281: Chapter 281 Buying a Shop

After driving less than a few hundred meters, Chen Fan caught sight of a restaurant on his right out of the corner of his eye. There was a sign on the door that read "For Transfer," and the storefront was quite large, looking to be of a decent scale.

He quickly parked the car and walked over to the entrance to take a look. The storefront was about a dozen meters wide and just as deep. A shop of this size would be more than enough for a clothing store.

Approaching the entrance, he found that the door was still open and there were people inside, but not a single customer was dining.

Just as he stepped inside, a man of about thirty years old immediately stood up and said, "I'm sorry, we're closed right now."

Instead of backing out, Chen Fan asked directly, "Are you the owner of this shop?"

The man nodded. "Yes, I am."

"I saw the 'For Transfer' sign on the door and wanted to ask about the details."

The man sized Chen Fan up with a subtle hint of skepticism. He wondered if Chen Fan was just asking for fun.

He probably thought Chen Fan was too young to be capable of taking over such a large shop.

However, seeing Chen Fan's attire and his clearly extraordinary temperament, he didn't drive him out right away.

"Are you asking on behalf of your parents?"

"I'm asking for myself," Chen Fan said. He pressed his car key, and the lights of the white Range Rover parked outside flashed twice, emitting a short beep.

Following the sound, the man saw the land rover range rover parked at the entrance. He knew a thing or two about cars and was well aware that this vehicle cost at least a few million. For the young man in front of him to afford such a car, he was definitely no ordinary person.

At this thought, his tone immediately became polite. "Please, have a seat. I'll pour you a glass of water."

"Don't bother," Chen Fan waved his hand, then scanned the interior of the shop. "What is the total area of this place?"

"It's a little over two hundred and forty square meters in total."

"It's four thousand yuan a month."

Hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed Chen Fan's eyes. He hadn't expected the rent for a shop of over two hundred square meters to be only four thousand yuan a month, which amounted to just fifty thousand yuan a year.

He might as well just buy it outright.

He quickly did the math in his head: based on this rental rate, the purchase price of this commercial property should be around 1.60 million yuan.

Instead of paying rent every month, it would be better to buy it outright. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about the landlord hiking up the price once business got good.

Although a rent increase wouldn't affect him much, dealing with such things was always annoying.

As for whether the landlord would sell, Chen Fan was confident that if he offered a few hundred thousand yuan more, there was a ninety percent chance they would agree to sell.

Seeing him remain silent, the restaurant owner thought Chen Fan found the rent too expensive. He quickly explained, "Four thousand yuan is really not expensive. This location is right in the center of the county seat, and the foot traffic is excellent. No matter what kind of shop you open, you won't lose money."

Hearing this, Chen Fan looked at him with a faint smile. "Then why are you transferring it?"

The man was instantly choked up. He sighed and said, "It's mainly because the restaurant business is really tough to do nowadays. On this street alone, five out of ten shops are restaurants. It's already a miracle that I've managed to hold out for this long."

Chen Fan didn't care whether he was telling the truth or not.

He took another lap around the shop, his gaze sweeping from the walls to the ceiling, and from the front door to the back exit. He felt more and more that this commercial property was very suitable.

Although it was currently a restaurant, converting it into a clothing store would require tearing everything down and completely remodeling it. While all of this would cost money, money was the last thing Chen Fan lacked right now.

With this thought, his determination to buy this commercial property grew even stronger.

Retracting his gaze, he looked at the man. "Could you help me contact the landlord and ask them to come over?"

A flash of pleasant surprise crossed the man's eyes. "Have you decided to take it over?"

"Just help me get them over here first."

"Alright." Without asking further questions, the man took out his phone, found the number, and dialed. After speaking a few words, he hung up. "The landlord will be here in a bit. She said she happens to be nearby."

Chen Fan nodded and said no more, standing by the window and looking out at the street.

About half an hour later, a woman in her thirties wearing a dress pushed the door open and walked in.

Her long hair draped over her shoulders, and a dark handbag hung from her wrist. She had an elegant temperament, and while she wasn't exceptionally beautiful, she wasn't plain either, possessing a distinct charm.

Seeing her, the man quickly went to greet her. "Sister Zhou, you're here." He stepped aside and gestured toward Chen Fan, who was standing by the window. "This is the young man who wants to take over."

Hearing this, Sister Zhou turned her gaze to Chen Fan.

The moment she saw him, her eyes lit up slightly. To her surprise, he was a tall and handsome young man.

But soon, that spark of light was replaced by a hint of skepticism. Walking over to a table, she sat down and sized Chen Fan up. "Little brother, are you sure you want to take over this shop? You're not just asking for fun, are you?"

Chen Fan was somewhat speechless. Who the hell was she calling "little brother"? Besides, where exactly was he "little"?

The restaurant owner quickly chimed in, "Sister Zhou, this young brother came in a land rover range rover. The car is parked right outside."

Hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed Sister Zhou's eyes. She glanced through the glass window at the white Range Rover parked outside, then retracted her gaze and looked at Chen Fan. "So the Range Rover outside belongs to you, little brother."

Chen Fan didn't want her calling him "little brother" anymore, so he extended his hand expressionlessly. "My name is Chen Fan. You can just call me by my name."

"Zhou Man," she said, shaking his hand. "I'm a bit older than you, so you can just call me Sister Zhou."

"Alright, Sister Zhou. My purpose in coming today isn't to take over the lease," Chen Fan said.

Hearing this, Zhou Man was somewhat curious. "Then you are...?"

"I wanted to ask if you are willing to sell this commercial property?"

"You want to buy the property?" Zhou Man raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Yes."

"Not selling," Zhou Man shook her head without hesitation. "I bought this shop several years ago and have been renting it out to collect rent. I have no plans to sell."

Chen Fan hadn't expected her to refuse so flatly. However, he had a countermeasure. "Sister Zhou, what if I offer a higher price?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Man's resolve wavered slightly.

Instead of answering immediately, she glanced at Chen Fan, as if reassessing the weight of his words. Then, she pointed to a table in the corner. "Let's go over there to talk."

The two sat down at the table in the corner. The restaurant owner tactfully stood behind the counter, making no move to follow or interrupt.

After sitting down, Zhou Man placed her bag on the table. "How much are you planning to offer?"

Instead of answering, Chen Fan asked directly, "How much is this commercial property currently worth?"

Zhou Man pondered for a moment before saying, "This shop has an area of 240 square meters. Currently, commercial properties in this area go for around 7,500 yuan per square meter, which adds up to about 1.80 million yuan."

Hearing Zhou Man's words, Chen Fan knew that the price she quoted was slightly on the expensive side.

However, Chen Fan didn't care. His only goal right now was to buy this shop as quickly as possible.

So, he looked at Zhou Man and said, "I'll offer you 1.90 million yuan. Will you sell?"

Hearing this price, a flicker of interest flashed in Zhou Man's eyes. In reality, if this shop were to be sold now, it would fetch 1.60 to 1.70 million yuan at most. Chen Fan's offer of 1.90 million yuan was indeed a significant premium.

However, if she sold it, she would lose out on a lot of rental income, so it wasn't incredibly profitable when calculated that way.

With this thought, Zhou Man shook her head.