After my divorce, I started to have good luck
Chapter 125 - 100 Open a Store_2

Chapter 125: Chapter 100 Open a Store_2

Chen Feng thought and acted swiftly, immediately finding a storefront near East Lake Villa and buying it with full payment.

The store happened to be located in the residential community where Wu Mengting and Lin Wan lived, right on the street front.

Chen Feng was also very lucky; under normal circumstances, such a well-located store would not be for sale as everyone knows that store prices are firmer and tend to appreciate more than housing prices.

Looking at the past decade or so, housing prices might see small decreases, but store prices have mostly been on the rise.

Unless absolutely necessary, those who own a store would be reluctant to sell.

And the original owner of the store faced just such a necessity—their only child had gotten into trouble in Flag Country and was involved in legal proceedings, needing a substantial sum of money for a lawyer. They had no choice but to raise funds.

Legal fees are expensive both domestically and abroad, but they are particularly exorbitant in Flag Country, hence they were forced to sell the store.

Moreover, due to the urgent need for cash, the price was very reasonable, and Chen Feng did not bargain excessively.

In the end, after a bit of negotiation and considering the full cash payment Chen Feng offered, which denoted strength and sincerity, the final sale price was agreed upon at 5 million, a round figure.

The store’s area was sixty square meters, totaling roughly 70,000 per square meter. For this location, it was not particularly cheap but not expensive either—middling pricing.

In fact, it might have been possible to negotiate the price down further, especially since the sellers requested a one-time, full-cash purchase and were in a rush to gather funds to send abroad for their son’s legal case, which means they were highly likely to agree in the end.

But Chen Feng was also in a hurry and was not short on money. More importantly, he was a good person and not the type to exploit others’ misfortunes, so he did not resort to such tactics.

The store was originally leased out as a fishing gear store, which wasn’t doing particularly well, and had already posted a sublease sign.

Thus, as soon as the deal with Chen Feng was struck, the previous landlord refunded the remaining lease money to the owner of the fishing gear shop, and Chen Feng generously gave them 5,000 yuan as a transfer fee.

The fishing gear store’s decoration was very simple, requiring little in transfer fees. Coupled with the returned half-year lease money, the other party did not make any fuss.

In just one day, they had efficiently packed up and moved out.

Chen Feng did not undertake a complete renovation; the layout of the fishing gear shop was perfectly suitable for an art store—only a new storefront sign and advertisement board were needed.

Above the store, the sign read, "High-price Acquisition of Art and Calligraphy."

The advertisement board at the entrance stated, "High-price Purchase of Art and Calligraphy Works, Specializing in Modern Calligraphers, Favorable Pricing upon Appraisal."

Chen Feng’s newly purchased mobile number was displayed below both signs.

The fonts for both the sign and the advertisement were made large and eye-catching.

Moreover, Chen Feng, of course, dealt with the necessary formalities at the relevant departments. With the help of Mr. Qin, who happened to be in his jurisdiction, and giving a heads-up, the paperwork proceeded conveniently under legitimate and compliant circumstances.

By the time Chen Feng started his business, all permits and business licenses had been obtained.

On the opening day, Chen Feng hadn’t informed anyone, not even Mr. Qin, nor had there been any opening ceremony or firecrackers.

However, when Mr. Qin found out, he took the time after work to bring a flower basket in his uniform driving a police car and stood at the entrance chatting with him for over ten minutes. Many people around, including other shop owners, witnessed this.

Naturally, Chen Feng could only accept his kind gesture.

Yet, on the first day of business, not a single customer came to the store.

Although Chen Feng was prepared for this, he was still inevitably disappointed.

Nevertheless, he had already commissioned an online "water army" to post ads and spread the word on several local forums in Xiu Zhou; Chen Feng paid for a month’s service, which was quite cost-effective.

Additionally, Chen Feng had informed Director Huang from the provincial art museum about his shop opening and asked for help with promotion. He also obtained contact information for Calligraphy and Art Associations across various counties and districts from him.

Chen Feng sat in the store emailing and calling these associations, informing them he was willing to purchase their members’ works at high prices with generous offers for qualified appraisals.

Additionally, he promised that if someone came recommended by the association and the final transaction was successful, Chen Feng’s side would also make an additional donation of ten thousand to their association.

With every successful transaction, their association would receive a donation of ten thousand.

The price was not low, especially considering they only needed to notify their association members and have those interested in selling their works to mention the association’s name—hardly a hassle.

One transaction meant a reward of ten thousand, which was quite a good payment.

So, the next day, someone finally came, and they had traveled hundreds of kilometers, a man in his sixties, a member of a county Calligraphy Association.

Unfortunately, Chen Feng wasn’t impressed by any of the three works the man brought. But since he was the first to visit, and Chen Feng wanted to make a statement akin to "buying the horse’s bones for a thousand pieces of gold,"

Chen Feng eventually spent one hundred thousand to purchase one of his calligraphy works.

Furthermore, Chen Feng immediately contacted the man’s county Calligraphy Association to express his intention to donate ten thousand to them and asked them to send someone to discuss the matter.

After all, ten thousand isn’t a small sum for a county association, especially when it’s practically free money.

It didn’t take long for three members of that county’s Calligraphy Association to drive over, along with the man who sold a piece to Chen Feng for one hundred thousand.

Chen Feng promptly transferred ten thousand to the account they provided, took a commemorative photo with them, and they were, of course, very happy to receive the donation, promising to promote Chen Feng’s business vigorously.

That was exactly the outcome Chen Feng wanted.

It was a good start indeed.

As expected, in the following days, more and more people came with their works. On the fifth day of business, Chen Feng finally found a piece he wanted, a seemingly ordinary Peony Painting, a Chinese painting.

The artist was in his thirties, not formally trained but someone who painted as a hobby. He had only studied under a local veteran Chinese painter for a few years and had joined their county Art Association not long ago. He didn’t have much of a reputation locally, let alone elsewhere.

But somehow this Peony Painting contained an intangible energy that attracted Chen Feng.

And Chen Feng had only spent fifty thousand to acquire it, which was extremely cheap.

As for the amateur artist, he was quite satisfied with the price and felt as if he had won a lottery.

After all, he had learned to paint out of interest, had a proper job, and never thought his paintings could bring in money.

This trip to Xiu Zhou to sell his paintings was due to a business trip for his main job, and he brought two of his works to try his luck, hearing through association members that Xiu Zhou was buying paintings at high prices. To his surprise, he sold one on a whim for fifty thousand, a pleasant surprise, big or small.

Especially since his main job only paid him a few thousand a month.

For Chen Feng, this was an even more unexpected delight. To have gotten a piece so cheaply and delivered to him directly was quite the stroke of luck.

Thus, Chen Feng expressed his interest in the artist’s other works and suggested that next time the artist could bring more pieces for him to see, promising to purchase anything he liked.

The amateur artist immediately agreed to bring his works from the past few years for Chen Feng to view.

True to his word, he didn’t even care about his main job, taking the fastest high-speed train back home, packed all his works into his Wuling Hongguang, and drove over a hundred kilometers to return to Chen Feng.

By this time, it was already past seven in the evening. Chen Feng had gone back to Red Villa Bay.

But hearing that the artist had come with his works, Chen Feng naturally rushed over immediately.

The artist brought quite a number of works, over a hundred, most of them not yet mounted.

However, Chen Feng didn’t mind this at all. He was still full of anticipation for this person’s works.

After examining each piece carefully, Chen Feng indeed discovered another one.

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