Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
At Cloud Street.
Lin Fan was laying there leisurely. He wasn’t bothered by the increase in rental fees at all.
He wasn’t a dumb person after all.
It was such an absurd increment. The corporation practically wanted to destroy their businesses. They had to protest against it.
If they didn’t make a big fuss about it, then they would die in silence.
They would definitely be able to find a new place to move to anyway.
Then, he posted on Weibo.
“There is a two-fold increase in the rental fees on Cloud Street. It’s a robbery. I’m prepared to bring all the shop owners to look for a new plot of land. Are there any netizens that know of a good business district? All of us want to move out of here.”
When the Weibo post was sent out, it immediately created an uproar.
“D*mn, Master Lin wants to move?”
“A two-fold increase, that’s so ruthless. I’m supportive of Master Lin moving out. The people at Shandong welcome you here.”
“To the person above, get lost. Anhui is such a better place.”
“To the person above, get lost too. Lianzhou is the best place.”
…
Then, there was a commotion online.
Meanwhile, a young man was scrolling through Weibo as he was at home. He had been living at Cloud Street for around half a year. In the past, he had felt like this area wasn’t good at all. But after he saw Master Lin’s shop, he felt that this place was a precious piece of land.
He couldn’t bear to leave the area.
He would wake up early in the morning every day to queue for Master Lin’s scallion pancakes.
Sometimes, even when he couldn’t purchase them, he wouldn’t give up. This had already become part of his life. If he didn’t queue for them, he would feel uncomfortable.
Furthermore, when he faced difficulties during work or a setback in life, he would go to Master Lin’s shop to have his fortune read. Under Master Lin’s guidance, he felt like his life was back on track again and he felt like life was perfect after all.
Suddenly, when this young man saw the content on Weibo, he was shocked.
“D*mn! Does Master Lin really want to move somewhere else?”
This piece of news on Weibo stunned him. He quickly changed and went towards Cloud Street.
At the lift lobby.
“Lil’ Wu, why are you in a hurry?” a middle-aged lady asked.
Lil’ Wu hurriedly replied, “Things don’t look good. Master Lin said that he wants to move away from Cloud Street. I have to rush there to see the situation.”
The middle-aged lady was stunned when she heard it. “Is that true?”
Lil’ Wu entered the lift and opened up WeChat.
In the WeChat group, someone had already made a big fuss about it.
“Master Lin is really leaving Cloud Street? Is it really true?”
“I don’t know. I’m still working. When I knock off from work, I’ll be heading there to have a look.”
Lil’ Wu hurriedly tapped away, “I’m currently on the way to Cloud Street to have a look. If it’s really true, we’re dead. Where are we going to buy scallion pancakes in the future?”
“Quickly go and have a look. Let us know the latest news!”
…
Meanwhile, an uninvited guest arrived at the shop.
Liu Guo Qiang smiled as he entered the shop, “Hi, Master Lin. I am Liu Guo Qiang from Xin Yu Commercial Real Estate Company, the person in charge of this area. I would like to have a chat with you regarding the increment in rental fees.”
Fraud Tian and the others were looking at him too. Wu You Lan had prepared a cup of tea for the guest but she immediately placed the cup down and continued to play with her phone.
This person didn’t deserve a cup of tea at all.
Lin Fan placed his phone down. Since the person in charge was here, he wanted to have a good chat with him. “Director Liu, your method of raising the rental fees doesn’t seem good.”
Liu Guo Qiang had already thought of a brilliant way to go against Lin Fan. He chuckled, “Master Lin, I think you’ve misunderstood us. We didn’t raise the rental fees just as we like. We have a team of professional market surveyors and the fees are based on the current situation. It’s not a matter of daylight robbery or solely according to our preferences.”
Lin Fan laughed, “You think it’s reasonable to raise the fees twice a year? The fees have increased even more. It’s only been half a year since the last time you raised it. For a small shop like mine, rental fees for a year amount to more than a hundred thousand dollars. If you double it, it’d be almost three hundred thousand dollars. What do I have to sell to pay my housing loan?”
“That isn’t right. I only sell ten pieces of scallion pancakes every day. That’s only five hundred dollars per day. In a month, that’s only fifteen thousand dollars. Looks like I can’t even afford my housing loan this year. I’m making such a huge loss running this ‘business’.”
Liu Guo Qiang chuckled and waved his hand. “Master Lin, you can’t count it like that. We aren’t looking to raise your rental fees. After our discussion, we have decided to decrease your rental fees and even waive them off. As long as you remain on Cloud Street, everything can be discussed.”
Lin Fan laughed, “Of course it can be discussed. I am not looking to make things difficult for you. All of you want to earn money too, that’s normal. But the increment is too much. What if you increase it by just 10% this time? It’s reasonable enough. We don’t want to make things difficult for you too.”
If Lin Fan removed the limit, he could afford the 100% increment in just a month. As for other shops, they’d be making huge losses.
How much would their daily profits have to be in order to gain back the money?
Liu Guo Qiang knew that this matter had to be discussed, hence, he wasn’t anxious about it. “Master Lin, it’s impossible to just increase it by 10%. The increment isn’t decided by us, it’s suggested by the headquarters. Look, the visitor flow in Cloud Street now is so good. Everyone’s business is doing well. It’s normal to increase the rental fees. Please do not make things difficult for us. We are also employees too and we can’t make the final decision.”
What a scam. What a scam indeed.
If Lin Fan really believed in him, then his fortune-telling ability would have been for nothing.
Lin Fan nodded. “Alright, I won’t make things difficult for you anymore.”
When Liu Guo Qiang heard his words, he was elated. Indeed, Man is selfish after all. He must have been moved by the waiver of his rental fees.
He knew that Master Lin would definitely agree to it since he would gain from it.
As for the increase in visitor flow, whether it was because of Master Lin or the increase in the number of residents, as long as Master Lin agreed to stay, it wouldn’t be a problem at all.
As Liu Guo Qiang was thinking about it happily, Master Lin’s words shocked him. He was in disbelief.
“Refund me the rental fees as per the contract. I’m not renting this unit anymore. You can increase the fees all you want. It has nothing to do with me,” Lin Fan said.
Liu Guo Qiang hurriedly replied, “Master Lin, we can discuss it further. There’s nothing that cannot be talked about. You know it too, I’m here to discuss. I admit that you have had a huge part to play in the increase in visitor flow in Cloud Street. But the increment in rental fees is a strategic plan suggested by the company. Why do you have to make it difficult for us?”
Lin Fan waved his hand. “It can’t be discussed any further. I am not concerned about the increment in rental fees anymore. I won’t make things difficult for you. Just increase it all you want. I’ll just not rent this unit. That will be better, right?”
Then, Lin Fan noticed that there was a teenager waiting outside his shop but he wasn’t bothered by it. He was busy chatting with this ‘leader’ here.
However, the discussion about this matter had collapsed.
Although it was troublesome to move his house and shop, once he had talked big, he couldn’t take his words back anymore.
He just had to move. It wasn’t a big deal after all.