Driving Jennie Laura's Audi TT, Bidegla found the location of the new store with Jennie Laura's guidance. The location of the new store is very convenient, surrounded by commercial areas with a high volume of foot traffic every day. The storefront of the new store occupies six spaces, at least three times larger than Laura's current jewelry store. It could easily be turned into a small supermarket with no problem.
It is evident that Ned Duda put a lot of thought into finding this location. However, the rent for the storefront is terrifying, costing millions of dollars per year, a figure that many people would not dare to even think about.
The renovation of the store is nearing completion, as the workers have begun moving their tools out from the inside.
Upon entering the store, Bidegla was stunned by the luxurious decoration, reminiscent of a palace with its dazzling crystal chandeliers, non-slip toughened glass flooring with a layer of gold underneath, and walls adorned with jade, reflecting a brilliant light that illuminated the entire room.
At that moment, only one word filled Bidegla's mind: upscale! Even the decor in a five-star hotel pales in comparison to this.
Although using gold as flooring is extravagant, it reflects the opulence of Laura's jewelry store.
"Jennie, is the ground beneath us really made of gold?" Bidegla inquired.
"Of course," Jennie Laura nodded. "Since we've decided to turn this into the new headquarters for Laura's Jewelry, we cannot skimp on anything. Are you satisfied?"
Jennie Laura smiled, with a feeling of presenting a treasure to Bidegla.
"Satisfied, truly satisfied," Bidegla exclaimed, clapping his hands. "How much did the renovation cost?"
"Close to twenty million, I believe," Jennie Laura replied without a hint of regret.
"Absolutely grand!" Bidegla couldn't help but give a thumbs up. The amount of money spent on the renovation alone showcases Jennie's willingness to go all out.
"Oh, has Duda visited here yet?" Bidegla inquired.
"No, but I've informed him. He should be here soon," Jennie Laura replied.
As soon as she finished speaking, a jarring screech of brakes was heard outside, and Ned Duda arrived in his flashy sports car.
"I can't believe you two beat me here," Ned Duda emerged from the car door.
Although he was the one who found the location, this was his first visit after signing the contract. He was taken aback by the opulent decoration and exclaimed, "I didn't expect to step into a palace!"
"Heh, I was also taken aback," Bidegla chuckled in response to Ned Duda's astonishment.
"Ah, what are you two doing? Let's go inside and take a look first," Jennie Laura interjected, seeing their surprise. Although she was pleased, she still urged them to move inside.
The storefront is already renovated, with just a few details left to address. First and foremost, they need to hire staff. A store this large will require at least a few dozen employees, and security personnel will also need to be recruited. With the floor covered in gold, Bidegla is truly concerned and feels the need to hire some capable security guards.
The security cameras have been installed, so the major issues have been resolved. They can open at any time once the staff is in place.
After investing over two hundred million in the store, it is finally going to show its claws.
"By the way, Jennie, I noticed that the storefront doesn't even have a decent sign. Are we really going to open like this?" Bidegla asked unintentionally.
"You didn't say so, I almost forgot." Upon hearing Bidegla's words, Jennie Laura seemed to recall something, and quickly walked into the backstage to get a pen and paper.
"The reason I called you here today is twofold: first, for inspection, and second, to nominate you for the signboard." Jennie Laura spoke, looking at Bidegla and Ned Duda.
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Companies with financial resources sometimes hire calligraphers to write their signboards to enhance their visibility.
But Bidegla and Ned Duda were not up to the task. Upon hearing Jennie Laura's words, both shook their heads.
"Jennie, although I have also attended university, if you want me to nominate the jewelry store, I'd rather not. My calligraphy is simply not fit for human eyes." Bidegla shook his head repeatedly.
"Yes, Jennie, please don't trouble us. If you really want a nomination, it's better to find a calligrapher with some reputation, we really can't do this." Ned Duda added.
"No, since the jewelry store is jointly owned by us, we have to write it ourselves. No matter how well a calligrapher writes, it's not ours. Hurry up and write." Jennie Laura's voice raised a few decibels, her eyes scanning Bidegla and Ned Duda unkindly.
It felt as though if they didn't write, they wouldn't be able to leave through that door today.
"Alright, I'll write." Under Jennie Laura's almost threatening gaze, Bidegla compromised, knowing that his calligraphy was lacking, but the task had to be completed.
"I'll give it a try too." Seeing Bidegla's compromise, Ned Duda naturally had no reason to continue resisting. After all, whether it looks good or not, it's not something they need to worry about.
With a brush in hand, dipped in ink, Bidegla was about to start, when suddenly, Jennie Laura spoke again.
"Wait."
"What's wrong?" Bidegla looked at Jennie Laura with confusion and asked.
"The jewelry store should not be named Laura, but should be replaced by Jennie Bide." Jennie Laura interrupted them.
"Why change it? Isn't Laura good?" Ned Duda asked.
"Of course it has to be changed. Laura's jewelry store is my personal property, not belonging to my family. So if we really want to expand, we cannot use Laura as the name. Let's replace it with Jennie Bide." Jennie Laura's face turned slightly red as she lowered her head.
The two words "Jennie Bide" naturally represented something to Bidegla - one was his own name, and the other was a part of Jennie Laura's name.
At this moment, Ned Duda also reacted and cleared his throat.
"Jennie, I also have shares in this jewelry store, why isn't my name included?" Ned Duda spoke, laughing awkwardly.
"If you're willing to invest one billion, I'll add your name." Jennie Laura spoke, her face becoming even more flushed.
"Well, let's forget about it then." Upon hearing that it would take a billion, Ned Duda immediately stopped talking about it. Three million was most of his savings, and even if it was a billion, he wouldn't be able to come up with it, but adding a little more was still possible.
"I don't have a billion, but I'm willing to invest another twenty million, for a total of fifty million, to use as startup capital." Ned Duda spoke, his expression becoming more serious.
After all, this was not a small amount of money, and anyone would feel the pinch. This was the maximum limit that Ned Duda had thought about for a long time, any more, and it would be truly gone.
At first, he firmly remembered the words his father had said. As long as he got on board with Bidegla, he might be able to make a name for himself. That's why he decided to increase his investment.
"Twenty million?" Bidegla was surprised to hear Ned Duda's words.
"Yes, with such a large storefront, it's always good to have some extra startup capital, just in case anything unexpected happens," Ned Duda nodded, sounding sincere.
"Alright, I'll have a new contract printed out later. Seeing Ned Duda's firm attitude, Bidegla didn't say much more.
After all, with such a large jewelry store, there might be a need for extra money at some point. It's better to be prepared for any eventuality.
"No need, since I'm willing to invest, it means I trust you. We don't need to print the contract. I know you won't cheat me," Ned Duda refused Bidegla.
"Alright, then we can just split the profits according to the agreed-upon ratio," Bidegla looked at Ned Duda with some surprise.
To invest an additional twenty million and not require a contract, if he were to be cheated, he wouldn't have any way to get his money back. Bidegla was touched that he was trusted so much. Of course, he would never cheat Ned Duda out of twenty million. He already considered him a true friend, having helped him out a lot.
For enemies, Bidegla could cheat them or even extort them, but for friends, he had to be extra good. In this society, finding genuine friends was a very fortunate thing.
People's hearts are inscrutable. Someone who claims to be a friend might stab you in the back at any moment, so how could Bidegla possibly cheat someone like Ned Duda, who trusted him so much?
"No, no," Tamma Jones suddenly spoke up after hearing the conversation between Bidegla and the other two. Her voice was not low.
"What's wrong?" Bidegla looked at Tamma Jones in confusion.
"All three of you have invested, so I want to invest too and get a share of the profits," she looked like a greedy little girl.
"This is an adult matter, you shouldn't interfere, it's none of your business," Bidegla's bristling beard and stern expression almost made Tamma Jones half dead with anger.
Since the store hadn't opened yet, if she could take a stake at this time, then when Bidegla wanted to drive her away later, she would have no way to do so. She already had enough reason to stay.
"Jennie, I want to invest too, can you help me persuade him?" Seeing Bidegla's refusal, Tamma Jones immediately turned to Jennie Laura, shaking her shoulder and acting spoiled.
"Well, uh," Jennie Laura looked a little embarrassed. In theory, a company or business would open, and investors would wait and see, only investing once they were sure it would make money. Someone like Tamma Jones was just throwing money in with her eyes closed. If it failed, what would she do then? Being so willful, she must really have a lot of money.
"Tamma Jones, it's not that I don't want you to invest, it's just that I can't guarantee whether the jewelry store will make money right now. Why don't you wait until after the store opens to see how it goes?" Jennie Laura kindly suggested, not wanting to see Tamma Jones get involved in this mess.