With the question of who the second woman wanting to buy “Kong Cheng Li” was lingering in my mind, I quickened my steps and walked into the restaurant. As I opened the door, I found that, just like last time, the second woman was sitting with her back to the entrance of the restaurant, so all I could see was her back.
I looked at Yiqing, the restaurant manager, who nodded, indicating that I was right. This second woman indeed wanted to purchase the restaurant “Kong Cheng Li.”
I sat down in front of the woman with my briefcase, only to be surprised that she was wearing a large pair of sunglasses and drinking tea served by the waiter. Upon seeing me, she spoke first, “Are you the current owner of this restaurant?”
I didn’t answer immediately. Instead, I examined her and found that she probably had a decent appearance, but her heavy makeup robbed her of any distinctive charm, making her seem overly flamboyant.
Thinking I might not understand why she was wearing sunglasses so early in the morning, she explained, “I’ve had a bit of red eyes lately, so I’m wearing sunglasses to cover it up.”
I nodded and then answered her question, saying, “I am the current owner of this restaurant. However, the restaurant is currently suffering heavy losses, so I’m planning to transfer it.”
She laughed, “That’s really unexpected. After changing ownership, this restaurant has completely lost its original charm. When you took it over, you should have foreseen the losses. Why did you still take it over?”
I was momentarily at a loss for words but became certain that this woman must have had some previous contact with “Kong Cheng Li,” otherwise she wouldn’t have spoken like that.
Although the woman was wearing sunglasses, I could feel her gaze fixed on my face. Finally, after a period of silence, she replied, “When I took it over, I indeed wanted to change the free payment model, but later, due to some reasons, I couldn’t implement the changes as planned. As a result, the losses kept increasing, so transferring it became an unavoidable choice.”
“That’s actually a reasonable explanation… Let’s talk about your transfer conditions.”
“The transfer fee is 200,000. However, if you can guarantee not to change the current business model, the transfer fee can be reduced to 100,000… As for other conditions, there’s nothing particularly required.”
The woman made a surprised “Hmm,” then asked, “What about the employees here? Are you going to lay them off?”
“That’s none of your concern… I will make proper arrangements for them.”
Yiqing and the other staff members, who had been listening nearby, said together, “Boss Zhao, if Kong Cheng Li is transferred and the current business model remains unchanged, we will stay here and won’t go to the headquarters.”
I looked at their determined faces with surprise but eventually said nothing. I turned to look at the woman, waiting for her response. At that moment, I had a vague sense of unease.
The woman nodded and said, “I accept your transfer conditions and guarantee not to change the current business model. Kong Cheng Li will still be the same as it was a few years ago.”
I was even more surprised and reminded her, “You’d better think carefully. Taking over this restaurant without changing the business model will definitely result in losses. I don’t know if you are aware that we’ve had the transfer notice posted for quite some time now, and no one has shown any interest… Of course, there was one exception!”
The woman in red was indeed an exception. With her financial resources, she could recklessly do anything that money could buy. But what about this woman in front of me? Did she have the same capability? I was very doubtful! At the very least, judging from her dressing and appearance, she seemed flashy and cheap, completely different from the woman in red, Leyao, and Jian Wei. Of course, I wasn’t trying to dislike her; I was just being objective regarding the fact that she wanted to take over a restaurant that wasn’t profitable.
The woman seemed to have no hesitation. She stretched out her hand toward me and asked, “I’ve already prepared the money. Do you have the contract ready?”
“I advise you to think about it again.”
“You’re really funny. Are you not serious about transferring this restaurant, or are you afraid that I won’t have the financial strength to keep it running after taking over?”
“The latter.”
The woman leaned closer to me, lowering her voice, “Since you don’t trust me so much, I have no reason to hide it anymore. Actually… I’m the one who left 100,000 yuan in Kong Cheng Li back then. Now you should understand why I’m so determined to take over this restaurant, right?”
I was shocked, unable to suppress my surprise, even a sense of fear. I had imagined this scenario for many years, but I had never imagined that the person who left 100,000 yuan would be this woman in front of me. Her appearance… The type I had imagined should be a successful businessman, full of stories and a deep, aged demeanor. That’s why I had strongly encouraged CC, who had emotional needs, to explore the truth back then. What was this now?
Of course, I had no reason to doubt this woman in front of me. Because she was a stranger to me, and only a few people in my circle knew about this incident, which had never been spread out. Therefore, there was at least an 80% chance that it was her.
In my extreme astonishment, the woman spoke again, “If this restaurant is really going to be transferred, the one to take it over must be me without any doubt. Compared to any of you, I love this restaurant more. Trying to measure this restaurant with money is meaningless. So even if it’s at a loss, I don’t care… Do you understand what I mean, little boss?”
I exhaled heavily, realizing that I had messed things up. Then I lit a cigarette and said to the woman, “Thank you sincerely for the 100,000 yuan you left back then… From the bottom of my heart, I’m grateful. Also, I’d like to repay you the 100,000 yuan on behalf of a friend. Please leave your phone number. Once I confirm that you are indeed the one who left the money, I’ll transfer the money to your account.”
After I finished speaking and looked at her, I actually felt that my words were my final test. I believed that whoever had left 100,000 yuan back then would definitely not want such repayment, because that would be the kind of character they possessed, otherwise they wouldn’t have left such a large sum of money in Kong Cheng Li without leaving their name. On the contrary, if she was very interested in the money I was offering, she must be trying to take advantage of the situation.
The woman laughed and said, “You’re really funny! We’re talking about transferring the restaurant, yet you want to repay me the money I left back then. If I had the intention of getting it back then, I wouldn’t have left the money in the restaurant like that…”
This answer had already convinced me that she was indeed the one. In my heart, besides gratitude toward her, I felt even more guilt and concern for CC. How would she accept this truth?
My absent-mindedness made the woman somewhat impatient. She urged me, “Hey, are you transferring this restaurant or not?”
I put out the cigarette in my hand and replied, “No transfer… Sorry.”
“Are you out of your mind? I’ve said everything I needed to say. Now you tell me you won’t transfer it? You even posted a transfer notice. Are you just playing with me?”
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