Chapter 14: The Little Rascal

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Wang Can managed to slip smoothly into the front passenger seat of the Mini because the long-legged beauty in the driver’s seat was none other than his secretary, Xia Kewei.

Chen Xiaobei had, in a sense, been conned out of a month’s worth of lunches by him.

“It’s not easy, you actually listened to me,” Wang Can said, his gaze slowly wandering over Xia Kewei. Today, she looked very youthful and distinctly Korean in style.

If she were cast in a Korean drama, she could easily play the lead without any sense of incongruity, and might even make viewers mistake her for a rising star.

Xia Kewei gripped the steering wheel, eyes fixed on the road ahead. “You threatened me with something as serious as marriage. What can a lowly secretary like me do?”

“Lowly? You’re not lowly at all,” Wang Can said with a meaningful smile.

Xia Kewei didn’t immediately understand his strange words until, at the red light, she turned to find Wang Can staring directly at her chest.

Her face flushed crimson. “If you keep looking, I’ll gouge your eyeballs out!”

“Come on, it won’t make any flesh fall off just to take a look.”

...

After about half an hour, Wang Can and Xia Kewei arrived at the wholesale market closest to Shenhai University.

The market was large and one of the main agricultural product wholesale markets in the northern part of Shenhai.

Although it was still lunchtime, the market was bustling with people. Wholesalers haggled at various stalls.

“Miss, looking to buy some meat?”

“Miss, we’ve got imported grain-fed beef, Australian M7 Wagyu. Want to take a look?”

“Citrus fruits, red ruby grapefruits are on sale!”

As Xia Kewei passed by, many stall owners greeted her with broad smiles.

As for Wang Can, no one asked him anything.

Soon, they followed the signs into the meat wholesale section, where a pungent mix of blood and freezing air hit them.

The concrete floor was damp and oily, with dark red stains near the drains.

Xia Kewei lightly covered her nose with her delicate fingers, her finely arched brows knitting together in displeasure—it was clear she disliked this place.

“Here, put this on. It’ll be more comfortable,” Wang Can said, pulling a neatly packaged medical mask from his pocket and handing it to her.

“You’re more thoughtful than I expected,” Xia Kewei said as she took it. Their fingers brushed briefly, the touch cool to the skin.

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Wang Can weaved through the meat section and finally stopped at a stall specializing in chicken.

Under the incandescent light, whole chickens hung, glossy and oily, and a faint raw meat odor filled the air.

All the stalls looked similar, so he had to ask prices one by one.

The first stall owner was lounging with his legs crossed, playing on his phone, his flip-flops gently swaying with his rhythm.

Seeing a customer pause, he immediately put down his phone and stood up, plastering on a professional smile. “Hey there, you buying wholesale? Our chickens are all fed with feed—very healthy!”

But when he saw Wang Can’s youthful, student-like face, his enthusiasm waned.

“What do you want? Look around yourself,” he said, lowering his rear back onto the stool.

This market didn’t forbid casual shoppers, and young people like Wang Can were common, mostly buying small amounts.

Wholesalers want volume; casual customers are just extra sales, so the enthusiasm wasn’t the same.

Wang Can didn’t mind and casually browsed the freezer.

Xia Kewei silently followed behind, quietly observing her boss’s behavior.

“Boss, are these chickens raised in-house or from partner farms? Do you have quarantine certificates and third-party inspection reports?” Wang Can asked casually.

The owner, still looking at his phone, replied dismissively, “All from our own farm, registered, don’t worry.”

Wang Can nodded and pulled out a piece of chicken breast from the freezer. “How much per jin for this chicken breast?”

The owner glanced sideways and said, “7 yuan per jin.”

Wang Can raised an eyebrow; that price was about the same as in supermarkets.

“What if I buy in bulk?” he asked.

“How much?” the owner asked casually.

“Starting at 200 tons,” Wang Can answered without hesitation.

“Pfft.”

The owner looked up and sneered, “Kid, if you want a discount, just say so. No need for these fancy words. Do you know what 200 tons means? A 9.6-meter refrigerated truck can hold 20 loads.”

“I’m not buying 200 tons all at once, it’s 200 tons over a whole year,” Wang Can explained.

“And that 200 tons is just chicken breast. I also need about 100 tons each of whole chickens, chicken wings, and drumsticks.”

Now not only did the stall owner think Wang Can was crazy, but Xia Kewei’s lips parted slightly in surprise.

She had been mentally prepared for some unexpected business ideas from Wang Can, but hearing these numbers made her question whether he misunderstood what a “ton” means.

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Before coming, she had done some homework.

Two hundred tons of chicken breast, plus 300 tons of other raw materials, would cost nearly 200,000 yuan in logistics just to transport within Shenhai City.

A typical chicken cutlet shop near an ordinary university consumes about 1.2 tons of raw materials monthly.

Even popular trendy shops, factoring in losses, consume at most 2.5 tons.

By this standard, Wang Can would need to operate more than twenty stores simultaneously to use up these materials in a year.

Shenhai was not lacking in chicken cutlet shops; with competition, it’s already impressive for a newcomer with no catering experience to keep one store running normally.

Running twenty or so stores bordered on fantasy.

The stall owner restrained himself from kicking Wang Can out immediately and, with the last bit of patience, asked, “Who’s responsible for transportation?”

“You are,” Wang Can said calmly. “If there’s any thawing or damage en route, you compensate me at 1.5 times the cost.”

“Do you have a deposit?”

“I’ll prepay you 20% every month, with the balance settled at month-end. The volume will be smaller in the first few months.”

“...”

After telling him to “get lost,” the stall owner angrily grabbed a broom at the doorway and chased Wang Can out of the stall as if swatting flies.

“I’ve been running this shop for years. I’ve heard plenty of bragging, but never seen anyone blow it this far! You little brat just here to mock me?”

The owner’s curses echoed through the entire market.

Xia Kewei was caught off guard and got dragged into the commotion. Her high heels slipped on the ground, and she staggered out in embarrassment.

It was the first time she felt so defeated, instantly tempted to quit.

A 20% deposit was among the lowest prepayment rates in the industry.

For a first-time collaboration involving cold-chain logistics and other high-cost factors, 50% would not be unreasonable.

If this stall owner had actually agreed to such absurd terms, she would have seriously questioned his sanity.

“What are you trying to do? Open a store in every university cafeteria in Shenhai?” Xia Kewei couldn’t hold back any longer. She felt she might lose her mind if this continued.

Wang Can shook his head lightly, brushing off broom dust from his jacket, and smiled as if nothing had happened:

“If I’m going to do it, I’m going big. A national chain is my goal.”