Chapter 88 Dunhuang

tionship with Chen Lingshan and Tang Wu, every time the two of them met face-to-face, there was always an uneasy tension in the air.Liu Limei glanced at Chen Lingshan; her cautious look briefly flashe...Chapter 88: Dunhuang

Zeng Ke has been considering the future direction of the three stationery stores. Since opening, they have made a profit of over one million yuan. What does this amount mean in the year 2000

At that time, in the provincial capital Fuzhou, most houses were still multi-story buildings with an average price of about 1800 yuan per square meter. Elevator apartments began to appear between the first and second ring roads at a price around 2200 yuan per square meter. Near the second ring road south of the city center, elevator apartments had an average price of around 2500 yuan per square meter. North of the first ring road in the city, houses averaged about 1800 yuan per square meter. In prime locations, high-quality garden villas were priced at nearly 3000 yuan per square meter, making it the most expensive area in Fuzhou. Even so, to buy a one-hundred-square-meter apartment in this most expensive area only required thirty thousand yuan. For the Su family developing in a smaller city like Fuzhou, they could afford three such apartments.

Of course, these figures exclude villas and other high-end constructions.

Su Can's "City Story" was located near the second ring road south of the city. The developer was his father’s parent company, Great Fuzhou Construction Group, with its star subsidiary being Anxin Real Estate. Later, Anxin Real Estate separated from the gradually declining Great Fuzhou Construction and developed into a provincial-level brand name in the Fuzhou real estate market. "City Story" built in 1999, "Mediterranean Story" in 2003, and "Garden City" in 2006 were all well-known residential areas and high-end properties in Fuzhou.

The Balinese-style "City Story" became a pioneering project of Anxin Real Estate. Prices ranged around 2800 yuan per square meter. Initially, Zeng Ke thought it was too expensive; the one hundred and twenty-square-meter unit they favored would cost about thirty-three thousand yuan in total, plus renovation costs amounting to forty thousand.

However, Su Can insisted that his mother acquire this property. He knew from experience that its value could increase fivefold within ten years. This "City Story," although built quite early on, was already selling for over ten thousand yuan per square meter back then. Currently priced at forty thousand yuan, it would be worth more than two million in the future.

Of course, Su Can didn’t place too much importance on this single property's appreciation rate alone. What he appreciated about Anxin Real Estate was its ability to bring global-renowned Balinese style to Fuzhou when European and Australian styles were dominant at that time. This sensitivity to innovation is something Su Can highly values.

The issue that made Zeng Ke worry was how the stationery stores in Xiahai would be managed once the family moved to Fuzhou.

It goes without saying that relying on relatives or Wang Yue for help wouldn’t work, as their parents were already in Fuzhou. Selling off the store and entrusting it to someone else was something Zeng Ke absolutely wasn't willing to do.

"Why don’t we liquidate them all In Fuzhou, opening a new shop would be just as good," Su Can suggested.

"Let's talk about it later," Zeng Ke nodded. It was still early, and after decades of hard work here, this city had left a deep impression on her parents. Moreover, with their career currently thriving, they might not want to leave so easily. Furthermore, the prospects of moving to Fuzhou, the provincial capital, were still unclear, as there was no certainty about whether the stationery industry could develop as well and be as satisfying as it is now.

However, she inexplicably trusted what Su Cen had said. This gave Zeng Ke, who felt empty inside, some consolation.

In the municipal committee family compound, Wang Bo met at home with Wang Yue, the legal representative of Shushan Chain Enterprises, whom Su Cen had brought along.

Wang Weiwei and the others had gone out early on this Sunday morning. Recently, they were obsessed with badminton again. They got sports cards at Xiaohai Gymnasium. Previously, Wang Weiwei and Lin Zouwu would spend their weekends sweeping through various internet cafes; clearly, Lin Luoran was not interested in that. Now, all three of them enjoyed this sport together, so they often went to the gym collectively on weekends and sometimes invited Su Cen along as well. Today, they had also gone to the gym.

Wang Bo had agreed with Su Cen for his sister Wang Yue to discuss the recruitment matters at Star Sea Plaza.

Originally thinking that this younger sister of Su Cen's must be in her thirties at least, even though he was mentally prepared, seeing how young Wang Yue was still surprised him a bit inside.

Wang Yue wore black-framed glasses without prescription and had tied her hair up into one braid. Although she appeared more mature in attire, her youthful beauty could not be concealed. Wang Bo brought tea as he saw Wang Yue smiling freely at him, showing no signs of the unease someone older would feel when facing a younger person. He was even more impressed and said with a smile, "Then I'll just call you Xiao Wang. Xiao Wang, you're quite unusual; a girl striving in business endures hardships comparable to men’s. Which university did you graduate from What major did you study"

Su Cen had mentioned that this sister of his was the boss of five chain stationery stores in Xiaohai City and intended to rent the third floor commercial annex building of Building B at Star Sea Plaza to open a store. Wang Bo could only think that, aside from her being a graduate from an elite university with exceptional ability, there was no better explanation for such a capable and ambitious woman.

"I didn't go to college; everything I know about commerce and running stores is self-taught."

Wang Bo clearly froze for a moment, glancing at Su Cen, wondering if it wasn’t the case that every member of this Su family, including his sister or any future brothers, were geniuses

He nodded and said, "Have you brought your materials I’m just here as reference. Of course, regardless of whether you’re introduced by me or someone else, if there’s potential and capability, the government will support with corresponding preferential conditions." Then he turned to Su Cen again.

Su Cen just grinned without saying anything.

Wang Yue handed a thick pile of prepared documents to Wang Bo, including the marketing strategies for the mall, listed goals, information about Shushan Chain Store, and financial strength.

The marketing plan was naturally made by Su Cen, taking over half a month. It detailed his understanding and views from his later life experiences, covering commercial property management, recruitment plans, consumer orientation, shopping center management matters, promotional strategies, etc. Wang Bo had dealt with such things during his time in the provincial committee; even though he was well-versed, this plan still made him frown and then smile.

This proposal was solid and insightful, more so than some famous malls' marketing plans that Wang Bo had seen when serving as a government office director. It dared to think of what others did not dare to imagine, clearly detailing market positioning, customer range, management team cooperation, shop planning and management, resource allocation, among other things.

One reason why Wang Bo would consider Wang Yue was that when Xiahai Golden Splendor Nightclub's CEO boasted about wanting a stake in the project during the inspection phase of Star Sea Plaza, it made Wang Bo uneasy. The Golden Splendor Nightclub had always been like a sore spot in his heart, and he knew from his time at the provincial level that its owner had strong backing, avoiding multiple crackdowns on vice throughout various cities. In Xiahai City, incidents involving the night club were similarly swept under the rug; one could easily guess why.

During his tenure in the provincial government office, Wang Bo knew there were anonymous reports alleging that a Standing Committee member of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission named Liu Wei provided "illegal protection" for black market gangs involved in logistics transportation, night clubs, real estate, etc. Of course, these allegations went nowhere due to lack of substantial evidence.

Allowing people like Jin Donghai and those associated with Golden Splendor Nightclub into Star Sea Plaza would introduce dubious capital, which Wang Bo did not want to see. Therefore, he needed someone who could support him in this regard, and Su Cen had provided an excellent candidate.

Wang Yue was simple-minded yet highly capable. Entrusting the裙樓of Star Sea Plaza to her was better than handing it over to those from Golden Splendor Nightclub. Most importantly, she was recommended by Su Cen. To Wang Bo, Su Cen was already a mentor across generations, and his many ideas and thoughts had even influenced this市委書記.

Wang Bo nodded and said, "I want to see continuous updates in the region for the mall. I require it to contribute value to the new city center商圈in the future. I can sign a five-year lease contract with you. You should be prepared for an annual rent of around 1.85 million yuan. I will offer some rent-back policies, but naturally within reason."

Wang Yue nodded and said, "We'll follow proper procedures."

She then exchanged a glance with Su Cen, who also nodded, saying, "The municipal government holds full control, responsible for standard interior renovations. An annual rent of 1.85 million yuan is fair.

Then, Wang Bo discussed some details with Wang Yue and nodded in agreement. "I will give the Economic and Trade Commission's Commerce Bureau a heads up; you need to quickly come up with a plan and coordinate with them. The items mentioned in the proposal should be put on the schedule as soon as possible. This isn't just theoretical talk!"

After leaving Wang Bo, Wang Yue knew that she was about to enter a busy period.

Su Can actually felt very unsure inside when he saw how confident Wang Yue was. Shushan Chain's total profit for the past half year was two million yuan, and there were currently four million yuan in the account. The rest of the money had been gradually transferred into the account by Su Can through Wang Yue over these six months using the illicit funds from Liu Cheng.

The mall's rent for a full year came to 1.8 million yuan, meaning that Shushan Chain would have essentially worked for free for this half year just to cover the cost of renting the mall. To support operations at the mall, there was still approximately one million yuan needed in working capital, including recruitment expenses, office facilities, and costs related to managing the store.

Su Can felt genuinely uneasy as this was his first time personally running a mall. It was an essential step for Shushan Chain since the retail market in Xihaicheng was limited; continuing to open more stores would eventually hit a bottleneck. To tap into Xihaicheng's potential, they had to seize the opportunity presented by its current investment promotion wave and move towards a department store business model, truly establishing a higher-level commercial model.

This was precisely where Shushan Chain's ability to handle, manage, and operate everything would be put to the test. Compared to their competitors, they were still quite outdated in terms of their retail format. But being behind meant having more room for growth. Su Can had successfully instilled awareness of the drawbacks and limitations of traditional department stores among Shushan Chain's reserve cadres, who now harbored strong aspirations towards the new mall model.

Despite a lack of experience and an immature management system, they had one significant advantage: the determination and resolve to truly create Xihaicheng’s first large-scale mall.

The name for the mall was extensively discussed but no conclusion could be reached. Some suggested using "Shushan" as the brand name while others proposed various names such as "Huasheng," "Xiahai Trade," and "Maowang Center."

Ultimately, Su Can made the final decision to name it “Dunhuang.”

The retail sector was now referred to as a declining empire, while Dunhuang symbolized an era that witnessed the splendor of Han and Tang dynasties. Naming the mall "Dunhuang" implied the potential for reshaping Xihaicheng’s retail industry into another glorious empire.

This demonstrated Su Can's grand ambitions, which excited the idealistic faction represented by Zhou Shao to no end, as if they could see a dream being waved before their eyes. This was one of the main reasons he chose to return to Xihaicheng after graduation despite having such favorable conditions elsewhere."Damn!" The middle-aged man's face darkened, his fleshy cheeks quivered. Seeing Wang Lu’s tear-streaked appearance, he hesitated to act but witnessing Jun Junhao’s quick evasion ignited his fury. He s...