The lease of the clearance merchant who was currently using the shop had already expired two days ago. Having signed a long-term lease contract with Hu Mao’s family, the landlord simply asked the clearance merchant to vacate the property, and matters were done very efficiently.

When the trio of Lin Cheng, Lin Momo, and Hu Mao arrived at the newly rented store, the entire place had already been cleared out.

The three of them cleaned up the garbage and debris that had been left behind, borrowed a tape measure from a nearby hardware store, and measured the entire interior of the store.

Lin Momo stood by with a small notebook and carefully wrote down the measurement data.

After finishing all this, the three returned to their residence with the shop’s floor plan that they have drawn themselves.

… …

When Yang Fang—who had stayed behind at home—heard that these three have already rented a shop, she was stunned.

“Ah? You guys have settled the matter of renting a shop so quickly?”

I haven’t even found a house for us yet, Yang Fang muttered silently in her heart.

“Yes, and the price is very reasonable. Other shops on that street that are similar in size to the one we are renting cost more than 5,000 yuan a month. Ours was finally negotiated down to only 4,600 yuan a month,” Hu Mao told his wife with a smile on his face.

He didn’t expect that renting a shop would be this easy.

“It turns out that I still need to study more,” Hu Mao said to himself.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

After lunch, everyone started to get busy.

Lin Momo and Yang Fang began to discuss what products they could make, how to make them, as well as the menu and the name they would use once the store opened.

Lin Cheng, Hu Mao, and even Huang Yang who had just returned from work took the store floor plan and discussed the design of the store.

The entire store measured a little over 16 square meters. Except for an oblique triangle area of about one square meter on one side of the store, the entire store was a regular rectangle with a length of 5 meters and a width of about 3 meters.

“This store is relatively easy to plan. Following the usual layout for stores like this, the back will be used as the kitchen processing room, the front will be the dining area, and a cash register can be set up here…” Huang Yang said, pointing to the floor plan.

“It’s just that this odd triangle area is a bit troublesome,” Huang Yang stared at the irregular area and thought for a long time. 

In the end, he could only say helplessly, “This area is too small. If we build a cabinet against the wall, there is actually only this small area that can be used. It’s a waste of labor and materials, and in the end it’s not very useful.”

“Why don’t we just keep it like this?” Hu Mao suggested.

Hearing this, Huang Yang frowned slightly and said, “It’s fine to keep it like this, but it will just cost more money to renovate.”

“Ah? Is there still such a thing?”

“Of course. Look at this odd area. If you don’t pay special attention to it and simply include it into the dining area, it will just be wasted. You can set the cost of materials by using beveled corners in the ceiling above, but the labor cost will definitely be calculated based on the length and width of the area. The same goes for the floor tiles. The extra beveled corner process will also cost more. 

“In addition, whether it is painting the walls, pasting tiles, installing skirting, or installing anti-corrosion protection, you have to include this as part of the labor and material costs. 

“But if you don’t do anything, most of this odd area will still be in the dining area, and then it won’t look good or harmonious with the rest of the place.”

Huang Yang’s words put Hu Mao in an awkward position, and Huang Yang himself frowned, unable to think of a better solution for the time being.

Finally, they both looked at Lin Cheng who hadn’t spoken yet.

“Brother Cheng, do you have any suggestions?” Huang Yang asked.

Lin Cheng thought about it and said, “Let’s make a wall-mounted cabinet, but there’s no need to make a cabinet door.”

“What do you mean?” Huang Yang asked.

Lin Cheng pointed to the floor plan and explained, “This odd triangular area actually extends to both the kitchen operation area and the dining area. We can block off the portion that goes to the kitchen as that goes relatively deep, and build a storage cabinet for the kitchen.

“The portion that’s part of the the dining area can be made into an open display shelf to showcase some special products or ready-to-eat goods.”

When Huang Yang and Hu Mao heard Lin Cheng’s suggestion, their eyes lit up.

“This is a good idea. If we don’t put cabinet doors, we can save some of the material costs, and there will be a lot more usable space in the cabinet, which can also serve as decoration and still act as promotion for the  products,” Huang Yang said.

Hu Mao also nodded at the side, “Then it’s settled.”

“What about other areas?” Hu Mao asked again.

Hu Mao and Huang Yang both looked at Lin Cheng at the same time.

When it came  to design and renovation, Hu Mao was a complete layman. Although Huang Yang knew some fellow villagers who were engaged in renovation before and learned some basics from them, when it comes to overall planning, neither of them was good at it.

Lin Cheng stared at the floor plan and thought for a moment before he said, “The other areas will remain the same as Xiao Huang’s divisions, but some details can be added.”

Lin Cheng took a pencil and made simple sketches on the floor plan.

Serve as Contrast Team in a ‘Dad with Baby’ Show translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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Chapter 90.2 — Bargaining
Chapter 90.3 — Bargaining
Chapter 91.1 — Buy, Buy, Buy
Chapter 91.2 — Buy, Buy, Buy
Chapter 91.3 — Buy, Buy, Buy
Chapter 92.1 — Opening