Chapter Forty: A Summary of Recent Gains from Street Vending

It seemed he was determined to help Chen Zhou verify some intelligence.

When Tony came over to buy steamed buns in the evening, he made a point of grumbling to Chen Zhou about his long-standing feud with the breakfast shop next door.

"Brother, you should really pick a spot in these storefronts when you open your shop, just so you can squeeze that breakfast place out of business."

Chen Zhou laughed. "No need for that. I sell at night, they sell in the morning; our businesses don't really overlap."

Tony rolled his eyes. "You don't know them. That family is insufferable. I have to hang my towels out to dry during the day, but every time they take out the trash, they nudge the bin a little closer to my side."

...I know, you two have already argued about that.

Chen Zhou looked at the positioning of the breakfast shop and the barbershop. He suddenly realized the situation wasn't as simple as he had thought. First of all, there was a fair distance between the trash bin and the shop fronts, which didn't really affect business. Secondly...

Chen Zhou said to Tony, "You two aren't even right next to each other, aren't you separated by Boss Meng’s tobacco and liquor store?"

To his surprise, this made Tony even angrier. "I secretly drew a line right in the middle of that tobacco shop. If I hadn't noticed early, he would have pushed it all the way to my doorstep by now."

Chen Zhou could only offer a suggestion: "Push it back then."

...

Because Ms. Lin had been coming over to help for the past few days while still working her day job, Chen Zhou hadn't asked her to come today since his business had returned to normal levels.

Of course, this meant Taotao missed out on a chance to ride the little electric scooter. Once they got home, the little girl started acting spoiled, wriggling into his arms.

"Daddy, you must remember to call me next time."

Does Chen Taotao like riding the electric scooter? She probably does; she seemed very excited the first two times, but she likely just wants to be with her father. Looking at his daughter in his arms, Chen Zhou felt even more aggrieved than she did.

"It seems I'm on the path to understanding Old Zhang and becoming Old Zhang myself."

The family chatted, laughed, and teased the cat, enjoying some quality time together.

His wife remembered when payday was better than he did, so she reminded Chen Zhou that it was time to check in at the company. Chen Zhou nodded. "I know, the girl in HR mentioned it to me today as well."

Lin Yifan was no stranger to the "little junior sister." Since Chen Zhou and Lin Yifan were classmates, Ms. Lin was naturally also a senior to Zhao Yilin. They had even met during company dinners. Lin Yifan recalled and said, "Oh, that little girl? The one you all call 'Little Junior Sister'?"

Chen Zhou laughed. "That’s her, the little unlucky one. The colleagues in the administrative departments are all connected to the higher-ups, so they push all the work onto her."

"Well... that certainly builds character." Ms. Lin didn't know what else to say, so she casually added, "I remember she’s not from around here, just renting a place by herself."

Chen Zhou was puzzled. "How did you know that?"

Ms. Lin gave a faint smile. "You were drunk that night; you don't remember."

His wife wasn't a socialite, but she was usually fine chatting with his colleagues at dinners. However, Chen Zhou truly had no memory of it.

Lin Yifan smiled as she recalled, "She drank that night too, and almost called me 'Mom'."

That dinner... that was three or four years ago, shortly after Chen Taotao was born. Influenced by hormonal changes during the lactation period, Ms. Lin had indeed radiated an unusual maternal glow back then. Chen Zhou could roughly understand why the little junior sister was willing to help him. Beyond their own rapport at the company, there was this strange, tangled connection involved.

"You weren't drinking that day, were you?" Lin Yifan frowned. "I usually don't drink... why do you ask?"

Chen Zhou shrugged. "Just making conversation."

There are days when a husband and wife need small talk to maintain their bond.

After putting the child to sleep, the two talked about opening the shop. Chen Zhou had accumulated quite a bit recently, both in terms of capital and food categories. He showed his wife the money he had saved—around thirty or forty thousand. Nearly half came from selling buns, several thousand from speculative trading and a lucky draw Chen Taotao had won, and the rest from his old stock account.

Ms. Lin’s attitude toward Chen Zhou’s venture had evolved from skepticism to trust, and now she had officially added the shop to the family development plan. Hearing him talk about it, she began to plan seriously. "Thirty or forty thousand probably isn't enough. Opening a shop requires rent and basic renovations; luckily, some of our savings are maturing this month, we can pull some out..."

Lin Yifan paused. "Wait, your bun business is good, but can you really make over thirty thousand a month?"

Chen Zhou explained, "Well, I bought some stocks..."

Chen Zhou stopped himself. The room went quiet immediately; he could even hear the sound of Chen Taotao’s breathing as she slept.

Originally, Chen Zhou had planned to tell his wife the truth only after Taotao grew up. After all, that would be when the stocks might have a chance to break even. Besides, he rarely paid attention to them anymore; if he hadn't needed to buy hog futures, he might not have even remembered he had this asset. But in his excitement, he had let it slip.

Lin Yifan had an absolute aversion to high-risk investments. However, seeing that her husband was putting the money toward his new venture, she didn't get angry, though she did issue a stern warning: "No more of that next time."

Chen Zhou promised, "No more stocks next time."

"Mm." Lin Yifan continued discussing what else they needed for the shop. "If you operate during the breakfast rush, you won't be able to handle it alone. You might need to hire someone."

Chen Zhou had actually thought about having his wife quit her job to help him. A small husband-and-wife shop would be nice. But his wife wasn't the type to put all their eggs in one basket. Moreover, although Ms. Lin’s job wasn't as ironclad as Team Leader Wang’s, it was relatively stable. So, even though he heard her mention hiring, he didn't suggest she come help. As long as he was the boss, the boss's wife wasn't going anywhere.

If he hired help, he could either find a server to handle orders and cleaning while he made the buns, or find an experienced master to help share the workload. Personnel management, salaries, and training were all issues for the future. Even though it was just a small shop, Chen Zhou thought he should at least provide social security for his employees. If he was going to do it, he would do it properly.

"Take it slow."

As they chatted, Ms. Lin remembered the porridge she had in the evening and remarked, "I thought the porridge you made this time was quite good."

"I know."

0.5

...

Man, cat, living room.

Waiting for the intelligence to refresh also requires a sense of ritual.