95: Chapter 95 There's a Little Shop

Returning to the bathroom, Chen Sheng took An Xiaonuan's jars and bottles to give himself a proper skincare routine, then dug out the summer casual suit he had bought for work from the closet and put it on. With some hair wax, he styled his hair into a slicked-back look, and a business elite appeared in the mirror.

"Looking sharp!" Chen Sheng couldn't help but praise the man in the mirror, who possessed both youthful vigor and mature charm.

After getting himself ready, Chen Sheng took his car keys and left. He grabbed a quick lunch outside and then drove straight to the University of Electronic Science and Technology South District Commercial Street.

Parking the car in a public spot, Chen Sheng walked into the commercial street. He easily found "A Small Shop" mentioned in yesterday's intelligence, along with the A4 paper posted on the door advertising an urgent transfer.

Chen Sheng first stood outside the shop and carefully observed "A Small Shop."

Although the shop was small, it was well-equipped. While selling groceries, it also sold fast food like oden. During the time he observed, it attracted quite a few customers just based on the fast food.

Of course, this also had to do with the neighboring shops.

Both the bubble tea shop and the restaurants were magnets for foot traffic.

Naturally, what surprised him most was that the shop possessed a tobacco and alcohol retail license. Don't underestimate this license; for a grocery store, having it or not makes a world of difference.

However, the shop was not without its flaws.

The biggest drawback was its size.

The location was the type that had to "survive in the corner," specifically in the corner area of an irregular building.

The size of the shop also determined the ceiling of its earnings.

No wonder the intelligence noted that the seller's target price range was between seventy thousand and one hundred thousand.

Because it was truly only worth that much.

After observing the shop, Chen Sheng walked inside. At that moment, there was a Part-time employee wearing a uniform, most likely a student working part-time. Still, Chen Sheng asked, "Excuse me, are you the owner of this shop? I saw the urgent transfer notice on the door and wanted to chat."

The Part-time employee replied while efficiently handling her tasks, "Hello! The owner is not in the shop, but you can call the number on the notice."

"Thank you for the trouble!" Chen Sheng walked to the shop entrance and dialed the number. After the call connected, Chen Sheng stated his purpose directly, "Hello! I saw the shop's urgent transfer notice on the commercial street. Could we talk about the details?"

"Sure! I'm nearby. I'll head over now, it'll take about ten minutes or so."

"I'll wait for you then!"

After hanging up, Chen Sheng re-entered the shop. Once the Part-time employee finished her tasks, he struck up a conversation: "Excuse me, are you working full-time or part-time?"

"I'm working part-time!"

"From the nearby university?"

"Yes, from the University of Electronic Science and Technology."

"Heh~ So you're a junior! I'm also from the University of Electronic Science and Technology."

The Part-time employee shot Chen Sheng a surprised look, showing some astonishment but mostly wariness.

It made sense; being suddenly approached by a strange man, any normal person would be wary.

Chen Sheng noticed this and quickly smiled to explain, "Junior, don't misunderstand. I think this shop is quite good. If I can reach an agreement with the owner later, I plan to take over the shop, so I wanted to ask about the situation."

The Part-time employee returned a smile, but the wariness in her eyes didn't diminish much, "Then go ahead and ask, Senior, but I've only been here for a short while, so I don't know much."

"Hey~ It's fine, just casual chatter!" Chen Sheng waved his hand dismissively. "How many hours do you work part-time a day? Are there other employees in the shop or other part-timers like you?"

"I work the day shift on Monday and the night shift on Friday. For the two weekend days, sometimes it's one day shift and one night shift, or it could be two day shifts or two night shifts. It mainly depends on the owner's scheduling."

"The shop is entirely staffed by part-timers. There are about four of us: two from University of Electronic Science and Technology, and two from the neighboring business college."

"There aren't any full-time employees?" Chen Sheng asked, surprised. "Then how do you handle stocktaking and inventory?"

"I'm not too sure about that; you'll have to ask the owner."

Chen Sheng nodded and continued, "Then what is your part-time wage?"

"10 yuan per hour. If you complete a 12-hour shift, there's a 30 yuan perfect attendance bonus." Perhaps guessing what Chen Sheng would ask next, the Part-time employee continued, "We part-timers are usually paid every other day."

10 yuan an hour, a full 12-hour shift is 120 yuan, plus the 30 yuan perfect attendance bonus makes 150 yuan. Based on the Part-time employee working 4 days a week, that's 600 yuan a week, which is 2,400 yuan a month.

The monthly wage expenditure for four part-timers is 9,600 yuan.

Chen Sheng hesitated for a moment and asked, "Um, could I take a look at the revenue records?"

"Sorry! That's not possible!" the Part-time employee firmly refused.

"Alright then!" It did feel a bit presumptuous, so Chen Sheng didn't insist. Just then, a customer entered the shop, and the Part-time employee got busy again, so Chen Sheng took the opportunity to walk out of A Small Shop.

Waiting at the door for about the time it takes to smoke two cigarettes, a man in his forties hurried over. Likely due to the debt issues mentioned in the intelligence, the man looked a bit disheveled. When he saw Chen Sheng, even though he knew he was the buyer, he only managed to squeeze out a forced smile.

"Hello! I am the owner of this shop. Were you the one who called earlier saying you wanted to take over the shop?"

"Yes! That was me." Chen Sheng handed the man a cigarette. "I'm just wondering, how much are you planning to ask for? If the price is right, I'm quite interested in A Small Shop."

Chen Sheng deliberately emphasized the words "A Small Shop."

"The shop is a bit small, but the location is absolutely perfect. Usually, it's impossible to find a shop in a location like this. I'm not afraid to tell you, if it weren't for some problems with my working capital, I would never sell this shop." The owner said with unearned confidence.

To be honest, the owner's appearance was actually somewhat intimidating, but unfortunately, the intelligence system had already sold him out completely.

"Location is location, but it really is small. You can't display much inside, and the turnover can't be that high. After deducting costs like rent, utilities, and employee wages, I imagine you don't make much money after working hard for a month."

"Making ten thousand yuan a month is still very easy." The owner said with a lack of confidence.

Chen Sheng spread his hands, saying nothing while seeming to have said everything. "I wonder how much you are planning to transfer it for?"

"The transfer fee here on the commercial street is twenty thousand. The annual rent is sixty-eight thousand. I just paid for a year, and there are about seven months left. I'll calculate it as thirty-four thousand for half a year. If you want the tobacco and alcohol license for the shop, I'll transfer it to you for forty thousand. The cost of existing items in the shop is about fifty thousand; if you take everything, I'll discount it to forty thousand for you."

"One hundred thirty-four thousand!" Chen Sheng silently calculated the owner's asking price. Although it was over thirty thousand more than the system's estimated maximum, it wasn't a completely unreasonable quote.

"The price is too high. I'll give you at most twenty thousand for that license." Seeing the owner immediately wanting to retort, Chen Sheng stopped him: "Don't think my offer is high. Finding a broker outside to get a license only costs about ten thousand. I'm offering twenty thousand because I don't want the hassle."

Seeing the owner still hesitating, Chen Sheng added more leverage: "If it really doesn't work out, I'll just spend a bit more time."