After a moment of thought, Li Xiao made a decision.
’Perhaps the families’ initial intentions are good, but these non-direct franchise stores could very well affect the overall operation.’
’Besides, the reason he couldn’t roll out a large number of stores right now wasn’t a lack of funds.’
’It was simply because he wanted a gradual, step-by-step expansion. More importantly, the children’s learning and training progress was slower than average, making it impossible to prepare enough of them to meet the work demand in a short time.’
Li Xiao:
"I understand what they mean."
"But from now on, just reject them directly."
Wenchu People was completely surprised to get such an answer. She grew anxious and said,
"The parents of those children truly hope their kids can learn to support themselves, that’s why they..."
Li Xiao, of course, understood what she meant. It was just that her way of thinking was too superficial.
So he cut her off.
"I understand that the families, and you, are all in a hurry."
"But this isn’t something that can be rushed. If we were really short on funds, I could invest tens of millions at any time."
"But what I lack right now isn’t capital, but time for trial and error."
"I need to fully figure out the operational strategy for the Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop. Only after ensuring they can run properly and expand later will I increase their number."
"To use a simple analogy, the Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop is still in the foundation-laying stage. What we need to do now is build a solid foundation, not blindly add more floors."
"Do you understand what I’m saying?"
Hearing Li Xiao’s explanation, Wenchu People fell silent for a moment before speaking:
"Alright, I understand. We were being too hasty. It’s mainly because it’s rare for us to see an opportunity for the children to become self-reliant, so we got a little impatient. I’m very sorry."
Li Xiao explained patiently, trying to guide her understanding:
"The milk tea shops will definitely expand step by step. According to my plan, within a year, we’ll have at least 30 to 40 shops. Once they’re successfully opened, we’ll be able to accommodate the vast majority of the children who need work."
...
After hanging up, Li Xiao began to wonder to himself, ’Is a pace of 30 milk tea shops in a year too slow?’
But he quickly dismissed the thought. ’Sometimes, going too fast isn’t a good thing.’
What Li Xiao didn’t know was that while he felt his refusal was reasonable and well-founded, some of the families saw it as him wanting to keep all the profits for himself.
The families of these special-needs children had their own related chat groups.
After receiving the clear refusal to franchise, some of the more well-off families began contacting each other, both openly and secretly, preparing to ditch Li Xiao and go it alone.
After all, in their eyes, as long as there was an existing template to copy, opening a knockoff milk tea shop would be a piece of cake.
Soon enough, seven or eight families pooled together several hundred thousand yuan. They acquired a defunct milk tea shop near the original Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop and began preparing their own Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop.
Li Xiao was completely in the dark about all of this. Of course, even if he had known, he probably wouldn’t have cared.
Time passed quickly. After a few quiet days of studying at school, the weekend arrived. Li Xiao, of course, wasn’t going to stay on campus.
He opened the notes app on his phone, which contained some reminders his assistant had sent him.
One particular note quickly caught his interest. He glanced at the date—it was for tomorrow.
Li Xiao opened his four-person dorm group chat.
"I’m planning to go to Chaoshan tomorrow. Anyone want to come?"
He only had to wait a moment before replies started coming in.
Zhou Yu:
"Tomorrow, there will be five new kids at the shop who need training and to get settled in. Plus, we get a ton of orders on Saturdays and Sundays. I probably can’t get away. You three go ahead."
Li Xiao had expected that Zhou Yu wouldn’t go.
The guy really cared about those kids. Forget Saturdays and Sundays, he would basically go out to work his part-time job even on weekdays when he had a light class schedule.
Zhang Jiawen:
"I’m going home this weekend. I’m already on the bus, so I can’t make it."
Huang Zhiyuan:
"I’m free, but I have a date to see a movie on Saturday night and already booked a hotel for the evening, so... I probably can’t go either."
Seeing that all three had refused, Li Xiao was a bit speechless. ’Am I really going to have to go alone?’
The drive from Yangcheng to Chaoshan takes four hours. If you factor in a stop at a service station along the way, the whole trip would be closer to five.
The high-speed rail was faster, but it still took over three hours. Besides, having to go to the station early and deal with ticketing was also a huge hassle.
Li Xiao opened WeChat and scrolled through his contacts.
He didn’t have many contacts on WeChat. After all, the previous owner of this body wasn’t a very social person.
In university, he was only really close with his roommates.
After scrolling through the list, he realized with a sense of resignation that he didn’t even have a single friend to travel with.
’Looks like this trip to Chaoshan is doomed to fail.’
He closed WeChat and opened Douyin, scrolling through it casually.
A video soon caught his attention.
"Looking for a cycling buddy. Can cycle with me at Lotus Mountain at 8 AM every weekday."
"Looking for a hiking buddy. Hike every Saturday, any mountain within a 3-hour radius of Yangcheng is fine."
"Looking for an eating buddy. I love food but can’t eat too many dishes by myself. We’ll split the bill. DM if interested."
"Looking for a study buddy. Female, preferably one who likes to wear black stockings..."
A very novel term appeared before his eyes.
Buddy.
It was actually a word that had been around for a long time, originally meaning someone you play cards with, and by extension, a partner.
But now it had taken on a new meaning: a new type of "vertical" social relationship, shallower than a friendship but deeper than a coworker relationship, focused on providing precise companionship within a specific niche.
A reliable "buddy" must be mutually respectful, have a sense of propriety, and be willing to share. That’s the only way everyone can have fun together.
The reason for this phenomenon was also very simple.
A friendship often requires a huge investment of time and energy, carrying a high emotional cost. Many people no longer have the time to get to know someone deeply, and their relationships with those around them are often just casual acquaintanceships.
The fast pace of modern life has left people with little energy to invest in new friendships.
With a buddy, you don’t need to spend time and energy maintaining the relationship like you would with a friend, nor do you need to be completely involved in each other’s lives.
The strong sense of distance, low burden, and shallow connection are why many people find interacting with a buddy so relaxing.
Buddies are the fast-food friendships of the internet age, a fragmented form of friendship, a low-cost substitute for intimate relationships.
This simple and convenient type of relationship satisfies social needs while minimizing the required investment of time and emotion, which is why it’s becoming increasingly popular among young people.
Li Xiao rubbed his chin. ’It seems I need a buddy right now, too. A food buddy.’
’Of course, unlike others, the cost isn’t what I’m worried about.’
’It’s just that eating alone is really too boring.’
’More importantly, if I order too many dishes, I won’t be able to finish them all by myself, and that would be too wasteful.’
’Wasting food is not a good habit.’