Capítulo 20: Chapter 20 Business Is Hard
After Suming finalized the contracting procedures, he made a call to request "Mr. Yang," recommended by Wang Hao, to inspect the pleasure boats.
Mr. Yang used to work at the Parks Bureau in his early years but later resigned to contract the boating business in the city parks. Wang Hao's father was in charge of the city's landscaping work, and in his eyes, Wang Hao was like a crown prince. Having been notified in advance by Wang Hao, Mr. Yang didn't hesitate and immediately brought his tools and hurried over.
Eight boats in total, two rowboats, and the rest were those round bumper boats with water guns installed at the bow.
After inspection by Mr. Yang, these boats were still mostly usable. The rowboats needed some minor repairs and reinforcement, and then buying some life jackets and fuel would be enough to start operating.
"So, after I go back, I'll send someone to buy the materials. By tomorrow at the latest, I'll have someone come over and fix these boats for you. As for life jackets, I have plenty of them and will bring them over together. For the fuel, I'll give you a supplier's number. I'm a regular customer so you can mention my referral and get a 20% discount, and there won't be any counterfeit goods."
It's simple when you have connections. Mr. Yang had a lot of experience in running boating businesses, and he had considered things Suming hadn't even thought of.
"Thank you for the trouble, Mr. Yang. Here's a small token of appreciation." Suming handed Mr. Yang a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes.
Although Mr. Yang came on account of Wang Hao's regard, he was after all working for him, and he might need his help in the future, so it was necessary to maintain a good relationship. Mr. Yang probably wouldn't accept money, so giving him a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes was not too shabby and conveyed the intended meaning.
"You're too polite; we're all friends here. If there's any issue with the boats in the future, just call me directly." Mr. Yang happily put the Zhonghua cigarettes into his bag.
Early the next day, Mr. Yang sent a handyman who repaired the rowboats, brought a few barrels of fuel, and tested all eight boats on the lake. He also left behind twenty sets of life jackets to ensure everything was safe.
Suming even went on the boats himself to play for a while. The operation of the bumper boats was very simple, with a steering wheel to control direction and one button to start and another to stop; even a fool could operate them.
Just as he finished up, he received a phone call.
"Hello, is this Comrade Su?" A magnetic middle-aged male voice came from the other end.
"Yes, I'm Suming. Who is this?" Suming recognized the voice as somewhat familiar.
The middle-aged man chuckled, "I'm Zhao Yun, you know, from that day on Monkey Mountain..."
"Oh yes, hello, hello, how's Chengcheng doing?" Suming remembered now; this man was Chengcheng's father. That day, the man had given him a business card filled with titles, a successful middle-aged uncle in his career.
His name was quite memorable, as it sounded like Zhao Zilong - the White Horse and Silver Spear's Zhao Yun.
"I took both mother and daughter to the hospital for a check-up. Nothing serious, just a fright. They'll be fine after a couple days of rest. These past few days, Chengcheng has been mentioning you repeatedly. Her mother and I discussed it, and we'd like to invite you over for a meal to express our gratitude. When would you be available?" Zhao Yun said.
Such gratitude was difficult to decline, and after thinking for a moment, Suming replied, "Well... how about next month? I'm sorry, I've contracted some small projects at the zoo recently, and it's just too busy for me to take time off."
"Of course, that's no problem," Zhao Yun paused, then asked, "Do you need any help with the project?"
"Not at the moment, if I can't manage, I'll ask for your help," Suming said.
"Alright then, we'll see you then."
"Okay, let's settle on that for now, please say hello to Chengcheng and your wife for me."
After hanging up the phone, Suming went to 'communicate' with the alligator snapping turtle again. The creature had softened its stance but was still far from completely tamed.
Suming was not in a hurry, as his spiritual power progressed rapidly after having the Hundred-Fruit Wine. Once his spiritual power was strong enough, he could use it to overpower and completely subdue this fellow.
It was somewhat similar to warfare; if strength was comparable, strategy was required, but when the gap in strength was too large, all strategies were nonsense, and overpowering the enemy directly was all that was needed.
Hundred-Fruit Wine could not endlessly enhance spiritual power; drinking just a small cup a day was the limit for boosting spiritual power. After that, a period was needed to digest and merge this enhanced spiritual power, and drinking more would be futile.
Even so, the effect was far beyond the normal speed of improvement.
Early the next morning, Suming tore off all the canvas from the boat, and the boat rental business was officially open for business.
...
"Director Song, Su's boat rental business officially began yesterday."
Mr. Song was writing a report, and upon hearing Mrs. Tong's words, he smiled, looked up, and asked, "How is business?"
"Not so good."
Mrs. Tong shook her head and said, "You know that our zoo doesn't attract many visitors to begin with, and these days without any holidays, there are even fewer. His spot is out of the way, and visitors usually don't go in that direction. According to him, he saw not a single visitor all day yesterday."
"Finding ways to generate revenue isn't easy, you know. We've outsourced it before, and it still always went bust in the end. I reckon that in the end, Su likely won't make any money either," Mrs. Tong said.
But Mr. Song was much calmer: "Don't worry, let's wait and see, it's only been a day after all."
...
In Mingqing Residence, Mr. Peng and Suming were sitting opposite each other, with several dishes laid out on the table in front of them.
Mr. Peng poured Suming a cup of wine, smiled, and asked, "I heard your boat rental isn't attracting many people?"
"Mingqing Residence" is a charged attraction in the zoo, comprised of over a dozen buildings fashioned in the Ming and Qing dynasties' styles, nestled in a secluded woodland. Inside, there are exhibits of imitation antiques as well as introductions to famous figures from the Ming and Qing eras in Yangchuan City.
Mr. Peng lived in one of the rooms there, usually collecting admission fees. However, to connoisseurs, the so-called Mingqing Residence was but a joke for entertaining children, far from authentic. Coupled with the relatively expensive tickets, it saw pitifully few visitors, sometimes going days without anyone paying to visit.
His salary wasn't high, his spouse had died of cancer years ago, and he had a daughter in college, so he was always looking to save money. He even grew his own vegetables, cultivating a large vegetable garden behind Mingqing Residence. The vegetables they were eating were planted by Mr. Peng himself.
It was only after coming to Mr. Peng's place did Suming realize that the zoo staff's accommodations were quite decent. While his own place was adorned with pavilions and water terraces, Mr. Peng's could barely be considered quaint and charming in the ancient style.
Suming clinked glasses with Mr. Peng, downed his in one gulp, and pursed his lips as he said, "It's probably because it's just opened, not many people know that they can go boating. I can't exactly advertise in the newspapers for such a small business."
"Advertising is so expensive, definitely unnecessary. You can make some signposts, put them around the park, and visitors will know there's a place they can go boating," Mr. Peng nodded.
"Master, to tell you the truth, that's exactly why I came here. I don't know carpentry, so I wanted to ask for your help," Suming scratched his head.
"Hey, you should have said so earlier, it's simple. After we eat, I'll help you make them," Mr. Peng said.
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