"We won’t be taking the house, but Zhang Yanlin previously borrowed money from my friend, and there was a contract written. Now that he’s in prison, are you paying the money back, or are you selling the shop?" Huo Chen pulled Xu Ying into the yard and directly found a chair to sit down.
Qu Huimin hesitated upon hearing this. She knew how much money the shop made, but the thought of paying back tens of thousands of yuan was daunting.
She had no money to repay the debt, and she didn’t know what to do with the business. If all the earnings were his, she might have tried, but the profits were to be shared with Zhang Yuhua. Even though Zhang Yuhua was also arrested, there was still Zhang Zhiguo.
As soon as Sun Yan returned, she saw Huo Chen and Xu Ying, and her face suddenly changed drastically, thinking they had come to drive her daughter away.
"What are you here for, what do you want with my daughter?"
"Auntie, we are here to discuss Zhang Yanlin’s shop. When he started it, he borrowed tens of thousands of yuan from my friend.
Now that he’s gone to prison, it’s your daughter’s responsibility to pay back the money. If your daughter can’t pay, we’ll have to take the shop back," explained Xu Ying in a gentle and friendly tone.
Sun Yan curled her lips as she listened, realizing that Zhang Yanlin hadn’t opened the shop with his own money after all, but with borrowed funds.
She wondered how he could be so wealthy.
"Let me discuss it with my daughter inside the house before we decide," Sun Yan said, then gestured for her daughter to follow her inside.
It didn’t take long for Sun Yan to bring her daughter out of the house, smiling at the two of them, "You can take back the shop, but you’ll have to share the profits earned these past few days with us."
Huo Chen nodded and readily agreed, surprised at how quickly Sun Yan and her daughter had consented. He thought it would take more time.
The shop of Zhang Yanlin was currently making a lot of money, and he estimated that the tens of thousands of yuan would be recouped within a year.
But what worried Sun Yan was the possibility of the business deteriorating, her impending divorce, and the lack of money she had on hand. If the business truly failed and lost tens of thousands of yuan, where would she find the money to compensate?
For safety, it seemed better not to keep it.
Moreover, in just over half a month, the shop had made quite a profit, according to her daughter, already reaching several thousand yuan.
With these few thousand yuan, going out to do something else or saving the money would be enough for them to live comfortably for decades.
Huo Chen led them directly to the shop.
Now that Qu Huimin had the contract, upon arriving at the shop, she and Huo Chen signed it, and the shop’s contract was completely transferred to Huo Chen.
"This gentleman will be your boss from now on. Your old boss is in prison, and I am his wife.
Originally this shop was opened with money borrowed from this gentleman. Now that your boss has been caught and can’t repay the debt, the shop must be returned to this gentleman," Qu Huimin called all the shop’s staff together.
After introducing Huo Chen and Xu Ying to everyone, it was time to calculate the profits from the past half month.
Among them, the profits were highest on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with a pure profit of 2000 yuan per day, while on other days the business was somewhat slower.
But still, there was a daily takings of 300 yuan, totaling 14,000 yuan for the half-month, half of which belonged to Zhang Zhiguo.
Qu Huimin received 7,000 yuan, and with the money, she and Sun Yan went straight home.
Afterward, Qu Huimin and Sun Yan moved out of the Zhang Family’s place, and no one knew where they went.
Even when Xu Ying finally settled in Shanghai, she never saw the mother and daughter again.
Huo Chen and Xu Ying sat in the shop, directly calling Wu Qingsong over.
The lad had been busy finding suitable locations for new shops in Shanghai and was summoned with a phone call from Huo Chen.
Upon entering the shop, Wu Qingsong looked puzzled, "Brother Chen, sister-in-law, what did you call me here for?"
Huo Chen directly passed over the contract he had just drawn up, "Sign your name on it."
Wu Qingsong looked confused, but as he flipped through the contract in his hands, his pupils suddenly dilated, and he quickly shook his head, "Brother Chen, this money was originally lent to Zhang Yanlin by you.
This shop should be given to you if it’s given to anyone, it has nothing to do with me, I can’t accept such a large storefront from you."
Brother Chen had helped him too much, if it weren’t for Huo Chen, he and his sister would probably have starved to death on the streets by now, completely bullied to death—how else could he enjoy the glory he did today?
"Take it if I’m giving it to you, all these years brother, we’ve been through life and death together, and I’m very clear on how much you’ve helped me.
I truly consider you a brother. After all our life-and-death moments over the years, don’t tell me our brotherhood isn’t worth this storefront!
Take over this shop and keep working hard with me," Huo Chen said earnestly.
Wu Qingsong’s eyes immediately reddened, and he looked at Huo Chen, his eyes brimming with tears, "Brother Chen, don’t worry, I’ll work for you alone in this lifetime.
I’ll definitely work hard, I will never betray your trust in me."
Huo Chen smiled, "Then sign quickly, I’m still waiting for you to help me out."
Seeing this, Wu Qingsong immediately signed his name on the contract, feeling somewhat excited as he looked at the shop—it was his first one.
Although he had shares in other shops before, they weren’t truly his, but now he had a shop that was entirely his own.
After Wu Qingsong finished signing the contract, Huo Chen introduced him to the people in the store, "This gentleman will be your new boss from now on."
After Huo Chen said this, the staff looked at him in shock, such a big store, which could cost tens of thousands of yuan to start up, and this man had just given it away to his brother without even blinking an eye—his generosity was astounding.
"Hello, boss," many staff members greeted Wu Qingsong.
"Do you think the new boss has a partner? He doesn’t look half bad."
"If he doesn’t have a partner, maybe we can give it a try," some of the bolder ones whispered.
Xu Ying gave Wu Qingsong a meaningful look, to which Wu Qingsong quickly said, "My partner should be arriving on Sunday. I’ll go pick her up now.
It’s just in time to check out my new shop, let her experience what it feels like to be the boss and handle the money."
Wu Qingsong left in quick strides after finishing his sentence.
The staff who had just been talking felt instantly disappointed.
The boss actually had a partner already.
Xu Ying and Huo Chen didn’t linger and drove back as well.
They gave Zhang Zhiguo’s money to Wu Qingsong and would return it to him whenever he came back.
Upon leaving Shanghai, Huo Chen felt an inexplicable sense of relief—his revenge had been exacted.
As soon as Xu Ying and the others had returned, they saw Anthony and Mr. Henry at the entrance of the residential area, eyeing each other aggressively, like wild beasts ready to tear each other apart.
As soon as they saw Huo Chen and Xu Ying getting out of the car, they both hastened over, "Xu, you’re back."
"Xu, don’t bother with Henry, that self-serving scoundrel. When you were in trouble, he didn’t lift a finger to help you."