"I'll inquire about the situation tomorrow. If not, we can rent it out. Finding a cook is also difficult. Since it's all about cooking, and Granny Zhou from the village has excellent skills, she's always helping with banquets and her dishes are quite good."
The more Liu Yuemin thought about it, the more she felt opening a restaurant was a good idea. Liu Yong's restaurant didn't require grain coupons, and a meal cost at least one or two yuan. Moreover, their grains and vegetables were mostly from their own produce, incurring minimal costs.
So, after breakfast the next day, Liu Yuemin pulled Gu Xingmin along to the town to inquire about things. Since he was helping for free at home anyway, he might as well go with her.
"Brother Xingmin, sister-in-law, what brings you here today? Have you had breakfast? Shall I make you a bowl of noodles?" Liu Yong greeted them with a smile as they entered.
The restaurant wouldn't be busy until noon, so it was relatively quiet at the moment.
Gu Xingmin smiled, "Brother Liu, please don't bother. We've already eaten."
Liu Yuemin, however, focused her gaze on the restaurant's price board. Upon seeing the prices, she couldn't help but gasp.
Two liang of rice for ten cents, two liang of noodles with sauce for twenty cents... Stir-fried pork with peppers for fifty cents?!
She hadn't come to restaurants often and hadn't looked closely before. Wasn't this daylight robbery?
Thinking of such high prices and yet seeing so many people dining, Liu Yuemin became instantly excited again.
"Brother Liu, my husband and I have been discussing it, and we also want to open a restaurant. What do you think?"
"That's great, it's a good thing," Liu Yong replied as he gestured for them to sit down. "We've known each other for so long, so I won't hide anything from you. The profit in this business is quite substantial. Besides, there are already two restaurants open in town. What size shop are you planning to get? Are you planning to offer small eats or something more upscale?"
He had decided to resign and start his own business at the beginning of the year. He and his wife had rented a storefront in the town center. With the improved policies now, they no longer had to operate in secret, and business was naturally good when there were many customers.
Gu Xingmin and Liu Yuemin hadn't considered these points Liu Yong mentioned.
Gu Xingmin said, "Brother Liu, how much does it cost to run a shop as big as yours for a year? My wife and I don't cook, so we'll have to hire someone as a chef. Do you know anyone you could introduce to us?"
"You're not going to cook yourselves?" Liu Yong pondered upon hearing they would hire a chef.
In their line of work, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that half of their income came from their skills. Moreover, the key to running a restaurant was to have its own unique features to attract customers.
The master chefs were all working in state-owned factories, earning dozens of yuan a month and not worrying about food and drink. If they also brought along a couple of apprentices and had a leisurely job, no one would be willing to work for others.
Liu Yuemin and Gu Xingmin frowned at his words. Did this mean that if they really opened a restaurant, a chef would take away half their income?
"I do know a master chef who is now retired. His cooking is absolutely top-notch, but the price will definitely be higher. If you really want to hire someone, I can ask for you."
"Then we'll trouble you, Brother Liu," the couple said. They then inquired about other matters. Apart from the chef being a potential concern, there was really nothing else to worry about.
The two then walked around the nearby streets to see if there were any suitable shops. As time was getting close, they took the bus back home.
...
Meanwhile, Zhang Changhe specifically went to the Gu family's house to inform Chen Lishu of the team's meeting decision.
The village committee members unanimously agreed to the second plan, which was to only receive dry shares.
Upon receiving the confirmed news, Chen Lishu began to prepare. She first went to the Administration for Industry and Commerce to inquire about the specific procedures and then started preparing the necessary documents.
When they officially went to handle the registration, Zhang Changhe accompanied Chen Lishu.
"What will the staff say? If I don't understand and can't answer, it might upset them for no reason. You go in," Zhang Changhe said, handing over the official seal, the necessary personal seals, and certificates to Chen Lishu, showing great trust in her.
Chen Lishu accepted the items and went in without refusal.
Everything else went smoothly. When the staff asked about the registered capital, Chen Lishu didn't have that much money on hand. So, she secretly slipped fifty yuan to the staff member. The person didn't say anything and directly wrote down one hundred thousand.
At that time, company business licenses were not machine-printed; they were all handwritten, similar in size and style to a certificate of merit. After receiving the business license, looking at the words 'Hongyuan Construction Company' on it, Chen Lishu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Now they could officially take on engineering projects. The next step was to recruit people.
Having served as the village secretary for decades, Zhang Changhe was not only influential but also very familiar with the villagers. As they walked back, Chen Lishu discussed with him:
"Uncle, I'll need your help to pay more attention to the staffing. The wages for carpenters and masons will be sixty yuan per month, and for laborers, it will be forty-five yuan. If there's a break during the winter off-season, the company will also pay half of the salary."
Zhang Changhe was stunned. This meant they would have a salary all year round!
"Last time your second brother and Xingye were in the city for renovations, I saw that the carpenter's craftsmanship was quite good. Some customers even praised the craftsmanship of the师傅 I hired. If he's willing, I'd be overjoyed."
Upon hearing Chen Lishu praise his second son, Zhang Changhe's face lit up with a smile. "He's only good for this."
Initially, Zhang Changhe was quite tempted by the benefits Chen Lishu mentioned and wanted his son to join, especially since it meant a year-round salary, earning six to seven hundred yuan a year.
However, it felt like he was asking for a favor if he spoke up. Now that Chen Lishu had brought it up herself and praised Zhang Tiezhu, Zhang Changhe felt pleased. At the same time, he couldn't help but admire how astute Chen Lishu was at such a young age. It was true that Chen Mantun's couple had produced excellent offspring from a humble beginning.
Upon returning to the village, Zhang Changhe treated this matter as a top priority. He personally visited the people he had in mind and informed them about the recruitment.
Masons and carpenters would earn sixty yuan a month, laborers forty-five yuan, and they would also receive half their salary during winter breaks. The construction teams in town earned only over forty yuan a month and reportedly received no subsidies during winter.
With Zhang Changhe personally facilitating the recruitment for a village enterprise, there was no doubt about its success. Thus, seven or eight young men were soon hired.
Besides Zhang Tiezhu, the carpenter, there were two other masons, and the remaining five or six were laborers.
During dinner, Chen Lishu informed everyone that the business license for the construction company had been obtained.
Currently, the management of construction enterprise qualifications only confirmed the legality of the enterprise's operation but imposed no requirements on the enterprise's performance, technical level, or overall operational capabilities. This meant that as long as a business license was obtained, normal operations could commence.
It was only in the late 1980s, with the rapid development of the construction industry and its designation as a key national development sector, that a series of reforms and innovations were implemented, one of the most important being the implementation of enterprise qualification management.
Gu Xingping exclaimed in surprise, "Third sister-in-law, did you start a company?"