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As autumn winds brought crisp coolness to the season of harvest, the grand dynasty of "Sheng Shi Wang Chao" quietly opened its doors.

There were no booming gongs and firecrackers, no ribbons cut by dignitaries amidst a sea of flowers. The moment the great red satin covering the signboard was unveiled, and two rows of handsome men and beautiful women, serving as greeters, stood at the entrance, the establishment officially joined the ranks of Nanjing Road's many jewelry emporiums.

This greatly displeased Zhang Xingming, the owner of the neighboring Tian Yuan Jewelry. He had originally planned to have a few friends from the fire inspection department cause trouble on the opening day of Sheng Shi Wang Chao, but that plan had gone to waste.

However, this quiet opening confirmed a suspicion he held: the owners were merely nouveau riche with no real power or backing, otherwise, why would not a single congratulatory flower basket have been sent?

Because of this, Zhang Xingming looked down on Sheng Shi Wang Chao even more. Did they think they were major players just because they had a bit of fast money? Just you wait and see.

...

Wang Zhuo plunged into the busy life of an owner. Both the storefront and the factory were just starting out; neither could be neglected.

At the factory, Qiu Lu was temporarily in charge of management, though whether he was the right man for the job remained to be seen. So far, things seemed manageable. The dozen or so technicians were all newly hired, each with their own assigned tasks and diligent in their work; there were no major issues for the time being.

The storefront, however, was far more tedious. The miscellaneous affairs were much more numerous than Wang Zhuo had anticipated. Dealing with accounting, treasury, cash reconciliation, and invoices alone gave him headaches. Fortunately, Guan Yingying and Qi Fei had helped him consider these matters before the opening, otherwise, he would surely have made a fool of himself.

That day, Wang Zhuo skipped class again. He made a quick trip to the factory early in the morning to pick up items like ring settings and bracelets that had just received their appraisal certificates, before returning to the store.

Yesterday's sales had just surpassed the fifty thousand yuan mark, but thirty-eight thousand of that came from a single sale—a jade Pixiu pendant—which was highly situational. Therefore, the store's profitability was not yet encouraging.

He never understood the true cost of running a business until he had to manage one himself. Guan Yingying quickly calculated for Wang Zhuo: monthly rent was three hundred thousand, initial employee costs about one hundred thousand, benefits thirty thousand, various levies and miscellaneous fees twenty thousand, with taxes calculated separately. The monthly expenses for the storefront alone exceeded four hundred and fifty thousand yuan. This meant that if they didn't earn over fifteen thousand yuan every day, they were losing money.

Putting it that way, since its opening, Sheng Shi Wang Chao had barely broken even yesterday, and until then, it had been operating at a loss.

But Wang Zhuo wasn't worried. Every beginning is difficult; things would slowly get on track. Besides, what was four hundred and fifty thousand yuan? He could earn that back in minutes by gambling on rough jade stones.

If Zhang Xingming knew his thoughts, he would probably die of anger. Other people opened shops to make money and get rich; this fellow had poured tens of millions in investment in just to "practice his skills"?

He handed the jade pieces over to Sister Li and went into the office to summon Guan Yingying.

Sister Li was the pricing manager Qi Fei had helped Wang Zhuo find. She was not only responsible for setting product prices but also participated in formulating the store's operational strategy. Such talent was extremely rare; if Qi Fei hadn't made three visits, they couldn't have hired such a seasoned professional.

"This batch of goods is quite excellent. Finally, we can fill up two more display cases," Sister Li nodded with satisfaction. The "bargain bin" items on the first floor were too unchallenging, and the display cases on the second floor were still half-empty—so much work to do!

"This bracelet is so beautiful," Guan Yingying picked up a glass-type bracelet with blue-water float and dark flower patterns and refused to take it off, wearing it immediately.

"Hey, hey, listen here," Wang Zhuo stretched out his hand with mock exasperation. "This bracelet isn't for internal sale. I still need it to maintain appearances here."

"Hmph, cheapskate," Guan Yingying reluctantly took the bracelet off and placed it in his hand.

In the shipment Wang Zhuo retrieved the day before yesterday, Guan Yingying had fallen in love with a full-green, ice-grade ring setting. She asked Wang Zhuo for an internal price to buy it for her father. However, yesterday, a group of customers came in but didn't see a single item they liked and left disappointed.

They were interested in the large "cabbage" displayed in the center of the first-floor lobby, but that was Sheng Shi Wang Chao's mascot; no amount of money could buy it.

Sister Li's desk was in a corner of the second-floor hall. She first photographed today's new stock with a digital camera and then transferred the pictures to her computer.

Although competitors were rivals, communication and exchange between them were essential. Sister Li's current task was to check related forums and QQ groups for information, synthesize the data, and then visit the various competitors on Nanjing Road for chats, ultimately setting reasonable prices.

This process truly tested her skill: setting the price too high meant the items wouldn't sell; setting it too low meant losing potential profit and affecting the store's reputation. Thus, the fifteen thousand yuan monthly salary Wang Zhuo paid Sister Li was well worth it.

Leaving Guan Yingying and Sister Li upstairs to deliberate, Wang Zhuo went downstairs alone. After casually strolling around for a bit, he reached the entrance to take in the view and catch some air.

Gao Haihe, standing at two meters and ten centimeters tall, was a unique new sight on Nanjing Road. People had never seen such a tall greeter before. He stood by the entrance of Sheng Shi Wang Chao like an iron tower, smiling as he welcomed and bid farewell to guests; the effect was quite good.

In front of customers, the staff of Sheng Shi Wang Chao would never address Wang Zhuo as "Boss." This was something Wang Zhuo had emphasized several times, as doing so gave an unreliable impression and hurt business.

Wang Zhuo was also dressed in a white shirt, black trousers, and highly polished leather shoes today, making him look much like the male greeter of Sheng Shi Wang Chao when standing next to Gao Haihe.

The customer flow today was decent. Wang Zhuo estimated that a new group of customers entered the door every two minutes on average. He stood there for about ten minutes, and just as he was about to go back inside to check things, a woman walking past him suddenly gasped and pointed at him in surprise.

"You're Wang Zhuo, right?"

The woman was tall, with a curvaceous figure, and wore exquisite, glamorous makeup that slightly obscured her true features. Her expression held a mix of surprise, delight, and a touch of astonishment as she scrutinized Wang Zhuo from head to toe.

Beside her were two men and another woman. That other woman was equally tall, looking somewhat frail and delicate. The two men appeared to be in their thirties and forties, radiating an air of pampered wealth and portly confidence, the picture of affluent big shots.

"And you are?" Wang Zhuo sized up the richly dressed woman holding an LV bag. She seemed familiar, yet he couldn't place her.

"I'm Deng Jiao! You didn't recognize me, did you?" The woman, seeing Wang Zhuo didn't recognize her, seemed pleased rather than upset.

"Deng Jiao..." Wang Zhuo racked his brain, desperately trying to recall.

"Oh my!" the woman chirped coquettishly. "You truly are too busy with important matters! We were junior high classmates. I sat right behind you. Remember now?"

"Oh, oh, you're Deng Jiao?" Wang Zhuo suddenly realized. So it was that tall girl from junior high nicknamed 'Giraffe,' Deng Jiao? Girls truly changed dramatically as they grew up; he couldn't recognize her at all.

"How about that, old classmate? You didn't recognize me, did you?" Deng Jiao proudly twisted her body, showing off her transformation to Wang Zhuo, then asked, "What are you doing here? Working?"

"Ah? Yes, I work here," Wang Zhuo laughed. "And you? Are you in college or working?"

"I've been working for ages! I'm a car model," Deng Jiao said, placing her hands on her hips and bending her knees into a pose common for car models. Just as she was about to speak, the other woman beside her said somewhat impatiently, "Xiao Jiao, are we leaving or not? People are going to get tanned."

Deng Jiao shot her a slightly annoyed look, then sweetly smiled at Wang Zhuo. "Then I'll go in first. We'll catch up later."

Waving her hand at Wang Zhuo, Deng Jiao and her friends entered the store. Wang Zhuo didn't pay much mind; it was just running into an old acquaintance, and they weren't close, so a quick greeting was all it took.

Entering the main hall of Sheng Shi Wang Chao, the thirty-something male companion of Deng Jiao asked in a flat tone, "That guy just now, your old classmate?"

"Yes, a junior high classmate," Deng Jiao replied with a slightly wistful smile. "And my first crush, too, though it was entirely one-sided."

"He had a crush on you?" The frail-looking car model immediately laughed. "Another scene of a toad trying to eat swan meat and failing?"

Deng Jiao managed a strained smile and shook her head, thinking to herself that this time the guess was wrong. The one who wanted to eat the swan meat was me, but back then the swan had turned into an ugly duckling, while the toad who failed to get the swan had become an 'Automobile Princess.'

"What's wrong? Were you secretly in love with him?" the frail one asked in surprise.

"Yes! Back then, he was the focus of attention; countless girls had crushes on him." Deng Jiao recalled Wang Zhuo from those years—good grades, righteous, brave, and always standing up for the weak. Many girls secretly liked him at school, but the boy was so single-minded that he never caught on.

"Him?" the frail one laughed somewhat indecently. "A poor kid working as a doorman? He deserves to have our beautiful Deng Jiao waste a crush on him? He must have accumulated blessings in a past life!"

"The young man is quite good-looking, but this job is rather humble," Deng Jiao's male companion said with a slight, arrogant smile. "His income as a doorman, maybe three thousand yuan a month?"

"That's not even enough for one session of my photorejuvenation treatment, right, Boss Liu?" The frail one playfully nudged her male companion's arm with her shoulder, letting her conspicuously large bust brush against his arm unintentionally.

"You can't compare people, Pingping," Boss Liu secretly squeezed the frail woman's little hand underneath.

Listening to her companions casually belittle her first love, Deng Jiao felt a flicker of displeasure at first, but it was quickly replaced by a sense of triumphant gratification. That's right, I, Deng Jiao, did have a crush on you, Wang Zhuo, but that's all in the past now. Today, I am the exclusive model for 'Biaozhì Motors'; I associate with bosses of major companies and young masters from wealthy families. I dine in grand restaurants and travel in private cars; you are only fit to be a front-door security guard, a doorman, at some obscure jewelry shop!

Note: It was previously mentioned that Wang Zhuo's academic performance declined after entering high school due to certain reasons; the above content is not a typographical error.

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