Chapter 647: Chapter 354 Partial Showdown
The transaction between both parties, who are locals, went very smoothly and quickly, especially with the mediation of a lawyer. There was sincerity on both sides regarding the deal for these three properties.
After receiving the money, particularly noting Chen Feng’s calm demeanor when transferring the funds, Landlord Ye realized Chen Feng was indeed a wealthy man. He wanted to cultivate a friendship and insisted on treating Chen Feng to a meal at a restaurant in Yuelou Town. The meal cost just a couple of thousand, not too expensive, but it was a gesture of goodwill.
Of course, Zhao Guozhong and Mao Xiaoling also benefited from this.
Although Chen Feng was not very fond of socializing, they were all locals, and seeing as his own little uncle knew the other party somewhat, all hailing from the same town, they could easily make family connections by tracing their roots.
During the meal, when everyone began talking more deeply, they discovered some family ties. It turned out that Landlord Ye’s mother and Zhao Guozhong’s deceased mother, Chen Feng’s grandmother, were first cousins. Since Chen Feng’s grandparents had passed away early, the families hadn’t interacted in decades, leading to the younger generations not knowing each other at all. If the relations were traced, Zhao Guozhong and him would be considered cousins, and Chen Feng should call him uncle.
Additionally, Landlord Ye’s wife was acquaintances with his mother, Zhao Xiaolan, because her sister and Zhao Xiaolan were primary school classmates. Before the sister got married, she had a very good relationship with her, frequently visiting each other’s homes to play, thus she ended up knowing Zhao Xiaolan too, even though they hadn’t met for twenty or thirty years, she still remembered.
This connection of familial ties naturally made the atmosphere during the meal more lively and congenial, and they didn’t part ways until almost two hours later.
By then, the town was aglow with lights, and after separating from Landlord Ye and his family, Chen Feng and the others went to the just-purchased storefront.
"Tomorrow, you should start preparing for the renovation and setup of the store. I’ll give you 100,000 as startup capital. Should be enough, right?"
The storefront was empty at the moment, so there wasn’t much to look at, but since it was bought and a supermarket was to open next, it was imperative to come over for a serious look and to discuss matters with Zhao Guozhong and Mao Xiaoling.
"More than enough. We don’t have to pay rent right now, what’s left are some necessary equipment and initial stock costs, and once the business is on track, the stock will mostly be on credit. Additionally, we’ll have to spend some money on air-conditioning and cold storage units."
Mao Xiaoling had a totally different attitude towards Chen Feng now, with a genuine smile replacing the previous professional grin, and her gaze bore a hint of ingratiation.
"Alright then. I’ll trouble you and my uncle to get busy tomorrow." Chen Feng was slightly polite.
"Sure, it’s my duty. I’m working for you, my big boss now."
Before this, Chen Feng had, with the lawyer’s witness, signed a tripartite cooperation contract with her and his own uncle.
"That’ll be all for now. Uncle, I’ll transfer the money to you later."
"Ah, okay."
Zhao Guozhong, having had quite a bit to drink earlier, was visibly drunk.
"We’re heading out. You keep the keys."
Chen Feng handed a set of keys to Zhao Guozhong and then said to Mao Xiaoling, "My uncle is a bit drunk, please take care of him."
Mao Xiaoling promptly replied, "Why say that? He’s my boyfriend, it’s only right for me to look after him. It’s no trouble at all."
"Alright, we’re leaving."
"Okay, take care."
After Chen Feng left with Wu Mengting, Mao Xiaoling naturally took the keys from Zhao Guozhong’s hand and said gleefully, "You really weren’t bragging earlier, your nephew is amazing, easily shelling out money to buy these three properties. He barely looked at the properties. How affluent is he? He appears to treat purchasing real estate as casually as grocery shopping. Tell me, what exactly does your nephew do? Is it really as you said, in finance? Is the finance business that profitable? How wealthy is he actually?"
Zhao Guozhong was feeling very sleepy, but hearing Mao Xiaoling’s words, he perked up and boasted, "I really don’t know exactly how much he has. I can’t simply ask him: ’How much money do you have?’ But, I can confidently say he has at least tens of millions. Otherwise, how could he effortlessly drop 3 million to buy houses in our rural area? I’m not entirely sure what kind of financial business he does; all I know is he trades stocks, and this profession is very lucrative."
Mao Xiaoling immediately cozied up, wrapping an arm around his, snug against him, saying, "You have a great nephew, that’s for sure. He’s very considerate of your affairs. The little supermarket was proposed and executed rapidly, and now he even bought the storefront. You better stay close to him in the future."
Zhao Guozhong beamed proudly, "Since I’m his uncle, my relationship with him is solid. I saved him when he nearly drowned as a child. I don’t need to cozy up to him. I’m the only uncle he has; it’s proper for him to honor me."
Hearing this, Mao Xiaoling quickly cautioned, "You are indeed his uncle, and it’s only right he respects you, but don’t act superior around him all the time. You’re not his father, and he’s not your son; there’s no inherent duty for him to constantly care for you."
Indeed, Mao Xiaoling has a keen understanding of social interactions.
Zhao Guozhong, of course, understood this logic, realizing his previous boast was more habitual than anything else, now felt more comforted after hearing Mao Xiaoling’s words, he nodded, "You’re right. I’ll be more mindful in the future. We now have storefronts, and we can properly prepare to open the convenience store. In the future, you, your mother, and the kids can settle down here. I think we might as well transfer Xiaohui to the local elementary school here. The education standard in Yuelou Town is far better than in Qishu Town. Otherwise, commuting won’t be convenient. It’s better for us to all live upstairs here. Let’s dedicate one room for us to stay in."
"You should discuss this with your nephew. And the tenants upstairs still have their lease term."
"No worries, I’ll talk to Ah Feng. As for the upstairs tenants, if needed, we refund their rent, it’s not a big deal."
"That still doesn’t seem right. The boss mentioned that only two or three tenants have leases ending next month; the others are scheduled for the end-of-year expiry. We should stay in Qishu Town for now; commuting by car isn’t very far."
"That’s cumbersome," Zhao Guozhong declared, "Let’s follow my plan. You all move here, I’ll cover the refunded rent for tenants, likely not more than tens of thousands."
"Well... alright, I’ll follow your lead."
Mao Xiaoling rarely put on such a compliant face, with her voice soft and her expression full of admiration, which brought great emotional satisfaction to Zhao Guozhong.
...
Upon returning home, Chen Feng shared that he had bought commercial properties in Yuelou Town, spending 2.8 million.