Chapter 228: Shocked by the Poisonous Plan
Chapter 228: Shocked by the Poisonous Plan
Xiao Xia walked into the store, and a clerk came up to him and said, "Our store specializes in all kinds of high-quality linen and silk, including gauze, silk, gauze, yarn, and satin. The prices are cheap, and if you buy in large quantities, you can get a discount!"
Xiao Xia pointed at the paper on the door and asked, "Is the store still for sale?"
The clerk suddenly realized and turned around and shouted, "Boss, someone is here to see the store!"
A middle-aged man walked out from the inner room, smiling and saying, "Sir, please sit inside!"
Xiao Xia followed him to the inner room and sat down. After looking around, Xiao Xia asked, "Can I take a look around?"
"Don't be anxious, sir. Let's have a brief chat. If you are really interested, you can look around."
Xiao Xia asked with a smile: "What's your name, shopkeeper?"
"My name is Tian, and I am the shopkeeper of this store. The owner is named Wang, and he is from Luoyang. He is not in Chang'an, so he entrusted me to transfer the business on his behalf."
Xiao Xia nodded, "I think the business is pretty good, why do you want to transfer it?"
"It's just inconvenient. The owner is old and has no sons, only a daughter. It's very tiring for him to go to Chang'an now, so he wants to transfer the shop so that he can have some money for his retirement."
"What's the asking price?"
The shopkeeper raised six fingers and said, "Six thousand strings of cash, including all the inventory in the store. Sir, this price is really good. The inventory in the store alone is worth four thousand strings of cash, so it's actually only two thousand strings of cash for transfer, and it also comes with one year's rent. If I could afford this, I would have bought it myself."
Xiao Xia was stunned for a moment before realizing that the shop was not included and that it was also rented.
"How much is the rent for the shop?"
"The rent for all shops is the same. They are all shops owned by the imperial court. It's fifty strings of cash a month."
"How much was the net profit that year?" Xiao Xia asked again.
"uncertain!"
"Then tell me what the worst time is!"
The shopkeeper thought for a moment and said, "In the worst year, we made more than 400 guan. After that, it became very stable. We can make it back in two years."
“Can this shop only be a cloth shop?”
"Of course you can do other things, but you can't sell things. This is a cloth shop, so you can only sell cloth, or turn it into a teahouse or a restaurant, or even a business."
Xiao Xia was of course considering changing it to a trading company. His aunt Yang Lihua gave him 40% of the property, and the list had already been given to him. It was currently being temporarily managed by the Da Zhou Trading Company. His aunt meant that it would be best for him to become independent and completely separate from the Da Zhou Trading Company, so as to avoid making the Li family uncomfortable and causing them to become entangled in the future.
When he came back this time, Xiao Xia would consider setting up his own business, but first he had to find a manager whom he could trust.
If we can take over this cloth shop, it would be nice to use it as a business.
Xiao Xia asked again: "Are there many people coming to talk?"
"Yes! There have been a lot of people coming these past two days. They are basically the owners of the surrounding shops. However, the owners have to pay the full amount in one lump sum and cannot pay in installments, so everyone is quite regretful."
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Let me think about it!"
Xiao Xia stood up and walked out of the shop. He felt that the shopkeeper did not tell him the real reason. The cloth business was a big business, and he couldn't even come up with 6,000 strings of cash?
Of course, the shopkeeper was rather cautious. How could he dare to speak carelessly since he had never met the man before and didn’t even know his last name? Moreover, he was quite young and the shopkeeper might not trust him that much.
Xiao Xia came to Baocheng Store and found the storekeeper Ma. The storekeeper Ma came out and said with a smile, "Sir, I haven't seen you for more than a year. You have grown a lot taller!"
"How is business, Shopkeeper Ma?"
Shopkeeper Ma said with a smile: "It's a small shop, so I can't say that business is good. I may have to leave Chang'an in a while."
"Where are you going, boss?" "Back to Jiangdu! I've been working here for over twenty years, and now that I'm old, I want to go back to my roots."
"The shopkeeper seems to be only in his forties!"
Shopkeeper Ma smiled bitterly and said, "Our shop has changed owners. The old owner has retired and his son has taken over. Some important shops have to change owners, and Chang'an is the first to be affected. When the new owner comes, I will hand over and go home."
What you think will come true. Xiao Xia saved himself the trouble of talking so he said with a smile, "Shopkeeper Ma is so capable, it would be a shame for him to retire! Why don't I introduce a new position for him, which is also the chief steward."
"Sir, you are joking, right?" Shopkeeper Ma asked cautiously.
Xiao Xia shook his head, "Do you know the Great Zhou Trading Company?"
Shopkeeper Ma nodded repeatedly, "Of course I know, it's one of the three largest trading companies in the Sui Dynasty, with hundreds of stores, and it's said to be the eldest princess's business."
"Who are the other two major trading companies?" Xiao Xia asked curiously.
"The Dugu family's Changxin Trading Company, the Yuan family's Wei Trading Company."
Xiao Xia nodded and said, "I won't hide it from Shopkeeper Ma. The princess is my aunt. She gave me 40% of the shares of the Great Zhou Trading Company, which is about 150 stores. I plan to set up a new trading company."
Shopkeeper Ma immediately clasped his fists and said, "So you are from the royal family. I am so disrespectful! I am so disrespectful!"
Xiao Xia waved his hands and said with a smile: "Don't worry about it. I want to invite you to be the manager of my new business. Are you willing?"
Shopkeeper Ma was startled and shook his head quickly, "I'm just a small manager. The threshold of Da Zhou Trading Company is too high. It's not something a small person like me can do!"
Xiao Xia said calmly, "You are representing me. Your status is determined by my identity. When you go to the Great Zhou Trading Company for the handover, the other party will not look at who you are, Shopkeeper Ma. Instead, they will look at who you represent."
Shopkeeper Ma was really excited. As he was managing a large business with 160 stores, this was truly an opportunity to change his destiny!
He bowed again and said, "Thank you for your trust in me, it is my honor to work for you, but I have to wait at least a few days before I can leave. I will wait for the new manager to arrive and take over. He is still on the way, but he will be in Chang'an soon. He should arrive in Chang'an in the next two days."
"No problem, Shopkeeper Ma, please buy me a shop first! There is a shop that I am interested in."
"Sir, please tell me!"
"You know my mansion. Behind my mansion is a cloth shop called Runan Cloth Shop. It is being transferred. Does the shopkeeper know about this?"
Shopkeeper Ma smiled and nodded, "There is nothing I don't know about the city. I know this shop. Their owner is in big trouble."
"What's the big trouble?"
"A business firm took a fancy to his shop and went to the municipal office to ask for the termination of the lease. Once the lease was terminated, the rent could not be refunded and the owner could only take the goods and leave. So the owner was anxious and wanted to transfer the shop. Originally, many people asked, but someone asked the municipal office and found out the truth. Once the news spread, who would dare to take his shop?"
Xiao Xia suddenly realized, "So that's what happened. Their shopkeeper told me that the owner is in Luoyang, he's old, and can't run anymore, so he wants to sell the business and offers 6,000 strings of cash."
Shopkeeper Ma sneered and said, "He is telling the truth. The owner has indeed lived in Luoyang for a long time and is old, but this is not the reason for transferring the store. The store can earn at least one thousand strings of cash a year, and a normal transfer will never be less than twenty thousand strings of cash. Transferring it for six thousand strings of cash sounds like a big bargain, but it is actually a big pit. You can't get out even if you fall into it."
Xiao Xia thought for a moment and asked, "That business must have some background! The municipal government actually listened to them and terminated the lease?"
Shopkeeper Ma nodded, "There must be a background. There are rumors that it is Shangqing Commercial Bank."
"Who owns Shangqing Commercial Bank?"
Shopkeeper Ma sighed and said, "Shangqing Commercial Bank is the property of the Yun family."
“The Yun family!”
Xiao Xia's eyes narrowed into slits instantly. Isn't it because the Yun family lived next door that they wanted to take over the cloth shop?
(End of this chapter)