Chapter 238: Chapter 235: Little Golden Pig

“We’re planning to have a party after we move,” Yao Xiuyun said, then grinned at her. “When are you guys moving?”

Lin Lan smiled. “I want to wait until Douzi starts at the First Elementary School before we move. Otherwise, the commute to school would be too far.”

Yao Xiuyun nodded. “That’s true. Yucai Road is a bit far from Lexing.”

Lin Lan sighed. “Yeah. Otherwise, I’d want to move in as soon as the renovations are done. A lot of people on the team have been gossiping ever since they found out I bought a shop on the main street.”

Yao Xiuyun rolled her eyes. “You earned that money through your own hard work. Why should you care what they think? Those people have nothing better to do than meddle in everyone else’s business.”

“Okay! I’ll listen to our Officer Yao.” Lin Lan said as she stood up with a smile. “I won’t keep you any longer. I’m going to head back and get that document sorted out.”

Yao Xiuyun smiled and nodded. “Alright. Just give it to Xiangyang once you have it.”

“You got it!” Lin Lan said her goodbyes to Yao Xiuyun, then went to Li Xiangyang’s house to greet Old Li before pushing her bicycle homeward.

Just as she left the alley, she saw Li Xiangyang and Xu Dong cruising over on their bicycles.

When Li Xiangyang saw Lin Lan, he sped up and rode over to her, his eyes filled with a smile. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to find Dongzi…” Lin Lan smiled.

Xu Dong caught up, grinning. “Looking for me? Are you treating me to barbecue?”

Li Xiangyang turned his head to look at him. “She needs to ask you something. Let’s go home and talk about it.”

“Let’s go!” Xu Dong was the first to pedal into the alley.

The three of them went to his house. After Lin Lan explained why she was there, Xu Dong laid out the details for them.

He said the government was now strongly encouraging people to start their own businesses. With the exception of sectors where private enterprise was forbidden, things like clothing stores, inns, and restaurants were all fair game.

However, there were also limits on the number of employees a shop could hire; you couldn’t exceed the regulated number. Once you got your private business license, you had to pay taxes and management fees based on your assessed revenue.

And the tax rates weren’t low. Every sole proprietor had to pay a 5% industrial and commercial tax and a 3% industrial and commercial management fee on a fixed quota.

Xu Dong wrote out a template for the required document and gave it to her, telling her to follow the format to get her proof issued. She also needed to get a headshot ready. Once he was over there, he would handle the processing for them.

It was only then that Lin Lan learned that opening a shop in this era came with a limit on employees. Exceeding the limit was considered “exploitation of the individual labor of others.”

When she was a child, her parents had run a small snack stall. Whenever it got busy, she and her sister would help out, so she knew nothing about these regulations.

By the time she had opened her own shop, there were no longer so many major restrictions and regulations. Later on, they even waived the industrial and commercial management fees and some taxes for small businesses.

Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang took their leave from Xu Dong’s place and went to his house.

Old Li gave the two of them a few oranges and tangerines, then sat down in the main hall to watch TV.

Li Xiangyang led Lin Lan to his room.

Lin Lan saw that there was a bunk bed in the room. The bed was covered with a blue printed blanket and a matching printed quilt, which was folded neatly.

To the left of the bed was an armchair, and to the right was a three-door wardrobe with a full-length mirror. In front of the bed was a desk, on which sat a desk calendar.

Overall, the room was quite clean and tidy, unlike Lin Guoqiang’s messy room.

Li Xiangyang pulled Lin Lan down to sit on the armchair while he sat on the edge of the bed. He looked at her and asked, “Little Lan, do you want to use all the storefronts to open pastry shops?”

Lin Lan shook her head. “Yesterday, Sister Zhou told me that the person who sold us the shops opened a clothing store in the provincial capital, and business is supposedly booming. She invited me to go to the provincial capital with her to take a look.”

Li Xiangyang nodded. “It’s a good idea to go take a look. Uncle Da said the difference between Yangcheng City and the inland regions is night and day. He said the wholesale markets there have stylish cashmere coats, wool sweaters, bell-bottoms, carrot pants, batwing shirts…”

“Not only are the styles great, but the prices are also much cheaper than at the department store. He even asked if I wanted to go to Yangcheng City to see for myself. If you want to go, Uncle Da is heading down in a few days. We could go with him.”

Lin Lan looked at him and said, “Xiangyang, here’s my plan. First, I’ll go to the provincial capital to stock up on ingredients. I’ll sell off my current inventory to free up some capital, and then I’ll go to Yangcheng City to check out the clothing. While I’m there, I can also look at electronic watches, cassette recorders, electric fans…”

“If the supply is good, we can open a clothing store and another shop selling small home appliances. We definitely wouldn’t have to worry about sales.”

After hearing this, Li Xiangyang squatted in front of her, took her hand, and said with a smile, “Wifey…”

Lin Lan shot him a glare. “Who’s your wifey!”

“Lin Lan is my wifey!” Li Xiangyang beamed at her. “I really have great taste. My wifey is just different from other women…”

SMACK! Lin Lan, blushing, slapped his arm lightly. “You’re so full of it!”

“Wifey, are you trying to murder your dear husband?” Li Xiangyang put on a pitiful expression and held his hand out in front of her. “Look, you made it all red.”

Blushing, Lin Lan was left speechless. ’Your skin is so tough, I can’t even tell if it’s red!’

“Little Lan,” Li Xiangyang murmured. He reached out, pulled her into his arms, leaned in, and captured her rosy lips in a deep kiss…

Lin Lan hastily pushed him away, her face as red as a cooked prawn. “Your dad is right outside!”

A smile played on Li Xiangyang’s lips. “My dad won’t come in.” ’So does that mean it’s okay when my dad isn’t outside?’ he thought.

“It’s not okay even if he doesn’t come in!” Lin Lan pushed his wandering hand away. “If you keep this up, I’m going home.”

Li Xiangyang gave a sheepish laugh and held up both hands. “Okay, I promise they’ll behave.”

Lin Lan rolled her eyes at him. “You smooth-talker! How did I ever think you were the honest and sincere type?”

Li Xiangyang clutched his chest dramatically. “You’ve wronged me, wifey! I’m only a smooth-talker with you!”

Lin Lan huffed. “I can’t be bothered with you. I’m going home.” ’I swear,’ she thought, ’I’m never discussing business with him in a room alone again. The guy is incapable of having a normal conversation.’

“I’ll behave!” Li Xiangyang said, standing up. He took a passbook and a stack of property deeds from a shelf in the wardrobe and placed them in her hands. “Little Lan, you don’t need to worry about the capital or the storefronts. If you want to do it, just do it.”

Lin Lan opened the passbook and looked at the number. The balance was over 126,000 yuan. There were about ten property deeds.

Lin Lan hadn’t really calculated what over a hundred thousand yuan meant in this day and age, but she knew exactly how much those storefronts would be worth in the future. She never dreamed that this silly pig of hers was actually a little golden piglet!

What surprised Lin Lan even more was how much Li Xiangyang trusted her. She sat up straight and looked at him. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll lose all your money?”

A smile touched Li Xiangyang’s lips. He looked at her and said magnanimously, “What’s there to be afraid of? You know how to make pastries, and I know how to butcher pigs. If we lose it all, we’ll just go back to our old trades.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep