Chapter 128: The Striving Store (Bonus for 300 Monthly Votes)

"Damn it! I've been waiting all morning, how can they just stop recruiting like that!" Dissatisfied voices erupted from the crowd. However, after Hong Tao's earlier reminder, everyone remembered the two police officers standing nearby. They could only mutter a few curses to vent their frustration before slowly dispersing.

"Selling needles and thread? Let's forget that. Even if I took your entire turnover, it wouldn't be worth much! ...Hmm, this one is decent. Repairing electrical appliances is a solid skill. ...This one is good! Selling clothing..." Hong Tao sat on the table, reviewing the registration forms one by one. He selected industries that were reliable and had higher profit margins, setting them aside. As for those with meager profits, he had to pass. He also excluded food-related businesses; Hong Tao didn't want his little building to be constantly shrouded in cooking fumes—not only was it unsafe and unhygienic, but it was also a magnet for cockroaches.

According to Hong Tao's calculations, he planned to clear out four rooms to create something like a small commodity wholesale market from later eras. Naturally, the selection of goods wouldn't be as extensive, limited at most to clothing, footwear, hats, cassette tapes, sunglasses, watch repairs, and electrical appliance maintenance. However, each tenant of these stalls would have to sign a loan and repayment contract with Hong Tao. They wouldn't have to pay rent or utility bills, and could even receive a small amount of startup capital from him, but they would have to share their future revenue with Hong Tao, with the duration of the profit-sharing determined by the amount of startup capital provided.

Hong Tao wasn't going to this much trouble just to make money; his primary goal was to build a reputation—both for himself and for this property. The personal reputation wasn't for Hong Tao himself, but for the entire Hu family, or rather, for his uncle-in-law, who acted as the representative. In this era, if you wanted a business to last, you had to ensure government departments didn't dislike you; ideally, they should like you. Furthermore, if you could provide them with political achievements, they would be willing to shield you if any minor trouble arose. Otherwise, a single letter of denunciation could bankrupt you overnight.

The reputation of the site referred mainly to the commercial atmosphere of the street. General retail businesses thrive on clustering. Why cluster? Because clustering provides a psychological suggestion to customers, making them feel that a trip is worth it because there are many things to choose from, ensuring they won't leave empty-handed. Thus, they are willing to come. The more people who come, the more it acts as an indirect advertisement; the more people there are, the better the business, and the better the business, the more people it attracts. Conversely, if it's dead, you might as well close up shop.

Additionally, this investment promotion would benefit the neighborhood office by solving the employment problem for at least dozens of educated youth. That meant dozens of families, significantly easing the burden on the neighborhood. Reporting this as a success would be a political achievement. With the protection of the neighborhood office director, at least in the Beixinqiao area, there would be no need to worry about minor issues.

However, the startup capital couldn't be handed out recklessly. If someone took the money and ran, there would be nowhere to find them, and one couldn't report such a small matter to the police every day. Hong Tao had to be cautious. He didn't just look at written applications; he had to interview each applicant, talk to them, and chat to gauge what kind of person they were. As for whether they were telling the truth, that was easy to verify. One only needed to take a letter of introduction from the neighborhood office to their local residents' committee, and within minutes, someone would provide an extremely detailed background report, right down to their great-grandparents.

Interviewing in this era was a major challenge. Only a few people had left phone numbers, and those were all public phones that required someone to go and fetch them. For most, his uncle-in-law had to do the hard work. Every day after Hong Tao finished school, he would have his uncle-in-law ride him on a bicycle, first going to the local residents' committee to show the introduction letter, and then being led by the neighborhood aunties to conduct home visits one by one.

In truth, Hong Tao hadn't had much contact with these educated youth in his past life, aside from a few in his own alleyway. The rest he had only seen in movies, television, and literature from later years. This time, he was catching up on that lesson, but the results were cruel, leaving him unable to find joy for several days. Some of these educated youth were doing okay, but others were truly miserable. With many siblings and elderly relatives, seven or eight people living in a ten-square-meter room—it was almost like a pigeon coop.

If it were just the hardship of daily life, these educated youth wouldn't have complained, for they had endured far worse. But the immense sense of spiritual loss was enough to crush a grown man. The meaning of "a hero being defeated by a single penny" and "bowing for five pecks of rice" was something Hong Tao felt firsthand.

Many of the returning educated youth dared not stay at home. They feared seeing the helpless expressions of their parents, and even more, they feared the distant gazes of their siblings. They were forced to borrow space at friends' houses, staying a couple of days here and there, living like drifters—no money, no work, no skills, and no hope.

Being poor or unintelligent isn't the scariest part; it's losing the drive to live. Once that is gone, a person quickly gives up on themselves, adopting a "live for today" attitude. Those without courage become reckless, daring to do anything, and their potential for social harm becomes extreme because their hearts are filled with hatred—all kinds of hatred—so full that there is no room left for sympathy or pity.

"Uncle, I'll go back and look again to see if we can squeeze out a few more stalls. If it really doesn't work, we'll add a row in the middle. It'll be a bit crowded, but it's better than doing nothing. I'm sorry to trouble you, having to accompany me on these visits, but let's prioritize those who are really at the end of their rope." Hong Tao wanted to help them, but facing such a massive group, he was powerless and could only help as many as he could.

"Heh, it's not a trouble. Luckily, your fourth cousin was young back then, otherwise he would have gone too. Your eldest uncle was lucky to find a job in a military factory; otherwise, he would have had to go as well!" His uncle-in-law, having spent the evening witnessing tragedy, was in low spirits too.

After more than half a month of home visits, the first batch of 20 applicants was finalized. Hong Tao didn't intend to fill all four rooms at once. He planned to open them one by one. Although he was optimistic about this business model, he couldn't guarantee 100% success. If he lent out so much money and the majority lost it, his own losses would be significant.

Moreover, this street wasn't originally a commercial street. Although the Lama Temple and the Imperial Academy had become tourist attractions this year, a market doesn't take shape overnight; it needs slow cultivation. Setting up dozens of stalls at once would raise a major question: was there enough foot traffic?

Compared to the cautious Hong Tao, Director Zhou was bold and decisive. He had already secured the business license for Hong Tao. This license was specially approved by the district after meetings and discussions—a "big license," or a corporate license. However, the license couldn't be held by an individual; that wasn't the rule yet, so the neighborhood office had to act as the legal entity for the time being.

Hong Tao was worried about this, but he had no choice. That was the era; no matter how much you struggled, you couldn't jump outside the circle. The state wouldn't change a law just for one person. So he had to make do and pray that Director Zhou would remain in his position for a few more years. If a new director came in, no one knew what their temperament would be. If they turned their backs on the agreement, Hong Tao would just have to consider himself unlucky.

A few days before the summer vacation, the small commodity convenience market, named "Fenjin" (Striving Forward), officially opened. This name was chosen by Director Zhou and his colleagues; since they were the legal entity, the right to name it naturally fell to them. Hong Tao had a stomach full of sarcastic remarks about the name. "Striving Forward"? Why not just call it "Challenger"?

Regardless of whether the name sounded good or not, the opening ceremony was grand indeed. Not only was there music and the sound of firecrackers, but the attendees were all prominent figures—at least within the district. The district head led the way, accompanied by the deputy district head. The heads of the industrial and commercial bureaus, public security, commerce, the neighborhood office, and the residents' committee—everyone who could come came. Even the Civil Air Defense Office sent representatives. There were over 30 people just standing there with notebooks, frantically recording the district head's speech.

His grandfather, grandmother, uncle-in-law, and aunt all stood in the front row as representatives, each wearing a large red flower on their chest, smiles plastered on their faces. They shook hands and took photos with the district head and the other leaders one by one. After the whole procedure, one could guess that except for his uncle-in-law, no one else had any idea who was who. However, they could see their group photo with the leaders in the *Beijing Evening News* the next day. Grandmother carefully folded the newspaper and tucked it under the statue of Chairman Mao; in her eyes, that was the safest and most secure place.

"Tell me, you spent all that money there, do you still have money to open that... whatever shop? Should I stop running all over the city looking for antiques for you?" Uncle Na had come to the opening as well, though he hid across the street to watch. Once the ceremony was over and the leaders had dispersed, he ran over and pulled Hong Tao aside.

"Don't say that! The money for that shop is for that shop, and this shop is for this shop—it doesn't interfere. You haven't shown your face for days; have you found some good treasures and hidden them at home to enjoy by yourself?" Ever since Hong Tao had talked to Uncle Na about partnering to open a shop, he had given up the task of scouring the city's consignment shops for old goods, delegating it to Uncle Na while providing the funds himself. This allowed Hong Tao to free up time for other things. If Uncle Na saw something good, he didn't need to consult Hong Tao; he could just buy it directly.