The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Bought Two Shops

Han Xiaorui knew this area would eventually be demolished for redevelopment, so she chose a prime location with high foot traffic near an elementary school. After negotiations, the final price was 500 yuan per square meter. The space was 48 square meters, for a total price of 24,000 yuan.

The other one was a bit farther from the elementary school but near a hospital. She negotiated the price down to 290 yuan per square meter. It was a two-story property of 126 square meters, for a total of 36,540 yuan.

In total, the two commercial properties cost her 60,540 yuan.

Zhang Xiufang’s compensation money made up the bulk of it.

’If Zhang Xiufang and Zhang Lili dare to cause me trouble again, I’ll take every last cent of the Yang Family’s money for myself.’

First, she paid the deposit. The final balance would be paid after the property transfer was completed at the real estate bureau.

The money in her bankbook, along with what she had just earned yesterday, was almost completely spent.

The agent’s fee and the legal fees for handling the subsequent procedures for Chen Nanyang were calculated at 1%, totaling 605.4 yuan.

Although it was a lot of money, it saved Han Xiaorui a great deal of trouble.

To others, it might not have seemed worth it, but to Han Xiaorui, the time she saved was time she could use to earn back double the amount.

Chen Nanyang looked at Han Xiaorui with admiration. ”Ms. Han, congratulations. Are you planning to use these properties to run your own business, or will you rent them out?”

Han Xiaorui thought for a moment and said, ”For the two-story shop, I’ll use the first floor to display more ornamental fish, and maybe even for breeding. I’ll clean up the second floor and put some bedding and daily necessities there, so Xiao Jing can rest there with the two kids in case of rain or bad weather like a typhoon.”

”I’ll have someone repaint it and get ready to open a small ornamental fish shop by the school. But I need to find a glass factory that can make fish tanks for me in various shapes and sizes.”

Hearing this, Chen Nanyang’s eyes lit up. ”My cousin just took over a glass factory that specializes in making glass jars for canned goods. Glass jars and glass fish tanks should be pretty similar. How about I ask him for you?”

Han Xiaorui was surprised. ”Lawyer Chen, you have connections like this too?”

”Haha, I have a big family spread out across many factories, and we’re local to the city, so I hear things.” Chen Nanyang smiled. ”I used to work at the courthouse, but I didn’t like the nine-to-five grind. I prefer more challenging work, so I resigned from my government position and started my own law firm.”

If he couldn’t hold out through the first half of this year, his only option would be to become a legal consultant for a foreign company.

’But now that I’ve met Han Xiaorui, I can probably hang on for another year.’

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Okay, can we go take a look now?”

”Sure!” Chen Nanyang agreed. He hailed a three-wheeler, and they headed straight for the Starlight Glass Factory.

It was called a factory, but it was more like a workshop, with only two production rooms and about forty workers.

”Ms. Han, don’t be put off by the small size of my cousin’s factory. Small private factories offer good service and can custom-make things to your specifications.”

”You’re only opening a small shop. If you go to a large, state-owned glass factory, they won’t even bother with you because your order is too small.”

Han Xiaorui smiled. Chen Nanyang was speaking the truth, which was why she had been willing to make the trip.

”Cousin, what brings you here?” Zhou Wei saw his cousin arrive and didn’t even stop to wash his hands. His cousin was a capable man; it was thanks to him that he could run his factory here peacefully.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to handle all the local thugs and hooligans.

Chen Nanyang made the introduction. ”Zhou Wei, this is a client of mine. She’s planning to open an ornamental fish shop and wants to buy some fish tanks.”

”Fish tanks?” Zhou Wei’s eyes lit up when he heard this. Orders for canning jars had been dwindling lately, and he’d been worrying about what to do next.

’If I can make fish tanks, that would be a great new direction.’

”Ms. Han, hello, I’m Zhou Wei. The glass jars we make are for food products, so they’re completely safe. We can definitely make fish tanks too. What size tanks are you looking for?”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Hello, Mr. Zhou. I’m planning to open an ornamental fish shop near a school, mainly selling to elementary and middle school students. So the tanks I need don’t have to be too big, but they do need to be highly transparent.”

”Initially, I’ll need round, rectangular, and square ones. The initial order might not be large, but I believe that shop owners near other schools will start ordering small ornamental fish fry from me, and the quantities will increase then.”

”Later on, when I can get temperature-controlled tanks, I’ll bring in some tropical ornamental fish, and business will be even better.”

Zhou Wei readily agreed after hearing Han Xiaorui’s plan. He also wanted to see if making fish tanks was actually profitable.

’If ordinary glass fish tanks can make money, then as more people get rich and start buying large tanks, I’ll need to study this market carefully.’

”Ms. Han, give me the specific dimensions, and I’ll have my team make some samples before you place an order. It doesn’t matter if the quantity is small for now. As long as you place future orders with me when they get bigger, that’s all that matters.”

Han Xiaorui liked doing business with reasonable people. She nodded and said, ”Alright, that works. I’ll give you the dimensions and drawings right now, and you can give me a quote on the spot.”

With that, Han Xiaorui took a piece of paper from her bag and handed it to Zhou Wei.

Zhou Wei discussed it with some others and calculated the prices.

A tank 20 cm long, 10 cm wide, and 15 cm high would be 0.2 yuan each.

A tank 30 cm long, 15 cm wide, and 20 cm high would be 0.4 yuan each.

There were a few other models, priced between 0.2 and 0.5 yuan each. The most expensive was a flat, round fishbowl with a 30 cm diameter.

The samples could be ready by Friday, and she would decide on the quantity then.

She had gotten two things done in one morning. It was highly efficient.

Chen Nanyang knew people everywhere. No matter what needed doing, he could get it prioritized. ’He’s a truly capable man!’

On top of that, Chen Nanyang also offered to help paint the shop and buy shelves and tables.

”Lawyer Chen, thank you. Once all the paperwork for the ornamental fish shop is done, I’ll pay you for everything together.” Han Xiaorui was grateful. ’This is making things so much easier.’

Chen Nanyang smiled. ”You’re welcome. Serving our clients is the mission of Nanyang Law Firm.”

Han Xiaorui checked the time. There were still ten minutes until school let out.

Returning to the hospital, Han Xiaorui took her sister and two daughters home.

Liang Xiaoyu was waiting for the bus with her son. While they waited, she recalled what the expert had told her about communicating more with her child.

A bicycle passed by, and she said to her son, ”That’s a bicycle.”

A car drove past, and she said, ”That’s a car.”

Once on the bus, she continued trying her best to talk to her son.

Sometimes Cai Wenjun would respond, and sometimes he wouldn’t, but Liang Xiaoyu kept the expert’s advice firmly in mind: look into the child’s eyes when you speak and interact more.

After returning home and having lunch, Liang Xiaoyu brought Cai Wenjun over to play with Pingping and An’an again.

She helped clean up.

Han Xiaorui carried two frozen Big Yellow Fish over to Wu Cuicui’s place.

”Sister Cuicui, I want to get a driver’s license. I heard from Brother Jianguo before that he has an army buddy at a driving school. I was hoping to ask about the process.”

Hearing this, Wu Cuicui turned and shouted to Yang Jianguo, who was busy in the backyard, ”Jianguo, Xiao Rui is here to ask you something!”

When Yang Jianguo learned that Han Xiaorui wanted to take the test, he looked confused. ”Xiao Rui, why do you want a driver’s license? It’s a huge hassle. You have to study for a year, and even if you pass the test, you still have to apprentice with a master driver. The whole process takes at least two or three years, and even then, there’s no guarantee you’ll get your license.”

”What?” Han Xiaorui was dumbfounded. She knew getting a license was difficult these days, but she hadn’t thought it would be *this* hard. ”It’s just driving a car, isn’t it? What’s so difficult that it takes two or three years to learn?”