Beijing. Train Station!
At 1:30 a.m., Li Yi sat in Jiang Longcheng’s Jeep, quietly waiting for the train to arrive.
To be honest, he really couldn’t understand why the train from Qingcheng to Beijing had to arrive in the middle of the night.
Getting off the train at this hour made it not only difficult to find a place to stay, but the buses had stopped running and there weren’t many taxis around—it was truly a predicament.
If it weren’t for the fact that Jiang Longcheng happened to have a car, Li Yi wouldn’t have known how to pick up Long Zhanjun and the others!
“Ring-ring-ring…”
Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, a piercing electric bell rang out from inside the station!
Li Yi knew immediately that this was the prelude to the train’s arrival; judging by the time, it must be the train from Qingcheng.
He quickly put on his thick winter coat, got out of the car, and headed straight for the exit.
On the train, Long Zhanjun, Li Yeqiao, and Liu San’er were already ready to disembark.
The moment the doors opened, they stepped off the train with their luggage and followed the crowd toward the exit.
They were all a bit worried—what if no one came to meet them at this late hour?
Although they’d obtained Li Yi’s address from Li Gang, they had no map and had never been to Beijing before—how were they supposed to find that Beiguan Village in the dead of night?
Moreover, upon stepping off the train, the sight of the teeming, dark mass of people only made them feel even more uncertain.
With so many people around, even if someone was supposed to pick them up, they might not be able to spot them in the crowd.
At that moment, all three of them felt a bit anxious.
Fortunately, Long Zhanjun was relatively experienced. He led Li Yeqiao and Liu San’er to a spot a short distance from the station exit, then told the others to go ahead.
They waited until most of the crowd had dispersed before heading toward the exit.
Sure enough, there weren’t many passengers left exiting the station by then, and there weren’t many people waiting to pick them up either.
So as soon as they stepped out of the station, the group spotted Li Yi.
After all, at 1.8 meters tall, he stood out strikingly in the sparse crowd.
Li Yi, who was in the crowd, spotted them as well and immediately waved!
When the three of them reached him, Li Yi asked with a smile, “Did you have a smooth trip?”
“Yeah, it went pretty well!” Long Zhanjun replied immediately.
“Good to hear. Come on, let’s head home!”
Li Yi then led them toward the nearby parking lot.
Although the group didn’t understand why Li Yi wasn’t taking them to the train station entrance, they trusted him and didn’t ask any questions.
When they reached the parking lot and saw Li Yi open the door of the Jeep, all three were stunned!
He actually drove here?
They all knew Li Yi had only been in Beijing for a little over twenty days. Even if he were raking in a fortune every day, there was no way he could have afforded a car this quickly!
This is just too outrageous!
“What are you thinking? I borrowed it!”
Li Yi clearly saw what they were thinking and immediately explained.
After the three of them got in, Li Yi started the car and headed straight for Beiguan Village.
Instead of taking them back to the rental house, Li Yi drove them straight to the shop!
After all, the guys back at the rental had already gone to bed. Everyone had been working hard all day, and Li Yi didn’t want to disturb them in the middle of the night.
Besides, he had to take Long Zhanjun and the others to Dong’an Market the next day, so they might as well hang out at the shop for a while tonight.
……….
The distance from the train station to Beiguan Village was only about seven or eight kilometers, and with the roads nearly deserted at night, the Jeep arrived in no time.
When the group followed Li Yi to the barbecue and hot pot restaurant, they were stunned once again.
“Brother Yi, is this your place? It’s way too big, isn’t it?” Liu San asked, looking astonished.
“That’s right. This is my first shop in Beijing, and there might be a second or third one in the future!”
As he spoke, Li Yi asked again, “You guys haven’t had dinner yet, have you?”
“We haven’t had a proper meal, but we had some pastries to tide us over!” Li Yeqiao replied.
“Then wait a moment—I’ll cook some meat for you!”
With that, Li Yi went into the kitchen, quickly fetched a copper pot, lit the charcoal, and sliced several pounds of lamb for the three of them.
Treating them to hot pot late at night served two purposes: first, it was the only thing the shop had, and lamb hot pot was simple and quick to prepare.
On the other hand, Li Yi wanted them to get familiar with the shop’s offerings as soon as possible!
After all, he would be relying on them to run the place in the future, and he needed to head home as soon as possible.
Soon, the copper pot came to a boil, and Li Yi immediately invited the group to dig in.
Whether it was Long Zhanjun or the well-traveled Li Yeqiao, they all found this style of lamb hot pot quite novel.
Especially the wide variety of condiments and the enticing aroma completely shattered their preconceptions about how to eat beef and lamb.
After the meal, the group cleared away the bowls, chopsticks, and leftovers.
Then Li Yi called Long Zhanjun and the others over to the front counter to discuss future plans.
Li Yi first gave them an overview of the restaurant’s operations. Once they had had time to take it all in, he said, “That’s the general situation here. We specialize in grilled and hot-pot lamb, and we have a steady customer base—business is going very well!”
“The reason I called you over is that we’re a bit short-handed here, and I have some matters to attend to back in my village, so I’d like you to help me keep the shop running!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Long Zhanjun replied, “Brother Yi, just tell us what to do—we’re at your beck and call!”
“Brother Li Yi, now that I’m here in the capital, I’m sticking with you from now on. You make the arrangements!” said Li Yeqiao.
Liu San then chimed in, “Brother Yi, I’ll stick to what I said before—whatever you say goes!”
“Alright, I’ve already figured out the arrangements for you guys. Dalong, you’ll be the store manager from now on, with full responsibility for the shop’s operations. As for the specifics, I’ll teach you everything step by step over the next few days!”
“Got it!”
Li Yi continued, “Old Li, you’ll handle the shop’s finances. All daily income and expenses will go through you, and any surplus will be deposited into the bank!”
“Alright, leave it to me!”
“San’er, your job is procurement, and you’ll also be in charge of getting Dongzi, Qiangzi, and the others out. I’ll spend a few days teaching you the specifics!” Li Yi said.
“Brother Yi, I’ll do as you say!”
Li Yi continued, “Also, I’ve figured out your compensation packages. Listen up!”
“Dalong, as store manager, you’ll get a fixed monthly salary of 150. Old Li, as CFO, you’ll get 120 a month. The rest of you will each get 100! Plus, there’ll be a year-end bonus—the exact amount will be determined later!”
Hearing this, Long Zhanjun, Li Yeqiao, and Liu San were all stunned.
At the time, most workplaces still followed the eight-tier wage scale established in 1956. An ordinary factory worker could only reach the level of a second- or third-grade worker, and their total wages and benefits amounted to just thirty-five or thirty-six yuan.
Compounded by the fact that wages hadn’t risen for years, this had given rise to the saying, “Long live 36 yuan!”
Even the much-hyped eighth-grade workers only took home between 99 and 104 yuan a month—and that was already the maximum a regular worker could earn.
But look at them—they start at 100 yuan right off the bat, which is three times the salary of an ordinary worker.
Stunned, Long Zhanjun immediately asked, “Brother Yi, with wages this high, could it be that…”
Li Yi naturally knew what he was thinking and replied immediately, “Don’t worry, we won’t lose money!”
“Are you really sure we won’t lose money? With everyone else included, the total monthly payroll for the store is only seven or eight hundred yuan!” Li Yeqiao asked in surprise.
“Don’t worry. You’ll find out tomorrow whether we’re losing money or not. For now, all you need to do is rest for a bit. At 5:30, follow me into town to buy supplies and get a feel for how the shop operates!” Li Yi said.
“Alright!”
…….