Chapter: 6309

Ma Ran subconsciously got up too, opening his mouth to say, "I'll follow you!"

In reality, Ma Ran was thinking of telling Xiao Changkun many things today, so he might as well just let Xiao Changkun go back to his own room.

After all, the two had been apart for a long time. In the past, they were in the midst of a cold war, and no one paid any attention to anyone else, so it was only natural that they should be apart. But now that they've made up, there's no longer a need for them to continue being apart.

However, Ma Ran thought carefully about this - he shouldn't open his mouth first, or it would be really awkward. It would be better if Xiao Changkun took the initiative and went back to his own room.

If Xiao Changkun couldn't bring himself to do it at some point, Ma Ran didn't think it was a big deal. Right now, he's thinking about Xiao Changkun more in his brain, just like an old gentleman would. So, rather than waiting until they go out together tomorrow and settle all matters, it's better to wait until they're back from their trip.

The next day, Zhou Liying, who was temporarily staying at the fast hotel near the antique street, came to the antique street bright and early.

Although he had asked the vendors for help yesterday, he also knew that others' willingness to help was not great. Everything still depended on himself.

Yesterday afternoon, he discovered that many shops on Antique Street were marked as for rent or transfer, thinking that now the trading on Antique Street was not as good as before. So when he arrived at the street early in the morning, he went to those transfer shops to get a sense of the situation.

In the heyday of Antique Street, it was also the hottest time for China's antiques market. Everyone who used to deal with ancient artifacts and treasures would still reminisce about that golden era and couldn't help but excitedly slap their thighs in nostalgia.

An artifact like a nuclear pear would cost at least several thousand yuan back then, while good ones could fetch tens of millions.

A tiny jade pendant, the size of a child's thumb, would start at several million yuan and go up to over 100 million. It was crucial that there were people who bought it out of spite.

What was most ridiculous was that a few years ago, a type of artifact called "Drops of Blood Lotus" suddenly emerged in this market and became a sensation, only to be later discovered that it was actually the seed of a plant found on the roadside in southern China.

Nowadays, many shop owners on Antique Street are those who entered the industry during the golden era. Back then, Antique Street was extremely competitive, with even small shops of around 20 square meters being hard to come by and rent fees reaching tens of millions.

However, now that the antiques industry is facing a downturn, over half of the shops on Antique Street have no choice but to transfer their properties without receiving any transfer fee. Only high-end shops located in prime positions can still receive some transfer fee.

Zhou Liying took a walk around and picked out a two-story commercial property being transferred, called "Treasures Hall", which was not bad nor excellent, with an area of around 50 square meters per floor.

The owner's asking price for the property is 150,000 yuan, including three months' rent-free period. After the rental period ends, the rent will be renewed at a rate of 200,000 yuan per year.

While the annual rent of 200,000 yuan was not expensive, it was still somewhat outrageous considering the transfer fee of 15 million yuan.

Zhou Liying then told the other party, "I have an impression of this store. When I was at Jingqing Hall, this store had already been open for a pretty long time. You must have signed a contract with the landlord that's not 20,000 yuan per year."

The other party replied, "My store has been in operation for almost ten years now. When I took over from the previous tenant, I paid 300,000 yuan as a transfer fee and the rent was 250,000 yuan per year. Later, business was bad and the rent gradually decreased to 180,000 yuan, but the landlord is now regretful and plans to raise the rent to 20,000 yuan. I'm really not willing to continue the contract, so I don't want to sign an extension. As for the transfer fee, I'm offering a fivefold discount, just 15 million yuan, including three months of free rent. This price is already very low."

Zhou Liying nodded slightly, and although the other party's words were thorough, he didn't question the authenticity of what was said. The only thing that made him suspicious was the value of this store today.

The initial transfer fee only represented the market conditions at the time, while the current price has no relation to it. It's like the logic of stocks.

Considering the current situation on Antique Street, a small shop like this one would be impossible to sell for even a penny.

The reason is simple: many shops are operating at a loss due to poor business. Most business owners can only hang in there and try to find new tenants while still holding onto their lease, waiting for someone to take over. They've already made preparations to return the property to the landlord once the lease ends.

Once the lease ends, they will certainly not be able to continue signing a one-year lease. Instead, they'll have to pack up and leave, returning the property to the landlord in exchange for their deposit.

Now that we're talking about transferring fees, it's basically an attitude of "taking what you can get." Once the lease reaches its final month, they will naturally give up on the idea of transferring fees, which is unrealistic. JrNovels.com