First Time as a Boss

To be honest, this was Chen Pingsheng's first time being a boss.

He was a little nervous, of course, but even more excited.

This supermarket used to have around 100–200 customers per day before opening.

After a month, that number dropped to 100.

After two months, it successfully plummeted to 50.

By now, the only people still coming were those who either didn't want to go far or had no idea about the store's reputation.

Basically, within this area, the store had already ruined its own name.

A fruit shop, though still part of the retail industry, had a major difference from a supermarket—fruit didn't last long.

If fresh stock wasn't sold within three days, it was no longer fresh.

Not only would spoiled fruit sell for next to nothing, but it would also ruin the customer experience.

After all, if word got out that a big shop like this was selling stale fruit, who would still want to come?

This made running a fruit store incredibly challenging.

Aside from rent, the biggest operational cost was wastage—the fruit that couldn't be sold in time and had to be thrown away.

"Old Chen, I've done the math. If we want to restock the shop completely, we'll need at least 50,000 yuan."

With fruit, the more you pile up, the more appealing it looks to customers.

Everyone here understood that simple truth.

But spending 50,000 on stock was easy—selling it was the hard part.

With the current foot traffic, they'd be lucky to sell 7,000–8,000 yuan worth per day.

At that rate, the losses would be massive.

The key issue was traffic.

The shop was nearly 400 square meters, with a massive cold storage unit and a decent-sized office.

As a first-time boss, Chen Pingsheng sat on the sofa in the office, gathering everyone to brainstorm.

"We have to fully stock up. Otherwise, even if people come in, we won't be able to keep them."

Tapping his pen against the table, Chen Pingsheng continued,

"Here's what I'm thinking. Over the next two weeks, we invest 100,000 yuan in loss-leading promotions.

We'll put up signs outside advertising a deal—three apples for one yuan, any variety."

Apples were the number one fruit—every household bought them.

Using them as a loss leader was the best choice.

"No problem," someone said. "At the wholesale market, smaller apples are just over two yuan per jin."

That meant losing just one or two yuan per customer—totally acceptable.

"Zhang Tao, you and Liu Jing will handle sourcing for the next two weeks.

The rest of us know people in the area, so let's get them to spread the word in local WeChat groups."

Chen Pingsheng added, "And we won't just do cheap apples. We'll price all our fruit at cost to draw in customers first."

With tasks assigned, everyone got to work.

Zhang Tao and Liu Jing handled procurement.

Song Yanxi started learning cashier duties since she'd be managing finances.

The rest focused on unloading and organizing stock—an easy job for this experienced crew.

By the afternoon, the first truckload arrived from the wholesale market.

Watching her husband work, Song Yanxi took a moment to snap a few photos:

One of him bent over, unloading fruit from the truck.

Another as he directed stock placement inside the shop.

A third where he was learning to use the cashier system.

The last one—a couple's photo in front of the store, flashing peace signs.

She posted them with the caption:

"A new beginning in 2013—Tengsheng Fruits!"

The first reply came from Du Juan.

"What's this? Brother Chen opened a supermarket?"

"Yep," Song Yanxi replied with a smile.

Du Juan immediately commented, "And you didn't tell me? Friendship over."

Despite the joking threat, she rushed over right away.

Then came messages from former classmates.

Song Yanxi had only finished high school before marrying Chen Pingsheng.

Many of her classmates were now studying for their master's degrees in Beijing.

There wasn't much competition between them—most simply wished her good luck with the business.

The most dramatic response came from her mother, Liu Fen.

She was at a family gathering, where the relatives were busy comparing achievements.

Who married a corporate executive?

Whose daughter found a government job?

Every time Liu Fen heard these stories, she wanted to bury her head in the ground.

Why? Because her eldest daughter had married the most "useless" man—a street vendor from another city.

No future prospects. No hope.

At least her younger daughter, Song Wu, had gotten into an art school—maybe she'd become a big star one day.

That was something she could be proud of.

"Hey, Liu Fen, why isn't Yanxi here?"

For kids, visiting relatives during the holidays was fun.

For adults, it was torture—especially if you weren't successful.

"She's busy," Liu Fen replied curtly.

"Busy with what? Selling durians with her husband? Speaking of which, since your family's in the durian business, why didn't you bring some?"

It might have been an innocent remark, but to Liu Fen, it was like a slap in the face.

She felt so uncomfortable that she made an excuse and left without finishing her meal.

Back home, her mood was foul.

"Mom, why are you mad at me just because Auntie talked about Chen Pingsheng?" Song Wu protested.

"Hmph. The older one is useless, and the younger one is just as much trouble."

Fuming, Liu Fen sat down. If her husband had been home, she would have vented on him instead.

As if summoned by fate, Song Huamin walked through the door, carrying some gifts.

Before Liu Fen could start, he spoke first, "Good timing—you're both here.

Pingsheng just opened a big fruit supermarket, and it's launching tomorrow. We should go support them."

"He opened a fruit supermarket?" Liu Fen was stunned. "Why didn't I know about this?"

"With your attitude, how could you?" Song Huamin scoffed.

He had brought two bottles of liquor with him.

"I just talked to Yanxi. The store is huge. If she hadn't posted on WeChat, I wouldn't have known either."

Once again, she was learning about her daughter's life from social media.

As a mother, did she even count for anything?

Her daughter had made such a big decision without consulting her.

Unacceptable. She had to go and "supervise."

Song Wu reacted first, immediately opening her sister's WeChat page.

Her eyes widened.

"This is Sis's store?! It must've cost at least a few hundred thousand to open!"

Song Wu had some sense of money.

The moment she said that, Liu Fen's ears perked up.