Hearing this, Liu Chen couldn't wait any longer and directly asked the taxi driver to turn around and head to the new wholesale market located outside the West Third Ring Road of City C.
The uncle on the other end of the phone paused upon hearing a female voice. Then, as if realizing something, he chuckled:
"Hahaha, you rascal. How about this, bring your friend along and come directly to the office in the new wholesale market. We can discuss things in detail."
Ren Yu looked at Liu Chen, her eyes asking if she should agree.
Liu Chen quickly nodded, and the two hurried to the chairman's office of the wholesale market.
...
As lunchtime approached, inside the chairman's office of the new wholesale market, decorated in a Chinese style, Zhou Jun sat on a rosewood chair, looking at Old Ge from "Delicious Frozen Goods" who was seated across the large tea table.
"You see, for the four shops you wanted, I even went back on my word for the ones my little nephew asked for. When my little nephew arrives later, it will depend on your skills, Old Ge."
Old Ge chuckled, took a sip of tea, and didn't pay much attention to the "little nephew" Zhou Jun mentioned. A child this young asking for six shops most likely intended to resell them for a profit.
At most, he'd offer a hundred thousand yuan later, which would be giving Zhou Jun some face.
After a short wait, there was a knock on the office door.
"Chairman, a young person claiming to be Ren Yu is here to see you."
"Let them in."
Zhou Jun said with a smile, then got up and took two teacups from a bookshelf nearby. He washed them and then discarded the old tea leaves from the teapot before brewing a fresh pot.
He poured the new brew into a fairness pitcher, then from the pitcher into four teacups, swirled each teacup, and poured the tea onto the tea tray. The tea flowed down the tray.
Meanwhile, Old Ge stared at the handsome man and beautiful woman before him and was stunned.
Isn't that... his future daughter-in-law, Liu Chen from "Sister Liu's Frozen Goods"?
At this moment, Old Ge was unaware that his wife had already caused trouble at "Sister Liu's Frozen Goods" and was almost exposed by Chen Long.
He had seen the interview with the top scholar last night and knew about the shops being sold. He had planned to facilitate introductions for "Sister Liu's Frozen Goods" after his own shop was settled.
Unexpectedly, his future daughter-in-law and Zhou Jun's nephew were involved?
Old Ge felt a throbbing in his head.
"Come, Xiao Yu, sit down and have some tea. Let me introduce you. This is the leading figure in our old wholesale market - Old Ge from 'Delicious Frozen Goods.' You can call him Uncle Ge."
Ren Yu nodded slightly at Old Ge, "Uncle Ge."
Liu Chen, upon hearing the name, secretly sized up Old Ge sitting in his chair. Although middle-aged, one could vaguely tell that he must have been quite good-looking in his youth.
Even now, he had a pleasant smile on his face as he looked at them, but Liu Chen felt a sense of resistance. After all, this seemingly amiable Old Ge was a complete "phoenix man."
Suppressing his displeasure, Liu Chen also nodded and greeted him as Uncle Ge. After all, with this person here now, and recalling the probing words of Ren Yu's uncle on the phone earlier, it seemed the issue with his six connected shops lay with him.
Seeing that the two juniors had met Old Ge, Zhou Jun explained:
"Since everyone is here, how about we take a walk around the market? And take a look at the shop locations you want?"
All three nodded in agreement, not asking further questions.
The four of them walked out of the office building together and got into a business van parked at the entrance, with the air conditioning already turned on.
"I've decided to lease half of this newly built wholesale market and sell the other half. I won't cheat you. The shops near the west gate, which is the main entrance of the market, the first ten shops there, I'm selling them all at once.
The shops behind them are kept for long-term rental. Of course, if you insist on buying, I can reluctantly part with them, but the price will be the same as those near the main entrance."
Liu Chen, sitting in the back seat of the business van, turned his head to look out the window at the passing main gate. Inside, a storm was brewing.
This D-class mission is indeed a trap!
This west gate is not the main entrance of the market after it matured; it's a side entrance!
The real main entrance is clearly the east gate!
This means the actual main entrance is in the exact opposite direction of the current main entrance. Liu Chen had walked so much in this new wholesale market in his previous life that his shoes wore thin, so he couldn't be mistaken.
But why did Ren Yu's uncle say this was the main entrance? Wasn't he the owner of the wholesale market?
Because Old Ge was present, Liu Chen's expression remained casual as he looked, and he quickly averted his gaze from the direction of the east gate.
"Heh heh, Brother Zhou Jun, I, Old Ge, am not a greedy person. I want shops 3, 4, 5, and 6, which are connected. My shop has so many people, and it won't be enough space if it's too small.
We won't ask for more. Nephew Ren Yu, if you can give me some face, I'm willing to pay a hundred thousand yuan as a thank-you fee."
Ren Yu frowned slightly and was about to speak when Liu Chen interjected:
"Since Uncle Ge has spoken, then forget it. It's just that Ren Yu brother could have easily earned over three hundred thousand yuan from this resale, but now it's only a hundred thousand... it's a bit..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear: don't act as if you're being generous; you're actually getting a concession from us.
Old Ge couldn't tolerate being looked down upon by his prospective daughter-in-law. He also wanted to showcase his family's wealth to Liu Chen, so he chuckled and said:
"That means Uncle was stingy. Zhou Jun, how about this, in front of you, I'll acknowledge the three hundred thousand yuan, and we'll settle it together when we sign the contract. Young lady, do you think this is acceptable?"
Liu Chen smiled and nodded:
"Uncle Ge is generous."
Zhou Jun, however, frowned. With his nephew and this young lady together, the young lady was clearly in charge, which wasn't right.
Whether it was right or not, Zhou Jun couldn't decide, but he made a mental note to discuss Ren Yu's situation with his second brother when they met.
Fearing that things might change, Old Ge urged them back to the office and signed the contract with Zhou Jun in front of Ren Yu and Liu Chen. The full amount of four million yuan was paid in one lump sum via card.
After making the payment, Old Ge even glanced at Liu Chen's reaction. He saw that Liu Chen's expression was calm, and he thought this young lady was quite good at pretending.
But then he thought again, being able to pretend was good. In future business dealings, pretending could be intimidating and help manage the business well.
Yes, Old Ge hadn't given up on the idea of his son marrying Liu Chen. In his opinion, whether Liu Chen had dated before wasn't the most important thing. The important thing was that she was obedient, intelligent, and could help with the shop's business.
However, the engagement needed to be expedited. He needed to secure Liu Chen early so that his son could accompany her for her studies. Then, if they worked hard and conceived a grandchild, she could come back for maternity leave.
Liu Chen was unaware of Old Ge's intentions. Her only impression of him was his wife's neurotic obsession with finding mistresses everywhere.
A few minutes after Old Ge left the office, Liu Chen finally spoke:
"Uncle Zhou, since you're leasing the shops near the east gate, can I buy the shops in the second row near the east? Ren Yu brother, what do you think?"
Zhou Jun's hand, which was pouring tea, paused. The tea overflowed from the cup and dripped down the tea table into the hole.
His newly built wholesale market had a long row of shops. Every six shops there was a passage through which one could pass. This meant that the shops near the east side were actually pseudo-frontages.
They appeared to be in the front row, but in reality, people wouldn't walk the entire street. Most would pass through the passages and head to the back.
Zhou Jun put down the fairness pitcher on the tea table and looked at his nephew, who hadn't spoken: "Let's talk amongst ourselves. I'll be direct. The reason I didn't sell those shops near the east side is that no one would buy them. I didn't want them to look bad, so I said long-term lease.
That area looks like a good location, but in reality, it's not. If you buy them, no one will take over. Even if I give you a discount, say eight hundred thousand yuan per shop, seven shops would be over six million yuan. This money would be tied up here and couldn't be converted to cash."
Moreover, Zhou Jun didn't expect his nephew to come up with this large sum of money himself. He probably thought it was from his sister-in-law, Ren Yuanying.
Such a large sum of money, if it were to be squandered based on this young girl's few words, wouldn't his sister-in-law be furious?
Ren Yu looked at Liu Chen and, seeing her nod, said:
"Uncle, then take the ones near the east side. Since Uncle is giving a discount, I'll take three more shops."
Zhou Jun, hearing that the more he tried to persuade them, the more stubborn his nephew became, angrily slammed the teacup down on the tea table.
"Fine! I've tried to persuade you, and I've said my piece. If you regret it in the future, I won't be able to refund the money."
"No refunds," Liu Chen and Ren Yu said in unison.
Zhou Jun had his secretary prepare contracts for the ten shops in the second row, starting from the eastern end, to be brought to the office.
"Uncle, make one contract for the six shops at the end of the row, and another for the remaining four shops."
Ren Yu interrupted Zhou Jun.
Zhou Jun was somewhat confused. What did he mean? Were these ten shops not all for his nephew? Did this young lady have a share in them?
When the secretary came in, the agreements and prices were already written down. Ren Yu handed them to his Uncle Zhou Jun. After his uncle signed the prices and names, he handed one of the contracts for six shops to Liu Chen.
Liu Chen carefully read it, confirmed it, signed her name, and took out a card from her pocket. She swiped it on the POS machine six times, each time for eight hundred thousand yuan, totaling four million eight hundred thousand yuan as per the contract.
The entire process was smooth and flowing, as if the young girl in front of Zhou Jun, who looked only seventeen or eighteen, wasn't swiping four million eight hundred thousand yuan, but eighty yuan, without even blinking.
Could it be that his sister-in-law's relatives from Beijing were involved?
'D-class main mission complete, evaluation - Excellent, reward - current balance multiplied by ten, level three lottery pool unlocked, updating and upgrading... current progress 0.2%'