NOVPUBChapter 281: Chapter 281 Everything Goes Smoothly
Chapter 281 -281 Everything Goes Smoothly
Bai Xiao had to work the next day! She couldn’t continue helping the couple with those matters, but she had listed the standards for finding a storefront for them, fearing that without considering the actual inspection requirements, they might act recklessly.
The couple had memorized the standards before setting out.
When Bai Xiao arrived at the hospital, the first thing she did was to visit the Dean to extend New Year’s greetings, bringing with her their local specialties, natural honey, and comb honey, which are not commonly available elsewhere.
Dean Zhang talked with her for a while, and Bai Xiao took the opportunity to express her own request, which was to hope for a quick resolution of Li Haishun’s school registration issue—it was necessary because without a household registration, it was difficult to enroll in schools nowadays since most of them are staff schools sorted into categories, requiring substantial material conditions for admission.
Dean Zhang agreed immediately, assuring her that someone would solve this problem within a few days, because the terms initially offered to Bai Xiao were very generous, and besides, Bai Xiao herself was a doctor within the system.
This request was not at all excessive, and certainly something within their capability.
Having ensured this, Bai Xiao then went to see Director Wang Dachuan, her immediate superior, under whose management she still needed to survive, after all.
There’s a saying that a county official is no match for the one currently in charge.
Wang Dachuan was a very utilitarian person who, as long as you had some backing, generally wouldn’t make things difficult for you, but correspondingly, you had to be polite to him, maintaining considerable respect for your leader.
Bai Xiao was not a so-called person of undue pride; her last life taught her too many lessons that being overly proud was not particularly good for either oneself or one’s family.
One could have dignity, but such dignity should be etched within one’s bones, not necessarily displayed through fierce words, aloof attitudes, or arrogance, to signify pride.
Wang Dachuan had long known that Bai Xiao was extraordinary—not only was her background impressive, but her medical skills were indeed even more remarkable.
Zhang Duo had previously brought a banner with much fanfare, which had brought glory to their department of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
It is known that in a hospital, the department of Traditional Chinese Medicine does not hold a dominant position; all resource allocations barely ever include them, but Bai Xiao’s recent shining performance had brought honor to their department, naturally making Wang Dachuan value her even more.
What was most important was that this girl was very compliant; look, as soon as the New Year was over, she came with local specialties, and regardless of the value of the items, her attitude was quite modest.
Wang Dachuan praised Bai Xiao at length before finally letting her go. Opening the gift, he saw it was a small bag of walnuts, a brain-nourishing food not easily available elsewhere, which left Wang Dachuan nodding in satisfaction.
That afternoon, Dean Zhang called Bai Xiao to inform her that the matter had been settled and asked her to go to the personnel department for a certificate, then to take the child directly to the primary school for enrollment on the 16th of the first lunar month, as the school opening date had been communicated to her.
Bai Xiao was profoundly grateful; Dean Zhang, this kind auntie, had really been good to her, proving to be not just a good leader but also a kind person, very warm-hearted and protective of her.
Sometimes it’s just a matter of fate between people.
Anyway, Dean Zhang had indeed been good to her, and her relatively smooth experience at the hospital was inseparable from Dean Zhang’s care. Having such a naturally close superior was certainly her good fortune, as if fate had granted her an abundance of luck.
Bai Yue and Wang Yan had almost worn out their legs searching and finally settled on a storefront on the 20th of the first lunar month, located five bus stops away from Bai Xiao, surrounded by universities and some departmental offices, which, according to Bai Xiao’s analysis, made it a convincing market.
College students receive a living allowance from their schools, and they also enjoy gathering in small groups. Employees in newspapers and television stations earn generous salaries and have to deal with a lot of entertainment expenses, so as long as the environment and the taste of food are good, they are the best target audience.
The building had two floors, an upper and a lower, which was a rarity in that era. It was a simple two-story structure, and the whole row consisted of various storefronts. However, this particular one was the largest, and because of its size, it had been difficult to rent out. The ground floor alone was a hundred square meters, not to mention the second floor.
During the holidays, Bai Xiao and her sister and brother-in-law had gone to see the place. The house was actually quite nice, and with a bit of renovation, it would be very beneficial for future development.
The rent was three thousand yuan a year, which was an astronomical figure for their area. Bai Yue hesitated for a long time because just the rent was over two hundred yuan a month. Bai Yue couldn’t dare to think about how she was going to earn it back.
However, Bai Xiao still analyzed all the market prospects and consumer patterns for her, and Wang Yan was even more receptive to it than Bai Yue. After discussing it, they finally decided to go ahead with it, mainly because there were three storage rooms at the back. They were called storage rooms, but they had complete water, electricity, and heating; there was certainly no problem for living. Bai Yue and Wang Yan were very satisfied! In this way, the housing issue for the family was solved, saving them a good fifteen yuan.
According to Bai Xiao’s plan, the copper pots for the hot pot had already been made; they were those two-flavored pots with a divider and single pots, but the nine-grid pots had not been made yet. Bai Xiao felt that one couldn’t reach the sky in one step, and needed to take things slowly.
As for the stoves, they had contacted the gas station, and bottled gas simply required a deposit; nothing else was a problem.
They also needed to custom-order tables, so by the end of February, they had finally gotten everything in order.
By that time, Li Haishun had been going to the hospital elementary school for over a month.
At first, every morning, Wang Yan would cycle him to school because it was five stops away, and the distance was too great. They worried about the child’s safety on the road. But after a few days, Li Haishun refused to continue, fearing that his classmates would laugh at him! In that era, it was rare for parents to take their children to school; they would go by themselves, regardless of wind or rain. The children weren’t as delicate as those in future generations, so Li Haishun adamantly refused to let Uncle Shitou take him to school.
Instead, he started taking the bus to school by himself and got a monthly pass. Since he was the child of a doctor, he received a discount on the pass. Li Haishun would go to school in the morning, and instead of going back to his own home at noon, he would find Bai Xiao and go to the cafeteria to eat with her and then rest in her dorm, as the hospital elementary school was just one street away from the hospital. He would only return home after school in the evening.
He had started to lead a life of running between homes.
Wang Yan bought a tricycle, as they needed it for buying groceries and stocking up, and a bicycle just wasn’t enough. They didn’t even dare dream of a car; it was beyond their means. Though the rent was only three thousand yuan, and they had signed a ten-year contract all at once, the costs of renovation, custom-made tables, pots, various tableware, including the meat-cutting machines and such, amounted to a whopping five or six thousand yuan.
The couple was incredibly distressed. Even though Bai Xiao had given them ten thousand yuan, in their hearts, they considered it a loan from Bai Xiao that they were determined to repay.
Thus, psychologically, they were under enormous pressure. Within just a month, both of them had developed a few strands of white hair.
Fortunately, their sons, Li Haiping and Li Hai’an, were very supportive and helped their parents with everything. They were strong and not lazy, especially Li Haiping. As the eldest in the family, as the big brother, he was intelligent and eager to learn. He had been studying how to prepare the base ingredient for the family’s dishes at home.
It wasn’t that Bai Yue and Wang Yan didn’t want to learn; it was just that their attempts just didn’t seem to satisfy Bai Xiao.
But, after watching Bai Xiao make it a few times, Li Haiping suggested trying it himself, and surprisingly, the flavor was very close to perfection.
Bai Xiao realized that Li Haiping had the makings of a great chef.
So, Li Haiping directly became the ultimate master of the hot pot base ingredient.
