The Challenge (15)

After they had a general idea set into place, the first thing they needed to settle was the name of the shop. Without that, they could not proceed to do anything else. That was because from the name, one could discern the inspiration behind the establishment. And then from there, the other details could be expanded. This showed the importance of the name.

Even though Xiu Ling did ask the other people for their opinion, they did not impose themselves into this decision. This was ultimately Xiu Ling's pet project. Xiu Ling did ask her mother about it and Mrs. Xiu was fine with anything. As long as it was her daughter's idea, she was going to support it.

Xiu Ling was in Lin Kang's office talking about the business plan when inspiration struck. Lin Kang was saying how she managed to get the whole family mobilized to help her and that was a good thing. Family... the word stuck in her mind and Xiu Ling thought it was quite a nice name.

Family, it was the reason why she had accepted the challenge. It was to prove that she was a part of the family. It was for the future of her son, her family. Other than that, the shop was going to be something that bound Xiu Ling and her mother together, that was also her family. In a way, the shop was a meeting point of her old family and her new family. She liked how the simple word had encapsulated what the establishment would mean for her.

She told Lin Kang her thought and the man nodded slowly as he ruminated on the name. He liked it but he had one opinion, he thought it sounded too mundane. There was an art to business name. It had to be easily remembered and could roll off the tongue. Names that were too mundane and everyday were normally avoided because they could not register in the consumers' mind or rather they could not replace the meaning of the words that the consumers already had in their mind.

For example, if Xiu Ling went ahead and called the shop, family, the customers would be thinking about their own family because that was the image that the name evoked in their mind. They would not be thinking of the shop. It would not have that lasting impact in people's mind because it was too mundane. In other words, it was not a bad name per se but it just did not jump out in people's mind. It was natural for us to remember something that we did not understand at first glance because our mind retained these memories for us to resolve them later.

This was why some companies preferred to use their founder's name as the brand. It was unique and easy to remember. It easily set themselves apart from others.

Xiu Ling heard what her husband had to say and she agreed with him. She liked it for its simplicity but unfortunately its simplicity was also its problem. It was simply not unique enough. However, Xiu Ling did not want a name that had too esoteric or foreign sounding ring to it either. They were going to serve local home-cooked meals so it made no sense to have the place sound like something it was not. Therefore, Xiu Ling proposed they tweak the term family, Jia Ren [1] and saw where that would get them.

Lin Kang liked the idea. He put his work away and leaned back in his chair. To be honest, ever since his wife took on the challenge, he had not been working much. His mind was too wrapped up over the challenge to concentrate on work. The fact that he was not allowed to help directly was eating him alive. If only he could just siphon the money into the business account and get everything over with. However, Lin Kang understood that would not only violate the ground rules set down by his father but also undermined his wife's hard work.

After spending some time with Xiu Ling, Lin Kang understood that the best way of co-existing was allow space for his wife to grow and not limit her from expanding her horizon. Keeping Xiu Ling to himself might satisfy his own selfish desire but stunting his wife's growth was not something that he ever wanted to do after he realized how beautiful his wife was once she had her own sky to soar.

Xiu Ling had no idea what was going on her husband's mind. She was focused on the issue of the name.

Family... Family, Jia Ren... Home, Jia [2]...

What if she dropped one of the characters, specifically the character, Ren? That would make the name sound a lot more special and the meaning would not be changed too much. Family and home, there was not too much difference. Xiu Ling shared her opinion with Lin Kang which brought the man out of his reverie.

Lin Kang thought about it and he offered a small editing. He'd prefer if it was Jia Jia [3] or literally translated as Good Home. He told Xiu Ling, the name Jia was nice but if it was a double-name, then it would be a lot more memorable. In other words, the name Jia Jia stood out more than a single character, Jia.

Furthermore, the meaning was not so bad. It meant an auspicious home, that was not such a bad name to have. It sounded positive and festive, that was something that was crucial for Chinese names, be it for a child or a corporation. It had to carry a positive connotation to it.

Xiu Ling considered the suggestion provided by Lin Kang and she was partial towards it. Yes, a good home, she liked what the name signify. Xiu Ling approved of the name and that was what they were going to go with. That shall be the name of her upcoming restaurant.