Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 115 Signing Contracts

The next day, November 16, 1990, the weather was sunny, the temperature was low, and it felt cold.

That being said, in winter in Northeast China, it doesn't make much difference whether it's sunny or not, and a little snow doesn't affect anything.

The sky was clear and blue, with a few white clouds floating by, and several birds whose shapes were indistinguishable circling in the air.

Xia Maosheng and Xiao Wei arrived at the Labor Bureau early, both of them a little excited. Xia Maosheng hadn't slept much all night, which almost made Xiao Wei coax him out in the middle of the night.

At eight o'clock, Director Wang entered the building carrying his bag.

When I entered the director's office, Sister Li was already there, tidying up, wiping the table and mopping the floor. She had also filled the thermos with hot water and brewed tea.

Director Wang placed his bag on the table, sat down, and said, "Xiao Li, is the contract I asked you to prepare yesterday ready?"

Sister Li raised her hand to gather her loose hair, her face flushed from working, and said, "All done, do you want it now?"

Director Wang nodded and said, "Take it here. You have other things to do after you sign it. I'll leave this to you from now on. Just keep an eye on them and handle anything they need. If you can't handle it, come to me."

Sister Li nodded, glanced at Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng, and dragged them out.

A few minutes later, Sister Li came in with the contract and handed it to Director Wang. Director Wang took it, flipped through it, and looked up at Xia Maosheng, saying, "Come on, sign your name and put your fingerprint on it. From now on, this business is in your hands. Do a good job."

Xia Maosheng agreed, pulled Xiaowei to the desk, and the two signed their names on the contract. They then pressed their fingerprints onto the inkpad in Sister Li's hand. Director Wang rummaged in his desk, took out the official seal, stamped it, and handed a copy to Sister Li, saying, "Alright, if you need anything in the future, just call Xiao Li. I'm too busy to handle this. Let's go, let's go to Old Liu's place. That rascal, he's made me run there again."

With his bag in hand, Director Wang led Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng downstairs, got into his Santana, turned the car around, and headed straight for the farmers' market. It wasn't actually that far, only about two miles, but taking a car was definitely more comfortable than walking.

When we arrived at Jubinge, we parked the car directly on the dam behind it. There was already a Santana parked there. When we saw the Santana, two people got out of the Santana. The one in the lead was about fifty years old. He was very tall, even more imposing than Xia Maosheng. He was thin, with thick eyebrows, a high hairline, and a bit of baldness. He had very bright eyes and walked towards the Santana with a smile.

Director Wang said, "Get out of the car," pushed open the door, and walked out.

"Old Liu, you bastard, you made me come all this way. I have a meeting coming up soon." Director Wang took two steps forward, shook hands with Old Liu, and cursed under his breath.

Old Liu chuckled, not angry at all. He glanced at Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng following behind Director Wang and said, "This is your nephew? Which one?"

Director Wang pulled Xia Maosheng aside and said, "Call him Uncle Liu. Old Liu, this is Xia Maosheng, and this is his buddy Zhang Wei from Fengtian. The two kids wanted to do something together, but they came here because I happened to remember you had this place. This is perfect for everyone."

Xia Maosheng and Xiao Wei called out "Uncle Liu," and Old Liu smiled and nodded. He turned to look at Jubinge and said, "This is it. What do you think? I was the one who designed the blueprints when it was built. Isn't it beautiful? There used to be a pavilion on top, but I had it demolished. Otherwise, it would have been quite a fun place to sit on top and drink in the summer."

He gestured with his hand: "This whole area belongs to this building complex; it's all on one plot of land. The land behind it was originally for the grain depot, but now that the grain depot has been closed, they've returned the building to us. I was originally planning to close the restaurant and just tear down this whole area to build a tall building."

There was another large door on the side of the building. Director Wang pointed to this door and asked, "What's this for?"

Old Liu said, "Originally, we planned for this side to be the kitchen and the other side to have tables. But then the staff said they wanted to use the whole dining room separately, so we sealed it off. You see how big this area is on this floor? That's the kitchen we added later. Both sides are the same; you open it up and there's a big kitchen. The drains are all connected. This side can only fit a few tables, three tables and a private room. The other side is much bigger. The first floor can fit five tables, the second floor has three tables and two private rooms, and the third floor has a few offices. It's not a big place, but the whole platform outside can be used in the summer if we tidy it up. It's unique in this area. Where else can you find something like that?"

Director Wang looked up and laughed when he heard this, saying, "You're just talking nonsense. Who the hell would go out and eat outdoors for no reason? There's just some stuff piled up there, it's completely useless. If you're talking about the pavilion, it's fine to sit and have a cup of tea there. Did you bring the contract? Sign it, I'm going back to a meeting."

Old Liu turned to the person he was with and asked, "Where's the key? Open the door."

The five people walked around the car. There was a large pile of coal against the wall. Old Liu kicked it and said, "Look, there's still coal here." After walking around the coal pile, the back door of the building was at the corner. It opened into the kitchen, with one door on each side. If they were connected, it would become a large door.

Old Liu led the man to open both back doors, then stepped aside and said, "Come on, look at this side first."

Entering the smaller side, which is just one floor with no upstairs, there are two private rooms and a large hall, quite spacious and well-lit. The tables and chairs are all neatly arranged, covered with a thick layer of dust. The kitchen is completely empty and spotless. Old Liu said, "They've been doing this for years, and this place has never been used. They haven't even bought a pot. These bastards just spout nonsense all day long."

His henchman chimed in, "No, Manager Liu, before this place was even finished, didn't you arrange for a restaurant to be built behind our office building? Everyone thought it was closer and more convenient, so we've been using it ever since, and this place has just been left here."

Old Liu ignored this troublemaker and said to Director Wang, "How about it? It's brand new, no one has ever sat on that chair."

The five people then went to the larger side.

The kitchen was quite dirty, with a layer of grease on the floor and pots and pans piled up haphazardly, clearly unwashed. There was also a professional pastry room inside, with tiles on the stove, which was a novelty these days.

The terrazzo flooring inside was completely faded, and the stairs were covered in a thick layer of grime. The tables and chairs were just piled haphazardly to one side, but none of them were broken.

Sure enough, there was a small hut next to the gate. It wasn't big, only five or six square meters, and there was a bed inside. This was standard equipment in government units—a night watchman's room.

There were only two tables on the second floor, and not enough chairs. The private room was empty of tables and chairs, and instead had two beds. It seems that the staff used to use this as a rest area.

The offices on the third floor were fully equipped with desks and chairs, and there was even a deck of cards lying on one of the desks—it was the game room, haha.

There were some wooden planks and planks scattered on the rooftop, along with the tables and chairs that had disappeared from the second floor. These perfectly good things were left out in the open and were no longer usable, but they could be used to start a fire.