pjbooks Chapter 92 [Have a Conscience]
Chapter 92 [Have a Conscience]
Chapter 92 [Have a Conscience] (I've been discharged from the hospital, and I should be able to resume updating twice a day starting tomorrow)
Some people have enough money to buy a shop, but they still prefer to set up a stall on the roadside. There's a reason why they're constantly being chased by the urban management officers.
The operating costs of setting up a stall are extremely low.
Once you start planning to open a store, from the greeter, waiter, supervisor, and lobby manager, to the cutting board in the kitchen...
From preparing the food and cooking to making pastries, and from a stable supplier system to a dedicated, professional filming team that he had long planned to build up in the future—
All of this added up—
"We need a team of nearly fifty to one hundred people, both online and offline," Liu Zhuohao murmured. This time, the recruitment needs were far greater than the previous one or two people.
But they are all necessary.
Store maintenance personnel are necessary, and a filming team is also essential.
This filming team is not just working for themselves.
This only covers labor costs.
Shop rent, basic maintenance of kitchen equipment, more complete permits and licenses, utilities (water, electricity, gas) and other miscellaneous property-related expenses —
Compared to setting up a street stall, opening a shop involves a wider range of areas.
Moreover, this amount will increase depending on the scale of the business you want to operate. A noodle shop of about ten square meters is considered to have a storefront.
Over 100 square meters, exquisitely decorated, with a head chef in charge—this is what you call having a shop.
Liu Zhuohao undoubtedly chose the latter.
Moreover, he doesn't plan to open a single-recipe restaurant like "pickled fish", "braised chicken", or "hot pot", but rather an affordable family restaurant with a variety of menu options.
Pan-fried, stir-fried, boiled, roasted, deep-fried —
Ideally, he would have all of these, which is why he has been searching for more reliable, stable, and secure suppliers.
"Buzzing"
The phone on the table suddenly vibrated, and the screen lit up. It was a message from Chen Youyin's niece, Chen Min: "Boss Liu, are you resting?"
"My uncle said that the cooperation talks went quite smoothly today. Considering that those two people are from a big city like Shanghai, and it's a rare opportunity for them to come all this way, shouldn't we, as the hosts, show them around the area and let them learn about the local customs? This would make future cooperation and communication smoother."
"If you're free, would you like to come along? You know them better."
The reasons given for sending the message were very valid.
Almost the instant he saw the message, Liu Zhuohao's mind involuntarily flashed back to the evening when they parted, to Chen Youyin's overly enthusiastic smile, his meaningful admonition that "you young people should chat more," and Chen Min's scrutinizing gaze when she looked over after hearing those words.
He wasn't unaware of the implications.
It's quite common for prominent businessmen in small towns to show favor to promising young people, sometimes even with more personal expectations in mind.
Of course, there is also a considerable possibility that he is overthinking things, and the other party is simply being polite.
But whatever the truth may be—
Liu Zhuohao picked up his phone, his thumb hovering over the 9-key keypad.
"Excuse me."
His fingers stopped typing as soon as he finished typing those four words.
Refuse.
Of course he wanted to refuse; he had a mountain of work piling up on his mind like a small mountain pressing down on him.
The video needs to be uploaded tomorrow, everyone on the team has their own things to do, and future plans need to be clarified. How could he possibly have the leisure to act as a tour guide?
Even in order to maintain important partnerships, he felt his energy was running low at this moment.
However, after his fingertip lingered on the glowing screen for a few seconds, the sentence "I'm sorry, I've had other things to take care of these past few days" was left unfinished.
Liu Zhuohao closed his eyes, then opened them again a few seconds later.
My finger fell, deleting those four words.
Re-enter: "Okay, Ms. Chen."
"Approximately what time and where should we meet? I'll arrange the time."
send.
As November approaches, the weather is gradually getting cooler and a slight breeze is beginning to blow.
But it was still a temperature that tourists from other places could not imagine.
Following behind Liu Zhuohao and Chen Min, who were leading the way, Wu Ya and his companion walked through the crisscrossing alleys of the old city. They couldn't help but wipe the thin layer of sweat from their foreheads with their sleeves: "This weather—in other places, we should be wearing autumn clothes or even cotton-padded coats by November."
Hearing this, Chen Min, who was walking in front, turned around and smiled, replying, "We don't have thermal underwear here."
Compared to the smart beige suit she wore for a business occasion yesterday, she changed into a light apricot-colored long dress today, with a thin knitted cardigan over it. Her long hair was loosely tied back, revealing her smooth forehead and slender neck.
Her good health, nurtured by a privileged family background since childhood, made her skin appear fair and delicate even in the dappled light and shadow of the alleyway.
In this old street full of local flavor, she stands out.
"Don't even mention November."
Her tone was light and cheerful: "Even in December, you can often see people wearing short sleeves on the street."
"Winter often arrives here overnight; it gets cold very quickly."
"In most years, the concept of autumn is very vague."
As she spoke, she stopped and gestured for everyone to look at an ancient temple with upturned eaves and wafting incense smoke not far away.
"We have many temples here." Chen Min's voice softened as she skillfully introduced her hometown. "Some of the deities enshrined inside are renowned figures who have left their mark on history, and many are our local ancestors."
"And some are deities from various regions, such as the Heavenly Emperor, the Moon Goddess, and the Three Mountain Kings—"
She paused, her gaze sweeping over the faint outlines of other buildings visible deeper in the alley, and added, "Of course, there are also Buddhist temples and Taoist temples. We have preserved these traditional cultures quite well here."
Liu Zhuohao followed without disturbing them, listening to the introduction like a crow and a fat cat.
He didn't know the history of these temples.
Even though he is a local.
"Boss Liu should know about this too, right?"
Chen Min suddenly chimed in, looking over, "After all, the people here have worship activities almost every month, either worshipping the moon or the Earth God or something like that."
"I don't know much," Liu Zhuohao replied casually, his tone indifferent. "Most of this is handled by my family; I don't know anything about it."
He was about to say, "I don't really participate much," but before he could finish, he was interrupted by a hesitant yet delighted voice from the side.
"Wait, you are—Boss Liu?"
Liu Zhuohao and his three companions were waiting at a traffic light intersection when a slightly hunched middle-aged man who looked to be around fifty years old approached them, scrutinizing them closely with an excited expression on his face.
"————Huh? Oh, hello, hello." Liu Zhuohao seemed to be stunned for a moment, then gave a slightly awkward but polite smile and subconsciously extended his hand.
The middle-aged man warmly shook his hand, his voice not low: "Boss Liu, when is your shop opening? I'll definitely come to support you!"
"That cafeteria idea you mentioned in the news yesterday was fantastic!"
"My son goes to the high school near the bridge. He often complains about how bad the cafeteria food is when he comes home on weekends. I've complained to him several times, but it's no use —"
He talked on and on, his words filled with support and expectation.
Liu Zhuohao turned his head somewhat helplessly, first giving Crow, Fat Cat, and Chen Min an apologetic look, before patiently explaining to the middle-aged man, "Thank you for your support, thank you very much."
"However, the cafeteria thing is really just an idea, a thought, at the moment."
"I haven't even opened my own shop yet; I have to take it one step at a time."
"I know, that's why I support you opening the shop!" The middle-aged man's logic was clear. "Since you said you're setting up the shop to meet the standards of a future school cafeteria, we parents definitely need to keep a close eye on food safety, portion sizes, and taste, right?"
"Of course, your supervision is welcome, absolutely necessary." Liu Zhuohao nodded without hesitation.
The two were talking quite loudly, attracting the attention of other pedestrians waiting at the red light. An elderly man with somewhat cloudy eyes, leaning on a cane, squinted at them and suddenly said, "Oh! You are—that small business owner who was commended on the news last night?"
He recognized him.
Then, an older woman carrying a shopping basket spoke up: "Young man, if you're going to run a canteen, you have to have a conscience. It's for children to eat, you can't make money against your conscience."
"Of course, of course!" Liu Zhuohao immediately turned to the aunt, his attitude sincere, "Auntie, don't worry, to be honest, if my family were better off, I would be a college student now."
I know exactly what kind of money I should earn and what kind of money I shouldn't earn.
"I won't be careless with the children's meals."
After saying that, the older woman nodded in satisfaction.
"I'll definitely patronize your shop when it opens!"
"If you young people are willing to do something practical, we old neighbors are also willing to contribute."
"When are you really going to set up a cafeteria? Which school are you planning to try it out at?"
Questions came one after another, and more and more people gathered around.
There were elderly people in their sixties and seventies, as well as young couples in their twenties and thirties.
If you talk to them about Weibo's trending topics or Bilibili's rankings, most of them will probably be completely clueless, or even have never heard of them before.
But local TV stations' evening news is a different story.
It's not 25 years ago, when televisions were basically unused.
It's only been 14 years now. Although the Internet has gradually become more widespread with the advent of smartphones, it's not to the point where everyone has a mobile phone and watches it from morning till night.
Television is still something many people are willing to use.
Local news channels are a habit many people have grown up with; they have to have a TV on while eating or drinking tea in the evening, whether they want to watch it or not, there has to be some sound.
Liu Zhuohao's young yet composed face, along with his speech that set him up as a role model and envisioned the future, were imprinted in the minds of many people through this most traditional yet most deeply resonant way with local families.
It seems that he is no longer just a blogger with some online fame, but has become a local young man in the eyes of his neighbors who has "appeared on TV", "has ideas", and "dares to do things".
Surrounded by the crowd, Liu Zhuohao finally managed to bow and bid farewell to his enthusiastic neighbors.
He had just turned around and given the three crows who had been waiting by the roadside a helpless and slightly tired smile when, after taking a few steps, he was surrounded by another group of citizens who recognized him at the next alley entrance.
Their questions were all similar; they either asked when the store would open.
Either remind yourself that running a cafeteria requires a conscience!
Liu Zhuohao showed no sign of annoyance, maintaining a sincere smile as he patiently answered again and again. His attitude was humble, but his promises were clear.
"Yes, yes, thank you so much for your concern and support! I'm still young, and there are bound to be things I haven't considered. What I need most is your encouragement and guidance."
"It's impossible to please everyone, and I dare not say that I can satisfy everyone, but I will definitely listen carefully to the opinions of the majority. If it's convenient for you, you can also follow my Weibo or Bilibili account. Feel free to leave a message with any thoughts you may have."
"Uncle, your keypad phone probably can't install this software. Here, I'll write you a note with the account name on it. You can ask your child or grandchildren to help you follow it. If you have any suggestions, just let them tell me in the comments or via private message."
His words were earnest, and his posture was extremely humble.
He didn't look like a businessman eager to make money; he seemed more like someone who went deep into the grassroots, listened to public opinion, and actively sought support.
The original plan to take two out-of-town guests to experience the local culture completely changed its course.
Liu Zhuohao became a mobile focal point, with greetings and instructions following him wherever he went.
Crow, Fat Cat, and Chen Min were completely relegated to the background; while he was surrounded by the crowd, they could only wait patiently on the sidelines.
"This is quite a spectacle—"
The crow stared in disbelief and whispered to the fat cat, "Isn't this a bit too much? It's even more lively than some small fan meetings."
His tone was filled with disbelief, but deep in his eyes, there was a hint of undisguised envy.
This feeling of being genuinely recognized and surrounded by enthusiasm from the general public is a profound sense of satisfaction that no amount of online data can bring.
"The nature is different." Fat Cat shook his head, expressing the same sentiment. He saw things more clearly. "I've seen those popular celebrities being greeted at the airport in Shanghai before. The fans were even crazier, but that kind of fervor—it's very illusory. They're after that face and the persona they've created."
"Boss Liu's is different."
He paused, searching for the right words: "These people aren't fans, they're more like—supporters, I mean, a bit like those politicians in other countries asking for votes on the street."
"It seems that Boss Liu has quite a big ambition."
The crow listened and nodded with deep feeling.
From the moment he added the other person as a QQ friend, he felt that their temperament was completely different from other bloggers.
Clearly, this is no longer just about being a businessman or an online blogger.
Perhaps, Liu Zhuohao's current status and position still fall into one of these two categories.
But his actions clearly showed others that his heart was set on more than just that.
Unlike before, Chen Min didn't always respond appropriately to what the two were saying.
She simply stood there silently, her gaze lingering on the composed and sincere young figure in the crowd.
The planned itinerary of exploring the old town and then sampling local specialty raw marinated shrimp and crab is obviously no longer possible.
At this rate, they will find it impossible to make any progress.
Amidst a chorus of regret and admonitions, Liu Zhuohao could only apologize repeatedly. Then, finding a moment to bid farewell to Crow, Fat Cat, and Chen Min, he left first.
As he left, he could still hear several elderly men and women waving and reminding him, "Young man, remember to have a conscience!"