Chapter 33: Chapter 31: Price Negotiation
“Hello, I am Cai Jianxin, the owner of Yule. You mentioned you wanted to see the property before—would today be convenient for you?”
Although the other party’s tone sounded composed, Miss Huo couldn’t help but curl the corners of her mouth upon hearing those words.
Boss Cai was taking the initiative to come to her, which proved he had become flustered and was desperately trying to sell the house.
It wasn’t easy to find a buyer in such a short time. Pressed by high-interest loans, Cai Jianxin was at his wits’ end, hence, he had no choice but to turn to Huo Sining.
He really had no other options and was pacing anxiously at home when he happened to see the note on the table.
In his desperation, he decided to give it a shot and called Huo Sining.
However, he still had his doubts deep down—after all, Huo Sining looked too young. Was it possible for such a young girl to take over his shop?
After receiving the call, Huo Sining found the shop. Because thugs had been causing trouble there frequently, Cai Jianxin didn’t even dare to open the door.
When Huo Sining got to the entrance, she called Cai Jianxin, who, like a frightened bird, hurriedly opened the door.
After leading Huo Sining inside, he immediately said,
“Miss Huo, hello. I want to sell this shop together with the upstairs property as a single unit, you see…”
What Cai Jianxin was implying was that his shop wouldn’t come cheap, and Miss Huo should be prepared for that.
Huo Sining smiled, “Boss Cai, fairness and transparency are key in business. You need to let me have a look at the property first, then you can quote your price.”
Upon hearing this, Cai Jianxin paused, his face instantly flushed red.
He was indeed taking advantage of Huo Sining’s youth to start bargaining on the spot.
But Huo Sining was not so easily swayed. Although she was interested in buying a shop, it wasn’t necessarily Cai Jianxin’s shop she had to have.
After all, it wasn’t she, the buyer, who needed to settle accounts urgently, but Cai, the seller; she naturally wasn’t in a rush.
Seeing Huo Sining’s confident and composed demeanor, Cai Jianxin, afraid of offending his only potential buyer, hastily led her inside.
Huo Sining had only roughly estimated the shop’s size with her eyes before, but now that she actually entered, she realized she had been mistaken.
The shop front wasn’t very large, but there was a small partitioned space behind it, about twenty square meters in size.
Since Cai Jianxin previously sold fish, he had intentionally divided the more than seventy-square-meter shop front to include a small partition.
Inside the partition, he had built three large water tanks, each one meter twenty in height, lined with white tiles.
These tanks were originally for keeping live fish, but after he shifted to selling ornamental fish, they became unnecessary.
However, it seemed that he hadn’t put all his eggs in one basket with the ornamental fish, so he didn’t break down the partition, and all three cement tanks were still there.
Seeing this, Huo Sining felt a surge of joy—she could indeed make use of those water tanks. Later, when she caught wild live fish from the river, they could be kept right in those tanks.
The upstairs apartment was larger than Huo Sining had estimated, a two-bedroom and two-living-room layout, but the living room and both bedrooms weren’t big.
However, as she turned towards the stairwell, Huo Sining was surprised to find a small loft hidden above the stairs on the second floor.
This little loft was probably less than ten square meters, hidden at the back of the floor, invisible from the outside.
Perhaps because the loft was too small, Cai Jianxin didn’t use it, and it was filled with various items.
The house wasn’t large, but for Huo Sining, it was more than sufficient, especially since it appeared to have been recently renovated—the wallpaper on the walls was still new.
The Mediterranean-style decoration and the fish store downstairs were of the same aesthetic, which looked very cozy; Huo Sining felt there was no better and more suitable house for herself than this one.
However, the more satisfied she was, the more indifferent she had to appear; at such times, as long as Huo Sining didn’t get flustered, the price was negotiable.
Though it might seem like taking advantage of others’ misfortunes, in business terms, Huo Sining didn’t feel guilty at all about doing this.
Even if Boss Cai didn’t sell it to her, he would sell it to someone else; better to benefit herself than others.
During the house viewing, Cai Jianxin was always paying attention to the expressions on Huo Sining’s face, but Huo Sining concealed her emotions too well, and Cai Jianxin couldn’t see through her thoughts.
Therefore, after viewing the house, he had no choice but to tentatively start with, “Miss Huo, what do you think about this house…?”
Huo Sining looked around once more before sitting down and said with a smile:
“Boss Cai, let’s not beat around the bush. Let me be frank with you, if I take over your shop, I’m also planning to open a fish store, so there’s no conflict. Plus, I think the decoration and ambiance of your shop are quite good. Name your price so I have an idea in mind.”
Huo Sining didn’t allow Cai Jianxin to take the initiative; by being so direct, she somewhat caught Cai Jianxin off guard.
He poured Huo Sining a cup of tea and after a brief silence, he began:
“Miss Huo is straightforward, so I won’t hide anything. This shop is my family property, handed down from my grandfather’s generation. We’ve been running the seafood business here for over twenty years. If it wasn’t for being blinded by lard, I wouldn’t have fallen into the hands of a swindler. If I didn’t currently owe money to loan sharks, I really wouldn’t want to sell it. If you truly want to buy, it’s five million, no less.”
Cai Jianxin spoke earnestly, but Huo Sining’s eyes turned cold, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. Cai Jianxin was obviously treating her like a sucker.
She had thought that three million seven hundred thousand would surely be enough, but Cai Jianxin’s price had shocked her.
She hadn’t been idly passing time recently; she had checked online and inquired at estate agencies around the Flower and Bird Market. The average price for shops in the area was around forty-eight thousand, with housing prices at about twenty thousand yuan.
Even adding the twenty-square-meter partition in the back, Cai Jianxin’s shop could only be worth four million five hundred thousand at most.
Moreover, Cai Jianxin was eager to sell, so the price would certainly be lower than usual.
“Boss Cai, that’s somewhat unkind of you. If your shop could actually sell for five million, please tell me who the buyer is; I would also like to see if I can make more money off them.”
Huo Sining’s words were blunt: “I came here in good faith to see the shop. If you’re going to play games, Boss Cai, then let’s assume I just came for a visit, and there’s no need to say more.”
With that, Huo Sining stood up and was ready to leave. When Cai Jianxin saw that Huo Sining was about to leave without even bargaining, he became anxious and quickly held her back, proactively lowering the price: “Four million five hundred thousand!”
Huo Sining internally cheered ‘yes’, but her face remained expressionless as she took an A4 sheet of paper out of her backpack.
“Boss Cai, this is the sales information I got from a housing resource center nearby yesterday. You should have a reasonable idea of the property and shop prices in this area. You’re in a hurry to offload the shop, and if you go through an agent, not to mention anything else, the commission isn’t cheap. Besides, with time being tight, you’d definitely have to give a discount in terms of price. Why is it that when it comes to me, you are suddenly asking for the moon?”
Cai Jianxin was speechless at Huo Sining’s move, and she smiled:
“Let it be, I’m not the type to kick someone when they’re down. Since Boss Cai isn’t sincerely looking to sell, I’ll just wish you prosperity and thriving business here!”
This time, Huo Sining didn’t even pause and walked straight out.
Cai Jianxin’s face went from pale to flushed with inner turmoil in the room, but ultimately he didn’t call out for Huo Sining to stop.
Huo Sining felt somewhat disappointed; after all, not insisting meant losing out on such a good shop, but she inevitably felt a little let down.
However, Huo Sining’s disappointment was short-lived, as less than half an hour after she got home, Cai Jianxin’s call came through:
“Miss Huo, four million. If you find the price suitable, we can sign the contract and transfer ownership this afternoon!”
“Deal!” Huo Sining rejoiced inwardly, knowing this must be Cai Jianxin’s final bottom line, and promptly agreed.
(Forgot to schedule an update, so today’s update is late. Sorry.)