Boss Lu: A reborn life is destined to be without regrets!
Chapter 47 - 43. Golden Stone’s Tranquil Life

Chapter 47: 43. Golden Stone’s Tranquil Life

"I really don’t understand," Zhou Sinin said.

It was Saturday, 8:30 in the morning, and the sun was shining brightly.

Zhou Sinin and Guan Yongyi walked hand in hand down Beiyuan Street, having just had breakfast in the cafeteria. They planned to sit in the shop for a while.

Golden Stone’s business hours were similar to most coffee shops, opening at nine in the morning and closing at ten at night.

"Every time those two upperclassmen come to sing, not only does he not charge them a venue fee, but he also offers them free coffee!"

Mentioning this, Zhou Sinin’s nose slightly wrinkled, resembling an adorable little cat getting angry.

"We are already short-staffed, and yet he lets Tian Yi skip ahead to make coffee for them!"

Zhou Sinin pushed open the door; the sound of the wind chimes echoed as she nodded to Tian Yi at the counter.

Now, Golden Stone had become the go-to spot for many young people from nearby universities.

The taste of the original Floating Light Coffee was actually pretty good, with high-quality coffee beans and top-brand equipment. The high prices were justified.

However, limited by the previous owner’s aesthetic sense in decor and operational skills, even a fragrant wine would not entice visitors down a deep alley, let alone when the prices deeply deterred a considerable number of potential bourgeois customers.

Since Lu Jincheng took over, he transformed everything rapidly through simplistic methods.

First, he cut the prices to eighty percent of the original, keeping them affordable for ordinary university students while allowing the business to make a comfortable profit.

Then he arranged for Zhou Sinin to undertake a comprehensive renovation, leveraging her excellent aesthetic sense to create a popular social media check-in spot.

The entire store’s design and decoration, from the structure to the furnishings, were all crafted through her "break a little, fill a little" approach.

She brought bubble mart collectibles from home to make a display wall; she also invited friends from an art studio to hand-paint cartoon patterns on the walls.

There were industrial-style walls, camping-style tables and chairs...

A customer commented that Golden Stone had "a unique temperament, a sense of belonging."

Lastly, the masterstroke was to involve the minor social media influencer Mou Keyan in the entire marketing process.

Mou Keyan had just risen to fame, her popularity at an all-time high. Coupled with Mr. Lu’s premium photography skills, once the photos were posted, they instantly set off a trend!

"Upperclassman, let’s shoot a video next."

Mou Keyan, who had tasted the benefits, was naturally happy to cooperate. She came to the shop that evening to shoot a one-day barista experience.

Lu Jincheng controlled the camera positions while Tian Yi taught her hands-on.

They filmed her making coffee, grinding beans, extracting, frothing, and even taking orders and processing payments from customers.

Wave after wave of promotion made Golden Stone increasingly popular among the youth.

Here it was, Saturday morning, an unlikely time for a coffee shop to be busy, yet the dining area of Golden Stone was already half full.

Near the feature wall, several upperclassmen with meticulous makeup were holding their phones, looking for the best angles to take photos.

"Hmm... he must have his own calculations," Guan Yongyi blinked.

Her opinion of Lu Jincheng changed as she gained a deeper understanding and witnessed the booming success of Golden Stone’s coffee.

Who said a coffee shop wasn’t a good venture at the beginning?

As a meticulous law student, she believed that even young people would need a certain level of purchasing power to afford a drink costing more than 20 yuan.

Her initial judgment was that in University City, there wouldn’t be many such consumers.

In the evening, Zhou Sinin would count the day’s revenue with Tian Yi. Guan Yongyi, not wanting to return to the dormitory too early, would also join them, listlessly.

She witnessed firsthand how the revenue grew exponentially, a casual remark from Mr. Lu proven true: "Traffic comes in waves."

"Our shop is so popular now, they should be coming to us to increase their popularity, we should be the dominant party here!"

Zhou Sinin pursed her lips, feeling particularly dissatisfied inside.

She thought with the typical mindset of a financier when it came to borrowing the venue. How could one not pay for it?

Just treating you as customers who wish to sing for fun is one thing, but you should at least consume something, perhaps a few cups of coffee, right?

She was especially unwilling about Mr. Lu giving out free coffee for two every time.

"Um, but... baby, those two senior sisters really did sing wonderfully."

Guan Yongyi was no outsider; she understood music.

Compared to Zhou Sinin’s attitude, Guan Yongyi really liked the two senior sisters.

That strangely named duo "The Landlord’s Cat" always had her seated in the first row whenever they came to sing.

Sometimes, it only takes a minute of listening to be moved.

It was delightful.

Their works always carried a strong Jiang City flavor, and even if the listeners weren’t from Jiang City, they couldn’t help but be affected by the local essence in the music.

The dazzling lights of Chu River and Han Street, the gentle evening breeze coming from the Yangtze River Bridge, the majestic view of the entire city from atop Yellow Crane Tower, the various local snacks of Hubu Alley, and the romantic Sakura Avenue.

Having experienced the unpredictable weather of Jiang City, accustomed to the huge waves stirred up in the lake, and seeing the wind blow down the leaves of the parasol trees, it almost felt like you could hear the city in their music.

"How does it sounding good matter? Even if they sing well, can they actually become singers?"

Zhou Sinin’s corners of her mouth slightly drooped, forming a small curve, revealing a playful and cute expression amidst her puffed-up demeanor.

"If they really have that talent, I would accept it, and next time I’ll offer them coffee myself, psh!"

"Come on, be more open-minded, we have so many customers every day, it won’t hurt to..."

Guan Yongyi said with a light laugh while pursing her lips.

"A nonowner doesn’t know the cost of firewood!"

...

...

On the other hand, at Golden Stone Studios.

Since the recruitment at the Bethune Battle ended, Lu Jincheng had added two new members to his team on campus.

There hadn’t been any amateurs volunteering to become influencers, but he indeed recruited some new employees for the studio.

One was Luo Shaoqin, a junior studying computer science, currently in charge of video editing full-time.

He signed up because he felt that the MCN industry had a promising future, and his skills met all of Mr. Lu’s requirements for employees.

The other was named Luo Lang, a freshman, living up to his name, mainly responsible for various miscellaneous tasks.

He just found it sounded fun.

"Jin Cheng, I don’t quite understand why we haven’t been filming Mou Keyan lately?"

Inside the studio, Luo Shaoqin asked curiously.

Since joining the studio, he had always been full of enthusiasm.

Not only was he able to get close to a beauty like Mou Keyan through videos shot by Mr. Lu, but Jin Cheng’s ability to produce popular content in a short time also deeply impressed him.

This the damn career I want to pursue!

But these days, the content Jin Cheng had him editing was somewhat boring.

Unusually, it wasn’t the delightful sight of beautiful women that he felt was pleasing to edit, but two girls sitting in a coffee shop, one holding a guitar, the other a microphone.

Quietly singing.

What was the fun in editing videos like that?