After looking around, I sat down opposite Ye Zhi and said to her, "So it seems this bar hasn't disappointed you. Are you planning to take it over?"
Ye Zhi readily replied, "No problem, you can give me the contract now."
I took out the contract I had prepared earlier from my bag and handed it to Ye Zhi. After she looked it over, she signed her name on the contract. When she handed it back to me, she said, "Give me an account now, and I can transfer the money to your account tomorrow."
"Let's follow the procedure. You can give it to me after Bai Lu has signed it."
"I believe in you."
Since Ye Zhi had already said that, I didn't stand on ceremony. I gave her an account number, and after she wrote it down, I asked her, "How do you plan to run this bar in the future?"
"They might send someone over to manage it for me... or it might be closed for a while."
“I really hope you take over this bar not because of the guilt you feel, but because you are genuinely interested in this small business.”
Ye Zhi replied casually, "I don't think you need to overanalyze my thoughts on this matter."
"I just want to feel more at ease when I have this money..."
"Then I can tell you very clearly that you can take it with peace of mind... because this bar is useful to me, but it can't be shown yet."
I didn't speak. After a moment of silence, Ye Zhi changed the subject and said to me, "Didn't you have something to ask me? Now that we have some time, we can talk about it."
I habitually rubbed my temples, then said to her, "After the inn is demolished, I'll definitely have to find something else to do, but I have no clue where to start. So I wanted to ask you where I should begin."
Without much thought, Ye Zhi said to me, "If you haven't decided what to do yet, you might as well use this free time to build your network here. Once you have enough connections, you'll find that your vision will broaden, and what to do next won't be a problem."
"How exactly do you build this network of connections?"
"Learn to analyze the people around you."
Could you be more specific?
Ye Zhi patiently said to me, "I think you should spend more time with Sun Jiwei... He's someone who can help you, and it would be easy for you to become friends because he's grateful to you..."
I pursed my lips and shook my head: "To be honest, I don't really like his utilitarianism. He's quite goal-oriented in his dealings with people and things."
Ye Zhi smiled and replied, "If you feel that this is your principle and cannot be changed, you can go back to Shanghai, find a job, and honestly become an office worker... because most people in this circle are like that, and they will never change for you. The only result will be that you are eliminated from this circle."
“You must be joking with me. I’ve come this far, how could I possibly go back to Shanghai?”
"Then you should learn to adapt to this circle... think more about how to get along with these people."
I looked at her, then, somewhat puzzled, I said to her, "I've always thought you were a very aloof person... When you're dealing with this industry, do you also have to let go of some of your inner convictions and make compromises?"
“I am very lucky. My parents laid a good foundation for me, so I don’t need to compromise with others; rather, others are compromising with me.”
I looked at her and said, "Yes, I think you have a very strong side to you!"
Ye Zhi didn't respond to my sigh. She continued, "For many people, starting a business is a history of blood and tears... If you really want to build something of your own, you should first learn to change your personality. I believe that only by making sufficient preparations in your heart can you avoid feeling restrained when you actually start a business."
“You’ve really hit the nail on the head… I’ve always felt like I couldn’t let go of my inhibitions, which was really uncomfortable, but I didn’t know what the problem was!”
"Do you know now?"
I nodded and replied, "I think it's because I'm not open-minded enough."
Ye Zhi smiled and didn't say anything more. Although I felt enlightened, I was still caught in a dilemma because some things in my heart, even if you know they are wrong, are still very difficult to change!
...
After sitting in the bar for a while, Ye Zhi and I strolled around the old town again. When we passed a milk tea shop run by a foreigner, I stopped and said to him, "I've always heard from people in Dali on social media that the milk tea at this shop is really good. Do you want to try it?"
"If you're treating, I'd be happy to give it a try."
"It's just a small amount of money for a milk tea, do you think I'd be stingy with you?"
As I spoke, I ordered two cups of their signature "milk" tea from the owner in English. While waiting, I noticed a strange phenomenon: although the street we were on was very bustling, the other commercial street, just across an alley, was dark and deserted.
With this question in mind, I asked the young man working at the bubble tea shop, "Excuse me, is that alleyway a commercial street?"
"Yes, it's written on the sign... Jiulongju, commercial pedestrian street."
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