"Boss Lu, please have a seat, quickly, quickly."
Seat 17, second floor of Roman Holiday Tea Restaurant in the city center.
Chen Pingjiang warmly greeted Lu Congjun, the owner of the convenience store in the campus snack street.
A 10-square-meter juice bar next to the convenience store was also opened by him.
At the same time, Lu Congjun was also a distributor for Chen Pingjiang's Little Chen's Fine Grape Juice.
Lu Congjun looked about forty-seven or forty-eight, with a crew cut, a big belly, and a very noticeable double chin.
"President Chen has been making a fortune recently. What guidance do you have for calling me here?"
To be honest, Lu Congjun genuinely couldn't quite figure out this high school student in front of him.
He was too much of a businessman, with a higher alcohol tolerance than himself, effortlessly cracking dirty jokes and sharing bizarre stories from all over the world while drinking.
He didn't seem like a student at all.
"Since Boss Lu is so direct, I won't beat around the bush either. You also know that I'm still a high school student who loves studying, and soon...
Hey, Boss Lu, why that expression? In a few days, I'll be going to Dongjiang for university. The business at Tongcheng College won't last long, so I plan to transfer the production technology for several grape juice drinks to you as a whole."
Chen Pingjiang sat with his legs crossed, leaning back in his chair, his eyes narrowed by the smoke.
Lu Congjun wasn't surprised.
Chen Pingjiang had already revealed this information twice before, and today was the first formal and in-depth conversation.
"I've considered this issue. However, as far as I know, the production of these juices isn't complicated. I won't hide it from you, our people have secretly tried making them, and the taste difference isn't significant."
Chen Pingjiang understood his subtext: why would I want your technology transfer?
I can totally make it myself after you leave and put my own label on it.
Anyway, you'll be out of town, how can you still reach Tongcheng?
Chen Pingjiang nodded with a smile,
"You're right. In that case, let's meet another day."
Now it was Lu Congjun's turn to be completely dumbfounded.
Is this how you conduct business?
I wanted to haggle with your price, and you don't even discuss it, just flip the table?
"Hey, President Chen, President Chen, have a cup of tea before you go. What's the hurry?"
Lu Congjun chased after him from behind.
Chen Pingjiang turned his head,
"I've arranged to discuss something with Boss Wang from the school cafeteria and Boss Zhang from the campus snack street."
"No, no, who are they? I came first, you must finish talking with me before you leave."
Lu Congjun actually started acting like a rogue, blocking the path and not letting Chen Pingjiang go.
"No, Boss Lu, what act are you putting on? Didn't you say you planned to make it yourself?"
After sitting down again, Lu Congjun quickly poured Chen Pingjiang a cup of tea, thinking to himself that this kid was as slippery as an eel, and he couldn't get any advantage.
He really did plan to make it himself, but if Chen Pingjiang transferred the fruit tea production technology and recipes to his competitors, could his juice bar survive in the future?
"President Chen, name your price."
Lu Congjun gave up directly.
"Hehe, since President Lu is so direct, I won't be polite either. Thirty thousand, for the complete set of grape-based fruit tea production processes and recipes, as well as slogans and marketing plans."
This price made Lu Congjun uncomfortable.
If it were more expensive, he would feel justified in haggling, but it was precisely only thirty thousand.
However, he also felt deep down that these few recipes weren't really worth thirty thousand.
At this moment, Chen Pingjiang added,
"Exclusive. You'll be the only one within Tongcheng College."
"President Chen, this price is a bit high, can it be cheaper?"
"Oh dear, it's one o'clock. Boss Wang must be getting impatient over there."
Chen Pingjiang feigned panic, looked at his watch, and was about to stand up and leave.
"Alright, alright, Little President Chen, you're really good at doing business. If you weren't still in school, I'd want my daughter to pursue you."
Lu Congjun shook his head, feeling completely cornered.
He firmly believed Chen Pingjiang would follow through because the other two establishments were also grape juice distributors.
Thirty thousand wasn't a lot; if he didn't agree, someone else surely would.
This was an overt strategy, fair and square.
Chen Pingjiang wore a sincere smile,
"Boss Lu actually wants to be my father-in-law? How old is Sister Lu, what's her height, and what's her weight?"
...
Walking out of the bank, he weighed the plastic bag in his hand.
Thirty thousand in hand.
Lu Congjun wasn't the only option.
If he didn't agree to the deal, Chen Pingjiang would truly turn around and contact others immediately, but only he was willing to pay thirty thousand.
Because the other two establishments had other main businesses, for them, it was fine if they didn't do it; at most, they would just go back to how things were before.
But Lu Congjun couldn't afford that.
If someone else took the contract, his juice bar business would definitely plummet, as this was his main business after all.
Rather than saying he bought a recipe for thirty thousand, it was more like he bought peace of mind for thirty thousand.
On September 1st, in the morning, the juice bar in the Tongcheng College campus snack street opened on time.
Lu Congjun specifically went to the school cafeteria and snack street to look around and found that the other two establishments had indeed removed their popular products like grape Yakult and iced coconut grape.
He immediately felt relieved, believing that Little President Chen was a man of his word and someone who could achieve great things.
Yesterday afternoon, Chen Pingjiang arrived with the complete set of grape-based fruit tea production processes and recipes, as well as slogans and marketing plans.
He trained the two juice bar employees on how to make several drinks and their ingredient ratios, and also handed Lu Congjun a printed document.
Lu Congjun didn't care at all about any marketing plans or slogans; he casually tossed them aside.
As long as there were no competitors within the school, he would be invincible.
At noon, Lu Congjun was sitting outside the convenience store smoking when he suddenly saw a girl walking towards him from across the way.
The cup she was holding looked a little familiar.
"Student, student, where did you buy that drink?"
"The snack street outside the school gate!"
Lu Congjun nearly lost his balance on the chair and fell off.
He scrambled back to the convenience store counter and started rummaging frantically.
His wife, Lu Yan, glared at him,
"What are you doing, pushing and shoving?"
Lu Congjun pushed Lu Yan aside and continued searching,
"Where did you throw the contract we signed yesterday?"
"The counter was wobbly, I used it to prop up a corner."
"I..."
Pulling out the document titled "Little Chen's Fine Grape Series Fruit Tea Technology Transfer Contract," Lu Congjun flipped to the third page, where several words were prominently written: "Tongcheng College."
Furious, Lu Congjun slammed the contract onto the ground.
It didn't specify "on-campus" or "off-campus," but clearly, the scope of Tongcheng College did not include the temporary snack street outside the campus.
He could only hold his nose and bear it.
Just as Lu Congjun was throwing a tantrum and slamming the contract, Chen Pingjiang and Zhou Guanghan had already boarded the bus to Dongjiang.
Chen Pingjiang next to him was asleep, but Zhou Guanghan couldn't sleep at all, thinking about the twenty thousand yuan in his backpack, afraid that a thief on the bus might steal his bag.
His great-uncle said this was his salary for this period, but he knew he had only done manual labor during this time and couldn't help with much else; his great-uncle wouldn't even need two thousand yuan to find someone else.
When the bus reached the service area, Chen Pingjiang got off to pee and smoked a cigarette, instantly feeling refreshed.
He had been utterly exhausted lately, working day and night without a break.
Although Zhou Guanghan had handled most of the physical labor, using his brain wasn't easy either.
However, the one hundred and twenty thousand yuan in his card was worth it.
After deducting costs from the revenue generated by direct stalls and other on-campus distributors, there were eighty thousand.
The technology transfer from Lu Congjun earned thirty thousand, the technology transfer fee from the temporary snack street outside campus was twenty thousand, and the complete selection, packaging, and marketing plan for Sunshine Rose grapes sold for another ten thousand.
In other words, in less than half a month, Chen Pingjiang's total profit was 140,000.
He gave Zhou Guanghan twenty thousand, leaving one hundred and twenty thousand.
He gave his aunt Chen Xiufen twenty thousand yuan, but the elder forcefully pulled it back and returned it.
In the end, Chen Pingjiang had to practically throw the money and run for her to reluctantly accept it.
This was much more than what his aunt usually got from grape vendors in previous years.
He slept at home last night and was scolded by his mother all night; his eardrums still hurt a little now.
"You haven't been home all summer, telling us you went traveling. Your dad and I thought you'd been kidnapped. You're going to school tomorrow, but you only decided to come back today."
"Do you know how worried your dad and I were? And you didn't even think to call home."
"Your and Erzi's luggage has been packed."
"Tuition is three thousand five, living expenses six hundred. Spend sparingly."
"Don't be careless. Even when you sleep, hold onto your bag. There are many thieves outside, especially in places like bus stations."
"Or maybe I should take you."
...
His dad was smiling, his mom was nagging.
For a moment, Chen Pingjiang genuinely felt a little reluctant to leave that warm home.
(End of Chapter)
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