Chapter Forty-Eight: Franchise Review

As soon as he returned to Haizhou, Li Mu felt busier than ever. The development of eting had just begun, and the forum code he planned to use had just been purchased. Although the code he bought for three thousand yuan was rather poor, it was, for the moment, representative of the current average standard.

Li Mu had a handful of double-letter domain names he’d registered on a whim. Realizing there was little practical use in holding onto them, he decided to use “Douban” for the forum. The Douban Forum would become the base of operations for the online publicity group, and whether it would succeed depended largely on Zhao Kang’s abilities.

So, Zhao Kang gritted his teeth and spent more than ten thousand yuan on a laptop. When his father expressed surprise at such a large expense, Zhao Kang casually replied that Li Mu had led him to earn another sum of money. At that, Zhao Kang’s parents were thoroughly convinced. Their son made money faster than a whirlwind; what more could they say?

Once the code was purchased, Li Mu made a few modifications and put the forum online. He gave Zhao Kang super administrator rights and a budget of fifty thousand yuan, instructing him to quickly assemble a reliable online publicity team. Where to find people, how much to pay them, and how to operate—the specifics were left entirely to Zhao Kang. Li Mu had only one requirement: efficiency.

Immediately after, Li Mu threw himself into developing eting.

The next day, Li Mu’s father received a call from their hometown—Li Mu’s great-uncle in the countryside was about to celebrate his birthday. Li Mu’s father originally intended to take the whole family, but Li Mu had barely met this great-uncle in his life and felt no particular attachment. He was also swamped with work and wanted to decline.

Just then, Metersbonwe’s headquarters called. They informed him that an assessor had been arranged, who happened to be in another prefecture-level city in southern Su Province and could arrive in Haizhou by noon the next day. They also provided the assessor’s name and contact information.

Now, Li Mu was even less able to leave. He told his father boldly that he was too busy to go. His father, not insistent, decided to take the day off and go back with Li Mu’s mother.

Once Li Mu had permission to stay in Haizhou alone, he called the Metersbonwe assessor, a young woman named Zhang Man. She had just finished her current assignment and, after connecting with Li Mu, immediately bought her ticket and would arrive at Haizhou bus station at 11:40 a.m. the next day.

Li Mu thought that after hosting the assessor and waiting for Metersbonwe headquarters’ approval, he would need to start preparing for renovation—a busy time ahead. Besides, Ye Tianming had already called the day before, saying he had found a suitable office: seventy square meters, with a monthly rent of just over two thousand yuan. He suggested Li Mu come to the provincial capital to have a look when he had time.

But Li Mu had no time to go to the provincial capital just now. He simply asked Ye Tianming to secure the place for him and have the guys post a recruitment notice at the labor market for web programmers, server technicians, and designers—with attractive compensation, and to collect some resumes if possible.

His friends in Jinling had ample connections, and such a small matter was easily settled.

Li Mu planned to make another trip to the provincial capital once the franchise store matters were finalized.

The next morning, Li Mu first saw his parents off at the bus station as they headed to the countryside, then waited over an hour. Around noon, he met Zhang Man, the Metersbonwe assessor, at the station. She was a young woman of about twenty-five or twenty-six, not particularly striking in appearance but impressively capable in demeanor.

Upon meeting, Zhang Man showed no surprise at Li Mu’s youth. She had already received the client’s data from headquarters and had been curious about this eighteen-year-old client throughout her journey, but she concealed her curiosity well at the moment of their meeting.

Li Mu took her to the best hotel in Haizhou for lunch, where Zhang Man began her assessment over the meal. In addition to inspecting the hardware, she needed to evaluate the client’s view of the clothing market and Metersbonwe as a brand.

Her first question for Li Mu was why he had chosen to join Metersbonwe.

Li Mu replied simply, “I believe the consumption level of the Chinese people is starting to rise, especially among young urban residents. For this demographic, clothing is their primary area of spending. Metersbonwe’s approach to both brand building and product design is clearly focused on attracting young people, which aligns perfectly with my own perspective.”

Zhang Man nodded. Headquarters paid close attention to the mindset of their franchisees. She needed to know whether the candidate understood Metersbonwe’s positioning and had appropriate operational ideas. Although Metersbonwe was expanding, it was rational expansion—they did not want to see any regional market ruined by an inexperienced agent.

She continued, “How do you view Metersbonwe’s market operations? For instance, are you familiar with our strategies in recent years, and do you have any suggestions?”

Li Mu smiled and replied, “Emphasizing design and branding while keeping assets and costs light—this strategy fits the future of the clothing market. In terms of promotion, your company previously used the band Flower as spokespersons, which did resonate with young people, but Flower’s popularity wasn’t strong enough to support a top clothing brand and might even have held the brand back. Fortunately, you corrected that by choosing King Kwok as the new spokesperson. Additionally, your company’s information system architecture is highly forward-thinking in the industry. I’ve heard about your cooperation with Cisco.”

Zhang Man could not help but look at Li Mu with new respect.

His analysis of the brand ambassadors was spot on. In 2000, Flower’s endorsement had not managed to build sufficient brand awareness. A month ago, when King Kwok’s endorsement began, Metersbonwe experienced explosive growth among both consumers and investors—regarded as the company’s most important decision of the year.

Such news about ambassadors was easy to discover for anyone paying attention, but the matter with Cisco was much less known. The influence of information systems on retail at this time was negligible; most companies and entrepreneurs in the industry didn’t even know the term, let alone its importance. For an eighteen-year-old to have such insight proved his genuine understanding of the company.

Li Mu added, “I believe that in a small city like Haizhou, very few partners would be willing to commit a space of a hundred and sixty or seventy square meters to your franchise, would they?”

“That’s quite true,” Zhang Man replied. She was deeply aware that in small cities, investors rarely chose stores larger than a hundred square meters—mainly due to limited funds and lack of strong confidence in the future market.

Li Mu had already secured a space of over 160 square meters, meeting even first-tier city standards—a bold move indeed.

Over the meal, Zhang Man developed a very favorable impression of Li Mu. She thought him a young man with unique vision and remarkable eloquence—truly outstanding.

Next, Li Mu went to the bank to obtain proof of cash assets, then took Zhang Man to inspect the store he had rented. Bayan had already left, leaving the store empty, but its prime location was beyond question—the busiest area in Haizhou.

In their conversations, Zhang Man sensed Li Mu’s keen insight into the clothing retail market, and noted his excellent communication skills and charisma. He was a nearly perfect fit for the company’s expectations of a franchisee.

By evening, Zhang Man had finished her assessment. She told Li Mu, “Mr. Li, this concludes the main part of the assessment. I’ll write my report tonight at the hotel and fax it to the company before I leave tomorrow. Within seven to ten working days, the company will issue the results. If you pass, we’ll send someone to guide you through the renovation process. Also, you should start recruiting an experienced store manager—both you and the manager must come to our headquarters for a fifteen-day training.”

Li Mu was surprised. “Do I have to go as well? Can I skip it?”

Zhang Man smiled. “You may skip it, but company policy requires at least two to three trained professionals. So you must send at least two people.”

“All right,” Li Mu agreed. Recruiting a reliable store manager was essential; he wasn’t willing to let his parents run the shop every day. But the store manager’s responsibilities were significant—he’d have to find someone truly suitable.

Zhang Man had booked a room in a guesthouse in the city; she said she would head to another city in the neighboring province the next morning. Her job involved constant travel, one assignment after another.

Li Mu treated her to another dinner, then accompanied her to the guesthouse. Before saying goodbye, he slipped her a red envelope. “I’ll have to trouble you with the approval process, Sister Zhang. The sooner the result, the better.”

Seven to ten working days for approval was a bit slow. By his calculation, Li Mu had about forty days left at home. The college entrance exam results would be out in two days, and the admission notice wouldn’t take long after that. By the end of August, he’d have to leave. He wanted the store to open before he left, so he had to count on Zhang Man’s help.

At first, Zhang Man refused, but Li Mu tucked the envelope into her bag and said casually, “It’s just a small token of appreciation. Have a good rest, Sister Zhang. I won’t see you off tomorrow.”

With that, Li Mu turned and walked away. Zhang Man felt a little nervous but didn’t go after him.

Back at the hotel, Zhang Man opened the envelope Li Mu had given her and found a thousand yuan inside—almost equivalent to half a month’s salary. She stared at the money for a long time, as if making a decision. In the end, she took the cash out of the envelope, put it in her wallet, then opened her laptop and wrote a report on her Haizhou visit.

When she finished, she gave him an A+ in the final evaluation section. According to company policy, any file graded above A was given priority review as a high-quality client. An A+ meant a green light all the way.