Chapter 656: Virtue 1

In early winter’s evening, trees along the road had shed their leaves, casting a desolate beauty over the city.

At this moment, the sun blurred in the mist, slowly setting in the west.

As night approached, streetlights along the road flickered on. Jiang Qin drove by, slowing down to admire the winter scene, before pulling up under the Huaye Building.

He had been busy lately, having no time to worry about Mr. Cao’s affairs. Upon returning, he found that the signboard was already up.

It read ‘Shallow Drink.’

Jiang Qin stepped inside, looked around, and saw a large flat shop split into several areas. The middle was a bar area, to the left were several pool tables, and next to them, a lounge area filled with sofas.

From there, a black metal staircase led upstairs to a box area, which looked somewhat like a French-style balcony.

Beyond the lounge, there was a small window resembling a kitchen.

The 100+ square meters shop was packed, mostly with students from the nearby university town and some office workers from nearby office buildings.

In the kitchen, Jiang Qin saw some girls carrying dishes like pasta and steak upstairs to the box area.

At the bar, most were just drinking.

The lounge was a social hotspot, with various groups of guys around small groups of girls, all laughter and jest, spending wildly.

Jiang Qin even spotted Huihui’s grad school classmates, Lu Wenhao, Xie Ziyi, and Zhang Shuya, huddled together playing poker, surrounded by two crates of beer.

They were dressed very coolly…

Jiang Qin sighed then pulled out his phone to call Chao.

Soon, Chao came trotting over: “Jiang bro, it’s scary, Brother Cao really made some money! Is there no law in this world?”

“Where’s Mr. Cao?”

“Over there in the lounge, Guangfa and Old Ren are also there.”

Jiang Qin followed, rounded the bar, and saw Ren Ziqiang and Zhang Guangfa sitting on a sofa, listening to Cao Guangyu’s endless stories, their expressions animated.

Seeing Jiang Qin arrive, Zhang Guangfa and Ren Ziqiang made room for him in the middle.

“Young master, you’re doing pretty well with this business.”

“I don’t even know how it happened, it just made money out of nowhere. I guess I’m naturally talented.”

Cao Guangyu was grinning like a fool, his happiness making his eyebrows dance.

He had been researching profitable industries from summer, nearly breaking his phone from all the searching, yet couldn’t find a reliable idea.

Chao suggested a bar might be profitable, so he set up one in the middle and hired some bartenders.

Then, hearing from Ren Ziqiang about its proximity to the university town, he thought a pool hall might also pocket some profits, so he bought several pool tables.

But just pool tables seemed too monotonous, so he also bought some arcade machines and equipped the lounge area with poker, mahjong tables, and a variety of tabletop games…

Later, someone mentioned that with Linchuan’s rising consumer standards, opening a Western restaurant would be profitable, so he set up semi-open dining on the second floor and added some private boxes in case it got noisy.

Mr. Cao’s business philosophy essentially boiled down to having no opinions but being very open to suggestions.

Piece by piece, this odd setup came together.

Initially, not many people came, and the ingredients in the kitchen were almost devoured by Chao alone, but gradually, as they added more features, people began to gather.

First, it was the nearby students, then the office workers started showing up, and the crowd kept growing…

Mr. Cao hadn’t even thought of a signboard name at first. Then he thought, how could he post on social media without a name? He googled one right away.

After hearing all this, Jiang Qin felt quite dizzy. He thought the place was a classic case of ‘fools come by luck’.

At its core, ‘Shallow Drink’ still had the essence of a small-bourgeois bar, but it merged with social and dining functions. When hungry, people could eat something — Indeed, it struck a chord with the young crowd.

“Where did you figure out how to run a bar? How did you handle the liquor supplies?”

“I Googled it. The biggest dining lead in Linchuan is called Hongjin Dining & Entertainment. I went there and said we were brothers, and the owner agreed to help. He even wanted to swear brotherhood, but I feared being his nephew, so I didn’t agree.”

“What about the Western food supply? How did you get the ingredients?”

“Isn’t it the Group-Buy Supply Chain?”

“Damn, how come the lighters you give out also have your logo printed on them?”

“You invested in an ad factory, remember? You always get me involved whenever you do something big. I think I know you better than myself!”

“??????”

After hearing all of this, Jiang Qin was overwhelmed, thinking, ‘young master, you’re incredible. I freeloaded off you in college, and you’ve just freeloaded it all back in one go.’

Previously, Mr. Cao’s father had heard that Cao Guangyu was heading to Linchuan to start a business, so he gave him an initial two million yuan, intending to let him gain some experience, even if he squandered it all.

Since his childhood, he had taught him that doing business is hard, there are no smooth sails, and now he wanted him to experience it firsthand.

But, hey, what lessons? He hadn’t experienced any setback.

Just a few days ago, Mr. Cao actually took photos to send to his dad, saying, “I didn’t expect you’ve been lying to me since I was little. Business is bloody easy!”

“I haven’t even spent the two million yet. Planning to rent the place next door in a few days, set up an internet café, maybe some manicure stalls.”

“Whose idea was that?”

“I asked in our class group chat, wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions on what’s missing. The guys said it’d be great if there was an internet bar next door, and the girls seemed to like the idea of having manicure services. Old Jiang, what do you think?”

Jiang Qin looked at him: “You idiot, you’re really lucky.”

Cao Guangyu blinked: “Really?”

“Before college, I rented half a bar for an Olympics Night, used pretty much the same operation model.”

“Then I’m really awesome!”

Jiang Qin then turned toward Zhang Guangfa: “How’s it been recently, Guangfa? Settling in well with the supply chain?”

“Settling well, boss Jiang, I really love my current job.”

After graduation, Zhang Guangfa became a manager in the Group-Buy Supply Chain, just returned from a business trip: “But recently, we received a task that might require adding a transportation line, setting up two logistic zones in the south. But then there was no more news about it.”

Jiang Qin, annoyed at this, said: “Uncle Ma won’t cough up the money. It’s so frustrating.”

As they were talking, a girl in a very short skirt walked by, her slender legs clad in black fishnet stockings, causing a momentary distraction among the five men.

Once she was far enough away, the five men turned back, feigning ignorance, and burst into silly laughter.

‘Shallow Drink is perfect, we’ll visit more often.’

Although none spoke, their eyes conveyed just that thought.

Ding Xue and Wang Linlin arrived a bit later, just as Jiang Qin called them, asking Feng Nanshu and Wang Haini to join too.

As for Huihui, addicted to candy, since starting daily updates, she’s been having a tough time, barely managing to write, constantly cursing, saying even dogs wouldn’t write novels.

When the four girls entered, the most striking was still Feng Nanshu.

The little rich girl was dressed ladylike today, wearing a black-bowed blouse under denim jeans, a Korean-style coat layered on top.

She was really happy now because people in her class called her ‘Mrs. Jiang’; sometimes even the lecturing professor would do so.

Ding Xue was still in her usual attire, a denim shirt paired with a long skirt.

Wang Linlin and Wang Haini’s styles were similar, looking somewhat youthful, almost like innocent girls.

Right after entering, Wang Haini flirted with a handsome guy, her naive and bewildered eyes sparkling, seemingly innocent, yet experienced in reality.

Lately, she had trouble sleeping, mainly because her room was right next to the master bedroom where she could hear Jiang Qin asking ‘Is it big?’, as if he were asking her, disturbing her sleep.

After the four girls arrived, the group of nine headed upstairs, entered another private room, ordered some food and drinks, and chatted while eating.

Initially, Ding Xue was skeptical of Cao Guangyu’s entrepreneurial venture but was quite pleased to see his success.

Perhaps it was true what Jiang Qin said, fools do indeed have their fortune.

A wife that came out of nowhere, a home business mysteriously expanded, and now, a bizarrely successful startup, truly there’s no justice.

“Old Lu got a promotion again this year, from deputy director to director.”

“He deserves it for grooming a bunch of outstanding talents like us!” Cao Guangyu couldn’t stop bragging about being outstanding.

Jiang Qin spat at him: “Be more precise with your words, what do you mean by ‘a bunch’?”

“Old Jiang, as long as you understand.”

“Cao Guangyu, don’t you start getting cocky, alright? I’ve heard that men tend to turn bad once they have money. If I find out, I’ll break your legs.”

After she spoke, Ding Xue’s eyes suddenly turned seductive: “Got it, big brother?”

Mr. Cao was sweating profusely, nodding continuously.

Ding Xue turned to Feng Nanshu: “Nanshu, you should remind Jiang Qin often, make sure he remembers.”

Feng Nanshu looked at Jiang Qin: “Brother, you can’t have other good friends.”

“Don’t worry, our friendship is very strong. Plus, I go home every evening to make sure you stick to curfew, I have no chances. But Mr. Cao might, look at Shallow Drink, all full of pretty girls, and even opens at night, how risky.”

Cao Guangyu’s eyes widened: “Why are you diverting trouble to me? I’m very timid, how could I possibly!”

Ding Xue, whispering to Feng Nanshu’s ear: “Are you and Jiang Qin still just friends?”

Feng Nanshu nodded seriously: “Our friendship will never change for a lifetime.”

Wang Haini: “……”