Chapter 76 Shushan

e recorded dialogue for the oral section was heavily colloquial, which might pose a challenge to everyone. However, for Su Cen, it was almost like listening to something he already understood. This wa...Chapter 76: Shushan Mountain

Wang Ming couldn't hold back his tears as soon as he stepped outside. A stream of tears flowed down. Su Can pulled at him and said, "Don’t cry. People who don’t understand us might think that I bullied you."

Wang Ming’s laughter turned to tears again; it was somewhat absurd for a little kid who looked like his younger brother to say he had been bullied by someone, but the rift with her family still left her feeling empty inside. She glanced at Su Can and sighed, "So you have to be nice to me."

A man nearby riding a bicycle immediately swerved upon hearing this sentence, crashing into a blue metal trash can by the roadside, causing him to fall over. He got up amidst laughter from the crowd and looked in astonishment at the brother-and-sister-like couple.

"Don’t be sad. Only people who care about you can make you feel sad. Those who don’t care aren’t worth your sadness." Su Can squeezed her hand; this delicate hand was different from Lin Luoran’s or Luo Fu’s because Wang Ming often did things, so her hands weren't as smooth and white as crystal. However, they were long and nimble, and holding them felt quite comfortable.

"Once we dreamed that everyone didn’t know each other. We awoke to find out how much we cared for one another. That’s like this dream now. We argue, misunderstand, and feel confused. But Auntie still cares about me; she just has a strong personality. Perhaps they can’t accept the path I’ve chosen. They think that what they want is best for me. Maybe it's also because I’m not a boy. If I were, they would let me strive, without worrying so much about finding a place for me."

Su Can smiled and said, "Therefore, you must use your own efforts to show them the results. In this very closed city of Xiahai, many people’s thoughts are rigidly fixed; just talking won’t convince them. They’ll think it’s just an unrealistic daydream. Only when they see real progress can we make them shut up."

"I hope so too. I wish your family was even bigger, with a store in the provincial capital of Rongcheng. Then I would be more at ease as this manager."

Su Can asked curiously, "Why are you set on our company Why not think about other larger companies or institutions"

Wang Ming stretched her body lightly and looked up at the setting sun. The ancient city’s buildings below the slope exuded a faint twilight; golden clouds like dragon scales rolled over the higher part of the bell tower, "Because you promised me back then that you would let me go far away from this city to a bigger world. I think your concept of a bigger world isn’t just opening a store in the provincial capital, otherwise maybe I’d be disappointed too."

It was time.

Su Cen sighed in relief, "Then there was a question I asked you before. You didn't answer me directly. Do you trust me"

Wang Ming was taken aback for a moment and then smiled sweetly. She held Su Cen's face in her hands and leaned forward to give him a gentle kiss on his forehead, looking like a neighbor girl. "Of course I believe you. Fool.

"Alright then, follow me back home now. I have something important to tell you." It seems this girl was thoroughly deceived by my fortune-telling act.

Wang Ming boarded the same bus as Su Cen back home and got off at their workplace's bus stop. When they reached the courtyard entrance, Su Cen smiled at Wang Ming and said, "Wait for me a moment."

Then he turned around and entered the compound to his house. Finally, he brought out a small bag and walked with Wang Ming into an open park next to their government office building, where he handed her the bag.

"What's inside this Oh!" Wang Ming opened the zipper of the bag, her hand trembled as she saw neatly stacked piles of cash inside. She was amazed and looked at Su Cen, "Where did you get so much money!"

"Trust me, don't ask where the money comes from. There are ten thousand yuan in this package. This is just our initial investment. Tomorrow go to the bank and open an account, deposit these funds into your account. You want to start a business, right Didn’t we discuss earlier about the best locations for setting up branches of our store And all those other things. As long as you like it, we can make deals."

Su Cen found that Wang Ming's eyes were staring at him as if he were an alien visitor.

Now was the time to lay down a heavy dose of truth. Ignoring Wang Ming’s shock, Su Cen continued, "My initial plan is to open five branches first; these ten thousand yuan will be used for registration capital. In this month, you should visit each of those stores. Of course, don’t let your mother or anyone else know about it. No third party can find out about this matter. Everything must proceed in secrecy, do you understand"

Wang Ming saw Su Cen speaking to her with such seriousness for the first time and nodded despite being more shocked than calm on the surface.

Su Cen then gave a rough overview of some precautions needed while setting up the business. Wang Yu had learned much from following his mother, so he knew many things already; besides, he was more experienced in certain aspects such as procurement channels. After expressing all his thoughts and handing over the package, Su Cen said, "Alright, I’ve told you what needs to be done. Now, if you have any questions that can be answered, I will try my best to answer them."

"Where did you get this money" Wang Ming was trembling when he heard his own voice. Ten thousand yuan was only used to open accounts and register the capital, but from Su Cen's tone, he could tell what it meant to lease five stores at once: as long as she liked a location, whether for rent or transfer fees, he would be confident in securing them all at once. Such ambition wasn't something that ten thousand yuan could achieve.

"It's from a huge embezzler, swindled money. Instead of letting him squander these ill-gotten gains on extravagance and luxury, why not let us build our foundation with it Haven’t you always wanted to leave this small city This is the first step towards the outside world."

Wang Ming didn't expect Su Cen to confide such a secret matter to her. When he heard him talk about their shared enterprise, from his calm tone, Wang Ming seemed to see the energy surging within his body. The heat of this energy even made her excited.

Hmm!

Wang Ming nodded heavily and glanced at him with lowered eyelids, "Sometimes I really wonder if there's another soul living inside your body."

In the following month, Wang Ming started running around. In fact, since becoming Zeng Ahui’s assistant, she had more freedom. Plus, her family also had shares in one of the stores, which was being run by her mother. Generally, when she wasn’t helping out at any of the three stores or investigating the supply market, she would spend a lot of time handling the affairs for the new shops, without arousing much suspicion.

Wang Ming found storefronts near several primary and secondary schools in Xiahai City; her family's Xiahai Cultural Supplies Store was located near both No. 1 Middle School and No. 3 High School. Next came No. 2 High School, No. 7 High School, as well as Waihai Middle School and Minzu Middle School, with one more store at the gate of No. 1 Primary School. She signed a year-long rental contract for all five shops; Su Cen prepared thirty thousand yuan to lease them outright and another fifteen thousand for renovations.

The renovation was handled by the same decoration company that had done their main shop, not because it was cheaper, but because they could do things efficiently without resorting to shoddy materials, even if such materials were used, they would be of good quality.

Su Cen thought about using this golden period for selling cultural supplies over the next year to make a large profit. He also wanted to clean up the funds from Liu Cheng through these branch stores; otherwise, investing so much money in one industry would expose flaws during the capital verification process.

A whole year could accomplish many things.

The operation of these five stationery shops was sure to activate Xiahai’s market, making the golden age for stationery even more feverish. But it would also quickly approach saturation. So within this year, how much success they could achieve remained to be seen with anticipation.

The brand name for the five stationery stores, "Shushan," wasn't inspired by Du Mu's "Fu on the Afang Palace." It was simply a tribute from Su Cen, as someone who has been reborn, to two works of literature: one is the groundbreaking novel "Jade Sword Saga" by Liang Yisheng, which laid the foundation for the future sect of flying sword cultivators.

The other work is the classic game "Sword and Fairy" from 1995 by Softstar Entertainment. Su Cen reminisces about the thrilling adventures atop Shushan Mountain in the game, staying up all night to break through the Locking Demon Tower. There was a simple yet passionate dedication to the game, believing that Li Xiaoyao and Zhao Ling’er would have an eternal journey together. The tears streaming down his face when Lin Yueer became a puppet, holding her daughter with a blank gaze in the final scene of clearing the game.

In later years, this simple dedication and pure heart were hard to find again.

This era is beautiful because there are many things yet to happen or currently happening. Being able to relive them as someone reborn and leaving one's mark on the stream of time sounds like a wonderful picture.

That, in itself, is happiness!

The opening of Shushan Stationery Chain would require a large amount of inventory since Su Cen plans to stick to retail rather than enterprise sales channels. The local wholesale market in Xiha isn't well-stocked with stationery suppliers yet; his mother's three stores probably account for around ten percent of the supply. These store owners know that Zeng A’s place sells better.

Wang Tan frequently interacts with these shipping companies and knows many of the bosses personally, so a large order would raise suspicion.

The local Xiha supplies seem unsuitable; he'd have to source from elsewhere. However, this would be too costly. Su Cen thought about two well-known stationery groups in his time: Chuang Guang and Deli. Chuang Guang hadn't emerged yet, but Deli was already a veteran brand with strong logistics support. As long as they had the capability, contacting them for direct supply shouldn’t be an issue.

Will update third chapter today, thanks brothers for your monthly votes! Recommended subscription! a focal point, with many people trying to find out their background.Some said that the man was the CEO of a high-level company in the city; others mentioned that Xiaohai City had a young deputy secre...