Shop Selection, Myriad Things General Store

Soon, the young man said with a beaming smile, "Sir, the door is open. Let's go in and take a look!"

Chen Ze nodded slightly and walked toward the shop.

As soon as he stepped through the threshold, a cloud of dust rushed toward his face.

"Cough, cough." Chen Ze coughed twice and waved away the dust before him.

The young man gave an awkward smile. "My apologies, it hasn't been cleaned in a long time. A bit of tidying up will do the trick."

Chen Ze didn't mind and looked around the interior of the shop.

The shop was not large; upon entering, one was met with a counter directly facing the door.

Behind the counter was a small row of shelves, and beside them stood a small door that likely led to the backyard.

Along the left and right walls were two more rows of shelves; these were the only things in the entire shop.

Chen Ze walked around the shop once and patted the shelves. "These shelves are sturdy enough; they can still be used."

After saying this, Chen Ze walked behind the counter.

With a gentle push, the door behind the counter swung open.

A breeze blew in from the backyard, causing the dust that had just settled in the shop to stir once more.

Light filtered in from outside, making the entire shop appear much more spacious.

Chen Ze stepped out of the shop and headed toward the backyard.

"Hmm, this place isn't bad."

The backyard was not large, but the sunlight could shine directly into the courtyard.

There were two tile-roofed rooms in the back, which were likely intended for living quarters and storage.

Chen Ze strolled around the yard and opened the doors to the two rooms to inspect them.

Neither was very large; after all, given the size of the front shop, the backyard couldn't possibly be expansive.

Seeing that Chen Ze had seen enough, the young man hurried over to ask, "Sir, how does it look? Are you satisfied with this shop?"

Chen Ze did not answer directly, instead asking a curious question, "Is this the only shop available?"

The young man felt puzzled; hadn't they already discussed this before arriving?

Though confused, he replied immediately, "Sir, this is truly the only vacant shop in all of Wannan City."

Chen Ze pondered for a moment. "Is this shop for rent or for sale?"

Upon hearing this, the young man was overjoyed—there was a chance! "That depends on you, sir. It can be rented or purchased."

"Oh?"

"If you rent it, it must be on a yearly basis, at 200 Low-grade Spirit Stones per year. If you buy it, it requires 3,500 Low-grade Spirit Stones. This price is already the lowest possible; it was only lowered because this shop has been on the market for so long. In the past, it was at least 4,000. Furthermore, any shop purchased through us receives the protection of the City Lord's Mansion, so you can just focus on running your business and making money."

The young man was not lying; the previous owner had indeed bought the shop for 4,000 Spirit Stones, but it had closed down less than a year later.

The business was too sluggish, and if he had continued, he would have lost his shirt.

Moreover, when he wanted to sell the shop, there was absolutely no one willing to take it off his hands.

The original asking price was 4,000 Spirit Stones, but after such a long time without a single inquiry, the original owner had no choice but to lower the price.

The current 3,500 Spirit Stones was the result of several consecutive price cuts.

"If I buy this shop, can I start business immediately? Do I not need to go to the City Lord's Mansion to handle the paperwork?"

"Yes, the paperwork for this shop has already been completed; now, you only need to change the name of the owner. Wannan City does not restrict the type of business conducted in a shop, as long as you don't violate any regulations, and you just need to pay the Shop Management Fee on time."

Chen Ze asked in confusion, "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 to ensure the shop can operate normally."

Chen Ze understood immediately; to put it bluntly, this Shop Management Fee was protection money paid to the City Lord's Mansion.

Chen Ze felt this was reasonable enough. In a place like Wannan City, there would always be troublemakers, and the City Lord's Mansion's Patrol Team couldn't protect these shops for free.

The Patrol Team established by the City Lord's Mansion also required funds for their daily expenses.

"And how is this management fee collected?"

"It's not much, just 20 Spirit Stones per month. The City Lord's Mansion will come to each shop to collect it periodically."

"Hmm, that seems reasonable." The management fee wasn't high, but at over 200 Spirit Stones a year, it was already more expensive than the cost of renting the shop itself.

It was no wonder the previous owner couldn't keep the business running; with poor sales and over 200 Spirit Stones in annual fees, it was a heavy burden.

"So, sir, what do you think of the shop? Would you like to rent it, or...?" the young man asked tactfully.

He was also afraid of scaring off a client like Chen Ze all at once; selling this shop was far too difficult.

"I'll buy it, though the price is a bit steep." Chen Ze was no fool; the price of this shop was definitely still up for negotiation.

"Sir, you see, this shop has been sitting idle for such a long time; it's just gathering dust." The young man paused for a moment. "If you are truly sincere about buying, I can lower the price a little more for you."

"How about 3,400 Spirit Stones? This is already the lowest price we can offer."

Chen Ze smiled faintly. "How about this: knock another hundred Spirit Stones off. This location clearly isn't great for business, and since I'm new in town, I'm just looking to test the waters."

"Just take off 200 Spirit Stones; consider it a management fee for me trying to open a shop here."

"Who knows, if the business doesn't work out, I might even come back to you to sell the place."

Hearing Chen Ze put it this way, the young man felt a sense of relief; it was only a reduction of 200 Spirit Stones in total.

But he had finally managed to sell the shop, and at 3,300 Spirit Stones, there was still a profit to be made.

Still, the young man put on a slightly troubled expression. "I'm only doing this because I can see you're sincere, and since we'll be on the same street from now on, we're bound to run into each other."

"Fine, we'll go with your price: 3,300 Low-grade Spirit Stones."

"Are you going to handle the paperwork now, or?"

"Let's do it now!"

"Right away! Let's head back to the shop; the paperwork won't take long." At this moment, the young man's face was full of joy—it was finally sold.

Soon, the young man locked the shop door and led Chen Ze back.

At the Property Sales Office, Chen Ze handed over the 3,300 Spirit Stones, and the young man helped him complete all the necessary procedures.

Holding the Property Deed and the shop keys provided by the young man, Chen Ze left the Property Sales Office.

At the entrance of the Property Sales Office, the young man bid Chen Ze farewell with an eager, fawning expression.

Shortly after leaving the Property Sales Office.

Zhao Ling'er, who had been silent until now, spoke up: "Master, I think we overpaid for this shop. Besides, the location isn't very good; business will surely be difficult to conduct in the future."

Chen Ze smiled. "Ling'er, you've even learned how to do business now?"

"Master, I'm being serious. I saw the other shops along the way here; they have much better locations and far more foot traffic in front of their doors."

"Haha, it's fine. In business, the most important thing is the quality of your goods. Just set your mind at ease."

Hearing Chen Ze say this, Zhao Ling'er could only helplessly comply. "Yes, Master."

"The shop is bought. Next, we need to find someone to renovate it and, while we're at it, make a sign. Ling'er, what do you think we should name our shop?"

"The name of the shop should be decided by you, Master."

"Hmm, we're selling a bit of everything in this shop, so how about we call it the Myriad Things General Store?"

"Master, isn't that name a bit... grand?"

The doppelganger Zhao Ling'er could already tell that Chen Ze didn't seem to have any experience in business, and she had already begun to worry about the shop's prospects.

"It's fine, a grand name is what attracts people. Our shop is already tucked away in such an out-of-the-way spot; if we don't have some way to draw people in, I'm afraid the business really won't survive."

Zhao Ling'er could see it now: Chen Ze possessed a strange, inexplicable confidence.

Chen Ze didn't pay any mind to Zhao Ling'er's odd behavior and walked back happily; he truly had a great deal of confidence in this Myriad Things General Store.

Just then, as he was walking, Chen Ze seemed to notice something and let out a soft sound of surprise. "Huh! He arrived in Wannan City so quickly?"