I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

"What kind of store is this?"

Ji Chunfu was the first to speak, his eyes full of doubt.

This was the first time he had ever encountered something like this—a huge shop sign was placed in front of him, and he had no idea what the shop sold!

Yin Zhiqian also sighed with emotion: "Let alone what kind of store this is, I don't even know what the name of this store is."

As he spoke, he pointed to the enlarged characters on the signboard, asking, "Is this shop called 'A Huge Historical Opportunity'? Or 'Home is the Foundation'?"

"I guess it's called 'Home is the Foundation,' as 'Huge Historical Opportunity' has too many words," Ye Jintong offered her speculation from the side.

Ji Chunfu had a different opinion: "Judging from the font size, 'a tremendous historical opportunity' is larger; maybe it really will be called 'a tremendous historical opportunity'."

The three talked for a while, but their opinions differed, so they finally asked Shen Kang what he thought the shop should be called.

Shen Kang avoided answering.

"Why don't we just go in and ask?"

As he spoke, Shen Kang walked into the store.

The store is quite spacious, decorated in a forest-themed style with green and white as the main colors. Inside, tables and chairs are scattered irregularly. Further back is a counter with a large menu hanging from the ceiling. Beyond that, there is a doorway with a curtain, through which you can roughly see some kitchen facilities.

At first glance, it looks like a restaurant.

At this moment, there were no customers in the store, only a girl who looked like a shop assistant sitting at the counter deep inside.

Seeing someone enter, the girl stood up from behind the counter and called out, "Welcome!"

Shen Kang walked inside, came to the counter, and looked up at the menu above his head.

The menu features a variety of dishes: chicken breast and mashed potato salad, shrimp and mashed potato salad, slimming seaweed vegetarian salad, chicken breast and fruit salad...

A variety of salads, plus some fruit and vegetable juices.

Judging from the menu, it's a light meal shop. It's quite common in later generations, but in this day and age, it's considered niche and rare.

"Are you hungry? It's my treat."

Shen Kang turned around and asked.

Yin Zhiqian and the other two followed them in at this time.

Upon hearing that Shen Kang was treating, the three of them perked up and immediately gathered around the counter, ordering their food.

Not long after lunch, none of them were hungry, so they mainly ordered some drinks.

After the four of them finished ordering, Shen Kang originally wanted to chat with the female employee, but unexpectedly, she took on the role of chef and went to the back to prepare the food.

Shen Kang had no choice but to lead Yin Zhiqian and the others to a random table to sit down and wait for the food to be served.

"Not cheap at all, no wonder business doesn't look so good," Ye Jintong muttered to herself.

When they were ordering, they saw the prices on the menu; a salad could easily cost twenty or thirty yuan.

Currently, at the university canteens in Yangcheng, the fast food options generally cost around five or six yuan for one meat dish and two vegetable dishes, which is enough to make you feel good and full.

A salad here costs twenty or thirty yuan, and it only contains some chicken breast and some leafy greens, which is quite expensive.

"Indeed," Ji Chunfu chimed in. "If the boss hadn't treated me, I wouldn't have come here to eat."

Yin Zhiqian didn't care about any of that. Instead, he thought of something and asked, "Boss, are you thinking of subletting this place?"

Shen Kang admitted, "That's somewhat the idea."

Ye Jintong looked around again and said, "I think it's a good idea. This shop doesn't seem like it'll last long, so it should be easier to negotiate."...

The group chatted for a short while when someone came in through the door.

Shen Kang glanced at it habitually.

The newcomer was a man, around forty or fifty years old, somewhat thin, wearing a gray jacket, and looking rather disheveled. After entering, he looked around and then sat down at the table next to Shen Kang and his group.

Shen Kang didn't look at him anymore and continued chatting with Ye Jintong and the others.

After chatting for a short while, the man approached them, said "Hello, classmates," and then took out a pack of cigarettes and started offering them to Shen Kang and the others.

Shen Kang and the others, none of whom smoked, politely declined.

The man put away his cigarette and looked at Shen Kang: "Young man, I overheard something, and you're a boss?"

Shen Kang said, "I've done a little business."

The man then asked, "What do you think of my shop?"

Shen Kang glanced at him a couple more times. "Are you the owner of this shop?"

The man gave a vague answer, "I guess so." Then he smiled, quickly changing the subject and returning to the topic of the shop, "Young man, what do you think of my shop?"

Shen Kang said, "It's very good, especially the signboard, it's very impressive."

The man was overjoyed. "Really? You think so too? That signboard is the heart of my shop!"

As the man spoke, he pulled over a chair and sat down next to Shen Kang, essentially making room for him at the table.

Upon hearing that the man was the shop owner, Ji Chunfu immediately asked, "Boss, is your shop called 'Great Historical Opportunity' or 'Home is the Foundation'?"

He and Ye Jintong were arguing about this issue.

The man thought to himself, "These kids are supposed to be college students, and they can't even understand a sign. Of course, it's called 'Home is the Root.'"

Ye Jintong perked up. "See? I told you to call it 'home is the foundation'!"

Ji Chunfu was a little unwilling. "Boss, what does 'home is the origin' mean? Your store name is too strange. You might as well call it 'Great Historical Opportunity'."

The man thought to himself, "A college student who doesn't even know what 'family' means, how uncultured!" This also stirred a sense of superiority within him.

He then explained to them, "Family is the foundation, it's family culture. The reason our Chinese civilization has been able to continue uninterrupted for thousands of years is because of family culture. In fact, family culture has always been something that millions of people share, but no one has ever used a brand and a medium to spread this shared culture. I'm the first to try this, the first to turn the concept of family culture into a cultural product!"

"The core advantage of this cultural product is that family culture is something we all share, so it's easy to accept and naturally has broad appeal. I will also create more down-to-earth product content later to further enrich our family culture..."

The man spoke eloquently, completely absorbed in his own world.

Yin Zhiqian and the others listened.

Yin Zhiqian couldn't help but speak up, "Uncle, it seems like you're only focused on your 'family culture' concept, not your products at all?"

Having worked in the Beiming Community for a long time, Yin Zhiqian has gradually developed many business acumen.

To him, the man's business philosophy seemed somewhat unrealistic.

for example:

It's like they created the Beiming Community, which combines "social networking with secondhand goods," and at the same time, they also have a corresponding product—"If You Are the One."

This middle-aged man, however, only kept talking about how great the concept of "social + secondhand" was, without ever thinking about what kind of practical products could be made from it.

That's roughly the feeling.

Faced with Yin Zhiqian's skepticism, the man scoffed, believing that one couldn't reason with a summer insect about ice. "The product is just a vehicle, it's not important. As long as we uphold the family culture that emphasizes 'family is the foundation,' the product doesn't matter. Young man, in business, you must focus on the fundamentals, not get bogged down in these trivial details..."

After they had been talking for a while, the food was ready.

The female shop assistant brought over a tray with the drinks that Shen Kang and his group had ordered.

Seeing the man sitting over there, the female clerk quickened her pace and came over, deftly taking the drinks off the tray and placing them in front of the group. "Your drinks are ready, please enjoy."

After saying that, she tugged at the middle-aged man's clothes and lowered her voice, "Don't cause trouble, Dad."

She wanted to pull the middle-aged man away.

The middle-aged man shook her off, clearly displeased: "What do you mean by 'causing trouble'? I was discussing business models with this young boss!"

Shen Kang ordered a glass of vegetable juice.

At this moment, he held the vegetable juice in his hand, looked at the father and daughter, stood up, and said to the female shop assistant, "Excuse me, come over and chat for a bit? I have something I want to talk to you about."

The female shop assistant thought for a moment, then walked to the side with Shen Kang.

Shen Kang asked the first question: "I've been here before. I remember, your shop wasn't here then, was it newly opened?"

The female shop assistant shook her head: "It's been open for a while, it's not newly opened."

Shen Kang was quite puzzled. "Really? Your store's signboard is quite unique and memorable, but I clearly don't remember seeing it before."

When he came to Yangshi Normal School to scout the area, he didn't remember seeing this shop's sign. Otherwise, he certainly wouldn't have forgotten such a distinctive sign.

The female shop assistant looked a little embarrassed and said, "The signboard was indeed recently changed."

Shen Kang seemed thoughtful. "Did your dad change it?"

The female shop assistant nodded.

Shen Kang then asked, "Your dad said he's the owner of this shop, is that right?"

As he expected, the shop assistant shook her head. "No."

"So you're the boss?" Shen Kang asked again.

The female shop assistant shook her head again, "No, not exactly."

After chatting for a while, Shen Kang finally understood what was going on with this shop:

First, let's start with the female shop assistant in front of us.

The female shop assistant's name is Mu Xin, and she is a student at Yangshi Normal University.

Mu Xin also has a good friend named Su Wanwan.

This shop was opened by Su Wanwan. It wasn't originally called Jia Shi Ben, but rather "Pula Healthy Light Food".

However, this semester, Su Wanwan went abroad to study.

Su Wanwan took good care of Mu Xin, and instead of closing the shop, she let Mu Xin keep it open.

Currently, Su Wanwan is merely a nominal boss; the actual boss is Mu Xin. From purchasing goods to profits, everything goes to Mu Xin.

In essence, Su Wanwan gave this shop to Mu Xin.

Then, Mu Xin's father, the middle-aged man Mu Gang, came and gave the shop a new signboard.

That's the general outline of the matter. Mu Xin didn't tell Shen Kang many details, but it was enough for Shen Kang to understand the current situation.

"So that's how it is."

After hearing the whole story, Shen Kang got straight to the point: "It's like this. I'm planning to open a few shops near Yangshi Normal School. I think the location of your shop is quite good, and I'm also quite satisfied with the size. Plus, it seems like business isn't doing too well here. I was wondering if you'd be willing to sublet it to me?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Xin's heart stirred.

If it were before, she definitely wouldn't have been moved.

She understood that when Su Wanwan left, the reason she handed the shop over to her was to give her friend a "fishing gear" so that her good friend could have the opportunity to change her life—at least, to live a better life.

Therefore, Mu Xin would not be willing to transfer the store.

But it is different now.

Now that my father has come, I'm exhausted and increasingly losing confidence in running this shop well.

Rather than dying together, it would be better to just transfer ownership of the store.

After making money, I'll lie low for a while and get my father out of business. Then, I'll use that money to open another shop and start a business.

Of course, based on Mu Xin's understanding of her father, he might also be eyeing the money. But that's not a big problem.

The nominal owner of this shop is still Su Wanwan.

He could easily say that he gave the money to Su Wanwan.

Father doesn't know Su Wanwan, and Su Wanwan is abroad. Father has no way to find her, there's nothing he can do...

The more Mu Xin thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

She was almost about to agree.

But just then, a voice came from the side.

"No!"

It was Mu Xin's father, the middle-aged man Mu Gang.

He had been watching closely since he saw the shop owner pull his daughter aside, and had been listening intently. Therefore, he had overheard some things.

Looking at his daughter's expression now, he knew her best and immediately understood that Mu Xin was in love. Therefore, he immediately voiced his opposition.

"This shop is not for sale."

Mu Gang walked over, grabbed Mu Xin's arm, pulled her aside, and said in a low voice, "What did I tell you? Only by following my family's cultural values ​​can we find a way forward, right? Look, it hasn't been that long, and people are already interested in acquiring us!"

"You can't be foolish and let yourself be blinded by this small, immediate gain. This business has the potential to become a huge success! If you sell now, someone else will snatch up all the profits!"

After scolding his ignorant daughter, Mu Gang released Mu Xin's arm, turned to Shen Kang, and smiled, "Young boss, are you really interested in my family? Actually, there's no need to acquire it; we can totally cooperate!"

"I started Jia Shi Ben with the intention of franchising. Since the young boss is interested in Jia Shi Ben, he can definitely be our first franchisee! The young boss has a good eye. I dare say that in the future, Jia Shi Ben will definitely become the number one chain brand in China, even bigger than KFC's foundation!..."

Mu Gang launched into another long speech, describing the future of the family business as something unparalleled, and the current franchise opportunity as a once-in-a-lifetime chance, something one would regret for the rest of their life if they missed it.

Perhaps because "someone actually came to join," and his initial success was confirmed, Mu Gang's current speech was even more impassioned than before, and even his face was flushed with excitement.

Shen Kang was quite patient, listening to him while drinking his vegetable juice.

At the same time, they were also observing the father and daughter in front of them.

According to Mu Xin, Mu Gang actually had no connection with this store.

If Mu Xin wants to transfer the shares, Mu Gang has absolutely no legal grounds to stop her.

But in reality, it seems that's not the case.

Judging from Mu Xin's current expression, if Mu Gang really insists on stopping her from subletting, she probably won't sublet the shop to him.

There's precedent for this—Mu Gang had no connection to the shop, but he still managed to change the signboard of this light food shop to the way he wanted it.

It seems that to take over this store, we need to win over Mu Gang first...

Mu Gang launched into a long and eloquent speech.

After Mu Gang finished speaking, Shen Kang immediately shouted, "Great! It gets my blood pumping!"

Mu Gang was very pleased to see Shen Kang's support.

But the best was yet to come.

"Brother, I've thought of even more," Shen Kang said. "You said we need to inject more content into the family culture that emphasizes 'family is fundamental,' and I have a new idea—music!"

"Family culture + singing and dancing, is that a viable business opportunity?"

Before Mu Gang could even think, Shen Kang began to describe it to him: "We'll find some professional musicians to create songs on the theme of 'Home is the Foundation.' We'll sing them to customers when they come into the store, using music to further convey our 'Home is the Foundation' family culture. As everyone knows, the power of music to spread information is far more effective than empty words..."

Mu Gang's eyes suddenly lit up.

Yeah, family culture + singing and dancing, how come he didn't think of that? Great idea!

Shen Kang's ideas didn't stop there.

"In addition, I've summarized what you said, brother. Simply put, it's about using our family culture to attract traffic and then channeling it into the product. In the process, it also reinforces the spread of the family culture concept."

Mu Gang nodded repeatedly.

College students are definitely more educated. This young boss's short sentence perfectly encapsulated most of his thoughts!

Shen Kang continued, "However, a single store, especially one located in a school or on a commercial street, is destined to have a very limited reach and very low foot traffic."

As he spoke, he suddenly slapped his thigh, startling Mu Gang in front of him.

"But it's different with me around!"

"What a coincidence! I have a website with a lot of users. We can definitely cooperate. I can promote our company to the users on my website, so that even students who don't come to Yangshi Normal School or this street will know that our company is a university."

"What we lack is initial promotion. Now, by using my website to make up for that, we're sure a large number of students will come to us!"

"After all, in reality, who wouldn't want to come to our 'Home is Home' theme song and hear it?"

"And these students who came because of the initial promotion, because of the powerful influence of our family culture, will spontaneously promote our family culture and our family's strength to those around them. Then, one person tells two, two tell four, and it will become a viral, spontaneous promotion, completely exploding! Our customers will come to our door in an endless stream, practically breaking down our doorstep..."