Chapter 7 - Finding A Shop

After lunch was over, the class was back to its normal session but Jiang Che's mind was occupied with the Milk Tea business and hardly paid attention to the class.

The other reason for not paying attention to the class was because the subject that was taught was English which he didn't need to study at all.

Having worked with many foreign clients in his previous life, Jiang Che could be said to have nearly perfect English—certainly better than the teacher, whose pronunciation was awkward and broken.

Rather than that, he was thinking about all the Bubble Tea recipes that he made in his previous life.

Despite being CEO in the later part of his life, he wasn't always one in his previous life.

He has also worked a lot of part-time jobs such as being Bubble tea barista at Gong Cha.

He didn't really think much about all those recipes that he learned in his previous life and never thought of them as valuable.

But who could have guessed that these recipes would be very helpful after he was reborn?

There were a lot of recipes loved by customers and he was going to use them to start his Milk Tea Business.

He quickly noted down all the recipes that he could remember while working as a Barista.

Having these recipes could be said to have half the success. He had the products ready to be sold.

Now, what he needs is a customer and a place to sell his product.

As for the customers, his first thoughts were directed towards his classmates. 

He could sell the first batch of products to these students, who would also help spread the word.

 

He was confident he could persuade his classmates to buy his milk tea and confident that they would like it.

The place he wanted to rent also needed to be close to his school. After all, he didn't want to waste time traveling, and having students as his customers meant setting up his shop near the school.

 Ding-ding-ding!

The school bell rang, signaling the end of the class.

Jiang Che immediately took off with Zhang Wei to survey a shop to rent around the school.

Xiao Yuxia at the same time wanted to speak with Jiang Che but when she looked for him, she found out that he had already left.

"Why did he leave so early?"

Xiao Yuxia couldn't help but wonder.

"Hmph! Must be embarrassed to be seen by you who rejected him."

Liu Yan said angrily. She still couldn't forget the humiliation that Jiang Che and Zhang Wei gave her in the morning.

Xiao Yuxia thought for a while and thought it made sense. She felt that Jiang Che must have avoided her because of the confession.

Meanwhile, Jiang Che and Zhang Wei were walking outside the school, with Zhang Wei following Jiang Che.

"Jiang Che, can you tell me just what business we are going to do?"

Zhang Wei asked. 

Although he agreed to give all his money to Jiang Che, he still needed to know just where he was going to waste his money.

"Sell Milk Tea!"

Jiang Che replied confidently.

Zhang Wei's heart sank when he heard Jiang Che's answer.

There were already several milk tea shops around the school.

How could Jiang Chen, who is just a student, be able to compete with them?

Besides, the Milk Tea shop could require time and energy to manage. 

How could they, who are going to take the College Entrance Exam, have that time and energy?

( Has Jiang Che already given up on going to university? )

Zhang Wei couldn't help but have such thoughts.

"Don't worry too much. I know this business will become a success."

Jiang Che said knowing that Zhang Wei has doubts in his heart.

Zhang Wei didn't know that he had many recipes for Milk Tea which other shops wouldn't be able to compete with.

He also didn't want to waste much time explaining everything to Zhang Wei and knew that he would find out very soon that this was a good idea.

His first Milk Tea was going to be Brown Sugar Bubble Tea which isn't complicated to make but is a timeless classic loved by many people.

He also knew how to make this perfectly and needn't worry about messing up the taste.

They turned a corner and Jiang Che stopped in front of a small shop nestled between a convenience store and a modest bookstore. 

The shopfront was simple, but there was potential. 

It was about 30 square meters with large glass windows that let in plenty of natural light. 

The location was perfect—it was directly across the street from the school gate and just a short walk from a popular park where students often hung out.

And it was for the rent, which was perfect.

Jiang Che stepped closer to the shop, inspecting the space. 

Inside, the floors were made of worn tiles, and the walls were bare, giving the space a run-down feel. However, it had high ceilings and good airflow. 

The back corner had an old sink and a utility closet, perfect for storage. 

The counter area could be easily converted into a serving station. 

It wasn't much, but it was good enough for their Milk Tea Shop.

Zhang Wei looked around with a skeptical expression. 

"This place doesn't look like much. Do you really want to rent this place?"

Jiang Che nodded.

The location alone was enough to draw in students who were looking for a quick snack or drink after class.

He walked over to an elderly man sitting outside a neighboring shop, enjoying a small bowl of noodles. 

"Hello, do you know the owner of this shop?"

The man looked up and smiled when he saw them approach.

"Are you interested in renting the shop?" 

He asked in a gravelly voice.

"Yes, we are!" 

Jiang Che replied with a confident smile.

The man scratched his chin thoughtfully. He seemed to be judging Jiang Chen who obviously wore a School Uniform and didn't seem like the typical person who would rent a shop.

"Well, I am the owner!"

"Really! What's the rent? If it is good, I will immediately rent the shop."

"It's a small place, but the rent's Yuan 1,000 per month. Not too expensive for a shop like this."

Jiang Che raised an eyebrow. 1,000 Yuan wasn't cheap, especially in 2008 for such a small shop.

However, he also understood that the reason why it was a bit expensive was because of the location, which is very good. 

"We'll take it." 

Jiang Che said.

The landlord was surprised but nodded. He didn't think that Jiang Che would actually rent his shop.

Anyway, the shop had been vacant for a month, so he was happy to finally have someone rent it.

Zhang Wei, still looking uncertain, spoke up. 

"Are you sure about this, Jiang Che? What if it doesn't work? We'll lose a lot of money."

Jiang Che gave him a reassuring look. 

"Trust me. This is just the first step. Once we get our foot in the door, we'll be able to grow. This shop is perfect—students will flock here, and we can sell our Milk Tea to those students."

Zhang Wei hesitated but nodded. He had no choice now—he didn't know much about the business anyway.

They handed over the deposit to the landlord and signed the contract.

"Alright, let's get to work," Jiang Che said with a grin. 

"It's time to turn this place into the next big thing."