Chapter 5
With the help of FDA officer Fang, we passed the inspection for salad without a cold kitchen. We also printed out our revenue records for the tax police. It was quite simple because we had only been open for a couple of weeks. The tax police also approved us. Sushi U 2 is starting to run operations smoothly.
Two months later, one day Olivia came to me and said that we needed to open another new shop at the location next door. I was wondering where we would get the new money to invest before we got back our first round of investment.
He shows his calculations and asks me to search for the landlord’s contact, as well as start building connections. I didn’t think too much about his calculation because he is a professional accountant. After several meetings with Mr. Fish from the management office and another property agent, we had the opportunity to visit Mr. Lee, the landlord from Zhejiang who developed this compound with a property developer.
His space has two floors. We need to use his FDA license because he wants to keep his private canteen on the second floor. We are renting the first floor and part of the second floor. The good part is that we can use his license to run business as soon as we open. The downside is that we are under his legal control, which means we cannot sell the shop one day if we want to.
We visited a yakitori restaurant on the corner of Huai Hai Road and Chang Shu Road. Olivia mentioned that while we are following the concept of low unit prices, the total bill is actually not cheap at all. He believes that customers who enjoy sushi will also enjoy yakitori. I believe in him and I believe that he has been in this place numerous times as market searching.
I question the rationale behind rushing to open a second location before recouping our initial investment. Olivia has pointed out that the neighboring area is currently undergoing a business boom, largely driven by the success of the French bar Les Cafestaigiers. This perspective introduces a new dimension to our business strategy and will greatly inform my future investments in this neighborhood.
Thanks to Olivia for his attentiveness and vigilance in monitoring this business trend in the neighborhood. It’s my first business lesson about business wave. It also means that we have a new adventure coming.
After reaching an agreement with the landlord, construction commenced. Olivia, as the primary designer, collaborated with a local designer for architectural drawings. Subsequently, new challenges emerged simultaneously.
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We demolished a section of the wall in order to construct a small balcony overlooking the street. Subsequently, the municipal authorities intervened to halt our construction and threatened us with penalties. I appealed to them as the son of their colleague, and Olivia’s earnest plea further facilitated our case. Ultimately, after assuring the officer of public safety measures, we were granted permission to proceed with our project.
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We constructed the exhaust pipe this time without incorporating a new fresh air system, resulting in our exhaust system being so strong that it consistently pulls at our entrance door. This makes it challenging for clients to open the door.
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We recruited a team member, Jack, from Austria who presented a negative health assessment certificate, which was deemed satisfactory. However, our local staff erroneously interpreted it as unfavorable. Consequently, there was widespread distress and emotional outbursts until we verified the situation with the medical facility. This misinterpretation of the medical evaluation reflects an unprofessional lapse in judgment.
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The landlord approached us and expressed concern about the presence of construction debris on his property, resulting in an incident where I was struck in front of Olivia. We were both taken aback by the situation. It seems that the landlord perceives me as a young individual similar in age to his own son. Olivia remarked that he would not tolerate such treatment himself. What course of action should I consider? Hug and kiss?