Yoel smiled. “What a pleasure to be getting a ‘thank you’ from you.”
“As long as you stop saying nonsense, I will still be polite to you. After all, I’m someone with good
manners.” Sage unscrewed the cap, tilted her head back, and drank deeply from the bottle.
The tilt of her head exposed her graceful swanlike neck, and Yoel was once again struck by her beauty.
“It’s almost lunchtime. Are you hungry? Let me buy you lunch.”
Taking another sip of water, Sage replied, “Let me buy you a meal instead.”
Since Yoel had planned to give her a horse, Sage wanted to repay him by buying him a meal.”
Sage brought Yoel to a famous Japanese restaurant in town. As it was lunchtime, there was a long
queue of customers waiting in line.
They’re doing really well, aren’t they? I’ve been wanting to try this place, but I heard that they don’t
accept reservations and only serve a limited number of customers every day. Though I’m not sure if
their food is as good as people say.”
Yoel sighed and walked into the restaurant with Sage. The manager who was attending to customers
noticed Sage and hurried over quickly. “You’re here!”
Sage smiled and said, “I’ve brought a friend with me. Please have Chef Damian prepare a few of his
signature dishes.”
“Sure. We’ve prepared a dining room for you and your guest. Please follow me.”
The manager politely escorted Sage into the restaurant.
Walking beside Sage, Yoel asked, “Is this one of Norah Group’s businesses?”
“Not really,” replied Sage, “I own this shop.”
Yoel was slightly startled by this revelation. He too had opened up several restaurants, and he knew
that the food and beverage industry was not an easy industry to survive in, let alone have one’s
restaurant attain fame. “But from what I know, this place has been around for more than five to six
years, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Walking into the dining room, she added, “I opened this shop when I turned eighteen. I did it
mainly because I liked to eat, and I wanted to earn money while doing it.”
Raising his brows, Yoel asked, “Why would you need money when your father owns the Norah Group?”
“I started working when I was thirteen. My parents don’t really give me pocket money, so I have to earn
it with my own means.”
Sage moved around the room as if she was at home. After washing her hands, she started making tea.
“Do you prefer green tea or brown rice tea?”
With his eyes fixed on Sage, Yoel replied, “Green tea would do.”
While they were waiting for the food to be served, Sage and Yoel began discussing their strategies for
running the business. Yoel favored gentrification whereas Sage argued for a populist strategy.
“I get where you’re coming from. You are looking to expand the business to include a range of other
potential customers, but have you considered the financial development in Salem? There are only a
small group of people who can afford horse riding classes. Put simply, the equestrian sport is a sport
for the rich, and you know best of all how costly it can get. We also have to consider the cost involved
in taking care of the horses. We’re running a business here, not charity.”
Although Yoel appeared to be frivolous, when it came to work, he was serious.
Taking a sip of tea, Sage said, “Charity is for show, and business is for profit. At the end of the day, I
am still a businesswoman and o f course, I’d aim to gain profit.”
Passing a folder to Yoel, she went on, “This is a record of how much an average person spends in
Salem, Nadeem, and Riverside. Nadeem has the highest cost of living, and it also has the largest
poverty gap. They are closely followed by Riverside. Amongst all three cities, Salem has the lowest
cost of living, but it also has the fastest growth rate. This piece of land is rather unique as it is
strategically located at the intersection of all three cities. Thus, we have to take into consideration of the
spending power of the average person in all three cities.”
Sage explained all of this while Yoel went through the documents. The information was well presented,
and Yoel was able to easily comprehend everything.
“The equestrian sport was once considered a rich man’s sport, hence it only attracted a small group of
people. However, now that
the standard of living has improved, especially with the people of our generation becoming parents, it is
more likely that they would want to focus on developing their children. Therefore, it is likely that there
are some who would want their offspring to learn equestrian sports, just like there are those who want
their children to learn music or to pick up another language. Rather than try to popularize a rich man’s
sport, we should try to make it more readily available for the younger generations.”
Sage continued, “It would be a waste to use that large piece of land solely for the races. If we opened it
to the public, anyone could visit and make use of the space. We could then include a funfair, or we
could build a library, a sauna, a BBQ restaurant, or even a leisure spot. Customers could then enjoy
themselves at a reasonable price. Plus, we can still run the races. Doesn’t this sound like a plan?”
Sage gave her opinions in an organized and orderly manner and this stunned and pleasantly surprised
Yoel at the same time. It seemed that Sage had done her research.
Yoel clicked his tongue and said, “You are quite ambitious, aren’t you? You plan to get money from both
the rich and the poor.” Smiling, Sage corrected, “It’s not just for me, it’s for us both.”
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