Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Ideas
For Gu Xiaoqing, life has recently become tranquil, with happy school days, continuously improving grades, and orderly development at home.
Everything is slowly but steadily heading towards where Gu Xiaoqing hopes for.
Time flies, and the first snowfall of winter has finally arrived.
On a Saturday off, Gu Xiaoqing, along with her parents and elder sister, set off to set up a stall in town.
It had been a long time since the last time they had a stall.
Upon arriving at the stall location, Gu Xiaoqing saw from a distance that someone had already cleared out a spot under the big tree, a fairly large area.
Unexpectedly, someone arrived even earlier than they did.
But upon seeing who was setting up stalls over there, Gu Xiaoqing smiled.
It was the families of Li Weimin and Li Weiqiang.
As it turned out, what Gu Xiaoqing didn’t know was that when Li Weimin and Li Weiqiang came to set up their stall, there weren’t any good positions left; finally, Li Xuemei thought it would be convenient to have the two families set up close to each other to help look after each other.
So the two families set up nearby on a piece of street not far away.
However, it was evident that Li Weimin and Li Weiqiang had a larger crew; it looked like they had a lot of manpower. Han Xue and Liu Fen, the two main chefs, had already set up the cutting boards and begun busying themselves with preparing the marinated dishes.
Meanwhile, Li Weimin and Li Weiqiang, along with Jianguo and Jianhui, were also busy—tending the fire, setting up tables and chairs, and washing dishes.
It was indeed bustling.
Seeing that Gu Xiaoqing and her family had arrived, Li Weimin quickly called out, "Ruhai, over here."
Helping Gu Ruhai push the wheelbarrow under the tree and assisting with unloading.
Gu Xiaoqing sweetly went over to greet Han Xue and Liu Fen.
"Aunties, you’re early."
Upon seeing it was Gu Xiaoqing, Han Xue and Liu Fen were all smiles, cheerfully inviting, "Oh, it’s Xiaoqing, come, sit down. Have you had breakfast? Auntie will cook you a bowl of hot noodles. The weather is really cold."
Gu Xiaoqing shook her head and politely declined, "Auntie, no need to trouble yourself. We’ve had breakfast. You go ahead with your work. I’ll go help my parents."
Not helping would have been one thing, but to eat would be taking advantage, which didn’t feel right.
It wasn’t as if her uncles minded the cost of a bowl of noodles, and given the effort Gu Xiaoqing put into brainstorming ideas, the uncles wouldn’t care. But Gu Xiaoqing didn’t want to take advantage of them.
Family kinship is about mutual assistance. If you only think about taking advantage of others, over time, any bond will be worn down.
Han Xue and Liu Fen didn’t insist. After all, time was tight and they were busy themselves.
A bowl of noodles was nothing, but seeing a child so considerate warmed the hearts of the two aunts, and they appreciated someone who didn’t take advantage.
Meanwhile, Gu Ruhai and his team also began setting up their stall.
What Gu Xiaoqing didn’t expect was that her parents had also prepared tables and benches, albeit simple, but definitely an improvement.
Today was not just about Gu Xiaoqing coming to watch. It was because it was the first day her family’s newly developed meatball soup and lamb offal soup were on sale, so she came to see how it went.
It was also to see where improvements might be needed.
In observing, Gu Xiaoqing indeed noticed quite a few problems.
Firstly, as the weather gets colder, fewer people are buying things outside. It’s not that they’re fewer, but there aren’t as many patient people willing to wait. The northwesterly wind blew fiercely outside, and people didn’t have as many ways to keep warm then, mostly relying on cotton-padded jackets and pants.
Those cotton-padded clothes couldn’t compare to the down jackets that would come later.
With the wind blowing, if fried or steamed dumplings weren’t ready and people had to wait, not many had the patience.
Most people wouldn’t tolerate the cold for long and would leave after a short wait.
Gu Xiaoqing had thought of getting a storefront. At least people could avoid the wind, and in the warmth, business would definitely be much better.
But the reason this plan didn’t succeed was because Li Xuemei and Gu Ruhai had checked; despite the row of empty houses there not looking great, they were still public housing belonging to the food factory.
Renting one room would cost one hundred yuan a month.
And they would need to pay a whole year’s rent and cover water and electricity costs themselves.
The couple figured it would total up to one thousand two hundred yuan a year.
They worked hard all month to earn just over three hundred yuan.
That would eat up a third of their income, and the couple couldn’t bear it.
It was exorbitant.
So, no matter how much Gu Xiaoqing tried to persuade them, they stubbornly refused.
To Gu Xiaoqing, the rent was worth it.
Having a storefront would mean many more repeat customers, and they wouldn’t be limited to selling just dinner; they could sell breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Li Xuemei and Gu Ruhai could stay at the store, saving time and effort from not having to commute.
The saved time and energy could be used to earn more money.
However, Li Xuemei and Gu Ruhai were just beginning to transition from farmers who dug up food from the earth to small business owners with a bit of business acumen.
The progress wasn’t fast, and they were still quite afraid of risks.
So the two preferred to stick to the existing stall and do it well, rather than invest in risky ventures, because, in their hearts, a big tile-roofed house was more important than anything.
Thus, Gu Xiaoqing had to abandon her plans.
Seeing the situation today gave Gu Xiaoqing another idea.
From her years working in the city, Gu Xiaoqing remembered small stalls set up on the streets in the dead of winter to sell late-night snacks.
They weren’t big, serving simple food items like instant noodles with eggs, noodles, small side dishes, and a few drinks; they even had wontons sometimes.
To prevent customers from getting cold, these small stalls set up temporary, simple tents with thick canvas covers and iron frames, with a stove inside.
A simple cloth door—simple, but definitely better than being exposed to the wind, made people willing to wait and eat.
Like a simple little restaurant.
Canvas wouldn’t be hard to find, but none was available in the village.
They’d have to check at the county’s supply and marketing cooperative.
Generally, such materials were only available at the supply and marketing cooperative.
With these thoughts, Gu Xiaoqing felt more at ease.
She began wholeheartedly dedicating herself to the business of today’s stall.
The first business day was also a new beginning.
The large pot boiling lamb and chicken bones opened its lid, with white steam billowing out, accompanied by a rich aroma.
These soups had been prepared the night before. Gu Xiaoqing made it on the big stove at home, simmered over a low flame all night, and now the broth was pure white and thick.
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A sincere thank you for kinkikids520’s New Year gift. It fills me with gratitude and pressure, so I can only repay everyone’s support by diligently writing. There’s another Chapter below, especially as an extra for kinkikids520, one of my book readers. I feel a bit guilty, given the speed and amount I’ve been updating, and so I offer this additional Chapter.