CHAPTER 1329: CHAPTER 1307: BORROWING MONEY II

Chen Bo was still unaware as he nodded and smiled, "Yes, you know, I’m not like you, being able to manage an estate at such a young age. I can only save up my monthly allowance, but it’s not much. My mother gave me two hundred taels, and opening a shop definitely requires some money on the books..."

Bai Shan raised an eyebrow slightly, "So this money, are you asking Erlang for a loan, or are you pulling him in as a shareholder?"

"Initially, I planned to borrow. But last night, I saw that Second Cousin seemed interested, so I thought it wouldn’t be bad for us cousins to venture into business together. Might as well count him in as a shareholder."

Bai Shan and Manbao turned their heads together to look at Bai Erlang, cautiously asking, "How much investment does Cousin Chen plan to put into this shop?"

Chen Bo glanced at them and asked with a smile, "Why, are you two interested as well?"

Manbao was just about to speak when Bai Shan promptly nodded ahead of her and said, "I’m somewhat tempted. If it seems promising, I might actually ask Grandma for some money to invest."

Chen Bo, however, burst into laughter and said, "What’s this about borrowing? Do you and your grandmother even need to talk about such things?"

He remarked enviously, "You’re the only one in your family, so naturally, whatever you ask for, you get."

Bai Shan didn’t argue but lightly coughed and brought the conversation back to his plan instead.

Chen Bo’s plan was essentially not a plan.

He himself had saved a bit over sixty taels, his mother had given him two hundred taels, and with Bai Erlang chipping in eight hundred taels, the shop could be set up.

However, if Bai Shan and Zhou Man were willing to invest, he wouldn’t mind stocking more quality merchandise. After all, having more funds would make cash flow easier, wouldn’t it?

Bai Shan and Manbao listened to his no-plan approach of starting a business, utterly stunned. Even Bai Erlang, standing nearby, froze in disbelief.

Although he had never opened a shop, he remembered how Zhou Wulang and others in the capital discussed opening a restaurant. Their family of five worked tirelessly day in and day out, scouting every street in both the inner and outer city.

They even memorized which areas sold vegetables cheap and fresh, what the prices were, and at what times certain streets bustled with people, analyzing the type of customer flow and potential patrons who might enter their restaurant.

Just documenting all this took up piles of paper, not to mention how Zhou Wulang secretly purchased a batch of vegetables from farmers to sell at various restaurant kitchens. Although not a single pound was sold, he managed to gather near-perfect information on the purchasing prices of various establishments.

During that time, the family ate the leftover vegetables Zhou Wulang had brought back. Whatever couldn’t be eaten was shared with their neighbors; otherwise, the leftovers would eventually go to the mule as feed.

For just that one restaurant, they calculated the costs right down to the price of each plate and detailed losses to the last wen. Yet here Chen Bo was, describing his plans for a shop without even knowing how much money it would require.

Bai Erlang grew conflicted, unsure if backing out now would result in Chen Bo beating him up later.

Manbao took one look at Bai Erlang’s expression and then said to Chen Bo, "Junior Brother has to return to the capital after the new year. He might not be able to focus his energy on this shop."

Chen Bo chuckled, "I know, but don’t worry—even if you become shareholders, I won’t make you worry about a thing. You just provide the money, and I’ll handle the errands."

The three of them: ... That made them even less reassured.

Manbao cleared her throat softly and said, "Wouldn’t that be too much trouble for you, Cousin Chen? We wouldn’t feel right enjoying the benefits without contributing anything. It might be better if this shop were solely yours—to manage however you see fit."

"Agreed," Bai Shan nodded with a smile, "Cousin hasn’t run a shop before, so you wouldn’t know that shop workers can be quite opinionated. With so many owners in a shop, whose orders should they follow?"

Surprisingly, Chen Bo nodded after hesitating for a moment, then turned to Bai Erlang and said, "Erlang, how about this—just lend me the money. I’ll pay you back later, and this shop will be solely mine."

After saying that, he sheepishly addressed Bai Shan and Zhou Man, "My initial idea was to make money with you both, but it looks like cooperation wasn’t meant to be."

The three were slightly astounded, their mouths slightly ajar. Bai Shan was the first to recover and quickly comforted Chen Bo, "It’s not a big deal; perhaps we just don’t have the right fate with the shop."

Chen Bo laughed, "In business, it’s better to have a bit more capital. It makes cash flow easier. Shan, Cousin, do you have any spare money? How about lending me some for cash flow?"

The three of them: ......

Bai Shan and Manbao made excuses to decline, their reasoning already prepared: they had spent all their money and were even indebted to Bai Erlang.

It was their first time refusing someone who wanted to borrow money, and their faces reddened slightly with embarrassment. Just as they were feeling awkward, a servant brought food over, and Bai Erlang promptly invited Chen Bo, "Cousin, would you like to join us for a bite?"

Chen Bo declined; he had only recently finished his lunch, so he wasn’t hungry yet.

Although he failed to borrow money from Bai Shan and Zhou Man, he was satisfied believing he had successfully borrowed from his cousin. Seeing them about to eat, he took his leave without any fuss.

As soon as he left, Bai Shan and Manbao immediately looked at Bai Erlang.

Bai Erlang sighed and said, "Got it. I’ll talk to Cousin privately. Opening a shop is not as simple as it sounds."

Since Bai Shan and Manbao were outsiders, it was hard for them to persuade Chen Bo despite spotting the flaws. But things were different for Bai Erlang. As cousins, now that Bai Erlang understood Chen Bo’s misguided approach to opening a shop, he naturally had a responsibility to advise him.

The three continued their meal and restored their usual camaraderie.

The cook had prepared a pot of duck eggs for them. Bai Shan and Manbao each ate one, but even with copious amounts of ginger to mask the gaminess, they could still taste a hint of unpleasantness.

Besides, duck eggs inherently lacked the smooth texture that chicken eggs had. After finishing one each, they stopped eating and turned to Bai Erlang.

Bai Erlang snorted but only ate one himself and refused to eat more.

The two stifled their laughter and didn’t force him to finish the rest.

After they were full, Manbao suddenly remembered, "The estate doesn’t raise many ducks, yet it seems like there are quite a lot of duck eggs. Are they not selling well?"

Bai Shan said, "Most likely, Manager Bai distributed fewer chicken eggs to the workers and replaced them with duck eggs instead."

Chicken eggs were always in high demand and easy to sell, but duck eggs were less flavorful, harder to sell, and cheaper. The workers’ dependence on the estate’s farm meant they had no choice but to comply with Manager Bai’s decisions.

Manbao frowned when she heard this, "How can Manager Bai do such a thing?"

Bai Erlang also found it problematic.

Bai Shan shrugged, "Don’t worry, I’ll check the books later. If we see how many chicken eggs were collected this year, we can set aside three-tenths and distribute them to the workers as red envelopes during the New Year celebrations."

He smiled and added, "When Manager Bai sees this, he’ll know we disapprove, and he’ll adjust his actions going forward."

Otherwise, if someone explicitly called him out, the workers who received duck eggs instead of chicken eggs today would suffer, and relations between Manager Bai and them would likely turn sour.

"Consider the duck eggs that were swapped out as a free gift to the workers," Bai Shan said. "Even if duck eggs aren’t that tasty, they’re still better than vegetables. They count as protein, after all."

Manbao and Bai Erlang didn’t see this minor loss as significant and agreed to Bai Shan’s suggestion.