The Era of Hard Work

On the last weekend before the advent of the new millennium, Lu's Catering officially opened its three stores in the RT-Mart Shopping Mall in Lixia District, nearly a week ahead of the RT-Mart Supermarket.

Because RT-Mart has not yet opened, except for the opening ceremony on Saturday, which attracted many people, the traffic of the three stores is far less than that of Quannan Road.

Although there are several large communities, middle and high schools, universities and colleges in the surrounding area, as well as many enterprises and institutions, Quannan Road Pedestrian Street has long been a very mature commercial circle, and the desire to form a large gathering point here depends on Lu's The three catering companies can't do it yet, and they must wait until RT-Mart opens.

Fortunately, RT-Mart will officially open for business on the first day of the new millennium.

The KFC next door to Burger Bo is also undergoing final renovations and is expected to open no later than January.

The more popular shops there are, the more people the area can attract.

On the second day after the opening, Lu Dong called Ma Ming and wanted to ask him how his project was going. Ma Ming just came back from out of town, so the two decided to meet at the newly opened hot pot restaurant.

Near noon, the two sat at a table in a hot pot restaurant.

Ma Ming was different from last time. He came by taxi from school, wearing a down jacket that was convenient for outdoor work.

"Just order whatever you want." The last time we met, Lu Dong could tell that this was not the kind of dandy in the rumors. In this day and age in Taidong, he was admitted to the Provincial University with his grades, and he definitely had real talents. He handed the menu to Ma Ming: "We hit it off right away, don't be polite to me."

Ma Ming took the menu and looked around: "Lu Dong, your business is quite big, but there are fewer people in the store."

There are a total of ten tables in the store at noon today. Compared with the 300-square-meter business area, it is somewhat deserted. Lu Dong thinks it is normal: "It just opened yesterday, and this place was not a business district before. When RT-Mart next door opens, people will That's more."

"I'm going to be a local tyrant."

The last time we had a good conversation, Ma Ming was not polite to Lu Dong. He picked up a pen and drew on the menu: "You know the situation in my family. I dare not go casually when invited by others. This is you."

After ordering the dishes, Lu Dong asked, "Do you want to drink?"

Ma Ming waved his hand directly: "I have to see a professor after three o'clock, stop drinking."

Lu Dong chose a few more items on the menu, and didn't ask for wine, so he waved for the waiter and gave him the menu.

Ma Ming looked at the waiter's attire and said, "The work attire in your store is quite rare, and the mask you are wearing is to prevent saliva from flying out?"

Lu Dong nodded: "When making catering, it is very important to make people feel at ease."

Hearing this, Ma Ming glanced at the kitchen opposite. Behind the transparent glass curtain wall, all kinds of operations in the kitchen could be seen at a glance: "The shark fin palace that my uncle invested in didn't dare to do this."

Lu Dong laughed: "The grade of that restaurant doesn't need to be considered at all, and people who go to eat don't worry about it. My grade is much lower, and I deal with ordinary consumers. Food hygiene and safety are what ordinary people need to worry about. question."

Ma Ming frowned slightly: "Lu Dong, what you said sounds awkward, but it makes sense when you think about it carefully."

The waiter brought a tray of warm towels to wipe his hands. Ma Ming was not surprised by this. After all, many high-end hotels also have this kind of service, but it is not unique in similar public hotels. Anyway, he has never seen it.

Although Ma Ming is obsessed with archaeology, he has experienced many occasions with his parents, and said: "The service in the store alone may attract many customers."

Lu Dong said: "It's easy for a while, but it's hard to persist for a long time."

Ma Ming nodded: "The customer is God. This is a good saying. There are not many businesses that actually do business. God is the one who cheats."

The hot pot and various meat dishes were brought up, and the two chatted while eating.

"The soup base and dipping ingredients here are very good." Ma Ming chewed slowly: "The taste of the hot pot I have eaten is the best."

Lu Dong said: "This is produced by the factory in the village."

Ma Ming thought of the big vat of stewed water that his father brought back last year during the Chinese New Year, and said, "What's your specialty?"

"It's sort of it." Lu Dong roughly said, "This is my mother's re-adjustment and processing based on the craftsmanship that has been used in the village."

Ma Ming took a bite of mutton: "It's good, I'll find someone to help you promote it at school later, it's just that your shop is a little far away from the province."

Lu Dong smiled: "There is also a plan to open a store at the Provincial University. Isn't Uncle Yu building a Garden Plaza store for Ginza on the west side of the old campus? I reached an agreement with Ginza that the new store will be opened in the commercial building."

Ma Ming asked: "Is there any other store?"

Lu Dong roughly said: "Beiyuan, Bayi, Yanshan, West Market, next year's plan, as far as possible to cover the whole of Quannan."

"The speed is very fast." Ma Ming doesn't know much about business: "No wonder my father and uncle keep saying that you are very capable of doing things."

Lu Dong told the truth: "Without Uncle Yu and Uncle Ma, I wouldn't dare to walk so fast."

The two were talking, and the topic came to consideration and history again.

Ma Ming asked: "Do you have any folk buildings with a particularly long history?"

"You have a new subject?" Lu Dong asked curiously, "Didn't you study that Zhang Sanduo before?"

Ma Ming said directly: "The professor I'm going to meet in the afternoon is an expert in folklore and ancient architecture. He is famous all over the country. He is listed in the Provincial Museum and enjoys the State Council subsidy. I want to take his postgraduate entrance examination."

Lu Dong is a person who is grateful and knowledgeable. Although Uncle Ma has never made a direct move, his intentions are very clear, let alone Uncle Yu.

With Lu's catering and his current strength, he can't help them, but Ma Ming, if he can help, he will help.

Besides, if an expert in folklore and ancient architecture is interested in Lujia Village...

Lu Dong thought for a while, and said: "I don't know much about other things. There is a columbarium in my village. It's too long ago to say. It existed before the Republic of China. The earliest construction was very early, but it was caused by natural disasters and man-made disasters. And so on, it seems to have collapsed once, and some major repairs have been carried out in the middle."

Ma Ming figured it out: "I might not have time before the new year. I'll go and have a look after the new year."

Lu Dong clinked his glass with him: "Call me anytime you are free."

After drinking some drinks, Lu Dong asked again: "Did Zhang Sanduo finish that project?"

"Basically finished." Ma Ming said simply: "That subject is not too difficult. I can find some supporting evidence in some local materials in Quannan. I also checked a lot of books in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. Many doggerel prototypes actually come from the above. adaptation."

He gave an example: "Take the doggerel asking for rain as an example. The Quannan Library has a copy of the "Times" in 1925. At that time, the text message "Zhang Zongchang Praying for Rain" sent from Quannan said that Shandong was suffering from a drought for half a year. At the Rain Prayer Conference, when Zhang Zongchang took office, Zhang also paid homage together. Unexpectedly, two days later, the drought will be the same as before. Zhang Zongchang declared that if there is no rain at the end of the deadline, the sky will be bombarded."

"Thus, the people in Quannan, who had suffered from Zhang Zongchang's violent expropriation at that time, made this doggerel instead of Zhang Zongchang. The doggerel that is widely circulated today was forcibly arranged on Zhang Zongchang by many literati after the founding of the People's Republic of China."

Since it is being studied as a subject, Ma Ming took the most rigorous attitude: "Zhang Chunsui, Zhang Zongchang's daughter, is still alive and just retired from a state-owned enterprise a few years ago. For verification, Zhang Chunsui clearly stated that Zhang Zongchang did not write these poems, even the birthday poems issued in the name of Zhang Zongchang, etc., all came from his master of deployment."

Lu Dong thought that Ma Ming's work on this kind of subject was at best looking up information and looking for some supporting evidence. He didn't expect Ma Ming to do so much work in a short period of time.

It seems that Ma Ming really likes this line of work.

It seems that archeology is a very unpopular industry, if you don't really like it, it may be difficult to persevere.

After dinner, Lu Dong drove Ma Ming back to school, and then went to the commercial building under construction by Qiansheng Real Estate in the west of the province to have a look. This place started later than Bayi and Beiyuan, and the progress was slower, but in the first half of next year Finishing is not an issue.

Afterwards, he drove west along the East-West Road in front of the Provincial Senior School's gate, arrived at Quannan Railway Station, bought a station ticket, entered the station and walked around.

Fast food such as Burger King, which is quick to pick up and easy to carry, is very suitable for opening at the train station.

Lu Dong asked someone, and went to the relevant investment department to inquire. There is currently no suitable shop in Quannan Railway Station, and a small shop like that with only a dozen square meters is not suitable for Burger King.

When the kitchen is not enough.

Lu Dong wrote down the phone number of the person in charge at the train station, and left his contact information. If there is a suitable shop vacant, the investment recruiter here will contact him.

The big shops in the railway station use auction and rent, and the more people who participate, the higher the auction price.

Although Boss Tie's current status has been impacted, the lean camel is bigger than the horse, and he doesn't have a strong enough relationship, so he can only participate in the auction.

The relationship between localities and railways is intricate and not a system.

Coming out of the train station and just entering the parking lot, Lu Dong vaguely felt someone staring at him from behind. He put his hands in his pockets, turned around and saw a child wearing a white cap.

This person was only twelve or thirteen years old, wearing a ragged leather jacket, and when he saw Lu Dong turning his head, he didn't have any intention of dodging. He looked left and right, took the bag behind his back, and quickly took out a bag with "" on it. Canon" logo SLR camera.

"Hey, do you want it?" The boy in the white hat has obviously received professional training and knows how to distinguish people by their clothes. He stretched out a slap and said in a slightly blunt voice: "This is a good product, only five hundred yuan!"

To prove it, the boy pressed the shutter, and the camera clicked, and then the flash was on.

As if afraid of being seen by others, the boy in white hat quickly put the camera into his bag, and said in a stiff voice, "New one, five hundred yuan!"

Lu Dong said directly, "No."

He just glanced at it and walked towards the parking lot.

The boy in the white hat didn't give up, and said, "It's only five hundred yuan!"

Maybe other people will think that this is stolen goods, which can be bought cheaply or get into trouble.

But Lu Dong guessed that the camera was probably an empty shell toy.

There was a lot of traffic at the train station, and the boy in the white hat didn't stare at one person, and quickly went to find others.

Lu Dong opened the door, got into the car, and drove away.