"I really need to rent out this shop. If it's too expensive for you, I can give you a discount. Does nine
thousand sound good?" Beck offered, seeing that Ashley and Ellie were hesitating.
The place looked great and the rent Beck offered was within their budget. However, Ashley and Ellie
did not plan to set up their shop here.
It was located at the end of the street; although there were many pedestrians, they seldom passed by
here or stayed for a long while.
On top of that, they had looked around the street when they came to this shop. Two busy cake shops
were located at the center of this street.
This was a disadvantage to Ashley and Ellie. Only a few people would come by their shop. If they did
decide to set up their own cake shop here, the best case scenario for them would be to earn back what
they spent without any profit.
Ashley turned to see what Ellie thought. With one look, she knew Ellie was thinking the same thing.
"Thank you, Beck. But we have to think more about it carefully," Ashley said with an apologetic smile,
"We're sorry."
"Okay. It doesn't matter. People often think twice before making a decision. If you decide to rent my
shop, call me.
In fact, the location here is really good. I have done business here for several years. If I hadn't had
family financial difficulties, I wouldn't rent it out in a hurry."
"We understand what you mean. Everyone has their problems. I'm sorry that we have to leave now.
We'll call you when we've made a decision."
"Okay," Beck said with a nod. And with that, he escorted the two girls out the door.
"Thank you, Beck. We're sorry to bother you."
…
As soon as they got in the car, Ellie turned to Ashley to talk about the shop more.
"Ashley, how do you feel about that shop?" she asked.
"Do you honestly want to know what I think?" Ashley replied as she rolled her eyes.
"I'm not that convinced by it," Ashley began to explain. "The location seems good but compared to
other shops in that street, that shop is too remote. There are also two other cake shops on that street. If
we set up our shop there, our only customers would be mostly pedestrians coming home from work.
Our business may not be that good."
In the past two days, Ashley and Ellie had done a lot of research when it came to putting up a
business.
If they didn't know any better, they might have rented the very first commercial space that was available
without thinking twice.
After all, the location of that shop seemed good and the rent was priced fairly.
Moreover, it seemed that Beck couldn't wait to rent out that shop to them.
Ashley believed that Ellie must have noticed it.
As Ashley expected, Ellie nodded in agreement.
"That was just the first shop we have inspected. There are still many other shops. It doesn't matter.
We'll find a shop that we both like eventually."
Later, Ashley and Ellie spent the whole day in running around the city to find a suitable location for their
shop.
The Luo Group
General Manager's Office
A man approached the general manager's office, giving three quick knocks on the door.
Lena was slumped on her swivel chair. Upon hearing the knock on the door, she quickly straightened
up, and squared her shoulders. "Come in."
"Miss Mu," the man said as he opened the door. He stepped inside the office, quickly closing the door
behind him right after.
As he came into view, Lena slumped back on her chair once again.
"Did you find anything?"
"Yes,"
the man replied as he walked over to her. In a low, hushed voice, he shared with her what he had
found.
As the man explained, the smile on Lena's face grew wider and wider.
'I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find anything. It seems to me that the last thing she wants to
happen is to get into trouble, ' Lena thought.
'Now I've found out that she wants to own a cake shop apparently. There's no way I'll let her leave the
Luo Group freely.'
With a slight nod, Lena turned to the man, "Keep an eye on them. And make sure that they don't
successfully find a place to rent. See to it that you give them a hard time," she ordered.
"Okay, Miss Mu," the man responded, walking out of the office thereafter.
Lena stood up and paced across her office, her eyes full of excitement. 'Oh, Ashley. Did you really think
you've seen the last of me when you leave the Luo Group?
No matter what you do, you will fail. And I'll laugh at your face when you come begging to me for help!
You will pay for everything you've done to me!'
…
Both Ashley and Ellie were exhausted. They had visited many shops, but still couldn't find one that was
perfect for them. It was either too expensive or was at a bad location altogether.
It was already around five o'clock in the afternoon when they decided to take a break.
They sat on a bench at the side of the street, sipping on the milk tea they had just bought. Ellie was on
her phone, checking where else they could inquire. "There's still one last place that we haven't
checked," she said to Ashley, "Come on! It isn't far away from here."
Upon hearing this, Ashley let out a groan, and got up to go to one last location. They had spent almost
the entire day going around the city. It was no wonder why Ashley felt so tired.
The last shop was next to Chaya Road. Behind the shop, there were several buildings where many
people lived. There was also a large shopping mall next to the shop. And this shop was located in the
center of this area. No matter where people came and went, they could immediately notice this shop.
Moreover, there was only a small cake shop in the area, which wasn't even doing so good.
When they entered the shop at Chaya Road, they instantly fell in love with it. It was very spacious, and
was even well-decorated in a European style.
The owner of this shop was a middle-aged woman who looked very kind.
She said she originally wanted to run her own cake shop here, and had already done the decorations.
But her son's wife was pregnant--he had called her, asking if she could come over and take care of his
pregnant wife. It was a pity to let the decorations go to waste, so she thought of renting it out to others
instead. The new shop owner just needed to tidy it up before starting business.
"Congratulations! You'll be a great grandmother!" Ashley and Ellie sincerely sent their blessings to the
woman.
"Thank you," The woman smiled gently.
"Let me give you a look around.
This way, please. Here is the kitchen. All the equipment here is fairly new. There's also a lot of space
and storage so cooking will be very convenient.
You can also put your tables and cake displays over here.
And here…"
Ashley and Ellie listened intently as the woman gave them a careful explanation of the shop, all the
while giving them suggestions on what they could do with the space.
This was the first time that they were going to own their very own shop. Although they read a lot of
articles on the Internet, they still hadn't put it to practice. It was a good opportunity now that they were
learning from someone with experience.
With that, Ashley and Ellie decided to rent this shop. After a few more inquiries, they made an
appointment with her the following day so they could sign the contract. They bade the woman goodbye,
the smiles on Ashley's and Ellie's faces bright with the promise of their new shop.
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