Chapter 88: College Entrance Exam and Opening a Shop

In this era, the college entrance exam takes place in July.

July is indeed very hot in their area, but that doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the examinees.

They got their admission tickets early and waited in front of the examination centre in the county town.

The year Jiang Liyun passed away, over 12 million people nationwide participated in the college entrance exam. However, this year, the number of participants is just over 2 million.

Moreover, those taking the exam now were born during the baby boom years, when the annual birth rate was around 25 million.

In other words, only one-tenth of the population has the opportunity to take the college entrance exam.

The acceptance rate for the college entrance exam is still only around 20% these days.

The competition is indeed intense, but many people born in rural areas don’t even have the opportunity to compete.

Travelling between the town and the county town by bus is now quite convenient. Jiang Liyun and Feng Yi arrived in the county town a day early and stayed in a newly opened hotel in the county town.

On the day of the college entrance exam, Feng Yi left early to go to the school where he was taking the exam. He met with teachers and classmates he hadn’t seen much of and prepared to go to the exam site together.

Feng Yi’s classmates weren’t very familiar with him.

Feng Yi almost never attended classes at the school. Not only that, he also skipped a grade and transferred to their class half a year ago.

But they were all curious about Feng Yi. There were even some rumours circulating in the school about him. Some said he actually studied at another school, while others claimed his family was very wealthy and hired teachers to give him one-on-one lessons.

If not for that, how could a student like Feng Yi, who skipped a grade and rarely attended classes, rank in the top ten in the class?

At this moment, a few students started talking about Feng Yi. “Is that Feng Yi with us?”

“He must be. He rarely misses the major exams; he won’t miss the college entrance exam for sure.”

“He skipped a grade just for the college entrance exam. There’s no way he wouldn’t come.”

“I heard his family is very wealthy.”

“Who knows? No one really knows him.”

While these students were chatting, they saw Feng Yi.

Most of the high school students in their senior year are around eighteen years old, looking very young and exuding a youthful aura.

However, Feng Yi was different from these people.

He was no longer thin; he had the physique of an adult man, and his temperament was completely different from that of a student.

In the past two years, whenever Jiang Liyun went out for business, she would usually take him along. He had seen the world.

“Teacher Shen,” Feng Yi greeted his class teacher with a smile.

“Feng Yi, have you been reviewing during this time?” the class teacher asked.

“Yes, I’ve been reviewing consistently,” Feng Yi replied.

“Keep it up; strive for a good result in the exam!” the class teacher encouraged.

Feng Yi had just transferred to their class, and his exam scores were mediocre at best. With his grades at the time, he wouldn’t have been able to get into a university.

But in just half a year, Feng Yi made rapid progress. In a mock exam a month ago, Feng Yi unexpectedly made it into the top ten in the class!

With this achievement, he might not get into a top-tier university, but he could still get into an ordinary one.

Considering Feng Yi’s situation, in a little over a month, his scores might even improve further.

“I’ll do my best,” Feng Yi said confidently.

The class teacher couldn’t help but feel a bit regretful as she looked at Feng Yi. “If you hadn’t skipped a grade and attended classes regularly, your grades would have been even better. You might have even been able to get into a top-tier university.”

The ordinary students didn’t know about Feng Yi’s situation, but he did.

Feng Yi didn’t go to another high school for a better education, nor did he hire teachers for private tutoring. Most of the time, he studied on his own. If he encountered problems, he would consult retired high school teachers or attend supplementary classes during the holidays when high school teachers were on break.

Despite this, he still managed to achieve good results. If he had attended school regularly, he would have done even better.

Feng Yi smiled. “Just being able to get in is already good enough.”

“That’s true; just being able to get in is already good enough,” the class teacher agreed. She knew the choices Feng Yi had filled out in his application form; it was a technical university in Shanghai.

After attending this university, he would definitely be able to get a good job in the future.

Feng Yi didn’t have an obsession with getting into a university. After all, if he couldn’t get in, he could marry Jiang Liyun sooner.

Of course, it would be better if he could get in. That way, he wouldn’t embarrass Jiang Liyun.

In any case, when Feng Yi went to take the exam, he was in a good mood. When he came out of the exam room after a day of exams and saw Jiang Liyun, his mood improved even more!

“Li Yun, sister!” Feng Yi smiled as he approached her.

“Let’s go,” Jiang Liyun said, leading Feng Yi away.

These days, very few parents wait outside the exam hall. Feng Yi’s school provided lunch for the students at noon, and teachers would accompany them to eat together. Jiang Liyun hadn’t come at noon; she had only come to pick up Feng Yi in the evening.

As they left together, one of Feng Yi’s classmates couldn’t help but ask, “Who is that girl? Could she be Feng Yi’s girlfriend?”

“Or maybe she’s his sister?” another person suggested.

As they were talking, a student from the next class came over, looking incredulous. “The guy who just came out, how come he came out with you guys from the exam hall?”

“He’s a student in our class. What’s the matter?” Feng Yi’s classmate asked.

The student from the next class looked utterly surprised. “He’s in your class? No way! Isn’t he the owner of Liyun Dumplings in Ji Qu Town?”

“What, Liyun Dumplings?” Feng Yi’s classmate asked.

This student was from Ji Qu Town. When Jiang Liyun set up her stall in the town, he had already started attending high school in the county town. However, during the holidays, he would go back to the town and have breakfast at Liyun Dumplings or eat fried chicken.

He had encountered Feng Yi and Jiang Liyun at the dumpling shop before, and he had even seen Feng Yi studying there. At the time, his mum had even used Feng Yi as an example to educate him, saying that Feng Yi, who had already graduated, still persisted in studying diligently. Why couldn’t he be more like him?

So, was this guy his classmate from the next class?

Then why hadn’t he seen him at school before?

“Aren’t I from Ji Qu Town? We have a breakfast shop called Liyun Dumplings in our town. The person from earlier was the owner of Liyun Dumplings, and the woman who came to pick him up is the owner’s wife, probably named Liyun.”

Feng Yi’s classmates were stunned.

They had always thought that Feng Yi came from a wealthy family, but it turns out he just owned a dumpling shop.

And most importantly… Feng Yi was already married?

Wait a minute, neither Feng Yi nor the woman who came to pick him up looked like they ran a dumpling shop.

They looked more like wealthy people.

Suddenly, someone exclaimed, “We’re not allowed to date, yet Feng Yi is already married!”

Classmates: Yeah! That’s a bit too much!

So the next day, when Feng Yi came to take the exam, he noticed his classmates looking at him strangely.

Someone asked Feng Yi, “Feng Yi, are you married?”

“No,” Feng Yi sighed inwardly, feeling a bit disappointed.

The classmate asked again, “Then who was the person who came to pick you up yesterday?” If Feng Yi wasn’t married, then the guy from the next class must have been mistaken, right? Feng Yi shouldn’t be the owner of a dumpling shop.

Feng Yi smiled and said, “That’s my girlfriend.”

Feng Yi’s classmates: Some of them were in relationships too, but they mostly kept it secret. Feng Yi wasn’t hiding anything at all!

Feng Yi seemed easygoing, and another classmate asked, “Feng Yi, do you own a dumpling shop?”

“Yes.” Feng Yi didn’t hide it.

Feng Yi’s classmates: …Feng Yi was really handsome, and he looked mysterious by not coming to school every day. They had thought he was so impressive, only to find out he just owned a dumpling shop.

They were a bit disappointed, but now the most important thing was the college entrance exam. Everyone entered the exam room one after another.

After all the subjects were done, Feng Yi and Jiang Liyun took a bus to Shanghai.

Jiang Liyun planned to rent a shop here and open a Western fast food restaurant.

To open a shop, the first step was to rent a house.

Their shop would definitely be located in a good area, preferably downtown, but houses in downtown areas were really expensive.

Jiang Liyun and Feng Yi looked around for a long time and finally settled on a slightly older building.

This building was probably built during the Republic of China era, with a hint of exoticism. Previously, it had been a state-owned restaurant.

Recently, many state-owned grain shops, oil shops, and restaurants closed down, and this one was no exception.

The building had two floors and covered an area of over one hundred square meters. Renting it in the future would be very expensive, but things are different now.

The building was managed by the government. Jiang Liyun found the person in charge and learned that to rent the building, they would have to pay seventy thousand yuan per year.

“There are many people interested in renting this building. If you want to rent it, you better act fast, or someone else might take it,” the person who received Jiang Liyun said.

Jiang Liyun knew that many people must be interested in renting this building, but she also knew that very few could afford this price.

This was seventy thousand yuan! Not seven hundred!

The rent was indeed quite expensive, but Jiang Liyun liked the location and appearance of the building.

Directly, Jiang Liyun said, “Sixty thousand yuan per year, payment every six months. If you agree, I’ll rent this place!”

The person assisting Jiang Liyun made a call and agreed to her request.

To open a shop in this building would undoubtedly require a substantial amount of decoration. Given this, the longer the rental contract, the better. Jiang Liyun aimed for a five-year contract, and the person handling her request agreed, but with an annual rent increase.

In the past few years, rent has been continuously rising.

Jiang Liyun proposed, “Specify in the contract that the annual rent increase should not exceed ten percent, and I’ll agree.”

After a lengthy negotiation, they finally settled on an annual rent of sixty thousand yuan, with an annual increase not exceeding ten percent. The contract was for a total of five years.

Jiang Liyun handed over three thousand yuan upfront and sighed as she looked at the remaining seventy thousand yuan in her hand.

While not a small sum, she planned to decorate her restaurant more luxuriously and purchase some equipment for making fried chicken and pizza. With these plans, the money wouldn’t be sufficient.

Fortunately, over the past few years, she had made quite a few connections and could borrow money from people.

Jiang Liyun had been contemplating opening this restaurant for over two years. During this time, she had quietly prepared, often visiting high-end restaurants whenever she went out.

Moreover, having seen various shop decorations in her previous life, when she saw this building, she already had a rough idea of how she wanted to decorate it.

However, not being a professional in this field, she didn’t rush into decoration. Instead, she found someone specialising in interior design to discuss ideas with.

Where to place the cashier, the kitchen layout, arrangements for the ground floor, and the second floor…

The decoration style would undoubtedly follow a Western theme, and Jiang Liyun put forward many opinions.

For example, having a clean and tidy restroom leaves a space for a mother and baby room. She even planned a small area on the ground floor with a slide and ball pit, specifically for children to play.

Of course, she would also set up some quiet booths on the second floor for young people to dine and date.

The target customer base for this restaurant was not business professionals but mainly young people and middle-class families with children.

Once the decoration plan was settled, the next step was to hire employees, and the staff would need specialised training.