Lu Ming came down from the third floor and headed straight to the supermarket on the first floor.

The supermarket wasn't small, at least two thousand square meters. The shelves were neatly arranged, but upon closer inspection, many of them were sparsely stocked, with several sections left empty, temporarily filled with cardboard boxes and promotional displays.

Two of the refrigerators in the fresh produce section were off, and the vegetables looked wilted, clearly from the previous day. Four checkout counters were open, but only two were staffed. One cashier was dozing on the counter, while the other was watching a drama on her phone, the sound faint but not muted, with the background music of a historical romance faintly audible.

Lu Ming walked to the side of the checkout counter and glanced at the sign on the wall. The arrow for the "Office Area" pointed to the end of a corridor at the back of the supermarket. He followed the corridor, peeking into the warehouse as he passed by, finding it half-empty. A worker was sitting on a forklift eating instant noodles. He nodded at Lu Ming as a form of greeting.

At the end of the corridor was a gray fire door, with a piece of A4 paper taped on it, printed with "Office - No Admittance" in crooked letters, one corner peeling off. Lu Ming pushed the door open.

The office was about twenty square meters, with three desks. The largest one was by the window, behind which sat a man in his early forties, round-faced, with a high hairline, wearing a wrinkled blue polo shirt embroidered with the Wanjiafu logo. The desk was cluttered with a pile of invoices and several account books, along with three or four empty cigarette boxes and a glass ashtray filled with cigarette butts.

As the door opened, the man reflexively jumped up from his chair, his expression changing. "I've told you countless times, the payment will definitely be next month..." He stopped mid-sentence, realizing he didn't recognize the visitor. "Who are you looking for?" he asked, eyeing Lu Ming warily.

"Manager Liu?"

"And you are?"

"Lu Ming, from Yunmeng Investment Co., Ltd." Lu Ming walked in, casually pulling out a chair to sit down. "I need to discuss something with you, just a few minutes."

Manager Liu didn't sit down, standing behind the desk with his hands on the table. "Yunmeng Investment? Never heard of it. Are you a supplier?"

"No."

"Debt collector?"

"Also no."

Manager Liu breathed a sigh of relief, his shoulders relaxing slightly. He sat back down, rummaging through the ashtray, finding no whole cigarettes, then opened a drawer to pull out a flattened pack of Liqun cigarettes. "So, what do you want from me?"

Lu Ming took out his own pack of cigarettes and handed one over. Manager Liu accepted it, glanced at the brand, and lit it skillfully. "I want to see Wang Dafa."

Manager Liu paused mid-puff. "Why are you looking for him?"

"Business."

"He doesn't see anyone," Manager Liu shook his head, exhaling smoke. "Lately, he hasn't been meeting anyone, and he rarely answers calls. If you want to rent a shop in Wanjiafu, just talk to me. There are plenty of vacancies now, and the price is negotiable."

"I'm not looking to rent a shop." Lu Ming crossed his legs, tapping his knee with his fingers. "I want to buy Wanjiafu."

The office fell silent for two seconds. Manager Liu nearly dropped his cigarette on the desk. "Buy?"

"An outright purchase. The building and the land, plus the brand, all in one package."

Manager Liu stared at him for a while, his gaze moving from Lu Ming's face to his clothes, then to his shoes. Not particularly fancy, but the material was clearly not cheap. "Brother, no offense, but how old are you?"

"Twenty-five."

"Twenty-five years old and you want to buy an entire mall? Do you know how much Wanjiafu is worth?"

"Why don't you tell me?"

Manager Liu stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, eyeing Lu Ming sideways. "When my brother-in-law built this mall, he spent over forty million just on the land and construction. Another ten million on renovations and equipment. You're talking about buying something worth fifty to sixty million?"

Lu Ming didn't respond, instead taking out his phone to show a photo to Manager Liu. The picture was of the Xincheng Commercial Tower, its glass facade reflecting the blue sky. "This building, I just bought it yesterday, two million in full."

He swiped to the next image, showing the property ownership certificate with Lu Ming's name on it. Manager Liu leaned over to take a closer look, his mouth slightly open, not noticing the ash falling onto the desk. "That... the unfinished business park in the New District?"

"It's not a business park anymore, it's my office building now." Lu Ming put away his phone. "Manager Liu, let me be blunt. You know the situation at Wanjiafu better than I do. Half of the third floor is closed, a third of the second floor is empty, suppliers are blocking the door for payments, and the cleaning staff hasn't been paid for three months. Your brother-in-law's cash flow has already broken down, this mall can't hold on much longer. Instead of letting it rot to the core, why not negotiate a price while there's still someone willing to take over?"

Manager Liu didn't say anything. He took two deep drags from his cigarette, the tip glowing red. "I can't make that decision."

"I know, that's why I need Wang Dafa's phone number."

Manager Liu hesitated for a long time. He picked up his phone from the desk, scrolled through his contacts for a while, then put it down. "Are you reliable?"

"You can ask around at the County Government," Lu Ming said. "Director Wang from the Finance Bureau knows me."

Manager Liu hesitated again, finally sighing and writing a string of numbers on a sticky note, tearing it off and pushing it towards Lu Ming. "This is my brother-in-law's private number. But let me warn you, he's in a bad mood these days, quick to hang up. If he yells at you, don't blame me."

"Thanks." Lu Ming folded the sticky note and put it in his pocket.

As he reached the supermarket entrance, his phone buzzed with a WeChat message. Chen Li had sent: "President Lu, I'm at the company, no one's here."

Lu Ming replied as he walked: "The key is in the flowerbed by the front door. Check out the overall layout of the company and plan the functional areas. I'll be back after I'm done."

After sending the message, he saved Wang Dafa's phone number in his contacts. He didn't call immediately. Instead, he got into the Maybach, closed the door, and adjusted the seat back. The air conditioning was on, and it was extremely quiet.

Lu Yuan came out of Wanjiafu, opened the passenger door, and got in, holding a bag of discounted eggs. "Three ninety a pound, might as well buy them." She placed the eggs by her feet and fastened her seatbelt. "So, what did you find out?"

"I got Wang Dafa's number."

"And then?"

"Then I need to think about a reasonable offer." Lu Ming started the car.

Lu Yuan propped her chin on her hand and asked, "Bro, why do you insist on buying this supermarket? It doesn't seem like it can make money."

This novel is available on "pawread.com".

Lu Ming chuckled. "Does Pang Donglai make money?"

"Of course it does..." Lu Yuan's eyes widened instantly. "You're not planning to turn this Wanjiafu into another Pang Donglai, are you?"

Lu Ming held the steering wheel, his gaze calmly fixed ahead, and said softly, "Pang Donglai is great, but Yunmeng County needs a miracle of its own."

...

The Maybach turned onto Yingbin Road, heading towards the Xincheng Commercial Tower. Lu Ming rested his right hand on the steering wheel, holding the sticky note with Wang Dafa's number in his left hand, folding it back and forth.

How to approach a frazzled boss with "I want to buy your mall" required strategy. Offer too high, you're a sucker. Offer too low, and they might hang up immediately. He needed to find that number that would make Wang Dafa wince but still nod in agreement.

He tucked the sticky note back into his pocket. No rush. First, he would return to the company to see how Chen Li had planned the functional areas.