Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 139 Chen Hui is also involved

"Where are we going? Aren't you at the guesthouse? What are you running around for all day? Where's Lao Xia?" Chen Hui asked in a series of questions.

Xiao Wei looked at him and said, "You're warm, aren't you? You're not cold, are you? We're experiencing life at the guesthouse and we have to stay completely still. What are you doing?"

Chen Hui put his hand on the heater vent and muttered, "You still have the nerve to talk back? You're freezing! You can't even speak clearly. It's so cold here, you should at least tell me. Luckily, I didn't bring Chen Xiao with me."

Xiao Wei said, "You think you're right for not wearing any clothes? How come I'm not cold? What are you doing wearing so little? Why didn't you ride your motorcycle over?"

The older men, Lao Chang, Lao Sun, and Lao Gong, all laughed. Lao Chang took out cigarettes and offered them to everyone. Chen Hui took one, lit it for Lao Chang with his lighter, and asked, "Where are we going? What are you all doing here?"

Xiao Wei said, "We're going to the Labor Bureau's Vocational and Technical Training Center, you know?"

Chen Hui was stunned for a moment before he realized what he had said, then cursed, "Damn it." He fell silent. Indeed, he had asked a stupid question, and even if he told him, he wouldn't know the answer.

The car turned a corner and drove for a few more minutes until it reached the large iron gate. Xiao Li jumped out of the car, ran over, pushed open the gate, and drove directly to the flower bed. The engine was turned off.

A group of teenagers jumped off the bus. Chen Hui got off first, and then Lao Chang said to driver Sun, "Lao Sun, go back and bring over a hundred or so square tiles. Xiao Li, is there anything else you need?"

Xiao Li shouted from afar, "The angle iron is a bit lacking, but everything else is fine."

Old Chang said, "Take a few angle irons with you."

Old Sun nodded, Old Chang closed the car door, and the Jiefang truck turned around and drove off again.

The plumber went directly to connect the pipes. Old Chang and the carpenter went into a few bungalows, and Xiao Wei followed. Chen Hui looked around and, seeing Xiao Wei enter the house, followed him in, asking, "Xiao Wei, where is this? What place is this? What are we doing here?"

Xiao Wei stopped, gestured around, and said, "Lao Xia and I have booked this place. It's ours for the next ten years. I plan to live here from now on, so we're tidying it up right now."

Chen Hui opened his mouth wide, pointed in the circle, and asked, "Here? All of them?"

Xiao Wei said, "That half of the building over here isn't it, but this half, this courtyard, this row of bungalows, and this building are all part of it. What do you think? From now on, this will be our private courtyard. No one else can come in; it will just be my and Lao Xia's families."

Chen Hui looked around and said, "Wow, this place is huge! They're just running a cooking class?"

Xiao Wei said, "No, it's the vocational and technical training center of the Labor Bureau. We're basically contracted out. We'll run three or four classes in this building in front. We haven't decided what to do in the back yet. We'll just clean it up first and then figure out what to do after the New Year. Anyway, it's free."

Chen Hui asked, "What does 'getting something for free' mean?"

Xiao Wei said, "We only realized there was such a big yard, and all these houses and buildings behind it, after we signed the contract. Even the bureau chief didn't know. Haha, isn't this like getting something for nothing?"

Chen Hui stared in disbelief for a long time before finally saying, "You guys have such luck, damn it, it's infuriating, I'm impressed." Turning around, he added, "Hey, Xiao Wei, didn't you guys want to open a restaurant? Why don't you open it in this building? It's so big, so impressive."

Xiao Wei shook his head and said, "The restaurant is open, it's all open for business. I just ate at the restaurant and came back. It's three stories high, not as big as this building, but it's enough."

Chen Hui stared blankly at Xiao Wei for a long time before finally saying, "It's also a leased property, right? Does it come with a large courtyard and quite a few houses?"

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Yeah, how did you know? There really is a dam, and behind it are several big houses. Those houses are huge, each one is several hundred square meters, and they're all empty."

Chen Hui licked his lips, swallowed, and said, "I just blurted it out. It can't be true, can it? Your luck is just too damn bad. No way, I'm going back to tell my dad that I'm going to follow you guys from now on."

Xiao Wei smiled, stepped into the room, and saw the carpenter discussing with Lao Chang how to set up the bed. Seeing Xiao Wei enter, he asked, "Xiao Zhang, should it be placed horizontally or vertically? Besides the bed, what else is in this room?"

Xiao Wei said, "I don't know either, what should we do? Let's listen to Master Chang. Just put a bed there, with the living room at one end and the kitchen and dining room at the other end."

Master Chang pointed to the measuring tape in his hand and said, "Let's lay them out along the lines. The heating system is here, and there's room for a cabinet here too. We need a cabinet to store clothes and stuff, right?"

Master Gong nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "Then you put up a few supports here and here, and fix them in place. We'll take care of the rest. I've looked at these rooms, and they're all about the same size. Just do it this way; a little difference won't matter."

Old Chang nodded and took a measuring tape to measure a few times.

Chen Hui asked, "Are they all beds for people to sleep in?"

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "The kitchen and dining area are at the other end of the boiler, and the living room is at the other end, where people can sit and come and go. We'll put up beds in all the rooms in the middle, so whoever wants to stay can stay there, saving us the trouble of setting things up later."

Chen Hui asked, "Are there any for me?"

Xiao Wei said, "Yes, of course we'd leave some for you. It's just the three of us, plus my parents, and we have so many rooms."

Chen Hui paused for a moment, then asked, "Your uncle and aunt are coming?"

Xiao Wei pointed to the boiler room and said, "This courtyard and this building have to run their own boiler, right there. Old Xia said he'd let my dad do it and pay him."

Chen Hui nodded and said, "Old Xia did the right thing. I was even planning to set up my place and have your uncle and aunt come over to keep watch for me. This place is even better; tending the boiler isn't tiring, and your family can be together every day. It's great. By the way, where's Old Xia?"

Xiao Wei said, "We're still at the restaurant. Today we divided the work: I'm in charge of this area, and he's going to prepare the menu and invite people. I don't remember who we're inviting for drinks at noon, but I didn't go up to check."

Chen Hui asked, "Who are you inviting?"

Xiao Wei said, "Doesn't a restaurant need to hire people to open? We need to hire a few people from the police station and government units to avoid a lot of trouble later. Besides, government units have entertainment expenses, so we have to find a way to get some of them."

Chen Hui nodded and said, "Yes, yes, that's a big part, referring to how much money ordinary people can afford to eat. Alright, leave the electricity part to me. I'll make a call in a bit, and I'll get all the heads of the power, electricity supply, and substation departments here for you. They won't miss a single penny of their entertainment expenses. After that, I'll have them reinstall the electricity meters for you, and we'll settle the accounts internally."

Xiao Wei said, "Since they said they needed to get three-phase electricity, then you can do it. Also, the original wiring for this building was all broken, and we just temporarily connected it a couple of days ago. Why don't you just get three-phase electricity for this building too? Just this row of houses plus this building, and install a separate meter. I'm thinking of setting up a food factory here in the future, but I haven't really thought about it yet. Let's prepare for it first."

Chen Hui pointed to the main building and asked, "What about this side?"

Xiao Wei said, "The water and electricity here are handled by the labor bureau, so we don't have to pay for them."