19 This Is Not All

m administrative offices. When discussing this circle, everyone evaluated the outstanding people present today one by one; those dressed neatly in dark blue Zhongshan suits with prominent backgrounds...Chapter Nineteen: This Is Not All

Flying Breakfast Shop, Su Cun pulled out a stool and sat down. Bu Liuliu, Er Yang, and the others who were already eating rice noodles nodded to Su Cun, saying, "Brother Su, good morning! We've ordered your beef vermicelli."

While Liu Rui was sprinkling flower roots into his bowl, he didn't show any sign of respect. Xue Yi Yang scooped a large spoonful of fermented broad bean paste and added it to the bowl with a playful smile.

This rice noodle shop was well-known near and far. Every morning, breakfast-goers lined up outside the shop in droves. The behavior of Liu Rui and Xue Yi Yang drew attention to Su Cun, causing even those engrossed in their meals to look up.

Since the incident with Tang Wu, Liu Rui liked to refer to Su Cun as "Brother Su," a term that he shared with Xue Yi Yang. The latter also joined in, though he was well aware of the ambiguous relationship between Tang Wu and Su Cun at school, so it wasn't as surprising for him.

After sitting down, the beef vermicelli arrived on their table. Breakfasts from 1999 were incomparable to those of later times. A bowl of rice noodles was generous in quantity and texture, topped with large pieces of tender yet chewy braised beef. With every bite, one could savor the classic flavor of braised meat, a taste that had vanished but couldn't be replicated.

Seated there under the morning sun, the three of them enjoyed their steaming bowls of rice noodles served on tables outside the restaurant.

"Isn't the stationery shop at the entrance of No. 3 High School your family's business" Xue Yi Yang asked while lifting his head.

Seeing Su Cun nod, Xue Yi Yang almost jumped up in surprise. "Damn it, really! I knew it!"

"If that shop is indeed yours, why isn't the business doing well" he continued to ask.

Su Cun paused for a moment and didn't respond immediately. Did this mean his strategy had failed

Xue Yi Yang added, "But you know that girl Introduce her to us soon. We want to hang out with her! It's unfair of you to keep it secret from me when I've spent money on stationery there."

The branch store at the entrance of No. 3 High School had completed renovations and officially opened for business. The two refurbished shops now stood out starkly among their shabbier neighbors, being the most luxurious stationery stores in Xihai City in terms of design and decoration.

Of course, Su Cen also utilized packaging ideas from the future. In this era, many places in Xiahai City still maintained Ming and Qing dynasty architectural styles; some shops even used old-fashioned push-pull counters with outdated storefronts. However, Su Cen had already taken the initiative to use peach-patterned wood to decorate the entrance, and internally, he commonly used particle board, giving an immediate impression reminiscent of pawnshops but fitting the theme of a stationery store while also being quite avant-garde.

Particle board is a type of artificial plywood with decorative paper surfaces. In this era, such a style was gradually welcomed by middle-class society; some families opted for wooden grain decorative panels that were matte and very natural-looking and realistic. Although in the future, decoration gradually moved away from using these materials and instead used stickers, many households in the past still adopted them.

Using particle board to decorate shops was an extremely novel approach in Xiahai City at this time.

The designer of the storefront felt that the effect was very good, and they were impressed by Su Cen's boldness. Some of his ideas were far more avant-garde than their own; if Su Cen joined their industry, it would certainly bring out many valuable innovations.

Xiahai Cultural Products Expert First Branch instantly became a prominent landmark in that area because no one had seen such an aesthetically decorated cultural products store before. It introduced the concept of "professionalism" to people at this time.

The original small items from the storefront were sold at low prices, aiming to minimize losses and attract more customers.

From the decision-making stage through renovation to opening day, it took about twenty days. On the twentieth day, the branch opened for business with job postings displayed; seven or eight people came to apply, and the store owner's mother chose a woman in her thirties who seemed reliable.

The branch would return seventy percent of its future sales to Su Cen’s main store, and all labor costs, rent, and utilities for the branch would be borne by the main store.

Although this shop was formed from two storefronts combined and was not large, it could easily accommodate two people. However, Su Cen did not want Wang Ming to devote too much energy here. Everyone should have a task suited to their interests; otherwise, they would likely be driven by ideals.

Wang Ming wasn't suitable for formal education, as she rejected traditional schooling; even if you tried to cram knowledge into her head, it wouldn't work. However, this girl showed great enthusiasm and absorption when pursuing topics of interest: reading physics or chemistry textbooks would likely be unbearable for her, but if given books like "Journey to the West," her ability to absorb information was remarkable.

Currently, Wang Ming didn’t have specific goals, yet she trusted Su Cen implicitly and often followed his advice.

However, although the opening of the branch received praise, it wasn't attracting enough customers.

In general, since Cen He's main store started from Wangkai, it had not yet joined the municipal designated procurement units. Its daily turnover was five hundred yuan, and after joining the municipal designated procurement unit, business gradually improved from an average of five hundred yuan to an average of one thousand two hundred yuan, and now it has reached an average of two thousand yuan. This is already quite remarkable and marks the entry into a truly profitable golden age for stationery stores.

The branch store, however, bears the rent for two storefronts and personnel wages, requiring at least six hundred yuan in daily turnover to make a profit.

After a series of meticulous preparations before the branch store opened, its sales on the first day were only four hundred yuan!

This plunged Su Can's parents into deep despair.

The performance was even worse than one-fourth of the main store's. Moreover, this place had to cover rent and storefront expenses. Since the branch store opened, Su Licheng and Cen Ah had been closely monitoring its turnover. To them, this was still the biggest risk they had taken since opening their business; almost all of the money earned in the first half of the year had been invested into it. If the store didn't perform well or couldn't cover its expenses, closing down would be inevitable, which would amount to a huge failure.

Especially for Cen He who had previously failed in the clothing business, that kind of failure was an indelible mark on her life.

Now, she trusted her son most and pinned all her hopes on him running the branch store.

A few more days passed without any increase in sales; instead, they hit a historical low.

The confidence Wang Ming had in Su Can began to waver. Although she believed in Su Can's abilities, she couldn't help but feel anxious; on one hand, this was her hope for taking off.

Wang Ming's mother Zheng Yulan was already completely at a loss, initially believing Cen He when she said the location was good. However, given the current performance, she no longer felt confident speaking to Cen He.

In the evening, after Su Licheng had run around various affairs all day, he and Cen He sat on the sofa looking at Su Can, both sighing: "Son."

However, Su Can remained silent, offering no suggestions or opinions. He was merely waiting patiently.

The start of school for City No. 1 High School was on February 28th.

The city's Third Middle School had to advance the start of classes by four to five days due to early make-up lessons, setting the opening date for the 24th.

The day the Third Middle School officially started classes on the 24th, students entering in surprise discovered this eye-catching branch store.

Very early in the morning from half past six to seven o'clock, within just one hour, Zeng He received a call from Wang Ming: "Aunt Zeng, all six hundred exercise books and three hundred scratch pads have been sold out. Quickly send some over! We also need more pens, both fountain pens and ballpoint pens; the more the better! I'll hang up now as there are too many people!"

Zeng He urgently dispatched four hundred different types of exercise books from the main store to this branch store. Upon seeing the scene before him, he was dazzled by the sight, unable to comprehend why some supermarkets experience tragic stampedes if one has never witnessed such a spectacle.

Even after dispatching four hundred exercise books, it still fell short of demand; Zeng He immediately called several delivery points in the wholesale market for additional support.

The street gradually quieted down at around 8:40 AM when school started. Dust particles danced with sunlight on the clean streets.

Inside the store, it looked as if a robbery had taken place; many shelves were sparsely stocked with atomic pens, exercise books of various hardness levels, correction fluid, pencil sharpeners, and pencils—like being ravaged by an hungry dragon.

During the break between the first and second classes, the sparse condition was quickly replenished by five large boxes delivered promptly by the distribution center. It's likely that at this hour in all of Summer Sea City, no other store could match this level of frenzy.

After the second class ended, students who had heard about it poured into the branch store again to praise and admire some items inside.

In the evening, Qian carried home a large iron box full of money. Parents were counting the revenue from the Third Middle School branch on its opening day; it amounted to an astonishing ten thousand yuan overnight.

Looking at all the cash in that iron box, Zeng He and Su Licheng stared blankly at Su Can, their eyes vague as if they were in a dream.

The stars shone brightly outside. The light cast into the living room made the corners of Su Can's mouth appear with a faint cold hue, tinged with a Galadriel-like mystery: "Compared to what"and scarf for me. Can you give me an eight percent discount"After a while of discussing prices with the salesperson, Zeng Ke chuckled and patted Su Can's hair, "Handsome young man If you don't study h...