My Exclusive Dream World Adventures - Chapter 92 - 092 Rent Store - Read Novel Online Free

Chapter 92: 092 Rent Store

“Chen Xu, are you giving up your day job to open a late-night food stall?”

After dinner, on their way home, Chen Ziqi finally spoke, looking at him with a peculiar gaze.

“It’s a side business,” Chen Xu corrected her, still thinking about where to get the money.

Previously, he worked overtime until after eight every evening, and he always passed by the snack street on his way home. At night, the place was quite crowded.

A few days before entering his dream, he had noticed a night snack shop for transfer but hadn’t paid much attention to it. Later, in his dream, while learning cooking skills in 2003, he had considered taking over the shop.

The shop was a bit out of the way and small, so the rent shouldn’t be too high. Secondly, it was close to home, and thirdly, he could start it as a side business—working his day job and running the food stall at night without conflict. Once the business was on track, he could commit to it full-time.

But when he had just asked the food stall’s owner, he realized things were not so simple.

A rent of three thousand five hundred a month was acceptable to him. However, when the owner asked for a fifty thousand transfer fee, he was baffled. The equipment in the shop was worth at most ten thousand.

He had wanted to negotiate, but the owner was firm, insisting on fifty thousand.

Reluctantly, he was prepared to give up.

His psychological bottom line was thirty thousand. Going over that, though manageable, felt too stressful. In any business, there are risks. His primary concern was how much he could afford to lose if the business failed.

The owner also explained that he had paid a fifty thousand transfer fee when he took over the shop and needed to at least get that money back; otherwise, it would be too much of a loss. The shop wasn’t without business, but due to urgent family matters, they were considering transferring it.

Chen Xu asked about the emergency.

It turned out that his daughter-in-law was pregnant with twins and about to give birth. Both the elder and the younger would need care. His son alone wouldn’t be able to manage, so they decided to return to help. They had agreed to this arrangement.

With the due date approaching, their son had been calling daily, urging them to come back. Their initial plan of closing the shop for a month or two and then returning was reconsidered since, after the daughter-in-law’s confinement period, she would be unable to take care of the twins, and they didn’t know how long they would have to stay at home. So, they had decided to transfer the shop.

From his tone, Chen Xu sensed that the owner was reluctant to give up the shop and that transferring it was a forced decision.

Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he suggested that the owner rent the shop and its equipment to him for a few months. When the owner returned, he could continue running the shop.

The owner was quite tempted and discussed it with his wife for half an hour. After inquiring about Chen Xu’s basic information, they finally agreed to the arrangement. The condition was that he had to put down twenty thousand as a deposit, and they would charge him only four thousand for rent.

Chen Xu agreed and arranged to sign the contract the next day.

From the conversation, the owner and his wife seemed to be very decent people, and they even offered to treat them to a meal. But Chen Xu refused and insisted on paying the bill himself.

He had only ten thousand in his card, two days to payday, and even then, his salary wouldn’t be enough.

He still needed to borrow from someone.

By his side, Chen Ziqi, noticing his silence, expressed her surprise, “You’ve been working for two years now; can’t you even scrape together twenty thousand?”

Chen Xu felt she was deliberately provoking him and didn’t want to respond to her.

Chen Ziqi then said, “Otherwise, I’ll lend it to you.”

Unmoved, Chen Xu patted her on the head and replied, “Keep your money for yourself.”

“Don’t touch my head.”

Chen Ziqi tried to swat his hand away but missed, wrinkling her nose at him, “Stubborn. You deserve not to make money.”

“That’s none of your concern.”

As they talked, they reached their rented apartment.

Chen Xu took a shower, grabbed his briefcase and car keys, and said, “I’m heading out. You’ll be here alone tonight, make sure to lock the door, call me if you need anything. And don’t wander around. I’ll bring you breakfast tomorrow morning.”

Chen Ziqi was tidying up, and hearing his relentless instructions, she impatiently responded, “I know, hurry up and go, seriously, you nag more than my dad.”

Chen Xu then left. His rental was a single room, and though she could sleep on the floor, it wasn’t convenient given she was fourteen or fifteen—privacy was necessary even for siblings.

He drove to his company, planning to spend the night there. A night at a hotel would cost money, better to save where he could.

When he arrived at the office around eight, people were still working overtime. They were surprised to see him and asked why he was there at that hour.

“Just remembered some work I hadn’t finished. You guys carry on,” Chen Xu replied, settling down at his desk to start his computer.

That way, he could prepare for tomorrow’s tasks in advance.

Around nine o’clock, when the other colleagues had left and he was alone, he shut down his computer, walked to the window, and took out his phone to call Old Tang, “Hello, it’s me. Is it a good time to talk?”

He then heard the sound of a door closing, “What’s up? Go ahead.”

Chen Xu said, “Are you in a position to help me out? I need ten thousand, and I can pay you back in a couple of months after I get my salary.”

“When do you need it?” Old Tang asked, without further questions.

“By the end of work tomorrow.”

“Okay, I’ll bring it to you.”

Chen Xu had prepared a lot to say, but none of it was necessary. Finally, he just said, “Thanks.”

“Let’s leave it at that for now, my wife finished her shower, I need to go. We’ll talk tomorrow,” Old Tang said, hanging up.

Chen Xu sighed deeply in relief. The twenty thousand deposit was sorted. He sat back down at his desk, took out a pen and paper, and began listing the ingredients he needed for the next day.

In his dream, the culinary skills he learned in 2003 were mostly foggy in his memory, but one detail remained clear—the secret to making broth.

He used to watch dramas where century-old broth from century-old restaurants was highly prized. Many noodle places thrived on such a broth—the older, the better, they claimed.

Of course, he had never eaten at those century-old establishments, so he couldn’t judge their taste, but the broth he made in 2003 was indeed exquisite. He figured it probably wasn’t inferior to those storied broths, so he paid extra attention and remembered it quite well.

The ingredients weren’t many, just some common items, but preparation was a bit complex and needed to be started early.

After listing everything he needed, he tore off the sheet, folded it neatly, and slipped it into his pocket. He got up, went to the lounge, lay down on the sofa, and fell asleep.