Chapter 574: Gift of Congratulations

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Xie Tao was not particularly talkative, but because he’d known Zhang Zian since childhood and they were pretty familiar with each other, they could easily speak their mind. After stating a topic, he could go on continuously, mostly about complaining how hard it was to do business.

Most of his complaints were common challenges faced by small business owners, such as restocking pressures, low funding turnovers, rapidly changing trends and fashions, picky customers, online business-crushing stores, increasing sanitation fees from Grandma Gu, etc. These were nothing new. But Zhang Zian had faced all these problems before, and his were even worse. The difference was that Zhang Zian persevered through them, but Xie Tao was filled with negative energy and complained all the time.

They’d known each other since childhood, and had went down different paths after growing up, which had made them less close. Zhang Zian acknowledged his complaints, but he didn’t agree with his attitude. He didn’t say anything back, and just listened and occasionally commented.

As they talked, Xie Tao suddenly realized that he was doing most of the talking, which made him seem impolite. He abruptly changed the topic and smiled. “I’ll stop talking about myself. How are you doing? I passed by your pet shop this morning, and your business seems fine. A few people were looking at pets in the store, and most them were young girls.”

Zhang Zian smiled as well. “Brother Tao, didn’t you watch the news from a few months ago? There was a picture going viral on Wechat Moments. An online business website published a PPT on consumers’ investment and market value. In terms of market value, it was young girls>kids>young women>elders>dog>men. Then somebody online added ‘cat’ in front of young girls, which made it cats> young girls>kids>young women>elders>dog>men…”

It was better to spend money on dogs over men, and cats over women. This was a sound conclusion.

“Ha! Yes, yes, I’ve seen this! You just reminded me of it!” Xie Tao tapped his head as if he was having a sudden epiphany. “I get it. You mean that it’s harder to make money from men than from young girls? It’s true. You gotta find the right business targets! I’m not good at this. I’m not business material. I’m afraid that the shop that my parents left me is going to collapse under my managment.”

Zhang Zian gave him some suggestions. “Brother Tao, how about getting more women’s shoes? And reading some women’s fashion magazines to pick up on trends. Maybe that’ll work.”

Although he came to take over the shop, they were old acquaintances and had grew up together. He still wanted to help Xie Tao out if he could. Even if he couldn’t take over his store, he could always try his luck with another one.

After hearing this, Xie Tao waved his hands and smiled bitterly. “Zian, I appreciate your good intentions, but no, I’m done with it. I’m not good at this, and I don’t have the skills for sales. I always let the customers shop around by themselves, and I’ll only look for their size for them if they feel like trying it on. If customers ask me what material the sole and the upper part is, all I know is the most basic cloth, leather, rubber, and mesh. I can’t answer anything else.”

Zhang Zian secretly shook his head. No wonder the business was declining, from the way Xie Tao was doing business. He himself didn’t know much about pets in the beginning, but he’d bought lots of books to cram with, so that he could answer the customer’s difficult questions. Fina could teach kittens to dance, but not all customers came in to buy dancing kittens. Like the girl Vivi, if he never learned from his studying that Siberian Forest cats were non-allergenic, he would have missed a good sale.

“Well, you can keep learning more about it,” he continued to persuade him.

Xie Tao shook his head. “I don’t have the time, nor the focus to read. I’m not like you. I never enjoyed reading since I was a kid, and it gives me headaches. It’s over. I don’t want to continue anyways. After finding a way to sell all the shoes I have in stock, I’ll head home for the Spring Festival with my wife and kid.”

Zhang Zian’s heart was pained, and he asked, “Brother Tao, what are you going to do with your store?”

Xie Tao was silent for a while, and answered without much certainty. “I’ll sell it if I can. If not, I’ll rent it out. Even renting is a source of income, and will be better than how things are going on now. I’m just wasting my energy here.”

Zhang Zian hesitated for a moment and finally asked, “Brother Tao, I’m curious. How much are you planning to sell it for?”

Xie Tao was stunned. “What? You want to sell yours too? Your shop is doing pretty well. Why are you selling it?”

He’d clearly misunderstood Zhang Zian’s question.

“No, I’m not. Actually, I’m planning on expanding. I’ll buy it if your price is decent.” Zhang Zian answered honestly and then watched Xie Tao’s face nervously. They were store neighbors, right next to the other. One was doing badly and was forced to close, while the other was doing well and needed to expand. Their drastic differences could easily lead Xie Tao to aversion and resistance.

Xie Tao’s face remained still. Just as Zhang Zian was beginning to worry, the other suddenly laughed in relief. “That’s great! I was just about to advertise it to a real estate broker. If you want to buy it, it’ll save me a huge broker fee. It works out for both of us.”

Zhang Zian heard his sincerity, and didn’t think he seemed jealous at all. He asked in relief, “Brother Tao, don’t you think that it’s a pity to sell the store though?”

“Not at all. How could it be? People have to change to survive. I’m not a nostalgic person. Why would I keep enduring through this if I know that I’m not the right person for business? Don’t you agree?” Xie Tao continued on with ease. “I’m needed more by my kid and wife. After selling the store, I’ll buy a bigger house for them, and I won’t live in Binhai City anymore. Maybe I’ll come back for a drink with you, sometimes in the future.”

Zhang Zian tried to suppress his excitement and nodded. “Sure, Brother Tao, it’ll be my treat. This is big news. Are you going to discuss it with you wife?”

“I mentioned it to her earlier, and she agreed.” Xie Tao smiled. “Our baby is a newborn and we need money. Baby formula costs about 1000-2000 Yuan per month. I can’t make money with this shoe store, I’m just losing it. It’s better to sell it and make a profit. How much is nostalgia really worth? Zian, you’re not married yet. Once you do get married and have kids, you’ll understand.”

“Maybe so,” confessed Zhang Zian. After all, he’d never experienced any of that.

Since both Xie Tao and his wife agreed to sell, he expected everything to go smoothly, as long as they agreed on the price. The building prices in Binhai City had been rising, but gradually stabilizing, without any unusual rises or falls. They both had an idea on how much this building was worth.

The best time for the property market was during September and October, while around the Spring Festival was the slowest time. Xie Tao was eager to sell and knew Zhang Zian well, so he didn’t give him a hard time on price. He even offered a discount, and they quickly reached an agreement.

After the deal the settled, both parties felt relieved. Xie Tao informed his wife about the deal through Wechat, and vouched for Zhang Zian’s credibility. His wife was reasonable in response and let himself make the final decision.

As Xie Tao was discussing with his wife, Zhang Zian walked around the store. He knocked on the walls and made a rough evaluation, thinking that the store would need some renovation. His funding would be tight, and he might have to get a loan from the bank. After years of hard work, he was back to round one.

The last renovation the shoe store had was dated around at least 20 years ago. That was fine. Still, the walls were thin, with bad insulation for sound and heat. Plus, there were a lot of cracks between the walls and the floor, which needed to be repainted and reinforced.

If he were to use this store as a delivery room, he would have to put all the non-sterilized adult cats inside of it. If the sound insulation was bad, the meowing at night would be very annoying to the neighbors and it could bring in a lot of complaints. Even more, all the cracks needed to be filled and it needed pest control. Without it, it could be infested with flees.

“Okay!” Xie Tao excitedly put his phone back into his pocket, and gestured happily at Zhang Zian.

“Was your wife okay with it?” asked Zhang Zian.

“Yes.” Xie Tao glanced around the store in contemplation. “Zian, this is your store from now on. You have to work hard, and not follow my example. I’d like to pass by this store the next time I visit Binhai City. I hope you wouldn’t sell it to somebody else by then.”

“No problem, I won’t, Brother Tao.” Zhang Zian spoke with confidence.

“Alright, I’ll count on your word.” Xie Tao pointed at the store next door. “I trust you too. When I passed by your shop, I saw that you hired someone?”

“Yes. Sometimes I have to go out and make purchases, and I can’t do everything by myself,” replied Zhang Zian. “I want to be open for business everyday, so I had to hire someone to watch it while I’m gone.”

Xie Tao smiled grimly. “You know how to do business, and you’ll surely do better and better. I’ll head back soon. I’ll come back another day and pack away all the shoes that I can’t sell. Then, I’ll clean up the room upstairs, so that I can quickly make some room for you.”

After seeing that he was about to leave, Zhang Zian suddenly remembered something and quickly said, “Brother Tao, wait a minute.”

He went back to his shop hurriedly, picked up a British Shorthair kitten and a carrier, ignored Lu Yiyun’s questioning, and headed back to the shoe store next door.

He said, “Brother Tao, I have a pet shop, and I have nothing else but pets. This kitten is for you and your wife, as my belated wedding gift. Please take it.”

Xie Tao was astonished. “Brother, this is too kind of you. How can I accept this? Even for a wedding, just a red packet with 300-500 Yuan would be enough.”

“That’s fine. If your wife had not got pregnant yet, I wouldn’t give you a cat, in case of toxoplasmosis. But since she has already given birth, it’ll be fine to have one.”

As Zhang Zian spoke, he put the British Shorthair kitten into the carrier and handed it over.

“Wow, what a beautiful kitten! How much is it? I can’t take it if it’s too expensive.” Xie Tao held the box, and looked at the kitten carefully through the cage door.

“It’s not expensive, it’s just a regular cat.” Zhang Zian didn’t give him time to say no, and waved his hands at him. “Say hi to your wife for me after you get back!”

“Alright, sure,” responded Xie Tao distractedly. His attention was completely entranced by the cute kitten.