Chén Zhāoyáng gazed at the starry night sky outside his window, his heart brimming with anticipation for the future as he silently vowed to work hard and give his family a good life. Early the next morning, before the sunlight had fully blanketed the small fishing village, Chén Zhāoyáng sprang out of bed. After a quick wash, he headed straight for the family-run general store. He knew that upgrading the store was only the first step; if he wanted the family business to truly thrive, he still had a lot of work to do.
The store was located along the main road of the small fishing village, surrounded by fishermen's houses with wisps of cooking smoke curling from their chimneys. The ground at the entrance was uneven, pooling with last night's rainwater that shimmered in the sunlight. Standing at the doorway, Chén Zhāoyáng looked over the familiar yet somewhat dilapidated place, a surge of firm determination welling up inside him.
He stepped inside. The light was rather dim, and the goods on the shelves were haphazardly arranged, some even covered in a thin layer of dust. Frowning, Chén Zhāoyáng decided to start by organizing the inventory. He sorted the haphazardly stacked snacks and daily necessities by category, placing the food items together and putting daily necessities on a separate row of shelves. While sorting, he found some expired food and products, and without hesitation, he cleared them out and tossed them into the trash can outside.
"These expired items can't be sold anymore, or they'll ruin our own reputation," Chén Zhāoyáng muttered to himself as he worked. His movements were practiced and swift, as if he had done this countless times before. In no time, the shelves were neatly arranged and looked much tidier.
After finishing with the inventory, Chén Zhāoyáng began pondering how to attract more customers. Recalling promotional tactics he had seen in various shops in his past life, he felt he could borrow a page from their book. So, with his own pocket money, he bought some colored paper and watercolors. Returning to the store, he sat down at the counter and began making a sign.
On a large sheet of paper, he wrote in eye-catching lettering: "Today's Special: Saltwater Popsicles 3 cents each, Soda 5 cents a bottle!" Alongside the text, he drew some cute illustrations of popsicles and soda bottles, vibrant in color and very eye-catching. When he finished, he looked at his work with satisfaction and posted the sign on the door of the store.
"I hope this brings in some customers," Chén Zhāoyáng thought, looking at the sign with a heart full of expectation. He knew that in this era, discounted prices were a major way to draw buyers. Moreover, the children of the small fishing village loved popsicles and soda, so such a special offer ought to be quite popular.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before several children were drawn by the sign. They stood at the doorway, gazing at the special offers on the poster with excitement sparkling in their eyes.
"Wow, saltwater popsicles are only 3 cents each, so cheap!" said a little boy.
"Yeah, I want one!" chimed in a little girl.
The children dug their pocket money out of their pockets and rushed into the store to buy popsicles and soda. Chén Zhāoyáng warmly greeted them, a radiant smile on his face. As he handed over the popsicles and soda, he chatted with them, asking for their opinions on the flavors of these snacks.
"Kids, do you think this popsicle is sweet enough?" Chén Zhāoyáng asked a little boy with a smile.
"Mm, pretty sweet, just wish it were a bit colder," the little boy said around bites of his popsicle, his words slightly muffled.
Chén Zhāoyáng nodded, taking the boy's suggestion to heart. He knew that customer feedback was crucial for business growth; only by understanding what customers needed could he better serve them.
Motivated by the children, more and more villagers were drawn to the store. Seeing the discounts on saltwater popsicles and soda, some villagers ended up buying other daily necessities along the way. The business inside the store gradually grew lively, and Chén Zhāoyáng was kept happily busy.
"Zhāoyáng, you really know what you're doing. Today's business is so much better than before," an auntie who came to buy things said to Chén Zhāoyáng with a smile.
"Auntie, you flatter me. I just want everyone to be able to buy more affordable goods," Chén Zhāoyáng said modestly.
Looking at the bustling scene inside the store, Chén Zhāoyáng couldn't be happier. He felt his efforts hadn't gone to waste; as long as he kept it up, the store would surely get more and more prosperous.
Yet Chén Zhāoyáng wasn't content with the status quo. He knew that relying solely on promotional events would only attract temporary customers, and to keep the store's business good in the long run, he needed to keep innovating. Thus, he began thinking about what additional merchandise the store could stock.
He recalled novel stationery and small toys he had seen in small shops in his past life, thinking these items would probably be very popular in the fishing village as well. Therefore, he decided to visit the wholesale market in the city to source some new goods.
Chén Zhāoyáng shared his idea with his parents, who were very supportive. His father even took out some of his savings and handed the money to Chén Zhāoyáng to purchase inventory.
"Son, go ahead and do it. Dad believes you can run the store well," his father encouraged, patting Chén Zhāoyáng on the shoulder.
"Thanks, Dad! I'll do my best," Chén Zhāoyáng replied, taking the money with a heart full of emotion. He knew his parents had high hopes for him, and he couldn't let them down.
The next day, Chén Zhāoyáng caught an early bus to the city. The bus jolted along the highway as the scenery outside the window constantly receded. Sitting in his seat, Chén Zhāoyáng gazed out the window, filled with anticipation. He imagined himself picking out goods at the wholesale market, thinking about the fresh changes he could bring to the store.
Upon arriving at the city's wholesale market, Chén Zhāoyáng was stunned by the bustling scene before him. The market was a stream of people, with booths overflowing with all kinds of merchandise. There was colorful stationery, cute small toys, trendy accessories, and more, dazzling the eyes.
Excitedly, Chén Zhāoyáng shuttled between the various stalls, carefully selecting items suitable for his store. He spotted a cute cartoon notebook with a cover featuring popular anime characters of the time, and the paper quality inside was decent too. Figuring that this notebook would definitely be a hit with the village kids, he bought several.
Next, he picked out some small toys, such as bouncy balls, plastic whistles, and puzzles. These toys were cheap and fun, and Chén Zhāoyáng thought he could bring some back to test the waters. He also selected some pretty hair ties, hair clips, and other accessories, figuring the village girls would like them.
Throughout the selection process, Chén Zhāoyáng fully leveraged the advantage of his Rebirth. He knew which items would be popular in the future and which had better quality. He bargained with the vendors, striving to get the best goods at the lowest prices.
"Boss, make these bouncy balls a bit cheaper, and I'll buy more," Chén Zhāoyáng said to a vendor.
"Young man, this is already the lowest price. Look at how good the quality is—super bouncy," the vendor replied.
"Boss, just give me a bit more of a discount. I'm running a small business and can't make much. If you give me a better price, I'll keep coming back to you for stock," Chén Zhāoyáng said.
Hearing this, the vendor thought it over and finally agreed to lower the price slightly. Happily, Chén Zhāoyáng paid and packed the bouncy balls into his bag.
After a round of selection and purchasing, Chén Zhāoyáng had bought a large bag full of goods. Lugging the bag, he stepped out of the wholesale market and prepared to catch the bus home. On the way back, his mind kept racing about what the store would look like once these new products hit the shelves.
Back in the fishing village, Chén Zhāoyáng couldn't wait to put the new merchandise on display. He placed the cartoon notebooks in the most prominent spot in the stationery section, put the small toys and accessories on separate shelves, and even made small labels with prices and product features.
"I hope these new goods bring a new lease on life to the store," Chén Zhāoyáng thought, looking at the completely revamped shelves with high hopes.
Sure enough, once the new products hit the shelves, the store drew even more customers. The village children rushed over to buy the cute cartoon notebooks and fun little toys. The girls fell in love with the pretty accessories, lingering by the shelves to pick and choose endlessly.
"Zhāoyáng, these new items of yours look so nice! I want to buy this hair tie," a girl told Chén Zhāoyáng.
"Alright, this hair tie is 20 cents," Chén Zhāoyáng said with a smile.
Watching the bustling scene inside the store, Chén Zhāoyáng was overjoyed. He knew his hard work was paying off. In the days that followed, he continued to manage the store diligently, rolling out new promotional events to attract more customers.
As the store's business flourished, Chén Zhāoyáng did not neglect his studies. Every day, he carved out time to review his coursework and do practice problems. At school, his relationship with Lín Xiǎotáng also grew closer. They frequently discussed study problems together, helping each other and making progress side by side.
"Chén Zhāoyáng, your math grades have improved so much lately. Do you have some kind of secret?" Lín Xiǎotáng asked curiously.
"What secret could there be? Just doing more practice problems and thinking things through," Chén Zhāoyáng said with a smile. Of course, he couldn't tell Lín Xiǎotáng the secret of his Rebirth, so he had to credit his success to hard work.
"Well, I'm going to work hard just like you," Lín Xiǎotáng said.
Thanks to Chén Zhāoyáng's efforts, the family store gradually got back on track, and the business grew more and more prosperous. Seeing the transformation of the store, his parents heaped praise on Chén Zhāoyáng. Chén Zhāoyáng knew this was only the first step in changing his destiny; there were many more challenges waiting for him in the future, but he was full of confidence, believing that he would undoubtedly achieve his dream.