Chapter 349: Great eloquence

“It seems that this cat’s face still carries quite a bit of weight. This kind of thing was settled just by relying on this cat’s reputation.” Before the Guidance Director could speak, Li Li, who was standing to the side, crossed his legs and said.

It was proven that his face still held considerable influence. As soon as the old man heard his name, he directly agreed to help his Litter Shovel Officer, without any intention of refusing. Just ask, who else besides him could accomplish such a thing?

“Li Li, this matter was settled by the Director helping us.” Li Hao, upon hearing this, immediately walked over to Li Li’s side and said.

Didn’t Li Li see that the Guidance Director had just finished the phone call and was right next to him? He was even taking credit for himself.

“It’s alright, it was indeed settled because of Fat Cat’s face. It’s not wrong for him to say so.” Hearing this, the Guidance Director waved his hand dismissively.

“Exactly, it’s good that Uncle is understanding.”

Li Li responded, then leaned closer to the Guidance Director and said: “Uncle, since the old man has already agreed, why don’t we go take a look at the venue first?”

“Let’s try to get the martial arts school built as soon as possible, so the students in the school can enjoy it sooner, right?”

“Hmm, then let’s go and have a look. There happens to be a place that’s quite suitable.” The Guidance Director said, then got up.

Seeing this, Li Li and the others immediately followed.

“The place we’re going to this time is the abandoned warehouse on the east side of the school. Don’t let the fact that it’s abandoned fool you, the space is still quite large. It’s definitely no problem to use it for your martial arts school.”

“However, it’s been abandoned for quite some time, so you’ll have to put in some effort to renovate it yourselves. The school won’t help you in this regard, at most, we’ll charge you a little less rent.” The Guidance Director, walking in front, explained to everyone as they went.

This was to avoid them arriving and complaining about how dilapidated the place was, questioning if the school’s support plan was a sham.

“Naturally, naturally, renovation has always been handled by ourselves. I’ve never heard of a landlord taking care of everything.” Hearing this, A Liang nodded repeatedly.

“Yes, as long as the rent is low and the space is large, we’ll be very satisfied.” Li Hao echoed in agreement.

“That’s settled then, you’ll definitely like it.” The Guidance Director said with a smile, leading everyone to the deserted warehouse.

Then, with a strong pull, the large iron door creaked open, revealing a scene of dust and the musty smell of a long-unoccupied space.

“Cough, cough, cough~”

“Cough, cough, cough~”

Smelling this odor, several people instinctively started coughing while patting their chests.

Only Li Li opened his mouth wide and blew forcefully. Suddenly, a howling gale swept through the warehouse, scattering all the dust and odor. Of course, the windows and door panels of the warehouse rattled “creak, creak” under the force of the wind, looking as if they were about to fall apart.

Frightened, Li Hao quickly shouted:

“Li Li, stop, that’s enough. If you keep blowing, we’ll not only have to renovate, but also repair the doors and windows.”

“Got it, got it, this cat just saw that the dust was too thick and the smell too strong, it would be bad for your health. Otherwise, you think this cat really wanted to do this?” Hearing this, Li Li immediately closed his mouth, and the howling gale instantly dissipated.

Everyone, seeing this scene, heaved a sigh of relief. They were really scared to death, they almost felt like they were going to fly away with the wind.

“Alright, go inside and take a look at the venue yourselves. If you think it’s good, we can prepare to sign the contract.” The Guidance Director said to them after patting the dust off his clothes.

There were over a thousand square meters inside, it was definitely enough for them. Now it depended on whether they could handle it. If not, it had nothing to do with him, he had already done his part.

“Okay.” Hearing this, the two immediately started walking around the warehouse, looking around with their eyes.

Both of them revealed satisfied expressions. This place was very spacious, if it was used as a martial arts school, it would definitely be more than enough. Now there were only two problems left.

One was naturally the annual rent, and the other was the renovation issue.

After all, this place was so big, even if it was abandoned, the rent would definitely not be low, let alone cleaning and renovating the entire space.

“Uncle, considering my face, how much would this place cost per year?” Looking at Li Hao and A Liang inspecting the warehouse, Li Li approached the Guidance Director and asked.

This large warehouse looked like an indoor basketball court, later becoming a warehouse after the new gymnasium was built.

And the warehouse hadn’t been used for long before it was abandoned again, so could the rent be cheaper?

Hearing this, the Guidance Director adjusted his glasses and said:

“According to the school’s commercial rental rates, this place is over a thousand square meters, the annual rent would definitely be over a million.”

“But because this place is relatively remote and hasn’t been cleaned for years, it definitely wouldn’t fetch such a high price.”

“Really? That’s good.” Li Li couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, then he heard the Guidance Director’s voice:

“So let’s say six hundred thousand a year for you.”

“Ah?” Hearing this, Li Li’s heart, which had just relaxed, sank completely.

Six hundred thousand a year? You’re kidding, that’s almost catching up to his advertising fees! Such an old and dilapidated place, is it really that expensive?

Could it be that Uncle saw how strong he looked and wanted to take advantage of him?

“Of course, because you’re under the school’s support plan, the amount will be a bit lower. Let’s say two hundred thousand a year for you.” The Guidance Director continued.

“Ah? Uncle, this place is so dilapidated, you still want to charge us two hundred thousand? Can we get a 90% discount, just twenty thousand?” Li Li, regaining his senses, blinked his big eyes and pleaded.

Couldn’t he just give it to him for free, considering his sincerity? Why did he still have to pay? This was too outrageous.

“Of course not, you’re being too optimistic.” The Guidance Director tapped Li Li’s big head disapprovingly.

Although his quoted price seemed expensive, it was actually very low. A place over a thousand square meters, only two hundred thousand a year, no matter where you put it, it was very cheap, okay?

“Then can you throw in the renovation for free? Even a little bit would be good.” Seeing that the price couldn’t be negotiated down, Li Li could only make other requests.

“Of course not, I just said, this place is quite messy, you have to find a way to clean it yourselves.” Hearing this, the Guidance Director shook his head.

He had just said that the renovation wasn’t included, they had to listen carefully.

“The rent is so expensive, and this isn’t included, that isn’t included, it’s really too much.” Li Li, after hearing this, couldn’t help but hug the Director’s leg and wail.

“You fat cat, hugging my leg won’t help. What can I do just because you’re hugging me? Can I reduce the rent for you? This is all stipulated by the higher-ups, don’t make things difficult for me.” The Guidance Director, whose leg was being hugged, said helplessly. If he could decide, he would definitely give the fat cat a lower price, but the problem was, it wasn’t up to him, what could he do?

“Then Uncle, don’t quote such a high price. Give us a lower price. Even a reduction of ten or twenty thousand would be fine. Two hundred thousand is too high.” Li Li said, pointing to the two men who were looking around, “Look at them, two poor guys, looking like loafers, not even having girlfriends. How can they possibly afford so much money? Aren’t you making things difficult for them? And this place is so remote, besides opening a martial arts school, only a fool would come here, right?”

“And Uncle, think about it, this warehouse has been abandoned, losing money every year. Now finally there’s a sucker who wants to rent it, if you quote such a high price and scare them away, wouldn’t you get nothing?”

“Ah?”

Li Hao and A Liang, who were inspecting the place, paused.

They had heard it, and very clearly too. Li Li actually called them two losers. Although Li Li’s bargaining method was fine, wasn’t it too hurtful to say it like that?

“Fat cat, I didn’t know you were such a smooth talker. You’re really good at this. But did you forget that even if it’s left vacant, the school doesn’t lack this bit of money?” The Guidance Director said with a smile. He had always thought that the fat cat was lazy and gluttonous, but he didn’t expect him to be so eloquent. It seemed he had underestimated him.

“In that case, Uncle, you might as well give it to us for free. Anyway, the school is so rich, it doesn’t lack this little bit.” Li Li, hearing this, immediately seized the opportunity to push further, his motto being “you have your pride, I have my shamelessness, all the benefits go to me.”

“You really know how to ask for favors.” The Guidance Director said with a chuckle. Yes, today he had truly witnessed what shamelessness meant. Even such words could be uttered, the fat cat was really something else.

“Why not? Face is less important than money. We’ll do whatever saves us money.” Li Li said righteously, then looked at the Guidance Director, “Uncle, if you don’t say anything, can I assume you agree to reduce the price?”

“How is that possible? I haven’t even said anything, how did it become a price reduction in your ears?” The Guidance Director said exasperatedly.

“Since Uncle, you won’t reduce the price, then help us with something. For example, help us find a free construction team or something? I think that would be very good.” Li Li said with a grin.

“Impossible, I don’t have that much influence to help you with that. You have to find a way yourself.” The Guidance Director shook his head.

“That’s not very nice, Uncle. You have to be more humane, otherwise, it can’t be considered real help.”

Li Li sighed upon hearing this, his cat face filled with helplessness. Why was Uncle like a miser, refusing to budge? He had made it so clear, yet the other party still wouldn’t give him any face.

“Alright, although I can’t reduce the rent for you, I can still help with the promotion of the martial arts school.” The Guidance Director said to Li Li, “As for the cleaning issue, it’s also easy to solve. If you say that helping with cleaning can reduce tuition fees, I believe there will definitely be people willing to come.”

“That makes sense, but I’d rather the school provide some more practical help.” Li Li sighed upon hearing this.

The idea of using students for labor was good, but it didn’t meet his expectations. He had envisioned a scenario where the other party would reduce the rent and also help renovate the martial arts school.

“This is already considered very good help. Otherwise, you won’t find such a cheap price anywhere else.” The Guidance Director said with a smile.

“Fine, fine, two hundred thousand it is. Hope we don’t lose money.” Li Li sighed, then started calculating with his paws, “Charging a student one hundred yuan a month isn’t too much, right? Let’s say one thousand one hundred for an annual membership. As long as we have five hundred students a year, we shouldn’t lose money.”

“As for those who aren’t students of the school, let’s charge them two hundred yuan a month. This cat is really kind, otherwise, offering such a low price, it seems like we’re at a disadvantage. Maybe we should increase it a bit.”

“Uh, Fat cat, can you even do math?” The Guidance Director asked, stunned.

“Of course, this cat is very good at arithmetic.” Li Li, being questioned, nodded his big head and continued calculating.

The Guidance Director couldn’t help but feel speechless. This fat cat didn’t seem very smart. But if he liked playing, let him play. Anyway, this kind of thing wouldn’t be his concern in the end.

After all, who would let a cat handle finances?

“Director, we’ve finished looking, we’re very satisfied with this place.”

“Yes, when can we sign the contract?”

After finishing their inspection, the two came to the Guidance Director and asked. They had looked at the entire warehouse and thought it was not bad. Although it was a bit damaged and old, there were no major problems. As long as they did some minor repairs, it could be used very soon.

“We can sign it now. Come with me, I’ll take you to sign the contract.”

The Guidance Director smiled and patted Li Li, who was busy calculating, “Alright, Fat cat. We’re going to sign the contract, you can continue your calculations later, okay?”

“No problem, as the saying goes, the guest follows the host’s lead. This cat will listen to Uncle.” Li Li said and got up.

Then the three men and one cat walked towards the teaching building to handle the matter.

A while later, the three men came out.

“Now the keys and the contract are yours, remember to keep them safe.” The Guidance Director said to Li Hao and A Liang.

“Okay, thank you, Teacher. We really appreciate your help this time. We’ll definitely treat you to a meal when we have time.” Li Hao said gratefully. They were really thankful for the teacher’s help this time, otherwise, it would have been so much more troublesome for them to handle it themselves.

“Yes, we hope Teacher will do us the honor.” A Liang also chimed in.

Although two hundred thousand yuan a year wasn’t a small sum, it was still much cheaper compared to the prices outside.

“We’ll talk about it then.” The Guidance Director smiled and waved his hand, “You must have a lot to do now, right? Go back and take care of things first.”

Opening a martial arts school wasn’t that simple, especially since it was their first time starting a business. Forget about treating him to a meal, they should focus on solving the issues at hand first.

“Okay, then we’ll take our leave, Teacher.” Li Hao said.

“Hmm, go ahead, go ahead.” The Guidance Director smiled and waved his hand.

Li Hao and A Liang left together. Now that they had found a venue, they should discuss how they were going to cooperate.