Back to 2008: I Helped My Dad Become the Richest Man

Early the next morning, Luo Xinde drove his blue pickup truck, carrying Luo Xiyuan, towards the county town.

This was Luo Xinde's first time driving his own car to the county town, and he felt both excited and nervous. He rolled down the car window, letting the cool morning breeze blow on his face, which made him feel much more refreshed.

"Xiyuan, where do you think would be a good location for our shop in the county?" he asked as he drove.

"Dad, there are a few principles for choosing a location for the shop." Luo Xiyuan sat in the passenger seat, holding a small notebook. "First, there needs to be a lot of foot traffic. Second, the target customers need to be precise. Third, transportation needs to be convenient. I checked the map of the county town online last night and initially narrowed it down to three places."

"The first one is near the old department store in the county center. It is the most bustling commercial street in the county, with the largest flow of people, but the rent is also the most expensive, and the consumer group is quite diverse, not all of whom are our target customers."

"The second is the newly developed area in the east of the city. It's full of newly built upscale residential areas, where the wealthiest people in the county live, such as civil servants, teachers, and business owners. They have strong purchasing power and pay more attention to their quality of life, making them our target customers. But it's not very popular there yet, and there are few shops."

"The third is the area around the county's farmers' market. Just like in the town, it's where people gather most to buy vegetables, and the customer base is stable. But the competition is also the fiercest, with dozens of meat stalls of all sizes."

Luo Xiyuan clearly analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of the three options.

After listening, Luo Xinde thought for a moment and said, "If you ask me, the third one is more reliable. We're just a butcher. If we don't open next to the market, and instead open somewhere else, will people go out of their way to buy from us?" His thinking was still based on the most basic business principles.

"Dad, your idea makes sense. But we're not in a rush to make a decision today. Let's visit all three places in person and compare them before we decide," Luo Xiyuan said.

After driving for more than an hour, we finally entered the county town.

The county town was far more prosperous than the town. The roads were wider, the buildings were taller, and there were many more cars on the road. As Luo Xinde drove, he felt his palms sweating, afraid that he might accidentally scrape or bump into someone else's car.

They first went to the old department store. It was indeed packed with people and incredibly lively. Shops lined both sides of the street, one after another, blasting deafening music from their speakers. Luo Xiyuan and Luo Xinde wandered around the area, asking about several shops that were available for sublet.

"Boss, how much is this shop for rent?" Luo Xiyuan walked into a clothing store with a sign that read "Prime Location for Rent".

"Fifty thousand a year, one month's deposit and three months' rent in advance, not a penny less!" A proprietress with curly hair said without looking up as she trimmed her nails.

Fifty thousand a year! This price made Luo Xinde gasp. That's five times more expensive than the shop in town!

They asked around at several other places, and the prices were all about the same, with the cheapest costing over 40,000 yuan a year.

"Too expensive, too expensive!" Luo Xinde shook his head. "Almost half of our annual profit goes to the landlord. No way!"

Luo Xiyuan also felt that the price-performance ratio here was not high. Although there were many people, most of them were young people shopping, and there were not many housewives actually buying groceries and cooking.

They then drove to the newly developed area in the east of the city.

The scene here is completely different. Rows of brand-new high-rise residential buildings have sprung up, the community environment is beautiful, and the landscaping is excellent. The streets are quiet, and you can occasionally see a few luxury cars driving by.

"This place looks impressive," Luo Xinde remarked. "The people who live here must be very wealthy."

But as Luo Xiyuan said, the place is too deserted. Most of the shops on the ground floor are still empty, with "For Rent" signs posted on the windows. Only a few are open, and most of them are real estate agencies or decoration companies. You can hardly see anyone going in.

"Dad, look over there." Luo Xiyuan pointed to a crossroads. There was a very nicely decorated supermarket there called "Luyuan Fresh Food".

They went inside and found that it sold packaged organic vegetables, imported fruits, and some chilled seafood. The prices were several times higher than in a regular market, but there were still a few customers browsing, mostly well-dressed wealthy women.

"Look, Dad, it's not that people here don't buy vegetables, it's that they have high standards for vegetables and disdain going to the dirty and chaotic vegetable market," Luo Xiyuan said thoughtfully.

She also saw the meat counter in the supermarket. The pork there was also wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in the refrigerated display case, and it was more than a dollar more expensive than their "Roche Safe Meat".

"Their meat isn't even as good as ours," Luo Xinde said, glancing closer and pursing his lips.

As Luo Xiyuan left the supermarket, some thoughts formed in her mind. The eastern part of the city had potential, but it needed time to cultivate the market. For them, eager to make a splash, it might not be the best option.

Finally, they arrived at the county farmers' market.

This was the environment Luo Xinde was most familiar with. The noisy hawking, the slippery ground, and the air filled with the smells of fish, vegetables, and meat.

Throughout the market, Luo Xinde roughly counted at least twenty pork stalls alone. Each stall's cutting board was piled high with pork. The stall owners, brandishing gleaming cleavers, loudly solicited customers.

"Boss, a piece of pork belly, please!"

"How much are these ribs? Can you give me a discount?"

"Xiyuan, I don't think this place... will be easy to run." Luo Xinde's brows furrowed deeply. "With so many meat vendors already, if we squeeze in, how can we possibly get any business?"

"Dad, don't be fooled by the number of their stalls. If you look closely, what do they have in common?" Luo Xiyuan asked calmly.

Luo Xinde looked at it for a long time but couldn't figure it out: "Aren't they all the same? A cutting board, a knife, and a pile of meat."

"Yes, they're all the same," Luo Xiyuan said. "Their environment, their service, their products—everything is homogenized. The only criterion customers use when choosing a restaurant might be which one is cheaper by a penny, or which one's owner looks more pleasing to the eye. They're selling products. What we're selling is a brand."

As they walked and looked around, a quarrel suddenly broke out in front of the largest meat stall in the market.

"What kind of meat is this? It smells so foul! Did you give me sow meat?" An older woman angrily questioned the stall owner, holding a piece of meat she had just bought.

The stall owner, a burly, bald man with a face full of scars, slammed his cleaver down on the cutting board and snarled, "Bullshit! My meat comes from a legitimate slaughterhouse, how could it possibly be sow meat! Don't spout nonsense here, get lost if you don't want it!"

"You... how dare you swear at me! There's something wrong with this meat! I want a refund!" The woman was so angry her face turned red.

"Returns? No returns or exchanges once you've left the store! Take it or leave it, or get out!" The bald, burly man said arrogantly.

A crowd gathered to watch the spectacle, but no one dared to utter a sound. Judging by the tattoos on the bald, burly man's arms, he was clearly not someone to be trifled with.

The woman was so frightened that she dared not say another word. She had no choice but to accept her bad luck, picked up the problematic piece of meat, and left angrily.

Luo Xiyuan and Luo Xinde saw this scene clearly from beginning to end.

"Dad, did you see that?" Luo Xiyuan said softly, "This is our chance."

Luo Xinde was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood what his daughter meant.

Yes, the market here is a mess. There are no standards, no service, and they can't even guarantee the most basic quality. Buying meat here is like gambling; it's all down to luck.

If at this time, a store like their "Luo's Safe Meat" appeared, with a clean environment, attentive service, guaranteed quality, and most importantly, a promise of "unconditional return and exchange for any quality problems," how attractive would that be to these consumers who have had enough of being treated unfairly?

"I understand!" Luo Xinde's eyes lit up again. "The more chaotic they are, the more opportunities we have! Let's open our shop right across from them and go against them! Let's use our best products to steal all their customers!"

As the father and daughter were talking, the bald, burly man seemed to notice them. He saw Luo Xinde staring at his stall, and his gaze turned hostile.

He gestured with his lip toward a young man nearby who was picking bones. The young man immediately understood, put down what he was doing, and swaggered over to Luo Xinde and his daughter.

"Hey, you two country bumpkins, what are you looking at?" The young man walked up to them, his face full of provocation. "Never seen a pork vendor before? Or are you trying to steal my business?"