Free Web NovelChapter 230: Chapter 230: Booming Business
Su Li spent all her free time—even working late until ten or eleven at night—and after five days, she had finished registering and organizing all the books, handling the many preparations before the grand opening.
On Saturday, Su Li made the final preparations for the grand opening.
The first item on her list was to recruit work-study students.
Work-study programs were a fine tradition among Huaguo’s students, and the university was supportive of them.
It wasn’t easy to afford university in those days. For students who could provide proof of financial hardship, the school would arrange or recommend part-time jobs for them to do in their spare time, depending on their individual circumstances.
It was a way to build character while also solving a practical problem, so both the students and the university thought it was an excellent system.
Many on-campus jobs, such as positions in the university library and cafeteria, were reserved for these students.
Since Su Li wanted to hire fellow students, going through the university was the best and safest approach.
Su Li intended for the bookstore to become a major business. Although it was just a single store for now, she followed all the proper procedures, just as she had with Pinjun Clothing, ensuring all licenses and permits were in order.
Once she had her permits, she went to the university to submit her information and register as an employer.
The professor in charge reviewed Su Li’s documents and even took the time to visit her bookstore, which set his mind at ease.
The students all had their own class schedules. The professor conscientiously took this into account and recommended several candidates he felt would be a good fit for Su Li.
Su Li was very grateful for such a responsible professor.
The professor was also very impressed with Su Li. She had opened her own bookstore at such a young age, was doing a good thing for the community, and was even looking out for her fellow students.
As they had previously agreed, Su Li was to hold "interviews" that Saturday.
The interviews weren’t going to be very formal, but Su Li knew what to look for and wouldn’t be careless in her judgment. She just needed to find people who felt right for the job.
Su Li had no intention of hiding her new venture from her classmates, so she was completely open about it.
Speaking of which, Chang E, who had already all but secured a spot, was ecstatic.
"Su Li, you’re so amazing! So capable!"
After showering her with praise, Chang E enveloped Su Li in a big bear hug and peppered her with kisses.
"Su Li, I love you! I love you, love you, love you..."
Chang E went through the formalities and officially became the newest part-time employee at Su Li’s bookstore.
After consulting with the professor, Su Li provisionally hired five part-time students that Saturday morning. Including Chang E and Su Li herself, that made a total of seven people.
With two people per shift, they could cover the store from morning to night in three rotating shifts.
And if anyone had something come up, Su Li could fill in for them.
After finishing the paperwork, they all went to the cafeteria for lunch. Afterward, Su Li took the five new hires straight to the bookstore.
"Wow, so many books..."
"Oh my god!"
These were the heartfelt gasps of Chang E and the other part-time students.
They stood at the entrance, gazing at the rows and rows of books. It felt like a dream.
"I must be dreaming! To see so many books... I must be dreaming," Chang E said, pinching her own arm.
She pinched too hard and yelped, hopping in place.
"OW, OW, OW! It hurts! This is real!"
"Oh my god, my dream has really come true! I can lose myself in an ocean of books! AHHH!"
Chang E spread her arms, running her hands over the books on the shelves. "Su Li, I’m never going back! I’m going to sleep here and live here from now on!"
Chang E’s reaction might have seemed a little exaggerated, but in a way, it wasn’t.
She wasn’t the only one; the other part-time students felt the exact same way.
"I used to think the work-study book kiosk had a lot of books, and I was so jealous of the upperclassmen who worked there... I’m not jealous of them anymore."
"Exactly! Su Li, I’ll work as hard as I can. I have to keep this job!"
After seeing the bookstore, before Su Li could even say a word, the new hires were already in a state of sheer excitement, eager to start working.
Seeing the sparkle in their eyes, Su Li felt incredibly happy herself.
"We’re all book lovers here, so let’s work hard together!"
Su Li spent the next two hours giving them a simple training session. She explained the bookstore’s future business model and went over their duties.
"These are your duties. When it’s not busy, feel free to read any of these books."
"Next, we need to create a work schedule based on everyone’s class timetables. From now on, we’ll follow that schedule."
Chang E nodded. "I’ll make it."
Once the schedule was ready, Su Li looked it over and nodded. "Alright, let’s go with this from now on."
The group did a few more grand opening preparations before leaving the bookstore just before dinner.
After leaving, Su Li took them to a sign-making shop to pick up the materials for their advertisements.
There’s a saying that "good wine needs no bush," but Su Li had no intention of just opening her doors without any promotion.
Having already cleared it with the university, she still planned to do some on-campus advertising.
After all, why pass up free advertising?
They split into pairs and fanned out across campus, putting up simple, handmade posters in high-traffic areas.
They didn’t miss the campus gates, the cafeteria, or any other major spots.
Su Li had written the ad copy herself, highlighting the bookstore’s unique features, and it quickly caught everyone’s eye.
While eating dinner with Su Li after their task was complete, the group watched with delight as students stopped to read the poster at the cafeteria entrance.
"A ton of people are definitely going to show up tomorrow."
Indeed, a lot of people showed up—far more than even Su Li had anticipated.
The next day, Sunday, Su Li arrived at the bookstore a little after seven in the morning to start preparing.
She had planned to officially open at nine, but so many students had already gathered outside that she had no choice but to open the doors early.
Amidst the sound of firecrackers, the "Love Reading" bookstore officially opened for business.
The moment the doors opened, a crowd of students surged inside.
"Wow, so many books!"
"Oh my god! So many books! And they’re all titles the library doesn’t even have!" freewebnσvel.cøm
"I want this one."
"This one, this one, and this one! Oh my god, I want them all!"
"I want to sign up for a membership!"
"Me too!"
"Two cents to rent a book for a day? Oh my god, that’s an incredible deal!"
The scene was even more chaotic than the opening of the old campus book kiosk.
All seven of them, including Su Li, were so swamped they worked themselves into a frenzy, not even having time to eat lunch.
Su Li’s bookstore operated on a model similar to rental shops from later generations. Customers could rent books by registering with their national ID or student ID and noting their major, by paying a three-yuan deposit, or by purchasing a five-yuan membership.
Books could be rented, exchanged, or returned at any time. Non-members who paid a deposit had to pay per rental and could only borrow one book at a time. Members, on the other hand, could run a tab and borrow up to three books at once. The system was designed to be as convenient as possible.
Most couldn’t afford to buy books, but renting one for two cents was definitely manageable. It was a bargain no matter how you looked at it.
As a result, business at the bookstore was absolutely booming.
On its opening day, the bookstore didn’t close until ten at night. A quick tally revealed that each of the seven staff members had registered nearly a hundred customers.
By the end of the day, nearly seven hundred books had been rented out, and half of the customers had signed up for a membership.
In an instant, more than half of the books in the store were gone.
The staff were on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.
The next day, most of the staff had classes in the morning, but from noon onward, the store was just as busy.
And then... there was nothing left.
By the time the bookstore closed at ten that night, nearly every single book on the shelves had been rented out. Very few remained.
’I thought business would be good... but I never expected it to be *this* good.’
Such was Su Li’s amazed conclusion.
