Chapter 28

The next day at 7 AM, Song Chen, who had already had breakfast, arrived early at the computer room. He opened the door to Chen Wei's shop, took out a pre-made advertisement sign from the back and placed it by the entrance. Then, he pasted price lists on the walls, which were printed out by a printer:

Students with a Dongou University ID card pay 8 yuan, others pay 10 yuan—similar to a membership discount. Additionally, the price list indicated that from 6 AM to 12 PM, the hourly rate is 8 yuan, and for the rest of the day, it is 10 yuan. Finally, Song Chen specified the all-night price from 11 PM to 8 AM the next day: 30 yuan for students with an ID card, 40 yuan for those without. Of course, this would leave room for the cashier to make some extra money! But without billing software in the early days, there was no other way!

There were also some notices, such as: "Do not spit on the ground, as enclosed spaces are prone to infection," "Keep the volume of the speakers low at night," and "Do not make loud noises."

After doing some preparatory work, Song Chen placed the advertisement sign at the entrance of the alley. It prominently displayed the four bold characters "Chenxing Computer Training," with arrows pointing towards the alley. "Hanging a sheep's head to sell dog meat"—this was a common tactic used by later JS, and Song Chen casually adopted it.

It was not yet 7:30, and not many customers had been attracted by Song Chen's advertisement. As expected, Qiu Lin brought over a dozen classmates to support him. Seeing that Song Chen was already open for business, Qiu Lin laughed and ran over. Without waiting for Song Chen to greet him, Qiu Lin, having learned from the previous night's lesson, took up a position at the entrance and said, "Boss, the supporters are here! Brothers, let's start Red Alert!"

"Who's afraid of who?"

"But isn't it supposed to be a computer training center?" a student asked.

"You're really cunning, boss!"

"Hehe! Thank you, thank you!"

Seeing the place fill up quickly, Song Chen smiled and clasped his hands together in the traditional manner. Since there was no billing software, he could only take notes in a notebook and casually asked Qiu Lin, "No classes in the morning?"

"There's a general course, but it's no problem. Besides, didn't we promise to bring people to support you today?"

Just as Qiu Lin finished speaking, someone shouted from a distance, "Damn, someone is faster than me, Qiu Lin! I knew it was you!"

Song Chen looked in the direction of the voice and saw a slightly overweight person leading four or five others running over. Seeing Qiu Lin, he said with a gloomy face, "I couldn't find you in the dormitory. Someone said you went out with a large group. I knew you came here! Damn, boss, are there no seats left?"

"No, there aren't! Hehe!"

The sounds of the games gradually attracted passersby in the alley. With the computer room bustling with people, those who were interested stayed, while those who were not or had never been exposed to it left. These interested people, after watching for a long time, became highly interested and returned with friends, thus bringing in a second batch of potential customers. The first and second batches of potential customers then brought in even more third batches.

Song Chen sighed in relief, finally putting down the heavy burden on his mind—his first step in his career was firmly taken.

At noon, Li Wan, who had finished her part-time job, brought a lunch box and took the bus to the snack street. With the help of passersby, she found Song Chen's computer room. She saw that every computer was occupied, and the back was filled with spectators, making the two shops, which were originally quite large, seem crowded!

Seeing Song Chen watching others play games from the back, Li Wan sighed in relief and softly called his name.

Seeing his mother holding a lunch box, Song Chen smiled and said, "Mom, why did you come? Come in!"

Since he had rented the entire old house from Chen Wei, Song Chen not only had a kitchen at the back but also the second and third floors for living. However, apart from a bed and wardrobe in the front and back rooms on the second floor, the third floor was almost empty. Song Chen had been thinking about whether to set up a few more computers on the second floor—of course, if he had the money.

Taking the plastic lunch box, Song Chen smiled and said, "Mom, there are snack shops all around, so you don't need to go through the trouble of bringing it over!"

The sounds of the games, cheers, and even curses kept coming from the front. Li Wan smiled and said, "I just came to take a look! With so many people, how much can you earn?" Li Wan was more concerned about Song Chen's business. She wished he could earn 180,000 yuan overnight to pay off the bank loan, or she would not be able to sleep or eat well!

While eating, Song Chen quickly calculated, "It's now 11:30, 4 hours, 512 yuan! After deducting the electricity cost, I earned about 500 yuan in half a day!"

Li Wan's mouth remained open for a long time. She murmured, "That's several times more than my monthly salary!"

Song Chen smiled and said, "Working a job is not as profitable as doing business! The returns are not proportional, of course, the risks are also the same!"

Satisfied with the answer, Li Wan left happily.

In the afternoon, it was even busier. Students from Dongou University flocked to the shop, but seeing it was already full, they had to leave disappointed. This phenomenon made Song Chen both happy and worried. He was happy about the vast market around the university, but worried that the vast market would soon attract imitators and followers. It also meant that the school might pay attention to this area.

"Perhaps... I can rent another shop? As for the computer costs, I can temporarily owe them..." Song Chen pondered.

In fact, Song Chen had a better idea. Instead of owing money to Lu Wei, he could take a loan from the bank... Thinking of the Dongou people who bought houses in the future, Song Chen pondered this idea.

Of course, he could also borrow from Yang De and others, but if not necessary, Song Chen did not want to go this route. He preferred to use favors for more critical matters rather than small amounts of money!

Qiu Lin and his classmates finally got up at 1 PM. They had expected a few computers to be free, but they were quickly taken by the people behind them. Song Chen sighed in relief. He thought about setting up a desk for himself in the kitchen and used a notebook and a new computer to calculate the bill for Qiu Lin. Qiu Lin and his friends did their own calculations, then took out money from their pockets and handed it to Qiu Lin, who then gave it to Song Chen. After checking and finding no errors, Song Chen smiled and said, "Welcome back next time!"

"Hehe! That's for sure, maybe I'll sneak out for an all-nighter tonight!" Qiu Lin smiled and gestured for his classmates to leave. After they all left, he hesitated and said, "Boss, can I really work part-time here? I'm not always available, and if it's only at night, I need to review my lessons, so I might not be able to keep up..."

Song Chen nodded, knowing that this person had not been completely absorbed by games, and said, "No problem, as long as you give me your schedule, I'll pay you according to it! For full-time employees, I might hire more!"

From a physical and efficiency standpoint, he could not and did not need to keep a close eye on the shop all the time. In the case of a booming business, hiring two full-time employees seemed necessary.

"Do you want to hire full-time employees?" Qiu Lin's eyes lit up, "I have a candidate, do you want to? She's a girl?"

"A girl?" Song Chen frowned and shook his head instinctively. Without hesitation, he knew that early computer rooms and black internet cafes were notorious for chaos, and there might be scoundrels and thugs from society. If something went wrong, it would be a minor issue if they were just played with. If the employees were bullied or had bad intentions during the all-night sessions, it could lead to major problems!

"Actually, there's a girl in our class who is very beautiful. Her family used to be very wealthy, but something happened, and she's always sad. She doesn't have the tuition for the next semester, so she wants to work part-time while studying. If you're willing, I can ask her to come and help..." Qiu Lin looked at Song Chen carefully, "Of course, it would be during the day!"

If it was during the day, it could work, but... Song Chen frowned and said, "If she works during the day, what about school?"

Qiu Lin sighed, "What else can she do? Work at night? Where can she find such a job? I'm a guy, so it's fine, but she's so beautiful, I'm sure the boss wouldn't be comfortable either! Since the boss wants to hire employees, it's best to hire two students, one for the day and one for the night, so they can take turns!"

Song Chen shrugged and smiled bitterly, "I hope one can manage the day and one can manage the night! Otherwise, managing the whole day would be too much for anyone!"

Qiu Lin was slightly taken aback and said, "Does the boss want me to manage the night?"

Song Chen smiled and nodded, "Actually, managing the night is quite simple. Did you see the price list I posted?"

Qiu Lin nodded, seeming to understand.

"After 11 PM, you can close the door, collect the money, and go to sleep upstairs! Oh, I forgot to tell you, I rented the entire building!" Song Chen pointed upstairs and smiled, "Or I can buy a steel bed and put it downstairs, so you can rest. You can play the free computers when they are idle at night—of course, only at night!"

"That could work! Although the sleep quality might be a bit poor..." Qiu Lin thought for a moment and then asked anxiously, "What about the salary..."

"Basic salary is 150 yuan, with meals provided! If there are any system issues you can solve, I'll give you an additional 20 yuan as a subsidy!"

"It's almost as much as my mom's salary..." It was clear that Qiu Lin was a straightforward person, and his excitement was evident on his face, "When do I start?"

"Look at your schedule! I think it's best to start tonight!" Song Chen smiled and patted Qiu Lin, who was three years older than him.

"Then, about my classmate..." Qiu Lin hesitated and asked again.

Song Chen looked at Qiu Lin teasingly and said, "Is this girl your crush?"

Qiu Lin hurriedly waved his hands and said, "All the boys in our class like her, and I do too! Unfortunately, I have a girlfriend from high school! I can only admire her from afar! And it seems she has a crush on someone else, but I don't know who! Recently, I heard her family is in trouble, and my classmates want to help her..."

Qiu Lin said with a sigh, "It would be great if she could favor me!"

"So, beautiful girls are always in demand!" Song Chen sighed, though he did not really believe there were many beautiful girls in the software engineering department, "Ask her to come and talk to me, and I'll consider hiring her!"

Nodding, Qiu Lin returned to school. Before leaving, Song Chen gave him the fixed telephone number of the neighboring landlord, Hu Quan. For convenience, after getting Hu Quan's permission, Song Chen planned to use this fixed telephone as his office number—though it would not be used often, it could be useful in emergencies. Song Chen promised to pay Hu Quan's monthly communication fees.

Of course, Song Chen was also thinking about getting a mobile phone once he earned some money!

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