"Auntie Foster, good morning." Brian Cooper was admiring the results of his work from last night when Mr. Foster's voice interrupted him.

"Hey, are you tidying up the shop? Getting ready to open for business? Then Auntie Foster will have to come and try your cooking when the time comes." Mr. Foster walked out from her own shop, glanced at the pile of trash by the door and the clean floor, and asked kindly, her thin face showing goodwill.

"Yes, thank you, Auntie Foster. By the way, does the garbage collector still come every day?" Brian Cooper thought about all the scrap metal inside that could be reused.

After all, reopening the shop and buying things would cost a lot of money. Other than the untouched fifty thousand, he had no other savings. Even a little is still something, and it would save him the trouble of throwing out the trash himself.

"They come, they do. Are you planning to sell this? The guy will be here soon, I'll call him over for you when he arrives." Mr. Foster said enthusiastically.

"Thank you, Auntie Foster. I'll go find someone to fix the wallpaper and the kitchen first." Brian Cooper smiled gratefully, said another word, then closed the door and left.

……

"Boss, how much for these clothes?"

Still lost in thought, Mr. Foster heard a customer and immediately responded, returning to her own shop.

Brian Cooper, who hadn't walked down this street in a long time, observed as he walked. Many of the shops were no longer run by the same people, and several were under renovation, with new owners.

Only he, the neighboring Auntie Foster, a hardware and general store, and an anime merchandise shop remained.

"Hmm, the hardware store..." After thinking for a moment, Brian Cooper walked into the hardware store.

"Boss Zhao, are you here?" Brian Cooper called as he entered.

The hardware store hadn't changed much; everything was still in its place, as if nothing had ever been moved.

Chapter 4 Renovation

"Coming," a chubby man with a slight limp and a friendly smile came out from the back room.

"Hey, isn't this Brian Cooper? You're here, kid. What's up?" The limping fat man was Mr. Carter. Seeing Brian Cooper standing in the front, he immediately greeted him warmly.

"I'm planning to reopen the shop and wanted to ask you to check the drainage and gas pipes, and maybe get a better double burner stove." Seeing Mr. Carter's friendly manner, Brian Cooper didn't stand on ceremony and got straight to the point.

"So you've learned the trade, huh? Alright, I'll grab my tools and come over in a bit." Mr. Carter was easygoing and turned to get his tools from the back.

Brian Cooper knew well that although Mr. Carter seemed friendly, his goods were expensive. The quality was good, but he didn't want to get ripped off. After some fierce bargaining on the way, they finally agreed on a price: including the stove, water pipes, and gas pipes, it would be 1,500 yuan.

The price was a bit high, but it came with a lifetime warranty... If there were any problems, he could always find him. Since Brian Cooper had achieved his goal, he didn't say more and led the way to his shop.

"Brian Cooper is back. The guy hasn't come yet... Is this Mr. Carter?" Mr. Foster saw Brian Cooper and Fat Carter passing by her shop and poked her thin head out to greet them.

"Mr. Foster, your business is still booming these days." The chubby Mr. Carter replied with a smile.

"That's because I do business fairly." Mr. Foster glanced at Mr. Carter and said sarcastically.

Previously, when the pipes in Mr. Foster's shop broke, she had called Mr. Carter to fix them. The pipes were fixed, but the price was double what it would have been elsewhere. With no choice, Mr. Foster had to accept it, but ever since then, she would always make sarcastic remarks about Mr. Carter's unfair business practices whenever they met.

Now, seeing Brian Cooper bringing Mr. Carter over, Mr. Foster knew he must be helping with some repairs.

She took two steps out of her shop, pulled Brian Cooper back a couple of steps, and glanced at the smiling Mr. Carter.

Mr. Foster said with dissatisfaction, "This Fat Carter is ruthless with his prices. Be careful if you ask him to fix things."

Brian Cooper smiled and thanked Mr. Foster, then explained, "It's fine, Mr. Carter's skills are really good."

"Young people just don't know the market. Fine, I won't interfere." Seeing that Brian Cooper wouldn't listen, Mr. Foster grumbled as she returned to her shop.

Seeing Mr. Foster a bit displeased, Brian Cooper didn't mind and turned to Mr. Carter, saying, "Mr. Carter, shall we take a look at the pipes?"

"Sure."

Mr. Carter still wore his usual smile, as if he hadn't noticed the recent jabs. In business, you have to have a thick skin.

Brian Cooper led Mr. Carter around the shop for a thorough inspection and found that there was basically nothing that needed major repairs.

"Your parents really had foresight. I did the piping back then. See, even after all this time, the quality is still top-notch." Mr. Carter's chubby face showed pride.

"Mr. Carter's skills are indeed excellent. Well then, I'll leave it to you."

Just as Brian Cooper was about to say more, he saw Mr. Foster outside with a plainly dressed middle-aged man standing at the door. He quickly turned and asked, "Is this the scrap collector?"

"This is Master Li, the fairest in pricing. He never cheats on weight, and selling to him is the best choice." Mr. Foster couldn't stand Fat Carter's smiling face and couldn't help but make a pointed remark.

"It's all thanks to Auntie Foster. Thank you. Master Li, all the stuff is here, please take a look." Brian Cooper greeted him warmly, not minding Auntie Foster's sarcasm, since it wasn't directed at him.