On the night before the bar opened, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't control my mind and kept imagining countless possible scenarios. I was afraid that business wouldn't be booming, that I had overestimated my marketing abilities, and that all my plans would fail because of some detail that I hadn't taken into account.
I was under so much mental stress that in the middle of the night, I took a case of beer and sat in the yard drinking it; in my opinion, as long as you drink to a certain extent, beer can also help you sleep.
After downing two cans of beer, I habitually scrolled through my WeChat Moments. Because I used to trade in commercial properties, I have all sorts of people in my WeChat Moments... I figured there might be one or two people who couldn't sleep, playing around with their Moments to pass the long night.
Sure enough, just five minutes earlier, Chen Jin posted a status update on his WeChat Moments; there was no text, only a photo of him playing basketball in his youth. The photo was very artistic; he was holding a basketball and leaping with all his might against a backdrop of a sunset... The setting sun blurred his face, leaving only a solitary figure frozen in mid-air...
I left a comment: That day, the slam dunk under the setting sun seemed to have exhausted all the persistence of the rest of his life, and something inside his body was broken!
Chen Jin first sent an emoji of someone spitting out a mouthful of blood, then replied instantly: "You're not asleep either?"
"Can't sleep? Come over and have a few drinks."
"Wait."
...
The darkness of the night was clean and pure. Chen Jin seemed to have traveled through time. In just two minutes, he teleported from the mountains and rivers to the ancient city... Upon further inquiry, it turned out that this guy hadn't gone back to the mountains and rivers at all. He had been hanging out with ia the whole time. ia's place wasn't far from here, which explained why he was there so quickly.
After tearing open a can of beer and taking a big gulp, Chen Jin said to me, "I'm so nervous, I just can't sleep."
"Even the gentle embrace of ia can't soothe you?"
"Stop talking nonsense. At this critical juncture, who's in the mood for having fun? We've been talking about the bar all night... If we've gone to such lengths and still can't revitalize this bar, then all of us in the same boat will be in deep trouble!"
I nodded, paused for a moment, and then said, "It won't rain tomorrow, will it... If it rains, the number of people in the entire ancient city will be halved, which will definitely affect the success of our event!"
"How come I didn't think of that? I need to check it out right away."
After seeing the results, Chen Jin patted his chest as if he had breathed a sigh of relief, but then suddenly became nervous again and said to me, "I heard that there's going to be a cherry blossom festival at Dali University tomorrow, and a bonfire party in the evening. Will the tourists be diverted to that area?"
"Uh... that's hard to say!"
Chen Jin looked worried. I picked up a beer can and took a sip, feeling anxious again. I felt that we hadn't chosen a good opening date. We were too careless. We should have inquired in advance so that the opening date wouldn't clash with a major official event.
In the end, even the most meticulous plans can have a flaw!
...
The two were puzzled for a while before Chen Jin shifted his attention and looked at the guitar left behind by Coach Ma, asking, "This guitar isn't Nicole's, is it?... I remember her guitar had a red neck."
“This was just delivered by Coach Ma. He said it was for the bar’s opening and he didn’t have much to give as a gift… This guitar has been with him for ten years.”
"This guy is really something else... Is it really that easy to let go of worldly concerns?"
"Maybe people really do have different levels of understanding... Anyway, I feel like he's not living as painfully as he used to."
"So he's finally seen the light... By the way, the stage set we made is missing a guitar for decoration, why don't we take it to the bar?"
I didn't object because I don't know how to use it, and the guitar should belong on the stage.
...
I don't even know how to describe Chen Jin's and my mindset. We were so anxious before the bar opened that we didn't sleep a wink all night. So, after having breakfast the next morning, we went to the bar without sleeping a wink.
The two first arranged the tables and chairs to be in a state of business, and then tested the interactive social screen. Chen Jin, who was particularly enthusiastic about socializing, took the lead and uploaded his photos and information to the program. He said that if more than ten women added him as a friend today, it would prove that the bar's opening event was a complete success.
I scoffed at it because I care more about revenue. I think only when it exceeds ten thousand can it be considered a success!
...
After nine o'clock, Chen Jin and I stood on the street, watching the flow of people; the others were inside the bar, waiting for the first business after opening. Although we all knew that the peak consumption period for bars was at night, we were still particularly looking forward to making a business in a natural environment.
After all, the bar's success depends on the tourists who come to Dali; other activities are just icing on the cake.
A business built in a natural environment can also reflect the style of a bar. After all, customers decide whether to come to a bar based on their first impression, rather than on fancy marketing tactics. If the style of the bar can impress them, business will naturally follow. The number of tourists who like the bar directly reflects how well the bar's style and atmosphere are created.
...
Perhaps it's because Foreigners' Street itself doesn't have as much foot traffic as Renmin Road and Honglongjing, or perhaps tourists simply don't have the habit of spending money in bars during the day. In any case, we didn't make a single sale to a single tourist all morning.
A group of people sat in the bar looking gloomy. Chen Jin couldn't hold back any longer. He slammed his fist on the table and said, "We've already invested almost a million more. We should at least make a splash and show us what's what... I seriously suspect there's something wrong with the feng shui of this street. We've done everything we can think of... Why is this still the result?"
I'm also anxious.
He knew how formidable they were, but to maintain morale, he spoke to Chen Jin in as calm a tone as possible: "Don't jump to conclusions, we've only just begun!"
"It's been a whole morning. Even if no one drinks alcohol, there should be at least one or two tourists who come in to rest... We have other drinks to sell besides alcohol here."
I didn't respond to Chen Jin's words. After pressing my temples hard, I turned to Nicole and said, "Call your friends who sing on Renmin Road and see how many customers Qingfeng and Piaoxiang, the best-performing establishments, have made this morning."
Nicole nodded and made the call; during the call, everyone's attention was focused on her, because the information she had gathered was highly relevant; if the two best-performing bars on Renmin Road didn't make any business in the morning, it would prove that our bar didn't have any fundamental problems; otherwise, it would be very dangerous!
(End of this chapter)
=
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
