Chapter 84: Blood Transfusion and Blood Production

However, Li Xiao was no ordinary person. To him, even if this small milk tea shop had zero orders and zero income, he could continue to prop it up financially and keep it afloat.

But then, an image of the white-haired family members flashed through Li Xiao’s mind, along with the persistent exhaustion etched on their faces.

Their family members would grow old, and so would he.

’He might live to be eighty, and he could keep propping up the shop financially until then.’

’But what about after he turned eighty?’

’Sure, he was willing to support them out of compassion now, but what about in the future?’

’Even if he was always willing to help, would his children be willing to continue after he was gone?’

’And even if his children were, would his grandchildren?’

’If I don’t change the shop’s current situation, I’m just supporting them through a different channel.’

’These kids have intellectual disabilities, but that doesn’t mean they have no intelligence at all.’

’If the shop’s business continued to decline, these kids who worked so hard would surely be heartbroken.’

’Looking at the empty shop, they might even start to think it was their fault the business was losing money and that no one wanted to come.’

’That would surely be a huge blow to their already fragile hearts.’

Li Xiao stood in place, deep in thought.

’Blood transfusions are necessary,’ he thought, ’but if a body can’t produce its own blood, it can’t survive for long.’

’So, how could he give this milk tea shop the ability to produce its own blood?’

’For a milk tea shop to become profitable, there are roughly three paths.’

’One: create enough buzz to attract customers.’

’Two: create the false impression of booming sales to attract franchisees.’

’Three: have a product that’s good enough on its own.’

’The first two are only short-term solutions.’

’The first option is actually the simplest. The Xihuan’Er are a socially disadvantaged group.’

’Using their self-reliance as a gimmick, it would be easy to generate a media frenzy if I just drove some traffic their way.’

However, Li Xiao immediately dismissed this simplest option.

The reason was simple: he wanted the shop to be able to survive with dignity, not on people’s pity.

’Using the Xihuan’Er as a gimmick to create some so-called media hype would certainly attract a lot of kind-hearted people and curiosity-seekers to come and spend money.’

’But what’s the difference between that kind of hype and parading these kids around like clowns for entertainment? Or having disabled children beg on the streets?’

After a moment’s thought, he rejected the second method as well.

’The reason was simple. Creating a false impression of a booming business to attract franchisees could indeed bring in a lot of capital quickly.’

’But a facade is still a facade, and the bubble would eventually burst.’

’Besides, he didn’t lack funds himself. It would be far simpler and more convenient for him to just invest his own money than to trick people into franchising.’

Having ruled out the first two options, Li Xiao quickly made his decision.

If he wanted to solve the problem at its root and ensure the shop had enough customers, the best way was to make sure the shop produced a truly excellent product.

He had looked up the online reviews for the Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop yesterday.

The reviews on different platforms were extremely polarized.

On platforms for in-person services, like Dianping and Meituan, the Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop’s ratings were around 4.5 to 4.7 stars, which was quite high.

But when you looked at the comments, they were almost all based on pity for the Xihuan’Er.

Very few actually mentioned the quality of the drinks.

But on delivery platforms where there was no face-to-face interaction, like Meituan Delivery and Ele.me...

...the Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop’s rating dropped to just 3.6 to 3.7 stars.

Most of those reviews said the drinks tasted awful.

Of course, there were still a few pity-driven reviews mixed in.

Li Xiao understood the reason for this huge discrepancy between the two types of platforms almost instantly.

’The reason for the high ratings on the in-person platforms is simple.’

’When customers see a group of intellectually challenged kids working their hardest, even if the drink they receive isn’t great, basic human kindness and compassion will stop them from saying anything negative. They might even give a high score out of pity.’

’The latter are delivery platforms, where customers can’t see what’s happening inside the shop.’

’They judge purely based on the quality of the product—good gets a high score, bad gets a low one.’

’If it weren’t for a few customers who had also visited the store in person pulling up the average... Li Xiao suspected the Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop’s rating might have dropped below 3.5 stars.’

This proved that the products from the Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop were, at best, mediocre.

Having figured out the cause and effect, Li Xiao turned to Wenchu People beside him and said:

"Since the shop is open, why don’t you take me to try their drinks?"

Wenchu People naturally agreed to Li Xiao’s reasonable request.

As the two of them approached, a young woman who was arranging the chairs by the entrance greeted them enthusiastically.

"Wel...come... to Xihuan’er Milk..."

But halfway through her sentence, the young woman recognized Wenchu People, and her smile grew even brighter.

"Sister Wen, it’s... you! You came... to see us!"

Wenchu People smiled and nodded.

"That’s right. I had some free time today, so I came by to see how you’re all doing."

"I also brought the new boss with me today for you to meet."

As she spoke, another employee came out from inside the shop.

She walked briskly over to Wenchu People.

"Miss Wen, hello."

She quickly noticed Li Xiao standing beside Wenchu People.

"And this is?"

Wenchu People introduced him with a smile.

"This is the new owner of the milk tea shop, Li Xiao. Mr. Li."

"He’s here today to handle the transition and get to know the shop’s situation."

A pleased expression appeared on the woman’s face.

"Hello, Mr. Li. I’m the manager of this shop, Huang Cuilian."

"It’s a pleasure to meet you."

Li Xiao politely shook her hand.

Huang Cuilian appeared to be in her early forties. Her smile was kind, but for some reason, Li Xiao sensed a weariness behind it.

Li Xiao was a bit puzzled. ’Logically, a woman her age wouldn’t typically choose to work in a milk tea shop,’ he thought.

As if noticing his confusion, Wenchu People explained from the side:

"Sister Huang also has a Xihuan’Er at home, who is fifteen this year. She’s been working here since last year because she hopes her own child can have a way to make a living in the future."

"She hopes to open a shop for her child one day so he’ll have a way to support himself."

Huang Cuilian nodded.

"Yes, that’s right. My husband and I are doing okay financially, but we’re getting older. We worry that when we’re gone, there will be no one left to take care of our child."

"Last year, I happened to meet Mr. Tang Wen at a care center. I learned about this milk tea shop from him, so I came here to work and learn at the same time."