Food Intelligence King

Chapter 46 Opening a Shop Simply
In the past few years, before my aunt officially started operating her family's shop,

This location has housed two breakfast shops and a cake shop before; including my aunt's own business, this is the fourth one.

When my aunt was a landlord, she experienced three tenants moving out, which was incredibly frustrating and caused her the idea of ​​opening her own shop.

She thought at the time,

"It's just opening a shop, is it that difficult? None of the three shops I've opened lasted long, this time I'll do it myself!"

At the beginning, they were ambitious and hired two employees.

Later, after calculating the costs, they realized it was too high, so they replaced the employee with their own husband.

My aunt would definitely find it easier to use my uncle than to use an employee.

The couple argued and fought quite a bit.

It would be fine if I could make money, but I only make enough to cover rent.

So, when Auntie heard that Chen Zhou wanted to rent the shop, she was really tempted.

But then Chen Zhou let out an "Ah!"

So he asked:

"Young man, you're not kidding me, are you?"

“I really want to rent it,” Chen Zhou nodded seriously.

"To be honest, I went to the rental and sales center these past two days to ask around. There are two or three vacant units, but none of them have been renovated. Your shop has a good location, is already renovated, and is very clean. It's much better than those."

Young people always have a nice way of speaking.

The old aunt laughed, and then revealed some of the truth to Chen Zhou:
“Young man, I know you live in this neighborhood too. This shop used to bankrupt three restaurants. Don’t blame your aunt for not telling you beforehand.”

The two exchanged contact information and agreed to meet at the store at 9:30 a.m. the next day to discuss the details.

A little later, Ms. Lin brought Tao Tao to visit the set.

Chen Zhou shared this news with her.

Taking over an existing breakfast stall seemed like a good deal, and Lin Yifan was very interested after hearing about it.
"I just don't know how much the rent is?"

"I was busy with business just now, so we didn't have time to talk in detail. We'll arrange to meet tomorrow."

Subsequently, Chen Zhou summarized the information he had received from intelligence reports over the past few days, as well as the information he had recently gathered from merchants.

"The rent for the tobacco and liquor store next door to her is 60,000 yuan. Meng Ge is negotiating with the landlord about buying a house and reducing the rent this year."

The rental and sales center is a bare-bones unit; I estimate the bottom price for the rent can be negotiated down to 45,000.

Ms. Lin thought about it.

Using the most familiar method of average calculation, "Fifty-two-five thousand is acceptable to us."

Because Chen Zhou had information, he simply multiplied the rent by the 20-year payback period and concluded that "it's about this price, which is quite reasonable, considering that housing prices are also falling."

Lin Yifan nodded, "Then I'll ask for leave tomorrow and go with you."

"Okay!"

Chen Taotao was quite interested in the matter of taking leave.

"Mom, I need to ask for leave too."

Kindergarten is currently in summer program, so children whose families have someone to look after them are indeed on vacation.

Chen Zhou and his wife exchanged a glance and agreed to Tao Tao's small request.

However, Ms. Lin is a bit more principled than Chen Zhou when it comes to her daughter. "Then you have to promise your mother that you will go to school on time the day after tomorrow and you can't stay in bed."

"Good~"

Tao Tao agreed.

But the little girl has a criminal record.
"Close the stall!"

After tidying up his car, Chen Zhou took advantage of the quietness of the streets to take his wife and daughter for a drive.

The evening breeze, still carrying a hint of summer warmth, brushed against their faces and ruffled the two ladies' hair.

Her disheveled hair mirrored Chen Zhou's current mood.

With the store location selection imminent, Chen Zhou is full of hope for the future, but he will definitely encounter various situations in the future operation, which he will need to deal with himself.

He remembered the book he had read about business tips in the past few days—

"Simply open a shop, run it happily every day, make everyone joyful and stress-free, and then pass that joy and happiness on to customers and friends." The tips include very specific operational guidelines, such as how to obtain a health certificate. There are also things like this about mindset and philosophy.

Chen Zhou thought to himself, this shouldn't even be considered a trick anymore.

Go home and put the kids to sleep.

Ms. Lin took the day off the next day.

The next day.

Chen Zhou and his family visited Lao Gu's breakfast shop again.

Chen Taotao skipped and hopped ahead, as lively and energetic as ever.

Lin Yifan was a little agitated, which was evident from breakfast today.

Before entering the room, Chen Zhou couldn't help but squeeze his wife's hand.

"What's wrong? This isn't like you at all."

Lin Yifan replied:

"I feel the same way I did when we went to look at apartments and paid the deposit."

Chen Zhou remembered the scene very clearly; it felt as if it had just happened. Six or seven years had passed in the blink of an eye.

Chen Taotao likes to join in the fun:
"Mom and Dad, you have to take me with you when you go out to play!"

Chen Zhou: "You weren't even born yet!"

"Oh, and one more thing," Chen Taotao thought for a moment, "you didn't call me when you took the photos!"

So fresh.
Tao Tao's playful banter calmed Lin Yifan down; she was a wife and a mother.

The three of them walked into the store.

The old lady's breakfast business had already closed by this time. The two of them waited in the shop for Chen Zhou to arrive.

My uncle even specially placed a tea set on the table.

They saw that Chen Zhou had brought his daughter along, and their eyes shone with obvious joy.

"This little girl is so lovely!"

After exchanging greetings, the older woman asked the little girl, "Tell Grandma, what's your name?"

Although my aunt seemed a bit fierce yesterday, she was nowhere near as intimidating as Uncle Zhang Jinsheng. Chen Taotao bravely announced her name:

"My name is Tao Tao."

Chen Zhou added, "That's his nickname."

The uncle nodded, then asked with a smile, "What's your full name?"

"Chen Taotao".

Upon hearing this, the uncle thought to himself, "This is different." His smile suddenly stiffened, and he quickly pulled over a chair, inviting Chen Zhou's family to join him.
"Come, come, have some tea first, then we can sit down and talk slowly."

The conversation started with casual chatter about everyday things. Then, it gradually returned to the issues that concerned them.

Ms. Lin carefully inspected the breakfast shop, looking at the plumbing, electrical work, and kitchen conditions.
Chen Zhou chatted with his aunt and uncle about the price.

He directly presented the information he had gathered to his aunt and uncle, including the current rental and sales rates for nearby shops.

The old aunt remarked that Chen Zhou had come prepared.

“A shop was indeed sold in the east a while ago, and the price was the same as you said. The housing prices have dropped drastically. My husband and I bought it as an investment, but who would have thought the market would be like this now.”

Chen Zhou: "It's all the same. Didn't we also buy a house here?"

My uncle-in-law wasn't the type to worry too much. He sipped his tea and said to his wife:

“I told you, let’s not do it ourselves, but you wouldn’t believe me. Why should we put up with this kind of hardship at our age? Let’s rent it out quickly. Give the young man a price.”

The old aunt was somewhat disheartened because she had already rented it out three times.

This time, I really didn't argue or quarrel with my uncle.

She said to Chen Zhou:

"Okay, fifty thousand then."

(End of this chapter)