Chapter 63: Chapter 62: Hot Pot City

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Time flies.

Before I knew it, it was mid-November.

That day happened to be another dividend day for Tengsheng Fruit, because of the large recharging event in October.

The profit shared this month was particularly high.

Song Yanxi pocketed as much as 9.6 million for herself.

Zhang Tao and Liu Jing each pocketed over a million as well.

It’s a pity, though, the recharging event was stopped in mid-October, otherwise there would have definitely been over ten million to share.

Song Yanxi felt a lot more at ease, especially since her savings had dwindled after buying Zhao Liying a house.

Now suddenly receiving close to ten million, she had to reward her husband with a big gift.

The spendthrift wife secretly went out and bought him a wristwatch.

Her family had never been into such things before, she started to understand these luxuries only after opening her high-end beauty salon.

Besides cars and houses, watches are a staple for the wealthy.

This time, she bought him a Patek Philippe Nautilus.

Priced at over eight hundred thousand.

Chen Pingsheng felt uncomfortable wearing it on his wrist, it was worth a small two-bedroom apartment in Sha City.

“When did you even start looking into these luxury items?”

In the head office, everyone had split the money, and the next day they held a small meeting.

“I can’t afford to research airplanes and yachts, but as for these watches, you definitely need one, and not a single one can be missing,” she said.

Song Yanxi didn’t buy one for herself, still wearing her Longines that cost over ten thousand.

She thought it was already quite nice.

Her husband gave her all the fruit store’s dividends every month, and apart from investing in properties, the extra money was for buying him gifts.

Chen Pingsheng didn’t care much about these things and changed the subject, “This month everyone will get a big share, but starting next month, there won’t be any more like this. From then on, we can only rely on actually doing business.”

“That’s no problem at all,” she replied.

Song Yanxi said, “After fruit price increases, the profits were already not low, plus our business is good with high turnover and we have thoroughly reduced losses, so we’ll continue to live comfortably on profits each month.”

“That’s good.”

Chen Pingsheng said with a smile, “The Legend of Lu Zhen that I invested in is now wrapped up and in the final stages of editing. It’s expected to air on local channels next year, and if it can be aired on Mango Channel, then our investment in Zhao Liying is sure to soar.”

“When the time comes, I’ll ask her to do a wave of free advertising for Tengsheng Fruit and also to get a few treatments at Water Cloud Space. That way, the brands of Tengsheng Fruit and Water Cloud Space will be thoroughly established in Capital City.”

Song Yanxi’s eyes lit up, “Husband, do I need to start preparing in advance?”

“You really can start preparing,” he said.

Chen Pingsheng added, “Open another one near the second ring road. Don’t fear the large investment; with beauty, a product that costs a thousand can sell for a hundred thousand. I can’t imagine that, with the huge influence of celebrities, there’s any chance it could lose money.”

High-end beauty is undoubtedly highly profitable.

Any single service costs thousands, with the expenses being just a bit of labor cost for the beautician, product fees, and managerial wages.

If he couldn’t grasp such a highly profitable cash flow industry, he’d be a huge failure.

Song Yanxi was eager to try; this is the good part of being wealthy.

Even if the first Water Cloud Space hadn’t started turning a profit, they dared to invest in a second one.

They were just looking at an initial loss of a hundred thousand or so, no pressure at all.

On the contrary, if they managed this store well.

Its annual profit wouldn’t be less than ten million, and at the high end, it could be forty or fifty million.

Since his wife had money in her pocket, why not go all in to prepare for the future?

“Old Chen, if you’re expanding the beauty business, what about our fruit business?” Zhang Tao asked curiously.

Chen Pingsheng explained, “For the fruit business, I actually recommend that you expand to the second ring soon. I’m not joking; I have a feeling that after Legend of Lu Zhen is broadcast, Zhao will definitely become a huge success, and my Tengying Entertainment will further deepen its impact in the entertainment industry.”

“The reason I haven’t discussed this with you is mainly because I’m afraid your funds won’t keep up, and also the funds of those in store management won’t suffice.”

This was indeed the case.

Pushing ahead was easy enough; a fruit supermarket isn’t high barrier industry.

If you have the money, you can open one.

If we’re talking about investing in twenty stores, with an average investment of one million five hundred thousand each, that’s thirty million in total.

Now, having split half of his shares with the management onsite, Chen Pingsheng actually only holds 26%.

Zhang Tao and Liu Jing have similarly reduced their holdings by half.

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These people have no trouble putting up money; it’s the store management who can’t afford the capital to buy in that’s the real headache.

If they don’t buy in, the management standards of the stores will plummet.

Fruit shops are a cash flow industry.

Chen Pingsheng has no plans to play the capital game; he always needs to keep a few businesses that can earn a steady and continuous profit.

It’s to leave more options for the future.

This is the case for Tengsheng Fruits as well as Water Cloud Space Beauty.

So, rather than being eager to expand rapidly,

it’s better to operate steadily and methodically.

Opening five to ten new supermarkets every month isn’t the slightest bit stressful, and management won’t become disjointed.

He himself can also rest easy and focus on managing the hotpot city and Tengying Entertainment.

There’s no rush.

All things must go according to plan, and only through stability can we seek rapid development.

Stability comes first.

You can’t do what Accountant Jia did.

Zhang Tao and Liu Jing don’t lack money now either; Gao Hu has been back in Sha City for half a month, and the two have been inquiring about some matters.

Chen Pingsheng understands very well.

“He just sold those two shops the day before yesterday for about 1.8 million. The money should be arriving these days.”

“Old Chen, where are you planning to start with your hotpot city?”

“Of course, it’s in Shijingshan, our stronghold.”

Chen Pingsheng said, “The location has been chosen, just waiting for him to come over and discuss the specifics of the renovation. The investment for a single hotpot city store will be around two million, and the location will either be a major mall or a bustling street.”

“Before the end of this year, I plan to invest ten million to open five stores.”

“That fast?” Zhang Tao was a bit surprised.

Chen Pingsheng smiled and said, “Times have changed, brothers. If we don’t hustle with the hotpot restaurants, how are we going to make big money in the future?”

“This is just this year’s investment plan. If things go smoothly next year, we should invest at least one hundred million more in hotpot city.”

Those who were initially considering buying a stake, now realize they simply can’t compete.

With the little money they have, how can they take on such a big project? They can’t expect Old Chen to cover for them.

The fruit supermarket might be feasible, but the hotpot city definitely isn’t.

The two of them suppressed the little schemes in their hearts and unhesitantly dropped the idea of buying in.

Focusing on managing Tengsheng Fruits well is their main business.

As for the rest, don’t be greedy.

If they don’t have Old Chen’s business acumen, they must admit it.

His formidable business ability is gradually becoming apparent, managing so many things without a hitch.

This is something they can’t match… they have to admit it.

Less than two days later, that show-off Gao Hu came over with a big entourage.

All of them were elites from his store.

The original team was directly transferred to Capital City.

Of course, Chen Pingsheng warmly welcomed them, and he even had to stock up on a few more apartments in Shijingshan as staff dormitories.

Finding the apartments was naturally Song Yanxi’s job.

He allocated ten million for it, planning to buy four apartments in one go.

They would just accommodate a few dozen people.

The show-off Gao Hu had just made a bit of money from selling his stores, and before he could show off, he was hit hard with reality.

Look at that, my brother with whom I grew up sharing the same pants.

His staff dormitories aren’t even rented—he splurges on four decorated apartments of over a hundred square meters each at once.

That’s what you call imposing.

That’s for sure.

Actually, Chen Pingsheng is just being cautious.

In the unlikely event that the hotpot business doesn’t do well, he intends to make the money back from the staff dormitories.

His calculations are very precise, it’s just that he doesn’t say it outright,

so as not to affect the morale of the troops.