Reborn in the 80s: She Rewrites Life with Radiance
Chapter 25 Preparation for Renovation

Chapter 25: Chapter 25 Preparation for Renovation

Gu Yi had nothing to do for the past two days, so she stayed home drawing renovation plans for the shop.

She didn’t really have a concept of interior design, she just wanted to draw out a style she liked from the future.

In her previous life, she had also taken sketching lessons for a while, but didn’t master it; her drawings were only understandable to herself.

Gu Yi thought if it didn’t work, she’d just gesture directly to the renovation crew on-site when the time came.

When it was time to meet Boss Chen, Gu Yi took Ye Qian with her to see him.

The shop was already tidied up, Boss Chen handed the keys to Gu Yi and left with the 260 yuan she gave him.

Once Ye Qian finished taking a look around, Gu Yi locked the door and went to find Li Gang to ask about hiring someone for the renovations.

When they arrived, Li Gang and his friends were busy. When he turned and saw Gu Yi and them, Li Gang seemed quite pleased.

"You arrived just in time. I was about to finish up and go find you. I’ve already asked my classmate about the thing you asked me last time. He’s free lately, so we just need to see when you want to start."

Before Gu Yi could ask, Li Gang had already explained the situation.

"Thank you, Brother Li. I came today to ask about this matter. Brother Li, where does your classmate live? I’d like to take him to the shop to have a look and set a start date."

Li Gang had just finished his work and replied, "Then wait here. I’ll ride over to get him and bring him here in a bit."

With that, he rode off on his bike.

Gu Yi looked at Li Xiu, feeling a bit guilty.

"Sister Xiu, I’m really sorry to trouble you."

"Don’t mention it, it’s nothing major. It’s not busy at this hour, you two come in and have a rest."

She brought out two small stools. After thanking her, Gu Yi and Ye Qian chatted with Li Xiu for a while.

"Sister Xiu, have you put on weight?"

As soon as they sat down, Ye Qian noticed Li Xiu seemed a bit plumper than before.

"Yes, I have gained some weight recently."

She said this with a hint of embarrassment, but could barely hide her smile. Ye Qian didn’t understand, but Gu Yi caught on.

"Sister Xiu, are you expecting?"

"Yes, almost two months now."

"You have a keen eye, Qianqian. You noticed the extra weight right away—last time I came I didn’t even notice. Sit here alongside us," she said, pulling Li Xiu to sit down.

Upon hearing their conversation, Ye Qian understood but, as a young girl, she felt awkward discussing the topic, so she just helped watch the stall from the side.

"It’s not that delicate—my mom found out I was pregnant, and she tells me to eat all kinds of things every day, so lately I feel like a balloon."

"I bet Auntie is over the moon. She’s probably looking forward to having a big chubby grandson from you."

"Speaking of which, thanks to you and your bean sprouts, our stall’s business has picked up. We’ve now got regular customers, and the business has been doing well."

"It’s mostly thanks to your own efforts; Brother Li must be overjoyed."

"He’s like a little kid."

Thinking back to the day Li Gang found out, he had lifted her up and spun her around. If his mother hadn’t been there to intervene, who knows what he would have done. Li Xiu thought about it and couldn’t help but laugh.

Gu Yi looked at the happiness on Li Xiu’s face with envy, and a subtle sense of melancholy drifted through her heart.

Thankfully, Li Gang returned soon, with a young man in the sidecar, who looked younger and was fairer than Li Gang.

Li Gang hadn’t even stopped the vehicle when he called Gu Yi and Ye Qian to get on. Once everyone was seated, he instructed Li Xiu to pay attention to safety, then drove the load of people to Gu Yi’s little shop.

On the way, Li Gang introduced his classmate, Liu Qing, who had been learning this craft with a master since he was 14, and he had been in this line of work for the past 13 years.

The renovation was relatively simple. The previous owner had left the walls slightly moldy, making the interior dingy and unclean.

Gu Yi took Liu Qing through the whole shop, including the rooms, kitchen, and shop area, asking Liu Qing to repaint everything.

Then, one meter from the wall on the left side as you enter, she wanted an L-shaped bar counter built, 50 centimeters wide and one meter high.

Only a 1.5-meter passage was left near the kitchen door, creating a workspace without obstructing the kitchen door.

All the counters left by the previous owner, Boss Chen, in the outer area would be dismantled, but the kitchen stove need not be moved much.

Gu Yi and Ye Qian had no clue where to buy the bricks, cement, and lime needed for the renovation.

Even if they did, they couldn’t transport them themselves, so they straightforwardly contracted Liu Qing to take care of everything, just like outsourcing in modern times, agreeing on a fixed amount in advance.

Perhaps due to Li Gang’s connection, Liu Qing didn’t charge much, only asking for 50 yuan, which included materials and labor.

After negotiating, they planned to start the next day. There were only 20 days until the middle school reopened, and Gu Yi hoped to finish by then.

Liu Qing mentioned he needed to buy materials that afternoon, and didn’t stay long before leaving with Li Gang, who happened to be heading the same way.

Gu Yi and Ye Qian moved the benches to the back kitchen and stacked them up.

The tables were too heavy for them to move, so they left them until Liu Qing’s team arrived the next day. Seeing nothing more to tidy, the two locked up the shop.

The shop opening was imminent, and Gu Yi and Ye Qian’s appearance would represent the establishment. Clothes make the man, just as gold makes the Buddha.

Gu Yi planned to take Ye Qian to buy some new clothes, and they would review any additional items the shop might need, buying as they thought of it, rather than forgetting things when shopping all at once for the opening.

Ye Qian was thrilled upon hearing they could go shopping, and chatted happily the whole way. Upon arriving, Gu Yi and Ye Qian took their time browsing.

Not until after one o’clock did they finish walking the whole street; Ye Qian bought a dress and an outfit consisting of a top and pants.

Gu Yi also got herself two dresses, having initially planned to buy a dress after losing weight.

She had been busy and hadn’t had time until today, when she had the chance and saw something nice so bought it.

One was a floral waist-accentuating dress, and the other was a combo piece, with a white shirt top and a light blue skirt at the bottom; both looked great on her.

Gu Yi also bought four pieces of black fabric, planning to make a pair of pants for each of her parents and parents-in-law. She bought floral fabric for skirts for Gu Hui and Gu Min as well.

After buying all these, they skipped lunch and went straight to the station to catch a bus back home.

As soon as they got home, Ye Qian clamored for Ye’s mother to quickly prepare some food.

Seeing how bedraggled they both looked, Ye’s mother didn’t have time to scold them but immediately made two bowls of noodles. Gu Yi was slightly more restrained, but Ye Qian truly devoured her meal.

"Qianqian, slow down. Yiyi, there’s more in the pot. Why didn’t you eat something in town before coming back? You must be famished."

"When my sister-in-law and I finished shopping, it was too hot to eat, so each of us had a popsicle and we headed back. We probably walked it off on the way from town and got hungry."

Ye Qian answered Ye’s mother while still eating.

After eating, they were too tired to move and both climbed directly into bed to sleep.