Chapter Twenty-Four: Deciding on the Location

Over the phone, both Zhao Fan and Xu An fell into silence. As the seconds ticked by, the lack of conversation on either end made the atmosphere increasingly awkward.

Xu An finally spoke. "What price are you looking for, Mr. Zhao?"

Zhao Fan narrowed his eyes. "Five hundred thousand. I might consider it."

"Five hundred thousand? Mr. Zhao, are you joking with that price?"

"Manager Xu, let me say this once more: that market is not a necessity for me. In short, five hundred thousand is my highest offer. If you want to accept it, I’ll take over; if not, forget it."

With that, Zhao Fan hung up abruptly.

Almost immediately, another call came through. "Chen Tianyu."

"Hey, boss, about what you asked me earlier—I’ve got an answer."

"Really? Where?"

"Come to the school, and I’ll have my brother take you there."

"Alright."

An hour later, Zhao Fan took a taxi to the school. He spotted a small group leaning against the left side of the school gate, and Chen Tianyu was among them.

"Boss, over here," Chen Tianyu waved.

Zhao Fan nodded and greeted them. "Hello."

"So you’re the boss Chen Tianyu mentioned? Not much to look at," one of the group remarked.

Zhao Fan kept his composure. "Chen Tianyu’s just joking around. And you are?"

"Chen Jianyu. Come on, I’ll take you to see the place."

"Okay."

Led by Chen Jianyu, the group headed straight for the city center.

"I heard from Chen Tianyu that you need a place over three hundred square meters, so I figured you wanted to set up a factory or something. I found a few options for you—one over here used to be a restaurant, two stories."

"This one’s also over three hundred square meters, but only one floor; it was a factory before."

On and on, they toured five different locations. After comparing the rents and the surrounding foot traffic, Zhao Fan settled on the second option—a single-floor space previously used as a factory.

Chen Jianyu immediately contacted the landlord. After negotiating, Zhao Fan signed a two-year lease.

With that, the location for the supermarket was settled.

Once the door was locked and the keys safely pocketed, Zhao Fan turned to find Chen Jianyu and his crew squatting on the steps.

"Chen, thanks for today. Let’s go eat somewhere."

Having spent most of the day together, Zhao Fan and Chen Jianyu had grown more familiar with one another.

Chen Jianyu spat out the blade of grass he’d been chewing. "Let’s go."

Zhao Fan chose a nearby restaurant, ordered a feast with a generous ratio of meat to vegetables, two tables’ worth, and called for drinks as well.

"Chen, thanks for your trouble. I owe you all. I’ll drink this first cup," Zhao Fan said, raising his glass. He downed it and tipped the empty glass for all to see.

"Good man!" Chen Jianyu slapped the table, drained his own glass in one gulp, and the rest followed suit.

With that, the mood around the tables grew lively and warm.

After several bottles, Zhao Fan was the first to slump over the table.

Chen Jianyu chuckled. "Look at him earlier, putting on such a bold front—I thought he could hold his liquor, but he went down right away."

"Haha, still just a student," someone else laughed.

Amid their laughter, Chen Tianyu glanced around, then helped Zhao Fan up. "I’ll take my boss home."

"Yeah, you go on," Chen Jianyu replied.

All of a sudden, Zhao Fan stood straight, no sign of drunkenness. "No rush. By the way, where’s my wallet? All my cash is with your brother."

Chen Jianyu watched Zhao Fan with a sly grin. "Not bad, you know how things work."

Chen Tianyu protested, "Brother, why are you taking my boss’s money?"

"He may be your boss, but I’m the boss here. Now hand over the cash in his wallet."

Caught between his brother and his boss, Chen Tianyu reluctantly produced the wallet.

But as he pulled it out, he hesitated. "Brother, this—"

"Give it here," Chen Jianyu cut him off, snatching the cash. He counted it, satisfied. "Not bad at all—a thousand yuan, worth our time today! Come on, eat and drink!"

Chen Tianyu bristled. "Brother, he’s my friend!"

"Your friend, my job. You high schoolers should head home. Don’t get in the way," Chen Jianyu said, shooing them off.

Chen Tianyu dragged Zhao Fan away.

The night breeze brushed past them. Zhao Fan opened his eyes. "Hard to believe, isn’t it?"

Chen Tianyu jumped. "You’re not drunk, boss?"

Zhao Fan raised an eyebrow. "Of course not. Drinking is fine in moderation, but too much does no good."

Chen Jianyu had helped him out, but Zhao Fan had no intention of ruining his own stomach for their sake.

"Let’s go. Let your brother and his friends drink as much as they want. We have class tomorrow."

With school mentioned, Chen Tianyu had nothing more to say.

…

The living room was pitch dark. As Zhao Fan pushed the door open, he saw a dark figure sitting in the middle and froze.

"Who’s there?"

"It’s me," came his father’s voice.

Relieved, Zhao Fan exhaled. "Dad, why are you sitting here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

"Where have you been?" his father asked instead.

"Taking care of some things."

"What things?" his father pressed.

Zhao Fan took off his jacket. "I want to start a little business, so I went out to talk to some people."

"Aren’t you supposed to be studying? Why are you thinking about business now?"

"There’s no rule that says you can’t do business while studying, is there? Don’t worry, Dad. I know what I’m doing—nothing will go wrong."

With that, Zhao Fan moved past his father. "I’m off to bed."

After a long while, his father’s sigh echoed in the living room. His son had suddenly become someone he no longer recognized.

…

The next day, Zhao Fan received another call from Xu An, just as he was discussing renovation details for the supermarket with the workers.

He had arranged for them to view the space that morning, and had only just arrived when Xu An called again.

Excusing himself, Zhao Fan stepped aside to answer.

"Manager Xu, what brings you to call again?"

"Mr. Zhao, what else would it be about…"

"Oh, the market? Sorry, Manager Xu, I’ve already rented a place."

"You’ve already rented a place? When?" Xu An’s tone shot up.

Zhao Fan, unbothered, replied calmly, "The day before yesterday."

"Mr. Zhao, that’s hardly fair play, is it?"

"What do you mean, Manager Xu? I don’t recall making any promises to you. Your side didn’t reach an agreement, so I found another place. Isn’t that reasonable?"

Zhao Fan nearly laughed; Xu An spoke as if he was obliged to follow their arrangements.

"That’s enough. I won’t say more. I’m busy here, Manager Xu. Goodbye."

He scoffed inwardly—did they really think he couldn’t do without that market? They ought to consider who should really be in demand here; such a lack of self-awareness.

That afternoon, Zhao Fan received a call from Mu Tianrong, inviting him to a banquet that evening. Mu was enthusiastic, betraying no hint of ulterior motive.

"There will be many prominent people from Yang City at the banquet. I’d like to introduce you around—it’ll help you get established here."

"Thank you, Director Mu."

"No need to be so polite. It’s what friends do."