97: Chapter 97 Opening of Feixu Supermarket

Longwan No. 1, villa living room.

As soon as Chen Muyang walked through the door, he saw his dad hunched over the coffee table drawing, the trash can beside him stuffed with crumpled balls of paper.

Su Wanqing was in the kitchen wearing an apron, cutting fruit while humming an unknown tune; she was clearly in a good mood.

"Dad, what are you up to now?" Chen Muyang loosened his tie and slumped onto the sofa. "You called me back in such a rush just to watch you draw ghost runes?"

"What ghost runes! This is a business blueprint!" Chen Fan slapped the crooked sketch onto his son's chest. "Look at this location, this foot traffic—it's practically a treasure bowl."

Chen Muyang picked it up, took one look, and was rendered speechless.

Isn't this the high-end storefront at the entrance of the residential complex that has been vacant for half a year? It was originally intended to be a luxury showroom, with rent alone costing seven figures a year.

"You want to buy this place?"

"Shh! Keep it down!" Chen Fan glanced nervously at the kitchen and lowered his voice. "Your mom has been bored out of her mind these past few days, insisting on going back to the night market to set up her stall again. That won't do! It's smoky and fiery; she'll ruin her lungs. So, I figured I'd find her something proper to do."

"So you bought a shop for her to play with?" Chen Muyang raised an eyebrow.

"Rent! It's rent!" Chen Fan glared. "Keep your story straight at home: tell her I got it at a 'low price' through a friend, and it's mainly for the neighbors, selling things like oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, fruits, and vegetables. I've even thought of the name—it'll be called 'Wanqing Life Supermarket'."

Chen Muyang rubbed his temples.

Using a prime, gold-standard Dragon Bay storefront to sell soy sauce? This level of profligacy was truly in line with his dad's style.

"Then why did you call me back? To move bricks?"

"Move bricks? You're the ringleader of the shills!" Chen Fan pulled a walkie-talkie from his pocket and shoved it into his hand. "We open tomorrow. But normally, not even a fly enters this place—where would the customers come from? If your mom sees no one buying anything, she'll definitely get upset. Tomorrow at eight in the morning, drag every single one of your idle employees from the company over here for me!"

"For what?"

"To line up! To buy things!" Chen Fan waved his hand grandly, looking like he was directing the course of history. "Tell them not to save money for me. Buy whatever they see; they must act with the urgency of 'if I don't buy this, I'm losing a hundred million'!"

The next day, the weather was beautiful.

A large red banner hung at the entrance of "Wanqing Life Supermarket," with two flower baskets standing forlornly.

Su Wanqing was wearing a brand-new red uniform, nervously rubbing her hands as she stood behind the checkout counter. The shop was too big; although Chen Fan had had someone scrape off a layer of gold leaf overnight and replace it with plain white walls, the sense of spacious, bright, high-end luxury could still not be hidden.

"Old Chen, is... is this it? We're open?" Su Wanqing looked at the empty street outside, her heart drumming. "Is this place too out of the way? It's been half an hour, and not even a soul has asked for directions. And how much is the rent? If we lose money..."

"We won't lose money!" Chen Fan was wearing a stock clerk's vest and was placing a "Special: 19.9" label on a two-thousand-dollar bottle of imported olive oil. "This is my friend's shop; there's a six-month rent-free period! Just sell away; whatever you sell is pure profit!"

"Really?" Su Wanqing was half-doubting.

At that moment, Chen Fan nonchalantly pressed the miniature earpiece in his ear: "Action."

As soon as he finished speaking.

A large crowd of people suddenly surged out from around the corner of the previously deserted street.

This group of people was truly strange. Some were in suits and leather shoes, looking like white-collar workers who had just gotten off work; some were in sportswear, looking like morning joggers; and there were a few burly, fierce-looking men, actually carrying pink shopping baskets in their hands.

"They're here, they're here! Get ready, dear!" Chen Fan shouted.

Before Su Wanqing could react, the door was pushed open.

"Boss! I heard you have a discount on eggs here?" The one rushing to the front was Chen Muyang's driver, Old Zhang. He had specially changed into an old man's undershirt today and pointed at the shelves with exaggerated acting, "Oh my! These eggs are huge! Give me ten jin!"

"I want some too! Give me five barrels of oil!"

"This toilet paper is good; from now on, the company... *cough*, from now on, the family will use this. I'll take it all!"

The crowd swarmed in, instantly packing the several-hundred-square-meter supermarket until it was impassable.

The burly men from the Huihuang Group security department were the funniest; they gathered in the feminine hygiene section, grabbed several packs of sanitary pads, threw them into their baskets, and discussed loudly while tossing them: "This brand is good! Breathable! I'm buying a case for my wife!"

Su Wanqing was dumbfounded.

This business... is it too booming?

"Everyone, don't crowd! Line up! There's enough for everyone!" Su Wanqing instantly got into the zone, showing the efficiency she had honed back at the night market. She deftly scanned items, bagged them, and collected money, her face glowing with a rosy radiance.

"That's eighty-five in total. Out of one hundred, here's fifteen back! Take care, sir!"

The checkout machine's "beep-beep-beep" rang incessantly, like a beautiful piece of music.

Chen Muyang sat in the monitoring room in the corner of the supermarket, watching his mom's busy yet excited figure on the screen, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

This isn't a supermarket; it's practically a Huihuang Group employee team-building event.

For these few jin of discounted eggs, these high-earning executives with million-dollar annual salaries were really going all out.

"Young Master, do we need to add more people?" the assistant beside him asked cautiously. "The CFO just messaged saying he couldn't grab any rice and asked if the storage department could restock?"

"Restock it." Chen Muyang looked at his mom's face, which was blooming with smiles on the screen, his gaze softening. "As long as she's happy, even emptying out the Huihuang Building is fine."

They kept busy until three in the afternoon, and the shelves were almost completely emptied.

Su Wanqing slumped into her chair, pounding her aching waist, but her hand was tightly clutching that thick stack of cash, her eyes sparkling.

"Old Chen! Hurry up and count it!" Su Wanqing excitedly shoved the money into Chen Fan's arms. "Today, the turnover must be several tens of thousands, right? My goodness, I couldn't earn this much in a month at the night market! This shop location is god-tier!"

Chen Fan handed his wife a cup of warm water, counting the money happily: "That's right, look who picked it. At this rate, we'll earn back our dad's surgery fees within a year!"

"Mm!" Su Wanqing nodded heavily. The panic and anxiety about the future vanished completely at this moment. She felt useful again, able to share the burden for this family.

Watching his parents' backs as they counted money in the sunset, Chen Muyang quietly exited the supermarket.

Standing on the roadside, he lit a cigarette.

The liveliness behind him was fake, a "play" built with money.

But his mother's happiness was real.

Is this the power of money? It can buy fake prosperity, but it can also buy real peace of mind.

At that moment, the phone in his pocket vibrated.

It was an unfamiliar number, but Chen Muyang knew who it was.

"Classmate Chen, are you free? I'm waiting for you at the school playground. Um... you paid too much for the Tutor fee last time, and I don't have the money to pay you back, but I made something... I want to use it to pay off the debt. If it's not convenient, never mind. ——Lin Wanqiu"

Chen Muyang looked at the line of text, his fingertip lingering on the screen for a few seconds.

Made something? To pay off the debt?

He turned back to look at the brightly lit "Wanqing Life Supermarket," filled with expensive goods and cheap labels. And on the other side of the city, there was a girl, perhaps holding some worthless little trinket, anxiously waiting for his verdict.

Chen Muyang stubbed out the cigarette butt and opened the car door.

"Go to the school."

"But Young Master, there's still a celebration dinner tonight..."

"I'm not going." Chen Muyang closed the car window, shutting out the noise from the outside. "I'm going to collect a 'debt' that is even more precious than this supermarket."

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