"Wenxiu, according to Xiaoyu's suggestion, our capital isn't a problem, but can this specialized river snail business work?"
"You seemed quite interested earlier, why are you asking me now?"
"Mainly, I don't have much confidence in it. It seems feasible, but what if it fails?"
"If it fails, it fails. We're investing around 10,000 yuan at most, and we can afford that."
"True."
Chen Simian couldn't help but smile. "I never expected that this kid, Xiaoyu, would come up with such a good idea."
"True, but you don't need to consider who came up with it."
"Yeah, yeah, it was you. However, Wenxiu, have you noticed that Xiaoyu is different from before?"
"Different? How so? He seems the same to me."
"I can't quite put my finger on it, but I feel like Xiaoyu is more thoughtful and mature now."
"Well, that's a good thing. Come on, let's go. I'm going to buy a few pounds of river snails."
"What? Why are you buying river snails?"
"Why else? We're going to sell river snails, so I'm going to experiment with a few recipes."
Zhang Wenxiu was impatient, and she didn't even wash the dishes. She was ready to buy several pounds of river snails to experiment with at home.
...
"Feels great."
After waking up from a nap, Chen Yu stretched lazily.
He hadn't slept well in the internet café for the past few days, but now he had slept soundly at home and even into the evening.
"Hmm, what's that smell? It's so fragrant."
A pleasant aroma wafted into the room, and Chen Yu stepped out of his bedroom.
He saw his mom carrying several plates of river snails to the table. Without a word, Chen Yu grabbed one.
Sucking sound.
Chen Yu was an expert at eating river snails; he didn't even need toothpicks. With a single suction, he extracted the meat from the snail.
"You should wear gloves, you know? Instead, you're using your hands to grab them. Put on some gloves quickly."
"Alright."
Chen Yu put on gloves and continued to eat several more.
"So, how does it taste? Delicious?"
"Delicious, incredibly delicious."
"You can sell a bowl for 3 yuan."
"More than 3 yuan, Mom. I think people would pay 5 yuan for it."
"You're exaggerating."
Even though she said that, Zhang Wenxiu was clearly delighted.
"Hey, Mom, why are there so many bowls of river snails?"
"These seem to have a different flavor."
"Let me taste."
After finishing a bowl, Chen Yu understood. "Mom, you've made multiple flavors of river snails."
"I thought you wouldn't notice."
"Mom, this one seems to be garlic-flavored, this one is thirteen-spiced, and wow, there's a spicy one..."
"Mom, you're a genius."
In one go, Zhang Wenxiu actually made five different flavors of river snails.
"It's your sharp taste buds, you even identified all the flavors."
"Hehe, I'm a well-known foodie; there's no way I wouldn't be able to tell. Mom, let's get started quickly and open the shop now."
"Step aside, you think opening a shop is that easy? We not only need to secure our raw materials but also find the right storefront."
"Raw materials are easy; river snails are readily available for wholesale now, and the process of stir-frying river snails is relatively simple. We don't need large kitchen equipment. When the time comes, we can stir-fry several dozen pounds at once, which is easier than opening a regular restaurant. As for the storefront, it's easy to find too. Mom, I think the location next to Guoguang Supermarket is nice."
"Next to Guoguang? That's right in the town center, and the rent there is very expensive, we can't afford it."
"Mom, we won't know if we can't afford it until we check it out. Come on, I'll take you for a look. Maybe we'll find a suitable place."
"We haven't even started yet; why are you in such a hurry?"
"Sooner or later, we'll need a place, so it's better to look now. If there's a suitable storefront, it could be taken by someone else later, and that would be troublesome."
"Well, I'll ask your dad about it."
Although in a hurry, both were excited. They decided to take advantage of the evening and look around to see if they could find a suitable storefront.
Unfortunately, after searching, they found storefronts, but the rent was quite expensive.
"Xiaoyu, I think we should check the area near Tongyi Market. The rent here is too high."
Looking at the high rents that were often in the thousands, Zhang Wenxiu was frightened.
"Mom, Tongyi Market is just a vegetable market. There are only people in the morning, and very few in the evening. Moreover, the purchasing power there is not good. Even if the rent is cheap, it's not suitable for us."
"But the rent here is too expensive."
"It's expensive for a reason. Hey, isn't there a place for rent over there?"
Pointing ahead, Chen Yu said.
"Let's take a look."
The three of them approached, but Zhang Wenxiu quickly said, "No, it's too small, it seems to be only about ten square meters."
"It is indeed quite small. A place this small, even with a few tables, would probably be crowded, and it wouldn't be good for business."
Chen Simian also said.
However, Chen Yu carefully examined the storefront and then said, "Mom, I think this place will do."
"Will do?"
Zhang Wenxiu shook her head. "It's so small. How can we run a business here?"
"Mom, don't let its size fool you, but it's in a great location."
Chen Yu explained to Zhang Wenxiu, "Look, it's near Guoguang Shopping Center, and there's a lot of foot traffic here."
"That's the first thing, and secondly, this street has vendors selling spicy skewers, stinky tofu, milk tea, cold noodles, and many other snacks. It's a typical snack street. If we open our shop here, we won't have to worry about customers."
"But this place is still too small."
What Chen Yu said made sense to Zhang Wenxiu, but she was still concerned about the small size of the place.
"It's small, but not too small. Mom, you see, this place may be small, but its storefront width is 5 meters, while other storefronts are at most 3 meters. The wider the storefront, the more noticeable it is. Besides, although the depth of this shop is only about three meters, the front door opens up to a piece of open cement space. Mom, think about it, in the evening, can't we place tables on that cement space?"
With that said, both Zhang Wenxiu and Chen Simian carefully examined the storefront.
As Chen Yu had mentioned, the shop was small, but the cement space in front of it was quite large.
Unlike the future, where setting up stalls freely would result in fines, regulations were stricter now. Not to mention having a shop, even the many people who hadn't rented storefronts could easily set up stalls and kiosks wherever they liked.
If they could utilize this cement space in front of the shop, there was definitely potential for their business.
"Wenxiu, I checked it out, and this cement space is quite large. We can set up several tables. Plus, for snacks like eating river snails, people prefer to dine outside. Eating inside just doesn't have the same feel."
Chen Simian added his thoughts.
"That's right. Nowadays, who likes to eat late-night snacks inside a shop? They all prefer to eat outside, enjoying river snails while looking at the stars, the moon, or beautiful girls... I mean, Dad is right, anyway, it's just that eating outside has a different feel."
"Xiaoyu, you're a high school student now; you can't indulge in random thoughts."
Zhang Wenxiu scolded Chen Yu.
"I know, I know, I was just talking casually. But, Mom, there's one more important point. Because this shop is small, its rent definitely won't be too high."
"Alright, I'll ask. Lao Chen, call the landlord quickly."
It was the year 2001, and mobile phones weren't as common as they would be in the future.
Even at home, only Chen Simian had a Nokia blue screen mobile phone.
It was called a blue screen mobile phone, but it was essentially a black and white phone with no color screen.
Of course, even blue screen phones were not necessarily found in every household.
"It seems like I'll need to develop smartphones someday."
Thinking about smartphones from the future, Chen Yu had an itch in his hand.