First off, we can't choose one that's too small in scale. Binyang's Xi Shan Restaurant is quite large, but there are still queues, and it absolutely does not accept reservations. If you want to eat, come early.

Also, the restaurant's location shouldn't be too remote. The Binyang restaurant's location isn't great—it's not in the city center, but not too far out either. It's in a transitional area from bustling to less so.

In the Capital City, there's a third point: you can't be too close to another restaurant, as that would cause conflicts.

With these three points in mind, Ling Zhenfei started choosing locations with Cao Qinglin. Naturally, Cao Qinglin had his own considerations and directed the driver here and there.

Cao Qinglin pointed to one of the buildings at this moment and said, "Have you seen it? This building is my property. Shall we go down and take a look?"

Ling Zhenfei looked over at the building, slightly startled. It was indeed in the city center, and what surprised him the most was that opposite it was the International Plaza.

International Plaza is Ma Long's property, and Ling Zhenfei doesn't have a good relationship with Ma Long, so he isn't too keen on opening a restaurant right across from him.

"I think we should skip going up there. This place is too lively, opening such a large-scale restaurant might be a waste, and besides, even if our restaurant is a bit out of the way, it doesn't matter—people will come no matter what."

Cao Qinglin said, "Didn't you tell me before about your principle? That if you do something, you do it best. To open the best restaurant, it has to be in the most bustling area.

Do you see those buildings? That's the CBD business center of the Capital City, very close to here. I believe a lot of people would love to dine here."

Indeed, Cao Qinglin had his thoughts, and what he said seemed to make some sense.

When opening a restaurant in Binyang back then, the location was chosen because Ling Zhenfei only had that one property in Binyang. It seems things need to change now that he's in the Capital City.

"Alright, let's go and take a look then."

After Ling Zhenfei said this, Cao Qinglin was quite pleased and then they headed downstairs. The place was indeed quite bustling, with a large underground parking lot, a shopping center next door, and across from them, the International Plaza.

Originally, this was a mall with a large supermarket in the basement, five stories high, with a cinema on the top floor and shopping on the middle four floors—it's incredibly big.

"This place is too big," Ling Zhenfei was a bit surprised.

Cao Qinglin said, "Of course, we can't open a restaurant in the entire area; we'd go broke. My idea is to use part of it as a restaurant."

Ling Zhenfei said, "I think I understand something. President Cao, you have a purpose in wanting to open a restaurant here."

Cao Qinglin laughed and said, "Didn't expect you to figure it out. Yes, I have my considerations. I want Xi Shan Restaurant to attract some traffic to this place."

"This location is excellent, but because of the International Plaza across the street, the foot traffic is dismally lower than there, and many shops are already dealing with lease terminations.

If we don't do something to draw people in, there'll be trouble. My judgment wasn't wrong—Xi Shan Restaurant will definitely pull in the crowd here."

It has to be said that the big boss is indeed purposeful in everything he does.

Ling Zhenfei said, "In that case, how much space are you planning to allocate for me to open a restaurant, Mr. Cao?"

Cao Qinglin thought for a moment and said, "Come with me, I'll take you to see it."

After saying this, the two took the elevator to the fifth floor. Most of the fifth floor is a cinema, with a section for dining—a restaurant. It's past dining hours, so there aren't many people.

Cao Qinglin said, "Have you seen it? This restaurant's business is currently terrible. The owner has already proposed to terminate the lease. I originally wanted to talk to the owner, but now I think I can approve it."

"But isn't this restaurant a bit small?" Ling Zhenfei asked.

Cao Qinglin said, "Of course it's small, but this restaurant is in a corner with a nice view. If we add some fourth-floor space, wouldn't it be quite large?"

Ling Zhenfei was taken aback, "Are you saying to link the fourth and fifth floors to make it a duplex?"

Cao Qinglin said, "Yes, I'll give you one-third of the fourth floor, combined with the space of this fifth-floor restaurant, the area should be impressively large."

Honestly, Ling Zhenfei hadn't had the experience of opening a restaurant in such a huge mall and didn't know how it would turn out.

"Then about the cost, should I pay rent, or do we use another method?"

Cao Qinglin laughed and said, "Brother Ling, you don't need to talk about anything else. I'm in business too, and I know how to collaborate. I don't want rent; I want shares of the restaurant, and I want profit-sharing."

"So what do you think is appropriate?" Ling Zhenfei asked.

Cao Qinglin thought for a moment and said, "For cooperation, of course, more is better, but I understand it can't be done that way. Having such a big space for you here, the rent would be a huge expenditure.

But as I said before, the reason I want you to open a restaurant here is to draw traffic, so I'll give you the lowest price—we split three to seven, three for me, seven for you."

It's hard to deny Cao Qinglin is skillful; he immediately hit the price Ling Zhenfei had in mind. If Cao Qinglin had said a four-to-six split, it could have been considered, because such a bustling place isn't cheap in terms of rent either.

"Boss Cao, I've got nothing to say to you. The price is very reasonable; with such a large space, conservatively estimating, a profit of over a hundred million a year is plausible. A 30% profit is tens of millions—Boss Cao is good at business."

Cao Qinglin chuckled, "Of course, if you don't earn that much in a year, I'd be disappointed in you."

Both Ling Zhenfei and Cao Qinglin laughed, "Alright, it's settled then. I'll contact people immediately to plan the renovations."

Cao Qinglin said, "I'll immediately add transportation routes to supply the restaurant with vegetables."

Ling Zhenfei laughed, "Lightning Logistics isn't just going to transport for the Capital City restaurant; I'm planning to open in Modu too, and likely other cities as well. Lightning Logistics will be earning double."

Cao Qinglin said, "Exactly, that's what investment is—only investments that never lose are worthwhile."

They chatted happily, continuing their conversation until late before leaving.

But just after exiting the building, Ling Zhenfei received a call from Si Mayang, which he quickly answered.

"Hello, Brother Sima, is there something you need?"

Si Mayang's voice was somewhat particular as he said to Ling Zhenfei, "Brother Ling, I have something to discuss with you. Do you have time now?"

Not knowing what Si Mayang meant, Ling Zhenfei said, "I have time now. What's up? I'll come to see you."

Si Mayang said, "Alright then, at the restaurant we talked about last time. I'll wait for you."

Since he wasn't sure what Si Mayang meant, Ling Zhenfei gave Cao Qinglin a heads up.

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