Chapter 152: Chapter 152: Distant Worries
In the provincial capital, next to the new long-distance bus station, Feng Zhenchang and Mei Yiliang led a large group of workers to the front of the small shop they had already bought.
The old man from the neighboring convenience store walked to the door and looked out. When he saw Feng Zhenchang, he greeted him, 'Did you rent it? Why, don't you think it's too small now?'
'No, I've also rented the second floor. We'll be neighbours. You're an old hand in the area, so I'll be counting on you in the future!' Feng Zhanchang offered him a cigarette.
'Sure thing. What kind of business are you planning to start?'
'I want to open a noodle restaurant.'
'A noodle restaurant?' The old man laughed. 'There are already quite a few noodle restaurants in this area. Besides, what are you going to do with the second floor? Are you going to put a ladder up there?'
Feng Zhenchang is busy right now and doesn't have time to talk to him. A young man from the renovation team carrying a ladder just happens to pass in front of him. He can't stand the way the old man is acting like a senior citizen taking advantage of his age, so he says, 'The big room upstairs and the small room downstairs have both been bought by our boss. In the future, the exit on the second floor will be this store.'
'Cough,' 'Cough,' 'They've all been bought?' The old chain smoker actually chokes on the smoke when he hears this.
It really is not as it seems! He used all of his and his wife's redundancy pay, plus all of the family's savings, and took out some external loans to buy the small shop.
The young man looked at him in surprise, secretly pleased, but there was no time to waste talking to him. He carried the ladder and went to work. The boss was personally supervising the work, so he dared not slack off.
In the shop, Feng Zhenchang and Mei Yiliang watched the workers reinforce the roof and looked at the large square drawn in the middle. 'It's not easy!' Feng Zhenchang sighed.
'This is the most difficult part. Just to break this hole, I have been running between so many departments for so many days. Haha, in the middle I thought the approval would not be granted!' Mei Yiliang also said.
In the past few months, the loan for the previous riverside building and negotiating prices with the two landlords were also tiring and hard work, but they were nothing compared to the effort of going around to get the paperwork approved for such a small opening, which has made the two of them a bit afraid of dealing with the authorities.
'It was worth the hard work!' Feng Zhenchang looked at the station a few dozen metres away, and then at this first shop that really belonged to him. A strong sense of satisfaction welled up in his heart. If it is run well here, it can be a hen that lays golden eggs.
Moreover, in the future, whenever someone from his hometown comes to the provincial capital, they will be able to see his shop as soon as they get out of the station, which will be a source of pride.
'I heard that many of you now go to other places to buy fried chestnuts?' Mei Yiliang and he cleaned up the miscellaneous items upstairs together, and the items they collected were taken to the scrap collection station in a tricycle, where they could also sell for a few dollars.
'Yes, there are quite a few. Many people have come to the province to see it, and there are a few more in the province. There are also quite a few in the surrounding cities, and there are also three or four in our city.'
This is another thing that makes Feng Zhenchang proud.
He brought those few out, and then recruited so many people to help in the store. Those in the village who wanted to make money came to the provincial capital to seek his advice.
As for selling fried chestnuts, those already selling them and those who wanted to sell them dragged him away for several discussions and roughly set down a rule, mainly concerning the division of territory.
Everyone came out to make money, not to fight among themselves from afar in the city, which would not only hurt feelings but also prevent them from making any money.
Fortunately, there are few ways to make money these days, and selling sugar-fried chestnuts is one of the safest. The investment is large, but the chestnuts are all home-grown. For those families who are struggling in their hometowns, although they may only earn a thousand or two a year in the city below, not as much as they would in the provincial capital, they are still quite satisfied.
In short, he is now the convenor of these people from his hometown. Anyone from the village who wants to do this business has to seek his advice first. There are a lot of things to do, but he is more energetic instead.
'Brother, you're famous in your area now!' Mei Yiliang said with a smile.
Feng Zhenchang was of course a little pleased with himself, but also a little worried. "Yiping told me that there are so many street vendors everywhere these days, and the country definitely won't let this go on like this. It won't be long before they start cracking down. By then, it'll definitely be hard for us itinerant street vendors to do business.'
The year after next, the "urban management officers', known as the most powerful fighters on the planet, will be established, and they will be the bane of the street vendors.
Feng Yiping has given his father a heads-up in advance. Now these people are all saying nice things in front of Feng Zhenchang. In two years' time, not only will they not be able to make any money, their stalls will also be confiscated and they will have to pay fines. Will these people then go around behind his back and say bad things about Feng Zhenchang? That's for sure!
'It's about time they were regulated. You all don't pay taxes!' Mei Yiliang jokes, as he has now set up a company and pays taxes according to the rules.
Alas, Feng Zhenchang was feeling mixed emotions. This leader's job was not an easy one!
To be honest, he was quite satisfied with the present situation. In just two years, he had already established himself in the provincial capital, earning tens of thousands of yuan a month! So, seeing the formerly impoverished villagers, one after the other, coming out under his leadership, earning money one family after another, he also felt a sense of accomplishment.
Two years later, if this fell through, what would he do?
'It's fine. Yiping will come here during the winter holidays, right? We'll discuss it with him then, and he'll definitely come up with a solution!'
After all that had happened, Mei Yiliang had a blind confidence in Feng Yiping.
...
Third Uncle's oil mill is now the busiest place in Meijiawan.
Mei Jianzhong is busy every day with his two sons and three daughters-in-law, and that's not enough. He has also hired a few housewives from the few families in the village who are having a hard time to help.
The noodles they make are mainly supplied to Feng Zhenchang, but now the Mui family noodles have also become somewhat famous. They have registered a trademark and printed a batch of packaging bags of several specifications. After a simple packaging process, people from several surrounding townships, including the county, come to collect the goods.
Seeing that his business is so prosperous, not everyone in the village has not thought about this, but a few have tried and lost, which has become the subject of some jokes.
Although there is demand in the surrounding towns and villages, the quantities are small. They don't have a big buyer like Feng Zhenchang, and, besides, things like dried noodles don't keep well for long and will go mouldy after a while.
'Dad, take a break!' His eldest son, Guosheng, came over with a big cup of tea. "Yes, Dad, take a break, we can handle the rest!" The second and third daughters-in-law said next to him.
Mei Jianzhong sat down in a nearby chair, wiped his face with the towel on the back of the chair, took the tea his son had brought him, and took a few hearty sips.
Rongrong, Chengcheng, and Yangyang, the three of them, were helping the adults wash the long chopsticks used for pulling noodles after school. The remaining four little radish heads were playing around on the side.
Rui Rui, who was most attached to him, saw him sitting down and came running over to him for a hug. Mei Jianzhong tickled Rui Rui's little face with his stubbly beard, making him laugh.
He never imagined that he could still be so happy in his old age. Unfortunately, his wife passed away a bit too early. If only it could have been a few years later!