Courtyard House: A Prosperous and Joyful Life

The security guard grinned: "It's not hard work. Being a soldier and fighting in wars was really tough. Now, working in a factory is like enjoying a life of luxury."

This security guard is also a veteran, and he is extremely satisfied with this job—high income, easy work, and he even has a girlfriend. This life is like a dream.

Wang Jun chatted with the security guard for a couple of minutes, then started his car and drove into the factory area.

A large group of girls nearby saw the Mercedes and immediately started chattering excitedly.

"Was that young man who just got out of the car the owner of Huanyu Garment Factory?"

"Who else could it be!"

"Oh my god, I can't believe the boss is so young and handsome! I wish he would like me!"

"Go away, you're not even as good-looking as me, stop daydreaming!"

"Forget about it. He's rich and good-looking, with girls lining up for him. What chance do you have?"

"Why not? I'm not bad looking, am I? Last time, a movie crew wanted to cast me in one of their films!"

"Keep bragging!"

……

When Wang Jun arrived at the factory, he first went to the workshop to check on the production situation.

It's already March, the weather is gradually warming up, and garment factories are starting to rush spring clothes. After a quick tour, everything seemed normal; the workers were very enthusiastic, and you couldn't find a single person slacking off in the huge workshop.

This is the advantage of piece-rate wages—the more you do, the more you earn, so who would be willing to slack off?

After inspecting the workshop, Wang Jun went straight to the boss's office and went down to the basement through a hidden door.

Upon entering, a smile involuntarily appeared on my face as I looked at the neatly arranged antique artifacts and furniture.

A while ago, Xu Damao actually accomplished something worthwhile, finding an old man surnamed Jin. This old man Jin's ancestors were members of the Qing Dynasty imperial family, and they were incredibly wealthy back then, owning a large courtyard house in Beijing, which was later confiscated by the state. Old man Jin grew up surrounded by antiques, artifacts, and Ming and Qing Dynasty furniture, making him a true expert. Wang Jun then entrusted him with the entire task of acquiring antiques, artifacts, and Ming and Qing Dynasty furniture.

Old Jin was indeed capable; in just over ten days, he acquired three to four hundred cultural relics and antiques, plus more than a dozen sets of furniture. According to national grading standards, these items belong to the third grade or lower, which are permitted for private collection, and the prices were also cheap—the seven or eight hundred cultural relics only cost a little over three hundred thousand yuan in total.

It's worthless now, but decades from now, the price will be staggering. A single piece could easily cost tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions.

Works by masters like Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong, and Li Keran may not be expensive now, but decades from now, a single piece could fetch millions or even tens of millions of dollars. Even lesser-known painters and calligraphers will see their works appreciate in value over time.

Therefore, Wang Jun gave a strict order—to collect all the works of these artists, no matter how many there were.

In just over ten days, they collected more than two hundred pieces of calligraphy and painting.

Besides the cultural relics and antiques, those dozen or so sets of Ming and Qing dynasty furniture were also treasures. Eight sets were made of huanghuali wood, four sets of zitan wood, and three sets of golden nanmu wood. Decades later, even money might not be able to buy these items.

Wang Jun doesn't plan to sell these valuable pieces of furniture easily. He intends to keep some for his own use and carefully preserve the rest. In any case, if properly stored, these pieces of furniture could last for hundreds of years.

The basement, an extension of the original cellar, is over 400 square meters and is where all the collected antiques, artifacts, and furniture are stored. With people coming and going from the garment factory and security guards watching over things, thieves have no chance of sneaking in, so it's very safe to keep the stuff here.

Wang Jun made up his mind—to keep buying, to buy as much as he could, since he wasn't short of money anyway.

He pulled out his little notebook and added another entry:

"Besides antiques and cultural relics, we also need to send people to the southwest to collect a batch of jadeite rough stones."

Jadeite prices have skyrocketed in the last few decades. Even a jadeite bangle of average quality can sell for tens of thousands, while better ones can fetch hundreds of thousands or even millions, and there's still a huge demand. Therefore, it's advisable to stock up on jadeite, the more the better.

After carefully taking notes, I closed the notebook, put it away, started the car, and went to see Yu Li.

In the past few days, Yu Li has been opening stores at a frenzied pace, opening eight hot pot restaurants in Beijing in just one month, covering major urban areas.

Now that all the branches are open, Wang Jun came over to check on things and see if there was anything he could help with.

After opening more stores, Wang Jun simply bought a large shop to serve as the flagship store, where Yu Li usually works.

As Wang Jun stepped into the main store, he saw that there were more than a dozen tables of customers sitting in the hall, which was bustling with activity. Several waiters in uniforms were moving around among them, working quickly and efficiently.

"Excellent, excellent, this tastes truly authentic."

"Haha, let me tell you, this is the biggest hot pot restaurant in Beijing! I heard they have eight or nine branches throughout the city. What's that called a chain overseas...?"

"I know, I know, chain stores! Big foreign companies all do this."

"Yes, yes, chain stores! This boss is amazing, opening so many stores at once, he's incredibly powerful."

"Their food is delicious, and the service is excellent. Look at these waiters, they're all smiling and welcoming. It's much better than state-run restaurants."

"Exactly, I feel comfortable eating here."

Wang Jun overheard this, nodded in satisfaction, went upstairs, and pushed open the office door. Yu Li was hunched over the table looking at the account books, her face beaming with joy; she was clearly in an extremely good mood.

"How's the situation?" Wang Jun pulled up a chair and sat down.

Yu Li looked up, her eyebrows dancing with excitement, and said, "Great! Business is booming at all nine stores. Yesterday, our profits exceeded two thousand five hundred!"

That's over 2,500 a day, which adds up to 60,000 to 70,000 a month. No one could remain calm in that situation.

Wang Jun flipped through the ledger and was quite satisfied: "Not bad. With this scale, we're probably the largest hot pot restaurant in Beijing."

To be honest, Wang Jun didn't really care about the money his hot pot restaurant made compared to that of a garment factory or a cannery. But laying a solid foundation was key; once he expanded nationwide, he could easily become the top hot pot restaurant chain.

In the catering industry, hot pot is the easiest to standardize and the easiest to scale up. When people have more money in their pockets and their consumption increases in the 1990s, that will be the real money-printing machine.

Yu Li straightened her back, her tone full of pride: "That's right! We're already the biggest in Beijing, even Donglaishun has been left behind!"

Donglaishun, a renowned time-honored brand in Beijing with over sixty years of history, is a household name among the city's older residents. Previously, when discussing the largest hot pot restaurant in Beijing, Donglaishun was undoubtedly the top choice. However, Yu Li's aggressive expansion strategy directly dethroned this established brand.

Yu Li's eyes gleamed; she already had a plan: "Jun, once the business in Beijing stabilizes, I plan to open branches in Shanghai and Tianjin. I want to open hot pot restaurants all over the country!"

Among the women in the courtyard, Yu Li was the most career-driven and ambitious. Having succeeded in Beijing, she wouldn't stop there. The thought of owning hot pot restaurants all over the country filled her with energy.

Wang Jun nodded: "Great! Luzhou and Tianjin are both developed areas with strong purchasing power, so opening a shop there shouldn't be any problem. However, you'll need to hire more management talent; one person simply can't manage an entire shop."

Yu Li nodded repeatedly. Indeed, with more and more branches, she would eventually be exhausted if she ran around all the time; they needed to train more people.

Wang Jun sat in the office for a while, and seeing that everything was running smoothly, he got up and left. The cosmetics factory had already started recruiting, and he still had to go over and keep an eye on things.

No sooner had Wang Jun left than Yu Li pulled a bag of snacks from the drawer and began to happily munch on them.

For some reason, Yu Li has been craving snacks lately. She keeps over a dozen packs in her office and snacks whenever she has a spare moment. Snacks aren't cheap these days, but with her current income, she can eat as much as she wants without any financial burden.

As she was chewing, a wave of nausea suddenly washed over her, and she almost couldn't help but vomit.

"strangeness……"

Why do I suddenly feel nauseous?

"Could it be that he ate something unclean?"

Yu Li panicked. Food poisoning couldn't be delayed; she had to get to the hospital immediately. She stood up, grabbed her wallet, and took a step out, but then, as if remembering something, she froze on the spot.

"Recently..."

"My appetite suddenly changed; I became extremely craving snacks, and I only wanted sour ones. I couldn't stop eating four or five packs a day, and I felt unwell if I didn't."

"I feel nauseous again..."

"Could this situation be...?"

A thought flashed through her mind, and Yu Li's heart skipped a beat, followed by a surge of overwhelming joy.

She's pregnant!

Although she had no experience, she knew some of the symptoms of pregnancy. A few years ago, she took care of a pregnant relative whose situation was exactly the same—she ate snacks like crazy, consuming several bags a day.

"It seems... I really am pregnant!"

"Very good!"

An overwhelming surge of excitement appeared on Yu Li's face. She was in her thirties; women her age usually have children nearing middle school. But she had never had a child, which had caused her much gossip. Now, finally, she did!

Women have someone to rely on when they have children, and only then can they live a more secure life.

"No, we need to go to the hospital to check right away."

"If I'm really pregnant, I need to prepare early."

Without further hesitation, Yu Li grabbed her wallet, left the house, and headed straight for the nearby hospital.

The cosmetics factory is not far from the garment factory, only about three kilometers away. The location is quite remote, already outside the Third Ring Road.

The Third Ring Road was only completed a few years ago, and once you step outside it, it feels like you're in the countryside. But building the factory here is actually quite suitable.

When Wang Jun arrived at the factory, Li Xiaoyu and Zhou Rong were directing the workers.

"Is everything alright here?" Wang Jun asked.

Li Xiaoyu replied, "Everything is going smoothly. The raw materials have all arrived, and we'll be able to recruit workers and begin production in a few days."

Looking at the factory buildings, Li Xiaoyu was in a good mood. Although she wasn't the boss anymore, watching the factory being built step by step under her guidance still gave her a great sense of accomplishment.

Everything is ready now, and they're just waiting to start production. However, Li Xiaoyu is still unsure about the product; she doesn't know how effective the produced skincare water will be or whether it will sell well.

Wang Jun noticed her thoughts and said, "Don't worry, this skincare toner is incredibly effective; it'll sell well."

Wang Jun was very confident in the product; once it was produced, sales would not be a problem at all.

After touring the factory, Wang Jun got into his car and left. As the boss, he only needed to handle the important matters; he delegated the routine tasks to his subordinates and didn't need to monitor things every day.

Driving back to South Street, Wang Jun suddenly saw Yan Jiecheng squatting in front of a newly opened hot pot restaurant, looking worried.

After a moment of stunned silence, he realized—this hot pot restaurant was probably opened by Yan Jiecheng out of his own pocket, and judging by its appearance, business was probably not going to be good.

Wang Jun shook his head. Opening a shop is not that simple; just choosing a location is a major skill. If the location is not good, the business will definitely not be good.

Yan Jiecheng's shop has a terrible location and a flawed layout; it's no wonder it's not doing well.

Wang Jun didn't stop the car and just drove off. He wasn't familiar with Yan Jiecheng, so even if he saw something wrong, he had no obligation to offer guidance.

……

Yan Jiecheng squatted on the ground, so worried he wanted to bang his head against the wall.

This month, he poured almost all his savings into the business, finally getting the hot pot restaurant up and running. He thought it would be a huge success from the start, easily earning several hundred yuan a day. But to his dismay, the restaurant opened, and customers just wouldn't come!

In five whole days, only seven or eight tables came in total. That's a little over one table a day on average, which is simply outrageous.

"What the hell! Why is no one coming to my hot pot restaurant? What's wrong with me?!" Yan Jiecheng grabbed his hair, almost pulling it all out.

He was still planning that once the hot pot restaurant became popular, he could earn several hundred yuan a day, find a young and beautiful wife, and the pinnacle of his life would be just around the corner. But the business turned out to be such a disaster, and at this rate, bankruptcy was only a matter of time.

Just as he was worrying, a few young men passed by. Yan Jiecheng quickly stood up, his face beaming with smiles: "Hey buddies! Come eat hot pot! Authentic Sichuan flavor, spicy and flavorful! Eating mutton hot pot in the dead of winter is just so comforting!"

A young man with blond hair craned his neck to peek into the shop, then curled his lip and said, "Boss, this isn't authentic Sichuan food. Yu Li's place is the real deal."

Several people nearby also joined in the commotion.

"Exactly, there's not a single customer in sight. It's clearly not a good place. Let's move on."

"You're right, the ingredients here are probably not fresh anymore. If we eat this, we'll be spending all night in the toilet."

"Let's go, let's go, just across the street is Yu Li Hot Pot Restaurant No. 3, let's go eat there."

"Yu Li Hot Pot is absolutely delicious! I heard they've opened nine branches in Beijing, and they're all packed!"

"My buddy's right. Now everyone's saying—for traditional Beijing hot pot, go to Donglaishun; for Sichuan hot pot, look for Yu Li!"

Yan Jiecheng panicked and quickly shouted, "Buddy, this is the real deal! Come in and try it, I'll give you a 50% discount!"

Offering a 50% discount is basically losing money to attract customers, but Yan Jiecheng didn't care. He accepted the lack of profit, just wanting to get a few customers to keep things going, otherwise he couldn't bear to see the store so deserted.

A few young people were tempted when they heard about the 50% discount. A hot pot meal usually costs ten or twenty yuan, so a 50% discount would save them ten yuan, which seemed like a good deal.

At this point, the blond-haired guy waved his hand dismissively: "Let's go, let's go! We definitely shouldn't go into stores that are having sales! Who knows what kind of ingredients they have!"

Upon hearing this, everyone else nodded in agreement.

Yeah, why would they offer a discount out of the blue? There's definitely something fishy going on. It's best not to take advantage of this.

"Haha, buddy, you were right! The boss suddenly offering a 50% discount, there's definitely something fishy going on. Let's go!"

"I reckon those ingredients have been sitting there for over ten days. Eating them would cause diarrhea for three days and three nights! Diarrhea in the dead of winter, that's not a pleasant feeling!"

"Damn it, all I want to do in the dead of winter is stay in bed. Having diarrhea and running to the toilet a dozen times a day is worse than death!"

"Let's go, let's go!"

The young men glared at Yan Jiecheng and then strode away.

"Dude—my shop has only been open for five days, and all the ingredients are fresh! Eat with confidence—think about it—"

Yan Jiecheng shouted at the top of his lungs, but the other person didn't even turn around.

"Good heavens... even at half price, nobody's buying. How are we supposed to do business like this..."

Yan Jiecheng squatted back down on the ground, wanting to cry but having no tears.

"Siheyuan: A Thriving and Prosperous Life" - Stunning writing style and a captivating plot!