Rebirth of a Top Student's Handbook

Knowing she had done well on the exam, Zhou Min took a bus to Sister Zhang's shop the next day and talked to her about finding a place to live. Sister Zhang's business had grown quite large; she had opened another branch, and this new branch was even bigger, spanning two floors and over 1000 square meters. Moreover, the windows were filled with rows of mannequins, so her employees no longer needed to move them in and out every day.

Sister Zhang's women's clothing store has now basically attracted all the high-end customers in the entire county. After all, there are no clothes more expensive than those in Sister Zhang's store. Sometimes women's competitive spirit only cares about one brand, but now that they are not familiar with big brands, they can only stick to the clothes in Sister Zhang's store, and the quality and style of the clothes are indeed very good.

Upon learning Zhou Min's purpose, Sister Zhang immediately offered to keep an eye out for her. She even mentioned that she owned an old house near the No. 1 Middle School, which she could lend to Zhou Min and her family for free if they didn't mind.

Zhou Min quickly declined. Although she had received many benefits from Sister Zhang, it was better not to trouble her with something as important as a house.

Sister Zhang then enthusiastically promoted the house, saying, "That house was bought when your brother Jiang and I got married. We didn't have much money back then, so we bought a small one with only two bedrooms, and it's on a high floor, the fifth floor. We haven't lived there for a long time, but we can't bear to sell it, so it's been vacant. Since you're planning to rent a place anyway, you might as well live there. It'll save you some money, and you can also keep an eye on the house for me..."

As she spoke, Sister Zhang drove Zhou Min over to take a look. The house was indeed not very big, only about 80 square meters, but it was fully furnished, and most of the furniture was new.

Seeing Zhou Min's surprised expression, Sister Zhang said, "Your brother Jiang and I are both people who can't hold onto money. As soon as our financial situation improved, we replaced all the furniture and appliances. Your brother Jiang is in this business, so naturally he picked out the best ones. Not long after we replaced them, your brother Jiang closed another big deal, and then we bought a small house in the villa area. We were too lazy to move the things from here over, so they've always been relatively new."

Zhou Min thought it wasn't necessary to spend the extra money, so she agreed. On the way back in Sister Zhang's car, Zhou Min secretly planned, "I must make more time to help Sister Zhang in the future."

When Zhou's mother returned home, she heard that Zhou Min had found a house for free. She immediately became more interested than she had been, and decided to close her shop the next day to go to the county town to look at houses and shops.

Zhou Min quickly stopped her mother, telling her that the house wasn't going anywhere, and as for the shop, she had already asked Sister Zhang to keep an eye out for it. They could go check it out once Sister Zhang had news; there was no rush. Zhou's mother thought it made sense and, trying to suppress her restlessness, agreed.

By the time Zhou Min received Zhang Jie's message, four days had passed, and these four days had allowed Zhou's mother to finally calm down. When Zhou Min's family arrived at the agreed location, Zhang Jie was already waiting there. Upon seeing the family of three approach, she immediately came out to greet them. The shops that Zhang Jie recommended were all located in the bustling city center, varying in size, but none were far from the house Zhou Min had been given the opportunity to stay.

After looking at all the properties, Mr. and Mrs. Zhou settled on two. One was a smaller shop with average decor, but located in the bustling city center, and was very popular. They said their child had moved away and they were selling it. The other shop was at one end of the city center, a large shop with luxurious decor and several large private rooms. They said it was being sublet due to poor management and struggling business. Both were priced similarly, at 5,000 yuan per year.

Zhou Min wanted to rent a small shop, since two people couldn't possibly manage such a large store. However, she was reluctant to give up the cheap price of the luxuriously decorated shop, considering that nearly 1,000 square meters across two floors for only 5,000 yuan a year was incredibly cost-effective. Zhou's mother clearly thought the same way.

That evening, Brother Jiang and Sister Zhang treated their family to dinner at that poorly managed restaurant. Zhou's mother looked at the menu and clicked her tongue, saying, "No wonder there are no customers. It's so expensive. Only a fool would come here to eat." Brother Jiang coughed awkwardly after hearing Zhou's mother's words.

After the dishes were served, everyone tried them and thought they tasted pretty good. Jiang and Zhang were clearly eating here for the first time, and they expressed surprise at finding such good food in a restaurant that was about to close down. However, Zhou's parents, who are now considered professional chefs, said the taste was just average; although there were many dishes, none were their specialties.

Jiang was surprised to hear what Zhou's parents said and said, "Brother Zhou and Sister-in-law Zhou, if you have this skill, I suggest you take over this shop. I will bring people to eat here often. I dare not say much, but at least you won't lose much."

Zhou Min felt awkward upon hearing Jiang Ge's address. Actually, Jiang Ge wasn't wrong to address him that way, since Zhou's father was at most six or seven years older than him. However, Zhou Min simply couldn't bring herself to call someone in their thirties "uncle" or "aunt," so she could only pretend she hadn't heard him.

After receiving Jiang Ge's advice, Zhou's parents immediately signed a five-year lease with the landlord, paying in early July each year. By the time Zhou's father had signed the contract and agreed on the handover time, it was already quite late. Jiang Ge drove them home, and on the way, Zhou Min asked, "Jiang Ge, do you sell computers in your shop?"

"I don't sell them; I mainly deal in home appliances."

"Oh, where in the county town can I buy a computer?"

“You want to use a computer? It’s still a rare thing in the county. They don’t sell them in the county town. If you want one, I’ll bring you one next time I go to buy some,” Brother Jiang casually agreed.

"Okay, help me pick out one with better specs and a higher cost-performance ratio, thanks, Brother Jiang."

After Zhou Min and the others arrived home, Brother Jiang sat for a short while and then left. Zhou's parents tallied up all the money in the house and found that they only had a little over 8000 yuan, which made them a little worried. Zhou Min, standing beside them, kept reassuring herself that they still had some money.

Three days later, the handover day arrived. Zhou's father hurried to the county town to exchange money and keys with the seller. The original owner thought Zhou's father was a good person, so he kept the items that were difficult to carry, saving Zhou's father a lot of money. After receiving the keys, Zhou's father paid someone to change the lock.

After finishing all his work and returning home, Mr. Zhou decided to devote all his energy to the shop in the county town. After all, he had spent so much money renting it, and it would be a huge loss if it failed. Mr. Zhou first went back to his hometown and handed over all the land to his grandparents, asking them to distribute it among his brothers. His aunts were overjoyed when they found out.