Chapter 398: The Same Neighborhood

Jiangcheng University,

Girls’ Dormitory

“Let’s not take this one, it’s already old.”

“These books probably won’t be useful anymore either, but they were really helpful for studying. We can give them to the underclassmen.”

“What’s this booklet? Is it still useful?”

Zhang Lan was helping Shen Rou pack her things when she suddenly found a booklet tucked beneath the mattress at the foot of Shen Rou’s bed.

“This one’s important.”

Hearing that, Shen Rou quickly looked up, snatched the booklet from Zhang Lan’s hands, and stuffed it into her suitcase.

“Oh ho! Something’s fishy. My dear Shen Rou has a little secret?”

Zhang Lan gave her a teasing look.

“I saw the words ‘President Chen’ on the cover of that booklet!”

“Don’t overthink it. That’s a task manual assigned by President Chen. It contains company secrets, so you’re not allowed to see it.”

Shen Rou tried to sound casual, but her expression was a little awkward.

“Really?”

“Of course it’s true. Why would I lie to you?”

“Alright then, I believe you.”

Zhang Lan winked at her, then went back to packing the rest of the items.

After a while, everything was packed, and the dorm had been cleaned.

“Alright, all done. Tomorrow morning, we’ll move everything over.”

Zhang Lan clapped her hands, satisfied that nothing had been overlooked.

Just yesterday, she had found a new place to live. Since she’d received a one-million-yuan compensation from the entertainment company, she no longer planned to keep living frugally—especially now that Shen Rou would be with her.

So this time, she rented a pretty decent upscale apartment, 130 square meters in size.

“Mhm.”

Shen Rou sat on the bed and glanced around the dorm. Aside from the bedding on her bed, everything else had been packed.

She still needed to sleep here tonight, so she hadn’t packed the bedding yet. Tomorrow, she’d just fold it up and put it in the prepared bag.

“Alright then, time to rest. Tomorrow after you get off work, I’ll come by and help you move the luggage.”

Zhang Lan plopped down on the edge of Shen Rou’s bed.

Shen Rou looked at her, puzzled.

“Time to rest? Then why aren’t you leaving?”

Zhang Lan had moved out after setting up her music studio, and there was no bedding of hers left in the dorm.

“It’s so late already. It’s not safe for me to go back now.”

“Then where are you going to sleep?”

“On your bed, of course. It’s not like I haven’t slept here before. What are you being shy about? Come on, let me see if you’ve gained weight.”

“You—!”

Shen Rou let out a startled cry.

The next moment, the two of them were playfully wrestling on the bed.

After a while, both of them lay sprawled out, exhausted.

“By the way, you still haven’t told me where your new place is.”

Shen Rou caught her breath and turned to look at Zhang Lan lying beside her.

“Changbai Scenic Garden.”

Zhang Lan replied casually.

Changbai Scenic Garden?

Shen Rou murmured the name to herself, then suddenly realized something.

Isn’t that where President Chen lives now?

A flicker of surprise flashed in her eyes. She hadn’t expected Zhang Lan to end up choosing the same residential complex where President Chen currently lived.

“What’s wrong? Is there something weird about that neighborhood?”

Zhang Lan noticed her expression and asked.

“It’s nothing. It’s just that the place you picked happens to be the same one where President Chen lives.”

Shen Rou shook her head and explained.

“That can’t be right. I remember President Chen living in some run-down old neighborhood.”

Zhang Lan looked puzzled. She clearly remembered that time when President Chen had gotten drunk and she had gone to his place—it was definitely an old, shabby apartment complex. She’d even wondered why the boss of a company would live somewhere like that.

So the memory stuck with her.

“He already moved. He lives in Changbai Scenic Garden now.”

Shen Rou replied.

“Oh, I see. Well, it’s probably a good thing we live close by. If anything urgent comes up at the company, it’ll be a lot more convenient, right?”

Zhang Lan said with a grin.

Shen Rou thought about it and realized she had a point, so she didn’t dwell on it any further.

Looking at Zhang Lan lying beside her, she suddenly remembered something.

“Right, didn’t you say you were working on a new song? How’s that going?”

“It’s almost done. Should be ready to release in about a week.”

Zhang Lan answered.

…

The next day,

Mingri Group,

CEO’s Office

Chen Mo looked at the report on Nanhe Coffee that Shen Rou had sent over and let out a helpless sigh.

Lately, with the introduction of the Pastry Combo, Nanhe Coffee had seen a drop in its average spending per customer. But ironically, that had attracted a surge of new customers.

At present, all consumer trends at Nanhe Coffee in Jiangcheng have stabilized. Each store now brings in a monthly revenue of around 100,000 yuan. However, the monthly operating cost for each Jiangcheng Nanhe Coffee location is approximately 150,000 yuan. This figure includes employee salaries and daily operational expenses such as supplies and procurement.

As a result, Nanhe Coffee in Jiangcheng is still operating at a monthly loss.

Of course, there are a few exceptions. Some locations have already surpassed 150,000 yuan in monthly revenue, allowing them to break even and even turn a profit.

These profitable stores are all situated in bustling shopping malls or near large office complexes, where the average spending per customer is significantly higher than in other areas, and foot traffic is also much greater.

Taking these into account, along with the earnings from two specialty coffee shops, the total monthly revenue for Nanhe Coffee in Jiangcheng currently stands at around 3.1 million yuan.

Naturally, this figure only reflects the revenue from Nanhe Coffee in Jiangcheng. It doesn’t include the earnings from the Beijing branch.

Over in Beijing, there are currently 15 Nanhe Coffee locations in operation, with another 6 nearing the end of their renovations.

Thanks to Beijing’s dense population and higher average income and spending power, the revenue performance there is markedly better than in Jiangcheng.

Out of the 15 stores in Beijing, 12 have already turned a profit. The remaining three are steadily increasing their revenue, and it’s only a matter of time before they break even as well.

According to the latest revenue report from Nanhe Coffee in Beijing, the monthly cost per store—including employee wages and daily procurement—is about 250,000 yuan.

The ten profitable locations are now generating around 300,000 yuan in monthly revenue each. Even the three stores that have yet to break even are bringing in around 200,000 yuan per month.

In other words, the total monthly revenue for Nanhe Coffee in Beijing has already reached 4.2 million yuan.

Adding that to the 3.1 million yuan from Jiangcheng, Nanhe Coffee’s total monthly revenue now stands at 7.3 million yuan. While this isn’t net profit, the entire amount is funneled into his System Funds, meaning it’s money he needs to spend.

Chen Mo rubbed his temples helplessly, his heart aching at the memory of Nanhe Coffee’s earlier days of heavy losses.

A money-losing venture like that… had simply vanished.