Chapter 68: The Hidden Goldmine of New Summer Bookstore

New Summer Bookstore has branches in cities of all sizes across the country.

On the surface it sells books, but selling books alone isn’t profitable.

What really makes money is its “real estate.”

Officially it’s just a bookstore, but behind the scenes it’s a hidden empire of commercial property.

Few people know or understand this…

In no time, Xu Chen found himself inside the bookstore.

The scent of ink filled the air. There weren’t many people, and it was very quiet.

The first floor was the sales area, piled high with books of every category.

On the second floor there was a spacious reading area, but only two or three people sat scattered among the long tables.

Xu Chen chose a bright window seat, set his bag on the table, and stood to find his books.

He was looking for business and management titles, which happened to be in this section.

Xu Chen pulled a few books off the shelf, covering business, investment, operations, and marketing.

They were all accessible general introductions that his father, Xu Zhiquan, could read without much difficulty.

If he skimmed through them all, he’d quickly build a simple framework for running a business.

Cradling several books, Xu Chen returned to his seat, just as a message arrived from his father.

“Son, Li Rui will drive over to pick you up later…”

Xu Chen smiled.

After all, Li Rui had gone into town and become his father’s personal driver.

His father needed someone like him by his side.

Besides driving, Li Rui was sharp and knew how to deal with people.

Plus, his tough, “gangster” reputation could defuse danger in extreme situations.

He was called “Brother Rui” by a circle of friends. He might act timid around Xu Chen, but he was cut from hard cloth.

Most importantly, anyone around Xu Zhiquan had to be trustworthy.

And since Li Rui had been through those past troubles with Xu Chen, he felt safe with him.

His phone buzzed again—it was another message from Li Rui.

“Brother Chen, I’m Li Rui. I’ll be in the city soon. Where should I pick you up?”

“At the entrance of New Summer Bookstore…”

…

Half an hour later, Xu Chen left the bookstore and saw his father’s black Honda Accord.

Li Rui stood in front of the car, wearing clean dark clothes.

He had one hand in his pocket and a cigarette dangling from his lips.

When Xu Chen approached, Li Rui quickly tossed the butt aside and greeted him with a grin:

“Brother Chen!”

He bowed slightly and opened the rear door.

Xu Chen laughed: “Don’t be so formal with me!”

He patted Li Rui’s shoulder, but instead of the back seat, he climbed into the passenger side.

Li Rui smiled and started the engine.

“Brother Chen, Mr. Xu said to bring you home first.”

“Is my dad at home?”

“He’s busy at the factory district. He probably won’t be back until evening.”

Xu Chen thought for a moment:

“Then just take me to the factory. I’ll head home with him tonight.”

The black Accord left the city, heading toward the town.

Seated beside the driver, Xu Chen couldn’t help but say:

“Your driving’s impressive. Didn’t you just get your license?”

Li Rui gripped the wheel, embarrassedly smiling:

“Before I got my license, I’d been behind the wheel for two or three years. Of course, never in the city—I’d be scared of the traffic cops…”

Xu Chen nodded with amusement.

He’d worried Li Rui might be unsteady on the road, but he drove like a pro.

His phone buzzed again. Xu Chen pulled it out and saw a new QQ message.

The avatar “Golden Wheat Ear Fertilizer – Zhao Fengshou” was flashing.

He’d set the ad proposal for “Jin Kela” to send as a timed email early this morning.

He didn’t expect a reply just after noon.

Xu Chen tapped Zhao Fengshou’s avatar.

“Mr. Xu!

I’ve received your proposal and studied it.

At first glance I was surprised by your creativity, but on closer look it’s a huge delight!

It’s simple and easy to understand, yet very entertaining—on par with a Spring Festival skit…”

Xu Chen smiled as he read a long gush of praise from Zhao Fengshou, who was clearly thrilled.

It didn’t catch Xu Chen off guard—after all, he’d delivered a standard-setting plan.

“Mr. Xu, your proposal fits our needs perfectly.

It’s reliable and fun!

I just showed it to my colleagues at the factory—they loved it, everyone wants to be in the ad…

I also asked friends at an ad agency. Your concept won’t cost too much to produce.

I can coordinate with a production company in the Provincial Capital.

Or our local TV station could shoot it…

We’ll just need two foreign models. The production company can handle that…”

Xu Chen replied:

“That’s great news. I’m happy to help, Mr. Zhao!”

“More than happy to help,” Zhao responded. “Honestly, I’ve been stuck on this ad for a while.

Our product is in all the usual channels, but as a new fertilizer additive, nobody knows our factory, so sales are slow.

We planned a promotional push to boost sales quickly.

I approached several agencies in the Provincial Capital. None of their proposals were reliable.

I was at my wit’s end until I remembered the Shenbao ad—then Guo Liang put me in touch with you.

To be honest, I was just hoping for a shot in the dark…

But I never expected your overnight proposal to outperform those agencies by miles!

…”

A stream of messages followed, full of praise and gratitude.

Xu Chen’s fingers scrolled quickly, but he didn’t reply.

He’d never met this “Mr. Zhao,” but his acceptance of the Jin Kela ad showed he had a quirky genius.

In 2006, ignoring lofty pretensions in favor of a down-to-earth, humorously edgy concept—that made Mr. Zhao a rare talent.

“Mr. Xu, as agreed, I’ll send you fertilizer worth 120,000 yuan as payment!

Which types do you need?

Our fertilizer plant makes additives and common phosphate, potash, nitrogen fertilizers, and more.

We have a distributor and warehouse in Tiancheng. I can arrange the shipment!”

Xu Chen thought for a moment—he really didn’t know what fertilizers Fourth Uncle needed.

“I’m not sure yet. Could your local distributor give me a contact?

I’ll have my family take a look first.”

“No problem. I’ll call them now and have Tiancheng reach out to you.”

“Also, 120,000 yuan of goods is quite a lot…

If transport is inconvenient for you, within sixty kilometers I can arrange free delivery.”

“That’s perfect. I’ll leave shipping to you, Mr. Zhao…”

“No problem! I’ll coordinate with Tiancheng and someone will contact you soon, Mr. Xu!”

After a while, Zhao Fengshou messaged again:

“Mr. Xu, I’m just curious!

Guo Liang told me you’re still in high school. He wasn’t joking, right?”

“Yes, I’m about to take my college entrance exam.”

“Young talent indeed! You have a bright future! I have another question.

Guo Liang said you requested 120,000 yuan worth of fertilizer—that puzzled me…”

Xu Chen didn’t hide the truth and replied:

“My family runs a seedling business and leases some land.”

He paused to think…

This fertilizer plant could be a resource. He then added:

“Our seedling company has taken on more land. We’ll need a lot of fertilizer over time.”

Zhao Fengshou paused, instantly sensing a business opportunity, and replied:

“That’s perfect timing!

Use this batch as a trial.

Actually, fertilizers are similar across producers—made to national standards.

If you’re satisfied with ours, I can offer you a discount on future pricing!

You have procurement needs, so please consider our business!”

Xu Chen smiled—he’d been waiting for this.

A few days ago over dinner, his father had mentioned that Fourth Uncle was worried about sourcing fertilizer.

He never expected his ad plan to also solve the family’s fertilizer procurement…

This batch from Zhao Fengshou could help his family.

And if future discounts come through, it’ll save Xu Zhiquan a bundle.

They were also considering funding the purchase of the Mechanical Factory, so saving money now mattered.

…

…

At noon, the black Accord arrived at the town’s factory district.

This was the Xu family’s former sand-casting plant.

Beyond this building were two more workshops equipped with lathes, milling machines, and drills, now likely idle.

The spacious plant had once stored finished and semi-finished farm machinery parts, but they’d all been cleared out.

In their place were pots of various seedling plants.

Of course these seedlings were just samples and experiments, overseen by Xu Chen’s Maternal Uncle, a graduate of the Agricultural and Forestry College.

The seedling company had only just launched, and Xu Zhiquan had turned this plant into a temporary office.

The nearby village was also preparing to lease more land, so working here made sense.

Originally, the sand-casting plant employed over thirty permanent workers. When operations ceased, they found jobs at other factories.

Xu Zhiquan was fair, and the factories that took them on were all ones he had vouched for.

As for the workers tending the nursery now, they were mostly local farmers from North Mountain Joint Village who already grew seedlings, guided by the Maternal Uncle and Fourth Uncle…

(End of chapter)