Halfway there, Feng Zhenchang stopped.
He was long past the age of impulse, but just the other day, he had been stifled in front of those officials, and the thought that he could solve this problem without having to beg them made him happy for a moment.
But when he came to his senses, he felt a little anxious. Doing business is not about being stubborn. Besides, it's never a good idea to be too anxious, no matter what you're doing. For example, now, if the landlord sees that you're in such a hurry, how will he let you bargain the price down?
He knows his own business. Although he has bought a house and settled down in the provincial capital, and his monthly income is also several tens of thousands of yuan, whenever he speaks, people around him will show some contemptuous expressions.
When he returned to the residential area, he had heard those gossiping old ladies say behind his back more than once, 'The smell of the countryside hasn't gone away yet...!'
For the shops they rented before, the first one with the best conditions was rented with Lao Cai's help. For the next few, he and Mei Yiliang negotiated on their own. As soon as they heard their accents, it was extremely difficult to ask the landlord to make any concessions.
Today, with their plan in mind, it's strange if those two landlords don't take the opportunity to make things difficult! Maybe, knowing their thoughts, they will simply reject them and cooperate with each other to rent out the shop at a high price.
Mei Yiliang stood under the pergola in front of the shop, eating an ice cream. Seeing this, he asked, 'What's wrong?'
Feng Zhenchang walked over to the small shop and once again asked the old man, 'Apart from this second floor, is there no other place nearby that is this big?'
Seeing that he had brought someone with him again today and it looked like he really wanted to rent the shop, the old man thought to himself that you really can't judge a book by its cover. 'I've lived in this area for decades, and there doesn't seem to be any big shops around here.'
'Oh, that's no good. We'll have to look elsewhere. Thanks!'
Mei Yiliang started the motorcycle a little puzzled. 'What's wrong, brother-in-law? Not renting it?'
'Take me back first, we can talk about it at home tonight.'
That night, as soon as he entered the door, Mei Yiliang asked Feng Zhenchang, 'Brother-in-law, what exactly are you thinking, not renting it?'
'Don't worry, come, have a cup of tea first.' Feng Zhenchang handed him a cup of tea.
Mei Yiliang finished drinking it, 'Okay, now you can talk!'
'This is what I think: if you want to drill a hole in the roof, you have to discuss it with the two landlords, right?'
'Of course. If you don't talk to them, who's going to drill a hole in the roof?'
'That's why I'm worried. After hearing our idea, those two will definitely cause us a lot of trouble. They might just do it themselves, and no matter what the result is, they'll take the opportunity to raise the rent.'
Mei Yiliang also frowned when he heard this. Feng Zhenchang's worries were justified. The people of the province are smart, and after hearing their plans, they will definitely raise the rent, even if they continue to rent.
It's not easy to do anything. 'So, what are you going to do?'
'So, I think I might as well find a way to buy it. Although the investment is a bit more, it will be much less trouble, and it will be cost-effective.'
After buying two properties, he also became concerned about housing prices. Sure enough, as his son had said, they were rising every year. Last year, the average price in the city was less than 900 yuan; this year, it is already close to 1,000 yuan, an increase of more than 10%. If he can buy it, the house will appreciate in value, and the storefront will also make money, which is great.
He has it all planned out. In the future, the ground floor will be used as a passageway, but there will still be room for a few counters where he can sell the delicacies from his hometown. At the very least, there will be room for a stand selling fried chestnuts with sugar. And the business should be good because it is next to the bus station.
Feng Zhenchang has never forgotten the fried chestnuts that started him out.
And, since he owns the property, he can do whatever he wants with the renovations as long as he doesn't change the structure, and there will be less trouble.
As for why he is confident about buying it, it is because the conditions of the two properties, when viewed separately, are average, otherwise they would not have been left vacant until now.
'The rent for the plot next to the station will definitely be higher than the price of renting these shops now. After calculating, it is estimated that the cost can be recovered in less than ten years' rent. It is a cost-effective deal no matter how you calculate it.'
'But even if they are willing to sell, it will cost at least another 400,000 yuan, so where will all that money come from?'
'There's still nearly half a year until the station is operational. We should be able to have more than 200,000 yuan by then, and if we take out a loan for the building by the river, it should add up to about the same,' Mei Qiuping said. "By the way, have you decided where to buy a house?'
'Cai Hong and I have looked at a few places in the past few months, but we haven't found the right one yet. There's no rush, we still have almost a year to go.'
'It's better to buy early," Feng Zhenchang warned him as a fellow traveller, 'the earlier you buy, the more affordable it is!'
'Also, before you buy, let us know first, and if you don't have enough money, you can borrow from us,' Mei Qiuping said.
Although the profitability cannot be compared with Feng Zhenchang and his team, in fact, the progress of Mei Decoration Company is also going very well. Of course, at least for now, it seems that the momentum is very good.
The three decoration teams have been working around the clock, without even a moment to catch their breath. During the decoration process, although there were inevitably conflicts with the owners, they were very satisfied when the inspection was completed.
As Feng Yiping repeatedly emphasised, and Mei Yiliang told the renovation team three times a day, the first priority is to satisfy the owners, and the second is to make them feel that they are getting excellent value for money.
Only in this way will the Jiasheng brand gradually gain a reputation and ultimately become established.
Therefore, he has eliminated all the little tricks that could be used to manipulate the situation. One must never take a short-term advantage at the expense of a long-term loss.
This is quite rare, especially this year. The prices of many goods this year have been very chaotic, with some rising every month. The national retail price index rose by as much as 27.1%, and the consumer price index rose by 24.1%. So much so that the State Council issued several documents restricting price increases, and direct price controls were implemented for some goods.
Therefore, when contracting out work and materials, many decoration teams are making a profit, and it is normal for the difference to be as high as a few dozen percent. In order to avoid a disaster that would damage his reputation, Mei Yiliang took personal responsibility for the procurement, and no matter how much it cost, he just paid it. He was unmoved by his second brother's mutterings in his ear about the hardware and electrical wires, which were prone to shoddy substitutes.
Gold and silver cups are no match for the word of mouth of users. In the past two months, the hard work has paid off. Now, business referred by customers who have previously been renovated accounts for one-third of his business.
It should also be mentioned that the renovation team led by Zhang Zuodong is not only efficient, but also of high quality. This is mainly because most of the people in Zhang Zuodong's renovation team are his apprentices, and they know each other well and work together very well.
Yiping really has good taste! Mei Yiliang followed Zhang Zuodong to inspect the installed bathroom and was now checking the water-tightness. 'Has it been a day and a night already?' he asked Zhang Zuodong, looking at the water about two to three centimetres high on the brick surface.
'It's almost twenty-six hours now. I've been downstairs twice and just went again. There's no leakage. Do you want to go and have a look?' Zhang Zuodong said.
'No need,' Mei Yiliang went over on tiptoe, pulled up the plastic bag containing sand that was blocking the floor drain, and watched the water flow clean in a few minutes. He then bent down to inspect the grout, saying, "Well done!'
'If you do your best, you can achieve this result," Zhang Zuodong said.
'Master Zhang, you need to keep an eye on things these past two days. I may be busy and won't be able to come over.'
'What's wrong? Do you need help?'
'No, I advertised in the newspaper for a designer, and someone should be coming for an interview in the next couple of days. I'll be waiting there and won't be able to leave.'