Chapter 11: The Wisdom of Old Chen

Beixin'an belongs to Shijingshan District, which houses the two largest villages.

One is Beixin'an, and the other is Ancient Village.

As for the biggest enterprise in Shijingshan District, that naturally would be Shougang, which ranks among the top 500 in the world.

The neighborhood Chen Pingsheng was about to visit was actually one of the earliest welfare housing districts provided by Shougang.

The newly opened fruit supermarket is on the left side as you enter this neighborhood.

It consists of four connected storefronts, totaling 380 square meters, including a very large private cold storage room.

The entire decoration style is similar to a large commercial supermarket, which makes it appear particularly impressive.

Only, the lack of people inside reveals its distress.

The store had significantly fewer fruits, and the employees there had mostly lost their enthusiasm.

This atmosphere clearly indicated that the store was about to close down.

Chen Pingsheng specifically called Zhang Tao to come and have a look; after drifting around in Capital City for four or five years, it was time to make a decision for himself.

Through talking to the staff, he obtained the owner's number.

When he called, it turned out just as he had guessed: the owner was indeed a young entrepreneur.

After graduation, not wanting to work a regular job, his family gave him some money to start a business. After hearing that fruit supermarkets could be profitable, he seriously inspected it for a few days and then just went for it.

Three months down the line, not only were the employees exhausted, he also had lost a few hundred thousand yuan.

His family directly called him back home to work honestly at their company.

So that he could eventually take over the family business.

For them, an incredibly valued opportunity was simply a hobby venture in someone else's hands.

His parents never expected him to make money from this venture.

It was just to let him experience the hardships of starting a business; to put it more bluntly, to understand the challenges his parents faced when they started their business.

When Chen Pingsheng called, the response from the other end was very impatient.

"You want that supermarket? Fine, one million."

Chen Pingsheng: "..."

That was surely an exorbitant demand, especially since they truly had the means, not because of anything else but mainly because the owner's family was wealthy.

Therefore, they weren't urgent about the transfer fee for the supermarket.

One could say, take it or leave it, the worst could happen is I lose a few more months.

Chen Pingsheng was really speechless about such people, but he still needed to negotiate; he truly didn't want to give up such a good opportunity.

"What about meeting in person to discuss this?"

"I'm not free these next few days; let's talk after the fifth."

Snap... the phone hung up, seriously so capricious.

"So, how much is he asking for the transfer fee?"

Zhang Tao was also eager to know and Chen Pingsheng replied, "He's demanding one million outright, I think he really isn't lacking money."

"How can he even ask for one million!"

Zhang Tao commented, as the store at best was worth seven or eight hundred thousand yuan.

"Let's go back first and wait until he's available to speak."

Though they said they would wait, Chen Pingsheng called again the next day.

This time he didn't mention the transfer but discussed cooperation instead, and after a few minutes, they agreed to meet the next day.

If he could not negotiate the price down to around six hundred thousand yuan, he wouldn't even consider it.

When he got home and shared this with his wife, Song Yanxi, her heart sank.

One million yuan transfer fee was definitely far beyond what their small family could afford.

It seemed they would simply have to wait.

However, Chen Pingsheng pulled her down to sit on the small couch before saying, "You don't have to worry, I'm really keen on that store, I'll talk more with that boss when we meet tomorrow...

After a pause, Chen Pingsheng asked again, "Yanxi, what do you think people like him pursue by running a fruit supermarket?"

She really hadn't thought about that question!

If it were them running it, there was no doubt it would be to make money, but looking at the young boss's style, it clearly wasn't for these reasons.

Could it be... Song Yanxi had a guess, "Are you saying he did it to prove himself?"

"Yes." Chen Pingsheng nodded, "There's a high chance it's to show his family that he can succeed without relying on his parents or these relatives and friends. Of course, there's also an element of showing off to his friends."

This kind of thing was rather hard for them to understand, even somewhat amusing.

After all, using family money and resources to start a business, only to end up trying to prove that you could do it without your family's help.

Isn't that just laughable?

But this is precisely the typical issue with most wealthy second-generation entrepreneurs, gloriously called "surpassing the previous generation."

Only time would tell.

As long as the second-generation rich don't start businesses, they're considered excellent successors.

Song Yanxi was puzzled again; she scratched her head and curiously asked, "Husband, maybe the young boss thinks this way, but what does this have to do directly with us wanting to take over his store?"

"There's definitely a connection, a big connection at that."

Chen Pingsheng explained, "Think about it, his fruit supermarket is right at the entrance of the residential complex, with so many people coming and going every day. If not used to sell fruits, setting up a large supermarket would definitely be profitable."

"We know this, and those who run supermarkets definitely know it too, so they would be our biggest competitors."

"If he transfers his fruit store to those running supermarkets, isn't that indirectly telling everyone that his entrepreneurial attempt failed and that his idea to prove himself was just a joke?"

"Tsk... When you put it like that, it really is!"

Song Yanxi also got it; after all, her husband explained it very clearly.

"Husband, are you saying that we should exploit this idea of his to acquire the fruit supermarket at a low price?"

"Yes." Chen Pingsheng nodded, "It all depends on how much his face is worth."

The next day, which was the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.

Chen Pingsheng, as agreed, took his wife to a high-end teahouse in Shijingshan.

He was punctual, unlike the second-generation boss.

After waiting for more than half an hour, the young boss sauntered over wearing sunglasses, showing no trace of the despair associated with business failure on his face.

As soon as he sat down, he said, "Give me ten minutes, hurry up and speak, I'm in a rush to attend a class reunion."

Chen Pingsheng didn't waste words and got straight to the point, "Boss, we're taking over your store to sell fruits, too. If you transfer the store to us, not to mention other benefits, your classmates and your family won't know about your entrepreneurial failure."

"What do you mean?" The young boss was slightly puzzled.

Chen Pingsheng explained, "We will quietly take over that store without changing the sign or decor. Moreover, we will claim to the public that you are still the boss there, and we are just workers you've hired. Once the store becomes successful, I believe you will have more face in front of your family and classmates."

Damn, he really hit the nail on the head.

If it weren't for his family pushing him, he really would prefer to lose tens of thousands each month rather than transfer ownership.

Face was more important than anything.

When he opened that store, he had boasted about it everywhere. As a somewhat famous rich second-generation, quitting the business mere three months in would turn him into a laughingstock everywhere.

Besides, his family wasn't relying on him alone.

"Name your price."

"Three hundred thousand."

"Three hundred thousand?"

Li Zehao frowned slightly; he knew shouting a million was absurd, yet there were plenty willing to take over for seven to eight hundred thousand.

This guy offering three hundred thousand, was he thinking he didn't understand the business?

Chen Pingsheng sincerely said, "Don't misunderstand, boss; I just think your face is worth gold and shouldn't suffer for such small money. Also, the main reason is that I only have three hundred thousand, I really can't offer more."

"Deal."

Almost without hesitation, Li Zehao agreed to his proposal, moved by his words.

Who was Li Zehao, after all? Among the rich second-generations, he was a notable figure.

His face, that could be worth millions.

Now, recovering face by losing only a few hundred thousand was definitely the most successful investment.

His thought process was truly unlike ordinary people's. If Chen Pingsheng failed,

there would be only one rule: sell to the highest bidder.

There were no other options.