"No, no, no, I didn't mean anything, I was just asking." Xu Damao quickly waved his hand.
"Explain yourself clearly. Why did you come here to ask this reporter? Or did you hear something?" Li Chu sat on the sofa, his brows furrowed.
"Brother Chu, don't misunderstand. I'm asking her. It was that day when someone came to our restaurant and said they wanted to interview me. Oh, not just me, but she wanted to interview all the people who were among the first to apply for individual business licenses in Beijing."
To be honest, I didn't want to do this interview. They say you shouldn't flaunt your wealth, and who knows what kind of trouble might arise afterward? I refused her offer, but then she told me she was my friend, so I…”
"Whether you want to be interviewed by her or not is up to you. My only relationship with that reporter is that her daughter is my patient."
I suspect this reporter, Chen, probably interviewed several self-employed individuals at the time. Some, like you, are still operating, while others have closed down due to poor management. Perhaps none of them were willing to be interviewed, which is why she told you we were friends, hoping to use you as a starting point. If you accept her request, she can then approach those other individuals again.
Chen Yuan probably meant well, wanting to use interviews with these first batch of self-employed individuals with formal permits to showcase the achievements of opening up through their business operations and lives over the years, while also reflecting on the shortcomings that still exist in this process.
However, her attempt to use Li Chu to achieve her goals was somewhat inappropriate and could easily lead to misunderstandings.
"Since that's the case, then I understand." Xu Damao breathed a sigh of relief. He was unwilling to be interviewed, but if the female reporter really had a relationship with Li Chu, or even that kind of relationship, he had to give her face.
He deals with all sorts of people every day; he's encountered all kinds of people. In the past two years, life has improved, the market has gradually opened up, and more people are making money. Many men bring women who aren't their wives to his place for meals. It's almost unbelievable that he might have some thoughts about it, especially since that reporter, Chen, is a young and beautiful female reporter. He even felt a little tempted by her appearance.
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"Don't label me randomly, and stop thinking about things that aren't relevant." Li Chu pointed at Xu Damao.
This guy specifically came over to ask him what else it could mean, he must have misunderstood, otherwise he could have just made a phone call.
"Hehe, that reporter was indeed quite pretty, it's normal for me to have dirty thoughts. Anyway, let's not talk about that. Do you remember that two-courtyard house near Huguo Temple that I told you about a couple of years ago, Brother Chu?"
"I have a vague recollection of it, what's wrong?" Li Chu nodded.
"After the landlord left last time, he sent someone to contact me again these past two days, asking if I still wanted the property and offering me 15,000 yuan."
"Hmm, this price is reasonable. Is this one a fake?"
“This time it shouldn’t be, because if I agree to take it, the homeowner will come back in person to make the deal with me.”
"What are you thinking? Or do you think it's too expensive?"
"No, no," Xu Damao shook his head and continued, "The thing is, I was thinking of buying this courtyard in the name of the restaurant. That would require several of us to invest money proportionally, but my father-in-law can't afford to pay any more money now."
To be fair, Xu Damao did a pretty good job. He didn't buy it directly in his own name and then rent it to a restaurant, so that no matter what, he wouldn't lose money.
Now that it's being bought under the restaurant's name, it becomes a fixed asset of the restaurant, which is beneficial to the other shareholders. Even if the restaurant goes out of business in a few years, selling this courtyard will likely bring in more money than the restaurant's profits over the years.
"Are you kidding me? Uncle Lou can't come up with this little bit of money?" Li Chu found it hard to believe. If the money was divided among the people according to their shares, it would probably only amount to a few thousand yuan.
"Brother Chu, I'm not kidding. He's thrown all his money into Jiye's hands. The old man is in a bit of a dilemma now, and he's too embarrassed to ask me for help because he was the one who insisted on sending Jiye over. I reckon if he sends money one or two more times, he'll have to sell his few treasures."
Excluding tuition fees, Lou Jiye now spends several hundred US dollars a month, an amount that is not something the average person can afford.
Why are you telling me this now?
"Here's the thing, I talked to my father-in-law yesterday. He still owns 30% of the restaurant's shares. He wants to step down so we can take over his shares and we can discuss a suitable price together."
My idea is to see if Jia Dong and the other two still want it. If they do, the four of us will split the 31 percent. If they don't want it, or want less, then I'll take the rest.
Then, according to our shareholding ratio, we invested a total of 20,000 yuan to take over the courtyard. Oh, the extra 5,000 yuan was for cleaning and tidying up the courtyard.
"I have no objection. I'll ask them for you later, and then have the three of them contact you."
The restaurant distributes profits every month, so there isn't much money in the accounts. If people want to buy that courtyard, they'll have to invest more money.
Li Chu thought that no matter how much he invested, he could make this deal.
"Okay, then I'll wait for them to contact me."
Xu Damao brought this up because he wanted to get support so he could open another store, making a total of three.
As his business grew, so did his worries, because all his assets were tied up in it.
If anything goes wrong, he'll have to take his wife and children to beg on the streets.
Although they have cultivated their own network of relationships over the years, these people will definitely turn their backs on them if they encounter any major setbacks.
Li Chu's reply just now was clearly supportive, so he felt relieved.
"Then I'll head over first, Brother Chu. Please have Jia Dong and the other two give me an answer as soon as possible. The people the landlord asked me to help are also waiting for my reply."
"Are you stupid? No matter what, they'll definitely want that courtyard. Just give them a straight answer."
"Hey, I'm really stunned. Okay, bye-bye, Brother Chu."
"Okay, let's go. I won't see you off."
After Xu Damao left, Li Chu sat on the sofa and frowned again.
He wondered what the reporter, Xiao Chen, meant by saying those things to Xu Damao. Was it just an attempt to build a relationship and conduct an interview, or did he have some other intention?
In short, no matter what, we must warn her when she brings her child for a follow-up appointment next time.
He didn't want to have any messy romantic relationships on his mind, especially not to end up smelling like mutton after not having eaten any.
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