Chapter 232 - 158: You Have a Taste for This Too?
Chapter 232: Chapter 158: You Have a Taste for This Too?
"President Gao, you’re...?"
Old Si’s voice was getting excited.
Gao Yuan looked at Old Si calmly and smiled faintly. "I’m a little interested. Let’s talk."
"Please wait a moment. I’ll go get the boss right now."
Getting Gao Yuan’s affirmative reply, Old Si immediately stood up and walked out.
After leaving the private room, Old Si didn’t head straight for the boss’s office. Instead, he went to a corner and lit a cigarette.
He was contemplating how to handle this matter to profit from it.
If it were a rookie just entering the workforce, or a more honest person, they probably would have run straight to the boss’s office at this point.
Even though the deal wasn’t a sure thing, it would still solve a huge problem for the boss.
Besides, if Gao Yuan took over the Platinum Palace, he wouldn’t have to find a new job.
But Old Si was a slick operator!
If that were all, he wouldn’t be standing here hesitating for so long.
What Old Si was considering now was whether he could get an introduction fee from the boss if Gao Yuan and the boss reached an agreement later.
After all, the owner of the Platinum Palace had been so worried lately he was about to lose all his hair. Old Si had been wondering if the boss desperately needed money for something else.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be in such a hurry to sell the Platinum Palace, even going so far as to close up shop to sell it.
Most importantly, from Gao Yuan’s words, Old Si had also detected another layer of meaning: he was also interested in the hotel on the three floors above.
If this deal really went through, his own pockets would get a lot fuller.
Stubbing out his cigarette, Old Si strode toward the boss’s office on the third floor.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
"Come in."
When Old Si pushed the door open and entered, the Platinum Palace’s owner, Pan Daming, was a bit surprised to see his lobby manager. Still, he asked, "Old Si, what’s up?"
"Boss, has anyone shown interest in taking over the place yet?"
Old Si flashed his signature hand-wringing gesture, asking tentatively.
Pan Daming glanced up at Old Si.
The fact that the Platinum Palace was for sale was no secret. He had his managers hint at it to the staff, mainly so they could find new jobs quickly. That way, he could save a bit of money.
"We’re talking to a few people!"
"Why, Old Si? Have you found your next gig?"
Pan Daming naturally wouldn’t talk too much with an employee like Old Si—the difference in their status was clear. He only chatted for a bit because he knew Old Si was a decent worker.
"Of course not. As long as the Platinum Palace is still open, I’m its most loyal employee."
Old Si had never disappointed when it came to professing loyalty and kissing ass; the words just flowed out of him.
Pan Daming just smiled and offered Old Si a cigarette.
"Was there something you came for?"
Old Si had been waiting a long time for the boss to ask him that. He had come to the office just for this question. His expression immediately grew more serious as he said, "Boss, I have a friend who’s interested in our place."
As he said this, Old Si leaned forward slightly, getting a little closer.
"Oh?"
Pan Daming’s smile just faded a little, but he still wasn’t taking Old Si’s words seriously.
The transfer of his bathhouse alone wasn’t worth much. But he was selling it with the building—an asset worth over a hundred million. He really didn’t believe Old Si’s circle included that kind of big shot.
"He’s got deep pockets."
"A real tycoon."
"Drives a twenty-million-dollar luxury car."
Old Si could naturally see that his boss wasn’t paying attention, so he emphasized again that this friend of his was a wealthy man.
Pan Daming’s hand, holding the cigarette, froze.
Now he started to take what Old Si was saying seriously.
His earlier claim about negotiating with several parties was pure bullshit. At a time like this, finding someone who could free up that much capital to take over his establishment was incredibly difficult.
"Old Si, why don’t you bring your friend over so we can all have a chat?"
Pan Daming was starting to get invested.
"Well..."
Seeing Old Si’s hesitant state, Pan Daming, a veteran of the business world, knew exactly what was going on.
"One percent."
"You got it, Boss! I’ll call my friend over right away. Once it’s arranged, you can head straight down."
This time, Pan Daming walked Old Si all the way to the office door, clapping him on the shoulder, very pleased.
After Old Si left, his mood improved considerably.
Ever since he decided to sell the Platinum Palace, he had met a few potential buyers, but they either lowballed him or only wanted to take over the Platinum Palace business, not the property itself.
That didn’t suit his objective at all.
Pan Daming needed to liquidate his assets. The bathhouse industry had indeed become difficult, and he planned to use the recovered capital to get into online business.
The e-commerce boom in recent years had certainly given him a lot of ideas.
「In the first-floor tea room.」
As soon as Old Si had left, Qin Yichuan and Zheng Zhi had anxiously questioned Gao Yuan.
"Yuanzi, you’re not actually thinking of taking this place over, are you?"
"Yuanfang is doing so well right now. You can’t just mess around with crazy ventures!"
Facing the heartfelt concern from his two old friends, Gao Yuan said, "Don’t worry. I’m not being impulsive."
He said that, but he knew he didn’t have a choice. The system had issued a mission—what else could he do?
’Even if I have to buy this place just to complete the mission, I have to do it!’
’Ten experience points is pretty sweet, after all.’
"You’re really not being impulsive?"
Even though Gao Yuan said he wasn’t being impulsive, Qin Yichuan still didn’t believe him.
He was running a successful skincare e-commerce business, basically just sitting back and collecting money every day. Suddenly jumping into the bathhouse industry, no matter how you looked at it, seemed like an impulsive act.
"My family has a set of traditional Chinese medicinal massage techniques passed down through generations."
"They’re not something the junior technicians at a club like this could ever compare to."