Raising the Evil Spirit

饲鬼

raising-the-evil-spirit

Eccentric Landlord

In the past two days, after getting off work, Su Kun grabbed Geng Zimo to give him a general introduction to the three selected store locations and related development plans, wanting to ask for his opinion.
As expected, Geng Zimo didn't disappoint, raising his chin at him and saying, "Not bad, the dog's brain has made progress."
Su Kun glared at him and gritted his teeth for a while, then suddenly laughed, "When you go out and mix, you always have to pay it back. It's said that there are bad people grinding bad people. Sooner or later, someone will take care of you, you monster!"
Geng Zimo had his legs crossed, looking very calm as he shook his foot, "Come on~"
Su Kun: "..."
Although the two were bantering, they finally came to a conclusion after discussing. After Geng Zimo rarely gave him a serious analysis, he agreed with both hands for him to rent that red bean paste house and open a milk tea shop. With this, Su Kun's entrepreneurial plan was basically finalized.
However, although opening a milk tea shop sounds simple, just talking about it, it's actually quite difficult to prepare in reality--
Su Kun had no experience in making milk tea at all. Occasionally, he would make some freshly squeezed fruit juice smoothies at home by himself. As for how to properly make milk tea and what needs to be prepared to open a milk tea shop, he didn't know much.
However, just because he didn't know much didn't mean he couldn't find someone who did.
At Geng Zimo's reminder, he finally remembered their great landlord who had secretly stored a vibrator before. It's said that three or four years ago, he had opened a milk tea shop himself, but it didn't even last half a year before he went to mess with other things. With this messing around, he ended up with two houses and a car. It has to be said that he can be considered a bit of a talent.
It's just that this talented person is a bit eccentric. To a certain extent, he is even more so than Geng Zimo... such as having a sharp tongue.
Su Kun made a phone call with him, but the landlord felt that it wasn't enough for him to show off over the phone, so the two agreed to meet at a coffee shop on the street outside S University. The beautiful excuse was -- to see how good the store location Su Kun selected with his brain was.
"Hmm, the location, size, and price are all pretty good." The landlord stirred his coffee, glanced at the red bean paste house still in business diagonally across the street, snorted, and expressed that it was passable.
Unlike his vigorous and fiery achievements, this landlord looked quite gentle and refined in appearance alone, but not the same type of refined as Geng Zimo, who could look impeccable and take the route of abstinence when wearing formal attire.
Fundamentally, it was probably because Geng Zimo often wore a pair of low-prescription glasses and showed off in a calm manner, while this landlord never did. He preferred to reveal his eyes without any cover, and the slightly upturned corners of his eyes made him look refined with a hint of charm.
Of course, his temperament was even more charming than his eyes. Every time Su Kun saw this fellow, he always seemed extremely lazy, either propping his forehead or leaning crookedly against the table or doorframe, as if his bones had been pulled out, like an ancient fox spirit's reincarnation.
It just so happened that this fox spirit was vague and elusive. You could never tell if he was serious or not, which instead made his personality seem a bit mysterious, making his charm just right and not repulsive.
Su Kun always felt that this person's charm was quite unreal. With this kind of personality plus the things he did, it was easy to think of those eccentric and outstanding people.
However, that vibrator found in the cabinet last time completely dragged him down from the ranks of the extraordinary into the mortal world. To the point that now, sitting face to face with him, Su Kun couldn't help but flash back to that black stick in his mind. This feeling was really... too damn awkward!
However, since he casually threw such a thing in the old house, it probably meant that he really didn't mind being found out. Su Kun estimated that even if he directly brought up that stick to him now, with his temperament, he could probably continue stirring his coffee with an unchanged expression and casually reply, "Oh, that. If you want to use it, take it. If not, just leave it there or throw it away, whatever."
Just as Su Kun was burying his head and gulping down coffee, embarrassed by his own imagination, the landlord spoke again.
"For a milk tea shop, it is indeed quite suitable to open here, but--" He paused in stirring his coffee, his posture of propping his chin unchanged, only lazily raising his eyes, his gaze sweeping over that red bean paste house and the surrounding shops, then seemingly unintentionally retracting it and looking at Su Kun.
Su Kun was waiting for him to continue, but instead heard him suddenly change the topic, "By the way, have you signed the rental lease yet?"
"No, I want to clarify the milk tea shop matters first before talking about it. I called the landlord and told him I'd find a time in the next couple of days to sign the lease."
The landlord "hmm"ed, seeming quite satisfied with Su Kun's approach, then said, "Do you want to make a fortune in silence, to make the family business big... or do you just want to live a peaceful and well-fed life?"
Su Kun chuckled dryly a couple of times, pointing at himself, "Do I look like the type to be a big boss?"
The landlord raised his eyelids and laughed, "Can't tell from appearance, but the brain definitely doesn't seem like it."
Su Kun: "..."
He suppressed the urge in his heart to beat up the landlord, waved his hand and said, "Hey-- I just want to settle down, not worry about food and clothing, and have some spare money in my card, not having to be like before, with no job and no place to stay, worrying about when I won't have money for the next meal after eating this one."
To a certain extent, Su Kun and Geng Zimo were the same kind of people. They were a bit lazy by nature, quite well-behaved at the core, occasionally fantasizing about silently becoming rich, just to amuse themselves.
In fact, their dream was just to make some petty cash and live without worries about food and clothing. They could occasionally take risks and seize some opportunities to make their tight days more abundant, but if you really threw them in a very high position and gave them a big company, making them drift up and down in the business world all day, watching funds flow through their hands like water, they really couldn't handle it.
The landlord nodded, "If that's the case, a milk tea shop is a good choice. But since you don't have the idea of expanding big, I suggest you look for a franchise. It's the first time opening, so lack of experience is understandable. Everything else is easy to talk about, but the main thing is that the characteristics and flavors of milk tea are difficult to determine. There are reasons why those franchises that have become big can be popular. Following their style is a shortcut."
"Franchise?"
"Hmm. You pay a franchise fee and deposit, and naturally someone will help you with the renovation, equipping the place, and supplying raw materials. They'll also provide some training, and you can leverage their reputation, so it's less of a hassle. I have some connections and can help you get in touch with them, which can also lower your costs a bit."
After saying this, he took a small sip of coffee, then frowned and muttered in a very low voice, "Tsk, as awful as always, far worse than..."
He said the few words in the middle indistinctly and very quickly. Even with Su Kun's excellent hearing, he couldn't quite make them out clearly, but it wasn't anything important anyway, so it didn't matter if he couldn't hear it clearly.
The two of them sat in the coffee shop for two hours, discussing everything that needed to be discussed and then chatting casually for a bit before saying goodbye.
Before leaving, the landlord seemed to remember something. He glanced at the store across the street and reminded Su Kun once again, "Sign the lease contract in a couple of days, no rush."

Raising the Evil Spirit

Raising the Evil Spirit

Chapter 28 - Eccentric Landlord

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