Martin Wu bit his lip, his voice suddenly rising: "I'm here to ask you about what you said earlier—the franchise business!"
Martin Wu's voice suddenly grew louder, startling Simon Yu. He stepped back two paces and found himself pressed against the wall with nowhere left to retreat.
And the young man in front of him actually stepped forward again, bracing one hand against the wall and looking up at him: "I want to ask about the franchise business. Are you the one in charge of this?"
"You want to... join the franchise business?" Simon Yu looked at the refined scholar before him.
Martin Wu nodded firmly. "I think this hot pot restaurant is sure to succeed."
"Then come with me. I'll take you to see the boss." Simon Yu swallowed nervously, thinking to himself that although this young man was a bit short, he sure had a lot of presence!
Simon Yu immediately led Martin Wu into the room to find Arthur Evans.
Martin Wu entered, saw Arthur Evans, and paused for a moment: "Hey, isn't this Leonard Yuan's father!?"
Arthur Evans looked up and recognized Martin Wu as his son's classmate at Phoenix Academy. Although they weren't in the same class, the academy was small, so the students all knew each other fairly well. Arthur had met Martin a few times when delivering things to his son at Phoenix Academy.
"Oh, Mr. Evans, my family runs a business, and I'd like to ask about the hot pot restaurant franchise business," Martin Wu said.
Simon Yu sat to the side, cracking sunflower seeds. He’d spent all day promoting, and everyone just asked questions, clearly hesitating. This young man was the first to come right out and say he wanted to join.
Arthur Evans saw Martin Wu was quite young and hesitated. "Martin, have you discussed this with your family? Can you make this decision yourself?"
Martin Wu shook his head. "My family doesn’t know yet, but I’m sure this business will work. My family trades furs in the county, but lately there’s been too much competition and it’s getting harder. My father’s been worrying about the future. I think this hot pot restaurant is a great opportunity—if we seize it, we won’t have to worry about our livelihood. Don’t worry, Mr. Evans, as long as the project is good, I’ll convince my parents!"
Simon Yu spat out a seed shell and said, "You talk big for someone so young. Do you know how much it costs to open a hot pot restaurant?"
Martin Wu turned to look at Simon Yu. "I don’t know yet, but once Mr. Evans tells me the details, I’ll figure it out! When it comes to numbers, I’m confident no one in this room can beat me—don’t underestimate me!"
Arthur Evans laughed heartily. "Don’t doubt him, Mr. Yu. Young Martin here is in the math class at Phoenix Academy, studying under Professor Jade Evans. When it comes to numbers, even I can’t match him!"
Seeing Martin Wu’s sincerity, Arthur Evans explained the franchise business details to him. Martin lowered his gaze, did some quick mental math, then looked up and said, "I’ve calculated: to open a restaurant at the standard scale, the initial investment is twenty-three thousand taels of silver. Add labor costs, and it’s twenty-five thousand taels. That’s a lot of money. With hot pot prices so high, ordinary folks can’t afford it. If we want to open, it has to be in a prosperous provincial capital—lots of wealthy people who care about taste and freshness, not price. If we open there, it’ll work! Mr. Evans, I’ll write to my parents and ask them to come to the capital. Once they arrive, we’ll discuss the franchise business in detail."
Arthur Evans was impressed by Martin Wu’s decisiveness and clear thinking, and liked him even more. He smiled and said, "Alright, I’ll wait for your family to come and discuss the details."
Afterward, Simon Yu walked Martin Wu out. On the way, Simon glanced at Martin and said, "Here’s a tip: lay off the spicy food."
Martin Wu looked up at Simon Yu. "Why? I can’t eat spicy hot pot?"
Simon Yu coughed lightly and slapped Martin Wu on the chest. "Look at you, all that pent-up heat—cut back on spicy food. You're not really fat, just a bit puffy from too much heat. See, your chest is all swollen!"