Zhou Jianguo had actually wanted to start a business a long time ago, but he knew that his ID card was fake, and just getting a business license and company account was already a difficult hurdle for him to overcome.
He didn’t know if he had any experience in business before, but when the idea came to him, he didn’t want to partner with anyone, and with insufficient funds, he had been putting it off until he got to know Luo Bei and understood her in various aspects. Then he had the idea of bringing her in.
“Why me?” Luo Bei asked seriously after a brief moment of confusion.
She didn’t think she had the talent or potential for this, nor was she rich. Although she wasn’t as shrewd as a businessperson, she also wasn’t someone stupid with a lot of money to spare, either. Why would Zhou Jianguo choose her?
“You’re very kind, and although sometimes you have to be tough in business, when choosing a partner, you inevitably want someone with a bottom line and principles. I’m planning to open the company in the urban village. At the beginning, the scale won’t be large, maybe just the two of us. You grew up here and are very familiar with this area. Plus, the people here are your acquaintances, so you would be the best salesperson,” Zhou Jianguo paused. “Of course, most importantly, among the people I’ve been in contact with, I feel you’re the most likely to join me in doing business.”
“It’s not easy to do business now, and it’s very likely that we’ll be working for the landlord,” Luo Bei replied cautiously.
“I know it’s not easy to do business now. People need food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Clothing stores lose money if anyone opens them, and snack bars, barbecue shops, and breakfast shops are also difficult to run. You have to get up early and stay up late, and this area is already saturated. Neither of us has the confidence to hire a good chef. Even opening a hotel or guesthouse depends on location, and even a not-so-great inn requires an investment of tens of thousands of yuan. We don’t have money, so let’s not think about that. As for transportation, it’s already a mature industry, and we can’t compete with taxis, DiDi1, or even shared bicycles,” Zhou Jianguo explained to Luo Bei slowly. “I’ve been observing some shops in the urban village every day recently. Come on, let me test you. You’ve lived here for so many years, what do you think is missing here?”
Luo Bei really thought about it seriously.
Although the urban village is small, it can be considered well-equipped, with everything it should have. Whether it’s snack shops or restaurants, milk tea shops or bars, there are several of each here. As for internet cafes, the initial investment was too large, so there is only one here, but she thinks that Zhou Jianguo must not be referring to this. In the end, she could only shake her head and say, “I can’t think of anything.”
Maybe she really doesn’t have a business mind, otherwise, how could she not think of it?
Zhou Jianguo smiled mysteriously and leaned in closer to her. “Adult goods specialty store.”
Although Luo Bei isn’t thin-skinned, she was stunned by this answer.
“You mean condoms?” Luo Bei shook her head. “Convenience stores and small shops also sell them.”
“You’re wrong. Adult goods not only refer to condoms. Besides, I’ve been to convenience stores and there aren’t many people buying them there. I think the main issue is the limited product selection, and most of those small shops and convenience stores are run by middle-aged women and are not as large-scale as other communities. Therefore, there are still quite a few people who are too embarrassed to buy them. For example, would you buy condoms in this urban village?”
Luo Bei blushed. “I wouldn’t buy those.”
“Do you know why other people are not so willing to go to convenience stores or supermarkets to buy them? This is an embarrassing or non-embarrassing problem. If we open this store, we will make it unmanned and just set up one or two vending machines. This way, we can also take care of the privacy of our customers.”
Luo Bei continued to raise her doubts, “Now that online shopping is so developed, you can buy everything online.”
Zhou Jianguo glanced at her and said, “No matter how developed it is, there is a difference between something that you can buy downstairs and something that you have to wait two or three days to receive. This is about timeliness.”
After speaking, he quickly took out his handwritten plan from his bag and handed it to Luo Bei.
When Luo Bei signed the house rental contract, she had seen Zhou Jianguo’s handwriting. To put it, his handwriting was powerful and gave her a deep impression.
Perhaps everyone has a special preference. Some people like people with beautiful hands, and some people even like ankles. Since she was young, Luo Bei has always had no resistance to people who write beautifully.
Zhou Jianguo had indeed carefully studied this industry.
“We can try the water first. The rent in the urban village is not very expensive. If the business is good, we can also consider opening branches. In addition, I see that there are hotels and guesthouses around the urban village. We can also develop in this direction and see if we can talk to the hotels and put vending machines there.”
Luo Bei was almost convinced by Zhou Jianguo’s words.
“I have some money on hand, and if you can contribute a bit more, opening a store shouldn’t be a problem for now. After all, the investment cost is not that high. If you agree, I’ll start looking for reliable sources of goods from tomorrow. As for you, you can just go around the urban village to see if there are any suitable storefronts available for rent. It doesn’t have to be big, just enough to accommodate a few vending machines.” Zhou Jianguo paused and added, “This is a small business, and it’s not possible to have abundant profits in the short term. So you don’t need to quit your job. How about it?”
Although Zhou Jianguo’s plan didn’t require a large initial investment, it was still the first time for Luo Bei to do business. She couldn’t just agree to it based on a plan and some words from Zhou Jianguo. She needed to go back and think about it carefully.
“Give me two days to think about it, and I’ll get back to you, okay?” Luo Bei said while stirring the vegetables.
Zhou Jianguo didn’t expect Luo Bei to agree just within one meal. He knew she was cautious by nature, so he said, “No rush. I can’t quit my job right away either. I just wanted to talk to you about it. If you’re interested, that’s great. If not, it’s okay.”
Some people want to make money to get rid of their current situation, while others simply enjoy the feeling of making money. Zhou Jianguo was clearly the latter.
Luo Bei couldn’t help but be curious and said, “I noticed that you really like to make money. I’m starting to wonder if, besides when sleeping, you’re always thinking about how to make money.”
Zhou Jianguo chuckled, “Maybe it’s because I’m short of money.”
Luo Bei shook her head. “No, that’s not it. I think you’re naturally inclined to make money, regardless of whether you have it or not.”
It has to be said that Luo Bei really hit the nail on the head.
Zhou Jianguo gave her a thumbs-up, “Master Luo, you are really good at face reading.”
“Anyway, I believe you will definitely get rich,” Luo Bei said.
“Don’t be so cliché,” Zhou Jianguo sneered at her. “My goal is not to get rich.”
Making money not to get rich….
It was the first time Luo Bei had ever seen such a person.
Zhou Jianguo had a big appetite, he ordered quite a lot of meat and vegetables. After all, he did physical work all day and the weather was quite hot. Although Luo Bei had no appetite at first, she couldn’t help but start eating when she saw Zhou Jianguo’s eating habits.
They ate until almost 8 o’clock before paying the bill.
“Let’s split the bill.” Luo Bei was about to take out her wallet. She knew that even though Zhou Jianguo had several jobs, his money was hard-earned.
Zhou Jianguo stopped her. “I said it’s my treat today. It’s the same thing if you treat me next time.”
He saw the scratch card in her wallet and couldn’t help but smile. “You like this stuff too? Many of my coworkers buy them, and even buy lottery tickets.”
Luo Bei had to put away her wallet. “Don’t you buy them?”
Zhou Jianguo firmly shook his head. “I don’t like to put my hopes on these things.”
“The total is 250 yuan.” The female server who looked at the bill was also happy. It was rare to encounter a bill that was exactly 250 yuan, no more and no less.
Before Zhou Jianguo could speak, Luo Bei said, “Can you lower it a bit? This number doesn’t look good2.”
Generally, the servers in hot pot restaurants have certain privileges, such as offering customers a dish of peanuts or a cold dish, and rounding down the total bill. “Okay, I’ll lower it by 5 yuan, 245 yuan.”
Zhou Jianguo handed over three hundred yuan, and the waitress was quick to give back the change.
One fifty-yuan bill, and one five-yuan bill.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Jianguo handed the five-yuan bill to Luo Bei. “This is what you bargained for, take it.”
Luo Bei was speechless but took the money. There was a lottery stand near the hotpot restaurant. She said to Zhou Jianguo, “Wait for me, I’ll buy a lottery ticket. Maybe I’ll have good luck this time.”
Zhou Jianguo patted her shoulder seriously. “Alright, I’ll give you half of my luck. You can go buy it.”
“If I win, I’ll treat you to ice cream,” Luo Bei said before heading towards the lottery stand.
Five yuan was enough to buy a scratch card.
After about five minutes, Luo Bei came back with the scratch card in hand, standing in front of Zhou Jianguo.
Zhou Jianguo was looking around for business opportunities when suddenly he turned around and saw that Luo Bei was standing there with a dumbfounded look on her face.
She looked silly, foolish.
“You scared me. Didn’t win? That’s normal. Come on, I’ll treat you to ice cream,” said Zhou Jianguo, preparing to walk away, but Luo Bei grabbed his wrist.
He heard Luo Bei say softly, “Zhou Jianguo, I want to start a business with you.”
Zhou Jianguo was taken aback, “What?”
She decided so quickly? Didn’t she say she needed two days to think about it?
Luo Bei showed him the scratch card she had just scratched and slowly said, “I won 50,000 yuan. We now have start-up capital.”
Zhou Jianguo : “….”
- car ridesharing service (kinda like Uber) in China ↩︎
- a Chinese slang, the number 250 (二百五 èr bǎi wǔ) means idiot ↩︎
Dang! I need that kind of luck
HE REALLY LENT HER LUCK 😭🤣
I had to ask Google why 250 is not a good number 😂
ah, sorry I forgot to put the footnote… thanks for pointing out 🤭
Some people think that earning a little bit more than you paid for a lottery ticket is already good, but Lip Bei straight up won enough money to start a business 😭
Thanks for the chap! The quality is really good ❤️