Beiguan Village. Hot Pot Restaurant!
It wasn’t even 11 o’clock when Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang arrived.
Apart from a few young staff members busy prepping ingredients, there wasn’t a single customer in the shop.
Li Na, who was at the counter, looked up and was taken aback for a moment when she saw Li Yi, then said happily, “Xiao Yi, why did you come over so early?”
“I happened to be at the Second State-Owned Cotton Mill today to take care of some business, so I stopped by to check on things!”
Li Yi then asked, “How’s business been these past few days? Are you keeping up?”
“It’s the same as always, but since we dropped that set menu, we’ve finally been able to catch our breath!” Li Na replied.
“How much is the daily turnover?”
“It’s around two thousand every day, and on busy days, it can go up to two thousand seven or eight hundred!”
“That’s not bad!”
Li Yi looked around and asked, “Where’s my third sister’s husband? I don’t see him.”
“The tables and chairs ordered for the branch store arrived today, so he went over there to take delivery!” Li Na said.
“Oh, the tables and chairs arrived that quickly?”
“Yeah, after receiving our order, Factory Manager Lin worked overtime to ramp up production. He managed to produce over 150 sets of dining tables and matching chairs in less than a week!”
“So, does that mean our branch will be open in just a few days?” Li Yi asked.
“My brother-in-law said we should be able to open by the 15th!”
“So, Third Sister, are you ready? Once the new store opens, you’ll be the manager there!” Li Yi asked with a smile.
“What’s there to prepare for? I’ll just do it the same way we do here. There’s no reason why I can’t do it just as well as your brother-in-law!”
Seeing his third sister as confident as ever, Li Yi couldn’t help but smile.
His third sister might not have many other strengths, but that self-confidence was something she was born with.
“Alright then, if you have any questions, just ask my brother-in-law!” Li Yi said.
“Alright!”
Then Li Na added, “Oh, by the way, your brother-in-law and I have discussed it, and we’re planning to hold the wedding at the end of the year!”
Li Yi’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, “Where do you plan to hold it—in Yong County or right here in our village?”
“From the sound of it, your brother-in-law wants to hold it in Beijing!”
“Beijing?”
“Yeah, according to your brother-in-law, ever since his father’s incident, most of their relatives have cut ties with them, so they don’t really have any close friends or family left in Yong County.”
Then Li Na added, “Besides, our shop is bound to be incredibly busy during the New Year. If we went back to Yong County for the wedding, the round trip alone would take at least half a month—that would really hurt business!”
“So we’re planning to bring his mom, his sister, and our parents all to Beijing, then pick a quiet time to have a meal together—that’ll count as getting the ceremony done…”
Before she could finish, Li Yi cut her off, saying, “Getting married is a once-in-a-lifetime event—how can we be so careless about it?”
As the last one in the family to get married, Li Yi certainly didn’t want his third sister’s wedding to be too simple.
After all, this might only happen once in a lifetime; he didn’t expect it to be extravagant, but it had to be decent at the very least.
“So what do you plan to do?”
“We can’t skip a single step of the standard wedding process—it’s not like we can’t afford it!” Li Yi said.
“That’s not necessary. Marriage is just a formality…”
“Don’t worry about it—I’ll take care of everything!” he said authoritatively.
“Alright then…”
Before she could finish, Li Yi asked again, “By the way, have you guys got your wedding home ready yet?”
“Not yet. My brother-in-law has saved up over a thousand yuan, but he wants to help you out with your financial struggles first. As for the apartment, we’ll just rent one for now!” Li Na said.
“My money isn’t urgent right now. Let’s buy a place first… Never mind, don’t worry about the house either!”
“No need—we have money; we can buy it ourselves…”
“Enough. Keep that money for your own spending money!”
In his previous life, the person Li Yi felt most guilty toward was his third older sister. Because of him, she had lived her whole life burdened by guilt and self-reproach, and had wasted her entire life.
In this life, he hoped his third sister could live a happy and fulfilling life!
As for money and such, it was something he didn’t need to worry about at all now…
Just as the two were talking, a commotion suddenly erupted at the shop entrance.
Li Yi turned to look and saw Long Zhanjun and Liu San’er walking in from outside, each carrying a large burlap sack on their shoulders.
Judging by the round, bulging shape protruding from the outside, the sacks were likely filled with Chinese yams.
Seeing this, Li Yi immediately stepped forward to help.
But before he could get there, he heard Long Zhanjun say, “Stay right where you are—we can handle this!”
Soon, Long Zhanjun and Liu San carried the two large bags of yams to the kitchen. After washing their hands, they returned to the bar.
“It’s not busy today. Why didn’t you give us a heads-up before coming over?” Long Zhanjun asked with a smile.
“Things are going okay. Have you sorted out the matters at the new shop?”
“Yeah, all that’s left is to buy the pots, pans, refrigerators, stoves, and other kitchen equipment. Once we get those, we can pick a date to open!” Long Zhanjun said.
“Well, you guys take care of that then!”
Then Li Yi added, “I heard from my third older sister that you two are planning to get married by the end of the year?”
Long Zhanjun nodded and said, “That’s right. We’re both getting on in years, and we’ve known each other for so long—I think it’s time to tie the knot!”
“Alright, but getting married is a major life event after all—we can’t make it too simple!”
“But…”
“No ‘buts’ about it. You two are busy with work, so I’ll handle the wedding planning. We’ve still got three or four months, so I’m sure I can get everything perfectly organized for you!” Li Yi said.
“Well… it’s not exactly proper for a brother-in-law to plan his brother-in-law’s wedding. People will laugh at us!” Long Zhanjun said.
“What’s so funny about that? I’ll just handle the planning, but you’ll have to reimburse me for all the expenses!”
Knowing Long Zhanjun had a strong sense of pride, Li Yi immediately retorted.
“Well, I guess that’s acceptable…”
“Whether you agree or not, that’s a done deal. Also, I’ll buy you a courtyard house as your wedding home!”
Seeing that Long Zhanjun was about to speak up, Li Yi quickly interjected, “Don’t be so quick to refuse. The courtyard isn’t just for you and my third sister—my eldest and second sisters have them too. We’re all siblings. Now that I’m doing well, I can’t just ignore my sisters, can I?”
“Xiao Yi, it’s your business if you have money. We can’t keep asking you for it!” Li Na said.
“That’s right. We both make a decent living; if we save up for three or five years, we can buy our own place!” Long Zhanjun added.
Li Yi smiled and said, “If you’re thinking of buying a house with that mindset, it’s probably not going to be easy to get a whole courtyard!”
“Why?”
“It’s hard to explain this fully right now, but you’ll understand later. It’s settled—just focus on helping me run the shop and make money, and I’ll take care of planning your weddings!”
He knew full well that in another year or two, housing prices in Beijing would enter a “runaway” phase—especially after 2010, when they would skyrocket beyond control.
“Wait until you’ve saved enough to buy a house”—how many people have missed their chance to buy in Beijing because of that very advice?
Even if they managed to buy later, the price would likely be several times higher than before.
“Well…”
Before Long Zhanjun could speak, Third Sister cut in: “Let’s listen to Xiao Yi!”
“Alright, then…”
Just as they were speaking, the sound of a car engine suddenly echoed from outside, and moments later, a Volga sedan pulled up right in front of the store.
The door swung open, and two figures familiar to Li Yi stepped out of the car, striding purposefully into the shop…
……….