After my divorce, I started to have good luck
Chapter 262 - 163 Early Opening, Early Earning_2

Chapter 262: Chapter 163 Early Opening, Early Earning_2

Zhao Guozhong had been feeling gloomy and angry, but upon hearing Chen Feng’s words, he suddenly felt warmed.

But before he could bask in the sentiment, Chen Feng continued, "If worst comes to worst, we can sell your uncle’s old house, it’s got a deed, right? Selling it for a couple hundred thousand shouldn’t be a problem. Add that to the dividends, and we should be able to buy a new place within a year."

Zhao Guozhong’s face immediately fell again, and he said sternly, "The old house is our family’s root, our parents built it with hard work, how could we sell it?"

Chen Feng argued, "Out with the old, in with the new. The old house is already like that, you don’t even want to live there anymore. Isn’t it good to sell it and buy a new house?"

Zhao Xiaolan added, "Yeah, the house is a bit old. Selling it to buy a new house isn’t bad. The parents are no longer around, what’s the use in keeping the old house?"

Zhao Guozhong could only say, "Let’s see about that later. I don’t even have a partner yet. We can talk about it when I find someone."

"That makes sense, let’s wait until you find a partner. I’ll help look around these next few days, see if there’s anyone suitable. I’ll give big sister a call, tell her about your situation."

Zhao Xiaolan said this happily as she took out her cellphone and stepped outside to call her big sister, Zhao Xiaohong.

Zhao Guozhong, on the other hand, fell silent in his gloom.

Everything was going well, he wouldn’t have to spend a dime, making a clean profit, taking tens of thousands in dividends for fun each year, right?

But now it had turned into false happiness. Even though there were dividends, they were going to be withheld, managed by his two sisters.

Even if he found a partner in the future, he didn’t know if he could still claim the right to those dividends.

After all, the initial money for the partnership wasn’t coming from him, but from his two sisters.

Thinking of this, Zhao Guozhong’s eyes shifted, and he quickly said to Chen Feng, "Ah Feng, when can we sign the contract for our partnership in starting the shop?"

Without a contract, he definitely felt uneasy.

Chen Feng smiled and said, "Let’s talk about it when you’ve gathered ten thousand yuan. Right now, you need to help us choose a location for the shop, investigate in detail the car beauty and car wash market in Yuelou Town. You’re more familiar with the place than we are, and you know more people, so you should be able to do it better than us, right?"

Hearing this, Zhao Guozhong seemed somewhat invigorated, nodded, and said, "Of course. Don’t worry, tomorrow I’ll go to Yuelou Town and do a thorough investigation, then I’ll contact my friends and find a suitable shop front."

Chen Feng was fairly satisfied with his attitude and nodded, "The shop front should be close to the main road, the space should be somewhat open, convenient for parking. It’s fine if there are no other shops around, but water access should be easy, and sewage disposal convenient."

"I understand. Our main business is running a car wash, so the location of the shop definitely needs to be on a main road with high traffic. Water access and drainage are crucial for a car wash. I can take responsibility for the negotiations, and I’m very familiar with whatever procedures need to be conducted in town. I have quite a few connections."

Zhao Guozhong wasn’t boasting with this statement; he had mixed around in his hometown for decades, and since his teens, he’d roamed the streets, knowing a few people from all walks of life.

"Well then, I’ll leave it in your hands," said Chen Feng with a smile.

"There’s no need to be so formal, I’m also doing it for myself," responded Zhao Guozhong with a smile, but then he promptly put on an ingratiating face and said, "However, the travel costs and expenses for dealing with people will need to be reimbursed."

Chen Feng waved his hand and said, "I can reimburse you a thousand for travel expenses, but I can’t cover the costs for wining and dining. For opening this kind of shop, just follow the normal procedures. Society is different now, not like before, with all the under-the-table dealings."

Zhao Guozhong had hoped to snatch a little extra for himself; looks like there’d be no chance now.

"Let’s leave it at that for now, and as for the specifics of opening the shop, you can discuss with my brother."

Having said this, Chen Feng turned and went back to his room.

Leaving Zhao Guozhong and Chen Rui looking at each other for a while, until Zhao Guozhong laughed and said, "Ah Rui, how come you didn’t say a word just now? You’re the older brother between you two; you should be the one calling the shots."

Chen Rui said with annoyance, "I’m planning to buy a house this year. Where would I have extra money to open a second store?"

"Ah, that’s possible. You’re going to buy a house? It seems you made quite a bit last year."

Zhao Guozhong’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Chen Rui. Clearly, his focus wasn’t on partnering to open another store, but on Chen Rui buying a house. It looked like the car wash business was indeed very profitable.

Chen Rui rolled his eyes and laid it out straight, "I don’t want to partner with you guys to open a second store. I’m barely managing one as it is. Where would I find the energy to deal with a second?"

Zhao Guozhong laughed it off and said, "The second one definitely wouldn’t cause you trouble. Since Ah Feng is the one making the decision, he will arrange everything. I do trust him in this regard. The kid has always been clever since he was little, and he’s a university graduate; he’ll surely have his plans. You just need to invest money like I will."

Chen Rui said with a pained expression, "The main thing is that I really don’t have extra money right now..."

Zhao Guozhong waved his hand and said, "Alright. You can just invest a hundred thousand; let Ah Feng put up the rest. He won’t let you lose out. If you refuse again, it’s no fun. Besides, don’t you want another store to make more money?"

Chen Rui frowned and said nothing. The reason he didn’t want to invest money in a second store wasn’t just because of the house purchase; more importantly, he felt his uncle was unreliable. Although he had just agreed not to get involved in the store’s affairs, who knew if he would actually be able to keep his word? So, he was quite hesitant.

But if he didn’t agree to the partnership, Chen Feng would have to handle it alone, making it look like he, as an older brother, lacked loyalty. Moreover, his mother would be difficult to explain things to. Then there was what his uncle said: Like the first store, the second one was quite likely to make money, which he found hard to let go of.

After thinking for a while, he could only say, "I need to discuss it with my wife first."

"Then go and discuss it with her now. I’m going to look for a shop space tomorrow. The sooner we settle this, the better, so we can open the store sooner; every day is money. The earlier we open, the sooner we make money."

Finished talking, Zhao Guozhong patted his shoulder, leaving him speechless and heading to the back kitchen to find his wife.

During dinner, Zhao Xiaolan announced that the whole family was going to visit Chen Feng’s aunt’s house tomorrow.

Chen Feng’s family had lost their grandfather when he was a teenager. His grandmother was still alive but had moved to live with the aunt in the neighboring city over a decade ago.

As for why she didn’t stay in their hometown with her son, that involved some hidden reasons.

Chen Feng’s father, Chen Dayong, wasn’t the biological son of his current grandmother. His own grandmother had passed away long before, and the current one is his step-grandmother. After his biological grandmother’s death, his grandfather remarried, and the new wife gave birth to his aunt.

At that time, Chen Dayong was in his early teens and was quite sensible. His stepmother wasn’t particularly kind to him, but she wasn’t awful either. In any case, their relationship was quite ordinary.

So much so that, not long after the grandfather passed away, Chen Feng’s grandmother moved in with her daughter to help with childcare and household chores. More than a decade had flashed by.

Because of the relationship with his step-grandmother, Chen Feng’s family still kept in contact with the aunt’s family, although the distance meant they didn’t see each other very often.

But regardless, it was still customary for Chen Feng’s family to make the long trip there for New Year’s visits, usually as a full family outing.

In the past, without a car, it took several transfers to visit for the New Year.

But now, with two cars in the family, the journey had become much easier.

The fact that Zhao Xiaolan wanted the whole family to go, each son driving a car, was partly to show off.

Previously, their family wasn’t wealthy, whereas the aunt’s family was quite rich; her husband owned a factory, making over a million a year. Whenever they visited for New Year’s, they felt somewhat inferior, and even sensed an undercurrent of being looked down on or even scorned.

This time, with both brothers driving cars worth over two hundred thousand each, they had something to be proud of.

Now that both sons were successful, the visit would allow the couple to hold their heads high with pride.