Feng Pupu carried her small pile of belongings with wide eyes, following Chu Xian in stunned obedience. A brand new cell phone and a magnetic strip reader lay on top of two carefully folded uniforms in her arms.
"The clothes are your uniform, and you'll wear those while working. The cell phone is also for work. I'll help you set up WeChat and Alipay on it, and you'll use it in the future to manage all transactions," Chu Xian said, glancing at Feng Pupu's dazed expression in amusement.
Chu Xian led the way and pushed open the store door. "Come here, let me explain what you'll be doing."
Walking over to the fish tanks, Chu Xian said: "You'll need to take care of the goldfish and feed them throughout the day. Just a little spoonful each time, don't forget. You'll also need to know the species and characteristics of the different goldfish; I'll write the details down for you to memorize. You'll also need to learn how to use the card machine, WeChat, and Alipay to receive money."
Feng Pupu followed along studiously, nodding along at Chu Xian's words.
Chu Xian couldn't resist patting her head. "In the future, you don't need to call me boss. Just call me brother and we'll avoid any trouble."
"Okay, brother!" Feng Pupu said, lowering her head and accepting his hand.
Chu Xian looked at her obedient gesture and couldn't help but feel some guilt in his heart. If she lifted her head at this moment and said: "Brother, although I don't mind, the lightest sentence is three years and the most severe one is death!"
Then that would be interesting.
Shaking his head, Chu Xian pushed the random thoughts out of his mind. He took up a pen and piece of paper and wrote down the different varieties and characteristics of the goldfish.
In the few moments that passed, a couple of people peeked into the store curiously. Feng Pupu went up to the customers and cheerfully greeted them, "Welcome!"
The people all smiled at the cute girl, and the girl herself turned to Chu Xian eagerly.
Chu Xian chuckled and said, "You don't have to yell welcome every time someone comes in, otherwise you'll exhaust yourself. Just let the customers come in and look around and make sure they pay for things. You'll just help them net the goldfish they ask for and be there when they need you."
Pupu looked at him in some confusion but still nodded in affirmation. Soon enough, she understood.
The store was too popular! From 10 am onwards, the store was packed, and a continuous stream of people came and went. Sometimes, there were even a few people waiting at the door!
After that, Feng Pupu just stood by the side anxiously staring at the goldfish, afraid that someone might come and steal some.
Chu Xian nodded with satisfaction. Although she was young, Pupu was very thoughtful, careful, and very attentive. "Okay, Pupu, come over here. Let me show you the goldfish!"
Chu Xian handed over a piece of paper and pointed out each of the goldfish. Pupu read the paper and followed along, nodding continuously.
A short while later, a customer bought five goldfish and Chu Xian used to opportunity to show her how to manage transactions. Around lunchtime, he ordered some takeout and went out to buy a little stool.
After lunch, Chu Xian entrusted the shop to Pupu and drove over to the fish farm in Feng Tai.
When he arrived, he saw the workers busy finishing off the renovations. Chu Xian nodded in satisfaction - lately, some of the workers even stayed overnight keeping guard, yet nothing unexpected happened.
"Boss, we'll be done after two more days. All the work will be finished," one of the workers said.
Chu Xian nodded and passed around some cigarettes. After chatting with the group for a little while, he took his leave.
This was going to be his foundation, the base for his future developments, and this would also function as an important mask for his activities. Protecting the farm would be a top priority, ensuring that something like the previous fiasco could never happen again.
Chu Xian's secrets prevented him from hiring guards, and he also couldn't stay camped out there forever either. As he thought back to the information he found online, he shook his head bitterly.
He returned to Gu Wu Street, but as he walked up to his store, he noticed some construction work on the other side of the street.
From what Chu Xian could remember, the store opposite his sold small pets - small animals like cute cats and dogs and some mice - but the owner fared worse than him and closed up shop after just two months, and from then on, the doors had been closed.
"Looks like a new shop is opening up. I wonder what they'll sell?" Chu Xian thought to himself, peering over curiously.
Suddenly, a familiar silhouette appeared and stunned Chu Xian. He never imagined that his acquaintance would open up shop just across from him. He hesitated for a moment before walking over.
"Hi, how are you? What a surprise to see you here," Chu Xian walked over and greeted his acquaintance.
Tang Qiumeng turned from her work in surprise. "Hello, what a coincidence. What are you doing here?"
"Hehe, it is a big coincidence. We'll be neighbors in the future. I own the ornamental fish store across the street. What kind of store are you opening up?" Chu Xian asked curiously.
Tang Qiumeng looked over at him with some surprise. Even as a newcomer, she heard of this small shop across the street that sold high-class goldfish. The shop was crazily popular on the internet, and every day the store was packed with people. When she arrived there, she took a moment to look inside his shop as well.
All the goldfish were very beautiful and were all rare and precious varieties. Although all the goldfish were very expensive, his business was good, and in the few minutes she was at the shop, she saw at least one customer buy five fish. It had to be said that the store was an incredibly popular luxury store.
"I didn't know the goldfish shop was yours!" Tang Qiumeng replied in surprise. "I'm opening up a pet store, but mainly to help cure pets. You could call it an animal clinic!"
Chu Xian looked her with some confusion - such a beautiful girl opening up an animal clinic seemed like a bit of a waste, but he thought back to what Xiao Ying told him. Girls who studied abroad really were different from others, he thought to himself.
"Heh, I'll also sell some small pets," Tang Qiumeng replied with a giggle at Chu Xian's astonished expression.
"Oh, heh. Then you won't have to change much in the store. Looks like you'll be able to start work in a couple days," Chu Xian said with some awkwardness.
"Yes, after two days of cleaning, I can open up shop the day after tomorrow."
Chu Xian nodded. As he turned to leave, a thought struck him and he turned back with an expectant glance. "Ms. Tang, I heard from Xiao Ying that you studied animals pretty extensively. Do you by any chance know the anatomy and structure of a crocodile?"