There are also cigarettes, alcohol and some popular goods that are hard to find in the supply and marketing cooperatives. The Dawn Grocery Store has everything, and even if they are sold out, they can be replenished quickly.
When Li Huan went home on the weekend, he saw that the business was so good, so he wrote a recruitment advertisement and posted it on the door. As a result, the Liming Grocery Store now has four sales clerks, and can serve customers more quickly and efficiently.
The most profitable one is Qin Yue’s Qijun Clothing Store. Not only has it already made back its investment, but Qin Yue is also planning to buy several shops nearby.
But Zhao Hui shook his head. The market was not yet completely stable, so they could not be so aggressive. While other businesses had not yet been invested in, they might as well buy back the old man’s courtyard house first.
Zhao Hui's proposal was supported by everyone. That was the old house of their Zhao family. It was a large courtyard house composed of four three-in-one courtyards. It covered a vast area and the materials used were all of the best quality.
But Zhao Hui went to more than a dozen departments in a row, and the responses he got were all shaking heads. Either he couldn't find the leader, or they had no say, and they didn't even know who had bought the courtyard house.
"Dad, if I get it, I'm lucky. If I lose it, I'm doomed. Since I've already lost it, I'll just choose something new."
Zhao Qijun felt Zhao Hui's pain and helplessness, and comforted him, saying that there were many courtyard houses in the capital, and it would be okay to find one closer to Uncle Ye's home.
Finally, with the help of Ye Jun, they finally found a courtyard house with three entrances, but it was very expensive, costing 20,000 yuan, and there was no room for bargaining.
Zhao Hui went to see the courtyard house, and found that it had been turned into a slum. The small bridges, flowing water, pavilions and towers had all been knocked down and turned into places to place toilets and stoves.
And the red-painted window frames that were carved with colorful flowers have lost their original exquisiteness and turned into mottled tatters, swaying from side to side with the change of wind direction.
The bluestone slabs on the ground had long since turned muddy, and the flowers and plants planted in every corner had become a messy place to store coal, covered with a layer of broken wooden boards to protect it from rain.
"What a sin! Such a beautiful ancient building has been destroyed like this. I wonder if it can be repaired."
The landlord sneered repeatedly, but his heart ached. He received the letter to return to the city and the notice to return the courtyard house. He was so happy that he couldn't sleep for several nights.
When he returned to the courtyard late at night, he saw that the originally low-key and luxurious courtyard had become like this, and he almost fainted under the half-remaining screen wall.
Because the courtyard house had turned into a slum, he went to find the relevant restoration department, but they all shook their heads and said that it would be better to rebuild it instead of repairing it. The cost of restoration was too high, and it might not be possible to restore it to its original state.
Rebuilding it is impossible as it has completely lost its original appearance, and he certainly cannot afford the money for restoration as he is short of money.
After much consideration, he no longer wanted this courtyard house, but he really couldn't bear to part with it, so he offered a high price of 20,000 yuan. He was gambling that only people who truly liked courtyard houses would buy it.
"Brother, I really want your yard, but I have two conditions. One is to clear out all the people, including the household registration, and the other is to help me find a construction team that can repair this yard."
The homeowner nodded, but told Ye Hui a frightening statistic: it is not difficult to clear out the people, as the country has prepared new places for them, and they themselves are clamoring to leave. But to repair this yard, you have to prepare 100,000 or 80,000 yuan.
Zhao Hui took a deep breath. It was not that he could not take out the money, but he had to do it in a low-key manner. It would be troublesome if someone asked him again where the money came from.
But looking at the rusty copper ring on the cracked door of the courtyard house, he nodded firmly. The Siheyuan is the culture left by his ancestors, and it is also his longing for his old house.
The house was finally bought and the restoration department has been contacted. Zhao Hui told them that due to financial constraints, the restoration would have to be done slowly and they would restore part of the house in return for the money they paid.
The restoration department was also happy to do so, but one has to understand that restoring such ancient buildings is still somewhat difficult. What they fear most are impatient customers, as this will distort the entire restoration process and results.
After renovating two rooms, Zhao Hui moved the household registration of his family of three out of Cheng Qiao's courtyard and officially moved into his own courtyard. Although Cheng Qiao didn't care, this was an attitude that Zhao Hui had to show.
After settling his own home, Zhao Hui began to look for new businesses. He bought a few more shops and started some small home appliance business, such as the tape recorders he saw in the south and the extremely small number of cassettes of decadent music.
Zhao Hui could only go to the secret place again to take out a box of gold bars and prepare to go south. Before leaving, he came to Cheng Qiao:
"Qiao, do you want to exchange some more money so you can buy a property or do business in Beijing in the future?"
Cheng Qiao shook her head. Beijing was not the place she wanted to develop. If she did not have strong support, buying too many properties or making too much money would be bad for her and her children.
It was the weekend again, and Cheng Qiao and Ye Jun took their four children to the suburban park for a picnic. Liang Qingya drove the car and brought the picnic tools, and the group set off with great enthusiasm.
Qin Yue and Zhao Qijun, one needed to go south to purchase goods and the other needed to look after the store, they could only watch them go out to play with envy.
"Mom, when can we close the store for a day and arrange for everyone to go out and play?"
"It's too early. After you marry Qian Longkun and have a child, we can consider taking the child out to play. At that time, the worst that can happen is that we can hire more salespeople."
When Zhao Qijun heard about Qian Longkun, his face turned red. They had already agreed to get married after graduating from university. By then, they would have jobs and a house, and they could consider having a child.
"By the way, mom, Zhao Xiaobei is coming over today. She will come to the store to help every weekend from now on."
"Is that so? Okay, this kid has good character, but is she short of money now?"
"She should not be short of money, but I think Zhao Xiaobei wants to be a diplomat, which requires a lot of extracurricular materials, so she spends a lot of money, and she doesn't want to ask the uncles for money."
"She's a good kid. Even if she's working on weekends, you should pay her the salesperson's salary. We can't help with other things, but we can still help with this little thing."
Zhao Qijun smiled. She meant the same thing. She first sent Qin Yue to the train station, and then rode her bicycle to Qijun Clothing Store.
Zhao Xiaobei also came to Qijun Clothing Store under the escort of Zhao Xiaobao. The two sales clerks already knew that Zhao Xiaobei was going to work part-time and were very happy.
Every weekend is the busiest time for the clothing store. Even if the boss lady and Qi Jun are there, they are so busy that they have to squeeze in time to even drink water or go to the toilet.