Chapter Three

Very soon, the reputation of his shop spread along the street, and every day, many people came just to pick out accessories from him. Coupled with the high foot traffic on this street, Xiao Tianci worked from dawn to dusk, making the most of his strengths in small business—he wasn’t afraid of hard work, he thought on his feet, and he paid attention to details. After just half a month, business was so booming that Xiao Tianci had no choice but to hire another person. Because of the long working hours, Ma Lan’s monthly salary rose to twelve hundred, and the newcomer received eleven hundred.

After two months of hard work, Xiao Tianci had made a tidy profit. During these two months, he also made those who sold mobile phones realize that small items could be quite lucrative. In this world, as long as you make money, someone is bound to target you—especially in such small trades.

At his best, Xiao Tianci’s daily sales approached five thousand, which would make any mobile phone seller weep, but for him, it translated to nearly forty-five hundred in pure profit. Over two months, after deducting all expenses, Xiao Tianci had netted more than one hundred sixty-five thousand. Now, as the new school term was about to begin, he encountered his first real headache.

When the time came to pay rent, Xiao Tianci wasn’t troubled by having to pay a year in advance; what vexed him was that the landlord wanted to raise the rent. He was so furious he nearly flipped the table—wasn’t it obvious the landlord was envious of his success? In the end, he restrained himself.

But in this situation, with his business just stabilizing, he couldn’t simply relocate. Even if he found another place, others already knew he was making money and might try to undermine him. With no other choice, Xiao Tianci paid six thousand five hundred per month for another three months. This time, when he offered to pay for half a year, the landlord refused. The frustration left Xiao Tianci sitting alone, anger simmering for half the day. Only after he calmed down did he reflect on himself.

Working for Tong Cong’s father’s company before, he had never lost his temper over performance or difficult clients; even the manager and colleagues admired his composure and self-restraint at such a young age. That night, he realized he still had a long way to go—once his own interests were truly at stake, he too would lose his cool.

But as the saying goes, a misfortune may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. This incident made Xiao Tianci aware that the crisis was already looming. As his business prospered, firstly, the landlord would keep increasing the rent—it would never go down, and all kinds of expenses would rise. Secondly, competitors would soon appear, and shops of similar size would inevitably draw away customers. Such profitable days would not last. If he didn’t act, the ending was all too predictable. That night, Xiao Tianci sat alone until dawn, unable to sleep.

The next day, Xiao Tianci made a bold decision.

Although the new school term had begun, the course load wasn’t heavy, and Xiao Tianci had always been gifted at his studies—he could usually get by with last-minute cramming. As for his relationship with the teachers, he got along with them very well. Being clever since childhood, he knew exactly how to make teachers turn a blind eye when needed.

So, he devoted most of his time to the shop. The same was true for Fatty, who hadn’t attended any classes since school started. His father simply pulled some strings, greeted the department head, and solved everything over a meal. Both of them were busy, so much so that they didn’t even have time to meet for a meal, a drink, or a chat.

After some thought, Xiao Tianci devised a new plan: the first step was to open another similar shop nearby. Since the entire street was a commercial area with clusters of mobile phone stores, he aimed for a location similar to his current one, but not too close. He would use the same décor, the same name, and the same marketing strategies to create a small brand image along the street. This would also allow him to purchase stock at better prices and force latecomers to increase their investment. The sooner he implemented this plan, the better. The second step was to open one or two more stores elsewhere in the city. On the surface, it seemed he was creating his own competition, but Xiao Tianci knew that if he didn’t do it himself and just hoped others wouldn’t snatch his business, he’d only be waiting for disaster. If he took action, at least the hope lay in his own hands. Between the two, he preferred to place his hope in himself.

Doing this meant he would have to loosen his grip on the first shop—a highly sensitive issue. So he began planning for the new store nearby, while training Ma Lan to manage it, and hired another employee.

Ma Lan was eloquent, yet gave off a down-to-earth and trustworthy impression. She was quick-witted and had the makings of a great customer service person. Neat and unassuming, she was soon tasked with handling money and management. Within a week, she was already up to speed. Xiao Tianci could now gradually let go and focus on opening other stores.

With the experience from the first shop, the second, third, and fourth shops were quickly established. The two shops on this street alone were bringing in nearly six thousand in daily revenue.

Not even two weeks after the opening of Xiao Tianci’s fourth shop, a competitor emerged with the same idea. A sizable mobile phone repair shop took over a location directly facing one of Xiao Tianci’s shops—a space nearly twice the size of his two shops combined.

Xiao Tianci knew that a real opponent had arrived.

Now, Xiao Tianci mainly handled procurement, accounting, and oversight for the two shops on the street; the other two, though still in the same city, were a half-hour drive away, traffic permitting.

Because the main threat loomed over the two shops with the highest turnover, he focused most of his attention there.

The first shop—now managed by Ma Lan—was the most profitable of the four, thanks in no small part to her efforts. Her basic monthly salary was now sixteen hundred, plus bonuses at the end of each month. Because he had prepared in advance, the appearance of a competitor across the street didn’t affect Xiao Tianci as much as it could have. Of course, turnover had noticeably declined.

“Boss, here are the sales figures for the past few days,” Ma Lan said. It was midday—business was slow because of the heat, and though the shop was more famous now and turnover higher than before, rent and other expenses were mounting. To better compete, they’d even installed air conditioning, which added considerably to monthly costs.

Ma Lan pointed to the recent accounts, and Xiao Tianci nodded in approval. She was meticulous—not with the practiced detail of experience, but from genuine care. She had calculated the recent decline, how much it differed from previous averages, and written it all out. A chart would have made it even clearer, but Xiao Tianci was already very satisfied.

“Not bad, much better than the other shops,” he said. Ma Lan, a little nervous—perhaps because it was her first time in charge—relaxed at his words. He remembered her cautious demeanor at first, worried about making mistakes, but it was that very caution that helped her learn quickly and avoid major blunders.

Hearing his praise, Ma Lan let out a breath and glanced at the shop diagonally across the street. “Don’t worry, boss. I’ve done the math. We’re still making money, but with their place being so big, so many staff, and such fancy renovations, they’re definitely losing money. I don’t think they’ll last long.”

Xiao Tianci smiled at her words—she was loyal to her own. But he didn’t tell Ma Lan that things weren’t as simple as she imagined. Newcomers to the trade often operated at a loss at first.

And the other side had deep pockets—they could throw money around to crush the opposition. So far, they hadn’t made any real moves. If the competitor could afford to lose ten while he lost only one, it would still be enough to destroy him.

(Today I’m a bit under the weather, feeling dizzy with a cold. I’ll continue updating tomorrow morning. Thank you all for your support.)