13 New Idea

The beautiful girl with an oriental face certainly enjoyed teasing him. Calvin was happy to have Bao Yu, the sweet girl, around. He didn’t have any siblings, and her presence made him feel like he had a younger sister.

“Stop listening to her, she talks in a scattered way,”

“I know, she’s always like that, but kids her age are better off being cheerful like that,” Calvin said.

“Her age? How old do you think Bao Yu is?”

“About 14?” Calvin guessed.

“No, she’s already 17. She’s only one year younger than you. Bao Yu is in her final semester, and soon she’ll be in college just like you,” explained Jin Hai.

“Wow! I thought I was much older.”

“Not in my eyes. You’re all just kids!” Jin Hai replied with a grin.

“Oh, I see.”

“Alright, if everything’s ready, let’s open the shop. It looks like there are customers waiting outside.”

“Okay!”

Calvin hurried, and just as Jin Hai said, many customers had arrived and were eager to eat.

“Please come in.”

Calvin and the others began to work. Some of Jin Hai’s staff had also started cooking, and the kitchen was filled with smoke. Calvin worked hard that day until his break, when he went inside to eat. He saw Bao Yu sitting with her laptop open. It turned out the young girl was doing her schoolwork, and Calvin was curious.

“Do you have homework?”

“Yes, of course. I’m a busy student!”

“Oh, I see. So, what’s your homework today?”

“Creating a website!”

“You study IT?” Calvin asked.

“Yes, I’m not that fond of cooking!”

“Such a shame, considering your dad has already paved the way for you.”

“It’s fine, I can hire people for the culinary business later. Running my own business like my dad doesn’t make you a boss!”

“Oh, really? What does a boss look like then?” Calvin teased, curious about Bao Yu’s mindset.

“A boss handles decision-making, manages finances, leads, and manages human resources,” Bao Yu answered.

“Wow!”

One word slipped from Calvin’s mouth. He didn’t expect such a smart response from the cute, seemingly innocent girl.

"You're not eating? Isn't this your break time?"

"Yeah, I brought my lunch here," Calvin replied, showing his lunchbox.

"Okay, enjoy your meal," Bao Yu said, returning to tinkering with her laptop.

Calvin opened his lunchbox, started taking bites, and then initiated a conversation again.

"How long has Jin Hai been running this business?" Calvin asked.

"For quite a while. When I was a toddler, I often accompanied my parents here," Bao Yu replied.

"A toddler?"

"Yes. Back then, my mom used to help my dad. But now, with so many employees, my mom can focus on taking care of the house," Bao Yu explained.

"I see."

"Yeah. What about you? How's your family?"

"I don't have a dad. It's just me and my mom, and she works really hard. She hasn't even come home since yesterday," Calvin admitted.

"I see," Bao Yu said, looking at Calvin with sympathy.

"It's fine. I'll work hard and become successful," Calvin said with determination.

"That's the spirit! Don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need it. Even though I'm younger than you, I've got a pretty sharp brain," Bao Yu said confidently.

"Wait, how about I ask for your opinion on something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"I'm working on a business proposal for a competition on my campus, and here's what I came up with," Calvin explained, pulling out his notebook containing a proposal for the Nibble Box.

Bao Yu took the notebook, skimmed through it, and handed it back to Calvin.

"It's interesting, but it's too generic, Calvin. Healthy food isn't that popular; customers prefer viral trends to healthy options. I'm not sure if this will catch on," Bao Yu said candidly.

Calvin felt stung by the fact that even Bao Yu thought his idea lacked appeal. He took back his notebook and put it into his bag.

"Don't feel discouraged; I'm just giving you feedback," Bao Yu said, trying to ease the mood.

"Yeah, it's fine. You're right; my idea is too generic. I need to come up with something new," Calvin replied, resuming his meal.

"How about promoting my game instead?" Bao Yu joked with a laugh.

"A game? What kind of game are you making?"

"One that detects someone's mood from their facial expressions," Bao Yu replied.

"Really? That’s so cool!"

"It's still in development. I need to tweak a lot of code, and it’s not working perfectly yet," Bao Yu admitted.

"Sounds tough."

"Yeah, I need a team of developers! There’s so much work that goes into creating a game," Bao Yu explained.

"Do you also need funding for your project?"

"Of course, there's no way I can borrow capital from my dad when I know the profit margins in the food business are small and the turnover isn't that high," Calvin said.

"Yeah, you're right," Bao Yu agreed.

The two let out a synchronized sigh, staring at the ceiling, then looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Why are we getting all gloomy? I'm just going to eat. Get back to your work," Calvin said, pointing at Bao Yu's laptop.

"You're absolutely right. We need to stay optimistic—we’re still young. Eat plenty! Don’t let yourself get skinny!" Bao Yu replied with a grin.

That evening, after finishing his part-time job, Calvin lay down on his bed, lost in thought. Staring at the ceiling of his room, his mind wandered everywhere. The deadline for submitting his business proposal was approaching, and he needed to act fast.

Calvin recalled Bao Yu's words—if he wanted to win the competition, he needed a business breakthrough that was unique, exciting, and economically viable. As he replayed the events of the afternoon in his mind, a spark of inspiration lit up in his head.

"Hey, Bao Yu's right! Alright, I'm going to do this!" Calvin exclaimed, suddenly struck with a brilliant idea.

Calvin immediately sat up, opened his laptop, and started typing out the framework of his idea. He combined the concept of healthy food with Bao Yu's emotion-detecting game application. His business proposal revolved around a food-ordering system that tailored suggestions based on a user's mood.

The game would detect the user's mood, and based on that, recommend suitable meals for the day. If the user liked the suggestion, they could place an order directly through a delivery contact integrated into the app. It was modern, innovative, and highly appealing.

Young people would love it, and even parents would find it convenient to access healthy meals without the hassle of visiting restaurants in person.

"Hopefully, this time my idea will make the cut!" he murmured.