Chapter 16: Azure Moon

e high-stakes middle school exam!...Su Cen felt somewhat dazed as he followed a familiar route back to his neighborhood. Along the way, everything reminded him of how things used to look in the old ci...Chapter Sixteen Xuan Yue

"" When Wang Xing received several pieces of information, he was so delighted that he almost jumped up. He said that at their home in No. 3 High School, Wang Ming's mother is named Zheng Yulan. Wang Ming’s father died from cerebral hemorrhage when he was young, and it was solely Zheng Yulan who raised him. Despite her gentle nature, she possessed a certain degree of resilience.

She kept smiling at Su Can, her personality becoming more outgoing: "Su Can! Our family has been talking about you for a long time. You are an outstanding student in school and your teacher's favorite. Oh, by the way, your mother’s shop is quite large. If we could become a branch of yours, that would be great! I saw that your store was beautifully decorated!"

Su Can just smiled as he carefully observed Wang Ming’s small shop. While Wang Ming went to buy Coca-Cola from nearby cold drink shops, Zheng Yulan accompanied him. Although she had seen many ups and downs in life, standing before Su Can made her feel somewhat at a loss for words. She felt that this young man exuded an imposing presence, which was somewhat domineering and aloof, evoking a slight sense of respect.

What Wang Ming sold could be described as a hodgepodge—stationery, toys, snacks, etc.—with toy and snack piles on the entrance steps. Since the shop wasn’t very spacious or well-lit, it was rather dark inside. Several crookedly hung frames adorned the walls. The business relied heavily on its location; without being near the school gate, it would likely struggle to survive.

Competition in this area was fierce, so his business had always been poor. Wang Ming saw Su Can’s family establish their shop and get a city-wide procurement quota in just a few months. Students from nearby middle schools often went there to buy stationery too. This made him want to learn some business skills.

Without Su Can, Wang Ming would have become one of those young women who took over their mothers' small businesses.

Wang Ming brought two bottles of Coca-Cola and handed one to Su Can. She had her hair in pigtails, sucking on a straw with long, sharp eyes fixed on Su Can as she smiled at him. She admired Su Can blindly; after borrowing many books from him and reading them, her knowledge broadened significantly. This enabled her to better understand how Su Can’s insight surpassed that of ordinary people. Seeing him carefully examining their store made her heart leap with joy. A moment she had waited for so long was finally approaching.

After visiting Zheng Yulan's shop, Wang Ming escorted Su Can next door.

The owner of the neighboring shop was a retired teacher who opened it to pass time in retirement. Now that her children were developing in Beijing and wanted to take her there, she couldn't bear leaving the store and thus learned from Zheng Yulan that Su Can's family intended to buy it over and merge it with Zheng Yulan's shop.

Earlier, Zheng Yulan had already approached this retired teacher but found that she insisted on a transfer fee of 20 thousand yuan without budging. She was willing to endure her son’s repeated urging from Beijing.

"Grandma, I came to see your shop and am ready to take it over," Wang Ming accompanied Su Cai into the house.

The old lady's eyelids were half-closed, her eye sockets swollen. She stared blankly at this tiny kid for a long time before extending two thumbs, "20,000 yuan, not a cent less!" Inwardly, however, she couldn't hold back her excitement, "Where are your parents Why did they send you so early Do they really trust you"

Zheng Yulan immediately said, "Haha, Aunt Zhao, don’t underestimate him because of his age. Su Cai ranks among the top students in Class 1 of City No.1 High School and is also within the top hundred across all grades! Don't you keep bragging about your son In my opinion, Su Cai's future prospects are not inferior to your son’s at all!"

This time, Aunt Zhao was truly bewildered. No one who lived in Xia Hai would be unaware of City No.1 High School; especially someone with her background as a teacher, the school held an exalted status in Xia Hai. Her son had graduated from City No.1 and went on to study at a university in Beijing after which he remained there for his career development.

She naturally felt confident, and thus developed some prejudice against local small traders. Even Wang Hu thought the young girl looked good but was saddened by her premature departure from school. In Sanzhong High School, she also believed that other teachers were superior to others.

Su Cai nodded, "I can take full responsibility for everything. Of course, my parents will sign the contract in the end." Zheng Yulan had long been looked down upon by Aunt Zhao but now felt much better with Su Cai around; she could see through this seemingly cold kid's true capabilities— even someone as shrewd as Aunt Zhao was intimidated. And wasn’t it what fortune-tellers said about encountering a benefactor Could Su Cai be their family’s good luck

Su Cai gave the inventory a quick glance and remarked, "Combined, these items are probably only worth 10 thousand yuan."

The expression of Aunt Zhao froze for a moment as she prepared to argue back but Su Cai continued, "But if you insist on two hundred thousand [20,000], then so be it. However, I cannot give you the transfer fee because your inventory is not worth the price you’re asking. I will pay accordingly and believe that anyone else would feel cheated paying this much for such low-value goods."

Aunt Zhao knew her items weren't worth even 8 thousand yuan; they were mostly snacks for children. She had planned to charge at least three thousand as a transfer fee but seeing through the value of her inventory with just one glance from Su Cai, she realized that astute businessmen might not offer such a high price. Her initial overpricing was overly idealistic.

Since he's willing to pay two hundred thousand [20,000], then I'll accept it and can go enjoy my life in Beijing sooner, but still a bit doubtful: "Little kid, you really represent your family"

The next day, Zeng He came over to sign the contract and received the actual 20,000 yuan. Aunt Zhao was nearly beaming with joy, but Zeng He had some concerns: "Son, are you sure about these two shops Making money, one costs four hundred, the other five hundred [per day], adding up to ten thousand a month. With so many goods to process and renovations and purchasing inventory expenses, both stores will cost over ten thousand yuan in total. Even if they’re profitable, how long would it take to recoup this investment Are you sure"

Su Cun smiled slightly, "Mom, don't worry. These two stores might only earn a little each month right now, but if we operate them as our family's businesses, the profits will be much greater!"

Afterwards, inventory counting and renovation of both shops started immediately. According to Su Cun's ideas, they had to do things professionally. If they sold cultural goods while also selling some snacks, it wouldn't only yield low profit but would also require frequent visits to different places for food safety certification from the industry and commerce department every month. Moreover, attending lectures on food safety propaganda by the industry and commerce department would consume much energy, not to mention that it wouldn’t bring many benefits.

The subsequent process was similar to a computer game; however, it was far more complicated than any professional business management simulation games. The two shops were connected in the middle, forming one large storefront. Various food and sundries were processed, and all cabinets were custom-made. On the other side of the entrance, glass was used for sealing the door, while inside goods were displayed according to an antique style that incorporated ink wash painting aesthetics. A sign was designed by a company that had been popular in Xiahai County early on, packaged, and finished through a production line process before being hung up. The sign read "Xiaohai Office Supplies Expert - First Branch Store", with the background depicting a bamboo forest that matched the ancient decoration style.

The workers started their work; plastering walls and renovating the place. Of course, it wasn’t something that could be completed overnight, but with Zheng Yulan and Wang Ming supervising, they expected to finish within fifteen days, temporarily leaving Su Cun's family alone with their worries.

As the branch store was bustling, Su Cun took a momentary breather at home while reading some books related to urban economics. Liu Rui called him over suddenly, claiming it was for a friend gathering and wanted to drag Su Cun along too.

Xue Yiyang seemed to have gone to visit relatives in neighboring counties, so Liu Rui dragged Su Cun with him. Su Cun remembered that this was typical of Liu Rui's character; during their middle school days when they had class reunions, he always brought Su Cun along as well because Liu Rui was taller and older than half a year compared to Su Cun, often claiming that Su Cun was his younger brother. This allowed him to take advantage of Su Cun in many ways.

True enough, it turned out the same this time. Su Cun wanted to say he was busy, but soon after, someone knocked on their door. After opening up, no matter how he tried to refuse, Liu Rui dragged him away.

Nearby at the street corner, they met Liu Rui's classmates: three boys and two girls. Both girls were quite ordinary-looking yet well-dressed; Su Cun assumed they must be from their middle school. Among the three boys, there was nothing remarkable about the first two, but one of them stood out – he wore a Nike jacket, Adidas pants, and sneakers in an overall casual outfit. He had short, neat hair, lively eyes, slightly thick lips, and looked like the center of everyone's attention.

Liu Rui brought Su Cun to stand before the five people and introduced him: "This is my brother."

Su Cun felt three black lines appear on his forehead; indeed, this kid was playing the same trick again.

He briefly introduced the other two boys and girls. Pointing at the sporty guy with thick lips, he instructed Su Cun to address him as "Brother Zhao" in a domineering manner.

Hello, hello.

You've gone too far.

Su Cai secretly criticized Liu Rui in his heart. Looking at Zhao Yi who seemed to be waiting for him to greet him, he extended his hand and shook it with him, saying, "Hello!"

The "Xuan Yue" leisure shop was one of the more upscale coffee lounges in this area, known even in Xiahai City. After all, during this era when leisure brands like Liangmuyuan and Shangdao Coffee had not yet entered Xiahai, Xuan Yue was considered the best place for such leisure activities.

Warm sunlight would slant through from floor-to-ceiling windows. Holding a cup of green tea or coffee at a small table, reading a book—this kind of relaxing lifestyle wasn't something Su Cai's age group commonly experienced during this era.

This was Su Cai's first time coming here; he looked around and found the environment to be quite elegant. The staircase leading upstairs was encircled with glass railings, and on the second floor, a large hall was divided into private booths by waist-high fences and potted plants. However, most of them could still overlook the area. All the waitresses were young girls in uniform, some stylishly dressed young men and women also dotted the place, grouped in threes or fives. At the center was an elevated circular platform made of glass, with a black piano and a peach wood chair on it—presumably for performances.

Zhao Yi sat down at one of the central lounges with an excellent view, and everyone laughed at Su Cai's mature greeting. Someone said with a chuckle, "So this is your outstanding brother Very interesting! I've heard about him for quite some time!"

Su Cai stared at Liu Rui, who was casually looking around as if nothing had happened. Although he usually mocked and belittled Su Cai, in school, he likely boasted a lot about Su Cai.

The two girls showed interest in Su Cai, but they were also restrained by the current environment.

Zhao Yi looked at everyone's cautious demeanor with a smug smile and said, "I'm treating today. Order whatever you want to drink, let's play cards too! I guess it’s your first time here, right Hey, their Mocha is quite good. For ladies, I recommend the Latte; although it may not be as authentic as what they serve in our provincial capital, it's still rare in this little city of Xiahai, and you won't find a second place like this."

The two girls from No. 2 High School, though interested in Su Cai, were immediately drawn to Zhao Yi at the moment.ent possible. The owner of the game room couldn't help but stand behind him, his fists clenched tightly, sweating profusely. This mattered greatly for the future business prospects of his establishmen...