Seeing that Zhan Aiping had a good plan, Mrs. Luo went back and thought about it for two days and agreed. So the two of them began to prepare to open an oil tea house, splitting the profits 30% to 70%. Mrs. Luo could only raise 1,000 yuan at most, and the rest was technology investment. The bulk of the money would be from Zhan Aiping. The exact amount of money required to open this oil tea house was still unknown.
The two of them rented a house first and signed a three-year lease with the company. The tile-roofed house was about 300 square meters in size, with a small yard outside, and the rent was 20 yuan per month.
After renting the house, there was no going back. Zhan Aiping and Mrs. Luo hired someone to renovate it. The exterior decoration didn't need to be luxurious. They just painted the walls white, replaced all the tiles on the roof with new ones, and replaced the windows with new ones. In this way, it would look like a new house from the outside.
Zhan Aiping also brought her son Xiao Guobao over and asked him to write a few calligraphy verses on the outer wall with a brush. Small red lanterns were hung under the eaves, stone benches and tables were placed in the yard, and a few large vats were made and lotus flowers were planted. It looked a bit antique and interesting.
There are eight private rooms in the oil tea house separated by bamboo and wood, four large rooms and four small rooms. There are more than 30 tables in the hall outside, including large round tables, small square tables for four people and small square tables for two people. They are divided into areas and separated by screens.
The investment in decoration was huge, and money was spent like water when purchasing things. As the days passed, the oil tea house they were planning gradually took shape.
Luo Zhiguo was in a great trouble. He came to Gu Sheng and said, "Little Gu, Director Gu, please take care of your wife."
"It's really weird. My wife and your wife have plunged into it headfirst. I hope they will lose everything in the end. My family doesn't have to worry about it. We didn't invest much. Look at your wife and your teacher Zhan—" What a spendthrift girl.
Gu Sheng smiled and said, "I think they made the teahouse pretty nice."
"It's beautiful, but how much money was invested in it..." Luo Zhiguo is Mrs. Luo's husband, and he regrets it terribly now.
If I had known that these two women were going to make such a big deal out of this, I would have let Sister Luo set up a roadside stall from the beginning.
Now the situation is serious. If we lose money on such a big place, we will lose everything.
Luo Zhiguo glared at Gu Sheng: "You laugh, you can still laugh."
Gu Sheng said: "Now that things have come to this, what else can I do but laugh?"
Luo Zhiguo said: "We are husbands, don't you think we should also work harder? If they open the shop and no one is there, we can bring a group of people over."
"You gather a group of people, I gather a group, at least we can call out a few hundred people to create an atmosphere." Luo Zhiguo has already accepted the possible loss, but... this dying sparrow still has to flutter a few times, he can't let others laugh at him.
Recently, many comrades have come to him to tease and watch the fun.
It's a good reputation for my wife to run such a big oil tea shop, which is much more respectable than a roadside stall. But what if she loses money? That would be a big joke known far and wide.
They have been in the army for so many years, and have a lot of comrades-in-arms... It would be embarrassing if they were laughed at. Where would they keep their face
*
It would be fine if Mrs. Luo didn't do anything, but once she did, she would work very hard. The two of them were busy for several months, planning to open the oil tea house in February 1980, which was before the Chinese New Year. The Chinese New Year period was the time when the catering industry made the most money, so they had to seize the opportunity and get off to a good start.
To make a signboard, you need to first come up with a name for the teahouse.
Mrs. Luo said, "Xiao Zhan, I discussed it with my husband, Mr. Luo, and we decided to call it Aiping Teahouse."
Zhan Aiping: “?!!!”
"What is Ai Ping?"
Mrs. Luo said seriously: "It's not your Ai Ping, it's my love for the country, your Ping."
"Aiping Oil Tea House is in line with the new trend of the times. As soon as I heard it, I knew it was your tea house, Zhan Aiping."
Zhan Aiping's mouth twitched: "This teahouse has more than just my share."
"Change your name."
After much thought, Zhan Aiping decided to give the restaurant a name, Ai Ming Oil Tea House.
The closer it got to the end of the year, the more Zhan Aiping felt the evil wind in Guicheng. The winter here is very cold. Unlike the dry cold in the north, this is a bone-chilling damp cold.
The damp and cold make people feel suffocated and uncomfortable, as if something is pressing on their bodies.
The most unbearable thing is that everything feels wet. Clothes won't dry in the sun, and even if they do dry they still feel wet.
"These clothes have been hanging out to dry for a few days. Are they dry or not?"
Mrs. Luo told her: "You can't feel it with your hands. If the clothes are not dry, use your face to touch them—"
"Should I have done it? And it's still like this after I did it?"
Mrs. Luo said, "Separate them and don't crowd them together. They will smell damp if they are hung for too long."
In the winter in the north, wearing a big cotton-padded jacket or a thick down jacket can keep out the cold. But wearing a thick cotton-padded jacket here is not very useful, because the cold and dampness can penetrate into the clothes, making people feel that the cotton and clothes are wet and cannot keep out the cold.
So wearing the same down jacket will feel very warm in the north when the temperature is below zero, but here, I still feel a damp chill running down my spine.
To describe it in game terms, the cold air here uses magic attacks, has inherent penetrating power, and ignores defense.
Zhan Aiping wrapped herself in a cotton coat and went out for a walk in the cold wind. She felt the cold and damp wind wet her hair. Although she didn't feel it was raining, it felt like she was getting wet. The wind was wet and carried water.
People's skin was also blown pink and red by the wind, as if it had been soaked in water.
"It's so cold, so cold, so cold, so cold—" Zhan Aiping put on the door, but unfortunately, she didn't feel warm after entering the house. It could even be said that after sitting down, the room was colder than the outside.
She rubbed her hands and lit a charcoal fire. For this whole winter, she really wanted to stay by the charcoal fire and not go anywhere else.
Zhan Aiping was wrapped in the mink coat given by her second sister-in-law, and she was huddled on a small stool, warming herself by the fire, not moving at all.
Fortunately, I received this mink coat.
She had just gone out and brought back a few letters, including some from the brothers of the Gu family, some from Lu Cheng to Xiao Guobao and his sister, and some from Shen Liqing. She hadn't opened them yet and put them by the charcoal brazier to warm them up.
The back of Zhan Aiping's hands were frozen red. It was strange to say, because she could clearly feel that everything was very wet, but her skin was frozen dry, cracking and peeling, so she had to apply some glycerin.
Not long after, Gu Sheng came back. He was wearing a thick new military coat and a thick cotton hat. When he stood at the door, Zhan Aiping felt that he was a huge shadow, and he really looked like a bear.
Zhan Aiping waved to him: "Come sit down and warm yourself by the fire."
Gu Sheng sat down on the small stool beside her. Zhan Aiping felt that she and he were like two little penguins. Gu Sheng took off his hat, and the tips of his ears were frozen red. His ears were the most sensitive to cold on his body.
Zhan Aiping laughed out loud when she saw his ears. With such tender red ear tips, Director Gu looked five years younger.
"Do you want me to make you some earmuffs?" Zhan Aiping still felt sorry for her man and was afraid that his ears would get frostbite.
"No need." They were all freezing, but he was the only one wearing earmuffs, which had a bad influence.
"Let me take a look. It looks like you have rashes from the cold. Let me massage you and apply some medicine on you."
Gu Sheng grabbed her hand and said, "Don't move. Why are your hands so cold?"
Zhan Aiping's hands were as cold as ice, without a trace of warmth.
Zhan Aiping was speechless: "Who knew this winter would be so cold? No matter how hard I try, I can't keep warm."
Gu Sheng opened his military coat and wrapped her in it. Zhan Aiping simply took off her mink coat. She found that the mink coat was of little use as it was too wet here. She had to warm up the wet and cold clothes first.
No coat is better than a self-heating coat.
Zhan Aiping nestled in his arms, feeling very comfortable. She took the initiative to kiss Gu Sheng on the face, and when she got closer she realized that the skin on both of their faces was cold.
Gu Sheng said: "With this weather, your oil tea house won't close down after just a few days of opening."
Zhan Aiping nodded: "You want to drink something too? I also want to drink something with chili and ginger. It's so comfortable to drink spicy ginger tea. No wonder ginger is added to this oil tea."
"Even the quilt feels wet to the touch. I heard that the first floor is even wetter."
As they were talking, it started snowing outside. It didn't look like snow, but sleet. After a while, they realized it was really snow. The snow was like ice beans, which felt powerful and elastic when hit. It hit the windows like balls and bounced outwards.
"Mom! It's snowing!!" Little Tangyuan came back very excited. These little kids, on the contrary, were like little stoves. They were not afraid of the cold and were happily looking forward to the heavy snow.
"Let it rain harder!"
Xiao Tangyuan opened the letter Lu Cheng wrote to her, which contained a photo of zongzi. She took a pen and wrote back to Lu Cheng.
Zhan Aiping opened Shen Liqing's letter and was a little surprised. She said to Gu Sheng, "Xiao Shen said they have also been transferred here, to a small town in the suburbs, about ten kilometers away from here."
Gu Sheng said: "I knew it a long time ago."
Zhan Aiping raised her hand and rubbed his head: "You knew but you didn't tell me."
"Isn't that what I was going to tell you?"
Old Wang and Shen Liqing came over, and Zhan Aiping went to walk around their camp in the wind and snow. It had snowed all night and the ground was frozen, and it made a rustling sound when they walked on the ice and snow.
When she saw Zhan Aiping, Shen Liqing was running her nose and curled up like a quail. "Xiao Zhan, Doctor Zhan, I'm freezing, it's too cold, my god—"
Zhan Aiping couldn't help laughing.
Shen Liqing was furious: "What are you laughing at? Your nose is also red from the cold."
"I make ginger tea every day now. Brown sugar is very cheap here, and we grow a lot of sugarcane."
Zhan Aiping said: "The camp here is so big."
The camp here is roughly equivalent to a small town, with many troops stationed there and many camp gates. In the distance there are mountains, one vertical after another.
Shen Liqing said: "Isn't it? It's very big."
Zhan Aiping smiled and said, "Yes, the oil tea house."
“Are you selling Pu’er tea?”
Zhan Aiping said, "We mainly sell the oil tea here. Do you want to go and have a look? Our oil tea shop is about to open."
"Okay, okay." Shen Liqing was also bored at the moment, but she regretted it as soon as she went out. The damp and cold wind made her mind unclear. "Xiao Zhan, I can eat spicy food more and more now. In this cold wind, I can chew peppers raw. Ordinary peppers are useless. I want to eat the extra spicy chili peppers."
"A sister-in-law pickled some really good chili peppers, cut them into chili rings—"
Shen Liqing is now addicted to eating chili peppers. She has to eat some chili peppers with every meal to feel comfortable. It cannot be without spiciness.
Zhan Aiping took her to her unopened oil tea house. Shen Liqing was amazed and kept saying, "Xiao Zhan, this really has the charm of an ancient town. I think we should put two ancient pines by the door, welcoming pines. Look, it will be so beautiful with some snow on them."
Zhan Aiping said: "There is still a lack of decoration inside. I won't be polite to you. Please write some calligraphy and draw some pictures for me, and I will hang them up."
Shen Liqing snorted twice: "How can my painting be called mediocre? The words on the wall outside were written by your son, right? The little guy's writing is getting better and better. He has surpassed my son's writing and is much more beautiful than my son's."
"Do you need help in your teahouse? I have nothing to do and the children are all in school."
"Are you really planning to find something to do?"
Shen Liqing said: "The children are all in school, what should I do if I don't do anything?"
Zhan Aiping said, "Come over whenever you want. We are short of people in the oil tea house, especially during the New Year holidays, there will definitely be a lot of people."
Shen Liqing: "Then I'll come to help."
Zhan Aiping said, "Come and help with the decoration. I think the decoration inside needs some changes. You can check it."
"Okay."
Shen Liqing helped to arrange the decoration of the teahouse. She had a very good aesthetic sense and added calligraphy and paintings, as well as beautiful and inexpensive potted plants. Shen Liqing also put together a small rockery to create an ancient atmosphere.
Just before the Chinese New Year, they opened their Ai Ming Teahouse. As it was new, Zhan Aiping didn't think about doing business, but instead invited teachers from the hospital and several cadres from the government compound to have tea. Luo's husband also said he wanted to bring some comrades to join in the atmosphere, but Luo and Zhan Aiping quickly declined.
They hired a group of soldiers to act as the atmosphere? Did they think the business was not good enough? They had a few tables full of big, fierce guys, and they would scare away any real customers.
Luo Zhiguo complained to Gu Sheng: "I helped them with their business, but this woman didn't appreciate it."
Gu Sheng touched his nose and said, "It's OK as long as the intention is there."
Instructor Gu also wanted to bring a group of students to join in the fun, but was declined by Teacher Zhan.
Teacher Xiao Zhan said: "My students can come in groups, but your students can't come in groups unless you book the whole place."
"Let's pick a time after the New Year and let them sit in the box."
A red couplet written by Shen Liqing was posted at the entrance of the oil tea house. Zhan Aiping also bought a lot of firecrackers, which attracted a lot of people's attention. On the first day, there were actually several tables of guests who came to join in the fun and filled the private room.
Gradually, more and more people came.
"A newly opened oil tea house? The environment is nice, it's very beautiful inside, and there's music playing?"
Zhan Aiping's family's black-and-white TV was also moved into the oil tea house and placed at the door to attract people. At that time, few families could afford a TV, and a black-and-white TV attracted many people to watch.
Now that you're in the store, you'd be embarrassed not to eat something, right? If you don't want to drink oil tea, you can order a plate of melon seeds and a pot of Pu'er tea, take a break here, and appreciate the environment.
Before long, all the tables in the store were full, and some people had to squeeze together. They all came to eat melon seeds and watch the fun. It was just the price of a plate of melon seeds, who couldn't afford it
“The environment here is really beautiful.”
"It's been a long time since they started painting the walls and filling the tiles. Now they are finally open. I wonder if the oil tea here is authentic."
Luo Zhiguo, who was sitting at a small square table with Gu Sheng, looked around and was stunned by the grand occasion of so many people. There were so many people that they could hardly sit down. Luo Zhiguo was a little depressed: "Why are there so many people outside who have nothing to do but watch the fun?"
Gu Sheng said: "There are many people inside, it's warm."
"That's right, there are too many people."
Zhan Aiping came over and repeated, "That's right, there are too many people. We need to add more tables. Can the husbands of the boss ladies make room for us?"
Gu Sheng: “…”
Comrades Lao Luo and Lao Gu were asked to leave the table and given two small stools to sit in the corner.
The three children in the family, Big Fish and Little Fish from the Shen family, and the two children from the Luo family all came to help serve tea and melon seeds. Comrade Guobaorou was given a glorious task, which was to collect money and do the accounting at the cashier.
Comrade Xiao Guobao is so cute and happy when he receives the money. He can tell how much money it is just by taking a quick glance.
"The accountant in your teahouse is a prodigy. Hey, he really did calculate correctly."
"Let's count their table..."
The children came to help, and Zhan Aiping prepared small desserts for several children, which was taro milk tea. The ingredients were very simple, namely tea leaves, milk, brown sugar and taro paste.
The Lipu taro produced here is a specialty, the king of taro, with a high starch content, and is powdery and sweet. It is delicious whether steamed or fried, and is especially good for making taro paste desserts.
Winter is a good season to eat taro. Many units plant taro. As the Spring Festival approaches, the units distribute taro as New Year's goods. Each person carries seven or eight taro back. Zhan Aiping likes taro so much that she bought a lot more.
She tried making taro milk tea and found it was really delicious!!!
Children also love to eat it. She specially uses a glass bowl to serve it, so you can see the beautiful purple taro paste piled at the bottom. Because it is for her own children to eat, she puts more taro paste in. A large ball of pink and glutinous light purple taro paste, soaked in coffee-colored milk tea, is sweet and tempting.
Zhan Aiping used a small spoon to scoop taro paste for the children to eat.
Little Tangyuan was eating taro paste and milk tea and asked, "Mom, can I have fried taro?"
Slice the Lipu taro and fry it in oil. It will be crispy and soft, with the thin part being crispy and the inside being soft and sticky. Even if you don't add any seasoning, you can eat a big bowl of fried taro slices just like this.
If you are using fried taro slices for making oil tea, you can cut them into larger pieces, put the taro into the tea soup and boil and pound it. The soft and sticky taro will melt into the tea soup, and the oil tea will also have a strong taro aroma. Many people like this taste.
Their family has opened an oil tea shop, and they have a lot of fried taro. These fried taro slices taste amazing when cooked in a hot pot.
Zhan Aiping smiled and said, "Can you still eat after you finish this? Wait until the taro chips in the store are finished, and then go eat the hot ones when they are freshly fried."
Little Cotton said, "Mom, be sure to call me when you're frying taro!"
Zhan Aiping was helpless: "Two little foodies, these two bowls can't fill your stomachs?"
Mrs. Luo doesn’t like taro milk tea very much, she likes salty taste, and one of the New Year’s dishes is always taro braised pork.
The children eating taro paste dessert with glass bowls attracted a lot of attention, and some people took the initiative to ask: "What is this? How much is a bowl?"
Zhan Aiping set the price at 50 cents a bowl and sold more than ten bowls. Some people still wanted to buy, but they were sold out. She didn’t make much, so the demand could not keep up with the supply.
"Would it be a good idea to add this taro milk tea to the menu?" Fifty cents is not a low price, but it is not high either. A bottle of Coca-Cola costs fifty cents in China.
The first day was a great start and we got off to a good start. From then on, all the private rooms were booked in advance and the reservations were lined up all the way until the Lantern Festival after the New Year.
This New Year was very busy, mainly because of Mrs. Luo. Zhan Aiping came over to see her. Shen Liqing was busy like a top, so Zhan Aiping asked her to help keep an eye on things.
Shen Liqing said: "Don't worry, I love this place so much, this is my work paradise!"
The oil tea house is not really busy, at least it is much more comfortable than the rice noodle shop. It is really not easy to run the rice noodle stalls here, and they earn their money through hard work. The locals eat wet rice noodles, which are best eaten within two or three hours. In order to ensure that people can eat fresh wet rice noodles at seven or eight in the morning, they have to get up early in the morning to make the rice noodles.
In order to ensure freshness, rice noodles are sold in the front yard and made in the back, and everyone is busy.
The oil tea house is busy in the morning and evening. In the morning, most people come just to drink oil tea, chatting at one table after another. It is quiet in the morning and afternoon, and may even be closed. Of course, it is usually still open, selling ordinary tea, melon seeds, taro milk tea... The melon seeds business alone is endless. The TV is on, and some people who want to watch TV will buy a pot of tea and a stack of melon seeds, sit in front of the tea table and eat slowly, or read a book, or watch TV. The tea house will not drive away customers.
—This is a perfect place to while away the time.
Shen Liqing, who usually loves making pen pals, started to get active again after coming here. In addition, Guicheng has a strong atmosphere of reading and collecting books, and there is a large second-hand book market. Shen Liqing often goes there to look for second-hand books. She would take a book, drink a cup of tea, eat some melon seeds, and spend the day there.
She also found many book friends and they gathered here to discuss books, recite poetry, write calligraphy... Gradually, she attracted many guests and gained influence and fame among many literary young people.
These literary youths get together during the day and do not interfere with the teahouse's business in the morning and evening. The bulk of the business at night comes from the consumption in the private rooms, where colleagues from the same unit gather for dinner and parties. There are many people and the consumption is high. The teahouse sells alcohol and meals, and the dishes are mainly fish. There are two rivers and four lakes crisscrossing here, the water system is well-developed, and fish is abundant. Fish is cheap and does not require tickets.
"Xiao Zhan, I think I was born to work in a teahouse. I've always dreamed of owning a teahouse." Although this is an oil teahouse, an oil teahouse is also a teahouse.
Besides, drinking oil tea in winter here is much more comfortable than drinking any other tea, and it can drive away cold and dampness.
Zhan Aiping: "… Thanks to you, we have gained a lot of reputation."
Wang Youli found some free time to come and see his wife at work. He looked at Shen Liqing reading a book, drinking tea and eating melon seeds in the teahouse, and an idea suddenly came to his mind:
Married for almost ten years, back to the days before liberation...
(End of this chapter)