Chapter 231 - 157: The Beauty Dropped Her Orange (Part 3)
Chapter 231: Chapter 157: The Beauty Dropped Her Orange (Part 3)
"No kidding. I thought there were a lot of cars parked outside during the day, but look now—there are barely any."
Gao Yuan couldn’t help but feel a little wistful.
’How did such a great place end up like this?’
’It’s going to be harder to find a place to hang out from now on.’
The three of them chatted for a while about their recent business dealings. Apart from Gao Yuan’s Yuanfang Company, which was on a roll lately, the other two weren’t having an easy time.
After Gao Yuan’s pep talk last time, Zheng Zhi had indeed made some changes.
But he didn’t change too much at once. After all, business at his shop was still decent, and it was considered one of the top shops in the QQ skins industry.
He just couldn’t bring himself to give up so much all at once.
As the three of them were talking, there was a knock on the door.
Old Si walked in carrying a fruit platter.
After he placed the platter on the table, Gao Yuan took a look. This didn’t seem like the kind of fruit platter the Platinum Palace would provide.
The platter wasn’t filled with ordinary fruits; none of them were cheap.
"A fruit platter for you three gentlemen."
After putting down the platter, Old Si didn’t rush to leave. He stood there wringing his hands, looking like he wanted to say something but was too embarrassed to start.
Gao Yuan noticed, and so did Qin Yichuan and Zheng Zhi.
But neither of them said anything. In the end, it was Gao Yuan who spoke up. After all, Xiaoyan still worked here, and Old Si usually took good care of them.
"Old Si, if you have something to say, just say it."
The moment Gao Yuan spoke, the awkwardness on Old Si’s face eased considerably. He shot Gao Yuan a grateful look.
"It’s nothing major. I’m just planning on switching jobs, and I was thinking about how I won’t be able to serve you three fine gentlemen anymore. So I prepared this fruit platter to show my appreciation."
Old Si’s words almost made Gao Yuan laugh out loud.
’That’s exactly the kind of thing a guy like Old Si would say.’
He was planning to find a better job and wanted the three of them to continue giving him their business in the future.
But Old Si’s emotional intelligence was truly high. He’d phrased it beautifully, and his actions weren’t clumsy either.
Instead of asking directly, he presented a nice fruit platter to express his intentions.
"Where are you going?" Gao Yuan asked.
"Still in talks."
"But, sirs, a lot of people will probably follow me over. If you guys come to hang out, it’ll be just like it is here."
Hearing Gao Yuan’s question, Old Si still didn’t immediately reveal where he was planning to go.
Instead, he mentioned that a group of people would follow him. His comment that it would be "just like it is here" for the three of them implied that Xiaoyan and the technicians Qin Yichuan was familiar with would all be going too.
"Old Si, have a seat."
Gao Yuan pointed to a nearby stool.
"Is the Platinum Palace really hopeless?"
Gao Yuan got straight to the root of the problem.
The last time he’d topped up his card, Old Si had told him the Platinum Palace was failing and the owner was planning to sell it off.
"It’s gone."
"If no one takes it over by the end of the month, the boss is planning to just shut it down and cut his losses!"
Now Gao Yuan understood.
The Platinum Palace was a lost cause.
There were only a few days left in January, and the end of the year was peak season for bathhouses. For the owner to be preparing to shut down and cut his losses now meant there was truly no hope left.
"How much is your boss asking for it?" Gao Yuan asked after a moment of thought.
"A hundred million, including the property."
"That price isn’t high. The property itself is worth over forty million, so it’s practically like they’re giving the building away for free."
When Old Si heard Gao Yuan ask this, he couldn’t quite figure out what he was thinking, so he could only answer truthfully.
Gao Yuan began to calculate in his head.
The Platinum Palace’s location wasn’t remote; it was right on a major intersection. In a way, it was a bit like the location of the Pengdu Casino on Ao Island.
’This is a prime spot for wealth accumulation.’
The building wasn’t small, either. The ground floor alone was over eight hundred square meters. Including the bathing area below and the three floors above, the total area was two to three thousand square meters.
’If I were to overhaul this place, improve the service, and add my unique Chinese medicinal massage techniques, this place could be a success.’
’The only issue is the timing. It’s not quite right.’
It was already the end of the year, which was the peak season. If he took it over and started renovations, it would take at least half a year.
By the time it was done, it would be summer again, and he would have missed the busiest time of the year.
[DING! Charming Uncle - Entrepreneurship Quest 2.0 has been activated.]
[Quest: Establish the largest bathhouse and club in Hang City, using the Platinum Palace as its foundation.]
[Quest Reward 1: Improvement Card.]
[Quest Reward 2: 10 EXP.]
[Note: The Improvement Card allows the Host to alter the building’s layout and decor based on the existing structure, according to the Host’s wishes.]
While Gao Yuan was still considering his options, the system quest suddenly appeared.
He didn’t have time to think, immediately reading the content of the quest issued by the system.
’Establish the largest bathhouse and club in Hang City?’
’And it’s an entrepreneurship quest, no less.’
The rewards were also very gratifying. First, the Improvement Card solved the very problem he had just been pondering. On top of that, it directly awarded him 10 EXP.
’The system is rarely this generous!’
Gao Yuan fell into thought again.
The system quest was very clear: he had to take over the Platinum Palace.
No other location would count.
While Gao Yuan was thinking, Old Si started to get a little anxious as he sat there.
In that short time, he had more or less figured out why Gao Yuan had asked his earlier questions.
And because he’d thought of this, a new idea began to form in Old Si’s mind.
He had looked up that Brabus parked outside the Platinum Palace. That was a fifteen-million-yuan car!
After all, the owner of the Platinum Palace only drove a Mercedes-Benz worth just over three million. The difference was a full five times.
Luckily, he hadn’t been the type to judge a book by its cover. Even though Gao Yuan never drove when he came, Old Si had never neglected him.
Now, Old Si was already fantasizing about Gao Yuan taking over the Platinum Palace. He could latch right onto him. If that happened, he might not just be a lobby manager anymore.
"Old Si, do you know who owns the hotel on the upper floors of the Platinum Palace building?"
"It’s our boss’s!"
Old Si actually knew the answer to this.
Back then, the owner had felt that three floors were enough for the Platinum Palace, so he converted the three floors above it into a hotel.
"Contact your boss for me. Tell him to come over for a chat."