I Really Didn’t Want to Increase My Favorability!

Chapter 133

Could it really be a scammer? But wait, scammers usually don’t throw traps so blatantly, right?

Normally, they would pretend to be a legitimate company, offering certain benefits and gradually enticing you to fall for it, aiming to scam more money from you.

As Xu Lin was thinking like this, the other party immediately followed up with saying, “Don’t be surprised, I’m not a scammer.”

“It’s like this, my hometown is in Linshui. It’s surrounded by forests and rivers. I got this position from the headquarters last year and moved to Qizhou(Qi Prefecture) to take charge of the work on the Dongshan area.”

“But you also know that franchising requires a long-term commitment, and in the initial stages, you have to offer a lot of benefits.”

“Otherwise, it’s difficult to penetrate the market. Once you’ve penetrated the market, it’s easier to earn franchise fees and expand the brand’s influence.”

“Now, most prefecture-level cities already have our stores. Changqing City, as the earliest region to join, has encountered some issues in the past two months.

“It’s just that the franchise owner invested in other projects, got into debt trouble, but hasn’t reached bankruptcy yet. They are paying off debts, but the regional agency aspect has been put on hold.”

“We’ve already signed the contract, and they haven’t said they won’t open a store, but dragging it out isn’t a solution. So, we plan to start directly from a small city near Changqing.”

After hearing this string of words, Xu Lin also roughly understood that the other party paid the franchise fee. But due to personal circumstances, they didn’t open the store, essentially occupying a spot without using it.

So, as the person in charge, in order to fulfill the tasks of the headquarters, he started by laying the groundwork for stores in smaller cities? Is that what they call free stores, where at most they waive the franchise fee?

Although Linshui’s current rent is not expensive, with renovation and rent combined, it would still require startup capital of around 30,000 to 50,000 yuan. Even with the franchise fee of less than 10,000 yuan deducted, it’s like icing on the cake.

But unexpectedly, just as he was thinking about this, the next sentence from the other party gave him a big surprise.

“So since Mr. Xu is interested, I also plan to expand my business in my hometown, so I decided to give you a call.”

“I’ll waive the franchise fee for you on my end, and coincidentally, I also have a shop in Linshui that I bought last year.”

“Because I’m too busy and haven’t had time to rent it out, you can use it for free, Mr. Xu. Consider it a show of my support.”

“Are you kidding with me?”

“Haha, no, no. If an ordinary person suddenly received a call from me, they probably wouldn’t believe it either.”

“I’ll go back to Linshui on Saturday to visit the elderly at home, let’s meet then.”

“Okay.”

Meeting Xu Lin in person was no big deal, as he had seen the photo of the person in charge on the website, so it would be clear whether it was genuine or not.

Now, it seemed to be true, meaning the other party actually wanted to provide him with a free shop.

This was like a pie falling from the sky, so he initially thought it was fake.

But if it was true, for someone in charge of a province, an annual rent of 30,000 to 40,000 yuan is just a small amount.

In exchange for taking the first step in developing in a small city and increasing his own achievements, 30,000 to 40,000 yuan was really not a big deal for him.

“Um, then I won’t bother you. When I come over here, I’ll still use this phone to contact you.”

“Alright, thank you for bringing me a surprise.”

“No, no, this is also about increasing my achievements and opening a shop in my hometown. It’s something I’ve wanted for a long time. Well then, goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Cui.”

After hanging up the phone, Xu Lin came out of the restroom and found that the two people on the sofa were gone.

Xu Lin finished the okonomiyaki he had just bitten into and then called out, “Where is everyone?”

Seeing no response, he also opened the door and looked across.

Sure enough, he saw Ji Yun and Chu Fengyi, as well as his father-in-law and mother-in-law, and of course, Aunt Yao.

But it seemed that the atmosphere was not bad at the moment, although Ji Yun’s father had a bitter face. However, Aunt Yao and his mother-in-law seemed emotionally stable.

It seemed that the conversation between the three had yielded some results, judging by Ji Yun’s smile.

Several of them also noticed him at this point, and Xu Lin nodded as well.

“Uncle, aunt, good afternoon.”

Xu Lin didn’t call anyone ‘Uncle Ji’ or ‘Aunt Ji’, ‘Aunt Yao’. It’s not good to prioritize anyone, so just saying this sentence is enough.

“Xu Lin, have you eaten? If not, I have some dishes here.”

“I’ve eaten, thank you, Uncle.”

“By the way, Ji Yun, don’t delay going to school. We’ll go to the hospital.”

“I’m just going for a routine check-up, everything’s fine. Go to school now, don’t be late,” Aunt Yao said, smiling as she took Ji Yun’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

After that, they all headed downstairs, and only then did Xu Lin turn to Ji Yun.

“Is everything okay at your place for now?”

“Yeah, my mom also voluntarily said she’d go along, probably to see if Aunt Yao is really like that. That’s just how she is, but at least she’s keeping her temper in check, which is a good thing.”

“Mm, why do women always make things difficult for other women,” Xu Lin commented.

“However, when it comes to matters of their own feelings, women tend to make things difficult for themselves,” Chu Fengyi said with a hint of implication.

“That’s when men need to make an effort,” he replied.

“I hope you have the ability to do that,” she retorted.

“What were you doing in the bathroom for so long? Don’t tell me…”

“Chu Fengyi, what are you thinking! I received a phone call saying they want to give me a store for free.”

“Aren’t they just scammers? You don’t actually believe this, right?” Chu Fengyi glanced at him disdainfully.

“Well, Xu Lin, my dad once fell for a similar scam, playing some lottery. Then he ended up with a bunch of useless glass cups worth a few hundred bucks.”

“My mom got so mad that she gave away all the glass cups my dad won, leaving him sulking for over half a month.”

“Let’s discuss this inside.”

Xu Lin briefed both of them on the phone call’s content, while Chu Fengyi just rolled her eyes.

“You’re just fooling around. What do you want to do? I’ll invest, and it’ll be settled.”

“No, I can’t rely on you. I said it that day, I want to earn recognition on my own.”

“Then you want to start a spicy hot pot business? I don’t see much hope in that.”

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This is just a start, take it one step at a time. By the way Ji Yun, have your parents ever thought about opening a shop and becoming entrepreneurs?”

“My dad has indeed had some experiences of being an improper driver. Actually, I want him to take a break as well. After all, after driving for so many years, his spine is getting worse and worse, and many times, he can’t sit still because of the pain,” Ji Yun said, her eyes slightly reddening.

She still remembered the time she ranked first in her freshman year.

Even though he had back pain, he still lifted her up all at once, just like when she was in elementary school.

Although he sometimes acted childish like a little kid, she could also feel her father’s tenderness.

“I’ll also think about whether there’s anything uncle can do.”

“Well, even small businesses are tough to run, but it’s also a chance for growth.”

Seeing Xu Lin so confident, Chu Fengyi didn’t say anything else. After all, she had also learned bit by bit and made some small mistakes at the beginning.

Once you’ve trained well, you can also come over to inherit the company’s management. Then, you can stay at home every day watching anime, movies, and reading novels, without having to worry about these things.

Xu Lin didn’t know that he, who initially only wanted to slack off, now, for the sake of the girls, has to work hard. He’s actually being calculated by someone else’s slacking off ideas.

“Xu Lin, are you going to class this afternoon?”

“Of course, I’m not a genius. If I don’t go to class, my grades will definitely suffer.”

“Yeah, you’re right, Xu Lin. It’s time, we need to hurry, or we’ll be late!”

Ji Yun glanced at the clock and realized there were only 15 minutes left until class started!

“I haven’t changed into my school uniform yet, I’ll go home first!”

“Okay, let’s meet downstairs!”

“I’ll drive you guys.”

“Thank you, Sister Fengyi.”

“Thank you, wife.”

“Boom!”

After saying that Xu Lin closed the door behind and hurriedly went out.

Watching the two suddenly busy people, Chu Fengyi sat down on the sofa, crossed her legs, ate okonomiyaki, and watched TV.

“It’s still better to slack off. Fortunately, I graduated from college at 19. Going to school isn’t that hard, right? Just need to slack off a bit less.”

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