CHAPTER 324: CHAPTER 323: BUSINESS COOPERATION

Spending the whole day reviewing test papers, Zhen Yu was terribly bored and began to recall Mr. Zhen’s words in her mind. He wanted to invest money, which meant even he realized that the arcade was a lucrative business! If an outsider like him knew this, it certainly meant a lot of people were aware of it!

In that case, it wouldn’t be difficult to find a partner!

Mr. Zhen was absolutely out of the question! But she could use this line of thought to collaborate with someone else!

It’s always like this with people! Whenever something comes up, the first ones they think of are family and friends!

Even though Zhen Yu had heard too many tales of money ruining relationships in her past life, she still fell back into this habitual way of thinking.

The first to be excluded by Zhen Yu was relatives! Since the Zhen and Cheng families’ relatives were rather complicated, it was best not to mention them!

Then came Mrs. Zhen’s friends! Mrs. Fu was one, but due to the Fu Family’s situation, she was not an option!

And since the Han Family had just finished purchasing a house, they probably didn’t have any spare cash. But out of consideration for Han Mingyue, Zhen Yu would definitely make a phone call to ask first!

As for the Han Family... Zhen Yu felt that she could talk to Mr. Han about an investment-dividend model. After all, the Han Family could only contribute money, which didn’t mean much in terms of partnership.

Other people in the small town, Mrs. Zhen hardly kept in touch with anymore.

The only one who regularly called her and had visited her in Qi City was Li Li, who had once worked in Shoe City.

Excluding the people from the small town, Zhen Yu didn’t know Mrs. Zhen’s newly made friends in Qi City well, so she didn’t really want to involve them!

But with complete strangers, it was impossible to talk about cooperation! Moreover, there was not enough trust between them...

After much thought, it’s always the semi-acquaintances who are the best to collaborate with! Zhen Yu circled several options in her mind and ultimately narrowed it down to just a few candidates!

She then carefully weighed these few candidates and finally was left with three potential choices!

One was Gu’s father from Gu’s Dumplings, the second was Zhang Liang from the appliance store, and the third was Xu Lin from Xu’s Martial Arts School.

Gu’s father was someone she was already cooperating with, where it’s better to deepen a connection than start a new one! Zhen Yu could even expand the card system to the dumpling shop to further increase a shared customer base.

Zhang Liang had the advantage of being in the industry, which could provide certain conveniences for the arcade.

Xu Lin’s approach was more straightforward and forceful! When the arcade eventually turned into an internet café and expanded in size, there were bound to be disturbances. This was especially unavoidable in the northeast. Collaborating with a martial arts school could serve as a deterrent, and its students could also be a potential customer base.

Of course, among the three, Zhen Yu leaned most towards Zhang Liang! But cooperation was also contingent on the other party being willing!

——

After pondering over various details of cooperation during the day, Zhen Yu shared her thoughts with her mother and brother at dinner that night.

"A partnership?" Mrs. Zhen was very reluctant, "I’ve been in business for years, and I’ve never heard of a partnership ending well! Most of them fall out!"

"Mom! What you’re talking about is a partnership! What I’m talking about is a business collaboration! They’re two completely different models!"

"How are they different?" Mrs. Zhen asked with some curiosity.

"In a partnership, you know what that involves, right? It’s about jointly investing and running a business together, there’s no clear division of labor, and it’s very casual about forming and dissolving; someone could drop out anytime!"

"Yeah! Isn’t that what partnerships are all about? Families put in money to start a business, you manage a bit and he does too, everyone wants a piece of the action! And then there’s someone who might just up and leave when they don’t want to do it anymore! You can’t do anything about it! That’s why Mom doesn’t like it! Running our own small business may be small, but it’s better because it’s peaceful!"

"Business collaboration is different from partnership; it involves signing a contract! It’s protected by law! When I seek a collaboration, there are two major premises! First, the other party has no right to interfere in the management! Second, they must exit when the time comes! This ensures that after a few years, the arcade will belong wholly to the Zhen Family! Details like the responsibilities of each party, as well as the timeline and proportion of funds for exit, can all be included in the contract! This way, it’s not about anyone sticking their foot in whenever they want, or pulling out whenever they please! And certainly, no one can renege on leaving!"

"I understand what you’re saying, but with all that, who would be willing to collaborate with you? If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t be willing! How is that different from throwing money into a hole?! After a few years, you just get a share of the dividends, whether you made money or lost, they wouldn’t have a say! Doesn’t it still end up whatever you say goes?!"

Zhen Yu was suddenly at a loss for words! She scratched her ear, realizing only now a fatal issue – there was no cash register software yet!

Just like Mrs. Zhen said, if everything depended on people to handle the cash and keep the books, even if brothers were running it, they couldn’t fully trust each other.

"Why did you stop talking?" Mrs. Zhen had never stumped her daughter before, and she couldn’t help showing a hint of pride, "All day long you think about things that are so far-fetched! You might as well just focus on running our own stall well!"

Listening attentively to the whole conversation, Zhen Yan finally spoke up with a complex tone, "Little sister, are you really out of options?"

Zhen Yu nodded silently.

"Alright, alright! We don’t need to collaborate with others, our family business is prospering enough! From now on, you should stop worrying about these things and devote your energy to studying! You have Mom at home, we’re not lacking money for your expenses!" Seeing her daughter’s poker face again, Mrs. Zhen quickly changed her tone, afraid that her daughter might be upset and that it would affect her mood for evening self-study.

"Don’t worry about it, little sister! All your ideas before have been realized, this one time doesn’t make a difference!"

"Mhm!" Zhen Yu nodded. Her plans just didn’t work out, and it was inevitable that she felt a bit disappointed.

Zhen Yan looked at his sister with a serious expression, "Xiao Yu, in the past, our family relied on you for everything. Mom and I didn’t need to think, we just did as you said! I feel really outmatched by you! Slowly, I started feeling a bit inferior! But today, I realized that there are things you haven’t considered, and for once, it’s good to follow Mom’s lead in our business!"

Hearing Zhen Yan’s words, Zhen Yu blinked, and Mrs. Zhen also paused a moment.

"It looks like I need to step it up!" Zhen Yan smiled, "From now on, don’t shoulder everything alone! I’m your brother! I should be the one contributing more to this family!"

"Mhm! I got it!" Zhen Yu hadn’t expected her competence to make her brother feel inferior, and she felt relieved thinking: It seems that the failed collaboration isn’t entirely a bad thing. At least for my brother, it turned out to be good.

To cheer on her brother, Zhen Yu deliberately spoke with a serious tone, "Brother, from now on, it’s on you to support our family!"

Zhen Yan seemed to feel the weight of responsibility his sister had passed to him and spoke in a deep voice, "Don’t worry!"

Mrs. Zhen, looking as if she was watching children play house, struggled to hold back a laugh, turned her head away, and coughed twice to regain her composure.