Chapter 61: Little Liar
Wen Yanqing returned home.
The house was dark and quiet. He was the only one living here, so it was a little deserted.
At that moment, a call from Wen Rendong came in.
Wen Yanqing only glanced at it and hung up.
It seemed like the other party gave up too, the phone didn’t light up again.
Wen Yanqing knew what Wen Rendong wanted to say. It was probably an invitation to return to the Wen family’s house, maybe for a visit or a meal, an attempt to mend the father-son relationship that had been lacking all these years.
But Wen Yanqing felt it was unnecessary.
It had been many years since the incident. He had no evidence to prove Zhou Manbai’s involvement in that car accident that led her to prison.
When he agreed to return to the Wen family, one of his conditions was that Wen Rendong had to get a divorce and Zhou Manbai could never obtain what she desired.
But what did it matter?
His mother, Fang Xin, was gone, while Zhou Manbai still lived.
Wen Yanqing walked to the balcony and gazed at the distant Ferris wheel. The radiant, romantic lights gradually dispelled the dark emotions welling up within him.
It didn’t matter; he still had Lin Gantang.
When Wen Yanqing opened the gift Lin Gantang gave him, he couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
“You little trickster, there wasn’t any little innerwear in there.”
The tail-end of summer passed, and autumn began.
Lin Gantang already had a plan for opening the shop.
C City’s economy was developed, and there were people working in all kinds of industries that could make money.
During dinner, Lin Gantang brought up the topic with Mr. Lin.
“Don’t you young girls look forward to opening a flower shop, a bakery, or a coffee shop when you’re rich?”
Lin Gantang shook her head, saying, “These types of shops require expensive decorations. The rent is high, and the price of a single item is low and they aren’t essential products. You’ll have to pay money to learn from them.”
Her father understood that she had researched thoroughly and was pleased.
“With your family’s wealth, even if you lose a bit, it won’t matter much. The most important thing is that you enjoy it.” ATr. Lin spoke, his thoughts drifting back, “Your mother had always wanted to open a bookstore back then, but we didn’t have the money at the time. Our financial situation was modest, so we couldn’t dare to open one. Then, when we finally earned money, your mother fell ill. She felt quite regretful about that.”
“Due to the impact of e-books and e-commerce, unless you manage to attract capital and be favored like large chain bookstores, privately-run independent bookstores are essentially operating at a loss,” Mr. Lin explained.
Lin Gantang agreed, but added, “But commercial success is not the only standard to measure the quality of a bookstore.”
“You’re right.” Mr. Lin nodded in admiration and said in a deep voice, “Bookstores might not be profitable, but our family isn’t lacking money. Gantang, you can choose to do something meaningful.”
Lin Gantang was deeply moved.
In the eyes of many, opening a bookstore at a loss right now might seem foolish.
However, many years ago, it used to carry the halo of literary ideals.
Perhaps, as a daughter, she could fulfill the wishes her mother had wanted to achieve but couldn’t.
With a clear goal in mind, Lin Gantang intended to visit nearby bookstores and see their scale and business models for reference.
As always, Mr. Lin offered his support. Concerned that she lacked experience in this area, he sent an assistant along to accompany her.
The next day, Lin Gantang got ready.
Nowadays, many people talk about shopping, but in fact, they often mean visiting malls, where rents can be exorbitant.
To run a successful shop, foot traffic, and target consumers must be considered. After the visit, Assistant Liu commented, “The bookstores around here typically sell books and have some stationery items. The larger bookstores even organize book discussion events from time to time to attract potential customers.”
“It seems most bookstores operate like that.” Lin Gantang concurred.
“Exactly. Some years ago, bookstores even partnered with schools to purchase designated teaching materials, and some people made personal profits from it. However, those practices have been prohibited,” Assistant Liu explained.
Lin Gantang agreed and said, “Though it’s challenging to make a profit from running a bookstore, we shouldn’t resort to questionable methods..”