Midsummer was unbearably hot and stuffy.
It felt as if Heaven had covered Jizhou City with an invisible steamer. Even if you did nothing but stand there, you could end up drenched in sweat.
At that moment, Jiang Qin, tanned nearly black, stood outside the traffic police brigade. He tucked away the driver's license he had just received, then took a taxi to the bank and withdrew 270,000 yuan in cash.
He had decided this long ago.
He planned to use this money to test the waters in different industries and determine the direction of his business, so he would not have to take too many unnecessary detours.
To be honest, 270,000 yuan could last a long time if he was merely spending it, but it was nowhere near enough to start a business.
So Jiang Qin was not trying to make money. He was basically just dabbling, hoping to hear some inside information from people in the industry and keep his passion for entrepreneurship alive.
On July 21, Jiang Qin found the mother of his classmate Huang Ying and had her purchase a batch of slimming injections and hyaluronic acid from overseas.
The wholesale price was 150 yuan per injection. After being passed on to beauty salons, each one was priced at 899 yuan.
Although the beauty industry had not yet become that hot in 2008, anyone who had seen the flourishing medical aesthetics industry of later generations would know that this was absolutely a hugely profitable business. As long as women loved beauty, this industry would always be a sunrise industry.
On July 22, he was browsing financial news when he suddenly saw that Nongfu Spring was preparing to update its packaging and offering a 300,000-yuan reward for advertising slogans nationwide. Jiang Qin opened his email, wrote, "We don't produce water. We're merely nature's porters," and left his phone number.
The next day, an unfamiliar number called him.
The other party claimed to be the manager of Nongfu Spring's Publicity Department. He first thanked Jiang Qin, then asked for his bank card number.
When the deposit notification arrived on his phone, Jiang Qin suddenly felt as if he had found money on the ground. He thought, Rebirth is fucking wonderful.
On July 24, Jiang Qin invested in the lamb soup shop owned by his classmate Yang Shuan's family, acquiring a thirty-percent stake.
According to his memories, Yang Shuan's father's culinary skills were unmatched in Jizhou. Five years later, they would even have branches in the neighboring city. It was a business that was guaranteed to make money.
Jiang Qin was not particularly interested in investing in shops, but he wanted to quietly learn the secret recipe. In the end, he found a packet of Sanyuan evaporated milk in a cabinet.
On July 29, his driving school instructor said that he was acting as an agent for a certain medicine, with a one-to-ten profit margin. Hearing that Jiang Qin had money, he tried to get him involved.
Jiang Qin was very interested, but he was still wary of businesses that came knocking at his door. So he secretly investigated and discovered that the driving instructor's wife was running a pyramid scheme. He reported it without hesitation.
On August 6, with the Olympics about to begin, Jiang Qin hired ten people at the labor market to sell national flags and Fuwa along the streets.
In the end, every penny they earned went toward wages, and he even had to pay an extra 1,500 yuan out of pocket. But as he watched red flags fluttering throughout the streets, Jiang Qin felt incredibly happy.
Before he knew it, half a month had passed.
Jiang Qin felt that he had gained a great deal.
The medical aesthetics industry was indeed extremely profitable, but it required too much money to be advanced upfront, making the costs relatively high. The restaurant industry was stable and turned a profit quickly, but you had to have no conscience at all; otherwise, there was a high chance of losing money.
Besides, labor costs had to be taken into consideration.
At the very beginning of starting a business, you had to think about how to make customers pay for labor costs instead of bearing the risk yourself.
Take selling national flags, for example. You could buy them for fifty cents and sell them for three yuan, only to end up paying extra when it was time to hand out wages.
Most importantly, you absolutely must not trust business opportunities that came knocking at your door. Otherwise, you could easily find yourself dragged into difficulties beyond your imagination.
Jiang Qin felt that he truly liked doing business. Even when he lost money, he still found it interesting.
Why the fuck didn't I think of doing business in my previous life?
At the same time, the class group chat for Senior Three, Class Two, was also becoming restless. The graduates had just received their admission notices.
Their restlessness was different from Jiang Qin's. Jiang Qin was excited about business, while they were simply bored.
"Everyone, the admission notices are out. Do you want to go out and have some fun together?"
"I think that sounds good. Summer Vacation is so long, and it's incredibly boring staying at home. I've wanted to find someone to go out with for ages."
"Are there any fun places? We can organize a group trip!"
"I heard there's a bar opposite the fire station. A bunch of people gather there to watch the Olympics and drink. Why don't we go experience it too?"
As the conversation continued, more and more classmates began joining the group chat.
To be honest, the holiday after the National College Entrance Examination lasted three months. Staying at home the whole time really could drive people crazy, so many of them wanted to go out and have fun.
They had not dared to go before because of their studies and had been suffocated by the pressure of the National College Entrance Examination. Now that they finally had time, what was wrong with indulging a little for the sake of their youth?
Chu Siqi: "I'm feeling a little restless too. Count me in if we're going out."
Qin Ziang: "Siqi's going too? Then I'm going as well."
Yu Shasha: "Me too, me too! I've never been to a bar before. When are we going?"
"Forget it. We went a few days ago, but couldn't get in. You have to reserve a table in advance."
"Yeah, that bar is incredibly popular now. It's packed every day, and I heard you can't even reserve a table by throwing money at it. We're just a bunch of poor students. How are we supposed to compete with those adults for seats?"
Guo Zihang: "Are you talking about Night Light Bar?"
Qin Ziang: "What? You know it too?"
Guo Zihang: "Actually, you can ask Jiang Qin to reserve a table."
"..."
"????"
Guo Zihang's sudden remark left the entire group stunned.
What did he mean by asking Jiang Qin to reserve a table? Nobody else could get one, but Jiang Qin could? Did he have connections?
Qin Ziang: "Heh, Jiang Qin? Did he stop selling boxed lunches and become a bartender at a bar?"
Yu Shasha: "Has this guy gone crazy over money? How poor is his family? Why will he do anything?"
Guo Zihang: "Not a bartender. He paid to rent half the bar. The group Olympic viewing event was organized by him, but it became so popular that the bar owner eventually handed the entire bar over to him to operate."
Chu Siqi: "How much does it cost to rent half a bar?"
Guo Zihang: "The venue and drinks together cost around 300,000 yuan, I think."
"..."
Yu Shasha: "Are you kidding me? How could he possibly have 300,000 yuan? I know you two are close, but there has to be a limit to bragging."
Guo Zihang: "What am I bragging about? I watched the opening ceremony at Night Light Bar yesterday, and I didn't spend a cent."
Huang Ying: "Guo Zihang really isn't bragging. A few days ago, Jiang Qin partnered with my mother to purchase 500,000 yuan worth of beauty injections from overseas. He put in 100,000 yuan."
Yang Shuan: "My family's lamb soup restaurant has opened a branch. It's fine if you can't go to the bar. You can come to my family's lamb soup restaurant for soup!"
Chu Siqi: "We're discussing serious matters. Why are you advertising?"
Yang Shuan: "Jiang Qin also invested in my family's second lamb soup restaurant. I don't know how much, but it was definitely more than 100,000 yuan. I have to call him Uncle now."
Guo Zihang: "Why do you call him Uncle?"
Yang Shuan: "On the day we signed the contract, Jiang Qin and my father both got drunk. They were completely out of it and insisted on becoming sworn brothers. Nobody could talk them out of it."
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