Chapter 60: How About Placing a Big Bet?

That's a terrible excuse.

Su Dingcai didn't suspect a thing and responded cheerfully, "Go ahead, I'll give you some money. While you're at it, pick up some seafood. Make sure it's fresh—live baby octopus tastes great."

Su Mu saw Boss Han winking at him and guessed it was about the supermarket matter. They hadn't been in touch these past few days, and by his calculations, renovations at the old factory were probably still underway.

He followed Boss Han's lead, "I think I know where it is. I'll help you look for it. Let's go..."

Soon after, his father handed him one hundred and fifty dollars in cash, which he stuffed into his pocket and headed out.

It seemed Su Dingcai was genuinely happy today. Even during festivals, he would never spend so much on groceries.

Social security, tuition, daily expenses—they all cost a lot. The Su family usually ate rather casually, mainly because money was tight. Occasionally, they'd cook a rooster, and the meat was always saved for Su Mu.

Su Mu planned to buy some delicious ingredients today. His family didn't know he was now wealthy, so they still lived in their accustomed poverty. The expense of a lavish meal no longer mattered to him; after all, he was now a "rich man" in Chinatown. It was time to improve the family's quality of life.

Boss Han's car was parked by the roadside. As Su Mu got in, Han asked curiously, "Why haven't you told your family yet? You're really gutsy—so young, and you're investing such a large sum in business. If you don't make it big, I'll crash myself into this tree!"

"Thanks for the good wishes."

Su Mu grinned, buckled his seatbelt, and continued, "You don't know my family. Poverty is their habit; I'm worried their hearts couldn't take it. For now, this is just fine. I received a full scholarship to a private high school, so their burden isn't as heavy as before. I'll tell them after the supermarket opens."

"Why wait until it's open?" Boss Han pressed.

The weather was still sweltering. After getting in, he slipped on a pair of sunglasses. Lately, he'd been busy preparing the supermarket, no longer bearing that idle, defeated look. He was full of energy and ready to make something big happen.

Su Mu replied calmly, "If business is good, I'll tell them. If not, I'll pretend I never had the money. This way, they won't worry about gains and losses, and our family life stays harmonious. Plus, I won't get scolded."

Boss Han hadn't considered this angle before. After thinking it over, he realized it made a lot of sense. He fell silent for a moment, then said, "I take back what I said earlier. With such keen insight, I wouldn't be surprised if you end up a billionaire. You really do think things through! There are plenty of stories where sudden wealth ruins families. It's better to wait until things are stable."

Noticing something was off, Su Mu laughed and looked at Boss Han. "Are you complimenting yourself? If I make ten million, you own more shares than I do—you'll earn even more."

"It's not the same. You're still so young," Boss Han suddenly grew sentimental. "I'm already set—just want a better car, a bigger house, and to earn more for my kids so they can live comfortably."

Imagining himself with ten million dollars, Boss Han chuckled and added, "If this first supermarket succeeds, we'll make money and open a second. We'll take a bank loan to save time—aim for a dozen, maybe twenty stores, and rake in the profits!"

"That's not ambitious enough; best to open stores worldwide!" Su Mu was grinning too. Despite the age gap, both pinned their hopes on the supermarket called BuyFun...

...

They went to tour the old glass factory. It had been days since Su Mu last visited, and the place was transformed.

It was only one floor. After the roof was removed, new tiles were being laid; construction had begun and would take about a week to finish.

The messy trees surrounding the area had been chopped down. The city hall had agreed to build a parking lot. The exterior wall remained red brick, which looked quite pleasing—red walls and black tiles.

Boss Han stood before the factory, where the rusty old gate had been torn down, and declared grandly, "The windows are already being custom-made and will be installed soon. The gate is custom too—a red door with 'BuyFun' in white letters. All the trash inside has been cleared out, so it looks much better now.

The flooring is too expensive, so we'll stick with concrete. The walls are concrete as well, and all wiring needs to be redone. It'd be nice to have a garden outside, but that's not urgent—our funds are tight."

Su Mu had invested half the money here; half belonged to him. Seeing the renovations underway, he couldn't help feeling excited. He said, "Yes, save wherever we can. As long as it's comfortable and looks good. Did we get the grant money? Is there enough left?"

"What, if not, will you lend me some?" Boss Han teased, knowing Su Mu couldn't spare much more. "It's nearly enough. The grant will be deposited next week. I've contacted several suppliers, and once the warehouse is ready, we'll start stocking up. We've bought shelves—a batch of secondhand ones, priced just above scrap metal. We'll paint them all black, so they'll look as good as new."

Of course, new ones would be better, but that's not possible right now. For the time being, this arrangement would have to do. Su Mu laughed and said,

"Hopefully, we'll make big money right from the start. We won't take dividends in the beginning, and once the funds are sufficient, we'll open a second store. I did the math—if we defer payment to suppliers for a quarter, and as long as business is good, we'll have enough cash to invest in another supermarket soon."

Boss Han couldn't quite follow. He'd never run a big business, nor studied commerce—he relied on experience to open this supermarket. He asked, puzzled, "How will that work? We still have to pay for the goods. If we can't pay, won't there be trouble?"

"I'm not saying we won't pay. We just delay payment for three months. During that time, we're making money, so we can temporarily use that principal and profit. Also, we don't pay suppliers all at once—there's always a sequence to stocking up, you understand?"

Listening to Su Mu was like hearing a foreign language. Boss Han shook his head, unable to fully grasp it, his expression conflicted. But then he nodded, "I get the gist. But if we invest in other stores and business isn't good, won't we run out of cash and break the chain?"

"Exactly. If that happens, we'll just wait for bankruptcy, but it's the fastest way to grow. The later we pay for goods, the better for us—it's like borrowing the suppliers' money to invest first. We can't pile too much stock in the warehouse, or we'll still have no money in hand."

He shrugged helplessly and replied, "But if it works, our growth will be much faster. Once we open many stores and have enough profit, even if we fail with one or two investments, it won't be a big problem.

I've noticed lots of chain stores with limited funds grow this way. We'll see how the initial profits look—if business is good, why not take the risk?"

Boss Han already knew Su Mu's courage well. Hearing him say "risk," he felt anxious—he couldn't match Su Mu's boldness.

Still, the prospect of rapid growth was very tempting. After thinking it over, Boss Han gritted his teeth and said, "We'll see then. I'll try to delay payments. We have to sell the goods before paying anyway, so the suppliers should agree..."