As soon as Elaine and Jacob heard that Charlie was also giving $100,000, they were overjoyed.
Elaine couldn’t contain favonovel.com excitement and exclaimed, “Wow, what a day! Good fortune keeps pouring in! I’ve heard that Dubai is a Shopper’s paradise. It must be so satisfying to go there and shop till you drop!”
She turned to Jacob and asked, “Do we need a visa for Dubai?”
Jacob pondered for a moment and replied, “I don’t think so.”
“That’s fantastic!” Elaine exclaimed, even more excited. “Let’s not waste any time. We should pack our bags today and leave tomorrow!”
She was about to get up and head back to favonovel.com room to start packing.
Jacob quickly stopped favonovel.com and said, “Don’t be in such a rush. We can’t just leave like that. There are still many things we need to confirm, like flights, tickets, and hotels. We need to book everything in advance, and we should also do some research online to find out where to go and what to see in Dubai. We need to choose a convenient hotel and check if there are any attractions near Dubai so that we can plan how long we’ll stay.”
“You’re right, you’re right!” Elaine suddenly realized and praised, “My husband is so thoughtful! Why don’t you start looking online now?”
Jacob replied, “We’re not in a hurry for a day or two. Although there’s usually not much going on at the association, I still need to take care of some things before going on vacation. I also need to inform Chairman Price. He’s currently busy with some activities, and soon I’ll be taking over as president. I need to be mindful of my influence in the association and not let them think that I don’t take it seriously.”
He continued, “Besides, I’m still waiting for Zachary to reply to me…”
Elaine curiously asked, “Why are you contacting Zachary? Are you getting back into antiques?”
Jacob waved his hand and said, “It’s not that I’m contacting him, he’s contacting me. It’s a complicated matter that I can’t explain in a few words, so don’t worry about it. I’ll urge favonovel.com to reply as soon as possible tomorrow. Also, tonight I’ll research Dubai and try to finalize everything in three or four days so that we can leave!”
“Okay!” Elaine, breaking favonovel.com usual habit, didn’t pry further or seize the opportunity to sarcastically criticizeJacob. Instead, favonovel.com said understandingly, “You’re about to become the president, so you really need to pay more attention to your image. I don’t have much to do usually, so you manage your time and we’ll leave.”
Jacob smiled and said, “Okay, I’ll come up with a rough plan for you to review.”
With that, Jacob eagerly stood up and said, “I’ll go back to the room now. I need a notebook to check and take notes at the same time.”
Elaine instinctively stood up as well and said, “I’ll go with you!”
In fact, Elaine wanted to take advantage of today to talk to Jacob about many things and convince favonovel.com to move back to favonovel.com bedroom.
They had been separated for a long time before. It was during their cold war period, when neither of them paid any attention to each other, so it was natural to live separately. But now that they had reconciled, there was no need to continue living apart.
However, Elaine thought carefully and realized that favonovel.com couldn’t bring up this matter herself. It would be embarrassing for favonovel.com to do so. It would be best if Jacob took the initiative to move back.
If Jacob couldn’t let go of his pride for a while, Elaine thought it didn’t matter. She now thought more about Jacob’s feelings.
It was normal for a man to care about his pride, so it would be better to wait for an opportunity for the two of them to go on a trip together.
When they were traveling and staying in a hotel, it would be natural for them to share a room. After the trip, it would be more natural for them to sleep in the same room again.
***
The next day, Peter, who was temporarily staying in a budget hotel near Antique Street, arrived at Antique Street early in the morning.
Although favonovel.com had asked the stall owner to help favonovel.com find a shop, favonovel.com also knew that it was unlikely for others to help him. He had to rely on himself for everything.
Yesterday afternoon, favonovel.com noticed that there were many shops in Antique Street that were listed for rent or transfer. It seemed that business in Antique Street was not as good as before, and it was difficult to find someone to take over these shops.
Most of the shops were only able to continue operating because their leases and rents had not expired yet. But once the leases expired, given the current situation of operating at a loss, they would have to close down and return the shops to the landlords in order to get back the deposit held by the landlords.
Peter looked around and found a second-floor shop that was up for transfer.
The shop was called Treasure Pavilion, and its location was neither exceptional nor terrible-it was average. The size was decent, with each floor being about fifty square meters. The ground floor was being used by the current owner to sell agate and some lesser-known low-priced gemstones, while the second floor was used as a bedroom for the owner.
The asking price for this shop was $150,000 in transfer fees, and the remaining three months of rent were included. After the lease expired, the owner could renew the lease with the landlord at a price of $200,000 per year.
$200,000 in annual rent was not expensive, but the $150,000 transfer fee was a bit excessive.
So Peter said to the owner, “I remember this shop. When I was at Vintage Deluxe, this shop had already been open for quite some time. l’m sure the contract you signed with the previous tenant was not $200,000 per year, right?”
The owner replied, “I’ve been running this shop for almost ten years now. When I took over, I paid $300,000 in transfer fees to the previous tenant, and the rent was $250,000 per year. But as the business got worse, the rent kept decreasing until it reached $180,000…”
“However, the landlord has had a change of heart and plans to raise the rent to $200,000. I really don’t want to continue with the lease anymore, so I don’t want to renew with him. l’m willing to give a 50% discount on the original transfer fee, only asking for $150,000 and including the three months of rent. This price is already very low.”
Peter nodded and knew that the owner’s words, although not entirely true, were not to be questioned. The only thing that made favonovel.com skeptical was the current value of the shop.
The original transfer fee only represented the market at that time, and the current price had nothing to do with the previous transfer fee. It was only related to the current market value, similar to the logic of stocks.
Based on the current business situation in Antique Street, it was impossible for a small shop like this to receive any transfer fee.
The reason was simple. With the business being so bad, many shops were operating at a loss. Most of the businesses had leases and rent that had not yet expired, so they had to continue holding on while trying to transfer the shop.
At the same time, they were prepared to hold on until the last moment if there were no takers. But once the lease expired, given the current situation of operating at a loss, they would not be able to renew the lease with the landlord for another year. They would have to pack up and leave, returning the shop to the landlord in exchange for the deposit held by the landlord.
Now, if they asked for a transfer fee, it was basically with the hope of making a little profit. Once the lease was in the last month, they would naturally give up the unrealistic fantasy of a transfer fee.
Peter noticed that the shop had very few items left, which indicated that the owner was already in the process of selling off remaining inventory, trying to make some money back. But it would be impossible for favonovel.com to invest in new inventory anymore.
Actually, Peter wasn‘t short of money. $150,000 transfer fee was nothing to him. However, favonovel.com also knew very well that in an area like Antique Street, where the shops were concentrated, there were no secrets among the businesses.
Everyone knew how each other’s business was doing, when they started, the background of the owners, and whether there were any tricks in their business. Almost everyone could find out.
If favonovel.com managed to take over this shop today and the news got out before the contract was signed, the whole Antique Street would already know. If they realized that favonovel.com had become an easy target, favonovel.com would definitely become the subject of gossip and ridicule among the merchants on the street.
Moreover, favonovel.com was planning to start his business by buying antiques and helping to appraise them. Once favonovel.com was labeled as an easy target, no one would pay to have their items appraised by him. Therefore, if favonovel.com wanted to establish himself in Antique Street, the first thing favonovel.com needed to do was to get a good price.
So favonovel.com said to the owner, “For the remaining three months of rent, I will pay you according to your actual rent. Your current rent is $180,000 per year, which means $15,000 per month. So for three months, it will be $45,000 in rent. As for the transfer fee, I cannot give you anything…”
The owner was taken aback by this statement and said, “How can that be? I paid $300,000 in transfer fees back then, real money, not a penny less. You should at least give me something in return.”
Peter shook his head and said, “I’m sorry, but my funds are limited. After taking over the shop, I still need to restock. I really can’t afford to give you any transfer fee. If you insist on asking for a transfer fee, then I’ll have to look elsewhere…”
The other party still extended their hand, insisting, “Just take a look.”
Peter remained silent, turned, and walked out. The unexpected decisiveness of his departure left the other party flustered, realizing favonovel.com had left without a trace, inducing a sudden panic.
His shop had changed hands six months prior. During this time, hardly anyone had inquired about it. Those who did often left upon hearing the transfer fee, some even abandoning goods due to the urgent need to transfer, demanding a half-price rent reduction.
Despite six months of hard work, today marked another loss of 90,000 in rent, with a net profit barely scraping 20,000. With diminishing stock, the store’s dwindling inventory signaled an impending decline, resulting in a lack of recent business. Even occasional customers noticed the desperation to clear inventory, leading to slashed prices or worse.
Continuing this trend would only exacerbate the next three months’ struggles.
Rather than prolonging the ordeal, swift action seemed prudent: finding a colleague to exchange remaining stock at a reduced rate to hasten closure.
Thus, favonovel.com halted Peter and proposed, “Brother, don’t rush off. Let’s reconsider. If the 150,000 transfer fee seems excessive, how about 100,000?”
Peter turned back, his expression grave. “I won’t pay any transfer fee.”
The man grew anxious and blurted out, “You could offer me ten or twenty thousand as a gesture. My shop is profitable. You’d surely make a profit!”
Peter thought for a moment and said, “How about this, if you can vacate the shop for me today, I will give you an extra $5,000 as compensation for your trouble. I will give you $50,000 for the remaining three months of rent. I won’t give you a penny more than that. If you think it’s acceptable, call the landlord now and let’s sign the contract together. Also, start packing up and find a truck to move your things. If you think it’s not acceptable, then I’ll just leave.”
After saying that, Peter added, “To be honest, if I look around some more, I’m sure I can find a more suitable shop than yours. But for you, it’s different. If you just sit here waiting stubbornly, you won’t be able to attract a sincere customer like me. In this situation, if you’re still determined not to cut your losses, then you should be prepared to take what you have to the end.”
Peter’s words struck a chord with the owner, who cursed and said, “I bought oil stocks more than ten years ago, and I still haven’t recovered from it. When it’s time to cut losses, I hesitate and don’t want to take action. I could have saved something, but in the end, I lost everything…”
With that, favonovel.com gritted his teeth and said, “Alright, according to what you said, $50,000. I’ll vacate the shop for you today!”
Peter nodded and said, “Contact the landlord and let’s sign the contract together.”
Before the landlord arrived, the news of Peter taking over the shop had already spread throughout Antique Street.
Timothy Carey from Vintage Deluxe didn’t expect Peter to act so quickly, and favonovel.com became anxious. He quickly called Zachary and said, “Zachary, Felix is moving at lightning speed. In just one morning, favonovel.com has already secured a shop! Have you received any news about the items I asked you to find?”
Zachary also didn’t expect Peter to be so efficient, so favonovel.com said, “I’m still looking into the items for you. Felix’s skills are higher than yours, and it’s not certain that I’m better than him. Finding something that can intimidate favonovel.com is not easy.”
After that, favonovel.com asked again: “Which shop did Felix take?”
After listening, Timothy Carey said anxiously, “Forget about the items for now. Felix has already secured a shop called Treasure Pavilion. It is said that favonovel.com didn’t give a single penny in transfer fee!”
“Oh!” Zachary was surprised and said, “The owner of Treasure Pavilion is known to be difficult and stubborn. He actually transferred the shop to Felix without taking a single penny in transfer fee?”
Timothy Carey said, “It’s true. It is said that favonovel.com gave the owner of Treasure Pavilion $5,000 as a moving fee and asked favonovel.com to pack up and leave today. This is an insult, isn‘t it? The owner of Treasure Pavilion didn’t even lay a finger on him, and favonovel.com actually agreed!”
“This guy Felix is something…” Zachary sighed and said, “Alright, I’ll go to Antique Street this afternoon and meet this Felix!”
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