"Buzz~~"
There's no need to honk the horn, you can tell He Jiawen is coming just by the roar of the engine.
Xia Yu flashed his lights and led the way to the tunnel entrance not far away. It was troublesome to cross the river on the ground, so it was more convenient to go through the tunnel.
In Shanghai, many places may look very close in a straight line on the map, but they are very far away if you drive. So it took them nearly ten minutes to reach the destination.
“It’s right here!”
After parking the car, Xia Yu looked at the map and pointed to an old villa not far away.
Because of its excellent location, there are many old buildings here.
This place used to be the British and American International Settlement, so the style looks quite British, and Xia Yu's outfit is no exception.
The khaki brick walls were not painted, and the breath of history was overwhelming. The two chimneys that looked like antennas looked a bit cute, and inexplicably reminded Xia Yu of the small temple where Sun Wukong became a monk in Journey to the West.
Although it is located on the street, it is surrounded by lawns and looks very stylish and pretty good.
"Old Xia, your place is great! It's right on the Suzhou River, next to the Waibaidu Bridge, and facing the Oriental Pearl Tower. You'll be making a killing if you buy it!"
As a local native, He Jiawen understands the location advantages here better than Xia Yu.
"So how much do you think this house can be rented out for a year?"
Xia Yu asked He Jiawen.
The rent along the Bund is very expensive, so when he first planned to open the restaurant here, he naturally didn't know the rent level nearby.
"That's expensive. The starting price here is at least 15 yuan per square meter per day. Your apartment should be rented for 17 or 18 yuan. The annual rent is nearly 3 million yuan!"
After hearing He Jiawen's estimate, Xia Yu fell into deep thought.
Three million is three times his previous rental budget.
If he didn't open a restaurant and rented this place out, he could collect three million in rent a year. He would have to sign in for sixty consecutive days to come up with that much money.
So is there any need for him to open a restaurant again?
The moment this question came to Xia Yu's mind, he had the answer - of course it is necessary.
He opened the restaurant hoping to make a profit, but the purpose was not just to make money. The real purpose was to accumulate business experience and put the knowledge he learned into practice.
If he does nothing and just rents it out, then the street-facing house rewarded to him by the system will be meaningless.
Why didn't the system just reward Xia Yu with a house of equivalent value, but chose this place? There must be something special about it.
Xia Yu suspected that the system's rewards were sometimes random, and sometimes tended to meet his needs.
Now that the system has met Xia Yu's needs, he has quit. Isn't this a disappointment to the system?
Therefore, it is reasonable for Xia Yu to continue doing it and do it well.
"Let's go in and take a look."
After finding the key to the front door from a bunch of keys, Xia Yu invited He Jiawen to go in together.
The white-framed glass door opened and the two stepped inside.
Judging from the layout and decoration inside, this should have been a Western restaurant before, but it closed down for some unknown reason until the villa changed hands and the owner became Xia Yu.
"I've never been to this restaurant, but in a location like this, the food must have been terrible and that's why it went out of business!"
He Jiawen found a napkin with the restaurant logo printed on it and complained.
Many people attribute the closure of restaurants to rent, but bad food and mediocrity are the biggest enemies of restaurants.
If the taste is not outstanding, it will be difficult to attract repeat customers. If the turnover does not increase, it will be difficult to make a profit. Even without waiting for the rent to expire, other costs will drag down the restaurant.
In addition, He Jiawen's complaints were also meant to cheer Xia Yu up.
If the previous store of the same business goes bankrupt, it does not mean that the new store will have the same fate, not to mention that the new store is also the landlord.
"Maybe, let's go to the kitchen and take a look."
The soul of a restaurant lies in the kitchen. If the food is not delicious, no matter how good the decoration and service are, they are all empty. The processing and cooking of ingredients are all done in the kitchen.
"Business isn't going well, but they're selling things pretty quickly."
Looking at the empty kitchen, He Jiawen complained again.
Not to mention the freezer and oven, even the kitchen stove was moved away and sold, so there was no fun of finding a treasure at all. However, it seems that the previous store must have suffered a complete loss.
"It's okay, we can just buy new ones for these things. What's important now is to contact the design company to draw up the drawings, and then find a construction team to do the renovations."
"Which company are you looking for?"
"Old He, do you have any good recommendations?"
"Hey, you forgot, my family is in this business."
He Jiawen said proudly.
Their company mainly deals in building materials, but the group also has design companies and decoration companies, which can provide one-stop services including design, labor and materials.
"Look at my memory. If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten it. Lao Xu told me about it before."
Xia Yu just remembered this, but it also proved that his decision to make more connections was correct, and now it’s coming in handy!
"What do you think, Lao He? This is my first time starting a business, so why don't you support me?"
"Of course you have to support me. I'll charge you the cost price and make sure it's beautifully decorated for you."
In front of Xia Yu, He Jiawen finally showed his generosity. He still had the final say on matters in the company, and he made all the arrangements for Xia Yu with just one phone call.
The top interior designer of the subsidiary design company has already dropped his work and rushed here. The construction team is not in a hurry for the time being. Once the drawings are out, the foreman will directly dispatch the most experienced workers, and of course the best materials will be used.
The advantage of the rich in their connections is fully demonstrated at this moment. Not only can things be done quickly and beautifully, but it also saves time and effort.
Xia Yu wants to do this himself. He can use money to pave the way, but the selection and communication of partners, the negotiation and haggling over prices... can make you completely lose your temper.
"Lao He, did you also decorate the shops of those friends of yours who failed in their business ventures?"
As if remembering something, Xia Yu said something in a jinxed way.
"Ahem, you're different from them. Old Xia, I'm more optimistic about you!"
He Jiawen coughed twice to cover up his embarrassment.
He was the one who really decorated their store, but it went bankrupt in the end because they didn't take it seriously. It had nothing to do with him, Lao He. After all, he could help them decorate, but he couldn't help them do business.
"I think so too, but some things can only be known by doing them."
Xia Yu said shamelessly that if you want to open a shop and be the boss, you naturally have to be thick-skinned.
Half an hour later, the designer and several assistants finally arrived, carrying large and small bags of tools, and they looked very professional.
"Lao Liang, this is my friend Xia Yu. You have to pay more attention to his shop."
"Don't worry, Mr. He, I will do my best."
Xia Yu didn't react much to these polite words, but when he saw Lao Lin's slightly bald hair, he was filled with respect.
This level is definitely a great god!
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