Forced Me to Regress, Huh?

In the past few days, Cheng Zhu had used his superb black hat tactics to carve out a bloody path through Taobao’s ZTC.

He could achieve the greatest returns with the least amount of operating capital!

If Wang Wei, who had spent a lot of money on ZTC ads, knew this, he’d probably cry with envy.

Cheng Zhu found that Wang Anquan, this little brother of his, was indeed very well-suited to be customer service at this stage.

He was incredibly patient with customers and even enjoyed conversing with them.

Unlike Cheng Zhu, who found it agonizing.

Anyone who had worked in customer service knew that, in this day and age, there were all kinds of people. Each customer really had their own quirks.

He even suspected that some customers didn’t come to buy anything. They just came to chat… and flirt with customer service.

And others had even more bizarre thought processes.

At this moment, Cheng Zhu received another message. A customer asked customer service, “What should I do if my wife refuses to wear what I bought?”

Cheng Zhu: “???”

Are you seriously asking customer service about this? Do you want me to help her put it on?

In reality, he knew some people really would actually leave negative reviews if the intended recipient refused to use the product they bought.

—How unfair!

For these kinds of issues, he couldn’t be bothered to respond himself, so he’d pass them to Wang Anquan.

And sure enough, Wang Anquan took it very seriously and brainstormed ideas with remarkable patience!

He suggested things like a romantic candlelight dinner, a short trip to a nearby place, or preparing small gifts…

Cheng Zhu had mentioned that it was best for customer service to sound more feminine when responding to customers. This customer really believed that there was a caring sister racking her brains to help him.

—This female customer service rep is really nice!

Cheng Zhu wondered, How would this buyer feel if he knew that the person on the other end was just a high school graduate, a rookie who had never even held a girl’s hand, trying to teach him how to convince his wife to change willingly.

He glanced at the date. It was already August. Time really does fly.

The reason Cheng Zhu checked the date wasn’t to count down the days until the start of school.

It was because his second uncle would soon come by to swindle money from the family.

Even though he had been busy lately, he never forgot about this.

Second Uncle is a textbook gambling addict, Cheng Zhu thought.

He always believed that gambling addicts never came to a good end.

Despite earning his first pot of gold from the World Cup finals, it was only because he was a regressed cheater with an unfair advantage.

In his past life, he had been young and successful, and he had indulged in the allure of worldly pleasures, but he had always adhered to the principle of ‘no tolerance for gambling and drugs’.

There was a saying: once you became successful, you would find yourself surrounded by friends.

There was truth in these words, but sometimes, those friends could be bad ones.

For a young man with so much money, there were always people with ulterior motives trying to set him up.

Gambling was the most common trap.

But Cheng Zhu had never stumbled in this regard.

His second uncle was the cautionary tale he had learned from.

His second uncle was five years younger than his father and was originally a small business owner who easily earned hundreds of thousands a year. In fact, his business had been thriving in recent years, bringing in nearly a million annually.

At family gatherings, his second uncle was always the most high profile.

But once people got carried away by success, trouble often followed.

Under the influence of a few scoundrel friends, he got involved in gambling.

As for the money Cheng Zhu’s parents had lent out, there was no chance of getting it back!

Right now, Mom and Dad still have some savings set aside. It’s years of hard-earned money, Cheng Zhu thought.

To put it bluntly, it was essentially a dowry fund for their son.

Under normal circumstances, this money would not be touched.

If his parents’ income had been good over the years, they might have even added to it.

However, Cheng Zhu’s paternal grandparents had passed away early, and Old Cheng only had one younger brother.

This was the first time his second uncle had come to borrow money, claiming that his business was struggling with cash flow. Old Cheng didn’t think too much about it. After all, it was family, and he wouldn’t even charge any interest on the loan.

Cheng Zhu’s plan was simple: Before his second uncle could ask to borrow money, he would find a way to get his parents to spend their savings.

Once the family ran out of money, how could they lend anything?

In a month or two, his second uncle’s gambling problem would become impossible to hide. At that time, his wife would demand a divorce, and it would be especially fierce.

Mom and Dad will definitely see Second Uncle’s true colors then, Cheng Zhu thought.

From beginning to end, he had never thought of intervening forcefully because he knew he was still a child in his parents’ eyes.

Moreover, family matters were often very complicated.

It would be very troublesome to deal with it head-on.

It was better not to make things worse and cause trouble at home, affecting everyone’s mood.

Just spend all the savings and be done with it, Cheng Zhu thought.

If I remember correctly, Dad and Mom have been discussing whether to open a fresh food supermarket near home.

This business is still viable for the next couple of years. It’s a decent small venture.

But in a few years, it will become highly competitive, and people will rush to open fresh food stores.

At that point, you can find one on almost every street corner.

It will be a miracle if it can still make money then.

Remember, when everyone thinks it’s a good business, that’s usually when it’s on the verge of decline.

But right now, it was 2014, and opening a community supermarket could still make some money.

Of course, the main reason was that Cheng Zhu’s parents had an advantage. Their family’s Yunlai Restaurant was a local success. After so many years in business, it was a familiar name with the people in the area.

Moreover, since they already ran a restaurant, their supply channels were reliable.

The next few years will be a period of rapid development for many online platforms, so we can catch some tailwinds, Cheng Zhu thought.

The reason Mom and Dad have this idea but are hesitant is, first, it’s meant to be my dowry fund, so they want to be cautious, and second, they haven’t found the right location yet.

It’s taboo to start a business on impulse.

However, Cheng Zhu clearly remembered that in a few days, a small supermarket in the neighborhood, which had been around for many years, would be up for transfer.

He had a deep impression of this matter because, in his past life, he used to smoke cigarettes at this supermarket and had even become familiar with the owner.

Back then, he was too timid to buy cigarettes at the convenience store near his house because all the neighbors knew each other, and he was afraid his parents would find out.

Although Cheng Zhu seemed fearless on the outside, he was actually a bit afraid of Old Cheng.

He had been raised with great effort by Old Cheng and had taken his fair share of beatings.

But Cheng Zhu was quite unique in this regard. Some kids would be much more obedient after a few beatings. Cheng Zhu, on the other hand, after taking a few beatings, realized that he could handle pain and gained a deep understanding of his own strength.

The reason the store’s transfer had left such an impression on him was that he later heard the sale happened because the owner got one of his employees pregnant.

After the abortion, the owner paid compensation, but the woman and her family kept causing trouble every few days, trying to extort more money. Cheng Zhu had even run into them once during one of their confrontations.

The incident was quite typical, which was why it left a deep impression on him.

While Cheng Zhu didn’t cause the woman’s pregnancy, he still learned a lesson from the whole mess and gained some life insights.

Speaking of which, since the price was quite reasonable, I remember the store being rented out in just a few days.

When he went to buy cigarettes later, he found that the store’s sign had been changed.

From his current perspective, he thought that the location would be perfect for a supermarket, and his parents would probably be very tempted by it.

However, he couldn’t remember exactly when the store had been put up for transfer.

It doesn’t matter. I’ll just go there more often, Cheng Zhu thought.

Speaking of which, if circumstances allowed, he really wanted his parents to earn more money so that they could have a greater sense of accomplishment in life.

It was indeed a good thing that their son could make money, but the psychological satisfaction of this was still different from the satisfaction of earning money themselves.

I’ll just stay in the shadows and push things along, Cheng Zhu thought. Who knows, Little Youzi and I might even become rich second-generation heirs!

At this moment, his phone rang.

The caller ID showed his mother, Xu Yun. But when he picked up, he heard the sweet voice of a little girl.

“Big Brother, I was really good this afternoon and didn’t eat any snacks. It’s only five, but I’m already hungry. Can you come to the restaurant early and have dinner with me?”