Chapter 17: Indeed (Guo Ran) Love You Very Much
Despite the twists and turns in renting the storefront, after the tenacious indebtedness of Shou Jiaxun, the sacrifice of wealth for righteousness by Uncle Guo, and the sincere recommendation of the agency manager, the three parties finally managed to secure a prime “C-position” shop that would make any business person’s eyes light up.
Except for being expensive, no faults could be picked.
The shop was located in the ground floor commercial space of an old mall in the middle of the pedestrian street. With business crowds in front and neighborhood residents behind, the ground floor shop could operate twenty-four hours a day.
On Monday, Shou Jiaxun withdrew over three hundred thousand in tuition and miscellaneous fees from the school and went straight to the agency to sign the contract.
Guo Duoyu specially took half a day off to act as his bodyguard, escorting the huge amount of cash… card.
However, during the forty-minute drive, Little Student Guo opened his mouth every four minutes to persuade Little President Shou: “Think about it again? Once the contract is signed, my dad’s previous ten years and your next ten years will be spent repaying debt.”
“The key is we only got a loan for one year’s rent. If the profit isn’t ideal later, this year will be for nothing.”
“Not just for nothing, but still have to pay back the money.”
“Clearing to zero until negative assets, hey.”
Shou Jiaxun took out earphones and plugged his ears, but they were pulled out by Guo Duoyu in less than five minutes.
—”A single dad emptying his pockets to start a business carries huge risk. Shou Jiaxun, what you are shouldering now is not just hundreds of thousands in debt, but also the honor and disgrace of half a lifetime of a single old father.”
Shou Jiaxun finally turned his face, frowning and squinting with a look of disgust. “Luckily my partner is your dad, not you.”
“No, let’s just say one thing. With such high rent, are you sure selling melons and fruits can earn back the capital?” Guo Duoyu was really about to die of confliction now.
President Shou sighed. “How about this… if we lose money, I’ll immediately find a rich old Alpha to marry, and the betrothal gift goes to you. Feel safer?”
Guo Duoyu didn’t understand. “Why must it be an old Alpha? Do you only like old men?”
Shou Jiaxun was amused by him. “I’m selling my body and I still get to pick? As long as they have money. At that time, if Xiao Yu still likes me, I’ll go find him.”
Guo Duoyu nodded blankly. “That’s okay… but he’s with Bai Fan now, you have to wait for the next round.” After speaking, he suddenly realized he was led astray by Shou Jiaxun and hurriedly grabbed his shoulder to question, “Can’t we pull back from the cliff now?!”
Shou Jiaxun’s head was buzzing from his noise, feeling like he was about to get carsick. “I’m really convinced by you… get off at the next stop, or I’m going to vomit on you.”
Guo Duoyu finally tactfully shut up, but still looked aggrieved, as if bullied terribly by Shou Jiaxun.
Seeing his pitiful look, Shou Jiaxun thought that getting along with young people required changing to a more relaxed topic, so he asked Student Guo, “Xiao Yu seemed to still be with Yin Xi last week. Hooking up with Bai Fan so fast, could it be cheating?”
Guo Duoyu shook his head blankly. “It’s not him sticking to Bai Fan, it’s Bai Fan chasing him. Anyway, Bai Fan said he already broke it off with Yin Xi. I see our class monitor was traumatized by you, his temperament changed drastically. Maybe he’s going the ‘saving all sentient beings’ route. Bai Fan probably won’t last long with him either.”
“Mmhmm, that’s good.” Shou Jiaxun nodded absently.
Guo Duoyu pursued, “Good where?”
Of course, good that he wasn’t coming to pester him. Little President Shou felt that as long as no Alpha coveted his butt, everything was good.
When the two arrived at the agency, Uncle Guo and the bank loan officer were already waiting there. Everyone verified the contracts face to face, signed, and fingerprinted.
The loan was a special lease loan. Although President Shou took on the debt, he himself couldn’t see the cash, and naturally, it was even more impossible to use the loan for other purposes.
The shop rent for the following year was paid in full by the bank to the agency, while President Shou would live the life of a mortgage slave repaying high loan amounts monthly for the next three years.
And the repayment amount for the first year was the highest, having to pay off half of the total rent.
Overall, the rental loan was similar to a mortgage, but paying off a mortgage meant owning a suite.
If Shou Jiaxun and Uncle Guo’s fruit shop lost money and closed, not only would they have nothing left, but they would also have to work desperately to pay back the bank.
However, the agency manager helped them fight for a one-month renovation rent-free period. Paying for twelve months of rent effectively got them thirteen months.
Once this kind of debt was on one’s back, every minute, even breathing, was burning costs. So after signing the contract at the agency, President Shou and Uncle Guo immediately rushed to the building materials market to discuss renovation without stopping.
Guo Duoyu was chased back to school by their combined nagging.
After ten o’clock at night, Student Guo, who had just come out of the study room, suddenly received a call from his dad. Uncle Guo was concise: “Come out, Dad’s treating you to a late-night snack, wait at the gate.”
Guo Duoyu threw his schoolbag back into the study room with a bang and ran towards the school gate.
Their school had many rich people. At night, luxury cars were always waiting at the school gate to pick up students for dates or parties. Uncle Guo’s broken minivan was parked in front of an Audi and behind a Bugatti. Uncle Guo and Shou Jiaxun standing in front of the minivan stood out more than a hunchbacked old man’s lumbar disc.
Guo Duoyu ran to them in one breath after exiting the gate, asking urgently, “What’s wrong? Suddenly looking for me, nothing happened, right?”
Shou Jiaxun flashed a stack of drawings from behind his back with a swish, grinning and raising his eyebrows. “Of course we looked for you because there’s something. Help choose a design style.”
“Ouch, scared me to death. My dad never looked for me at this hour.” Guo Duoyu patted his chest to calm his shock, taking the color-printed drawings to look through.
Suddenly he paused, murmuring the shop name: “‘Guo Ran Hen Ai Ni’ (Indeed/Fruit Naturally Loves You Very Much)…?”
After reading it, he looked up at his dad, then glanced at Shou Jiaxun. “Such a good name… who came up with it?”
Uncle Guo pouted towards Shou Jiaxun. “Little President Shou.”
Guo Duoyu looked at Shou Jiaxun with disbelief. “You took out a loan and got into debt to open a shop for my dad? You are so noble.”
Uncle Guo clicked his tongue and scolded in a low voice, “What nonsense? It’s a partnership, we are partners! If we lose money, I will pay back the debt together with Little President Shou, okay?”
“No…” Guo Duoyu pointed at the shop front rendering on the drawing. “‘Guo Ran’ is your name (Uncle Guo’s name implies Guo Ran/Fruit), plus ‘Hen Ai Ni’ (Loves You Very Much)… are you sure he isn’t confessing to you?”
Uncle Guo raised his hand and knocked his son’s forehead. “Idiot, can’t you interpret it as ‘I’ love my customers very much? With your reading comprehension ability, how did you pass Chinese?”
“Fine…” Guo Duoyu rubbed his forehead and compromised, but immediately added, “Dad, you have to keep in mind at all times, Shou Jiaxun is an Omega. And he’s twenty years younger than you.”
As expected, he got a kick in the butt from his dad, causing the big dark-skinned boy to stumble and almost sit on the ground.
Shou Jiaxun drove to a nearby night market and found a beer food stall. He ordered a table of peanuts, edamame, river snails, and skewers. With appetizers, naturally, a few bottles of beer were needed.
Once the food and drinks were served, he drank and chatted with the Guo father and son.
The three sets of drawings were divided into three color tones and three internal layouts, which could be mixed and matched arbitrarily. Every internal design separated the fresh produce and deep processing areas. The water bar design was comparable to a high-end drink shop bar, not only full of artistic sense but also embellished with multiple crystal elements, taking a high-profile luxury route.
The more Guo Duoyu looked, the more nervous he got. “How much will this cost?”
Shou Jiaxun poured him beer. “Don’t worry about that, just say which one looks good.”
Guo Duoyu persisted, “You guys didn’t take out another loan, did you?”
Uncle Guo’s eyes widened in surprise, looking at Shou Jiaxun. “How did he know?”
“This doesn’t look like something that can be renovated for eighty or a hundred thousand!” Guo Duoyu slapped the table in anger. “Are you two crazy?!”
Shou Jiaxun sighed with a smile, his attitude solemn. “This shop is our first flagship store. It must be beautiful enough and fierce enough to be tough enough. When I open thirty branches, it will be the number one fruit chain in the country. What’s wrong with borrowing some money? Not asking you to pay it back. Guo Duoyu, let me tell you, within three years, your dad and I will definitely make the wealth you possess match your talent.”
Guo Duoyu just wanted to howl at the sky. He snatched Shou Jiaxun’s wine glass. “Drink less! Are you so drunk you can’t find north?”
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