Returning to '97, creating a new life

Xu Kai decided that it was a good time to open a small arcade with his relatives.

Wang Jianshe and Xu Dalong were still given shares, and Yun Sheng also had a share. Correspondingly, if the company wanted to cover both black, white, and gray areas, none of these individuals could be left out.

With Xu Kai having paved the way, the uncles didn't need to make a trip to Guangzhou. Fang Ming, the owner of the game machine factory, sent the machine's price via fax, which was basically the market price. The connections ensured that the machines were the latest models and not refurbished or repaired.

Xu Kai had a meal with Yun Sheng, who understood the implication.

Fang Ming gave him a kickback.

Xu Kai mailed a large quantity of top-quality ginseng and deer antler to Zhan Jizu and Fang Ming, the seventh students in Yun Sheng's dormitory at university. Northeast ginseng is a very prestigious gift in the South.

Xu Kai spent almost all of the kickback money, using other people's money to do favors, without revealing Fang Ming's true bottom line, and without letting his relatives develop an overly dependent or entitled attitude towards taking advantage of him.

Xu Kai had followed the transportation route. Ye Menqing was clear about every aspect of the process, arranging things such as renting houses, purchasing supplies, and waiting for the machines to arrive. He would only check on things every two days.

After all, he is still a student, and his family is too embarrassed to ask him about every little thing.

While having dinner with Wang Jianshe and Xu Dalong, Xu Kai was waiting to see if Xu Dalong would get too drunk and start talking about Song Jun's video arcade, but he didn't. He had already figured it out.

Regarding the restaurant, under the guise of a "legitimate business," and given the perception that it wasn't extremely profitable and that daily operations were quite arduous, Xu Kai didn't rush into action after selecting the location. He carefully considered various factors, weighed the pros and cons, and ultimately decided not to "invite" anyone this time. Perhaps he could expand the business and bring in partners later; for now, he could afford to do it himself.

The guesthouse that used to belong to the railway station near the train station has now been outsourced. The station only receives a rent payment and an authorization fee for the guesthouse to use its name on the premises each year.

Drive into the side alley that connects the two streets. Several nearby buildings have back or side entrances on this alley, so it's basically used for vehicle access. The backyard has its own main gate on the side, connecting to one side of the three-story main building of the guesthouse to form an L-shaped building. Directly opposite the side gate are a dozen or so single-story buildings, which used to be the station canteen and guesthouse restaurant, and were occasionally used for entertaining guests. Now they are vacant and are available for rent.

There is a courtyard with enough space. In the area where the canteen and the main building of the guesthouse face each other across the courtyard, there is also a rain shelter. This is also a benefit for Xu Kai. It saves the cost of building a new one. He can simply clean it up and enclose it to make it a place for the stove. The heat generated when roasting a whole lamb will keep the area from getting cold, and there will be no problems with smoke ventilation.

On the other side of the rain shelter leaning against the wall is the railway locomotive depot's shed. There are hardly any people there during the day, and even fewer at night. If some smoke drifts by, no one will care.

Xu Kai had already inquired about most of the details, so he pulled along his fifth uncle, Sun Mingxin, who worked as a maintenance worker at the railway station. Although Sun Mingxin was just an ordinary worker who walked on the tracks all day, he was still from his unit's guesthouse. Even without personal connections, he could find a few relevant people to help him get things done.

Given his age, Xu Kai also brought along his sixth uncle, Sun Mingcheng, who was laid off from his job as a cook at a cement factory and had experienced the same pain as his mother, Sun Xiuyun.

He used most of his family's savings to open the arcade, seeing it as his only chance to escape the shadow of being laid off and ensure his family's continued stability.

At first, Sun Mingcheng was somewhat reluctant to come when he heard his nephew's invitation, but when he learned that his nephew was opening a restaurant and wanted him to manage it, he went home and discussed it with his wife. There were so many people in the arcade, and he was just paying money without managing it. Now he would have a job, so of course it was a good idea.

They finally reached an agreement. The rent wasn't expensive. As an add-on to the guesthouse, the front was already being operated as a hotel. And now, unlike the parking shortage of later generations, the backyard and the dining hall were almost always empty.

The back door of the main building of the guesthouse was locked, but the area inside the building connected to the canteen was not locked, which showed Xu Kai's business acumen.

Although the guesthouse is outsourced, occasionally staff or leaders from the station come to entertain guests, which is one aspect.

Near the train station area, there are many business-to-business accommodations. To maintain the connection between the guesthouse and the future hotel, Xu Kai offered to provide lunch as a gesture of goodwill, indicating that they would also be providing staff meals in the future. Since there aren't many people at the guesthouse, they can simply come over for lunch. It's a simple meal, but it will allow the staff to have a hot meal without spending any money.

Why Xu Kai? Will the waiters appreciate it? Will they recommend guests to the hotel among the hotel guests? And in the future, when the hotel opens, will customers with good economic conditions, after drinking too much and not wanting to go outside in the cold wind to induce vomiting, simply go to the guesthouse for a night?

Even before it was implemented, Xu Kai's promise directly connected two entities that should have had no connection, like a bridge connecting two buildings. Although their doors were closed, they were not locked and could be opened anytime, anywhere if needed.

Uncle Sun Mingxin helped with the connections and was busy for several days. There were some benefits, though. His colleagues at work all knew that Sun's younger brother and nephew had opened a restaurant. They joked that they would go there to support them and have a good place to drink. This gave Sun Mingxin a little bit of fame at work.

Upon hearing the news, Xu Kai further solidified the situation, stating that his fifth uncle had asked his colleagues for help quite a bit. He promised to arrange a table for the restaurant when it opened to express his gratitude, with his fifth uncle handling the selection of guests and hosting the dinner. The favor of hosting the dinner would fall on his fifth uncle.

As for his uncle, Sun Mingcheng, Xu Kai was outwardly supporting him. Someone needed to oversee things in the future. Although his culinary skills weren't directly involved, he was a chef by training and knew the ins and outs of the business perfectly. Besides, they were family. Xu Kai couldn't afford to leave his own business for now; the business needed someone to keep an eye on it. A blood relative was always better than an outsider. Even if Xu Kai had some ulterior motives, he was aware of the situation and wouldn't mind giving his uncle some shares in the future, making him a true partner and owner.

I had just received a few months' worth of money from the arcade and my pockets were starting to feel a little full, but this whole mess has almost wiped it all out again.

There were no problems with Hu Yuxuan. As long as the credit was guaranteed, it wasn't a big deal. It was just a matter of a few days sooner or later that he could deliver. He got along well with Xu Kai, so this was nothing to him. The real favor was that Hu Yuxuan helped Xu Kai find a roast lamb chef.

It is one, and it is not.

It's a family of three: a husband and wife, and their son in his early twenties, all of whom could be considered roast lamb chefs.

My father, Telmu, was a strong man with a full beard and sideburns, over 180 centimeters tall. He could easily lift two lambs weighing dozens of kilograms with one hand.

The mother, Qiqige, fits the physical requirements of a wife in the grasslands. Although she is a bit plump, she is very strong, doesn't talk much, and works very hard.

My son, Jida, is 21 years old, 188 cm tall, strong, and muscular.

The family of three's arrival in Songcheng is also due to a special connection. Jida was sent away to study when he was young, and he attended a vocational school. It is said that he has a girlfriend whose family is from Songcheng.

Xu Kai didn't ask about the many stories behind it. He simply gave all three of them a decent salary, and all three were hired to work at the restaurant. In return, the family of three had a satisfied and contented smile. The restaurant wasn't even finished being renovated yet, but the three of them were already working.

Actually, there wasn't much renovation. Xu Kai simply divided the large open-plan cafeteria into private rooms. He wasn't the type to put in the hard work without putting in the effort, but lately he'd been spending money like water. He'd been slacking off during afternoon training with the basketball team and would occasionally come to the restaurant to work, trying to save as much as he could. After finishing the paperwork, he spent even more time here.

All the materials were delivered to the yard as agreed, saving on the cost of the movers.

The entire Telmu family of three volunteered to help. The uncle, Sun Mingcheng, was a chef who had never lacked food in his life and had become quite chubby. He was used to flipping a large wok all year round and was also very strong when working.

Aunt Yang Ying also came to help very actively. She was a collective worker in a textile factory, but the factory was not doing well and the layoffs had already passed. With her cleverness, she was more proactive with her husband's nephew than she had been at the arcade.

The arcade is his own business, but with so many people, one more won't make a difference.

The restaurant belongs to Xu Kai, but her husband is in charge. If Yang Ying loses her job, starting a business is her backup plan. What if she could seamlessly transition to a new job immediately? In the minds of their generation, this is the only guarantee, and they will work hard for it.

As winter approached, Jida, sweating profusely from working, wore only a single layer of clothing. Looking at the wooden planks, he gave Xu Kai a thumbs-up. Having possessed immense strength since childhood, he felt he had finally met a kindred spirit. He was curious how this young boss, who looked so much "weaker" than him, managed to do it. Was he, like him, born with superhuman strength?

Inside the cafeteria, carpenters hired by several uncles have already started working. They never intended to build individual private rooms; they simply partition off the dining area. The partitions are not soundproof and will block the view, but they will provide guests with a relatively private space.

After all, when eating roast lamb, you definitely won't order it if there are only a few people, and when there are many people, the feeling in the main hall is never as good as in a private room.

Xu Kai uses the limited funds to improve the comfort of the dining environment for customers as much as possible.

"Brother Jida, ask Uncle Telmu how the roast lamb is going? When can we eat it?"

Xu Kai took out a cigarette and gestured to all the carpenters not to leave after they finished their work: "Uncles and grandpas are all my elders, and you've worked so fast and well. If it weren't for the delay in the lumber, you would have finished yesterday. It's snowing outside, and the weather is perfect. Don't leave tonight. I roasted a lamb here, and we'll all eat here tonight. Take a break now. If you need to call home, the landline at the front desk is already connected."

Cigarettes, drinks, and now a whole roasted lamb—they weren't even doing manual labor, yet their wages hadn't been reduced. None of the carpenters present had ever experienced the host's current state. Before they could even show their embarrassment, Xu Kai's uncles arrived.

My nephew is very generous in his work, and they felt it was a great honor to help find someone. After they arrived, they offered cigarettes and chatted, and the atmosphere immediately improved.

Is it really okay to eat this meal for free?