Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

Chapter 104 Boss Li Zhao

Li Changlin clearly never expected that the meal would turn out this way.

What's going on? The food doesn't taste good anymore.

What the hell? Why is he so nervous when his son asks him a question?

"Let's eat first," Zhou Xiaoyun said. "After we eat, we can chat over tea."

"Okay," Li Zhao readily agreed.

Then, with a standard professional smile, he said, "Mom, the food tonight was pretty good. I hope we can have it again in the future."

Zhou Xiaoyun immediately wanted to reply, "You'll have plenty of opportunities to eat when you achieve more success," but—

That's weird, isn't it?

She glanced at Li Changlin and noticed that her husband was staring at her with a very serious look.

"Yes—yes, Mom will make it for you if you want to eat it."

Zhou Xiaoyun chose a very cautious answer.

That is also the correct answer.

After dinner, the family of three sat on the wooden sofa. Li Changlin started making tea, while Zhou Xiaoyun left the dishes and chopsticks unattended and brought out the plan that Li Changlin had written.

My dad's handwriting isn't bad, but having gotten used to printed plans, this handwritten plan, with its flowing strokes and numerous correction marks, is really difficult to read.

Therefore, Li Zhao read it a little slowly.

"Why don't you go do your homework first—" Zhou Xiaoyun was met with a murderous glare from Li Changlin before she could finish speaking.

However, Li Zhao didn't react much, only asking in return, "Is there any need to write this?"

Zhou Xiaoyun wanted to say something, but she couldn't get the words out.

Li Zhao found it difficult to evaluate the content of the project proposal.

To say that Dad didn't put in the effort is quite the opposite; much of the content was based on thorough investigation.

They were much more serious than Li Zhao had expected.

It's a pity that all the strength was used in the wrong direction—but for Li Zhao, it's not a pity; in fact, it's the result he wanted to see.

In summary, Li Changlin and Zhou Xiaoyun still hold onto the current popular small business mentality, emphasizing stability and imitation; Li Zhao's understanding is completely different.

Both are tourist cities, but New Taipei City in 08 and New Taipei City 20 years later are completely different.

Or rather, the cultural tourism industry is completely different now than it is a decade or two from now.

The earliest stores that emphasized consumer experience and brand operation became "old-school internet celebrity stores," reaping huge profits from traffic dividends when people were still unclear about what traffic was.

"I've basically finished reading it," Li Zhao said. "Mom and Dad, let's talk about it. What do you think of this plan?"

A classic conversational tactic: getting others to evaluate themselves.

It's both a test and a way to put yourself in a superior position.

In discussions where hierarchy is unclear, the person who expresses their opinion first is often at a disadvantage.

"I think it's already very comprehensive," Li Changlin said. "You said before that the plan should be specific and clear, and should have a practical and feasible plan. Dad thinks you're right, so this time, as you can see, there's a lot of information and data in it. Your parents went to various places to find all of this."

"Yes, that's true." Li Zhao nodded in affirmation. "That happens to be your strength. Dad has been in business for so many years and has experience in how to sell things, while Mom has been managing the household for many years and is very clear about accounting."

Li Changlin glanced at Zhou Xiaoyun, suppressing a laugh.

When did receiving praise from Ji Zi make me so happy?

"I think there are three core issues: first, what to sell; second, how to decorate; and third, how to employ people."

"This plan basically provides all the answers, Dad. Why don't you repeat what you're thinking?" Li Zhao said.

Li Changlin sensed something was amiss.

Ever since his son became a genius, his words have always carried a hint of digging a hole.

Therefore, Li Changlin was cautious and didn't get carried away. "I've asked many people, and the most common shops in tourist areas sell souvenirs and local specialties. Anyway, they'll all be tourists who come here and will buy some souvenirs to take back. Locals will also buy some when they come here to shop. We have such a good location at the entrance, so it's naturally best for us to sell local specialties."

"I don't think so," Li Zhao bluntly denied.

Sure enough, Li Changlin gritted his teeth.

Zhou Xiaoyun pursed her lips to keep herself from speaking.

"Let me start with this: do locals come here to buy so-called local specialties?" Li Zhao laughed. "Dad, would you buy these so-called local specialties from the tourist shops here?"

"————" Li Changlin remained silent.

"No," Zhou Xiaoyun replied.

"As for tourists, I'd say that 80% of the shops in tourist areas think the same way: it's a complete homogenization trap. Every shop sells this, so why would tourists buy from us? Won't we be forced into a price war?"

"Because we're at the entrance," Li Changlin retorted.

"What are the advantages of being at the entrance?" Li Zhao asked rhetorically.

"That's right, it's the first thing tourists see when they come in, and all tourists pass by it; it has the highest foot traffic."

"Selling other things might be advantageous, but selling local specialties doesn't offer any advantage."

"Um?"

"Tourists come to stroll around, barely approaching the entrance, haven't even looked at all the other shops, and they want to buy your souvenirs that are everywhere? And then wander around carrying those souvenirs?" Li Zhao said. "There might be a small group of people buying at first, but after they go inside and find that there are souvenirs everywhere, they'll inevitably feel frustrated. After a few times, when it comes to recommendations for souvenir shops, our shop will be the first one they rule out."

"————" Li Changlin wanted to say something, but couldn't think of a good rebuttal.

"Then we'd be throwing away our advantage completely. Souvenirs are something people usually buy towards the end of the trip," Li Zhao said. "So what we need to think about is what people will buy before entering the scenic area."

"What is it?"

"It's a place where you can take pictures and eat and drink," Li Zhao said.

"Take a photo?" This was something Li Changlin clearly didn't understand at all.

Normally, when the pedestrian street officially opened at the end of 09, smartphones started to emerge, and soon there were knock-off phones everywhere. Coupled with the emergence of various social media platforms, taking photos and checking in quickly became a habit—although the term didn't exist back then, people were just spontaneously "recording life."

"When you first walk into the pedestrian street, full of anticipation and ready to explore, you need proof that you've actually been there. The various decorations at the entrance of the pedestrian street are a great spot for this purpose. If the products we sell can enhance this effect, we won't have to worry about finding customers."

"For example?"

"Cultural and creative industries," Li Zhao said.

"Huh?" This was another word that Li Changlin had never heard before.

"These are small items made incorporating the city's image and cultural characteristics, such as postcards."

"I know that."

"There are also all sorts of decorations, daily necessities, notebooks—almost anything that can be sold in a convenience store can be used," Li Zhao said. "Mom and Dad, you can look into it. These things don't cost much at all. Just stick some paper on them, add some prints, and you can sell them for whatever price."

"Uh—" Li Changlin touched his nose and glanced at Zhou Xiaoyun.

Zhou Xiaoyun has completely lost her ability to make judgments.

"The key is that if we start early enough, we can partner with the government and get official authorization. Then we won't be afraid of others copying us; we'll have the initial advantage and the guarantee of genuine products. Buying this stuff is often about buying a positive feeling, and it only works when you buy from us."

Having absorbed too many new things all at once, Li Changlin rubbed his temples.

"There are also some snacks and milk tea."

"milk tea?"

"Anyway, in summer it's all about cooling off and refreshing, and in winter it's all about warming your hands and heart," Li Zhao said. "The specific product selection is the next step. Selling these things will best leverage our storefront's advantage at the pedestrian street entrance. Imagine, as soon as tourists come in, they see us at a glance, walk closer and discover we have all sorts of unique cultural trinkets, buy some, take a photo to prove they've been here," and then buy a drink or a local snack, eating and drinking as they stroll through the shopping area—"

"It seems very comfortable," Zhou Xiaoyun said.

"That's not all. Besides being unique, the packaging for these food and drinks can also be like the cultural and creative products mentioned earlier. You can put some stickers or prints on it and add some small decorations. The cost is not much, and if you sell it at a higher price, people will thank you."

Li Changlin kept frowning.

What Li Zhao said lacked sufficient examples, but it made a lot of sense.

Of course, the most crucial point is that his son is quite advanced these days, and he doesn't dare to question him, let alone the fact that he himself doesn't quite understand what he's hearing.

"So, that brings us to the second question: renovations."

Li Changlin took a deep breath.

"What I saw in the plan was that it was about simple renovations, spending as little money as possible to control costs, because you think the appearance of the storefront is not important."

"Oh no, I'm going to get flamed," Li Changlin suddenly thought.

"Completely wrong."

As expected—

"As you all know, people will see our store as soon as they walk in. Like I just mentioned, the biggest advantage of a store at the entrance is visibility," so the store's design is crucial. We need to integrate the pedestrian street's entrance decor and make the store unique and attractive to maximize our advantage."

"But—" Zhou Xiaoyun wanted to talk about money, but inexplicably held back.

"We should decorate our store to resemble a tourist attraction itself," Li Zhao said.

"Son, cost is a problem."

"Who says that beautiful decoration means high cost?" Li Zhao asked.

"?"

"Design, design," Li Zhao patted the proposal. "Dad, you've made twenty of these high-transparency glass jars for holding the pastries alone. That's no small amount of money. And then you use solid wood shelves as a warehouse? What's the point? This is just wasting money."

Each word he spoke sent shivers down Li Changlin's spine.

"A well-designed blackboard can be as effective as ten promotional banners," Li Zhao said. "As long as tourists are interested in the storefront, even if you just hang a row of hooks on a white wall to display cultural and creative products, they'll still be interested. So, you don't need to spend a lot of money on the space inside. Instead, you need to find ways to make the storefront look interesting, to establish our own brand, and to create our own cultural IP. For this, you need to contact various designers. If you want to save money, you can find college students."

"Oh, oh—" This is getting more and more beyond my capabilities, and Li Changlin is having a hard time keeping up.

"The third question is about personnel. Are you planning to do all the work yourselves?" Li Zhao looked at them with amusement.

"Of course, neither of us will do our regular jobs anymore, we'll just run this business."

Li Zhao sighed, "You said I treated you two like workers, but you two clearly insisted on being workers yourselves."

Li Changlin hesitated, then looked at Zhou Xiaoyun.

Zhou Xiaoyun looked out the window, completely at a loss for what to do.

Li Zhao pressed his advantage, shaking his head, "Your understanding is too limited."