Food: Selling Boxed Meals at a Construction Site

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: A Swift Settlement

When Xu An heard that Jiajia Fast Food Restaurant was among the businesses that had gotten into trouble, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Everyone from Jiajia Fast Food Restaurant had been taken in. They were the cause of this whole food poisoning incident. As the owner, he wouldn’t be getting out for at least three to five years. The storefront would definitely be repossessed and put up for rent again.

’This is a great location! It’s right across from the construction site’s entrance. I can capitalize on all the workers from the first and second phases, as well as the returning population. It won’t be demolished until the third phase of the project starts.’

’It’s only about twenty minutes from the wholesale markets in both the city and the town, and it’s connected to the national highway. I’ll be able to have the suppliers deliver directly to me, so I won’t have to pick up the goods myself every day anymore.’

...

If he was tempted, he had to act. While this location might not seem particularly prime to others, there was no guarantee that someone else with an equally sharp eye hadn’t already spotted it.

It was best to strike first.

He had brought a total of 130 box lunches today. Thirty-two of them were pre-ordered by office workers, and forty-seven were for students from the Hai City Nautical College.

Together, these two groups accounted for more than half of his stall’s sales. The remaining fifty-one box lunches were mostly bought by the construction workers, with a few going to nearby residents and passersby. He was completely sold out by 12:40 p.m.

After telling Xu Heping and Liang Dani to ride back to Xu Family Village ahead of him, Xu An got on his own bicycle and headed to the entrance of the Zijing Garden construction site.

Just as he arrived, he saw a middle-aged woman followed by several law enforcement officers. They walked up to Jiajia Fast Food Restaurant and stopped.

The woman took out a key and opened the roll-up metal door. The officers went inside and began taking inventory, carrying things out.

All the valuable, movable appliances like freezers and refrigerators were carried out, leaving only the worthless tables behind.

The area outside the entrance was piled high with items, while the shop itself was left completely empty.

After the law enforcement officers left, the landlady pulled a poster from her clothes and stuck it on the wall next to the roll-up door. The poster had four large words written on it: "PRIME SHOP FOR RENT."

Seeing that the woman was about to pull the door down and leave, Xu An quickly cycled over.

"Hello, I saw the ’for rent’ poster you put up. Is this shop available?"

The woman stopped in the middle of closing the door. She turned to look at Xu An, scanning him up and down before asking, "Are the adults in your family looking to rent a shop?"

Xu An knew from her question that she saw how young he was and mistakenly thought he was just a scout for his parents.

But he didn’t correct her, choosing instead to go along with it. "Yes, my family is looking to start a small business and needs a suitable location."

The woman nodded and, with a lift of her hand, pushed the roll-up door back up.

"This shop is excellent. The last tenant was here for four or five years, and their business was booming. But they had some family matters to attend to and had to go back to their hometown." She beckoned Xu An inside. "Take a good look around. If you think it’s suitable, tell your family all about it. This place is in high demand, you know. An opportunity like this doesn’t come around twice."

Xu An smiled but said nothing, not bothering to expose her lies.

The shop was a spacious square, with the first floor measuring over forty, almost fifty, square meters.

The outer dining area had three rows of tables that could seat forty to fifty people at once. Squeezed together, it could even hold more than sixty.

There was a staircase against the left wall leading up to the second floor.

The second floor was a little smaller, just over thirty square meters, with an attached balcony of more than ten square meters.

The second floor was filled with miscellaneous items like cardboard. It had probably been used as a storeroom or utility space and wasn’t open to customers.

The kitchen was a decent size, around fifteen or sixteen square meters. Most of the equipment had been moved out, but the custom-made steel countertops were still there. Once he added his own appliances, it would be ready to use.

After looking over both floors, Xu An was very satisfied with the shop.

’Once I clean up the second floor,’ he thought, ’I can either open it up for more seating or use it as a break room for employees. It would even be a decent place for me to live.’

"Ma’am, how much is the rent for this shop per month?"

The woman had intended to wait for Xu An’s parents to arrive before discussing the rent. But hearing the friendly term he used, she suddenly felt it wouldn’t hurt to tell him now.

"The rent is twenty-five hundred a month on a one-year contract, paid quarterly." Fearing a young man like him wouldn’t understand, she added, "This is for two floors, you know, more than eighty square meters. That’s a very good price."

Xu An nodded. "That’s true, it’s not an expensive rent for this shop."

Hearing Xu An’s agreement, the woman’s face lit up with delight. But just as she was about to speak, Xu An cut her off.

"But this shop is located on land designated for the Zijing Garden project, right? That means it could be demolished tomorrow, next week, or next month.

"For a business owner like me, that’s a pretty big risk. What if I finish renovating and just open up, only to get a demolition notice telling me I have to move out? Wouldn’t all that effort be for nothing?"

The woman hadn’t expected Xu An to know so much inside information. He had just pointed out the biggest issue, and she looked a little embarrassed. She quickly tried to save face.

"By that logic, it could also be two or three years before they demolish it. Besides, you won’t find a better shop in this area. I already took that issue into account, which is why I’m only asking for twenty-five hundred a month." She pointed to a few nearby shops. "Look at the ones next door—they’re all going for twenty-eight hundred a month. The price I’m giving you is already a bargain."

"Ma’am, how about this? Two thousand a month. I’ll pay one month’s rent as a deposit and the first month’s rent upfront. Starting from the second quarter, I’ll pay quarterly."

The woman gave him a suspicious look when she heard his proposal.

"You’re not looking for your family, are you? You want to rent it yourself?"

Xu An simply nodded and admitted it. "I’m the one running the box lunch business across the street. I’m pretty familiar with the area."

Remembering the tall tales she had just spun, the woman’s expression faltered. Xu An’s words were a blunt statement that he knew exactly what had happened here.

"Twenty-three hundred a month. For the first quarter, you pay two months’ deposit and one month’s rent. After that, it’s quarterly. The contract has to be for at least one year. However, if you have to move out due to circumstances beyond our control, neither party will have to pay a penalty for breach of contract."

This price was obviously still not what Xu An had in mind. After a round of haggling, the two finally came to an agreement.

The rent would be twenty-one hundred a month. For the first quarter, he would pay one month’s rent as a deposit and one month’s rent upfront, with payments becoming quarterly after that. The contract would be for two years. If Xu An had to move out due to demolition or other such reasons, he would not have to pay a penalty.

Xu An had less than a thousand on him. The woman suggested they set a time the next day to exchange the money and sign the contract.

But Xu An was afraid that any delay might bring complications. He borrowed a phone to call Xu Heping and asked him to bring the money over. Then, he and the landlady went to find a print shop to print out the contract and prepare for the signing.

Xu Heping was completely baffled when he got the call. He knew Xu An wanted to find a storefront and had even said he was going to look at some shops when they were packing up the stall.

But he never expected Xu An to be so fast. He had secured a deal for the shop in about an hour, and all that was left was to wait for the money to arrive to sign the contract.

’This speed... it’s just ridiculous!’

Not long after Xu An had settled the payment, signed the contract, and left, a middle-aged man passed by Jiajia Fast Food Restaurant. He saw the ’for rent’ poster, took out his phone, and immediately dialed the number on it.

"The shop has already been rented." The landlady hung up as soon as she heard what he wanted. She couldn’t help but grumble to herself, "Why couldn’t you have shown up earlier? I could have had you two bid for it, highest bidder wins. Showing up only after the contract is signed... honestly!"

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