The rent collector became stronger, and he took in a young, energetic woman every day.

Chapter 44 Finding a suitable shop, the energetic young woman haggles wildly!

Chen Mo drove his Ducati smoothly onto the main road of the residential area.

Sweetie clung tightly to Chen Mo's waist, her hands clasped tightly together, her whole body pressed against his back, not daring to let go for a moment.

She felt her heart pounding terribly, and her cheeks burning hot, as if they were about to burst into flames.

Chen Mo gripped the handlebars, feeling the soft and warm body pressed tightly against his back.

Especially when he was about to stop at a traffic light or when someone in front of him needed to brake, he felt a mysterious force surging behind him the moment he squeezed the brake lever.

It was as if there was a shock-absorbing ball hidden between him and Tian Tian, ​​creating a buffer zone between them.

Chen Mo's lips curved slightly under his helmet.

Of course, he didn't keep his attention on what was behind him the whole time.

Chen Mo's eyes kept scanning both sides of the street, looking for shops with "for sale" signs.

The main road in the county town is lined with shops, including clothing stores, barbershops, hardware stores, and small supermarkets, one after another.

However, most of them are operating normally and there is no sign of them being transferred.

Chen Mo turned into a slightly narrower street. The architectural style of this street was different from that of the main road. It had red bricks and gray tiles, with upturned eaves and corners, giving it a retro feel.

Sure enough, Chen Mo spotted a shop for sale on this street.

Right at the corner of this street, there is a shop with a sign above the door that reads "Old Li's Breakfast Shop".

The roller shutter door was half-closed, and a white printed sheet of paper was pasted on the door with the words "Shop for Sale" written in large characters, followed by a phone number.

Chen Mo slowed down and stopped his motorcycle on the side of the road.

He braced himself on his long legs, took off his helmet, hung it on the handlebars, and then turned around to carefully observe his surroundings.

This pedestrian street features antique-style architecture, with red bricks, gray tiles, and wooden doors and windows. The shops on both sides of the street are decorated in a distinctive way, and the street looks clean and orderly.

Moreover, there is a large flow of people. It's only a little past ten in the morning, and there are already quite a few people walking on the street.

There are many clothing stores, claw machine shops, and several handmade pottery workshops on both sides of the street.

There's a small tavern not far away, with a string of warm yellow lights hanging above its door; it must look beautiful at night.

There are also various restaurants, coffee shops, milk tea shops, bakeries, and dessert shops, one after another, with a very diverse range of businesses.

Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat.

This place should be even more lively at night, with a larger flow of people. Couples going shopping, friends gathering, and people taking a walk after dinner will all come to this kind of place.

It's really not a good place for a breakfast shop to be located. Nobody would make a special trip to the pedestrian street to have breakfast early in the morning, which is probably one of the reasons why this shop went out of business.

But running a flower shop is different.

This location is at a corner, offering a wide view, where pedestrian traffic from both streets converges.

There's also a small open space near the entrance, where we can set up flower stands and display various seasonal flowers. This would attract business and beautify the environment, which should be quite nice.

(That's roughly it.)

Seeing that Chen Mo had stopped his motorcycle and was observing the scene, Tian Tian also got off the motorcycle.

She took off her black helmet and held it to her chest. Her dark chestnut curly hair was slightly messy from being pressed down by the helmet, with a few stray strands sticking to her forehead.

She peeked out with her head peeking out, followed Chen Mo's gaze to look at the shop, and then asked a question in a low voice.

"Brother Mo, have you taken a liking to that shop?"

Chen Mo nodded and pointed to the shop with its half-closed roller shutter door.

"What do you think?"

Sweetie tilted her head and observed carefully.

She nodded, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Brother Mo, I think this spot is pretty good. It's at the corner, so people on both sides can see it."

Chen Mo smiled.

"Okay, let's talk to the boss about it then."

He pushed the Ducati to the side of the road and parked it, then set up the side stand.

Sweetie followed behind him, holding her helmet, her steps light and quick.

Sister Nan also parked her white Ford on the side of the road, turned off the engine, and opened the car door.

Xiao Lu, Coco, Xiao Rou, and Xiao Ning got off the car one after another. Some stretched, some fixed their hair, and some looked around.

As soon as Xiao Lu saw Chen Mo, she trotted over, her twin ponytails swaying behind her head.

"Brother Mo, have you found a suitable shop yet?"

Chen Mo nodded, gestured with his chin in that direction, and pointed to the shop with the "For Sale" sign on it.

"What do you guys think of this location?"

The girls all turned their gazes in that direction, observing their surroundings.

Xiao Lu was the first to give her evaluation, her hands tucked into the pockets of her pleated skirt, her twin ponytails swaying gently.

"It feels pretty good. This location is great; I used to come here often, it's very lively at night."

Xiao Rou nodded in agreement, her long, pinkish-purple hair swaying gently over her shoulders.

"Yes, and there are many dessert shops and handicraft shops here, so there must be a lot of couples strolling around at night."

She paused, her eyes lit up, and her voice carried a hint of excitement.

"We can launch those small bouquets for 9.9 yuan each. They're small, beautifully packaged, and have a very low cost. People will just buy them while they're out shopping, and they'll definitely sell very well."

Chen Mo looked at Xiao Rou in surprise.

He hadn't expected that this quirky little girl actually had quite a lot going on in her head.

"I didn't expect you to have such a good business sense."

Chen Mo said in admiration.

Xiao Rou blushed instantly after being praised by Chen Mo, her face turning red all the way to the tips of her ears.

She looked down at her toes, but the corners of her mouth were turned up so wide she couldn't suppress it; she was overjoyed, as if a flower had burst open inside her.

Chen Mo withdrew his gaze, walked to the shop entrance, took out his phone, and dialed the number on the note.

The phone rang three times before I answered. The voice on the other end was that of a kind-hearted man, speaking Mandarin with a county accent and in a very polite tone.

Hello.

Chen Mo explained his purpose, saying that he had seen the shop transfer information and wanted to rent it to open a flower shop, and asked the owner if it would be convenient for him to come and take a look.

The man was very happy and repeatedly said it was convenient, explaining that he lived nearby and would be there in ten minutes, and asked Chen Mo to wait a moment.

Less than ten minutes after I hung up the phone, a man in his forties arrived on an electric scooter.

"Hello, hello, are you looking to rent a house? My surname is Li."

The man parked his car and warmly extended his hand.

Chen Mo shook hands with him, greeted him as Uncle Li, introduced himself, and then got straight to the point.

"Uncle Li, I'd like to rent this shop of yours. Would it be convenient for you to take me inside now?"

The man nodded, took out his keys from his pocket, bent down and pulled up the roller shutter door, the clattering sound echoing for several seconds on the pedestrian street.

The door opened, and the space inside was larger than Chen Mo had imagined.

The floor is covered with white tiles, and the walls are painted with white latex paint; overall, it is fairly clean.

The ceiling is very high, I estimate it's over three meters. If you were to use it as a flower shop, the space would feel very comfortable and not oppressive.

This layer is not the most important.

The man led Chen Mo up the stairs. The second floor was the same size as the first floor, but it was divided into two rooms, a balcony, and a bathroom.

The balcony faces south, and sunlight streams in through the windows, illuminating the empty floor with ample and warm light.

Chen Mo stood on the balcony and looked down, where he could see the bustling scene of people coming and going on the pedestrian street.

Chen Mo became more and more satisfied with the store.

It has a good location, high foot traffic, and a reasonable spatial layout. The second floor can be used as a warehouse, staff lounge, or even a place to live.

The man quoted a price.

"32,000 a year, paid annually."

Chen Mo did some mental calculations.

Given the location, the fact that the storefront is a two-story structure with a balcony and a bathroom, it costs 32,000 yuan a year, which is less than 3,000 yuan a month.

That's already a great deal.

In a major first-tier city, this amount of money wouldn't even rent a toilet.

Chen Mo was satisfied with the price and nodded, just about to say, "Okay, then let's settle on it."

Before he could even finish speaking, the girls around him had already started moving.

Xiao Lu was the first to step forward, tossing her pigtails, placing her hands on her hips, and slightly raising her chin, exuding the air of a negotiation expert.

"Uncle Li, isn't your price a bit high? Look, although your location is on a corner, the storefront doesn't face the main street directly, so the view is still a bit poor."

Coco chimed in, nodding, "Besides, your shop has been empty for a while now, hasn't it? I see there's quite a bit of dust on the floor. Every day it's empty is a loss; renting it out sooner will save you trouble, won't it?"

Xiao Rou stood beside him, her voice soft, and chimed in, "Uncle Li, our Brother Mo is signing a three-year lease at once! Three years! You're collecting three years' rent upfront, saving you so much trouble! No need to find tenants every year, no need to negotiate prices every year—it's so convenient! You have to give us a discounted rate for long-term cooperation, right?"

The three girls chattered away, like three machine guns firing in turn.