Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1246 The most expensive item is the knife (Give +17 to Gentle and Refined)

Xiao Wei waved his hand and said, "You guys figure it out, I'm not getting involved in your business. Why don't you think about opening the shop in the city? The city should be much better than here, right? Besides, there are cake shops out there. I know of one, but it probably hasn't opened yet."

Zhang Dawei was stunned for a moment: "Really? I haven't heard anything about it. Where is it?"

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "I really don't know where it is, I didn't ask. Xiao Hui, do you know it?"

Chen Hui said, "It's those people from the county last time, right? Oh, it's here. I didn't know, I didn't ask. You can call Liu Xiaodong and ask."

Chen Hui took out his phone and called Liu Xiaodong.

"Xiaodong, where did those classmates of yours who said they'd open a cake shop go?"

"Southern Tomb. Is something the matter?"

"I know Nanfen. Where is Nanfen? My younger brother is thinking of opening a shop here. I'd like to ask about the location to avoid any overlap with other shops."

Liu Xiaodong thought for a moment and said, "Nanshan, Nanshan. That shop hasn't even opened yet, whether it can even open now is another question."

Xiao Wei asked, "What's wrong?"

Liu Xiaodong said, "Remember Zheng Xiaoqiu? He declared that he would contribute technology without paying a single penny, but the thing he made was completely useless. Don't even mention it. They had spent all their money on it, and he still pissed himself off, but he was still stubborn and insisted that it would work."

Xiao Wei asked, "So what happened next?"

Liu Xiaodong said, "I'm just hanging on, I still have classes anyway. I haven't had time to ask about it lately, and I was the one who took that money just now, so if it doesn't work out, I'll just consider it thrown away."

Xiao Wei said, "How much money did they invest? Never mind, just tell me where it is, I'll go take a look."

Liu Xiaodong said, "Where are you? Where are you? I told you to come looking for me, but even if I told you, you probably wouldn't be able to find me. I don't know either, I've never been there."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, I'm at Zhang Dahong Wholesale Shop, near the train station, in that newly built shopping mall."

Liu Xiaodong said, "Okay, okay, wait a minute, I'll have him come over right away. When are you coming back to the city? Will you stop by here for a bit?"

Xiao Wei said, "Come over if you need anything, otherwise it's fine. Xiao Hui and I are on leave from Kyoto."

Liu Xiaodong said, "Damn, it'll take a few more days to get here. Call me from the city."

Xiao Wei smiled and agreed, then hung up the phone and said to Zhang Dawei, "That shop hasn't opened yet. I'll have him come find us; we'll go check it out in a bit."

Zhang Dawei took a swig of Jianlibao (a popular Chinese soft drink) and pondered for a moment before asking, "Do you think I could just take over their business directly? I heard they say you can't get it done without the right skills, right?"

Xiao Wei said, "That's true. Let's go take a look first. If it's okay, we can talk. We're not strangers; we're Xiao Hong's classmate."

After waiting for more than forty minutes, Zhang Dahong returned, and Chen Degang and Liu Bin finally strolled in from outside: "Zhang Wei. Is Zhang Wei in this room?"

Yang Jing said, "Inside."

Chen Degang and Liu Bin went into the inner room. Xiao Wei said, "Where did you come from? It's been so long. Is the South Tomb really that big?"

Chen Degang laughed and said, "The southern cemetery is huge, bigger than you can imagine. When did you arrive?"

Liu Bin handed cigarettes to Xiao Wei and Chen Hui: "We're at the shop. We got the call and ran down here. It's about fourteen or fifteen miles from here. We have to wait for a bus. There aren't even any motorcycles running up there. We can only wait for a bus."

Xiao Wei asked, "What are you doing there?"

Liu Bin said, "Yes, I'll stay there. The dormitory is over there."

Chen Degang said, "Xiaodong said you wanted to visit our store."

Xiao Wei said, "I thought you guys had already opened your shops, so I came over to take a look. This is my younger brother, Zhang Dawei, from my third uncle's family. He also wants to open a cake shop, and I thought I'd check it out so we don't run into the same market."

Chen Degang clicked his tongue: "Don't even mention this cake shop, it makes me furious. I always thought it was great, but who knew Zheng Xiaoqiu was just bragging. We spent the money and got nothing, and then she was still stubborn, saying it could work. After all this, what the hell can it work?"

He only opened for one day, and even the smallest birthday cake took him hours to make. He was sweating profusely, and when the customer wasn't happy, he argued with them, resulting in the customer returning the cake. What's the point of opening a business then?

Xiao Wei said, "Partnerships are definitely something we need to think through carefully. We can't just jump in blindly; we need to understand everything first. So, what are you guys planning to do now?"

Chen Degang said, "He's locked up. Zheng Xiaoqiu said he could do it himself, and he'd owe us the money until he made it. It's not that he can't make it, but he has to be able to make it. I think it's unlikely. With his skills, he won't last more than a few days."

Liu Bin laughed and said, "A mysterious kind of confidence. If you paid him that much money, you'd be wasting your time. How could he possibly pay me back?"

Xiao Wei asked, "How much did you invest?"

Chen Degang said, "Actually, it wasn't that much. In total, it cost about 30,000 yuan. The machinery and equipment were all cheap. Zheng Xiaoqiu found someone from Wenzhou to buy second-hand equipment. The only expense was cleaning up the shop."

Xiao Wei stood up and said, "Let's go take a look."

A group of people came out of the house. Zhang Dahong didn't go; the six of them walked to the station square to board the bus. Fortunately, the tree-lined avenue was wide enough that they could squeeze in.

Liu Bin said, "Xiao Wei, you changed your car?"

Xiao Wei said, "No, this is the company car. My car is in Kyoto. I have to stay there for a year, until next May, then I'll drive the car over there."

Liu Bin said, "It's so damn good to be rich. I'd be happy with just one wheel in my life." Everyone laughed.

Following Chen Degang's directions, the car took a long detour to Nanshan. Actually, it might have been faster to walk from the train station, which is right across the railway. Driving would have been a longer and slower route.

The shop is right next to the school, right on the street. To the left is a row of shops selling restaurants and cosmetics, and across the street is another row of shops selling photo studios, hair salons, and wholesale stores.

Chen Degang opened the door and everyone went in. The counter and samples were all set up. The samples were a bit rough. The room was about 30 square meters in size, with a narrow operating room partitioned off.

Xiao Wei glanced at the work surface—the knives, nozzles, oven, and whisk—then looked at the prepared additives, clapped his hands, and shook his head: "Only the knives are okay; everything else is just a sham. This won't work; you can't make anything good with this. You've really wasted your money."

Chen Degang said, "Damn, the knife is the most expensive thing. This one costs over three hundred. You really can't get a second-hand one. Isn't this mouthpiece good enough? I see people from Wenzhou using this themselves."

Xiao Wei shook his head: "It's too coarse. The finished product will be shapeless and a waste of materials. Are you planning to only make butter?"

Chen Degang said, "Yes, it has to be cream; we can't afford fresh milk."

Xiao Wei glanced at Chen Degang: "Who said that? It's just one more freezer, everything else is the same, and the stuff made from it is more set than cream."

Liu Bin said, "He doesn't know anything. He just listens to Zheng Xiaoqiu for everything. Even Zheng Xiaoqiu herself doesn't understand it. I bet he's never even been in contact with fresh milk."

Chen Degang said, "Now you're showing off your skills? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Liu Bin grinned and said, "What good would it do if I said that? You'd have to listen anyway. Besides, wouldn't Zheng Xiaoqiu turn against me? You guys are so stubborn, why would I offend that person?"

Xiao Wei said, "All the equipment needs to be replaced. And there's a backyard too!"

(End of this chapter)