"Anjing Convenience Stores has already opened 1,000 franchise stores. That's quite fast," Yi Anguo said with a smile. "How many corporate-owned stores are there? Are they included in that count?"

"And the Anjing Chain Supermarkets? How many of those have opened now?"

Hu Jing shook her head. "The 1,000 franchise stores, of course, don't include the corporate-owned ones."

"However, we don't have many corporate-owned convenience stores—only 58. As for the chain supermarkets, twenty-one have already opened."

"After the New Year, another five chain supermarkets are scheduled to open. Our goal for next year is to surpass fifty total, which means averaging a new opening every ten days."

Yi Anguo was astonished. "That fast? Isn't that a bit too quick? Haste makes waste!"

"You have to choose your locations carefully. Buy the property outright if possible. If you can't, make sure to sign a long-term lease, because rent will definitely go up in the future."

"You call that fast? I was worried you'd say it's too slow!" Hu Jing laughed.

"Not at all," Yi Anguo said. "Look at my third brother-in-law's Guohui Fresh Produce Supermarket. It's been in development for four years, and the last report I saw said they only have twenty-seven stores."

"Plus, his fresh produce supermarkets are mostly mid-sized, between 1,000 and 1,500 square meters. Your Anjing Supermarkets are at least 3,000 square meters, so one of your stores is as big as two of his."

"That's different. Your brother-in-law is steady and methodical, taking things one step at a time," Hu Jing said quickly. "Guohui Fresh Produce Supermarket's business is excellent, and its profits are high. If you compare stores of the same size, Anjing Supermarket's revenue and profits can't match theirs. In fact, the gap is quite significant!"

"Then why is that? Haven't you tried to learn from your brother-in-law's experience?" Yi Anguo asked.

"That's not a model we can just copy," Hu Jing explained. "Guohui Fresh Produce Supermarket's main focus is fresh produce. Their stores are perfectly sized—not too big, not too small—and located in the heart of residential communities. They cater directly to residents, making it convenient for them to buy fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, groceries, and other daily necessities.

"Those fresh items and groceries have high-profit margins. Plus, since their stores are in residential areas, the rent is relatively cheap. Our Anjing Supermarkets are different. We operate on a much larger scale, so we have to be located in busy commercial districts. While we also sell fresh food, most of our inventory consists of other types of goods. Consequently, our rent is more expensive, and our overall profit margins aren't as high as a supermarket that specializes in fresh produce."

"Still, in terms of total revenue and overall profit per store, a single Anjing Supermarket definitely outperforms one of his. After all, we have a larger footprint and a wider variety of products."

"So, the two supermarket models are just different. They cater to different customer bases, and you can only say that each has its own strengths."

"Heh! You handle it however you see fit. I'm just the one who writes the checks; I don't have the energy to get involved in the management," Yi Anguo chuckled.

"Still, for the past few years, all I've done is pour money in without seeing a single dime come back out. It's a good thing I make money fast, or we'd have gone bankrupt long ago."

"And who can you blame for that?" Hu Jing said, amused. "You're the one who always wants to invest more, develop more, and expand more. You keep pouring all the earnings back in, so of course you're not going to see any returns!

"According to the financial statements, the company is profitable every year. But every cent of that profit gets reinvested immediately. Then you complain there isn't enough capital and throw even more money in. Where exactly did you expect to see cash coming back from?

"If you'd just stop expanding and halt new investments, you'd see the money soon enough."

Hu Jing, of course, knew exactly how much Anjing Trading Company's annual profits were. Setting everything else aside, the 58 corporate-owned convenience stores alone generated a net profit of no less than 12 million a year. On top of that, the 1,000 franchise locations brought in tens of millions annually just from management fees. That didn't even account for the initial franchise fees from several hundred new stores each year or the profits from distributing goods to them. Then there were the twenty-one large chain supermarkets. At their peak, their combined daily revenue could easily exceed 10 million, leading to an annual revenue of over 2 billion and a net profit of over 100 million. But all of that money was immediately funneled back into investments for new chain supermarkets. Some of those new locations involved buying the property outright, which required even larger capital outlays. The speed of making money could never keep up with the speed of spending. Naturally, it felt like no matter how much was invested, none of it was ever coming back.

Yi Anguo was well aware of this, of course; he was just venting. He wasn't truly worried. The money he invested would eventually yield returns and be earned back.

It's just like the properties I bought before. If I wanted to sell them in a few years, I could easily recover several times my initial investment.

Yi Anguo didn't attend the opening celebration for the 1,000th Anjing franchise store. At this rate of development, reaching the 10,000th wouldn't take many more years.

It had taken Miyijia ten years to reach its 1,000th franchise store, whereas Anjing had done it in just over five. Miyijia had started its journey in Dongguan, while Anjing had begun in Shenzhen.

After entering the Shenzhen market, Miyijia had quickly encountered its strongest competitor: Anjing Convenience Stores.

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