The younger sister mistakenly identified her brother when visiting relatives and was kissed by the c

"Yes!" Uncle Zhou looked at the little girl's surprised and delighted expression, sighed with a smile, took out a match from his pocket and lit his pipe. "It's really a twist of fate. The people who rented this shop before were a middle-aged couple from out of town. They ran a small restaurant here, selling steamed buns, home-style stir-fries and the like. They were honest and hardworking, and their skills were decent, so their business was actually quite good."

At this point, Uncle Zhou exhaled a smoke ring, his eyes filled with regret: "But fate is unpredictable. A few months ago, the couple received a telegram saying that their parents back home had suddenly fallen seriously ill and were on the verge of death. They were frantic and rushed back to take care of their parents. Naturally, the shop had to close down."

Qiao Xinxin was so engrossed in listening that she didn't even notice when Lu Baizhou walked up to her.

"They left in a hurry, but they still owed the landlord two months' rent, which amounted to two hundred yuan." Uncle Zhou tapped the door frame with his pipe. "The couple were honest people. They felt that running away with debts was unethical, so they went to the landlord and said they really had no cash on hand. They gave the landlord all the tables, chairs, pots and pans, and even the firewood in the kitchen as payment for part of the rent."

Uncle Zhou sighed, "The owner is a kind-hearted bodhisattva. Seeing how pitiful they were crying, he knew they were really in trouble, so he didn't press them for the remaining money. These tools have just been left untouched in the shop, covered in a layer of dust, and no one has ever touched them."

After listening, Qiao Xinxin felt a deep sense of sympathy for the couple she had never met.

In this day and age, anyone who is willing to give up their business in the city for the sake of filial piety is a good person who values ​​loyalty and righteousness.

But at the same time, the groundhog in her heart, filled with ecstatic joy, had already begun to squeal!

I'm rich! I've really struck gold!

These pots, pans, and solid wood tables and chairs may look old, but if you really asked her to buy them all from scratch at a department store or supply and marketing cooperative, the tables would cost money! The benches would cost money! And the iron pots would require industrial coupons!

Even that big chopping board, it wouldn't be cheap without costing several dozen yuan!

Now it's perfect, ready-made! No need to spend a penny!

Moreover, these old objects, imbued with the essence of time and everyday life, add a sense of reassurance and warmth to the shop, creating a welcoming atmosphere of local life.

It's as if even God is helping her to expand and strengthen her imperial braised food business!

"Uncle Zhou!" Qiao Xinxin rubbed her hands excitedly, barely suppressing a smile that was practically reaching the sky. Pointing to the ground beneath her feet, she asked eagerly, "How big is this shop exactly? How much is the rent?!"

Seeing her impatient little face, Uncle Zhou couldn't help but laugh. He reached into the pocket of his gray Zhongshan suit and pulled out an old measuring tape. He pulled it open with a "whoosh" and measured it against the corner of the wall.

"It's about twelve meters long and less than four meters wide. The main room in the front is about forty square meters! The kitchen you just saw is about ten square meters. All together, it's over fifty square meters!"

Uncle Zhou put away the measuring tape, smiled, and held up one finger: "If someone else were to rent this shop, with all this equipment, it would cost at least 120 yuan a month! But since you're Xiao Lu's friend..."

He gave Lu Baizhou, who stood beside Qiao Xinxin like a guardian angel, a meaningful look, and readily agreed: "One hundred yuan a month! At this price, you won't find another place like it in the entire capital!"

Fifty square meters is definitely considered a very spacious storefront in this day and age!

Qiao Xinxin suppressed the wildly upturned corners of her mouth, her bright eyes fixed on Uncle Zhou, her voice soft yet revealing a shrewd businessman's shrewdness: "Uncle Zhou, how much is the rent this month?"

This is the most crucial question!

Uncle Zhou paused, took a puff of his pipe, and gave a precise figure: "Girl, you see, this shop has a good location, a large area, and all the equipment is so complete, so the rent is naturally more expensive than the previous shops. This amount—one hundred yuan per month."

One hundred dollars!

Qiao Xinxin's heart skipped a beat.

This price is indeed more expensive than the previous ones.

In the early 1980s, when the average wage was only thirty or forty yuan, one hundred yuan was definitely a huge sum of money!

However, her mind raced, and she thought to herself: given the location and size, plus a complete set of eight-immortal table and chairs and kitchenwares for free, a hundred yuan is really not too outrageous, and can even be said to be good value for money.

Seeing that the young girl remained silent, Uncle Zhou assumed she was having second thoughts about the price and quickly added fuel to the fire, continuing, "Girl, if you're really interested, and if you rent for a year or more, I can help the landlord negotiate a lower rent. It'll be 1100 yuan a year, with a 100 yuan deposit. We can sign a one-year contract directly, what do you think?"

Qiao Xinxin quickly started calculating in her mind.

It costs 1,100 yuan a year, plus a 100 yuan deposit, so the total cost is 1,200 yuan.

The money she squeezed from the Qiao family's bloodsuckers, plus the "compensation" she extorted from Qiao Mingzhu, left her with only two thousand yuan in principal.

After paying the 1200 yuan rent and deposit, I'll only have 800 yuan left.

Eight hundred yuan sounds like a lot, but as start-up capital for a store, it's barely enough to fill a gap in your teeth!

She also had to buy large quantities of meat, spices, and a business license, and set aside working capital to deal with various emergencies. She was indeed a bit strapped for cash, so she couldn't afford not to be careful with her money.

Qiao Xinxin bit her pink lower lip, her brows furrowing slightly. She was about to ask Uncle Zhou to use all her skills to lower the price further, or perhaps to go back and think about it some more.

Just then, Lu Baizhou, who had been standing silently to the side like a guardian angel, suddenly spoke up.

"Uncle Zhou."

The man's voice was deep and resonant, carrying the composure and unquestionable authority unique to soldiers: "If we rent this shop to her, could you offer a lower price?"

Uncle Zhou paused for a moment, his hand holding the pipe hanging in mid-air. He looked at the tall, imposing Lu Baizhou, then at the petite and pretty Qiao Xinxin beside him, a knowing smile flashing in his worldly-wise eyes.

"Oh dear, since you've personally asked, Uncle Zhou definitely has to give you face!"

Uncle Zhou nodded repeatedly, mentally reconsidering the matter, and then slapped his thigh enthusiastically: "How about this! If we rent this shop to Miss Xinxin, it'll be a thousand yuan a year! The deposit is still one hundred, and we'll sign a one-year contract. Xiao Lu, girl, let me be honest, this price is absolutely the biggest discount the landlord can offer. Any lower, and I'll have to pay out of my own pocket!"

A thousand dollars?!

Qiao Xinxin's eyes widened instantly, and she almost burst out laughing on the spot!

The price of 100 yuan a month was slashed down to just over 80 yuan a month by Lu Baizhou's one sentence!

Over the course of a year, I saved a whole hundred yuan!