Before long, the young man said with a broad smile, "Sir, the door is open. Go in and have a look!"
Chen Ze nodded slightly and walked toward the shop.
The moment he stepped through the shop's doors, a cloud of dust rushed straight at his face.
"Cough, cough." Chen Ze coughed twice and waved away the dust before him.
The young man gave an awkward smile. "Sorry, this place hasn't been cleaned in far too long. It'll be fine after a good cleaning."
Chen Ze did not mind and looked around the inside of the shop.
The shop was not very large. The first thing visible upon entering was a counter directly opposite the main doors.
Behind the counter stood a short row of shelves, and beside them was a small door that presumably led to the rear courtyard.
Along the walls on both sides stood another row of shelves each. Those were the only things in the entire shop.
Chen Ze made a round of the shop and patted the shelves. "These shelves are fairly sturdy. They can still be used."
After saying that, Chen Ze walked behind the counter.
With a gentle push, the door behind the counter opened.
A breeze blew in from the rear courtyard, stirring up the dust that had only just settled throughout the shop once more.
Light streamed in through the doorway, making the whole shop seem much brighter and more open.
Chen Ze walked out of the shop and headed into the rear courtyard.
"Hmm, this place isn't bad."
The rear courtyard was not particularly large either, but sunlight could shine directly into it.
There were also two tiled-roof rooms in the courtyard. They were probably meant for living in and storing goods.
Chen Ze strolled around the courtyard, then opened the doors of both tiled-roof rooms to take a look.
Neither was very large. After all, the front courtyard was only so big—how large could the rear courtyard possibly be?
Seeing that Chen Ze had finished looking around, the young man hurried over and asked, "Sir, what do you think? Are you satisfied with this shop?"
Rather than answering directly, Chen Ze asked an inexplicable question. "Is this the only shop left?"
The young man was puzzled. Hadn't that already been made clear before they came?
Though puzzled, he immediately replied, "Sir, there really is only this one vacant shop in all of Wannan City."
Chen Ze considered it briefly. "Is this shop for rent or for sale?"
The young man's heart leaped with joy. There was hope. "That depends on you, sir. It can be rented or sold."
"Hmm?"
"If you rent it, it has to be rented by the year. One year costs 200 Low-grade Spirit Stones.
"If you buy it, it costs 3,500 Low-grade Spirit Stones.
"That is already the cheapest possible price. It was only reduced because this shop had gone unsold for too long.
"Before this, it would have cost at least 4,000.
"Moreover, any shop purchased through us will receive the protection of the City Lord's Mansion. You can simply run your shop and make money without worry."
The young man was not wrong. The previous owner had indeed bought this shop for 4,000 Spirit Stones, but he had closed it less than a year after opening.
Business at the shop had been far too quiet. If it continued, he would practically lose the pants off himself.
And when he wanted to sell the shop, no one was willing to take it over at all.
The original asking price had been 4,000 Spirit Stones, but after such a long stretch without even a whisper of interest, the former owner could only lower the price.
The current price of 3,500 Spirit Stones had already come after several reductions.
"If I buy this shop, can I begin operating immediately? I won't need to go to the City Lord's Mansion to handle any more procedures?"
"Yes. All the paperwork for this shop was completed long ago. Now, only the owner's name needs to be changed.
"Wannan City does not restrict what kind of business a shop may run. As long as you do not violate the rules and pay the shop management fee on time, that is enough."
Chen Ze asked doubtfully, "What is the shop management fee?"
"The shop management fee is collected by the City Lord's Mansion. Every shop in Wannan City must pay it, in order to ensure that shops can operate normally."
Chen Ze understood. Put plainly, this shop management fee was protection money paid to the City Lord's Mansion.
Chen Ze did not find that unreasonable. There would always be troublemakers when running a shop in Wannan City, and the City Lord's Mansion's Patrol Team could not protect these shops for nothing.
The Patrol Team established by the City Lord's Mansion also needed money for its daily expenses.
"Then how is this management fee collected?"
"It isn't much. You only need to pay 20 Spirit Stones every month. The City Lord's Mansion will periodically come to each shop to collect it."
"Hmm, that's fairly reasonable." The fee was not high, but it still came to more than 200 Spirit Stones a year—already more than the cost of renting this shop.
No wonder the former owner could not keep the business going. Business was poor, yet he still had to pay over 200 Spirit Stones every year.
"Then, sir, what do you think of this shop? Will you rent it, or..." the young man asked tactfully.
He was also afraid of scaring Chen Ze away at once. Selling this shop was simply too difficult.
"Buy it. The price is just a little too high." Chen Ze was no fool with money. There was definitely room to negotiate the price of this shop.
"Sir, this shop has been sitting vacant for so long anyway. It's just sitting here." The young man paused for a moment. "If you truly intend to buy it, I can lower the price a little more."
"How about 3,400 Spirit Stones? This is already the lowest price we can offer."
Chen Ze smiled faintly. "How about this? Lower it by another hundred Spirit Stones. One look tells you this place is not easy to do business in, and I've only just arrived. I merely want to give it a try.
"It just so happens that the 200 Spirit Stones saved can count as the management fee I'll pay while trying to run a shop here.
"Perhaps when the time comes, I won't be able to keep the business going, and I'll have to come to you to sell the shop."
Hearing Chen Ze say this, the young man felt completely reassured. It was only 200 Spirit Stones off in total.
But he was finally selling the shop, and there was still profit to be made at a price of 3,300 Spirit Stones.
Still, the young man put on a slightly troubled expression. "It's only because I can see that you sincerely want it, and we'll be on the same street in the future, seeing each other whenever we look up or lower our heads.
"Then we'll do as you say: 3,300 Low-grade Spirit Stones.
"Will you handle the paperwork now, or...?"
"Let's go now!"
"Alright! Then let's head back to the office now. The procedures will be quick." At that moment, the young man's face was filled with delight. He had finally sold it.
Before long, the young man locked the shop's front doors and led Chen Ze back.
At the Property Sales Office, Chen Ze paid 3,300 Spirit Stones, and the young man helped complete all the paperwork.
Holding the Property Deed and the shop keys given to him by the young man, Chen Ze left the Property Sales Office.
Outside the Property Sales Office, the young man bid Chen Ze farewell with great attentiveness.
Just after leaving the Property Sales Office,
Zhao Ling'er, who had remained silent all along, said, "Master, this shop was probably bought at too high a price. And that location is not very good either. Business will definitely be difficult in the future."
Chen Ze smiled. "Ling'er, you even know how to do business now?"
"Master, Ling'er is telling the truth. On the way here, I saw that those shops in good locations had many more people passing by their doors."
"Haha, it's fine. When doing business, the most important thing is that the goods are good. Just rest easy."
After Chen Ze said that, Zhao Ling'er could only obey helplessly. "Yes, Master."
"The shop has already been bought. Next, we need to find someone to renovate it and make a signboard as well.
"Ling'er, what do you think our shop should be called?"
"Master should decide the shop's name."
"Hmm, our shop will sell everything. How about calling it Myriad Things General Store?"
"Master, isn't that name a little too grand?"
Zhao Ling'er's Doppelganger could already tell that Chen Ze seemed never to have done business before. She had begun worrying about the shop's prospects.
"It's fine. A grand name attracts people. Our shop is already opened in such a remote spot. If we don't use some eye-catching method, then the business truly may not succeed."
Zhao Ling'er could see it now. Chen Ze possessed a strange, inexplicable confidence.
Chen Ze did not pay attention to Zhao Ling'er's unusual reaction. He walked back happily, for he truly had great confidence in this Myriad Things General Store.
Just then, as Chen Ze walked along, he seemed to notice something. He gave a soft cry of surprise. "Eh! He came to Wannan City so quickly."
Before you continue