Manuel felt a headache coming on.
It was difficult when there were no houses, and it was also not easy when there were houses.
Was he, the deputy factory director in charge of housing allocation, really in a position of power? He couldn’t abuse the authority he held; it was all a heavy responsibility weighing on his shoulders.
…
“Grandma Johnson, thank you.”
Whitaker Scarlett was in a great mood, but Grandma Johnson still wore that sour face: “You should have realized that the 2000 dollars annual rent is all for me. What are you thanking me for?”
She knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Whitaker Scarlett and the others must have found out about the ownership of 45 Pinnacle Road somewhere, which was why they came to rent her house, gradually getting closer to her, all for those three small buildings on 45 Pinnacle Road, right?
Grandma Johnson felt deceived, and when it came to collecting rent, she showed no mercy.
Whitaker Scarlett thought it was a coincidence, but Grandma Johnson didn’t believe in such coincidences at all.
The two couldn’t find common ground and parted ways unhappily. Grandma Johnson took the rent home, while Whitaker Scarlett excitedly took the keys and went to see the house with William.
The National Cotton Mill No. 3 was not far from Pinnacle Road, and both the uncle and niece felt quite warm inside; it wasn’t easy to rent this house.
But it was worth it!
The previous leaders of the National Cotton Mill had used this storefront for textile exhibitions, just two or three years ago. The house was not overly luxurious, but at least the floor was level, and the walls were plastered white, with a meter-high green paint brushed on from the base of the walls. The storefronts along the street were generally quite low, but these three storefronts had a height of over 4 meters. What does that mean? In later years, the requirement for commercial shops was 3.9 meters—having a height of over 4 meters allowed for grand and upscale decorations, and the height wouldn’t give a feeling of oppression.
Moreover, the wooden counters used in previous exhibitions were still there. Whitaker Scarlett knocked on one with her hand; she couldn’t identify the type of wood, but with some modifications, it should still be useful. Deputy Factory Director Manuel had promised that everything in the store would be handled by Whitaker Scarlett.
“Scarlett, what are you looking at?”
“Uncle, can you help me hold the measuring tape? I want to measure the dimensions and see how to decorate these three shops.”
William looked around; wasn’t this place still quite new? If someone came to clean it up, it could be organized and opened for business. Of course, they also needed to obtain a business license.
Whitaker Scarlett wrote down all the dimensions in her notebook.
Then she and William went to the building materials market… In 1983, there was no concept of renovation materials. They ran around the commercial hub and found only a few stores selling some basic materials. The tiles were small square ones, and there were wooden floors, which surprised Whitaker Scarlett. Furniture with painted colors was expensive, and Whitaker Scarlett found the bright red colors quite glaring, while the wooden floors were mostly in natural wood tones.
There was also a new type of linoleum that could be laid directly on the cement floor.
Additionally, there were particularly cheap red carpets, which were only used in better guesthouses. Whitaker Scarlett couldn’t accept having a red carpet in her store; if people came in with muddy shoes, it would be hard to clean.
It was either a cement floor, or tiled, or wooden flooring.
Whitaker Scarlett thought about it all night, drew several sketches based on the dimensions and layout of the store, and showed them to William the next day:
“Uncle, do you think we can decorate it like this?”
There aren’t many professional talents for renovations these days. Although William is pretending to be a mason, he previously worked in smuggling. However, he has indeed learned some masonry skills.
Plastering walls, laying tiles, and even hanging a ceiling are all within William’s capabilities.
Whitaker Scarlett, not trusting her own uncle, found it more troublesome to communicate with other workers. After all, in this day and age, no one has much renovation experience. It would be more efficient to explain things to her uncle.
William was a bit confused, but with Whitaker Scarlett explaining things to him slowly, he began to understand what needed to be done.
This included the hooks on the walls, the rods that needed to be mounted, and how to arrange the clothes racks and hanging rods. Whitaker Scarlett’s “design plan” clearly laid out the entire layout of the store. Due to budget constraints, many ideas couldn’t be realized. For instance, in Whitaker Scarlett’s impression, a fashion store wouldn’t have wooden doors; it should be all transparent glass to attract passersby with the new styles inside.
