Ling Zhenfei walked in, and the two people inside immediately stood up. After exchanging some pleasantries, the four of them took their seats.

"Brother, since it's not easy for you to come to the Capital City, we must drink well tonight." Zhang Kang and Chu He seemed very happy, continually offering drinks to Ling Zhenfei.

The food was quite good, obviously very high-end—with lobster, sea cucumber, abalone, and such—that seemed very extravagant.

"Brother, we know these things are expensive, but compared to the vegetables from your Xishan Manor, they fall a bit short. You just make do with it and consider it a change of taste." Chu He said with a smile.

"Yeah, after eating the vegetables from your manor, other vegetables seem tasteless." Zhang Kang remarked wistfully.

Ling Zhenfei glanced at the three and said, "Dear brothers and sister, I'm not just here in the Capital City for fun; I have a few matters to attend to. One of them is to open a Xi Shan Restaurant here in the Capital City."

"Great, we welcome that! It would be wonderful to have a Xi Shan Restaurant in the Capital City."

"Exactly, then I can enjoy the vegetables from Xishan Manor."

"I'm all for it."

The three of them were very supportive of Ling Zhenfei's idea.

Ling Zhenfei said, "The Capital City is our capital; there are many wealthy people here, so opening a Xi Shan Restaurant would definitely be profitable."

"What concerns do you have, brother?" The three were all experienced in investments, known for their keen insights, and they understood that opening a restaurant in the Capital City was challenging.

Ling Zhenfei said, "When opening a restaurant, my requirement is that we should not compromise on quality. It needs to be large, and the location should not be too remote. How much would it cost to establish one similar in scale to the Binyang Xishan Restaurant in the Capital City?"

"Not to mention anything else, just the annual rent is a significant amount," said Chu He.

Ling Zhenfei replied, "I won't rent."

Everyone was taken aback: "Not renting? Then you intend to buy? Do you know how much such a place costs in the Capital City?"

Ling Zhenfei said, "I know the prices here are astronomical, but I can find a partner to collaborate and exchange property for equity."

"Those who own such large properties probably won't be easily persuaded to make this kind of investment," Li Ru commented.

"No problem, it's just an idea. My Xi Shan Restaurant in Modu is already in the renovation phase and should open in about two months at most."

The others were very surprised: "That's really fast! It seems it will be hard to stop your development in the future."

"Indeed, the development of Xi Shan Restaurant will be swift and impressive."

At this moment, Zhang Kang suddenly said, "Zhenfei, I think for you to develop such a large restaurant in the Capital City, there won't be many people capable of partnering with you, but I happen to know one."

Ling Zhenfei smiled faintly and said, "You're not talking about Ma Long, are you?"

Zhang Kang was taken aback: "Have you met Ma Long?"

Ling Zhenfei nodded, "Yes, I've indeed met Ma Long and even had a chat with him, but we didn't come to an agreement."

"Why, was there an issue?" Zhang Kang asked, seemingly unaware of the meeting between Ling Zhenfei and Ma Long.

Ling Zhenfei said, "Ma Long is a bit too much about profit. The terms he offered were unacceptable to me; maybe it's just a difference in philosophy."

At this moment, the door to the room suddenly swung open, and another voice followed.

"I think it's not a matter of different philosophies but that we haven't delved deep enough into our discussion."

Everyone was startled and looked towards the entrance, seeing Ma Long and a pretty female assistant appear at the door.

Ling Zhenfei was surprised, wondering how Ma Long appeared suddenly at this time and place.

Ma Long chuckled as he walked in and said to them, "I came uninvited; I hope you don't mind."

Chu He and the others obviously knew Ma Long. Given the strong influence of Ma Long's family, everyone had to give him respect.

"How did Young Master Ma know we were here?" Chu He, who seemed to know Ma Long too, asked.

Ma Long came over, casually pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"You're at the International Plaza, which is my territory. If something happens in my domain and I'm not aware of it, that would be quite a failure on my part."

Ling Zhenfei laughed, because the same thing happened at the Provincial City's International Plaza, realizing he should definitely avoid going there again, as Ma Long would always find out.

At this moment, Ma Long looked at Ling Zhenfei and said, "Mr. Ling, we didn't succeed in talking last time in the Provincial City, so shall we have a proper discussion today?"

Ling Zhenfei laughed and said, "Of course, but I suspect the result might turn out similarly."

Ma Long replied, "Last time, Mr. Ling, it was just you alone, but this time you have your friends who can help analyze and see if it fits."

Chu He nodded at Ling Zhenfei, signaling that it could be feasible, as they could offer him some advice on the sidelines.

Ling Zhenfei sneered and said, "Alright, let's do it. How would you like to talk?"

Ma Long laughed and said, "I had a discussion with Mr. Ling once in the Provincial City, as you know, at the International Plaza I typically reserve a good spot for my investment developments.

I can now invest this excellent location for Xishan Manor, where Xishan Manor only needs to provide the initial technology and vegetables. We will take care of all other aspects including promotion, decoration, staff salaries, shop rent, etc.

Then, I will offer Xishan Manor thirty percent of the shares, which means in the future Xishan Manor will earn thirty percent just from providing vegetables. This should be a very suitable deal, right?"

After Ma Long finished speaking, Chu He, Zhang Kang, and Li Ru were a bit dumbfounded. If Ma Long's offer were followed, it indeed seemed quite suitable, so they were puzzled as to why Ling Zhenfei disagreed.

Ling Zhenfei laughed and said, "Does it look very suitable to you? But I don't see it that way. If it's cooperation, it should look like cooperation. In this setup, we are not partners but vegetable suppliers.

And as a vegetable supplier, we're also giving away our brand. If I wanted to be a vegetable supplier, do I need to cooperate with just Young Master Ma? The supply from Xishan Manor is already saturated now.

Besides, I don't think our Xi Shan Restaurant brand is so cheap. Considering the brand value, vegetables plus the brand only account for thirty percent of the profit, which seems like a lot, but I feel I'm at a loss.

If Young Master Ma doesn't want our Xishan Manor's brand, I don't need your thirty percent profit. Just pay us the standard Xishan Manor vegetable prices."

Hearing this, Zhang Kang, Chu He, and the others thought there was some sense to it. While Xi Shan Restaurant's brand value might still be limited, its future brand value was definitely not that simple.

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