Suotuo City

The Balak Kingdom was one of the five major kingdoms subordinate to the Heaven Dou Empire. It bordered Fasnuo Province. Though it was called a kingdom, its territory was even smaller than Fasnuo Province, roughly three-quarters its size.

Of its few major cities, they could skip the royal capital right away. In truth, the royal capital was the best place to conduct business. But why handle something so simple themselves?

The southwestern part of Fasnuo Province was not far from the Star Luo Empire. There were occasional minor conflicts, and it was also close to the Star Dou Great Forest, so the local people tended to be quite tough and valiant.

There were quite a few Soul Masters here in their thirties and forties. When there were many Soul Masters at those levels, there would naturally be no shortage of those at level fifty either. What might be lacking were high-level Soul Masters, due to poor inheritances and low-quality Martial Souls.

Since the local customs were relatively fierce, some adjustments had to be made to their business.

Why had the royal capital been ruled out first? It actually had its advantages. The Balak Kingdom had its own Soul Master Academy in the royal capital. Finding a few students to work as clerks should not have been difficult.

Still, the royal capital was the same as anywhere else—it had more nobles. Their lives were more luxurious and refined, and they pursued fine food more keenly.

The pastries Little Grass Dessert Shop introduced later were quite exquisite, while the Candied Hawthorn, Cotton Candy, popsicles, and Shaved Ice were all rather novel. Therefore, developing in the royal capital would not be much of a problem. Once the first branch was established, they could simply train a few newcomers at headquarters and send them over.

What worried him more was that those people who loved fighting in spirit arenas every day might not like the shop's products. Among the major cities was Suotuo City, the location of Shrek Academy in the original story.

Chen Huang naturally became interested in Suotuo City. It was much better than the other cities. Therefore, Little Grass Dessert Shop's first branch in the Balak Kingdom would be established in Suotuo City. If any problems arose, they would solve them promptly once discovered. If there were no problems, it would be time for him to leave.

The group of four, along with the carriage driver, arrived at Suotuo City before noon.

Hong Feng had quite a chatterbox mouth. He talked the entire way through the carriage ride. Fortunately, it was only the early stage. If it got worse later on, Chen Huang truly would not be able to stand it.

Perhaps that nonstop chatter was his way of showing enthusiasm.

When Hong Feng saw the carriage reach Suotuo City's gates, he turned to Chen Huang and asked, "Little Boss, where are we going? Are we heading to the City Lord's Manor now?"

"We're not familiar with Suotuo City. We've never even been here, and we don't know the roads."

"Where do you think the City Lord's Manor is?" As he spoke, his gaze swept around again, as though searching for it.

The City Lord's Manor was generally quite conspicuous, so it would not be hard to find.

Chen Huang rolled his eyes at him. "Shut up. If you don't know where it is, can't you ask for directions? We're not going to the City Lord's Manor yet. Let's find an inn and settle in first."

Beside him, Xiao Shan leaned against Chen Huang and helplessly held her forehead. This journey had not been easy. Even the carriage driver was nearly at his limit. Tang Hao had simply turned his back, refusing to even look at Hong Feng, pretending such a person did not exist.

Hong Feng suddenly understood. "Oh, that's true. We should find an inn first, then eat. It's just about mealtime. You won't have the strength to work if you don't eat, and you can only get things done after you've eaten your fill. Little Boss, shall we find the City Lord's Manor after lunch? Since we're here, we can try Suotuo City's food. Though whether it's good or not isn't important. It'd be great if they had my favorite grilled redfish. If there's no redfish, green crucian carp or black bass would do."

Chen Huang slapped the back of his head and shouted, "Shut up! You've been talking forever. Can't you rest for a while?"

The world immediately fell quiet. Hong Feng looked at him pitifully, but Chen Huang remained unmoved.

"What have I taught you? Haven't I given you lessons? First, conduct market research. See where foot traffic is highest, where girls and children go most often, and where the competitors are. Then there are raw materials. If some things can be bought locally at suitable prices, there's no need to transport them from far away. Haven't I said all that before?" Chen Huang asked.

Hong Feng nodded in sudden realization. He wanted to speak, but held it back. The Little Boss had told him not to talk.

"Why are we in such a hurry to buy a shop? What if we buy one in a bad location without first seeing the situation clearly? Can it be returned? Investigate first, then act," Chen Huang said.

Tang Hao and Xiao Shan nodded in agreement. They had seen before how Chen Huang taught the employees.

Chen Huang continued, "I previously took time to investigate the cities where each branch was located. The locations of some branches were not ideal. Foot traffic in those places was not high. There was certainly a huge difference between a food street and a clothing street. Some branches had poor locations because our funds were insufficient in the early days, so we could only make do."

"But later, when we had money, I was never stingy about buying shops. I approved however much was needed. Yet when I looked, many locations were still far from ideal. They simply hadn't taken my words to heart. If Little Grass had not already gained considerable recognition and brand awareness in Fasnuo Province, location and foot traffic alone would have been enough to determine a shop's life or death."

Hong Feng nodded after hearing this. He had graduated from an advanced Soul Master Academy and was fairly well educated. Combined with his experience as a shop manager, he could at least understand.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Huang said angrily, "There were originally supposed to be thirteen branches in Fasnuo Province. The thirteenth, if I remember correctly, was in Laiding City. That damned manager opened the shop beside a public toilet. He even thought he had gotten a bargain because the shops near the toilet were absurdly cheap."

"The outcome was obvious. Business was pitifully bad. The best-selling items were Candied Hawthorn and lollipops wrapped in paper. That was the only shop I ever took back. I directly shut down the Laiding City branch. Was he planning to sell candy together with shit and piss?"

"That guy was also Little Grass's only employee to be fired and blacklisted, never to be hired again."

Selling candy and pastries beside a toilet.

Everyone instantly pictured it in their minds. It was far too vivid. That person truly deserved to be fired.

"Hong Feng, you can choose to work hard in the Balak Kingdom from now on. I'll establish a higher-level branch here. At that time, you can choose to become its manager while also managing the other branches that will later be established throughout the Balak Kingdom. They will still have their own managers, but your rank will be higher than theirs. If anything happens, they'll report to you first, and then you'll report to me. You'll be the overall person in charge of the Balak Kingdom."

"Or you can choose to return to the Silver City branch later and continue as its branch manager. I'll select someone else from among all the managers to be the overall person in charge here."

"No, no, no, Little Boss! Who would refuse a promotion? I'll do it. I'll be the overall manager, and you can leave the Balak Kingdom's business to me without worry." Hong Feng's fairly handsome face suddenly turned lecherous. "It's just, Little Boss, will my salary increase then?"

"It will increase, but how much depends on your performance," Chen Huang said with a smile.

P.S.: Please bookmark and recommend! 4/4.

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Thanks to Sui Feng Piaoyou Li Feng Mo for the 100 Qidian Coins reward.

Thanks to Jie Jiao Xiao Xiao Tu for the 300 Qidian Coins reward.

Thank you, boss! You're generous, boss!