Chapter 59

"Xiaofan, listening to you, it does seem much more convenient to open a store."

Zheng Dagang, who was video chatting with Su Xiaofan, scratched his head and said, "But brother, where are we going to find so many antiques? If we really go out to collect them, it will cost us a lot of money."

"Brother Gang, I'll take care of the antique sources; you just focus on selling them."

Su Xiaofan had already thought this through and said, "Those who truly deal in antiques don't rely on customers coming to them. They all have their own supply channels. You just need to focus on that aspect, and you don't even need to sit in the store..."

According to Su Xiaofan's plan, the antique shop he intended to open would purely be a place to convert the antiques he found or restored into cash.

Relying solely on a store that might not make a sale for three years and then make enough to last another three years did not align with Su Xiaofan's interests.

Su Xiaofan planned to sell a portion of the antiques at relatively lower prices to collectors in the antique circle.

The more valuable antiques would be sent to auction houses.

Therefore, whether or not to rent a storefront in the antique market was not a crucial issue.

Su Xiaofan only needed a registered address to obtain a business license for the antique shop. The antiques he sourced could be kept at home, which would be safer.

"Xiaofan, it's not easy to collect antiques these days. If we buy them at a high price, we might end up losing money."

Zheng Dagang was a bit worried. The antique shops in the market had all been around for over ten or twenty years, each with its own stable supply channel. Su Xiaofan, being young, might get cheated.

"Brother Gang, you really don't need to worry about the antique sources."

Su Xiaofan thought for a moment and felt that he needed to reassure Zheng Dagang.

"My dad is often abroad. He mentioned that there are frequent auctions overseas where we can get a lot of our country's cultural relics."

Su Xiaofan changed the story he had heard today and attributed it to his father.

"Additionally, I have another channel. I can guarantee that the items are not stolen goods or from tombs, so they can be sold with peace of mind."

Seeing Zheng Dagang about to speak in the video, Su Xiaofan waved his hand and said, "Brother Gang, don't ask about this channel. I can't tell you. If you trust me, we can partner up. If not, consider this conversation never happened."

Su Xiaofan knew that working alone, it would be difficult for him to quickly convert the antiques he sourced into cash. He needed a partner, which was why he was trying hard to convince Zheng Dagang.

After a few years in the antique market, Su Xiaofan had befriended a few stall owners besides Zheng Dagang.

Even some antique shop owners had a good relationship with him, often gathering for barbecues and beers.

But Su Xiaofan truly trusted only Zheng Dagang.

From the beginning, when Su Xiaofan started setting up stalls in the antique market, he met Zheng Dagang.

While Zheng Dagang didn't protect Su Xiaofan from every wind and rain, his reputation ensured that no one in the entire antique market dared to bully Su Xiaofan.

Moreover, Zheng Dagang valued relationships more than money.

For example, when Su Xiaofan was electrocuted and hospitalized, Zheng Dagang led people to the relevant departments, causing a commotion and spending his own money.

Su Xiaofan later heard from a familiar stall owner that Zheng Dagang had spent over ten thousand yuan just on meals for those helping him, not to mention the other expenses.

When it came to running errands and demanding compensation for Su Xiaofan, Zheng Dagang never mentioned it to him.

When the compensation finally came, Su Xiaofan had planned to give Zheng Dagang ten thousand yuan, but Zheng Dagang stormed out before he could finish speaking, and the matter was dropped.

So, in terms of character, Su Xiaofan completely trusted Zheng Dagang. Now that he had the ability, Su Xiaofan also wanted to help his brother make money.

"What's there to be worried about partnering with you?"

Hearing Su Xiaofan's explanation, Zheng Dagang knew that the store was definitely going to be opened.

"Xiaofan, how should we divide the shares of the store?"

Zheng Dagang said, "We should be clear about the accounts. Since we're partnering, let's be clear from the start to avoid conflicts later, and don't ruin our brotherhood."

Zheng Dagang, being older and more experienced, knew that partnerships were not easy.

When it came to money and interests, even close friends and family could have conflicts.

Zheng Dagang and Su Xiaofan got along well, though Zheng Dagang was older, Su Xiaofan was more mature in his approach to business.

In the early days, Zheng Dagang helped Su Xiaofan get familiar with the market, but in recent years, Su Xiaofan had provided more support to Zheng Dagang.

So, Zheng Dagang didn't want their partnership to ruin their brotherhood.

"Brother Gang, what do you think of this?"

Su Xiaofan thought for a moment and said, "Let's divide the responsibilities after the store opens.

The initial tasks like obtaining the business license will be handled by you. Whether or not to rent a storefront will also be your decision, and you will cover the costs.

The later sales of antiques will also be your responsibility. I will give you a base price, and you can sell them as long as it's not below that price.

I will handle the sourcing of antiques, including the purchase costs, which will be counted as my share.

After the antiques are converted into cash, we will deduct the daily expenses. You will get 30%, and I will get 70%, with monthly settlements. What do you think?"

"Xiaofan, this... this isn't right."

Although Zheng Dagang wasn't much of a learner, he was good at calculations.

As soon as Su Xiaofan finished speaking, Zheng Dagang realized that Su Xiaofan's proposal was giving him a huge advantage.

After all, running an antique shop without a storefront required minimal expenses.

Registering the antique shop would cost only a few hundred yuan.

The biggest expense for an antique shop was the cost of purchasing antiques.

In today's antique market, finding a bargain was almost impossible. Antiques had to be bought with real money, and the prices were not low.

According to Zheng Dagang's understanding, antique shops bought antiques from collectors and resold them, making a profit of about 40% to 50%, sometimes even lower, around 20% to 30%.

If Zheng Dagang took 30%, it meant that the profit from the antiques Su Xiaofan bought would all go to Zheng Dagang, leaving Su Xiaofan with nothing.

However, Zheng Dagang couldn't imagine that the cost of the antiques Su Xiaofan would bring in the future would be as low as 1% of their value, almost like finding them for free.

Of course, if restoration value was involved, that would be a different story, as the value of restoration points was significant according to Su Xiaofan's calculations.

"Xiaofan, if you're covering the costs of purchasing antiques, I'll take 10%," Zheng Dagang shook his head.

"Brother Gang, there are still bargains to be found abroad. Taking 30% is not too much," Su Xiaofan insisted.

"Let's do this, Xiaofan. I'll take 20%, and all the expenses of the antique shop will come from this 20%. What do you think?"

Zheng Dagang said seriously, "If you agree, we'll partner up. If not, it's fine. I can't take too much advantage of you."

"Brother Gang, do you really trust me to find antiques?"

Seeing Zheng Dagang's serious expression, Su Xiaofan couldn't help but laugh.

They hadn't even seen the antiques yet, but they were already seriously discussing profit sharing.

"I know you, Xiaofan. You don't talk about things you're not sure about. If you say you have a channel, you can definitely make it happen."

Zheng Dagang trusted Su Xiaofan deeply. Over the years, he had never seen Su Xiaofan do anything unreliable.

When Su Xiaofan first came to the antique market, Zheng Dagang didn't think much of the young, innocent-looking boy.

It was only because of Su Xiaofan's pitiful situation and Zheng Dagang's warm-hearted nature that he helped him.

What Zheng Dagang didn't expect was that this young, innocent-looking teenager,

in just two or three months, managed to establish himself in the antique market, a place filled with all sorts of people.

While Zheng Dagang's support played a role, Su Xiaofan's abilities were undeniable.

Zheng Dagang also knew that Su Xiaofan could have been admitted to Yanjing University, indicating his high intelligence. Su Xiaofan's emotional intelligence was also very high.

Sometimes, Zheng Dagang felt a bit sorry for Su Xiaofan, a person with such high intelligence and emotional intelligence, to be selling antiques on the street.

"Alright, let's do it your way. You take 20%, but we don't need to rent a storefront initially. We just need a registered address."

Su Xiaofan trusted Zheng Dagang's character. At this stage, arguing over profit sharing was not very meaningful.

In the future, if they made money, he could always give Zheng Dagang a larger share.

"Those things are easy. We have connections with the business registration office. The business license can be done in five days at most."

These were Zheng Dagang's strengths. As a long-time resident of the antique market, he had connections in various areas.

"Getting a registered address is also easy. I can use the address of one of my shops."

Registering the business was even easier for Zheng Dagang.

His family had received not only compensation and apartments during the relocation but also several street-front shops, all of which met the requirements for business registration.

"Brother Gang, I knew these things wouldn't be a problem for you."

Su Xiaofan chuckled. He had considered these factors when choosing Zheng Dagang as his partner.

If Su Xiaofan had to handle the procedures himself, it might take one or two months, but for Zheng Dagang, it was just a matter of treating someone to a meal, and it could be done in three to five days.

"By the way, Xiaofan, we should also do the business of ritual objects."

Zheng Dagang suddenly remembered this. He hadn't been idle, having compiled a list of all the temples and Taoist observatories in Luochuan on his phone.

"Of course, we must do it!"

Su Xiaofan agreed with a smile.

With the nurturing pool in the restoration system, creating a few ritual objects occasionally was not difficult for Su Xiaofan.

As long as there were customers willing to pay a satisfactory price, he didn't mind using restoration points to nurture a few ritual objects.

"Brother Gang, we must keep the sources of our antique shop's inventory confidential. We can't tell anyone, not even Uncle Jing."

Su Xiaofan suddenly thought of something and said, "Not even Uncle Jing. Just say you bought them from collectors. Whether they believe it or not is their business."

"Don't worry, I understand. We won't let anyone steal our sources. I won't tell Uncle Jing either."

Zheng Dagang nodded heavily, which reassured Su Xiaofan. He knew that Brother Gang was very tight-lipped.