Chapter 123: Is There Such a Thing as a Money-Losing Industry?

"They're already in the pot." Father's voice came from the kitchen.

Chen Mo watched this scene quietly, feeling an infinite sense of warmth in his heart.

"Son, sit for a while, the dumplings will be ready soon." Yang Xiulian pulled him into the living Room and sat him down on the sofa.

Looking at the unconcealable joy in his mother's eyes, Chen Mo quietly reflected.

He had indeed visited home too few times in recent years.

It seemed he needed to come home and visit more often in the future!

"Was it crowded on the road today?"

"Is there anything you want to eat? I'll go buy it later."

"It's already autumn, why are you wearing so little!"

"…"

Chen Mo listened to his mother's nagging on the side, responding patiently.

It had been a long time since he felt this way; in the past, when he was at home, he always found it a bit annoying.

Now, all he felt was overflowing care.

"The dumplings are ready."

Not long after, Father walked out carrying a plate of dumplings and placed them directly on the coffee table in front of him.

"I'll go get you some soy sauce and vinegar." Mother stood up and hurried into the kitchen.

Looking at the steaming dumplings, Chen Mo's appetite increased instantly.

It had been a long time since he'd eaten dumplings made at home; he picked up his chopsticks and started eating eagerly.

They were a bit hot.

But the taste was the same as before, without the slightest change.

"Delicious."

"If they're delicious, eat more. If it's not enough, there's still dough there, I'll go wrap some more for you."

"No need, Mom, it's enough."

Chen Mo hurriedly stopped his mother, who was about to go to the kitchen to wrap more dumplings.

For a time, only the sound of eating remained in the Room.

He ate while his parents watched from the side, full of smiles.

As if this alone already made them very happy.

The plate of dumplings was finished quickly.

Mother cleared the dishes and went to the kitchen.

He and Father were left sitting in the living Room in silence.

After a while, Father seemed to have finally thought of a topic and suddenly spoke up.

"I heard you tell your mother last time that you and a friend started a factory together?"

"Yes, but it's not really a partnership; I'm just helping to manage it." Chen Mo nodded.

He had mentioned this matter during previous phone calls with his mother.

However, he hadn't said that he was the one who opened it, mainly because his System and those employees were too unreliable.

If he told them he had opened a factory, but didn't have much money in his hands, it would be problematic.

It might make his parents think he had lost money while starting a business outside.

After all, what kind of company boss is so poor?

So he told a lie, saying he started a factory with a friend and was responsible for management.

Actually, the truth was almost exactly that; the friend was the System.

The System provided the money to open the company, and he provided the labor to manage it.

The money the company earned belonged to the System, while he relied on settlements to receive his salary.

If the settlement was good, he might get rich overnight and instantly become a millionaire.

If the settlement was bad, he'd just get a subsistence allowance.

It was just that, thanks to those treacherous employees, he never had a good settlement.

"I see, then you must be careful. Business hasn't been easy to do in recent years; don't lose money."

Father said with some worry.

"Dad, don't worry, the money for this factory was all put up by my friend. I'm just responsible for managing it. My friend bears all the profit and loss alone. Even if it loses money, it won't affect me."

Chen Mo thought to himself that he was hoping it would lose money.

The more it lost, the better.

If he could fully convert the System Funds this time, that would be 15 million.

By then, he wouldn't just be a millionaire, but a multi-millionaire.

"Is that so? Then you must manage it well. Your friend trusts you so much; you can't just mismanage it because of that!"

"I know." Chen Mo nodded.

After a few sentences, the conversation ended, and the two fell into silence once again.

Chen Mo was already used to this; neither he nor his father were good at chatting, and usually, it was his mother who talked the most at home.

He and his father would often say a couple of sentences and then not know what else to say.

It wasn't that they didn't have deep feelings for each other; it was just their personalities, and this was their usual way of interacting.

"Son, I think it's better for you to honestly take the civil service exam. Starting a business is too unstable. When I go out shopping, I see that many shops outside have closed down."

Mother had just finished clearing the dishes and walked out, saying with emotion as she looked at Chen Mo.

"And your Second Aunt's eldest brother's daughter-in-law's younger sister, she franchised some internet-famous milk tea shop last year. Renting the place, plus renovations, and the franchise fee—she spent hundreds of thousands inside and out, and it all went down the drain."

"She's so stressed out now."

It all went down the drain?

Chen Mo's eyes lit up; there was such a good thing?

He was considering what he could do to lose money, and this was a good opportunity.

"Mom, tell me the details."

"What's there to hear about that?"

"I'm just trying to learn from their failed lessons so I can avoid pitfalls in the future."

"Alright, then I'll tell you, but don't spread it around. It's not good for this kind of thing to get out."

Mother Yang Xiulian gave a word of caution and began to tell the story.

After a while, Chen Mo nodded; he had roughly understood the ins and outs of the matter.

The main person involved was the younger sister of the daughter-in-law of the eldest brother of the Second Aunt's family. After graduating from university, she didn't work and took out a loan to franchise an internet-famous milk tea shop.

And the location was right here in Jiang City, but it all went down the drain.

He had heard that the milk tea industry was quite profitable, so how could it have all gone down the drain?

Could it be poor management or bad operations?

It seemed he could find time in the next two days to go to Second Aunt's house and ask his eldest brother to find out the reason.

Chen Mo thought to himself.

While he was thinking, his mother suddenly asked.

"Son, how many days off does your factory give? How many days can you stay at home?"

"Probably about eight days; I'll go back next Sunday."

Chen Mo calculated the time; if he went back on Sunday, it would be just right for starting work on Monday.

"You can stay for so many days." Yang Xiulian smiled happily.

…

The next day, Chen Mo was called up early by his mother to have breakfast.

Before he had taken a few bites, his mother suddenly said.

"Son, you're not young anymore; it's time to start dating."

"Mom, why bring this up suddenly?"

Chen Mo was a bit stunned; he didn't expect to encounter pressure to get married just after graduating.

"If I don't bring it up, you won't be in a hurry either. It's not like you have to get married right now; just find someone to date first, and if it works out, you can get married later—that's all fine."

"Mom, your change is too fast. When I was in school, you wouldn't let me date early, and now that I've graduated, you're starting to urge me to get married. At least give me some time to adjust!"

"I didn't stop you in university either, and you didn't date anyone."

Yang Xiulian couldn't help but retort.

Uh!

Chen Mo was speechless for a moment and had to silently continue eating.

Knock, knock, knock! A knock on the door came.

Father Chen Jingrui walked quickly to the door to open it.

"Hello, I'm here to deliver appliances. Is this Chen Jingrui's home?"