Chapter 39: Partnering to Open a Supermarket?

Before this, Su Mu had never considered going into business with Mr. Han. The main reason was that he thought Mr. Han didn’t lack money, and besides, at that time, he himself was broke.

After working at the convenience store for more than a month, Su Mu had come to recognize Mr. Han’s extravagant ways. The boss’s hobbies were all costly—he owned nearly every model of Rolex on the market, from the lavish full-gold, diamond-encrusted Day-Dates, to the relatively more affordable Submariners, as well as the Daytona and Cellini collections, totaling seventeen watches in all.

He would take them out from time to time to admire and clean them. Even someone as clueless about Rolexes as Su Mu began to develop a keen interest in watches. Most men are fascinated by precision mechanics—cars, motorcycles, lighters—and watches are certainly among them. The finest watches are as exquisite as works of art, gradually enchanting those who appreciate them. Unfortunately, Su Mu couldn’t afford a Rolex at the time; otherwise, he would have bought one himself.

When he first received the money, Su Mu only briefly considered what to do with it. But hearing Mr. Han say he would inform his parents, Su Mu, pressed for a response, quickly came up with the idea of opening a supermarket together.

That year, at the Los Angeles Olympics, their homeland indeed took fourth place in the gold medal count, further convincing Su Mu that the information he’d picked up from the radio had truly come from the future.

He genuinely believed that opening a supermarket held promise.

The small convenience store where he’d recently worked made about three hundred dollars in pure profit daily, with a net margin as high as fifteen percent. A supermarket would be much larger—if it had a good location, effective marketing, and quality goods at fair prices, it would definitely attract plenty of customers. It was, without question, a sound business venture worth pursuing.

Having lived with his family all his life, Su Mu knew his grandfather and parents’ personalities inside and out. His grandfather was strict and domineering, utterly clueless about investments like stocks and unwilling to take risks. Once the old man made up his mind, the opinions of Su Dingcai and his mother hardly mattered—after all, neither had much say at home, especially regarding such a significant sum. In the end, they would most likely defer to the old man's decision and put the money in the bank to collect interest.

Su Mu remembered his teachers discussing inflation in class. In recent years, currency had been depreciating rapidly while prices kept rising. Being independently minded, Su Mu did not want to simply deposit the money in a bank, only to watch its value dwindle, leaving the family to slowly consume their savings. Given their income, it would only shrink over time. He believed money should be used to make more money, not just left to depreciate.

He had once read in a book: “Opportunity only favors the prepared and the rich.” The phrase was deeply imprinted in his mind. Now, with capital in hand and opportunities before him, he was determined not to let them slip away.

So, he decided to take another risk and proposed the supermarket partnership to Mr. Han.

If not for having witnessed firsthand the astonishing profits in this industry, Su Mu would never have dared to invest so readily. That long summer spent working had taught him much about retail, and he already knew that, in the future, there would be a retail giant like Walmart, with sales exceeding $480 billion—a clear sign of the industry’s potential.

In Su Mu’s eyes, the risk of loss was minimal—at least worth a gamble. Call it youthful audacity or an insatiable hunger for more, but whatever the case, Mr. Han’s heart was full of complex emotions after hearing him out.

Only now did he realize he had truly underestimated Su Mu’s courage. At just sixteen, the boy dared to invest such a large sum and wanted to go into business with him. Never before had he encountered such a bold young man—perhaps there wasn’t a second like him in all of Chinatown.

He said to Su Mu, “Don’t you want to ask your family about this?”

“If we make money, great. But if we lose, wouldn’t I be blamed for no good reason? I wouldn’t be able to explain myself, and people might think I took advantage of your youth and tricked you out of your money.”

From this, Su Mu realized that Mr. Han wasn’t refusing—he was just raising other concerns. That seemed promising, so he pressed on: “No need to ask. I mean, I’ll consult them in the future, but not now. My grandfather definitely wouldn’t agree. They’re good people, but when it comes to investments, they have no vision.”

He was being completely honest. If his elders had a knack for investing, the family wouldn’t be so poor.

Su Mu continued, “This is money I won, and I can decide what to do with it. I’m already sixteen. If you’re worried, I can have a lawyer draft a liability waiver to show that I’m investing of my own will. Even if we lose, it has nothing to do with you.

“Boss, we haven’t even started, and you’re already thinking about losing money—that’s not a good sign. It’s only some shelving and renovation costs; there’s no need to make it luxurious, just keep it simple.

“Even if the business fails, we won’t lose everything. Don’t you have confidence in at least breaking even? Look at your current stores—the main upfront cost is rent. The merchandise will always sell eventually, as long as we avoid stocking too many slow-moving items.

“A supermarket can sell vegetables, clothes, appliances, daily necessities, snacks—just about anything. This way, customers don’t have to go all over town for what they need, and our prices will be lower than elsewhere. By buying in bulk, we can guarantee our profits.”

Back when he’d heard on the radio that Walmart had topped the global sales charts in 2017, Su Mu was puzzled how a company that had only just launched its first commercial satellite could achieve such a feat. He scoured newsstands for business magazines, and the points he just shared with Mr. Han weren’t his own inventions, but insights from a Fortune magazine editor’s commentary on Walmart.

Su Mu had a sharp mind and broad reading habits. Mr. Han hadn’t read such things and found Su Mu’s words profound and sophisticated; he couldn’t quite grasp why they’d need to sell so many kinds of goods. Until then, he’d thought a supermarket was just a greatly enlarged convenience store with more variety.

It was no wonder Mr. Han didn’t understand this business model. At that time, supermarkets were just starting to develop; Walmart had only just finished its initial capital accumulation and was beginning to rapidly expand into other states.

With 330 stores nationwide, annual net profits had just surpassed $200 million, and sales reached over $2 billion. Their operations were centered in the southern Midwest and hadn’t yet entered California. Mr. Han had no firsthand experience—he only knew such large stores existed.

Frowning in thought, he realized the idea had potential. He looked at Su Mu and asked, “You really want to invest?

“You seem to know a lot. Tell me, how would you open a supermarket like that?”

Su Mu nodded, shrugged, and grinned. “That’s my business secret. Once we reach an agreement, I’ll tell you. If I had enough money, I’d open one myself, and your stores wouldn’t have such easy days ahead.

“So, what do you think? We split the shares according to our investment, and I’ll help you manage things…”