Chapter 296
Ji Wanmei never expected that Lei Tingjun would give her this building as a birthday gift.
"Are you really going to do this?" Ji Wanmei asked.
"Hmm." Lei Tingjun put the blueprints aside, took Ji Wanmei's hand and kissed it. "I was worried this gift wouldn't be sincere enough, and you wouldn't like it. Do you agree?"
"Who asks for someone's opinion before giving them a gift?" Ji Wanmei was very happy inside, but she refused to admit it.
Lei Tingjun and Ji Wanmei have been together for so long that he already knows how to discern her emotions and feelings.
She might sometimes say things she doesn't mean, and at those times, all you need to do is carefully observe her expression.
If there's a smile in her eyes, then she's happy; if there's only calm or coldness in her eyes, then no matter how polite she is, it's just formality.
"Okay, it's settled then." Lei Tingjun let out a low, husky, and pleased laugh.
This was the first time he was using his own abilities to give Ji Wanmei a decent and meaningful gift.
It was wonderful to have him around this year, as she was about to turn twenty.
Ji Wanmei felt a sweet warmth in her heart, and she couldn't stop smiling, as if she were soaked in honey.
***
Ji Wanmei only stayed in Pingdong City for one day, and returned to East China the next day.
Lei Tingjun couldn't get away, so he took her to the bus station and watched the bus depart before returning to the construction site to continue working on the development project.
Next, the two of them began a busy schedule traveling between two different locations.
Ji Wanmei comes to Pingdong City once a week to meet with Lei Tingjun and follow up on the progress of his project.
Lei Tingjun also goes back to East China University every week to make up for the missed class time.
Professor Liang was quite interested when he learned that Lei Tingjun had taken on a sizable commercial development project in Pingdong City.
Lei Tingjun then gave the engineering drawings he had drawn to Professor Liang and asked him to help correct them.
Professor Liang, as expected of a seasoned architectural expert, quickly pointed out several specific problems to Lei Tingjun after reviewing his design drawings.
In the field of civil engineering design, Lei Tingjun is still a novice, but Professor Liang is an industry expert.
Later, Lei Tingjun and Ji Wanmei discussed it and decided to invite Professor Liang to be the chief design consultant for their development project.
Since being appointed as the dean of the School of Architecture in recent years, Professor Liang has not been truly involved in any real industrial engineering projects for a long time.
His recently accepted student, Lei Tingjun, invited him to be the chief design consultant, and Professor Liang readily agreed.
Now, with the dean of the School of Architecture at East China University personally overseeing the project as an advisor, Lei Tingjun's "Pearl of the Orient" project team is becoming increasingly large and luxurious.
Because Ji Wanmei had been going to Leitingjun's place for almost a month, her preparations for opening a branch store were delayed.
However, there's always a way out after the darkest hour.
Just when Ji Wanmei was so busy that she couldn't keep up with either end of the business, one day, the landlord of the bookstore suddenly told Ji Wanmei something.
He was going back to his hometown because something had happened there and he needed to return.
He couldn't care less about the bookstore.
He planned to rent out the store temporarily, and since Ji Wanmei had been coming to the attic to clean occasionally recently, he asked her to help him post a rental notice.
When Ji Wanmei learned of this, she asked the landlord, "How long do you plan to rent this shop?"
"The exact time is still uncertain, but it will probably take at least a year." The landlord has become haggard and thin in the past few days because of family matters.
He said with a worried look on his face, "I'll come back after I've taken care of things at home."
Ji Wanmei listened thoughtfully: "Rent it for a year..."
After thinking for a moment, Ji Wanmei said, "How about this, please consider it and see if you can rent it for two years. If that's possible, I'll rent this store for you."
"I can still keep these books in your shop and help you sell them."
The landlord asked in confusion, "You want to rent my shop? And for two years? What do you want to do with it?"
Ji Wanmei smiled and said, "I'm renting it to do a small business of my own. I've been looking for a storefront in other places recently. Sir, I have two more years until I graduate from East China University. If you can rent the shop to me for two years, I guarantee I can manage it very well for you."
The landlord said, "My shop is in a prime location with a lot of foot traffic, so the rent isn't cheap. You can't rent this place for the price of that little attic upstairs."
Ji Wanmei said directly, "Tell me your rent first, and see if I can accept it?"
"It'll be at least this much," the landlord said, holding up two fingers. "One hundred and twenty yuan."
Ji Wanmei raised her delicate eyebrows slightly; this rent was indeed not cheap.
Her shop, which is only about 30 square meters in her hometown of Pingquan County, only costs 50 yuan a month in rent.
The landlord of this bookstore is asking for 120 yuan, which is equivalent to a month's salary for a working-class person.
"How about this?" Ji Wanmei prepared to discuss it with him. "The rent is one hundred and eleven. If you need the money urgently, I can pay you six months' rent in one lump sum."
Ji Wanmei felt that the bookstore owner's store location was particularly good. Whether she took over the business or opened a specialty store selling women's products like the old store in Pingquan County, or sold other things, the turnover would be very high and the income would be considerable.
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