Forcing Me to Be Reborn?!-Chapter 219 - 188 Xu Qiaozui ah Xu Qiaozui

Chapter 219: Chapter 188 Xu Qiaozui ah Xu Qiaozui!

Chapter 219: Chapter 188 Xu Qiaozui ah Xu Qiaozui!

Upstairs in the coffee shop, Xu Shao listened to Cheng Zhu’s price quote without any change in expression.

The current profit of the claw machine store was around 300,000 yuan per month.

Due to the unique nature of the store, it could even remain open during the Lunar New Year period.

After all, with students being one of the main customer groups, business could potentially still thrive during the winter vacation.

Thus, if they could maintain this momentum, that would be over three million yuan in profit per year.

It was now 2014, and the term “internet-famous store” had just started to emerge. People’s recognition of such stores would be significantly different a few years later.

Many people still saw them as ordinary physical stores that gained popularity through the internet, believing that the business could stabilize over time.

This was also why in the past two to three years, many owners of internet-famous stores were able to make a fortune when they sold their stores.

Examples of this were not uncommon in reality.

This was also why Cheng Zhu wasn’t worried about other people willing to purchase at a high price.

This year’s situation was just like that!

Internet-famous stores were indeed valuable and easy to sell!

The capital market was optimistic about internet-famous stores.

This had even become a breakthrough point for physical stores, creating a new trend.

Xu Shao came from a good family background and had opened an internet cafe outside the university, so he had experience managing a physical store.

However, the problem precisely lay here.

Growing up in an affluent family made many people less concerned about small amounts of money and believe that they needed to spread their wings and aim for long-term and larger goals.

Therefore, he immediately thought of opening branch stores and seeking financing in the “venture capital circle.”

Another factor was that Xu Shao had Zhang Qiqi by his side.

This internet-famous campus beauty was well-informed about all the internet-famous stores in Hang City, having visited most of them and occasionally discussing them with Xu Shao.

However, the stores she mentioned were mostly very successful ones.

Some might have even raised tens of millions, if not more.

Yet, despite this, Xu Shao still thought 6 million yuan was too high.

“Why do you think the psychological price is 6 million yuan?” He didn’t counteroffer; instead, he chose to ask this first.

“Firstly, do you think the transfer fee of a well-managed store would only equal its yearly income?” Cheng Zhu was still sitting with his legs crossed and maintained a defiant expression.

This was just his chosen negotiation style.

Xu Shao was testing him, and wasn’t he testing Xu Shao as well?

“This ‘firstly’ of yours is wrong,” Xu Shao frowned.

“Oh?” Cheng Zhu showed some interest in Xu Shao’s perspective.

“I don’t think your store can maintain its popularity for several years,” Xu Shao stated, looking at him with a meaningful and steady gaze.

“Really? It seems you don’t have much confidence in it, so why come and talk about buying the store?” Cheng Zhu retorted.

Xu Shao didn’t respond directly. After thinking for a moment, he finally spoke, “I think the limitations of your store are quite obvious. I’ve invested in a failed arcade before, so I have some knowledge in this area. This kind of store, I think, can remain popular at most for one year!”

Cheng Zhu internally laughed.

It’s just one year?

Alright then, no problem.

Thank you for thinking so highly of my store.

“So, you’re aiming to open branches? Or perhaps, you want to build the brand up and then undergo several rounds of financing?” Cheng Zhu looked at him straight and asked.

Xu Shao was casually sipping coffee and contemplating how to continue the negotiation.

But he hadn’t expected Cheng Zhu to guess his intentions so swiftly and speak so directly.

“That’s the idea, but if I do open branch stores next, I’m going to have to fund them myself and continue the investment. It wouldn’t be closely related to this store. It would only reflect its brand value and online popularity,” Xu Shao explained.

“Isn’t that enough?” Cheng Zhu set down his own coffee cup and leaned back in his chair again.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

Xu Shao frowned. “I’ll just say what I’m really thinking.”

“This store, I personally think, can be popular for one year, starting from when it opens. That is to say, after I take over, there would probably be about… 10 months left.”

“That would be approximately 3 million yuan.”

“And that’s the absolute maximum of 3 million, the actual figure is likely to be even lower.”

“I don’t think the things you’ve mentioned are worth the remaining 3 million.”

Xu Shao’s psychological price was acceptable up to slightly over 4 million, and 5 million was the absolute limit.

He knew very well that spending this money solely on the Youu Come to Play store outside Technology University would definitely not make a return.

It’s like spending a sum of money to buy a… chance?

A chance to make the internet-famous claw machine store bigger and more successful!

Unfortunately, the store is now doing too well in all aspects.

It’s foundation is almost perfect!

This made Xu Shao feel like he was someone coming to pick peaches.

If Cheng Zhu, this young man, had my insight, my scale, my ideas, why would he limit it to this?

“Then you make an offer,” said Cheng Zhu, “Let’s not beat around the bush or test each other anymore.”

This kind of statement actually had no effect because the other party would definitely start with a lower offer and then the negotiation would continue slowly.

But such words had to be said.

Usually, similar statements emerge repeatedly, and then everyone keeps changing their offers.

Though everyone shouts to be direct, and claims to stop beating around the bush, really acting that way would be a surprise.

“Four million,” Xu Shao stated straightaway.

“That’s too low, impossible at that price,” Cheng Zhu responded.

It was clear that they wouldn’t come to an agreement today, strictly speaking, and there was no rush for the moment.

Of course, Cheng Zhu wouldn’t depend solely on Xu Shao either.

The two exchanged WeChat contacts, agreeing to think it over further.

Xu Shao also wanted to see if anyone else would offer Cheng Zhu a higher price.

…

…

After leaving the coffee shop, Cheng Zhu drove to the Persistent Visit studio.

Upon arrival, he assigned some tasks to his employees, then sat down in front of his computer.

He opened Xu Shao’s Moments to try to understand more about this Qiqi-loving person.

Cheng Zhu could feel that Xu Shao was quite eager to purchase Youu Come to Play.

And his ideas were not entirely wrong.

“Whether running branch stores or seeking financing, both are correct approaches.”

“However, actually implementing these is not so easy.”

Alternatively, Cheng Zhu himself didn’t think the so-called internet-famous claw machine stores were a particularly good project.

Why did he want to sell this store and then start an internet-famous tea shop?

Because the popularity of the tea shops lasts much longer compared to claw machine stores.

Tea is something that people drink often, whereas claw machine stores are entertainment venues, of a different nature.

“The duration of the popularity period is really crucial,” Cheng Zhu understood very well.

A tea shop could burn hot for two years once it starts doing well.

But a claw machine store can only be popular for a few months.

Imagine if I really start opening branches now, for instance, if I open another store in Shanghai, would it be popular?

It definitely would.

But a few months later, it would cool down.

Then, if I go to other major cities, they would cool down after a few months as well.

This cycle might repeat several times, not only causing a brand’s value to decrease, but also significantly increasing the difficulty of online marketing; its viral nature would plummet instantly.

The internet-famous store is all about making customers follow the trend to consume.

Let’s take the simplest example, stemming from one reason.

Let’s say I now open a branch in Shanghai, and just as it starts in Shanghai, the internet bursts with news that the Technology University store in Hang City is no longer the hot-spot it once was.

Wouldn’t that make online operations more difficult?

This would also lead to a shorter lifespan for subsequent branches and a shorter popularity period.

It’s a vicious cycle, inevitable.

Indeed, once a store has been a hit in a big city, it could theoretically expand to smaller cities later.

Conditions might be better in smaller cities, not necessarily impacted by the issues mentioned.

But here’s a problem.

“Big cities compete on the speed of innovation, the quality of creativity, and the level of marketing.”

“In smaller cities, it’s about… following trends!”

“If you have a bit of commercial foresight in a small city, capturing the orientations of major cities and then following quickly, you might stand on the airs and make a quick fortune!”

“Claw machine stores are too easy to replicate; the barriers are too low; anyone with capital to copy can open one.”

“You say you want to copy a restaurant, you still need to make the food. Like copying a hot pot restaurant has a lower barrier, but it still competes on taste and service.”

“Claw machine stores are just a bunch of claw machines.”

However, if an internet-famous store can thrive for two or three years, that changes everything.

In that time, a lot can be done, and the business scope can expand frighteningly!

For Cheng Zhu, he believed that internet-famous tea shops had more potential than internet-famous claw machine stores.

This was also why when his princess, Little Youzi, expressed wishes for two kinds of stores, he chose to start with the claw machine store to accumulate capital and practice before starting a tea shop.

“But to say that I’m really setting a trap for these buyers, I don’t think that’s entirely true either.”

“Youu Come to Play is genuinely worth the price, and it’s not entirely without potential afterward, just not as much.”

“But that depends on one’s capabilities and future management.”

“If it were me operating it, I would definitely not lose out. At the least, I could make several million more.”

But then, a thought struck him.

—I, it’s me!

I’m a reborn person, and one who had assets worth over a hundred million before my rebirth.

Dude, I’m not just an ordinary person.

If Xu Shao ends up taking over and whether he can enhance and strengthen it, it really depends on his own abilities and, of course, his luck.

With that thought, he suddenly wondered what could be so interesting in Xu Shao’s Moments? I’ve added him as a friend; I should check out Zhang Qiqi’s Moments to see how he interacts with this little green tea. It’s bound to be entertaining!

Cheng Zhu suddenly got energized with high interest.

He opened Zhang Qiqi’s Moments and sure enough, he had liked every post and actively commented, though Zhang Qiqi barely replied, straightforwardly ignoring him.

“Wait! Zhang Qiqi has posted about Youu Come to Play before.” Cheng Zhu suddenly remembered this.

Then, he scrolled down.

Sure enough, Xu Shao had liked the post.

“Maybe he felt a little… self-moved when he liked that?” Cheng Zhu thought.

The most despicable thing in relationships is this self-movement!

Zhang Qiqi handles him, and I handle Zhang Qiqi, sigh.

“If he does buy the store in the end, I might give him some free advice,” Cheng Zhu thought.

It’s us men who feel for other men.

But whether he takes it in or not is up to him.

However, before that, I definitely need to ensure my own interests are maximized.

So, he picked up his phone, unusually taking the initiative to chat with little green tea, sending a WeChat: “Xu Shao came to buy my store.”

…

(ps: Second update, nearly 8000 words in two updates, seeking monthly ticket.)