Chapter 23: The Savior Has Arrived

At the Dongping bus station.

Outside the station, Li Dong waited anxiously. Sun Tao had finally returned to Dongping!

After eagerly anticipating Sun Tao's return, Li Dong was relieved to see him finally arrive. With a pile of tasks piling up, he was almost ready to go to Pingchuan himself to find Sun Tao.

"Brother Sun, over here!" 

Li Dong spotted Sun Tao outside the station, waved, and called out loudly.

During the past few days, he and Sun Tao had communicated frequently over the phone. They had become quite familiar and no longer addressed each other formally.

Sun Tao was still dressed in casual clothes, dragging a large suitcase. Upon seeing Li Dong, he smiled and said, "Mr. Li, from today on, I'm officially your man."

"Stop calling me Mr. Li. Just call me Dongzi. I've told you several times."

Sun Tao smiled but did not change his way of addressing Li Dong.

It wasn't that he was being disrespectful; it was just that Li Dong was too young. Calling him "Mr. Li" maintained a sense of hierarchy, and calling him "Dongzi" might lead outsiders to misunderstand their relationship. There was no need for such trivial matters to become a source of discord.

Having been in the business world for over a decade, Sun Tao understood the importance of maintaining proper boundaries and would not risk confusing them.

Without responding to Li Dong's request, Sun Tao said directly, "I still don't know where our supermarket is located. It's been many years since I left Dongping, and things have changed so much that I don't even recognize some places."

"It's fine. We'll have a welcoming dinner today. You can rest for a day, and tomorrow, I'll take you around."

Sun Tao shook his head. "Let's go and see it now. I'm still in the dark. You mentioned the opening is scheduled for August, but we haven't even obtained the business license yet. Time is tight."

Li Dong felt a bit embarrassed. The delay was due to his reluctance to deal with bureaucratic processes, and he had planned to let Sun Tao handle it upon his arrival.

"Alright, it's not far from here. It's on North Street. I'll take you there now." Li Dong was pragmatic and knew that addressing these issues promptly was crucial.

They took a cab, and within ten minutes, they arrived at the Blue Ocean Building.

After a quick look at the location, Sun Tao gave Li Dong a thumbs-up and said, "Good eye!"

Not only was the location excellent, but the space was also very suitable for a supermarket. With three floors plus an underground parking lot, it was spacious enough.

Having such a large supermarket in DP County would be hard for future competitors to surpass.

After all, the market in the county was limited. With Li Dong getting a head start, future entrants would have to consider whether it was worth investing further. No one would invest in a non-profitable venture, and with the country being so vast, there was no need to compete with such high costs.

Li Dong smiled with satisfaction.

It might not be obvious now, but in a couple of years, you'll see that it's more than just having a good eye, especially once the surrounding new neighborhoods are occupied. That's when the real gold rush will begin.

After greeting the site manager, Li Dong showed Sun Tao around the building.

Sun Tao nodded frequently, and some of Li Dong's ideas and suggestions made him see things in a new light.

Having worked at Carrefour for so many years, Sun Tao had never realized some things that an outsider understood. He felt somewhat ashamed.

When Li Dong mentioned that the property certificate would be available in a couple of days, Sun Tao was genuinely surprised.

"Mr. Li, you bought this place?"

Sun Tao was incredulous. He had thought it was a rented property. He was surprised to learn that Li Dong had purchased it outright, something he hadn't known before.

Li Dong nodded and smiled, "Surprised?"

Sun Tao agreed, "Yes, indeed. This eliminates a lot of hassle. Owning it is definitely better than renting."

"However, this property isn't included in the supermarket's shares. The rent is waived, but the mall is considered my personal asset."

Li Dong said this while watching Sun Tao's reaction carefully. The mall would be worth several million in the future. He wasn't foolish and knew that he and Sun Tao weren't that close.

Sun Tao, understanding his place, quickly said, "Waiving the rent is already very generous of you, Mr. Li. I wouldn't dare to take the mall from you."

Given the size of the space, the annual rent would be at least 300,000 to 400,000 yuan. Waiving the rent meant Sun Tao would save 30,000 to 40,000 yuan annually.

Seeing that Sun Tao didn't show any dissatisfaction and spoke sincerely, Li Dong felt a bit more reassured.

If Sun Tao had been resentful, it would have shown greed. Such people were not suitable for cooperation.

The business world was competitive. Li Dong wasn't being petty; it was crucial to be cautious. Human nature was the most unpredictable, and for money, even friends could betray you, let alone outsiders.

Trusting others unconditionally was not something Li Dong believed in. Instead, he believed in establishing solid systems, dividing authority, and mutual supervision as necessary for a business to survive.

Recently, Li Dong had been looking for suitable candidates. He could delegate all supermarket operations to Sun Tao, but he needed someone trustworthy for financial management.

Fortunately, there was still time before the opening, so finding someone before then would be sufficient.

"Alright, we've looked around. Brother Sun, it's almost 1:30 PM. Let's go get something to eat. I still have to go to school later," Li Dong checked his phone. It had been over an hour, and he was getting hungry.

Sun Tao then remembered that Li Dong had classes today and said, "Forget it. Don't let it interfere with your classes. I'll stay here and take a look, then head home. My parents are waiting for me."

Li Dong didn't insist, knowing they'd have plenty of time in the future.

As they were about to leave, Li Dong reminded him, "Brother Sun, you'll be busy for a while. I'll send you the required documents later. You'll need to handle the license, taxes, and recruitment. We also need to start staff training…"

Li Dong hesitated and chuckled awkwardly, "Once this busy period is over, I'll give you an extended break. I'll cover any travel expenses for you."

"Ha ha, no worries. The sooner the supermarket opens, the sooner I can start making money. I'm currently broke and waiting for the supermarket to succeed so I can pay off my debts."

Sun Tao laughed too. Sometimes being busy was better. If he were to sit idle, he might no longer be needed.

They chatted for a bit more. Li Dong advised Sun Tao to hire a few temporary staff and organize a recruitment fair. Noticing the time, he hurriedly left, fearing he would be late.

...

When Li Dong returned to school, the class bell had already rung. The first class was Old Chen's Chinese class.

Seeing Li Dong enter the classroom, sweating, Chen Guohua didn't say much and let him return to his seat.

Compared to before, Li Dong had been relatively well-behaved recently, and his grades had improved in class tests. Chen Guohua didn't want to be too harsh at this time.

As soon as he sat down, Wang Jie whispered, "Dongzi, isn't tomorrow a holiday? Since we'll be parting ways after the college entrance exams, let's get together tonight?"

"Who's coming?"

"Chen Yue, Wang Xiang, Li Yuan, Huang Yutao… Oh, and Yuan Xue will come too."

Li Dong frowned, thought for a moment, and replied, "Forget it. I have something to do tonight. You guys go ahead."

"Don't, Dongzi. It's rare that everyone is free. Why don't you invite Qin Yuhan along too…"

Wang Jie winked. He knew Li Dong and Qin Yuhan had been close recently and often visited her classroom.

Li Dong shook his head. If it had been before, he might have joined, but with the college entrance exams so close, and Qin Hai's strict supervision, Qin Yuhan probably couldn't come.

Seeing Wang Jie's genuine request, Li Dong didn't want to seem unsociable and agreed, "Okay, just let me know when the time comes."

After addressing Wang Jie, Li Dong focused on his studies.

Despite being busy these days, he managed to carve out a lot of study time. Plus, with Qin Yuhan unable to come out at night, Li Dong's study time increased even more.

Li Dong now felt confident about scoring around 150 to 160 in the college entrance exam. Even if he didn't find the exact questions, he was sure he could perform better than in his previous life.

His enhanced memory meant he could retain information much better.

Given this, Li Dong was now confident about getting into Jiang University. If his parents knew he had been accepted, they would be overjoyed.

Jiang University was undeniably a top institution in Jiangbei Province, and getting in would certainly bring honor.

Li Dong's earnest studying stemmed primarily from his desire to make his parents proud. Otherwise, he would have been content with a less prestigious university and wouldn't study late into the night.