Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 284

“Since you admit it, that’s good. I’ll take 25% first, and the remaining 25% will be paid as taxes. 25% will be paid to the street office, and you guys will split the remaining 25%.”

This is the "Four Horses Divide the Fly" principle, where operating profits are divided into four parts: national taxes, street operations, workers' wages, and private managers. All operating profits are shared among these four parties.

In fact, whether Fan Jinyou hires one person or ten people, it won't affect his income, which is why He Yuzhu doesn't object to him hiring.

The reason for bringing this up again now is to confirm with Fan Jin that he can receive the full 25% profit.

"You only see money. You're so short-sighted. I called you a capitalist, but you wouldn't admit that you only see money. Calling you a capitalist is too kind of you. You're more like a small business owner."

He Yuzhu said, "Fan Jinyou, Fan Jinyou, you just said I have the style of a capitalist, so I won't say anything more. Now you're labeling me a small business owner?"

Fan Jinyou also shouted, "If you're not a small business owner, then what are you?"

“I am a genuine third-generation farm laborer. This house belongs to my child’s aunt. It doesn’t meet the standards of a small business owner at all. It only has three rooms.”

Fan Jinyou blinked and exclaimed, "Isn't that the courtyard next door also yours? It has two courtyards and more than 13 rooms, enough to qualify you as a small property owner."

"Are you crazy? That was my wife's dowry, so it can't be considered mine. He's not a small business owner either. My child's aunt also owns the house. The total number of rooms for both of them is less than 12."

Courtyard houses in Beijing are also divided into three relatively rough levels: large, medium, and small.

A small courtyard house has three main rooms, three east and west wing rooms, and three rear rooms. There are no side rooms, for a total of 12 rooms.

A household that owns a small courtyard cannot be considered a small property owner.

Only those with more than 13 properties can be considered small property owners.

By the way, Uncle Yan Bugui is a small business owner; his yard has more than 13 rooms.

He Yuzhu was aware of this rule, so he registered the house under the names of Xu Huizhen and Xu Huizhi, but each of them could not have more than 12 rooms.

Even when the wind picks up and the accounts of the house are reviewed, they still cannot reach the level of small business owners.

They were just ordinary people.

Fan Jinyou was dumbfounded: "So you don't own any property? There's a two-courtyard house on Yandaixie Street."

“I bought that house because it was confiscated from enemy agents. It was a haunted house where someone had died before, and nobody wanted it, so they sold it to me all at once. The street has already issued a certificate that I cannot be counted as a small property owner.”

"you..."

"What do you mean, 'I'? I'm a third-generation farm laborer. If anyone calls me a capitalist or a small business owner again, don't blame me for being impolite."

Fan Jinyou was unaware that he also owned a three-courtyard house on Gulou East Street, but that was obtained as payment for a debt and was not considered his own property.

He Yuzhu had already thought it through. He would then divide the household registration for his children, giving each of them 12 rooms, and that would solve the problem.

By the time the wind picks up, the children have all grown up, and things are finally going smoothly.

"Okay, okay, I didn't expect you to be so shrewd, knowing not to put all your eggs in one basket."

Fan Jinyou immediately realized that He Yuzhu did have some brains.

He Yuzhu said, "Since you admit it, that makes things easier. Give me 25% of the profits at the end of the month, and I won't interfere with the rest."

The tavern here was previously run by Old He and He Yongqiang. Now that He Yuzhu has reopened it, it's still a source of income, no matter how much or how little he makes.

If it weren't for the neighborhood director's request, I wouldn't have bothered with all this and would have just closed down.

Fan Jinyou said, "Although you are not a small business owner, you will still have to work as a cleaner in the future. You will be responsible for washing dishes and cleaning every day. You have to be diligent so that the customers are not satisfied."

"Heh, why would I do this kind of job?"

"Of course you have to do it. If you don't, I'll mark you as absent without leave and deduct your wages."

"Try taking even a penny from me!"

He Yuzhu said, "The contract doesn't say that I have to work as a cleaner here. Even if I don't do anything, you can't shortchange me a single penny of that 25%."

He Yuzhu knew that Fan Jinyong was only up to this level, so he didn't bother with him anymore and got up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Fan Jinyou asked.

"I'm not your employee, it's none of your business where I want to go," He Yuzhu said before leaving.

"What kind of attitude is this?" Fan Jinyou shouted.

"Yeah, so what if he has a little bit of money?"

"Exactly, the face of a capitalist."

"Director Fan, calm down. It's not worth getting angry with this kind of person."

"Director?" Fan Jinyou was still a little confused by this title.

"Yes, 'Director' sounds better. There are directors everywhere in state-owned factories."

“That’s right. From now on, you can call me Director Fan. We’ll be just like a state-owned enterprise.”

"Director Fan!" The four of them stood up and called out in unison.

Fan Jinyou smiled happily, having completely forgotten how angry he had been with He Yuzhu earlier.

When He Yuzhu returned home, Xu Huizhen asked, "How did it go? Did you quarrel with Fan Jinyou?"

"How can you not make noise? You have such a smug look on your face, and you actually made me wash the dishes."

"What dishwashing? Aren't you the private manager? How come you're different from the manager in District Five?"

"Isn't this just Fan Jinyou getting his way? How could he possibly give me even the slightest bit of power? He can't stand to see me do anything good, and he's given me the hardest and most tiring jobs like washing dishes and sweeping floors."

Xu Huizhen chuckled and asked, "Doesn't he know you're a first-class cook?"

"They probably don't know, otherwise they wouldn't have hired Ma Liansheng as a chef."

He Yuzhu then said, "By the way, let's lock that moon gate from now on and use the back door whenever we go out."

"Okay, I don't want to see Fan Jinyou's stinky face either."

After a while, a noise was heard from the front yard. Ma Liansheng quickly made some changes to the kitchen, prepared some vegetables and meat, and began to prepare for dinner.

Why is it so noisy up ahead?

"Judging from the sound, it must be coming from the kitchen. Are they going to sell stir-fried dishes tonight?"

Xu Huizhen was very surprised. Since ancient times, the large wine taverns and small restaurants in the capital city have only sold cold dishes and braised meats at most, and never hot dishes.

A small tavern is a place where neighbors come over to chat, boast, and talk big. If they want hot food, they just go to a restaurant, right?

“Fan Jinyou frequents taverns every day, how could he not know the rules of a tavern?”

"People shouldn't get carried away with success. Once he gets carried away, he thinks he's a leader and starts acting recklessly, trying to make more money and create some achievements."

"It seems the tavern is really going to go out of business under his management," Xu Huizhen said.

"That day will come soon."

In the evening, after the couple had dinner, He Yuzhu went out the back door, circled around, and arrived at the small tavern.

By this time, the tavern was already bustling with activity and every seat was taken.

I glanced over and saw several business owners from the street sitting at a table, drinking.

He walked over and said with a smile, "What brings the three of you here for dinner today?"

The most prestigious among them was Mr. Zhang, the tailor shop owner, who smiled and said, "Oh, it's Mr. He. We've come here today to see how the joint public-private partnership of the tavern is going."

"Yes, it looks quite prosperous," said Mr. Zhao, the shop owner next to him.

"It's quite popular; they've even started selling hot dishes in a tavern."

"I never expected them to turn Little Dimple into a small restaurant. I don't know if business will be good or bad in the future," said Mr. Qian.

He Yuzhu turned his head to look around, nodded to Uncle Niu, said hello, and then continued to observe.

About half of the customers here are regulars. They usually buy a couple of ounces of liquor, a serving of peanuts, or a plate of small tripe, and still treat this place like a tavern.

Many of the people there were people who didn't usually frequent bars; they were there for dinner, ordering hot dishes. There were also two tables in the corner where people were playing drinking games, making quite a bit of noise.

It seems like this is a hodgepodge.

At this moment, Chen Xueru walked in gracefully from outside, and only spoke after coming up behind He Yuzhu: "Why is Mr. He standing here?"

He Yuzhu said, "Why don't you find a seat first?"

"No, Mr. Chen, it's my treat," Mr. Zhang said. "I happen to have something to ask you."

Chen Xueru sat at this table. After exchanging a few polite words, the group began to discuss their opinions on the renovation of the tavern.

Chen Xueru then called out, "Shopkeeper, bring me two ounces of wine."

Old Niu also called out, "Give me another two ounces."

Fan Jinyou, who was talking to Zhao Yali, was about to give He Yumei some instructions when he glanced at He Yuzhu standing there.

Thinking he was giving in and wanted to come to work, she called out, "He Yuzhu, didn't you hear me? Chen Xueru and Master Niu both want wine. Hurry up and send it over."

He Yuzhu would certainly not have agreed to give this to anyone else, but since it was Chen Xueru, he went to the counter, picked up two two-ounce wine jugs, and gave them to Chen Xueru and Master Niu respectively.

Seeing that He Yuzhu did not object and was very compliant, Fan Jinyou said, "He Yuzhu, don't just stand there like a pillar. Can't you see that He Yumei can't handle everything by herself? Go help her serve the dishes, and then go wash the plates later. There aren't enough for everyone."

He Yuzhu paused for a moment, then turned around and went to the kitchen next door to get the dishes. When she came back, she served them to Chen Xueru's table.

Mr. Zhang asked in surprise, "Mr. He, aren't you the private manager? Why are you serving dishes?"

"What private manager? I'm just a dishwasher. I only serve dishes when I'm too busy to do anything else. Otherwise, I'm always washing dishes and sweeping."

Seeing He Yuzhu talking to the guests, Fan Jinyou called out, "He Yuzhu, you're a cleaner, don't you know to go wash the dishes?"