"We can't let them go on like this!" Mrs. Luo has realized the seriousness of the matter. She has begun to wake up. If she continues like this, she will only breed a bunch of parasites that will eat her.
Mrs. Luo had also seen some of Zhan Aiping's methods, so she began to manage people and set various rules. "From now on, no one is allowed to take anything from the store!"
"All purchasing matters must go through me..."
She began to manage people in a swift and decisive manner, but unfortunately, it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality, and other people began to feel dissatisfied.
"We were clearly told to live a good life here, why do we have to suffer like this?"
"Who does she think she is? She takes it seriously when someone calls her the God of Wealth?"
Mrs. Luo's coercive management caused a violent backlash. The people below listened to her on the surface, but complained behind her back. They even started to resort to crooked means and stuffed things into their own pockets in revenge. They would take whatever they could get, and everything else was just perfunctory.
"I just don't believe it. We are all members of the Luo family. How dare she fire me?"
"Yes, they are all from the Luo family, they spoil her!"
"If she dares to let us down, she will be too ashamed to return to the village!"
After these remarks were made, everyone became more emboldened and they desperately tried to fill their own pockets. The business of various oil tea shops went from bad to worse and the customers were full of complaints.
"What's going on in this store? The popcorn is smelly, and the meat is rotten? How can they serve this kind of stuff?"
"Pah, this kitchen is so disgusting."
"Why don't you pay any attention to anyone in your store?"
Faced with such a situation, Luo's wife was anxious. She wondered why Zhan Aiping's methods were ineffective. These people did not listen to her and were doing things behind her back. Luo's wife began to persuade them earnestly: "Only by serving customers well can we make a lot of money!"
No one else listened to her. They looked at each other, and who wouldn't be jealous
The people in the same village saw that Luo Saozi's shop was full of people. Although they praised her, what were they thinking? Many people were dissatisfied. We were all from the same village. Luo Saozi was also an ordinary and uneducated woman before. Why should we have to work for you to earn money just because you can open a shop and be the boss
They would rather Luo's wife's store could not be opened, so that everyone would be poor together!
"Didn't this oil tea house have a doctor named Zhan before? Is Dr. Zhan here? I have an old friend who wants to see her for rheumatism." "I also heard that there is a doctor named Zhan here..."
"Can you contact Dr. Shangzhan? She said when she came back to the oil tea house—"
Mrs. Luo was exhausted and began to regret her decision. She had opened an oil tea shop with Zhan Aiping in partnership for seven years. It had always been prosperous and had an excellent reputation. Nothing like this had ever happened before, and now it had turned out like this. The shop's reputation was ruined!
These people in my hometown are simply like plague gods, like locusts!
Mrs. Luo was furious. She shouted, "Fire him! Anyone who violates the rules will be fired!"
She learned to kill the chicken to scare the monkey and fired three people in public, thinking that others would be convinced. However, she did not expect that her action would directly stir up a hornet's nest.
This group of people all came from the same place. Now they are working together to fight against Mrs. Luo.
"Bah! Just because you have money you dare to ride on our heads and piss on us, you are bullying us! You are exploiting us!"
"How shameless, you beast!"
"She has long been blinded by greed and has no human feelings at all. She is just like the old landlords in ancient times, always thinking of oppressing people!"
They cursed Sister Luo for being unkind, and impulsively beat her up and gave her a severe lesson. Sister Luo was hospitalized with a broken head.
Luo Zhiguo's cousin Luo Hongying took the lead in making a scene: "Luo Zhiguo, your whole family are liars. You have let our Luo family down! We trusted you so much, but you let your daughter-in-law run wild over us?"
"This is oppression! This is exploitation!"
"Your family tricked us into coming to the city, and now you want to fire us. You are so greedy! You have such a black heart!"
"Loss of money! You said you would make us a lot of money! Now we have no land to grow and no money to earn. How are we going to survive? Loss of money!!"
It is easier to invite a god than to send him away. They made trouble at the school gate. Luo Zhiguo really couldn't afford to lose face. If this matter was not handled well, his reputation in the village would be ruined. It was all that bitch's fault!
In desperation, Luo Zhiguo had to agree to pay compensation to everyone.
"Pay me money! Pay me one year's salary!"
"One year is not enough, two years! Our whole family is here!"
When Mrs. Luo in the hospital heard that they had to pay compensation, she went crazy, "No compensation, no compensation! Why should we pay compensation to those locusts!"
Luo Zhiguo slapped her twice and yelled at her: "You are the one who caused all this trouble, and you think it's not big enough. We are so embarrassed."
"You are a stinking locust!"
Mrs. Luo scolded him: "It's you, wasn't it you who started it? Xiao Zhan and I were doing fine, but you insisted on getting angry! You insisted on getting angry!"
Luo Zhiguo: "Who recruited those people in your hometown? Did you recruit them on your own initiative? You straightened your back and insisted on going back to be a slut, and now you are a slut."
"Don't take the diamond if you don't have the ability!"
Mrs. Luo cried with tears streaming down her face and beat her chest wildly. She was deceived by this group of people. They praised her one by one and said it was her credit, but now they started to scold her for being useless.
This farce ended in a loss of money, but the locusts took the money and ate both ends. They left Mrs. Luo's oil tea house and went to other oil tea houses to work and earn money, and they took her skills with them.
"Zhou Shao is shameless, all those with the surname Luo are bitches..."
Mrs. Luo was so angry that she hated everyone with the last name Luo. She suffered a huge loss this time and lost a lot of money. Her two original branches were all closed down.
When she opened the two branches, she was full of energy and ambition, and Luo Xiangxiang also encouraged her to open a luxurious teahouse where everything was golden... She invested all her money in the new stores and now she has lost it all.
Zhou Shao had already run away. When she saw the group of people from the Luo family, how could she not understand? Zhou Shao had fooled a few people and opened another oil tea house. Now that Mrs. Luo's oil tea house had a bad reputation, it was a good opportunity for her to steal their business.
However, Zhou Shao's life was not much better. The people who were invited over by Mrs. Luo took the compensation and did not leave. They still jointly opened an oil tea stall.
Not only did they open an oil tea stall, they also ruined Zhou Shao's reputation, saying all sorts of things about her.
How could she have an easy life after such a mess? Luo Zhiguo went to find Zhou Shao's husband, Lao Xue, and threatened: "If your family doesn't take responsibility, both of us will be destroyed!"
Luo Zhiguo was demoted and humiliated by his family. He was desperate and needed an outlet. He pestered Lao Xue every day: "It's all because your wife came to my house to provoke me. You are so shameless!"
Luo Zhiguo began to hate Zhou Shao and the Xue family. No one would blame himself. He also felt that he was just being emotional at the time. It was Zhou Shao who really made him angry. He directed all his fire at Zhou Shao and her husband.
—Destroying someone’s money is like killing his parents.
If Zhou Shao hadn't been making them angry, they would still be living the same prosperous life as before!
This matter became a big deal and was reported to the higher authorities, where everyone was severely criticized and punished.
Lao Xue and Zhou Shao divorced.
None of this had anything to do with Zhan Aiping. She just asked Gu Sheng to ask someone to send some fruit as a gift to Mrs. Luo when she was in the hospital.
The two businesses were separated and they no longer lived together. After such a mess, Zhan Aiping didn't plan to see her again, let alone show off in front of her.
At the end of the year, the temperature dropped significantly, and Zhan Aiping's Aiyu Hotpot Restaurant opened. The hot red soup was boiling, and the peppercorns and red chili peppers were bubbling... everything stimulated people to secrete saliva. People here can eat spicy food, and when they saw the hot and spicy soup in the shop through the glass window, they couldn't help swallowing.
Nowadays, many hot pot restaurants measure food by kilogram. For example, when ordering food at a hot pot restaurant, just like malatang in the future, you first select the ingredients and then calculate the price by weight. However, the restaurant opened by Zhan Aiping serves food one portion at a time, which is convenient and fast.
Compared with eating by weight, you can spend less money and eat a richer and more diverse range of dishes, but washing the dishes is a little troublesome. Of course, the dishes in hot pot restaurants are easy to wash, so you just need to hire two more dishwashers.
Zhan Aiping's shop is intended for tourism, and many of its customers are tourists, so she has to do a good job of presenting the store. Each ingredient must be presented beautifully, with various meat rolls, fish fillets, fish balls, lucky bags... all neatly arranged, which can't help but whet people's appetite and looks good in photos.
There is not only the yuppie hotpot, but also the nine-grid hotpot and the four-grid hotpot. The yuppie hotpot is very special, with a real mandarin duck on it. Many dating couples like to order such a yuppie hotpot.
The sauce area is particularly rich, with chili sauce, chili oil, soy sauce, aged vinegar, sesame oil, sesame paste, soybean paste, beef paste, chopped green onions, coriander, minced garlic... it's dizzying.
The hot pot restaurant has just opened and there are a constant stream of people coming to eat hot pot every day!
"Spicy! I want the spiciest one! It's really delicious."
"Add another plate of beef tripe."
“This bean roll is delicious!”
Zhan Aiping: "You all should take it easy."
Gu Yuan was thankful: "My brother can't eat this delicacy!"
Gu Mian urged: "Sister, go back and review after you finish eating."
Gu Yuan: "I'm going to review at the hot pot restaurant."
The hot pot restaurant was doing good business, so Mrs. Luo found her and said she wanted to go into business with her.
"Xiao Zhan, we've been working together for eight years and everything has been fine. Let's keep going."
"I was wrong before. I misunderstood you. It was all Lao Xue's wife who instigated it."
Zhan Aiping refused: "Since we have separated, there is no need to cooperate anymore, and I will not open a tea house."
"Sister Luo, you should take care of yourself."
"You said our family is selfish, but what about your family? Didn't Gu Sheng not speak up for Lao Luo last year? Did your family think of the old friendship?"
Mrs. Luo was speechless: "I was just blinded by greed, Xiao Zhan, let's do the same as before. If you don't open a teahouse, then I will open this hot pot restaurant with you now."
Zhan Aiping said coldly: "I don't want to partner with anyone."
Mrs. Luo: "We have been friends for so many years."
"We can't do business together only if we have affection for each other." Zhan Aiping said, "Don't you have less affection for those people in your hometown?"
Mrs. Luo's face looked extremely bad.
It’s not that a family business cannot be done, but it requires a respected elder in the family to take the lead so that he can control everyone and work together.
In autumn and winter, the dry season begins, which is the off-season for tourism in Guicheng. However, Zhan Aiping's guesthouse is still crowded. Her advertising is good, and many people come to eat hotpot.
Seeing this, the higher-ups asked Zhan Aiping to contract another guesthouse, but Zhan Aiping refused.
"Comrade Zhan, you have to take responsibility. If you do a good job, you must continue to work hard and set an example for others."
"There are two guesthouses here. Please make changes to them all. The local tourism bureau will cooperate with you—"
Zhan Aiping was extremely annoyed. At this time, the disadvantages of contracting had become apparent. The autonomy of contracting management was limited. One person contracted a dilapidated factory, and he turned it into a profitable one. Then other dilapidated factories were thrown to him by the superiors. He could not refuse until he was dragged down by the others.
Zhan Aiping was forced to form a merger with two other guesthouses. She already wanted to sell the guesthouse at this time, so she had to think of a way to transfer the contract and management rights of the guesthouse.
If you do things well, there will always be people who come to pick the peaches. This time she wants to publicize it in a big way.
The guesthouse made her a lot of money. After she earned the last bit, she gave it to others and wanted to open her own hotel.
Zhan Aiping began to work on the renovation of two other guesthouses, and also planned activities with the local tourism bureau, such as the Persimmon Lion Dance Festival in autumn and winter, night cruises on towering boats, and landscape song and dance shows.
Zhan Aiping wrote a detailed suggestion to the Tourism Bureau: "The teahouse can be opened on the river."
The Tourism Bureau has renovated and put into use seven or eight antique-style pleasure boats. They were all quickly renovated and only had a barely decent flower frame. During the day, they were full of holes and even ugly. But at night, with rows of colorful lights lit, it really felt like an ancient pleasure boat cruise at night.
We hired someone to take photos of the night scene. We sailed on a boat among the mountains and rivers, and enjoyed a comfortable life with wine and tea... We placed an advertisement in "Story Chat" and it immediately attracted a lot of people.
Zhan Aiping took the opportunity to make a fortune and waited for someone to take over the guesthouse.
But because the publicity was so good, tourists flocked in and all the hotels and guesthouses were packed during the holidays. Many private individuals also decided to build hotels. The people in the Tourism Bureau treated her like a living god and wrote her a letter of thanks.
"If you have any good suggestions, please let me know!"
Zhan Aiping: “…”
The silver lining is that many guesthouses have been revived because of this, and she no longer needs to clean up the mess.
*
Gu Yuan was in her third year of high school. Gu Chen passed on all his third year notebooks and middle school books to his sister. Gu Yuan buried her head in her studies. Gu Mian urged her sister from time to time: "Sister, you must take good care of my brother's books. They must be passed down to my generation."
Gu Yuan: "By the time you take the college entrance exam, it will be too late."
Gu Mian was horrified: "What should I do then!"
Gu Yuan: "When your brother graduates, let him come and tutor you personally."
Gu Mian sighed: "You know it's useless for him to tutor you personally."
Gu Yuan: "He is useless. How useful can his notebook be? You should ask your mother for help. She will definitely send you to college."
Gu Mian: “Okay.”
Zhan Aiping: “…” Daughters, don’t overestimate your mothers.
Gu Chen often called back to talk about life and study. "There's a KFC in Beijing. If you come over, I'll take you there to eat."
Gu Yuan held up the mobile phone and said, "What kind of chicken are you chewing? What kind of chicken is that? Is it really a chicken seller?"
"Fast food restaurant, KFC fast food restaurant."
Gu Yuan: “???!!” Home-made chicken
Gu Chen: "Fried chicken, cola, fried chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, vegetable salad and rolls."
Gu Yuan looked confused: "What are those, vegetable salad?"
Gu Chen: "Raw vegetables with some sauce." Gu Mian was curious: "Does anyone buy this? Brother, I want to eat fried chicken!"
Gu Yuan: "I want to eat fried chicken too."
Gu Chen: "Wait until you get into college and come and eat."
Gu Yuan gets a headache when it comes to taking the college entrance exam.
During the winter vacation, Gu Chen brought back a few KFC fried chicken meals by plane. Gu Yuan and her sister tried them and found that the fried chicken was quite delicious, although it was cold.
"An original chicken meal costs ten dollars, and only has three items."
For ordinary people, such fried chicken fast food is already a luxury.
Zhan Aiping: "How can it not taste good if it's fried in oil?"
Gu Yuan hugged her mother and said, "Mom, I want to eat chicken. Let's buy a chicken and kill it. Let's try deep-fried chicken nuggets. I also want to eat cola chicken wings."
"I'm about to take the college entrance examination, why don't you fulfill the wish of a poor little daughter?"
Gu Mian: "Mom, I'm going to take the high school entrance exam, do I also need to..."
Zhan Aiping: "... You two little greedy cats, which meal did you go hungry for? Didn't you want to take your brother to eat spicy hot pot?"
Gu Chen: "Spicy hotpot is still the best!"
Gu Yuan: "Mom, when I get into college next year, let's go eat that hometown chicken."
"Okay." This struggling little donkey needs to have a carrot hung in front of him.
Zhan Aiping: "Study hard, the donkeys in the production team don't dare to rest like you."
(End of this chapter)