110: What! You're going to Donghai City?! Why didn't you say so sooner?! (Bonus chapter, third update!)

Chapter 110: What! You're going to Donghai City? Why didn't you say so earlier! (Explosive update, third update)

Donghai City is about seventy to eighty kilometers from Binhai City, roughly an hour's drive on the highway.

It's not too far, but not too close either.

Mo Li was puzzled because An Ran, in addition to her daily work, had recently been busy promoting the establishment of a new Central Kitchen.

Logically, she should be very busy, so why did she suddenly go to Donghai City to look at storefronts?

Does this make sense?

Mo Li cleared his throat.

"No... why did you suddenly go to Donghai City?"

"Simply put, I was originally looking for a site for the Central Kitchen and found one about thirty to forty kilometers from both Binhai City and Donghai City."

"And then you thought about opening a Harmony Garden in Donghai City?"

"Uh-huh... Once the Central Kitchen is built, deliveries from that location, whether to Binhai City or Donghai City, will only take half an hour."

Hearing An Ran's explanation, Mo Li felt that it made sense.

Once the Central Kitchen is built, as long as the production capacity keeps up, delivering to one Harmony Garden is the same as delivering to two Harmony Gardens.

But there was one thing Mo Li still didn't understand.

An Ran wanted to open a new Harmony Garden in Donghai City, so why did she ask him if he was interested?

This was clearly an attempt to get Mo Li to invest, but was it necessary?

They cooperated on the Central Kitchen because Mo Li had the secret recipes An Ran needed.

Why cooperate with Mo Li to open a Harmony Garden Cantonese dim sum restaurant?

Mo Li hesitated slightly, still deciding it was better to ask for clarification.

"We're all on the same side, so I won't hide anything. Theoretically, you don't need my involvement to open a Harmony Garden, do you?"

"I need it, I really need it. To be honest with you, I'm a bit short on cash right now."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean, 'huh'? Don't you think about how much cash I've used recently? Do you really think I just keep all my cash in the bank in a checking account?"

Case closed!

Cash that can be used at any time and assets are two different things.

An Ran invested 500,000 in cash in Mo Ji Snacks, and then another 1.2 million in cash for their joint Central Kitchen venture.

In just over a month, she had already used 1.7 million in cash.

An Ran had revealed to Mo Li that she had spent approximately 4 million to open Harmony Garden Cantonese dim sum in Binhai City.

Considering the cost of this Harmony Garden in Binhai City, opening a similar Harmony Garden Cantonese dim sum in a provincial capital city would conservatively cost upwards of 5 million.

Adding the 1.7 million An Ran had already put out, it would indeed be difficult for her to come up with nearly 7 million in cash in such a short period of time.

What good person would keep several million in cash in a checking account?

Facing such a large capital demand, it was completely normal for An Ran to have a funding gap.

Mo Li said to An Ran, somewhat speechless, "You know my situation... I barely scraped together that 300,000; I don't have any money left, truly not a drop..."

Mo Ji Snacks's business was indeed booming, with substantial profits.

However, Mo Ji Snacks had just recently purchased the 96 Jinhe Street storefront, so there was almost no surplus for dividends in July.

Mo Li simply didn't take his share of the July money.

The 300,000 invested in the Central Kitchen was from the June dividend plus the 200,000 the Wang family had given, and a little more scraped together.

The reality was that Mo Li currently had almost no money.

At least a few more days were needed, until August was over and September began.

Only when everyone sat down to divide Mo Ji Snacks's August earnings would Mo Li's finances become comfortable again.

An Ran, of course, knew Mo Li's situation, and after hearing his complaint, she chuckled softly.

"Don't worry, this project won't start immediately, and you won't need to put up money right away. The key is your interest; we can finalize things first."

"Interested! I'm very interested! First, tell me approximately how much I need to invest. I need to calculate if I can afford it."

"You definitely can! I estimate opening a Harmony Garden in Donghai City will cost about 5 million. You invest 1 million for a 20% stake."

Hearing An Ran's answer, Mo Li's eyelids twitched.

Good heavens!

As one of Mo Ji Snacks's shareholders, An Ran was perfectly clear about its financial situation.

She had truly calculated how much money he had down to the last detail.

And based on what he could afford, she directly offered the best terms, showing maximum sincerity.

Firstly, cooperating with An Ran to open a Harmony Garden in Donghai City, a provincial capital, was not something just anyone could do.

To put it bluntly,

With An Ran's current reputation in Binhai City's catering industry,

If she just said the word, people willing to invest would probably line up from Zhen Yan Private Kitchen to Harmony Garden.

Secondly, for an investment, it's not about how much you want to invest or what percentage of shares you want; it depends on how much An Ran is willing to give up.

Mo Li even suspected that if he could come up with 2 million, An Ran might truly be willing to give him a 40% stake.

However, business is business.

Do what you can with what you have; only then can unnecessary conflicts be better avoided in the future.

An Ran was very clear about this point.

From Mo Ji Snacks's August dividends, Mo Li would receive about 140,000, still far from 1 million.

But with Zhou Zheng's 1.6 million compensation, it was a different story.

This money would definitely be subject to tax according to law.

However, declaring September's income in October and then paying taxes according to the law, no one could find any fault.

In short, use this money in full first.

This money was a special income for Mo Ji Snacks, and as agreed beforehand, half did not need to be withheld.

All of it would be distributed as dividends, and Mo Li could receive about 1.2 million.

Adding Mo Ji Snacks's normal August dividends, it would total over 1.3 million, possibly a little more or a little less, but roughly the same.

1 million, if he just waited a few days, Mo Li could indeed come up with it!

"Am I supposed to thank you for leaving me a little bit of my private stash?"

Mo Li complained.

An Ran chuckled softly.

"Men, they need to keep some money on hand... So, you agree to invest?"

"Invest, of course, invest! Why wouldn't I invest in such a good opportunity?"

"That's great! I knew you'd agree, so I never even considered cooperating with anyone else."

The two chatted for a few more moments before hanging up the phone.

As soon as Mo Li hung up, a thought flashed through his mind.

Once the Central Kitchen was built, why couldn't Mo Ji Snacks also open in Donghai City?

That's right!

And Qi Manman!

Didn't she say that if she went to develop in Donghai City, she wouldn't be able to eat Mo Ji Snacks's delicious food?

If the store opened there, would these problems still be problems?

To speak of individual development potential, it was definitely higher in Donghai City, being the provincial capital.

Thinking of this, Mo Li picked up his phone again and dialed Qi Manman's number.

"Something wrong? Could it be new products to sample again?"

"Do you really think I'm as prolific as a sow? I wanted to ask if you can still go to Donghai City now?"

"Huh? Why are you suddenly asking that?"

"I'm planning to open a store in Donghai City... This way, your previous concerns wouldn't exist, right?"

"What? You're going to Donghai City? Why didn't you say so earlier!"

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