Honestly if you don’t like the first few episodes you’re just not going to like it. The plot and character development are decent but the tone right of the bat carries through the whole manga/anime.

It’s varies. Some are single store operations and some are large enough to be their own company

The company I work for has a massive revenue footprint by attaching fittings into hoses. Different size houses need different size and angle fittings and buying bulk hose and fitting then custom making the parts is very lucrative.

I would guess that it is related to the fact that he is in his 50s now and the last few years the PED rumors have been growing louder. He needed a way to not be huge and that was going to take committing to the size.