mijobooks Chapter 49 Acquiring the Wang Family Shop
Chapter 49 Acquiring the Wang Family Shop
Lu Hua felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and stood there dumbfounded.
Seeing his bewildered expression, Lu Jie couldn't help but offer some words of advice:
"Master, although my brother is usually a bit of a beast, he's still very smart. He'll definitely learn to cook faster than us."
"Yes, Xiao Yuan, I promise I'll learn well and quickly!"
After regaining her senses, Lu Hua was completely flustered and became both panicked and anxious.
Lu Yuan couldn't bear to tease him anymore, so he patted his shoulder and said:
"A talent like yours is a complete waste to keep in the kitchen. I have more important things for you to do."
Hearing this, Lu Hua realized that Lu Yuan had been teasing him, and he instantly felt a little embarrassed.
Enraged, he grabbed Lu Yuan by the neck with his arm and began to retaliate.
Lu Yuan parried several times, and finally, together with Lu Jie, they pinned Lu Hua to the ground.
"My eldest apprentice is absolutely right, you're a bit of a beast!"
Lu Yuan took a couple of deep breaths and realized that subduing someone was much more tiring than cooking.
"Brother Hua, invite Uncle Changguo over tomorrow afternoon. We can discuss your matter then."
. . .
The next day at lunchtime, the restaurant was still packed.
In the past few days, the proportion of regular customers and customers referred by regular customers has been increasing.
Especially for the management of private enterprises, they need to frequently travel between the provincial capital and branch offices in other cities.
The northern part of the country is relatively small, so there's usually no need to stay overnight in the branch office's city; you can return on the same day after finishing your business.
For these people, eating on the national highway is a necessity, and they are willing to spend money if they have it.
And there's another reason: the restaurant has recently hired a lot more staff.
In addition to the four braised eggs, there are also the two sisters, Lu Zhen and Lu Ping.
Even at the busiest times, diners' needs are responded to quickly.
With such high-quality service and top-notch food, word-of-mouth is spreading rapidly.
Whether they come on their own or are introduced by acquaintances, once they've eaten there, they'll become loyal customers.
Therefore, the number of diners at Xiao Lu's farmhouse restaurant has been increasing recently, and the quality of their food has also improved.
However, Mr. Wang has been very unhappy lately. Every time he comes, there is no seat available, and he can only eat watermelon with Xiaoxue under the eaves outside.
Mr. Wang arrived even later today; a seat didn't become available until almost 1 p.m.
After finishing his meal, President Wang didn't leave. He waited for Lu Yuan to finish cooking so he could come out and chat for a bit.
Lu Yuan came out of the kitchen, saw President Wang, and asked with a smile:
"Mr. Wang, have you set a date for the client banquet? I can't wait to make money off you."
Mr. Wang snorted and teased:
"You, Boss Lu, are you short of money now? I've been eyeing your little girl, and she's already made at least 3000 yuan."
"My 3000 yuan seems like a lot, but compared to Mr. Wang, it's like comparing Mr. Wang to Wang Mazi—it's far inferior."
Lu Yuan smiled, pulled out a chair next to him, and sat down, holding a notebook in his hand.
"Mr. Wang, I'll make sure everything is arranged perfectly for you, including this banquet."
Mr. Wang cleared the bowl in front of him, took out a wad of cash from his bag, and placed it on the table.
"Boss Lu, I only have one requirement: you have to drink to your heart's content. Here's 1 yuan; you can keep any extras."
Lu Yuan took the money, counted out 5000 yuan, and pushed the rest back to the other party.
"Mr. Wang, the current price is 5000 per table. Let's calculate it separately for each table."
Lu Yuan knew that these bosses were generous and wouldn't care about a few hundred or a thousand once they got to know each other.
But Lu Yuan's standards for banquets are very simple: he charges whatever amount of money he provides for the dishes and services.
He dislikes these kinds of tricks, like billing and pre-depositing.
Business deals at the dinner table should be kept simple.
A chef and a diner need to maintain a proper distance; if the chef has distracting thoughts, they won't be able to focus on cooking.
Mr. Wang didn't stand on ceremony; after putting the 5000 yuan into his bag, he smiled and said:
"Okay, we'll do it your way, Boss Lu. But shouldn't you expand this place? It's clearly not big enough for everyone."
Lu Yuan replied, "Mr. Wang has a good eye. In a couple of days, clean up the space next door, and everyone won't have to wait in line."
After hearing this, Mr. Wang smiled mysteriously and leaned closer to whisper:
"Boss Lu, you've got some impressive skills. I saw all those moves you made."
Lu Yuan laughed it off and said, "Mr. Wang, you're too kind. I'm just a regular cook."
"Hahaha! Little Lu, you might fool some young girls, but you can't fool this old fox! I'm off!"
. . .
After the meal, Lu Hua invited Lu Changguo over.
"Xiao Yuan, have you figured out what to do?" Lu Changguo asked as soon as he entered the room, his hands behind his back.
Old Master Lu has been asking him these past two days, but Lu Yuan hasn't given him any answers, leaving him extremely anxious.
"Sir, this is the reason I invited you here today."
"Alright, alright, tell the old man quickly, he'll help if you're in trouble!"
After Lu Changguo pulled out a chair and sat down, he grabbed Lu Yuan and demanded an explanation.
Lu Yuan poured the other person a cup of tea before slowly speaking:
"Sir, I want all four shops, but I won't pay the rent."
Lu Changguo found Lu Yuan's first sentence quite pleasing, thinking that the boy was responsible.
He thought that even if Lu Yuan's business was doing well, he would be content with just one or two properties, but he didn't expect Lu Yuan to want all four.
In this way, the shop will not have any vacancy periods, and the village's accounts will look better.
It's like clearing out the Wang family's shops had no real impact.
However, he didn't like the second half of the sentence; not paying rent was going too far.
Lu Changguo said with difficulty, "Xiao Yuan, could you pay a little bit? Or I can lower the price a bit."
"Sir, please have some tea first." Lu Yuan said with a smile, pushing the teacup towards Lu Changguo.
"I might not have explained myself clearly. What I meant was that I'm not renting anymore; I'm buying it directly."
"What? Cough cough cough!" Lu Changguo almost spat out the tea he had just drunk.
After catching his breath for a while, he grabbed Lu Yuan's hand and asked:
"Xiao Yuan, you're not kidding, are you? That's four shops with a courtyard."
These days, the procedures for transferring houses in rural areas are not so strict; basically, as long as one party is willing to sell and the other is willing to buy, it's fine.
Even houses owned by the village collective can be transferred.
The only requirement is that you must be from this village.
Lu Yuan meets all the requirements, and since it's relatively convenient to go through the formalities now, he plans to get his hands on it first.
"Xiao Yuan, this is no small amount of money. A shop in Lijia Gou Village in the Gobi Desert was transferred a while ago, and they asked for a full 8000 yuan!"
For the village collective, selling this useless shop is the best option.
Because it cannot be transferred to people outside the village, it is difficult to monetize even if it has commercial value.
Currently, most of the vacant houses can only be rented out to generate some income.
However, the money received from renting it out and selling it is completely different.
The money received was used to repair roads or distributed to villagers.
As the village chief, Lu Changguo's reputation must be exceptionally high.
For an average villager, acquiring four shops at once would be an astronomical sum of money, so it's understandable that Lu Changguo found it hard to believe.
But Lu Yuan's daily revenue is now terrifying. If he fills up all the banquets, he can sell nearly 1 yuan a day.
Converting cash into high-quality assets is the most profitable approach.
Lu Yuan sat upright and calmly, poured Lu Changguo another cup of tea, and then slowly began to speak:
"Sir, 8000 yuan is too little. I think 2 yuan per shop is the most reasonable price."