"Okay, if that's the case, then you two can discuss the other matters among yourselves. Once you've decided, let me know, and we'll go see some storefronts tomorrow."

After the New Year, Lin Feng would be returning to Yangcheng, so for the most part, Lin Jiajun and Jiang Anmin would be cooperating on their own. Therefore, he wanted them to use this opportunity to get familiar with each other.

The first thing Lin Jiajun said was, "I only have fifty or sixty thousand in savings. I need to see how much I can borrow before I know how much I can invest."

Jiang Anmin understood. "My money is for the down payment on a house."

Lin Jiajun hurried over to find Lin Daan to ask how much money he could provide.

Lin Daan nearly laughed in exasperation when he heard this. "In the past few years, you've nearly squandered all my savings. I can come up with one hundred fifty thousand at most right now."

One hundred fifty thousand? Lin Jiajun hadn't expected the family couldn't even produce two hundred thousand.

"I've saved over eighty thousand myself, and Wang Lu has another fifty or sixty thousand in her private savings," Lin Jiajun said. "Altogether, we can put together at least one hundred twenty thousand."

If they could scrape together a bit more, they would have three hundred thousand to invest.

Lin Daan and his wife were surprised. They hadn't expected their son to save eighty thousand after starting his job—he had quite a nest egg! In fact, they had been holding back when they said they could only provide one hundred fifty thousand. They just wanted to put some pressure on Lin Jiajun so he would stop spending so recklessly. After all, no matter how wealthy the family was, it couldn't withstand such squandering!

"I'm about to be a father to two sons. How could I not save some money?" he said proudly. It was all money he had saved by being frugal.

His parents saw him in a completely new light.

"You and Wang Lu should keep your money," Lin Daan said. "Your mom and I will figure something out and scrape together three hundred thousand for you."

Lin Jiajun's expression turned serious. "Dad, Mom, please treat this money as a loan. I'll write you an IOU, and I promise I'll pay you back as soon as I earn it."

Lin Daan nodded. "You'd better. This is your mother's and my retirement fund."

With the investment money settled, Lin Jiajun went to discuss things with Jiang Anmin.

Jiang Anmin suggested, "It's a little past nine. I know a fish hotpot place by the bridge. Let's go check it out."

Lin Jiajun had no objections. "I'll go ask Lin Feng if he wants to come."

Naturally, Lin Feng wanted to go. Seeing their son so motivated, Lin Daan and his wife were very gratified.

They drove to the fish hotpot place by the bridge. The place was packed, and when they took a number, they saw there were still six tables ahead of them.

Lin Feng sat down outside. "Let's just wait."

The other two walked back and forth by the entrance, incredibly envious of the booming business.

Lin Jiajun was very pragmatic. "How much do you think they make in a day?"

Jiang Anmin thought for a moment. "Hundreds of thousands, probably."

Lin Jiajun took a deep breath, his heart full of anticipation. "I hope our business can be this good too."

Lin Feng called Jiang Anmin over to sit. "An Min, have your aunt send over some unedited photos of the shops she's handling. We can look them over while we're waiting. Then we can be more targeted when we visit places tomorrow."

Jiang Anmin thought it was a good idea and immediately called Jiang Qian.

Lin Feng added, "Ask her to send listings from one hundred to over three hundred square meters." That would give them a wider range of choices.

A short while later, Jiang Qian sent the photos, and the three of them gathered to look. They sifted through the pictures but weren't satisfied with any of them.

She explained over the phone, "There really aren't many good storefronts with favorable prices available during the New Year. Before the holiday, all the decent locations were snatched up, leaving only the substandard or overpriced ones."

"Where are you now?" Jiang Qian asked. "I'll come over and we can discuss this in detail."

Jiang Qian was clearly a diligent professional. It was also apparent that she was very invested in helping Jiang Anmin open his hotpot restaurant.

"We're at the fish hotpot place by the bridge."

"What a coincidence, I'm just on the next street. I'll be right over."

Twenty minutes later, Jiang Qian arrived with a man in his thirties trailing behind her.

She gestured to her nephew and his friends. "This is my nephew, and this is his friend," she explained to the man with her.

My aunt must have rushed over from a blind date, Jiang Anmin thought.

Jiang Qian looked around, clicking her tongue in amazement. "Wow, this hotpot restaurant is really popular. There's a long line every time I come. The taste isn't as good as it used to be, though. People mostly come for the hype."

Their turn came quickly, as a large family eating ahead of them cleared out three tables when they left.

The group sat down, and Jiang Qian took out her documents. "The pictures I sent earlier are the ones I thought were good. If you're not satisfied, you can pick from this stack."

"An Min is my nephew," she continued. "I couldn't help much with his startup, so the least I can do is waive my commission."

Lin Feng shook his head. "There's no need for that. It's not easy to make a living in any business these days."

Jiang Anmin knew his aunt was trying to buy a house. "Auntie, you don't need to do that. I appreciate the thought."

Jiang Qian smiled.

The three men looked through the listings, but the quality was inconsistent and they didn't like any of them. Jiang Qian pulled out a laptop.

"Don't panic. I'll pull up our entire inventory for you. If there's still nothing you like here, I'll have to go out on a limb and ask other agencies." She pulled up an internal company file. "These are all the property listings from our company. I've narrowed it down by size, starting from eighty square meters. Take a look..."

She took off her coat, and she and her date ordered the fish hotpot soup base.

Twenty minutes later, by the time the hotpot soup base arrived, the three men had already finished looking through the listings.

"See anything you like?" Jiang Qian asked.

Jiang Anmin hesitated. "They're just... very different from what I imagined."

Jiang Qian couldn't do much about that. "Well, in that case, I'll take you to see the actual storefronts tomorrow. Who knows, you might see one you like. For now, let's eat. Let's see how it tastes."

Jiang Qian took a bite. "The taste really isn't as good as it used to be."

Lin Feng tasted it carefully, activated his Skill, and instantly identified all the ingredients in the soup base.

Jiang Anmin was studying out of town and had only heard of this place, never eaten here. "I think it tastes alright."

Lin Jiajun, however, said, "No, it's really not good anymore. I've been here a few times, and the taste is just average now."

The man who had been eating his hotpot quietly suddenly spoke up. "A friend of mine has a four-hundred-square-meter hotpot restaurant that he's looking to transfer ownership of. Are you interested in hearing about it?"

Damn. They had only been thinking of something around a hundred square meters. Four hundred square meters was completely beyond their financial means.

The man continued, "It's over on Tuanjie Road. My friend plans to transfer the whole business after the New Year. It's still open right now, but business is slow. You could go take a look. It wouldn't hurt, and you'd lose nothing by it."

Lin Jiajun felt a sense of desperate hope, as if clutching at straws. Four hundred square meters... just thinking about the rent is terrifying.

"It's fine. We'd just be looking," Lin Feng said. "Since the opportunity is here, we might as well." He and Jiang Anmin both turned to look at Lin Jiajun.

"Alright, let's go have a look then."

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