon, sir."
"Hello, uncle!" Tongtong also shouted.
It was so simple that Xia Yunfei was amused. He reached into his pocket and finally took out a few pieces of candy from his butt pocket and divided them equally between the two little sisters: "Girl, Tongtong, you can only eat one piece a day at most.
If you eat too much, your teeth will become infested with worms, which will make them extremely painful. Remember that?"
"Uncle, I won't eat it." Tongtong quickly put the candy back into Xia Yunfei's hand. Her eyes fell on the uncle's hand holding the candy reluctantly, but she was afraid of toothache.
Xia Yunfei was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Oh, I saw that Tongtong was so scared. I said the wrong thing. Just eat one candy a day and it will be fine."
"Really?" Tongtong was dubious, and now he couldn't believe what the uncle said.
Luo Xiyun quickly said: "Take it, don't eat more."
"Yes!" Tongtong happily took it again.
The girl didn't have much of a sweet tooth, so she gave the candy in her hand directly to her father. She looked at the wooden waterwheel in front of the Shangshanfang Hotel with slightly squinted eyes. The running water hit the wooden blades, making a "squeaking" friction with the wood.
The sound attracted her attention.
There were a lot of people today. The eldest brother and sister-in-law came with their daughter, the second brother and sister-in-law also came with their two children, and then the cousin's family of three also came.
Xia Zekai also has a younger brother who is still studying in college in Jicheng. His name is Xia Zejiang and he will graduate next year.
His younger brother is also the youngest member of the Xia family with the highest academic qualifications, a serious 985,211 famous university student.
"Brother, my sister-in-law is getting more and more beautiful!" Cousin Zhao Yan looked at Luo Xiyun, her eyes narrowed as she smiled.
Sister-in-law Li Aijuan also looked at her seriously and nodded in agreement: "What Yanyan said is true, Xiaofei, look at whether Xiyun is more beautiful now."
Luo Xiyun was praised and blushed. She felt a little embarrassed and said, "Sister-in-law, you are just trying to beat me up. I'm almost thirty, and I haven't heard of anyone who can grow a little longer at this age."
The second sister-in-law looked at it carefully, frowned and said, "It's really a little different. I can't put it in words. It's a very special temperament."
The women and their children chatted nearby. Xia Zekai got together with his eldest brother, second brother, and cousin-in-law Qi Lixin, and the four of them talked about their respective situations after the Chinese New Year.
The eldest brother said: "It is obviously not easy to do logistics and freight this year. There are more trucks and the competition is fiercer. Some bastards are trying to drive down the freight. They used to ask for a freight of 800 yuan, but now there are people running for 600 yuan.
I'm really impressed to know if he can earn gas money and car damage."
The second brother works as a freight logistics and distribution agency. He said: "Brother, this is a normal thing. You can't keep ignoring this matter. If he doesn't come in today, someone else will come in tomorrow. Sooner or later, I will."
I suggest you change your car."
"The four-meter-two-meter one you have now is too small. You have to change it to a 13-meter one. A big car can run a long distance and you can earn it in one round trip."
My cousin's husband is a chef, and he works as a head chef in a medium-sized restaurant. His salary is quite stable. He can earn more than 4,000 yuan a month, and he occasionally gets some rebates for grocery shopping. In Qicheng at this time,
Definitely belongs to the high-income group.
He didn't know much about freight, but what his second brother said made sense, so he nodded along.
The eldest brother Xia Yunfei said: "Second brother, I also know this truth, but I just bought this four-meter-two meter a few years ago, and now it's not worth anything if I sell it. I haven't made any money, and I have to pay a lot of money to buy a thirteen-meter one."
A truck with a meter of rice, this doesn’t make sense.”
"Brother, you still don't listen to me. Let me tell you, small trucks like yours will become less and less competitive in the future. The only goods they can haul are just running around the city, and you won't earn one or two hundred yuan.
It’s not enough to waste time.” Xia Yunhui has seen a lot, analyzed it thoroughly, and got to the core with his words.
Xia Zekai also knows that his second brother is right. In a few years, the competition in the logistics industry will only become more brutal. If he wants to continue working for a long time, he can only ensure that he is sufficiently competitive.
There is a saying that goes well, if a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools, and a large truck is a must.
The next moment, he said: "Brother, I don't understand freight, but a small car can't really pull much. In these days, big cars still make money by running long distances."
"It only takes a few weeks to go out. You have to discuss this with my sister-in-law." Xia Zekai pointed out this point.
The eldest brother is a loyal and honest person who loves his family. He is not as broad-minded and thoughtful as the second brother, and he is more forward-thinking.
"I'll discuss it with your sister-in-law later." Xia Yunfei had no results in the end.
The main reason is that the family relies on his own source of income for food, and he can't afford to buy a car with more than 200,000 yuan.
It's okay if you make money, but if you lose...
For Xia Yunhui, this was a result that had been expected for a long time. He actually thought that today he could use his cousin and cousin-in-law to enlighten his eldest brother and let him make a choice quickly, but looking at the current situation, it obviously failed again.
.
He was not discouraged and changed the subject: "We are all here, I will ask the waiter to serve the food first."
At this time, Qi Lixin suddenly smiled and said: "Brother Hui, I know Lao Zhang, the chef of this restaurant. We both studied together before. I will go to him now and ask him to add two
vegetable."
This business was really good, and not even one of the dishes he ordered was served, so he asked the chef to order two of them first.
Xia Yunhui wanted to stop him, but he couldn't resist the strength of Qi Lixin's thick arms, so he didn't stop him in the end.
"This is a big deal." Xia Yunhui muttered.
The three brothers talked about going home to visit their grandma's grave during the Tomb Sweeping Day next month. The eldest brother Xia Yunfei said: "Zekai, Zejiang will have to go back then too."
"Brother, for such a big thing, he has to go back. I'll give him a call tonight and tell him if he doesn't go back, I'll break his legs." Xia Zekai was particularly dignified as a big brother in this regard.
Just do it when you say do it, no ambiguity.
After waiting for the waiter to start serving the dishes, Xia Yunhui opened the wine he brought. It was the local Wanqiaojing in Qicheng. It was not a famous wine, but it sold well in Jidong Province. The most important thing was
Local people still recognize this wine.
Xia Yunhui said: "I'm usually busy, but this time Zekai is not on a business trip, so we finally got together. Let's drink as much as we can today."
"Well, it's okay. I don't want to drive a car anymore. I should give myself a holiday and have a day of rest." The eldest brother Xia Yunfei nodded and handed over his cup first.
Over there, the women who were chatting came over with their children.
With 8 adults and 6 children, it was quite crowded.
Qi Lixin was originally a cook. He liked wine. He took the wine bottle from his second brother and filled it up for his second brother, Kai Ge and himself. Finally, he picked up the wine glass and smelled it: "This is more than 100 bottles."
The wine is just different.”
The second brother teased him with a corner of his lips: "Okay, good wine can't stop your mouth. If you don't drink, I will give you a bottle of Erguotou."
"Drink, you must drink!" Qi Lixin said.
Xia Zekai looked at the Huiyuan juice that his sister-in-law and the others drank. He looked at this very familiar brand and thought to himself that it was a pity. It would gradually become dusty in the future, but he had no choice. The complexity here was far beyond what he could solve.
Even the most glorious moment in my previous life will not work.
After the four brothers drank two glasses of wine, the eldest brother Xia Yunfei asked something: "Yanyan, how is your brother Pengpeng doing now?"
"Hey, that's it. I'm still working on machine tools in Jincheng. 3,000 yuan a month is quite a lot, but the housing prices in Jincheng are too high."
"When I called last time, I heard that he didn't really want to do it anymore, and he might want to come to Qicheng to see if there is any good way." Zhao Yan said this.
The second brother Xia Yunhui nodded: "It's not easy to work anywhere, but when I come to Qicheng, I don't dare to say anything else. If something happens, just say hello and let us brothers come together. It's better than him wandering outside alone!"
"Well, that's what you mean. I'll call him later and ask." Zhao Yan nodded and said.
At this time, Qi Lixin followed up and said: "If Pengpeng comes, I dare not say anything else. As long as my brother-in-law has something to eat, he will not be hungry. Wherever our house is, there will always be a place for him to sleep."
The eldest brother Xia Yunfei shook his head: "Lixin, you mean well, but you can't spoil him all the time. He's so young. He has to practice hard, otherwise he won't grow up."
The waiter served two more dishes, one fried pork and one tofu box.
To be honest, Xia Zekai has no love for the tofu box dish. He really didn't taste how delicious it was. Maybe he didn't meet a good chef.
Each of the 6 children stuffed a piece of fried pork into their mouths. Having more children has this advantage. They competed with each other in everything they ate. The food tasted particularly delicious. They ate a lot more than when they were alone at home.
.
"Zekai, how are you doing recently? I see that the prices of chemical raw materials on the market have been rising this year. I heard that the supply of goods in the market is very tight." The second brother Xia Yunhui asked him.
"I'm alright!"
Xia Zekai originally wanted to say, "I have resigned," but after careful consideration, several brothers were worried and did not say anything in the end.
He thought that one day the small shop would be opened and it would not be too late to make money.
Luo Xiyun didn't say that she had gone to work.
She feels there is no need to show off some things.
After three rounds of drinking, both Qi Lixin and Xia Zekai turned a little red. Qi Lixin didn't know if it was because of his drunkenness that he was emboldened. He shouted, "Brother, second brother, Brother Kai, please give me some advice if I have something to do."
.”
"Say!" the eldest brother responded.
Xia Yunhui and Xia Zekai also looked at him.
Zhao Yan suddenly interjected from the side: "Brother, please help persuade Lao Qi. He doesn't want to work in this restaurant anymore. He wants to go out alone and wants to open a mutton soup restaurant. I said he can't do it by himself."
Stable, I don’t have a job, I still have Mengmeng to go to school, and I have to pay off the mortgage. There are expenses everywhere, so I might as well work steadily. The restaurant also pays wages on time, and nothing can be delayed. He just doesn’t
listen."
My cousin was also full of complaints, but you could tell that she was worried about the future.
To put it bluntly, in one word, the sorrow of having no money!
Xia Zekai felt the same way.
The eldest brother Xia Yunfei runs freight by himself, and the second brother Xia Yunhui runs a distribution station agency by himself. They do it all by themselves, and they are well aware of the difficulties they face.
To put it bluntly, they have made a breakthrough. No matter how hard they work in a month, they can still make a stable income, but the catering industry is different.
Renting a house costs money, buying all the pots and pans is money, and all kinds of raw materials are money. Whether you can make money or not is a mystery.
When Qi Lixin heard what his wife said, he was very emotional: "Yanyan, I just want to make more money. Look at my current job, the salary is stable, but it increases by more than 100 yuan a year.
, what can you do.”
"Mengmeng will have to attend training classes later. You two don't have insurance yet, so there are still many places to spend money. I just want to find other ways to earn more."
The eldest brother spread his left index finger and thumb, held his chin and thought for a while, then asked him: "Lixin, have you thought about everything?"
"Have you chosen a store? Have you prepared all the money? Also, if you say something ugly, have you left yourself a way out? Have you thought about what to do if you lose money?"
He said: "Lixin, we are an ordinary family. Our parents also work in the fields for food. Now they are old and cannot help us. At the critical moment, we still have to do it ourselves."
The second brother said nothing, so there is no way to discuss this kind of thing.
It's obvious that cousin-in-law Qi Lixin has accepted death now, and you can't pull him back even if you want to.
Xia Zekai just said: "Let's make a plan first. If we don't think about ourselves, we should think more about Mengmeng. I won't say anything else."
Didn't he himself also start a 'business'? He didn't say it just now, just because he was afraid that it would make his brothers worried. Maybe his parents would find out about it in the end, and they would be even more worried.
