Chapter Fourteen: Grandpa Liu's Kindness

These days, loans are easy to get, at least in theory, but for a student like Chen Xin with no foundation, obtaining a loan is a bit troublesome. Grandpa Liu went around seeking connections to help, but she still needed to provide collateral.

With a guarantor and collateral, plus connections in the bank’s credit department, it was easier than most for her to secure a loan, though the approved amount wouldn’t be very high. Fortunately, Chen Xin didn’t need a lot. If things went as Grandpa Liu predicted and the three parties cooperated, each person's investment wouldn’t be much. As the primary initiator, Chen Xin could work in exchange for a share, so if she could borrow fifty to a hundred thousand, the coffee shop could definitely open.

Now, the only thing left to consider was the positioning of the coffee shop: should it become an upscale, artisanal café like those of later years, or a street-side instant coffee joint?

Naturally, Chen Xin preferred the former.

Although, at present, people’s understanding of coffee was stuck at the stage where instant brands like Nestlé and Maxwell House seemed incredibly sophisticated, true coffee enthusiasts favored hand-brewed coffee. Perhaps because grinding beans by hand represented a lifestyle choice, elevating one’s sense of taste almost unconsciously.

Imagine holding a cup of instant coffee on the street, while others sit in a café, listening to music, grinding beans, and using a whole set of extraction equipment to turn black beans into a rich brew—the feeling is incomparable.

At this time, people had a strange admiration for things foreign; even the moon seemed rounder abroad. Imported goods brought prestige, even though there were coffee plantations domestically. The technology, varieties, and marketing couldn’t compare to foreign counterparts.

Chen Xin planned to turn the coffee shop into a long-term endeavor, so she needed to plan from the source. Success could lead to the creation of her own brand, much like the dessert chain stores that emerged step by step in later years.

With the funding settled, Chen Xin began preparing for the shop’s opening. Preliminary tasks included obtaining a business license, designing the café, and hiring staff—all needing her personal attention.

The loan came through quickly; within a month and a half, she had two hundred thousand yuan in hand.

Two hundred thousand seemed substantial, but once she started spending, she realized what it meant to be stretched thin.

Cheng Jie and her husband showed real resolve, directly transferring one hundred fifty thousand to Chen Xin. The house they had their eye on was purchased jointly. To avoid future disputes, Chen Xin registered a shell company and bought the property under the company’s name, making it a fixed asset.

“Now we have three investors. Uncle Liu’s funds will arrive the day after tomorrow, but because of his job, he can’t participate directly. Instead, he’s investing under his wife’s brother’s name. We’ve already clarified that their cooperation lasts only for this year. Regardless of profits, by this time next year, they’ll withdraw completely according to their share.”

Chen Xin hadn’t expected Grandpa Liu’s son to propose such a plan. It was clear they were helping out for Grandpa Liu’s sake, lending her money for a year, after which everyone would go their separate ways.

She wanted to say they might as well not bother, but for Grandpa Liu’s sake, she swallowed her frustration.

Although she disliked the attitude of Grandpa Liu’s son, it was Grandpa Liu who insisted on handling things this way. Perhaps, in their eyes, she was an opportunist, trying to charm the old man for a bit of benefit.

“How can someone be like that…” Cheng Jie was equally annoyed, but seeing Chen Xin’s gloomy expression, she quickly changed the subject. “Since he’s only investing for a year, it doesn’t matter. After buying the property, we’ll just calculate the café’s profits.”

The coffee shop was like a tenant, and the registered company acted as landlord. Chen Xin and Cheng Jie pooled their funds for the property as the company’s first investment. Any increase in value would be shared solely by the two shareholders.

On the books, the café would pay rent to the company at a fixed rate for three years. Equipment purchases and renovation costs were borne by the café, while design fees were paid by the company.

“This way, if we open branches or franchise later, we can effectively control the style of our shops, establish a logo and company regulations, and manage under unified rules for better development.”

Drafting company policies fell to Cheng Jie, with Teacher Song as her assistant. To help Cheng Jie understand the concept of franchise chains, Chen Xin recommended several foreign books—though half hadn’t been translated, so Cheng Jie had to read the originals herself.

Luckily, Teacher Song’s English was good, and her German was serviceable for reading and writing, though spoken conversation was a bit rough. After reading a few books, the couple became increasingly interested, even holding book clubs at home with Professor Song.

Chen Xin joined once or twice. Participants varied by session; sometimes it was domestic classics, with Professor Song’s old friends attending, other times it was foreign literature, attracting Teacher Song’s colleagues and friends.

As the book club grew, Teacher Song’s house became too cramped. Chen Xin suggested moving meetings to the café’s upstairs lounge.

Chen Xin was quite bold: after jointly purchasing the street-front building with Cheng Jie, she gritted her teeth and got Uncle Fang—recommended by Grandpa Liu—to help her secure a twenty-year mortgage on the house closest to the back wall. It sat opposite the café, separated by a small path and garden.

When Cheng Jie found out, she bought the adjacent house, refusing a loan and instead borrowing from friends and relatives to scrape together one hundred fifty thousand. Her house was ten square meters larger than Chen Xin’s, but the garden was twenty-seven square meters smaller.

Those missing twenty-seven square meters were at the corner by the wall; after leaving necessary pathways, every nook was enclosed as garden.

As for renovation, there was no money for elaborate work; the interiors had been simply handled before, so unless someone was especially particular, one could move in right away. Chen Xin didn’t intend to live there, though—she bought it purely as an investment.

Cheng Jie’s reason for buying was a bit more complicated, but she didn’t plan to move in immediately, either.

After the handover, Chen Xin got the café’s construction crew to build courtyard walls, using faux antique bricks for style, with plants partially covering the decorative holes and anti-theft measures atop the walls.

Seeing Chen Xin’s efforts, Professor Song decided to invest some money, making improvements to their own house—especially the second-floor platform and adjacent rooms. The large garden, staggered from Chen Xin’s, was also spruced up. To host book clubs, or to take a nap in the spring and summer afternoons, was now a genuine pleasure.