We agreed not to date, so why are you crying now that I've become the richest man?

There wasn't even a table in the unfinished apartment.

He took out a hard plastic plywood from his briefcase and laid the standard contract and the special approval letter on the cement windowsill.

Regional protection period.

Performance evaluation standards.

The initial return/exchange rate.

Renovation subsidy program.

The terms that had just been agreed upon were written into the supplementary agreement, with even the assessment time and the method of effectiveness clearly marked.

After finishing writing, Zhou Bin took out the official seal and stamped it firmly at the signature.

Snapped!

A bright red mark fell onto the paper.

"Old Ye, take a look."

"Sign if there are no problems."

Ye Jianguo took the splint with both hands, but didn't rush to start writing.

He looked at the densely packed clauses and the bright red official seal, took a deep breath, turned to his son beside him, and handed the splint to Ye Chen.

"Chenchen, help Dad take a look. See if what's written here matches what we just talked about. Make sure nothing's been missed."

Having no experience in business negotiations, Ye Jianguo instinctively sought confirmation from his son when faced with this legally binding contract in black and white.

"OK."

Ye Chen smiled and reached out to take it.

Instead of just skimming the surface, he followed the light streaming through the cement window and read on, word by word.

After confirming that all the terms were exactly the same as what had been agreed upon, without any omissions or discrepancies, he handed the splint back to his father and said softly:

"Dad, I've looked at it, it's fine, sign it."

With his son's reassurance, Ye Jianguo finally felt relieved.

He removed the cap from his pen and carefully wrote his name, stroke by stroke, in the position for the franchisee.

Ye Jianguo.

After finishing the last stroke, he stared at the three characters for a few seconds, then leaned against the wall and let out a long breath.

After his father recovered, Ye Chen looked at Zhou Bin.

"Manager Zhou, please swipe your card."

"OK."

Zhou Bin took out a black wireless card reader from his briefcase, turned it on, and entered the amount.

Ye Chen took out his China Construction Bank card and handed it over.

Swipe.

enter password.

"drop!"

The notification sound was particularly clear in the empty, unfinished apartment.

A moment later, the machine produced a long, thin receipt.

The brand franchise deposit of 100,000 yuan has been successfully paid.

Chen Xiulan's heart trembled at the sound of the notification.

One hundred thousand yuan.

In the past, even if she and Ye Jianguo had saved every penny for many years, they might not have been able to save enough.

Now, my son has just swiped the card.

After signing the receipt, Ye Chen handed Zhou Bin copies of his parents' ID cards and the long-term rental agreement.

"The information is all here."

Zhou Bin checked it once and nodded.

"All done."

Without wasting any time, he squatted down and placed the laptop on his lap.

After the wireless network card was connected, Semir's business development system was quickly opened.

Enter franchisee information.

Upload the contract.

Add a specially approved attachment.

Confirmation that the deposit has been received.

Press Enter once, and the webpage will redirect.

Next to the application information for the Contemporary Shopping Mall store in Huaicheng County, a line of small green text lit up.

The application to open a store has been approved.

Current status: Pending opening.

"It's done."

Zhou Bin closed his laptop and stood up to brush the dust off his trousers.

"Old Ye, we need to speed things up from here on out."

"I'll send you the store layout drawings from headquarters tomorrow. The renovation must be done according to the standards; the storefront, lighting, and shelf dimensions cannot be changed arbitrarily."

"In addition, local recruitment must begin immediately."

"Store manager, sales staff, let's set up the framework first."

Ye Jianguo quickly took out his notebook and leaned against the wall to jot down notes.

"Blueprints, renovations, recruitment..."

"Store manager, sales assistant."

He wrote slowly and carefully, afraid of missing a single word.

When he signed the contract, he was a laid-off worker with sweaty palms.

Now, with his notebook filled with notes about opening the store, he really does look like a branch store owner.

Zhou Bin glanced at him and continued explaining:

"Once the store renovation is almost complete, headquarters will issue a training notice."

"At that time, you should take the store manager to Minhang District in Shanghai for closed training."

"Go to Shanghai?"

Ye Jianguo paused, his hand holding the pen still.

The farthest place he and Chen Xiulan had ever been was the city.

Upon hearing that they were going to Shanghai for training, the elderly couple instinctively felt apprehensive.

Chen Xiulan couldn't help but ask:

"It's so far away, and we don't know anyone here..."

"Mom, it's okay."

Ye Chen chimed in from the side.

"I'll be going back to Shanghai for classes in a few days."

"Once the training notice is issued, call me in advance. I'll arrange pick-up from the station, accommodation, and meals."

The elderly couple then realized what had happened.

My son was already studying at a university in Shanghai.

With Ye Chen around, they really had nothing to be afraid of.

Ye Jianguo lowered his head again and added a line to his notebook.

"Training in Shanghai, contact Xiaochen in advance."

After he finished writing, he drew a heavy horizontal line at the end.

By the time all the formalities were completed, it was already dark outside the shop.

Streetlights lit up one after another, illuminating the crowds coming and going in the contemporary shopping mall.

Ye Jianguo grabbed Zhou Bin and insisted on treating him to a nice meal at the restaurant next door.

"Manager Zhou, you've had a long day, you need to eat something."

"I owe you a lot for what happened today, you have to give me a chance."

Zhou Bin picked up his briefcase and waved his hand repeatedly.

"Old Ye, I really can't do it today."

"There are still a bunch of paperwork to be completed at headquarters, I need to get back to the provincial capital immediately."

He patted Ye Jianguo on the shoulder, then turned to look at Ye Chen.

"Xiao Ye".

"Today's negotiations didn't even have a proper table, yet it was more exciting than some of the major projects I negotiated this year."

"I hope that in three months, the data from this store will really make me proud."

Ye Chen brushed the dust off his hands and extended his right hand.

"Don't worry, Manager Zhou."

"What I like most is slapping other people in the face."

Zhou Bin was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"OK!"

"Then I'll wait and see."

The two hands were clenched tightly together.

A moment later, Zhou Bin walked out of the store with his briefcase and left in a car with his assistant.

Ye Chen stood at the door, watching the car's taillights disappear around the street corner before turning around.

Ye Jianguo was still clutching that brown paper document bag.

It contained the contract, supplementary agreement, and deposit receipt.

The file folder wasn't heavy, but he would glance at it every few seconds.

Look at the red stamp on the contract.

Let's take another look at that payment receipt for 100,000 yuan.

The evening breeze blew in through the doorway.

Chen Xiulan shrugged, her voice still a little unsteady.

"Old Ye."

"Are we... really going to open a shop?"

Ye Jianguo did not answer immediately.

He first looked at the brightly lit commercial street across the street, then turned back to look at the empty shops behind him.

In just one day, they bought a car, left the factory where they had worked for twenty years, and rented this prime storefront.

The humiliation I suffered when I was laid off from the factory seemed to have been thrown far away.

Ye Jianguo swallowed hard.

Even now, he still feels it's not quite real.

But the contract in my hand is genuine.

The red stamp is genuine.

The receipt for 100,000 yuan is also genuine.

Ye Jianguo is really going to be a boss.

Ye Chen stepped down the stairs and opened the door of the black Passat.

"Dad, Mom."

"This is just the beginning."

"There will be a lot of things like signing contracts, making payments, and hiring people in the future."

He leaned against the car door, smiling and waving at the two of them.

"Mr. Ye, please get used to the pace."

"Get in the car, let's go home."

Ye Jianguo glanced down at the file folder and finally smiled.

He straightened his back and walked out of the shop.