Siheyuan: A Cook in the 60s

Come back from outside.

Open the door.

Lou Xiao'e followed him into the house with her long legs.

Before entering the house, she sniffed at his collar.

"What are you doing?"

"You're back so early? Didn't you go for a walk with Huairu?"

"Aren't you still waiting for dinner?"

"Guess whether I believe it or not, I'm going to call Piggy."

Cao Wei shrugged. He didn't need to use bowls and chopsticks for the things he bought. He just picked up the food and ate it, washed his hands, threw the bag away, and breakfast was done.

There was a sound of fighting in the house.

After a while, Qin Jingru came out rubbing her eyes.

When he saw Cao Wei, he pounced on her and began to accuse Lou Xiao'e of her evil deeds.

Why don't you let her sleep?

What evil intentions do you have in wanting to get to the top?

The richness of the vocabulary is simply appalling.

"If you don't shut up, I'm going to drink up all your soy milk." Lou Xiao'e interrupted Qin Xiaozhu's complaint in a sinister tone.

Qin Jingru was startled and jumped up quickly. She didn't want to drink soy milk at all!

After breakfast, it's time to go to work.

At this moment, Cao Wei was very honest.

He drove the three girls to work.

It’s not really work.

The current Samadhi Building is basically stable. Unless there is something important, everyone can choose not to come. After arriving at the company, everyone will do their own work.

Lou Xiao'e mainly deals with overseas affairs.

Qin Jingru was looking at the report and thinking about how to give her beloved daughter a difficult problem.

Qin Huairu is quite free, as she is in charge of the logistics matters.

I just arrived at the office and the tea was just made.

But someone came who Cao Wei did not expect.

The third uncle brought Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li with him.

"Hey, Third Uncle, you are a rare guest. Come, come, sit down. It just so happens that you wanted to have a sip of tea a few days ago, didn't you?"

These neighbors in the yard are actually smart people who know how to act and retreat. In the past, everyone was in a bad situation and calculated this and that just to survive. Now, survival is no longer a problem.

Few people are willing to interfere in other people's lives.

Of course, friends remain friends.

Chatting and drinking tea in the yard, today you bring a pack of cigarettes, tomorrow you bring some tea. Gathering together, those who have money can give more, and those who don't have money can also give something. No one cares.

Hehehe.

But this matter is limited to the yard.

People like the first uncle and the third uncle, who usually have a good relationship with Cao Wei, would never go to Samadhi Tower to find him.

Even if it was Sha Zhu, who was an employee of Samadhi Building, and was joking and laughing with Cao Wei in the yard, he still showed due respect when he went outside.

Among this group of smart guys, Uncle San is the most smart one.

He actually came to my door today.

This left Cao Wei confused.

"Yan Jiecheng, Yu Li, come on, come on, sit down."

"Hey." The third uncle responded, "I came here today because I want to learn from you."

"Oh? What's the matter?" Cao Wei looked at Yan Jiecheng in surprise: "It's not you two, is it? Isn't your hot pot restaurant doing well?"

Yan Jiecheng smiled awkwardly: "Not really, but just okay. I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately, so I came to ask you for advice."

Yu Li pulled Yan Jiecheng's sleeve.

Yan Jiecheng reacted immediately and took out a box from his briefcase: "It's just a small gift, just a small gift."

Cao Wei took a look at the box and it didn't seem like something too common.

Giving gifts actually depends on the person.

Some people like money, so just give money directly. This kind of direct money-giving is mostly targeted at people who have X but no money.

It would be inappropriate to give money to someone like Cao Wei. On the contrary, he would feel that the couple were making fun of him.

"The tea is good. I'll take it." Cao Wei took it and turned to the third uncle and said, "If you have anything to say, just say hello in the yard. What's the big deal?"

"Hey, no, no, this is a big deal. You can take small advantages, but no big ones." The third uncle waved his hands happily.

"Well, please tell me what's going on."

"Let me tell you." Yu Li said quickly.

Cao Wei listened while making tea.

After listening, he asked a question: "How many stores do you two have now?"

"Four."

"Busy enough?"

"Of course not." Yan Jiecheng was really complaining when he said this: "Hey, it's still dark, and I have to think about which vegetable market to go to buy vegetables..."

"Wait a minute." Cao Wei interrupted: "You already have four stores here, and you still have to go out to buy groceries by yourself."

"Hey, you don't know, there are too many people rushing to buy at the wholesale side now. It has been like this since 85. We never allow reservations. Everything is sold out on the same day. You can go to the site to order the quantity you want. After you order, you pay on the spot. Only after you pay can we hire someone to deliver it to the store."

"That's it." Cao Wei nodded.

Demand outstrips supply, that's probably what it's like.

"What does the store look like?"

"Ah? What else can I do? My wife and I are the only ones running around."

"There are four stores in total, and you two are running back and forth?" Cao Wei was stunned.

"No, I dare not tell this to others, for fear that they would think I am too pretentious. But if I tell you, it's fine. I have made some money over the years, but in the end, I have never spent any time. As soon as I open my eyes, I wonder if I am late. As soon as I close my eyes, I start to think about whether I calculated today's account correctly and whether there will be any mistakes."

"Ah, these days..."

Cao Wei understood.

Most small bosses are like this at this stage.

Reluctant to give up power.

Take purchasing for example, I was really afraid that people would take kickbacks. Is there any benefit to doing everything myself? Yes, but the disadvantage is obvious, I have no time to do other things.

When it was just one store, there was no problem. It was a standard mom-and-pop store.

Yu Li was doing the accounting while Yan Jiecheng went shopping.

When the two stores were open, the couple split up and it was fine.

When we had three stores, well, it started to get a bit too busy.

By the time I got to the fourth store, I was completely hopeless.

On the one hand, we encountered bottlenecks, and on the other hand, we were so tired that we could not bear it anymore. Who would go to four stores in one day? The purchase volume of four stores is not something that can be obtained in one go.

"Recruit people. If you don't even know how to use people, you won't be able to expand." Cao Wei shook his head. This sentence directly hit the most fundamental point.

"I'm not afraid..."