Three months was neither long nor short. Turn a few more pages, and it was over.
Renovation and remodeling were strengths of the construction industry. In three months, the basic layout was in place. All the street-facing shops had been opened up, then partitioned again into storefronts of different sizes, with white walls, floor tiles, and rolling shutters lined up in a row. Outside the staircase hung a banner advertising prime retail space for rent, its white lettering on a red background flapping noisily in the wind.
Xie Hui wore out two pairs of shoes over those three months.
Fire safety, business registration, taxation, sanitation—he worked his way through one department after another. The first business license he secured was for a sole proprietorship—Second Aunt’s Boxed Meals.
The internal cafeteria became a sole proprietorship open to the public, with Li Shumei listed as the person in charge.
How it would operate had yet to be finalized.
Li Yongling and Yi Jiahui holed up in the garage-turned-office, working on the computer to keep the accounts, issue invoices, and pay wages. The paperwork for every final payment on the last three projects required care and attention. Cui Wanqiu sat at the desk beside them, stacks of folders piled in front of her. Every time Xie Hui returned from another trip, he dumped another heap onto her desk.
Business licenses, food service permits, fire safety acceptance forms, environmental assessment receipts, and temporary employment contract templates for laborers.
Cui Wanqiu logged and organized them and compiled personnel rosters, her fingers flying across the keyboard. Occasionally, she looked out the window. The clanging in the courtyard never stopped.
Over those three months, Wang Xiaoliang had the simplest job, and also the most wearing.
Handling inquiries.
Every day, people came to ask about the street-facing shops.