1970s: My childhood sweetheart ran away, and I turned around and married the wildest chief.

It wasn't convenient to have a candlelight dinner at noon, but we could go to another restaurant. In the afternoon, we strolled around the department stores. In the past two years, many private shops have appeared in Beijing. Lu Mingzhou found a few and took Qiao Wanqing to browse around, where they bought a bunch of clothes and shoes.

When I got back in the evening, I continued my shameless life.

Three days passed before he remembered he needed to visit his parents, otherwise he would have to go back to the army.

When I returned to the shop, the situation had changed drastically. The old dilapidated houses had long been demolished, and new houses were being built on the side. The entire area next door had been cleared out, and a three-story building with four large storefronts was being constructed. It was almost finished.

This was specially designed by Qiao Wanqing. It's all frame structure. If needed in the future, it can be separated or opened up again. Furthermore, this side of the shop can be demolished and rebuilt and connected together.

With buildings being constructed one after another, the shops don't need to be demolished for the time being, which is perfect for Mr. Lu, Miao Cuiying, and the others to stay here.

Although the house was newly built, its structure was not that of a modern building, but rather resembled an old-fashioned courtyard. Its classical architectural appearance did not stand out from the surrounding houses.

Lu Mingzhou came over and took a look, then exclaimed in surprise, "So fast? There's still a whole lot of space behind here? They've all been left as a yard?"

He was asking about the area behind the building next door, not the open space behind the shop.

After the area next door was renovated, it became a large plot of land, even larger than her shop. The storefront consisted of four large shops, with a long extension behind it.

Mr. Lu explained, "No, the one in front is just one of the buildings. There's another five-story building behind it. The original plot of land wasn't that big. I saw a small piece of land behind it that looked too big, so I went to the neighborhood committee and bought it. Together, it's just enough to build two buildings."

"If it weren't for the concern about affecting the lighting, the shop in front could have been built five stories high. It's a pity that the yard is still a bit small, so it can only be built three stories high. Otherwise, the building in the back would be blocked from the sunlight."

After all, the land isn't very big. He's already tried his best to increase the distance between the buildings, but it still can't support the height of five-story buildings in the front row. There's no other way but to build three-story buildings instead. It's also a classical style building. If it's built too high, it will look distorted. Three stories is just right!

Lu Mingzhou went to take a look and saw that the ground had been completely leveled. The foundation for the building behind was already being dug, and the foundation was very deep. Qiao Wanqing peeked out and saw that all the bricks and other materials that had been demolished from the old dilapidated house were being used to build the foundation.

Qiao Wanqing looked at the area and nodded in satisfaction. Her in-laws were truly capable!

The ground is very flat. There wasn't enough space at the back, so we managed to add a small section. With the current area, it's not bad to build two houses. There's also a yard in the middle, so it's easy to renovate it in the future.

The building in front is almost finished, and the foundation in the back is nearly complete. It looks like it will be completed before the end of the year.

After showing his son and daughter-in-law around, Mr. Lu returned and asked, "These two buildings will be completed before the new year. It's definitely too late to finish decorating them all, but it's still possible to decorate the front one. I've already found workers, and as long as the money and materials are in place, we can start work soon."

"Xiao Wan said she wanted to start a clothing business. I thought there would definitely be a surge in business during the Chinese New Year, so I wanted to get the shop ready before the New Year. When the goods arrive, there won't be any problem storing them since the back hasn't been renovated yet. Our yard here can also accommodate them."

"I've looked at this street. The foot traffic is pretty good, and there are several factory residential compounds nearby that are doing well. Although this shop isn't the first one on the street, our location is good, so we should have quite a few customers."

The good thing about their shop is that it's not in a narrow alley, but on a fairly wide street. There's no space in front of their shop, and further ahead is a small river. There's a stone bridge diagonally opposite, so people can come across from the other side of the bridge.

If you go a little further west along this street, you'll truly enter the alley, and the location there isn't very good.

Qiao Wanqing thought to herself, "Sure enough, if I find a reliable person to help, I don't have to worry about anything at all. My father and Miao Cuiying didn't even need me to remind them of this problem; they could figure it out on their own."

Indeed, the year before the Lunar New Year is the peak season for clothing. Although this place has not yet developed into the pedestrian street model of ancient town tourist attractions in later years, there is still a considerable flow of people. There is also a bus stop here, and it is a major one.

In this era, the supply of goods is less than the demand, so there's not much to worry about in terms of location. As long as there are good products, plenty of people will come looking for them.

Qiao Wanqing smiled and said, "Then Dad, thank you for your hard work. Please start renovating this building first. If you can't make it in time, you can renovate the first floor first. I'll contact Grandpa and ask him to get me some clothes."

The design drawings had been prepared long ago, and Mr. Lu knew how to decorate. Qiao Wanqing didn't have too many requirements for water and electricity facilities. She knew very well that there was no need to consider the water and electricity of the future for the time being. After all, it was a shop, and it might need to be renovated again in a few years or a decade. There was no need to think about so much for now.

Right now, the shop only needs a little tidying up, mainly the lighting. The blueprints for these have all been drawn up in advance. We don't have crystal chandeliers here, so we bought them from the south.

It's very simple. Her grandmother asked the family assistant to buy it, and it was brought back by train. The goods have already arrived at the shop.

Having resources and channels makes things so much easier.

Mr. Lu nodded, feeling a surge of excitement. Back in his hometown, he had only heard Miao Cuiying talk to him on the phone about the shop's operations. He knew it was making a lot of money every day, and he and Miao Cuiying were both very optimistic about the shop's future. That's why he quit his job and came here when he heard that his daughter-in-law wanted to expand the business.

Hearing it on the phone is one thing, but experiencing it in person is quite another.

Seeing his breakfast stall doing better and better every day, he really wants to get the clothing store up and running as soon as possible.

Clothing!

Both he and Miao Cuiying knew very well that the profit margin of clothing was far greater than that of a breakfast shop!

"What do you plan to do with this courtyard now?" Mr. Lu asked.

"The houses in this courtyard are in good condition, it would be a pity to demolish them. But if we don't demolish them, we won't be able to build the big houses like the ones next door, and we won't be able to make use of the area behind them. Also, if the clothing shops open, it would be a waste to open breakfast shops here."

Qiao Wanqing understood, but she knew that you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub, so she had to dismantle the structure.

"Dad, we'll spend the New Year in this yard this year. Next spring, we'll tear it down and rebuild it, making it bigger. By then, the neighbors next door will be able to live there too, so you can move there. Policies change every year. This house is an old one, and the craftsmanship is still pretty good. It would be terrible if they didn't let us tear it down in the future."