Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 121 Taking Over

Xiao Wei said, "Take it slow. It's too big. I can't think of what to do with it right now. It's not on the street, and it won't run away if I leave it here. What's the rush?"

Xia Maosheng said with a smile, "It's just that we suddenly have such a large space, and it feels a bit wasteful to leave it idle."

Xiao Wei turned to Xia Maosheng and said, "Let's move here. We can lock the back door of the main building and walk along the side. This yard is so comfortable. It will be beautiful when the trees grow tall in the summer."

Xia Maosheng looked around and said, "Where do you live? Upstairs or a bungalow? There's no heating."

Xiao Wei said, "We'll have to trouble Sister Li with this. We'll go see her tomorrow and see if we need to repair or replace the boiler, just get it sorted out first. Why don't you get some coal? It won't burn much all winter. How about we turn that room into a bathhouse, and these rooms can be used for living?"

Xia Maosheng nodded and said, "Okay, I'll talk to them tomorrow."

Xiao Wei pointed to another room and said, "Turn that room into a kitchen. That room is small and can't be used much. Put a kitchen there, just in case we need it later."

Xia Maosheng turned his head and looked around, saying, "There's no toilet. How are we going to make one?"

Xiao Wei said, "Just use the ones in the building. We can just find someone to replace the water pipes in the building."

Xia Maosheng thought for a moment and said, "It's inconvenient. What if something happens here in the future, with people coming and going?"

Xiao Wei said, "That's easy. Just open a door on the side of the building, lock the inside door, move the toilet door on the first floor to the yard, build it up inside, and the people in the building can use that door. They can use the toilet on the second floor, right?"

Xia Maosheng nodded. This arrangement was much better. The courtyard had become its own little world, over a thousand square meters. It was simply amazing.

Xiao Wei said from the side, "Oh dear, this won't do. This yard is too big. It's a waste to leave all this hair here. It's also inconvenient not having a yard over there."

Xia Maosheng said, "What's that over there? I was too excited to look."

Xiao Wei walked to the back of the bungalow and said, "There's still space behind here, just a few meters away from the wall. There should be more space behind the building."

The two walked to the back of the bungalow, where there was a three-meter-wide passage leading to the side of the second floor. However, it was filled with snow, which was thigh-deep, making it impossible to go in.

Xia Maosheng pointed inside and said, "Look, look, the courtyard wall and that building aren't connected; there's another courtyard over there."

The two turned around and ran back into the second floor. They had only glanced at the four empty halls on the first floor before not going in, but now they ran straight into the hall and looked out the window. Sure enough, there was another courtyard behind the building, filled with some miscellaneous items and snow. The courtyard was not as big as the front one, about seven or eight meters wide. One end of the wall connected to the top of the building, and the other end connected to the courtyard wall behind the bungalow. By this calculation, it was about three or four hundred square meters.

Xia Maosheng gestured and said, "It's perfect that the boiler room separates the front and back yards. We can build a coal shed there, block the passage behind the bungalows, and open a big gate here."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, let's do it this way. But it'll be all done by spring. No rush, let's get the restaurant up and running first and figure out how to get that place working."

Xia Maosheng nodded and said, "Okay, then let's buy a few locks and go over there. They should be all packed up by now."

Xiao Wei nodded, and the two of them left the second floor satisfied. They locked all the doors and headed towards the farmers' market.

I bought two padlocks and two chain locks on the way. I used the padlocks to lock the back door and the chain locks to lock the front door.

By the time they reached Jubinge Restaurant, it was noon. They could see the restaurant's main entrance was open, with several people standing at the door. Two of them were on the awning, dusting the restaurant's sign. There were also figures on the rooftop, moving things around.

As I got closer, I saw Old Liu, the manager of Jian'an, pointing upstairs with a cigarette between his fingers and talking. He was tall and quite conspicuous; I spotted him immediately. The person he was talking to was Director Wang.

Xia Maosheng and Xiao Wei didn't expect to run into Director Wang here. They glanced at each other and quickened their pace to walk over.

"Uncle, what brings you here?" Xia Maosheng greeted him from a few meters away, "Uncle Liu."

Old Liu and Director Wang turned to look at the two of them. Director Wang said, "You're here. Let's go in and take a look. It's almost all packed up. See if anything is missing."

Old Liu chuckled and said, "Your uncle insists that I restore that pavilion on the rooftop, so he can come here to enjoy the view and drink tea during the summer camp."

Xia Maosheng said, "Okay, I'll prepare some good tea and play some music for you then."

There are few high-rise buildings in Chaoyang District. Looking north from here, you can see the Daling River and the mountains on the opposite bank. It would be quite nice to sit here in the summer, enjoy tea, and admire the view.

A young man in his early twenties, wearing a leather jacket and sporting a side-parted hairstyle, called out from under the umbrella, "Manager Liu, do you think it's a good deal?"

Old Liu turned his head and looked at it, saying, "Okay, let's tidy up and come down. Make sure it's clean, and don't leave anything on it." The young man agreed and started tidying up with another man in a cotton-padded coat. The two of them were touching up the red lettering with paint.

Logically speaking, jobs like cement painting shouldn't be possible in the Northeast during winter, but human ingenuity is amazing. Some veteran workers, needing to make do, developed techniques for winter construction. For example, to touch up the paint, first wipe it clean, then heat the work surface with a blowtorch, place the paint bucket in a basin of hot water, brush it on, and immediately dry it with a hairdryer. Although it's a bit troublesome, it's very effective.

The two men poured hot water onto the side floor, then climbed down the ladder to the awning with their things. After putting away the paint and other items, the man in the leather jacket walked over with a grin and said, "How was it, Manager? Did you do a good job? This is my dad's specialty." He rubbed his hands together at Manager Liu, who chuckled and muttered a curse, then pulled out a cigarette and tossed it to him. The man in the leather jacket smoked two, handed one to the man in the cotton-padded jacket, and returned the pack to Manager Liu, saying, "Manager, you've been working all morning, will you provide lunch?"

Old Liu pointed at Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng and said, "These are your current leaders. Ask them; from now on, they'll be in charge of everything at this restaurant, including your salaries."

The man in the leather jacket glanced at Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng, raised his right hand to touch his forehead, and said with a grin, "Hello, boss."

Old Liu raised his leg as if to kick him, and said, "Get ready and come inside. Call all the others over here."

Everyone went inside, and the man in the leather jacket went to the back to call for help.

Within minutes, seven people, five women and two men, arrived at the lobby on the first floor.

Xiao Wei pulled over a few stools for Lao Liu and Director Wang to sit on, and then he and Xia Maosheng sat down as well.

Old Liu pointed at the group and said to the two women, "Let me introduce you. The tallest one is Zhang Guifang, she's the group leader and she prepares the side dishes. This is Shang Liwei, she makes the noodles, she's specially trained in that area. This is Li Bing, and this is Xie Na, they're waitresses. And this little girl, her name is Li Wen, the 'Wen' in 'king' radical. She wasn't here before, you can use her if you think she's suitable."

"These two lads, the one in the leather jacket, the one with the unruly airs, is Liu Hongliang. He's my nephew. He's not a bad guy, just a bit too much of a rascal. If he doesn't listen to you, you'll get a beating. This is Li Gengsheng, an honest kid. His dad is my accountant. I've transferred three others back: the former manager, an accountant, and a purchasing agent. You'll definitely have to handle these things yourselves from now on."