"My husband suddenly fell ill and needs a large sum of money. I really don't have the funds to renew the lease for this shop anymore. I'm truly sorry." Sister Yang stood at the door, her face full of apology as she spoke. "I know breaking the lease early like this isn't proper and puts you in a difficult position. If I had any other choice, I wouldn't want to close the shop..."
"It's alright, it's alright." Both Lin's father and Lin's mother quickly waved their hands, understanding completely. "A sudden illness is something no one can control, nobody wants that. Don't worry, Sister Yang, we agree to the early termination. We can handle the formalities whenever you're ready."
"Ah, ah! Thank you, Brother Lin, Sister Lin!" Sister Yang expressed her gratitude repeatedly. "I'm really sorry to cause you such trouble!"
Sister Yang seemed genuinely in a hurry. Her attention was completely focused on the matter at hand, and she didn't notice Lin Lan's presence at all. Even after finishing her conversation with Lin's father and mother, she turned directly to her left and hurried towards the stairs, completely missing the living person standing to her right.
However, Lin Lan didn't mind. Her attention was also on the matter they had just discussed. "Mom, Dad, is Sister Yang terminating her lease early?"
Lin's father and mother had naturally noticed their daughter there earlier. Hearing Lin Lan's question, Lin Youyu answered without a second thought: "Yes. Her husband was diagnosed with uremia during a physical exam two months ago. The treatment costs a hundred thousand a year. Sister Yang thought it over and decided to stop running the clothing store. She'll use the returned rent to focus on taking care of her husband at the hospital."
"Actually, the lease had only about a year left. Your dad and I thought about it and agreed, just to do a good deed." Wang Xiuzhi sighed as she mentioned this, then turned to glare at Lin Youyu. "Old man, you better watch your diet too. Don't make me have to take care of you in the hospital before we're even old!"
"How could that happen?" Lin's father protested, a bit aggrieved. "I rarely go out drinking or eating at restaurants with others; I mostly eat at home. Where would I get the chance to catch such an 'affluent disease'?"
"Are you saying the food I buy isn't good enough?" Wang Xiuzhi wouldn't let her husband's implied complaint slide. "When have we ever skimped on meat for you at home? We have your favorite dishes on the table every few days, and you're still thinking about eating out? Just look at that belly of yours—do you really look like you should be hitting the restaurants?"
At the end, Lin's mother unceremoniously patted Lin's father's protruding beer belly.
Lin Lan nodded in agreement. "Dad, I think Mom's right. You should eat less meat from now on; that belly is getting a bit big." As she spoke, she also poked her father's belly. "Wow, the fat is still firm. Dad, you really should consider eating more vegetables."
Lin's father: "..." This little warm jacket (meaning caring daughter) seems to have a draft.
Getting back on topic, setting aside the old father's seemingly muscle-turned-fat paunch, when they returned home and discussed the lease for the ground-floor shop, Wang Xiuzhi remembered something else.
"Speaking of Sister Yang terminating her lease early at the end of this month, I recall that Little Zhang, who runs the milk tea shop next door, will also have his lease expiring soon, right?"
"Yes, that's right." When it came to money and calculating lease dates, Old Man Lin's sensitivity to numbers far surpassed his wife's. "It expires in the middle of next month, so there are about thirty days left. At most in another week, we should discuss whether he wants to renew or not."
"I doubt he will." Wang Xiuzhi shook her head upon hearing this. "Little Zhang's milk tea shop business has always been just so-so. This past year, if he managed to earn back the rent, that would be considered good. Never mind the initial costs for renovation and buying all the machines and equipment."
The startup cost for a milk tea shop isn't extremely high, but it's not low either. It sits right at the limit of what young people with average funds who want to start a business can bear. But precisely because of that, most end up closing at a loss. After renting out shops for so many years, Wang Xiuzhi had picked up on quite a few patterns from the sidelines. At the very least, she could make a decent estimate of whether a shop could turn a profit.
As her parents sat there discussing the shop rents, no one noticed the little calculations going on behind Lin Lan's eyes as she lowered her head to pet the cat.
Sister Yang was a straightforward person. After settling the lease termination with the landlords, the clothing store downstairs started putting up banners within a few days, along with a small loudspeaker playing a looped announcement—
【Great news! Great news! Due to lease expiration, this store is having a clearance sale! All clothing items are on sale starting at 50% off! Buy two or more items for up to 70% off (or 30% of the original price)! The more you buy, the more you save! Good quality, low prices! Guaranteed quality, fair to all!】
If it were just a simple clearance sale, it might not attract many people.
But adding the line "lease expiration, everything must go" instantly increased its credibility. Soon, girls, aunties, and even grandmothers attracted by the promotional announcement were flocking into the shop, starting the customary picking and choosing.
"By the last seven days, the remaining leftover stock will probably be cleared out at 90% off (or 10% of the original price)."
Standing at a moderate distance from the downstairs shop, watching the final bustling scene of the clothing store, Lin Lan whispered to Lin Youyu beside her.
"Otherwise, it would just go to waste in her hands. Selling it cheap at least recoups some of the initial cost." Lin Youyu also replied in a low voice. "Come on, let's go find Little Zhang."
Little Zhang's milk tea shop was right next to the clothing store. Although called a milk tea shop, it also sold freshly baked small cakes and hot dogs, with mini tables and chairs inside for customers to eat and drink. Unfortunately, there wasn't a single customer inside. The liveliness of the clothing store only accentuated the milk tea shop's desolation.
The owner, Little Zhang, listened to the commotion next door. Although he already knew Sister Yang would stop operating after this month, his situation was completely different from hers, even though he would be moving out not long after her.
Just as Lin's mother had predicted, the milk tea shop would close once the lease expired. But the things that needed handling afterward were much more troublesome than for the clothing store.
When Sister Yang moved out, at most she just had to pack up a few clothing racks and the remaining stock into a small truck, and that was it. For him, it was different. Never mind the perishable ingredients, just the initial purchases—the refrigerator, water purifier, ice maker, ice cream machine, fructose dispenser, tea brewing machine, snack equipment, oven... all sorts of large and small, messy things—had cost him nearly twenty thousand.
This entrepreneurial venture had made Little Zhang completely give up on the milk tea industry. Now, all this equipment had become the most headache-inducing white elephant—unpleasant to keep but a pity to discard.
"Little Zhang, good afternoon." The voice of the landlord uncle at the shop entrance snapped the troubled Little Zhang out of his thoughts.
"L-Lin Uncle, you're here. And Lin Lan is here too! Please, have a seat!" Seeing the landlord arrive with his daughter, Little Zhang immediately realized what was about to happen and hurriedly invited them in.
Lin Lan followed her father into the shop, her eyes sweeping over the interior. She had tried the milk tea from this shop before. In fact, most of the young people in the building had tried it. The overall evaluation was just two words: average.
Not bad, but not particularly good either—just a standard, forgettable level. The shop's environment was average, and so was its cleanliness. So, in today's city filled with milk tea shops, Little Zhang's business was similarly average, even dismal.
"Take your time, no rush." Lin Youyu stopped Little Zhang from pouring tea and fetching pastries, getting straight to the point. "You must know why I'm here, Little Zhang. Our lease ends in another month, and I just wanted to ask if you plan to renew it?"
Hearing it was indeed about this, a bitter smile appeared on Little Zhang's face, and he was honest. "Uncle Lin, you've seen how business is in my shop. Renting further would only mean more losses. I won't be renewing the lease; it'll end next month."
It was the outcome both sides had anticipated, leaving little room for pleasantries. Lin Youyu nodded. "Alright then, that's settled. You still have a month left. Maybe you could follow Sister Yang's example next door and run some promotions to clear out your inventory."
"Yeah, I've been thinking the same," Little Zhang agreed with a rueful nod. "I've been considering putting up a promotional poster outside these past few days."
"Brother Zhang, if I may ask," Lin Lan, who had been quiet until now, spoke up, pointing at the shop's drink counter and equipment. "Since you don't plan to keep the shop open, what do you intend to do with all this stuff?"
"What else can I do? I'm not planning to run a milk tea shop anymore. I'll have to haul it all back and try to sell it second-hand online," Little Zhang sighed, shaking his head.
Equipment like this loses value drastically once it becomes second-hand. This entire drink station setup was no exception. He had bought it all for around seventeen thousand, and after nearly a year of use, while it was still relatively new in terms of lifespan, listing it as second-hand meant it was just depreciated stock.
He'd heard that buying second-hand equipment for milk tea shops wasn't often recommended. His stuff would need another steep discount on top of that. Who knew what price it would finally fetch, or how long it would take to sell everything...
"Brother Zhang, after you close the shop, would you sell all this as a package for four thousand?"
Huh?
Both men in the shop were stunned. Compared to Lin's father's completely unprepared astonishment, the younger Little Zhang reacted much faster.
"Lin Lan, you want it? But four thousand... that's really too low." It was less than a quarter of the original price.
"Oh, I see. It was just a sudden thought, wanting to make milk tea at home for fun," Lin Lan immediately backed off upon hearing this, saying apologetically, "If it's not possible, then forget it."
Little Zhang suddenly felt a pang of regret, but before he could speak, Lin's father, who had finally snapped back to reality, was already giving his daughter a disapproving look. "What do you need that stuff for? How many times a year do you even drink milk tea? With your short-lived enthusiasm, you'd play with it for two days at most and then let it gather dust at home. Don't waste money recklessly!"
Whether this statement enlightened Lin Lan was unknown, but it certainly convinced Little Zhang. "Don't say that, Uncle Lin! My equipment is all good brands, great quality. It cost me almost twenty thousand! If Lin Lan buys it, she can't just make milk tea; she can make ice cream, smoothies, little cakes, bread, waffles, cookies... Making it at home is much cleaner than buying outside. It's an absolutely great deal!"
Lin Lan seemed swayed by the sales pitch, but Lin's father wasn't fooled. He was here to discuss the lease, not to help his daughter clean up Little Zhang's mess. He kept shaking his head and waving his hands. "No need, no need! We don't need that at home!"
As he spoke, he started pulling his daughter towards the shop door.
"Lin Lan, Lin Lan, don't go!" Seeing the opportunity slipping away, Little Zhang tapped into some quick thinking. He decisively shifted focus from the landlord and called out to Lin Lan instead. "If you buy all this, I'll teach you how to make milk tea, cakes, and cookies during this last month!"
Then, Lin's father found his forward momentum halted. He sensed trouble but was too late. His silly daughter behind him had already agreed. "Deal!"
Once young people get willful, it's always hard for elders to pull them back. Just like now.
Watching helplessly as his daughter drafted a written contract with Little Zhang, signed it in duplicate, and transferred the money via mobile banking, Lin Youyu was both angry and helpless.
Forget it, forget it. It wasn't a huge amount of money. Four thousand was just for his daughter to buy some happiness. It came from her own savings anyway.
—Even with this self-consolation, the elder still wasn't happy.
"Dad, don't be angry. I have a plan." Seeing her father's long face, Lin Lan knew what he was thinking. She hugged his arm and shook it coquettishly. "There's something I need to discuss with you and Mom."
So, a few minutes later, simultaneous exclamations of shock erupted in the Lin family's small grocery store.
"What? You want a shop space to open your own store!?"
"Not one shop space," Lin Lan looked at her parents and held up two fingers. "I want two. Merge the clothing store and the milk tea shop by knocking down the wall between them, and open a cat cafe."
Wang Xiuzhi and Lin Youyu were both dumbfounded, completely unprepared for their daughter, who had always been a salaried employee, to suddenly have entrepreneurial ambitions.
"This, this..." Wang Xiuzhi was momentarily at a loss for words. She didn't really object to her daughter using the family's shop space, but instinctive worry took over. "But Lanlan, you've never run a shop before? Now you're talking about merging two spaces right from the start. Isn't that too big a leap?"
Lin Youyu, who shared the same concern, looked at his wife in surprise. "Lanlan's mom, I thought you'd object immediately."
"Why would I object?" Wang Xiuzhi rolled her eyes at her husband. "She's our only daughter. Would we begrudge her two shop spaces? I'm just afraid she'll lose money!"
"Mom, Dad, I know what you're worried about." Lin Lan stepped forward, went behind them, and diligently started massaging their shoulders, acting very ingratiating. "But after staying idle at home for so long, I've figured things out. I want to try starting a business, being a boss. It just so happens our family has such convenient conditions—I don't need to pay high rent like others. Please, just let me try?"
Two of the six ground-floor shops combined would equal the area of one upstairs apartment suite. Only then would the cafe feel spacious and not cramped after opening. And she had bought the milk tea shop equipment for four thousand and would learn the skills along the way, laying the foundation for the future cafe. That small amount of money for all this was simply too good a deal.
Listening to her daughter's plan, Wang Xiuzhi fell silent for a moment before speaking up. "Lanlan, you say you want to open a cat cafe... is it actually for the cats at home?" Her daughter knew she was somewhat annoyed by the increasing number of cats at home, only holding back out of respect for her mother-in-law. So, she had come up with this solution.
"Well, that's part of it," Lin Lan didn't deny it. "But the main reason is I want to find something to do for myself. Mom, Dad, you've seen how incredibly lucky I've been with cats lately. I might even bring more strays home. Keeping them all indefinitely without a plan isn't sustainable. So, why not put the kittens to good use? I'll open a shop, and they can charm the customers. We'll make money together. That way, Mom, you won't be unhappy about it, right?"
The difference between simply raising a large group of cats that constantly drains money and using cats to attract customers for a shop that generates income was huge. At least, hearing it put this way, Wang Xiuzhi's resistance instantly vanished.
"But, Lanlan..." Lin Youyu thought of another matter, the old father already unconsciously starting to plan for his daughter. "I've heard about those cat cafes you're talking about. The successful ones all keep expensive pedigree cats. But aside from Sapphire, all of ours are just local mixed breeds. They aren't very appealing, are they? And there are only eight of them in total, which isn't enough either, right?"
Does that mean we'd have to go buy a few expensive pedigree cats from a pet store later to make a good impression? That would really drive up the costs.
"It's okay, Dad, I already thought of that." Ever since Sister Yang mentioned moving out a week ago, Lin Lan had been pondering the cat tea shop plan. "I know where to find expensive pedigree cats, and it won't cost a thing."
As she spoke, an image of the stray cat colony led by the cat boss appeared in her mind.
Bringing Sapphire home had given Lin Lan a great idea. Nowadays, there were quite a few expensive pedigree cats abandoned by their owners and left to roam the streets. With the cat boss's vast network of feline connections, finding suitable kittens to add to her harem... ahem, her tea shop should be pretty easy.
