After the last tennis class ended, Xia Minmin and Tang Meng pedaled their skateboards as fast as they could home.

Xia Minmin looked at her exhausted best friend and said, "Mengmeng, there's still plenty of time, no need to rush!"

Tang Meng was exhausted and out of breath. "I haven't finished packing my luggage yet, and the train at 2 pm is a bit rushed."

"We'll definitely make it in time, don't worry! We've ridden this road so many times, we'll be home in twenty minutes. Don't rush, just be careful. Aunt Yang will take care of things at home, don't worry!"

Just as Xia Minmin had said, it didn't take more than twenty minutes.

"Xiaomin, I'm leaving now! See you when school starts!"

Xia Minmin watched her best friend's departing figure, shook her head, and walked into the small supermarket herself.

Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo were arguing about something, their faces flushed red, and even the customers who came into the supermarket didn't notice.

Xia Minmin was carrying a sports bag when she was paying the customers, and that's when they realized what was happening.

Li Chunmei looked at her daughter, who was deftly giving change to a customer, and asked, "Xiaomin, when did you get back?"

The customer is a regular; they'd exchange a few words if they bumped into each other on the street. "Boss lady, what are you and the boss talking about? Why are you so serious? You didn't even notice when the young boss and I came in."

Li Chunmei chatted calmly with the customer, "Hey, what could possibly go wrong between a couple? Just those household worries. I haven't seen you for a while, how have you been?"

"I went back to my hometown a while ago and just arrived in Shenzhen, so I came here to report for duty."

"Thank you very much."

"I'll head back now, we'll talk again later."

After the customer left, Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo started arguing again.

Li Chunmei: "Anyway, I don't agree."

Xia Jianguo: "This is really a great opportunity!"

Li Chunmei: "If it were really that good, why would he transfer it to you? No wonder you said you wanted to go to the small commodity market in the next province to investigate the market. Was that what you were thinking?"

Xia Jianguo: "Initially, I planned to investigate before making a decision. I never thought of directly taking over his shop and goods. This is not like his borrowing money to speculate in stocks, which resulted in him not only losing his principal but also owing a lot of money."

Li Chunmei: "In the past two years, many people have lost their families and even their lives because of stock speculation. I don't understand why they would take out loans to speculate on stocks and even borrow money at high interest rates?"

Xia Jianguo: "Wealth moves people's hearts, and people are greedy. They always want to earn more. If they have a smooth life and have never stumbled, they will not know the meaning of caution."

Li Chunmei: "With this money, it's better to buy a house or gold; you won't lose money that way."

Xia Jianguo: "Now the loan sharks are pressing him to repay the money. You know how extreme the loan sharks' methods are. His parents have already been hospitalized due to the abuse, and the interest is compounding again. In order to repay the loan as soon as possible, he is offering a discount of 20,000 yuan compared to before. Now he is offering to transfer the shop and all the goods to us for 330,000 yuan. His requirement is that he has the cash by tomorrow at the latest."

Li Chunmei: "Those goods aren't worth much, at most 20,000 yuan. Only the shop is valuable. A shop of less than ten square meters costs 300,000 yuan, which is too expensive."

Li Chunmei still felt it was a bit expensive; over 300,000 yuan could buy two houses.

Xia Jianguo: "Isn't this a ready-made business? We can make money immediately after taking over the store. You can manage the small commodity wholesale store over there, and I'll manage this small supermarket. We can hire a few more people, and it will be easier."

Li Chunmei: "It's still a bit too expensive. I don't know how long it will take to break even. It would be troublesome if we couldn't break even."

Xia Jianguo: "The shops in the wholesale market sell relatively simple items, so it doesn't take too much effort. Their business is pretty good, and they can earn back their investment in two years at most. Even if they don't, we can still rent out a shop! The rent in that shopping mall is also quite good."

Li Chunmei: "Since business is so good, why don't the shop owners next door take over?"

Xia Jianguo: "Loan sharks came to his shops to collect money, but the shop owners were only willing to pay 200,000 yuan, and each one was lower than the last. It was like robbery. If it were me, I wouldn't be willing either."

Li Chunmei didn't speak again. After about five minutes, she said, "I want to go and see his shop and the goods he sells before making a decision. Do we still have enough money to buy a shop?"

Xia Jianguo: "We still have about 350,000 yuan at home. The profits from the discount supermarket will arrive at the end of this month, and we can stock up on some goods then."

Li Chunmei: "His shop doesn't have any outstanding payments, does it? Or is it mortgaged?"

Xia Jianguo: "He said there were no outstanding payments. We paid a deposit first, and after we contacted the manufacturer and confirmed that there were no problems, we paid the balance. He said that he had mortgaged his family's house at the time, and since his shop's property certificate was mortgaged, the property certificate could not be transferred, so we wouldn't lose money."

Xia Jianguo: "Xiaomin, you stay here and watch the shop. Your mother and I will be right back."

After finishing their conversation, Xia Jianguo packed his things and left.

Before leaving, Li Chunmei said, "Xiaomin, you can order your own food next door at noon. Your dad and I won't be coming back for lunch."

Xia Minmin leaned lazily against the counter. "I know, I'm not a child anymore."

Xia Minmin reflected on their conversation and realized that taking over the wholesale store now was indeed the right choice. For the next ten years, she could make money in any business across China. After 2010, she could gradually transition to e-commerce.

"Xiaomin, your seafood vermicelli casserole, the boss specifically told Brother Zhong to put in extra shrimp and squid."

The restaurant owner, Uncle Wang, would always add extra dishes for Xia Minmin whenever she ordered, sometimes two portions of a single dish.

Xia Jie, a waitress from the shop next door, placed Xia Minmin's lunch on the counter.

"Thank you, Sister Xia, for bringing it to me."

Xia Minmin took out a few packs of chewing gum from the counter. "Sister Xia, here's some chewing gum for you. Please give it to Uncle Wang and Brother Zhong for me."

Xia put the chewing gum into her pocket. "No wonder the boss likes to give you extra food, he's so thoughtful. Take your time eating, I'll come and collect the dishes later."

"Sister Xia, I can take it back myself. You must be tired after finishing your work at noon, so please take a rest."

"Alright then, I won't stand on ceremony with you. Eat it while it's hot."

Xia Minmin lifted the lid of the vermicelli casserole, revealing that the amount of seafood inside was twice the normal amount.

Uncle Wang is a native of Shenzhen. He's always smiling and has no worries. He's very generous, but he's not the same to everyone.

In the mid-1980s, Wang Bo's village was acquired by developers and relocated to a location designated by the government, with the area divided according to the original area of ​​each household.

Uncle Wang used his demolition compensation to build two buildings for rent, which he said had a hundred rooms. Running the shop was his hobby; his family was said to have been imperial chefs for generations. He often added extra dishes for his customers, and would even treat people in need to a free meal.

This made Xia Minmin extremely envious; collecting rent was also her dream! Just thinking about collecting rent with a bunch of keys every day made her incredibly happy.