Chapter 137 – Storefront (3)
That afternoon, Lao Hu came looking for her. Shu Yan smacked herself on her forehead. She had forgotten to let Lao Hu know that she had already found a place to stay.
“I am so sorry. I have been so busy the last few days that I had completely forgotten. The boss at the motel that I was staying at is very nice and is willing to let me rent his place for a few months. I have already moved to their place, so I am not looking for a rental anymore.”
“Oh, that’s fine. I was just going to tell you that I haven’t been able to find anything. It’s great that you were able to find a place on your own. I came today for something else. You know that Apple Men’s Wear across from you? They are closing down, and it seems the landlord intends to sell the place. Are you interested?” asked Lao Hu in a low voice.
“Yes, of course I am.” Shu Yan’s eyes beamed. That was certainly a pleasant surprise. “What are the terms and conditions?”
“The prices in the area are relatively high, so you should be prepared. The owner said 10,000 yuan per square meter, but I should be able to talk it down to 8,500 yuan for you. There’s no guarantee though.” Lao Hu did not make any promise.
The shop across the street was about the same as the one that Shu Yan was currently renting, roughing around 80 or so square meters. At 8,500 yuan per square meter, it would cost around 700,000 yuan. That was definitely a very high amount by today’s standard.
“Do they have all the documentation? Can it be transferred under my name? Most importantly, will I be able to get a loan for it?”
“Yes, they have all the documentation and it can be transferred to you. If you need a loan, I can help you with that.” Lao Hu has a pretty good idea that Shu Yan would be interested, so he had already found out all of the details ahead of time.
“Okay, let’s set up a time to meet with the owner.” This was such a great opportunity that Shu Yan didn’t want to miss out on it.
She didn’t plan on buying it straight out with cash like she did with the house. She couldn’t possibly send all the money that she has on purchasing a storefront. Plus, RMB had been depreciating; it’d make more sense to buy with a loan. In addition, a storefront could be rented out and the rent would cover the loan payment. Either way one looked at it, there was no downside.
While Lao Hu was taking care of matters on this front, Shu Yan was going to make a trip with Boss He to visit his friend that afternoon.
Boss He’s friend’s factory was located in the same area as his. It was fairly remotely located. The two of them walked for 10 or so minutes before they’d reached his factory. The factory was a bit old, but the machineries were relatively new. The workers were dressed cleanly. Overall, the place was quite orderly.
“Hi, my name is Shu Yan. How should I refer to you?” Shu Yan greeted the lanky man with a smile when he walked out.
“My surname is Zhang. You can just call me Lao Zhang.” Lao Zhang gave Shu Yan a tour of his factory and explained in detail any questions that she had.
“I trust that Boss He has told you that I am looking for a factory to help make some of my designs. I have the designs of two shirts to start. If they sell, I will have more. This is the design draft. Let me know if you think this is doable.” Shu Yan had hired someone in the clothing design field to help her with the drawing. She described it to him bit by bit as he drew. It took over half a day and cost 50 yuan. But Shu Yan felt that it was well worth the money.
She pulled out the design document. Boss He took a step aside and avoided looking at the document. This was a trade secret, after all.
Lao Zhang had been in this business for many years and was able to read the design document. They were of a classic and simple style that anyone can wear. They would work for anyone and were of the multipurpose kind.
Lao Zhang called over the best tailor that they have in the shop to make a couple of samples. After all, Shu Yan wanted to check out the quality of their work.
He looked at the design for a little bit and started cutting the material right away. His work was fast. It took only about half an hour from cutting to the finished product. The final product looked even better than it was on paper. Shu Yan nodded with satisfaction.
“So? What do you think? Are you happy with it?” Lao Zhang was very confident in the work on his tailor.
“Yup, no problem at all. Let’s make 100 of each first just to let me test the water first. If they sell, I will put in another order and possibly other designs in the future.”
Truth be told, 100 was a fairly low amount, but Lao Zhang hasn’t had an order in a long time. Anything was better than nothing. Having some work was better than having no work. He accepted the order without further ado.
