Chapter 114: The Price of Being Disgusting...

Chapter 114: Chapter 114: The Price of Being Disgusting...

At 10:30 in the morning, just as everyone in the restaurant was having a meal, two people walked in from outside.

Their frames were as massive as two towers, and as they stood in the doorway, they blocked out most of the light, causing the restaurant to dim instantly.

"Second Grandfather, Uncle Dongliang, what brings you here?" Xu An quickly put down his chopsticks and came out to greet them.

He had just been trying a spicy and numbing braised dish that Zhang Dezhen had developed today. This flavor was quite common; Zhang Dezhen had seen plenty of people make it back in his hometown, so he had replicated it with ease.

The spicy and numbing braised dish tasted great. The only issue was that the people of Hai City were accustomed to milder flavors. Even things like hot pot were mostly eaten by the younger generation, so he had no idea how well this new dish would sell.

’But another flavor means another option, and that’s always a good thing.’

"We were in the city to handle some business and happened to be passing by." Second Grandfather reached out and squeezed Xu An’s shoulder. "I hadn’t seen your shop yet, you rascal, so I decided to drop in for a look. Come on, give your Second Grandfather a tour of this fast-food restaurant of yours."

They had already seen most of the first storefront when they walked in, so Xu An led the two into the second one.

The second storefront was a hive of activity—some people were sorting vegetables, others were washing them, and still others were chopping. It was busy, but not chaotic; everything was perfectly orderly.

Second Grandfather nodded as he watched. Passing by a basket of produce, he stopped, picked up a vegetable, and sniffed it. "This is from Xiudie’s place, isn’t it? I hear the entire yield from her family’s greenhouse is supplied to your fast-food restaurant now."

"This batch is from Uncle Lin’s place. Aunt Hong’s produce was mostly picked a few days ago, and the new crop hasn’t matured yet. It’ll be a while before the next harvest."

"That old boy Xingtao... not bad." Second Grandfather put down the vegetable and nodded with satisfaction. "I kept hearing the villagers say your business was doing well, and I thought they were just being polite. But seeing it for myself, your business is truly booming."

"Heh, it’s all thanks to everyone’s support," Xu An said humbly.

The third storefront currently only had tables and chairs. The equipment hadn’t been installed yet, so there wasn’t much to see. The group took a quick look around and headed back out.

Xu An got food for the two of them, and they found an empty table in the restaurant to sit, eat, and chat.

"Second Grandfather, what was the business that brought you to the city? Is there anything I can help with?"

"It’s nothing major. Just a meeting to discuss the ’New Rural Development’ initiative. It doesn’t have much to do with our village," Second Grandfather answered casually.

"How could it not be related? Our village is rural too, isn’t it?" Xu An asked, confused.

"Our village has too few people and no particular industry. It’s not easy to develop," Second Grandfather said, shaking his head with an expression full of regret.

Xu An thought about it. ’It’s true, the village doesn’t really have anything special. Everyone just does whatever makes a bit of money, a scattershot approach with no real focus.’

If the village had anything at all to its name, his Second Grandfather would never have let this opportunity slip by.

After all, the village’s current streetlights, the pine trees lining the road, and so on—all of it had been scrounged up through Second Grandfather’s persistence (or rather, his shameless nagging).

After searching his memory for a while, Xu An finally recalled something related to this New Rural Development initiative.

It was something Xu Heping had mentioned in a casual chat. His maternal grandmother’s home, Ma Family Village, had managed to secure a spot in this new rural development opportunity.

But none of it was substantive. The village’s appearance was polished and bright—a large, cement-paved square surrounded by flower beds and lined with straight streetlights. It looked quite grand, except that all the vegetable gardens by the river were gone.

The exterior walls of all the houses in the village had been repainted. With their white walls and dark-gray roof tiles, they had a certain charm and certainly looked the part of a new, revitalized village.

But step through the front door, and you’d find the same old earthen floors and a room full of shabby furniture. It was a complete vanity project.

Later, the chief of Ma Family Village was sent to prison for corruption, though he couldn’t remember exactly when. He’d heard that it wasn’t just the Ma Family Village chief, but the leaders of several other villages who went down with him...

Just as they were talking, a commotion erupted outside. Xu An turned to look and saw two familiar figures standing by the entrance: Ren Peng, the owner of Yipin Xiang Fast Food Restaurant, and the landlord of the shop next door.

Ren Peng had gotten wind that the construction sites would soon be issuing meal subsidies. He had begun scouting the various sites under Xuguang Real Estate, planning to open one or two more branches.

After analyzing all the options, he discovered that the best location was, surprisingly, right here at the Zijing Garden construction site.

Using the Zijing Garden site as a hub, he could reach three other Xuguang Real Estate construction sites within a thirty-minute drive. Better yet, the delivery route formed a perfect loop, allowing him to return to the starting point after completing his rounds. It was an excellent choice for a new location.

Before anyone else had caught on, the owner of Yipin Xiang Fast Food Restaurant had come here looking for a storefront to rent.

He hadn’t expected that the first thing he’d see after getting out of his car was the Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant he’d grown to despise. Adhering to the principle of minding his own business, Ren Peng had no intention of causing trouble and instead focused on the purpose of his trip.

Coincidentally, Ren Peng spotted a "Prime Shop for Rent" poster on the storefront right next to Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant and immediately dialed the number.

As it turned out, the shop had already been rented out—to none other than Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. The landlord had simply forgotten to take the poster down.

He then checked a few other potential locations nearby, but either their leases weren’t up, or their rent was a thousand yuan more expensive than the one next to Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant!

The other storefronts were mostly priced between 2,600 and 2,800 yuan a month, while the one Xu An had rented was only 1,800!

The abacus in Ren Peng’s mind began to clatter furiously.

’If I offer this landlord two thousand a month in rent and cover the penalty for breaking the lease, the average cost will only come out to twenty-three or twenty-four hundred a month. That’s still much cheaper than the other shops.’

’Plus, I get to stick it to Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. It’s a win-win.’

Without hesitation, Ren Peng pulled out his phone and called the landlord, bluntly stating that he could offer two thousand a month and would also cover the penalty for breaking the existing lease.

As soon as the landlord heard this, he grabbed the contract and scurried right over.

And so, the landlord from next door was now here to break his contract with Xu An and sign a new lease with Ren Peng.

After listening to their explanation, Xu An showed no signs of panic. He looked at the landlord, calm and composed. "There’s a clause in the contract stating that breaking the lease requires payment of a penalty fee. You’re aware of that, I presume."

"Crystal clear! This boss here," the landlord answered hastily, "he said he’ll pay the penalty fee for me." As he spoke, he glanced at Ren Peng, a flicker of guilt in his eyes.

"That’s right. I’ll pay the penalty fee," Ren Peng said decisively. He was about to open his briefcase and pull out the cash for Xu An but was stopped.

"Do you even know how much the penalty is?" Xu An asked, looking at Ren Peng with a curious, knowing smile.

"A three-month deposit and three months’ rent upfront. The penalty for three months’ rent is just over five thousand yuan. I can afford that paltry sum," Ren Peng said with great confidence.

"Boss Ren, I suggest you read the terms of the contract carefully before making your decision," Xu An said, glancing at the landlord from the corner of his eye in a gesture of goodwill.

’The contract?’

Ren Peng looked quizzically at the contract clutched in the landlord’s hand, then held out his own hand, gesturing for the man to let him see it.

The landlord hesitantly placed the contract in Ren Peng’s hand. He even tried to snatch it back halfway, but Ren Peng’s grip was firm.

He started reading from the first page. The initial clauses were all standard, nothing out of the ordinary. But when he reached the additional clause on the final page, Ren Peng’s face turned green.

"Lease term: two years. Rent: 1,800 yuan per month. In the event of a breach of contract by either party, the breaching party shall pay a penalty equal to three times the deposit."

Three months’ deposit... and a penalty of three times that deposit... that was 16,200 yuan!

FUCK!

Ren Peng suddenly felt that nothing good ever happened when Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant was involved. It had been the case with Aisha Clothing Company, and it was the case with this storefront now.

A penalty of over sixteen thousand yuan... These construction projects would only last about a year. That meant an additional cost of over thirteen hundred yuan per month, appearing out of nowhere.

As much as he wanted to stick it to Xu An, there was no need to wage war against his own wallet. With that kind of money, he might as well look around for another spot. He could probably find an even better one.

Without another word, Ren Peng shoved the contract back into the landlord’s hands. He forced a smile, said goodbye to Xu An, and then marched straight to his car and drove off, leaving the landlord standing there completely dumbfounded.

"That son of a bitch! Dragged me all the way out here for nothing! If you’d just said you couldn’t pay the damn penalty, I wouldn’t have wasted my time!" the landlord next door cursed at Ren Peng’s departing car. He then spun around to face Xu An. "And you, you sly little bastard! Setting such a huge trap for me! Costing me a fortune! Believe it or not, I’ll find a bunch of street punks to come here and cause trouble every single day until you can’t stay in business..."

Before he could finish his threat, two mountain-like figures appeared behind Xu An. They cracked their knuckles—CRACK, CRACK, CRACK—and glared at him with menacing expressions.

"Street punks?" Second Grandfather said, staring coldly into the landlord’s eyes. "What kind of street punks are you looking for? Need me to make some introductions?"

Xu Dongliang said nothing. He simply flexed his arms, revealing sharply defined muscles. His clenched fists looked powerful enough to crush a man’s skull in a single blow.

’Holy shit! Situation has changed. Time to bail!’

"You just wait!"

After leaving this face-saving remark, the landlord didn’t hesitate for a second. He leaped onto his electric scooter, twisted the throttle, and sped away.

He was in such a hurry that he nearly crashed into a nearby flower planter. Fortunately, his reflexes were quick enough for him to swerve and narrowly avoid it.

Watching the landlord’s pathetic retreat, Xu An was left speechless. ’This guy...’ he thought. ’All bark and no bite. He loves to start trouble, but every time he makes his empty threats, he just ends up running away with his tail between his legs.’

’Looks like that little provision I added when signing the contract was a good move,’ he mused. ’Otherwise, I would’ve been at this landlord’s mercy today. Tsk!’

Then, Xu An glanced in the direction Ren Peng had gone. He was long gone, but a thought began to bubble up in Xu An’s mind.

’This commercial area isn’t even fully developed. For Ren Peng to come rushing over to open a chain store... could he have gotten some inside information?’

’Could it be that the news about Xuguang Real Estate issuing meal subsidies for its construction sites has already leaked? If Yipin Xiang Fast Food Restaurant knows, does that mean other restaurants know as well?’

As Xu An was lost in thought, Second Grandfather clapped him on the shoulder and pointed to Xu Dongliang. "Don’t you worry about that punk. Your Uncle Dongliang works right at the construction site across the street. If you have any trouble, just give a shout, and he’ll come help you out. Right, Dongliang?"

...

Xu An and Xu Dongliang were both speechless. They had just been trying to scare the man off, but with Second Grandfather’s words, they suddenly sounded like a local gang.

’Still,’ he thought, ’after being intimidated by Second Grandfather and Uncle Dongliang, the landlord probably won’t have the guts to come back and cause more trouble. I suppose that’s good news.’