Super Rich: It all started when I met a young woman in a sleeper car.

Chen Xun put his phone back in his pocket and looked at the messages that popped up in the group chat.

Lin Xinyue: "Wow, bro! You closed the deal already??"

Yang Xiaotao sent a shocked kitten emoji.

Li Qian replied with only one word: "Okay".

Chen Xun looked up at the three people still sitting on the living room sofa.

"You saw everything?" he asked.

"I saw it!" Lin Xinyue jumped up from the sofa. "Big brother, you're amazing! You just cut the deposit from six months' rent to three months' rent upfront to three months' rent and one month's rent in advance? And you even withheld the transfer fee?"

"It's not that we've cut the price," Chen Xun corrected her, "it's that we've agreed to talk. We'll take a lawyer to sign a letter of intent tomorrow; that's when things will really get serious."

Li Qian crossed her arms and said, "He agreed so readily and even asked for the money to arrive within three days... It seems he's really short of money."

"Yes," Chen Xun nodded, "that's his Achilles' heel. Last time he called, I heard him begging for a two-day extension. This time he's insisting the money must be in the account within three days. His cash flow is definitely in trouble, and he's desperate to cash out."

Yang Xiaotao asked softly, "Then... can we try to lower the price a bit more?"

"Smart." Chen Xun smiled. "This is our opportunity. The more anxious he is, the more room we have to negotiate. But we can't push him too far. If he's desperate, he might turn to someone else. What we want is a condition that he'll find difficult but still acceptable."

Lin Xinyue rubbed her hands together: "So how should we negotiate tomorrow? Should we just haggle over the price?"

"We can't just haggle directly," Chen Xun shook his head. "That's too blunt. We need to find a different way to phrase it."

He walked to the coffee table, picked up a pen, and scribbled on the few survey papers he had just seen.

"Our negotiation strategy boils down to one thing: flexible payment options."

All three of them were looking at him.

"Three months' deposit and one month's rent in advance, that's the bottom line, it can't be changed," Chen Xun said. "But we can be a little 'flexible' about the payment schedule. For example, for the transfer fee of 135,000, we can promise to pay half of it, 67,500, within three days after signing the contract. The remaining half will be paid in three installments of 22,500 each month."

Li Qian's eyes lit up: "Pay the balance in installments?"

"Yes," Chen Xun said, "that way he can get a sum of money immediately to tide him over, and our financial pressure will be reduced. For him, although he can't get the full amount at once, it's still better than having to wait until the place is unrented. That's our 'flexibility'."

Yang Xiaotao quickly did the mental calculations: "Then our initial investment is almost 70,000 yuan less in cash!"

“That’s right,” Chen Xun said, “and that’s not all. The rent is three months’ deposit and one month’s rent in advance, but we can propose that the first quarter’s rent be paid in two installments. Half in the first month and the other half in the second month. That way, the actual cash we need to pay in the first month will be half rent plus half transfer fee, which will reduce the pressure a lot.”

Lin Xinyue's mouth dropped open: "Damn... Big brother, I heard everything you were planning back home. Isn't this basically getting something for nothing?"

"What do you mean by 'freeloading'?" Chen Xun laughed and scolded, "This is a reasonable financial plan. He urgently needs money, so we're helping him relieve the pressure, but we also need to ensure our own cash flow security. It's a win-win situation."

Li Qian thought for a moment: "He might agree to this plan. But we need to be prepared that he might bring additional conditions."

"For example?" Chen asked.

"For example, the lease term," Li Qian said, "He might ask for a longer contract, three or even five years, to prevent us from running away after a few months. Or, he might ask us to bear part of the cost of the equipment he originally left behind."

Chen Xun nodded: "You've thought of everything. All of these are possible. So we need to rehearse all the possible scenarios."

He checked the time.

"Let's divide the tasks now. Xinyue, how's the revenue data compilation going?"

"Almost done!" Lin Xinyue immediately ran back to her room to get her laptop.

"Li Qian, market analysis report."

"Give me half an hour." Li Qian also got up and went back to her room.

"Xiao Tao, two budget proposals."

"Okay, I'm calculating." Yang Xiaotao took out her notebook and calculator.

Chen Xun sat down and began drafting a list of core terms to be used in tomorrow's negotiations.

Soon, only the sounds of typing and calculators filled the living room.

Twenty minutes later, Lin Xinyue was the first to run out with her laptop.

"It's done! Look, bro!"

She turned the screen towards Chen Xun.

The chart above is a simple bar graph showing the store's monthly revenue since it opened. The line has been steadily rising, especially in the last month, where it's practically rocketed upwards.

"Okay," Chen Xun said. "Print this out and bring it with you tomorrow. It's the best evidence of our profitability."

Next up is Li Qian.

She came out with several sheets of A4 paper covered with dense writing and simple diagrams.

"This is a list of all the casual dining and fast food shops within a three-kilometer radius of MixC World, a total of twenty-seven," Li Qian handed the paper to Chen Xun. "I've categorized them by type, average spending per person, and estimated customer traffic. Our instant noodle shop has a differentiated advantage in this area. There aren't any restaurants here that combine 'Instagrammable' and 'affordable, filling' dining options. This is our opportunity."

Chen Xun quickly glanced through it.

"Very good. This analysis is crucial. During the negotiations, we can tell Zhou Wenbin that not just anyone can make money by renting his shop, but our model can work here."

Finally, there's Yang Xiaotao.

She handed over the notebook a little shyly: "I've calculated two sets. With high-standard renovations and full payment for the transfer fee, the total initial investment would be around 310,000 yuan. Based on the current profit model, the payback period would be about eight months."

"With low-cost renovations and installment payments for the transfer fee," she turned to the next page, "the initial investment can be reduced to 220,000. The payback period... if the new store's customer traffic can reach 80% of the old store's, it should take about seven months to break even."

Chen Xun took the notebook and looked at it carefully.

"Let's use this low-cost approach as the basis for negotiations," he said. "But don't reveal your hand at the beginning. Let's talk about paying the transfer fee in installments and see his reaction."

He collected the materials from the three people together.

"Let's go together tomorrow afternoon."

Lin Xinyue asked excitedly, "Are we all going?"

"Yes," Chen Xun said, "Xin Yue, you're in charge of presenting the revenue data to prove our strength. Li Qian, you're in charge of explaining the market analysis and why we can succeed. Xiao Tao, you're in charge of the accounting. If the other party raises other conditions, you'll calculate them for them on the spot so they know that we have a clear plan for every penny."

He paused.

"And I was responsible for negotiating with him and finalizing the terms."

Li Qian asked, "What about the lawyer? Are you really hiring one?"

Chen Xun laughed: "Why hire a lawyer? That's just me bluffing him. I want him to think we're professional and not easily fooled. There are plenty of contract templates online; we can make our own, just make sure the terms are clear. The key is to put all the flexible payment options we agreed on today in black and white."