Tuesday, September 29th.
[Infinite Money System]
[Total System Balance: ¥1,690.00]
[Available System Balance: ¥1,690.00]
[Personal Balance: ¥5,071.00]
Lin Feng could finally relax a bit seeing his balance back up again.
Though he felt that feeling might be short-lived.
He wondered if there were any other things he might need to spend money on. He supposed he would need to open a business bank account. How much would that cost? He also needed carved seals for his company. He wondered how much that would take too.
He needed to look into it.
"Lin Feng?"
Zhang Wei's voice cut through his thoughts.
He dismissed the system with a thought.
"I'm sorry, I got distracted for a second there." He turned to face him. "You were saying?"
Zhang Wei leaned back slightly.
"I was saying that we're really reaching the limits of our framework," he said. "To be honest, I think it would be better if we made our own app."
He paused, seeming hesitant.
"But…I'm not so sure. Right now we have it easy - we don't have to deal with authentication or payment processing. Though I suppose there are some APIs I could use for that." He scratched his chin. "Then the only problem would be hosting. It might not be an issue since our user base isn't large at the moment, but it's something to think about."
Lin Feng nodded slowly.
"That's not a bad idea," he said. "How about this - we keep using what we're using now, and you can work on the app over Golden Week."
He glanced at the others.
"Since it's probably going to be a lot of work, we'll take a cut from our salaries and pay him. It's not much at the moment, but..."
The others nodded in agreement.
Zhang Wei waved his hands quickly.
"There's no need for that."
He looked at each of them.
"You guys are also doing labor for the business. This is no different." He paused. "In fact, to me, it feels like you're all doing the most work. Li Jun handles management on top of deliveries. Chen Ming is dealing with marketing and customer relations, also on top of deliveries. And Lin Feng is doing all the strategizing and organizing."
He shrugged.
"While it might seem hard to you guys, to me, I'm just doing my hobby. So you don't need to feel like I'm sacrificing something."
He scratched his cheek.
"Besides, my investment was supposed to be something valued the same as your cash investment, right? That mini program I threw together wasn't all that much." He smiled slightly. "With this app, I'll finally pay my investment properly."
Silence fell over the room.
The three of them stared at Zhang Wei with teary eyes.
He blinked, confused.
"Did I say something weird?"
"Zhang Wei..." they called out in unison.
Then they lunged at him, wrapping him in a group hug.
"I never realized you cared so much about us!"
"What the - get off me!"
Zhang Wei struggled against them.
"Do you have any idea how much you guys weigh?!"
…
A few moments later, the four of them sat in a circle, composure restored.
"Ahem." Lin Feng cleared his throat. "We might've gotten carried away for a second there. Let's get back on track."
He turned to Chen Ming.
"Chen Ming?"
Chen Ming straightened up.
"The usual," he began. "Our popularity is rising, and the number of returning customers has increased. I also selected a few loyal customers as moderators for the group chat, so the trolling incidents have died down significantly."
He paused, his expression shifting.
"But... I also heard some rumors."
Lin Feng raised an eyebrow. "Rumors?"
"People are planning to do something similar to us."
Chen Ming looked down, his earlier enthusiasm fading.
Lin Feng noticed his expression and smiled.
It seems he's worried I'll ask them to back down again.
"Don't worry," Lin Feng said firmly. "We won't back down this time. We've all put in too much to be pushed out of our market."
Chen Ming seemed a little relieved, his expression brightening.
"But..." He hesitated. "They're planning to work with the campus incubator program."
Lin Feng's eyes widened.
The campus incubator program was exactly what it sounded like - it sponsored students to start businesses while on campus and came with significant benefits. If the copycats were to be sponsored by it, things could get problematic.
One solution was to register with the incubator before them, but... Lin Feng was against it. While it did provide considerable benefits, it also came with its own downsides.
He let out a sigh.
"Don't worry about it," he said. "I'll figure something out."
He leaned back slightly.
"Most likely, they're just thinking about it and won't start anytime soon. My guess is after Golden Week at the earliest."
He glanced at Li Jun.
"And even then, it'll be hard for them to secure a supplier like ours."
Li Jun nodded in confirmation.
"So unless they use unfair practices, we should have them beat." Lin Feng looked around at the group. "Don't worry. I'll think of a more permanent solution to this."
They all seemed relieved.
"We will trust the boss," they said in unison.
Lin Feng could only accept it.
He turned to Li Jun.
"Your report?"
Li Jun pulled out his phone.
"Here's yesterday's data. Total orders: 38. Items sold: 60. Revenue: 590 yuan. Cost of goods sold: 350 yuan."
He swiped to another screen.
"Cash on hand: 4,348 yuan. Remaining inventory valued at 393 yuan."
He looked up.
"And in the evening, I restocked for a thousand yuan. That brings our inventory cost to 1,393 yuan and takes our cash on hand down to 3,348 yuan."
Chen Ming frowned. "A thousand? Isn't that too low considering…"
"I know," Li Jun interrupted. He held up a hand. "I don't want us to be too low on cash. We'll earn money with this stock over the remaining two days, then do a bigger restock before Golden Week."
He set down his phone.
"We'll need a large one this time. Many shops around campus might close up during the holiday, and we won't have on-demand restocks like before." He paused. "My uncle's side will be at a loss coming this way just to serve small shops like us."
The others nodded in understanding.
"Anything else?" Lin Feng asked.
"The unpopular items have almost been completely phased out," Li Jun added.
Lin Feng nodded approvingly.
"Alright then."
He looked around at his roommates.
"Let's finish this final sprint before Golden Week. We'll probably have to work extremely hard during the holiday, so take the time to prepare." He paused. "And also relax."