Chapter Eleven Lease Contract

  In this world, whether ancient or modern, having money makes things easier is an absolute truth. After Zhou Mulang exchanged the jewelry for silver, we quickly found a suitable storefront.

  At noon, after lunch, I took a nap under the shade of a tree, but before I fell asleep, I was pulled out by that annoying Zhou Mulang to look at the storefront. The street wasn't the red-light district we went to last time, but rather a very ordinary commercial street near He Street. Although it's not as big as the Luohu Street in front of the Imperial City Gate from a few days ago, there were many vendors on the road and it was bustling with activity.

  The store is an independent three-story building, which looks quite good. It was probably a restaurant before, with a spacious and bright hall on the first floor, high-end private rooms on the second floor, and large suites like presidential suites on the third floor. The backyard is also very large, with a kitchen, stable, toilet and servant's room. Although the decoration is a bit old and damaged, it is still elegant and can save a lot of decoration costs. Overall, I am quite satisfied.

  I nodded in satisfaction and asked Zhou Murang, who was chatting with the owner of the house, "Hey, how much does this cost?"

  "One hundred thousand taels per year." he replied.

  "How much silver do we have in total?"

  He patted the silver notes on his body and thought for a moment before saying, "About 300,000 taels."

  This location with this storefront, 200,000 yuan, the price is also reasonable, but business will not be good in one or two years. If business gets better and he raises the rent, what can we do? With a big family and business, moving out won't be easy. Can we just let him take advantage of us? No way, that's not acceptable.

  I nodded at them and looked at the two who were chatting, using my eyes to indicate that I had something to say. The two of them are so clever, immediately shut their mouths and asked me what opinion I have?

  Haggling, this is something I'm really not good at, but I've seen N many cases, to successfully lose weight, you have to fight for your life, to successfully lower the price, you have to fight without caring about losing face, at this moment, I must forget that I still have a face.

  The owner of the house was surnamed Bai, and I called out affectionately, "Older brother Bai, your storefront is really beautiful, really beautiful."

  As I spoke, I made a cute gesture that only the older sister of a children's TV show would do, crossing my hands in front of me and exaggeratingly making myself into a big character.

  The white boss was amused by my exaggerated movements, but he also restrained himself and smiled lightly, "As long as you like it, miss."

  "I loved it of course, how could anyone not like something so beautiful? I really wish I could live here for the rest of my life. I screamed in a high-pitched voice like my sisters when we were kids."

  The white boss continued, "That's good, I don't know if Brother Zhou is satisfied." He turned his head to ask Zhou Muerlang.

  It happened suddenly, and before that, I had not agreed on the script with Zhou Muling. How could I let him speak? Hurriedly intercepting Zhou Muling in front of me, my sharp voice turned into a doll-like tone, with a silly smile on my face, saying "How could he possibly be dissatisfied?"

  As I spoke, I kicked Zhou Muling heavily with one foot. This guy was still somewhat clever and understood my meaning, nodding in agreement, "Right right right, satisfied satisfied satisfied."

  The white boss saw it in his eyes and continued, "Then we can sign the lease now."

  As he spoke, he pulled out a stack of papers from one of his pockets, which turned out to be the lease. He handed it over to us, and we carefully read through it. It was correct - it said one hundred thousand taels per year, for a period of three years.

  I exchanged a glance with Zhou Mulang, and we both knew that if we signed, the store would be settled, but there was no money to open or operate it. Although Old Lady Zhou had left behind a bed full of jewels, it would be too much trouble to always bother her.

  The old boss looked at us two hesitating to make a decision, understanding the situation in his heart, but still speaking calmly on the surface, "Otherwise, you can go back and consider it again. Doing business is a big thing, be more careful."

  Although he said it calmly, to me, it can be understood as: "Hey, you two poor devils, if you don't have money, then don't learn from others and do business, my store is expensive, you two poor devils don't have money, so don't come and cause trouble, go home and play with mud instead."

  "Hmph, even if I don't have money to rent your store, I can still make you willingly lower the rent and rent it to me."

  I took a look at the rental agreement written in black and white, gave Zhou Mulang a glance that made him shut up, turned my head to look at Old Man Bai, smiled and said, "No mistake, what Old Man Bai said is naturally all correct, I have rented this shop, it's just that the rental agreement you wrote is incorrect."

  "What's wrong?" He was startled upon hearing this and hastily asked, wanting to take the rental agreement from me to have a look.

  I wouldn't let something like this happen, and before he even got close, I had already torn up the lease agreement.

  The landlord Bai saw this and suddenly became angry, humming heavily, "If you two are sincere about renting the store, I welcome you with open arms, willing to be friends with you. But looking at it now, it seems like you're here to cause trouble. Sorry, I'm busy and won't see you off." He waved his hand to send them away.

  Haha, this is exactly what I wanted to see, the white boss's red horse face and ferocious expression. He said, "The matter of renting a store has just been discussed with Boss Bai, now I have a business deal that I want to discuss with you, I don't know if Boss Bai is interested in listening to a money-making plan."

  He wouldn't even bother with me, still with a face full of anger.

  "May I ask, Mr. Bai, where is the most expensive storefront in this capital city?"

  "It's Luohu Street outside the Imperial City Gate." Although Old Bai was annoyed, he still answered my question without losing his composure.

  "How much difference is there in rent between here and there?"

  "Not ten times, but seven or eight times is always there."

  "How many stores does that white boss have?"

  "Two families, the one next door is also below."

  "Alright, Old White is indeed a straightforward person. I won't hide it anymore. In the future, I plan to rent this storefront and do big business. At that time, the entire Lihé Street will probably flourish, and the rent will only double or triple. Although I don't dare compare it to Luó Street, it will definitely be the second most prosperous street in the city."

  "Oh? May I ask what makes you so bold and unashamed?" he asked sarcastically.

  He is ultimately interested in my boastful words, and I am not afraid that he will not take the bait.

  "Isn't that a bit too much? Boss Bai doesn't seem like an ignorant person, how could he have the same vision as those common people?" I said calmly, intentionally provoking him.

  "Alright, I'd like to hear the young lady's brilliant idea - what kind of business is it that makes money?"

  He fell for it after all. I took a deep breath and tried to calm down my emotions, pretending to be confident as I spoke.

  "Excuse me, Boss Bai, is there any business in this world that can guarantee a profit without any loss?"

  "When will such a good thing happen in the world? I'm afraid Bai is ignorant, please teach me, young lady." He bowed slightly.

  "Nature is two things: red and white."

  This makes sense or not, Chinese people care about face, like the matter of red and white, no matter if it's a poor or rich family, they won't let it pass, but this is just my nonsense to tease his appetite, the real intention is not here.

  "So you want to turn this place into a paper mache or an ice manor?" White Boss said with a face full of disgust.

  "That's not it, but it's close. Is Mr. Bai married?"

  Upon hearing this, Boss Bai was instantly filled with confidence, sporting a fresh and handsome look, smiling as he said, "Of course."

  "Mr. Bai's marriage is happy and harmonious, a perfect family that naturally evokes envy, but how many men are not like Mr. Bai who loves his wife and child dearly, how many people have yet to find their soulmate."

  His eyes flickered with meaning, I knew, he'd fallen for it, and he let out a sigh, "Of course."

  "It is precisely because of this that my business is here, seeking kindred spirits for people. Although the world is vast, a thousand pieces of gold are in one's grasp, but it is difficult to find someone who understands."

  Many men have an unspeakable secret in their hearts, bosom friends and old lovers are always the weaknesses of men, what they want to get is not available, but what they can't get is often the best. If brothels can make men linger and forget to return, I don't believe this pipe will be ignored by everyone.

  The old white boss muttered, "It's hard to find someone who understands... interesting, interesting, how to proceed?"

  Now that he's interested, I'll play along and see what happens. Who knows what kind of person he is? If he's the type to take advantage, he might steal my idea and leave me with nothing. I'm not going to be a fool and let someone else benefit from my work.

  "Is Mr. Bai interested in hearing more? I wonder how much sincerity Mr. Bai has?" I hinted to him, thinking that it's best if he doesn't try to deceive me, or else I'll spray salt soda water at him and kill him with one mouthful.

  "I'll just open a shop, 50-50 split, how about it?" He stretched out his hand and made a five.

  A shop just wants to take away half of my business, is he dreaming? I shook my head and pulled up Zhou Mulang who had been silent for a long time, walking out.

  The old boss stretched out his hand to stop us, and suddenly a brilliant smile appeared on his face. He laughed loudly, patted my shoulder, and said with a familiar smile, "Haha, let's talk and laugh together. The sky is getting dark, why don't you stay for dinner and we can discuss our cooperation plans?"

  Old Fox, who told you to joke around, it's not funny at all. However, I'm interested in eating, looked at Zhou Mochen, he nodded slightly and followed Old White to eat.

  After three rounds of drinks and some warm-up conversations, Boss Bai got straight to the point and asked about our intention to cooperate. I can still make something up on the spot, but when it comes to specific cooperation and profit-sharing issues, I get a headache. Fortunately, Zhou Muling is clever and noticed that I was already at a loss for words, so he took over and started negotiating with that old fox.

  It was probably the effect of the wine, and after talking for an entire afternoon, I felt exhausted after dinner. Two men were having a heated discussion in front of me, calling each other brothers and engaging in lively conversation, but I didn't catch a single sentence, only mechanically nodding or shaking my head in response to Zhou Mu Lang's attitude.

  I don't know how long I held on, until I heard a sentence, okay, deal, and I came to my senses. We made a deal, we made a deal, 70% for us, of course, and 30% for that old fox. He just needs to provide the store, and we'll take care of all the renovation, furniture, employee salaries, and daily expenses. His biggest responsibility is not to interfere with anything, just be a good landlord, sit back and wait to collect his dividends.

  Although he felt a bit cheap about it, thinking of the 300,000 yuan rent he had earned made him feel extremely happy. After all, liquidity is crucial for any business.

  On the way back, I almost ran all the way with Zhou Mlang, it was so exciting. Everything that was just an immature idea a few days ago is now being realized step by step. Have you ever tasted the flavor of your dreams? Although the hardworking days are bitter and salty, every little progress is enough to make the day sweet. No matter whether we will succeed in the future or not, at least we have tried our best today, isn't that enough?

  I opened my palms facing him and said, "Zhou Mochen, give me five! Quickly!"

  "What is rice money?" he asked vaguely.

  I forgot he was an ignorant ancient man who didn't understand English. "What's the rice fee, no, no, no, I said it wrong, mine is to say, give me your hand."

  I didn't wait for his reaction, I grabbed his hand and pressed my palm against his, laughing and saying "This is a secret handshake with me, from now on you're not allowed to give it to anyone else!"

  He smiled foolishly and agreed.