55: Fourth blind date

The coffee shop's facade wasn't large, but the Japanese-style sign combined with the floral arrangements by the door exuded a strong sense of petite-bourgeois refinement!

Come to think of it, this wasn't Chen Qiu's first time here.

The private kitchen restaurant chosen by his first blind date, Lü Shuang, was on this very street.

Chen Qiu turned his head and realized that most of the shops on the entire street were filled with that same petite-bourgeois vibe.

"It seems this is a characteristic of this street, then?"

Chen Qiu walked into the coffee shop.

The interior was actually quite spacious, but strangely, there weren't many seats.

Chen Qiu's gaze shifted, quickly landing on a young woman behind the bar.

Her appearance didn't differ much from the photo; she must be his blind date for today, Wan Lingfei!

"Hello?"

Chen Qiu spoke up, and only then did Wan Lingfei notice someone had entered.

"Hello, I'm the manager of this coffee shop; you can call me Elaine!"

Wan Lingfei's tone carried a confident languor, and her way of speaking made Chen Qiu raise an eyebrow.

Her outfit and makeup were extremely exquisite, as if she were someone who lived entirely within her social media feed.

"I'm Chen Qiu, here for our scheduled blind date."

Wan Lingfei was slightly taken aback, then suddenly remembered something.

"Sorry, I forgot..."

"I am Wan Lingfei. Please, have a seat!"

Chen Qiu picked a random seat and sat down, then watched with some astonishment as Wan Lingfei walked over with a menu.

"What would you like to drink?"

Chen Qiu glanced at the menu and then fell silent.

"Silent Love and Mount Fuji... 58!"

"Twilight of Utopia... 68!"

"Romantic Fusion of Ice and Earth... 58!"

He really couldn't understand the names of these coffees!

"You recommend something."

"Then let's go with this 'Twilight of Utopia.' The layers of this coffee are very rich; you can taste notes of nuts and tropical fruits at the same time. It was my absolute favorite when I was training in Shanghai!"

Wan Lingfei said confidently.

"Then let's have that one, thank you."

A few minutes later, Wan Lingfei brought over a cup of coffee.

Chen Qiu took a close look, and under Wan Lingfei's gaze, took a small sip.

Isn't this just an Iced Americano?

"How is it? The beans in my shop are all native varieties from Ethiopia; the flavor is incomparable to domestic beans!"

Chen Qiu remained silent. Even if he drank cola with his eyes closed, he couldn't tell the difference between Pepsi and Coke, so tasting the difference in coffee beans was really asking too much of him.

"I heard from the matchmaker that Miss Wan owns this shop herself?"

Chen Qiu steered the conversation back to the realm of blind dating.

"Yes, I am the manager of this shop!"

"After graduating from university, I worked as a coffee shop manager in Shanghai for three years and even created my own brand!"

"When I returned to Gannan the year before last, I was surprised to find that the local understanding of coffee was still stuck at quick-service brands like Starbucks and Luckin Coffee."

"So, I came back!"

"To be honest, I didn't open this shop to make money!"

"But rather to bring my own brand back to my hometown to promote the advanced Coffee Philosophy from Shanghai!"

Wan Lingfei was brimming with emotion, as if she were a literary young woman choking on her own dreams!

At the same time, her gaze toward Chen Qiu was filled with anticipation.

In fact, when she first opened her own coffee shop, she did truly want to promote her coffee philosophy!

She had absolute confidence in herself, and even when opening the first shop, she was already considering locations for future branches!

However, things didn't go as planned; the first shop she managed quickly went out of business due to high rent and poor management.

She opened two more shops consecutively, only to repeat the same mistakes!

Her ambition hadn't been extinguished, but her family's savings and her parents' retirement funds had long been drained by her.

Unable to get more support from her parents and unwilling to work for someone else, Wan Lingfei had an idea.

She came up with an idea.

Return to Gannan to open a coffee shop!

She believed it must be because the competition in Shanghai was too fierce and the land prices were sky-high, making it unbearable for the average person!

But Gannan was different; the shop rent was far lower than in Shanghai, and the only competition was quick-service brands like Luckin and Starbucks, with only some nameless shops left!

With her level of coffee-making and advanced management philosophy, wouldn't entering the Gannan market be a total "dimensionality reduction strike"?!

Filled with excitement, Wan Lingfei took out a loan of 600,000 for herself, chose a good location, and opened her fourth coffee shop!

However, the "dimensionality reduction strike" she had imagined did not happen!

The coffee shop, which had cost 300,000 to 400,000 to renovate, was deserted, and the revenue was extremely dismal!

Unwilling to admit defeat, Wan Lingfei barely hung on for a year, constantly taking out new loans to pay off old ones; now, her debt had snowballed to nearly a million!

Every day when she opened her eyes, she had to worry about how to make it through the online loan repayment dates.

Her parents were urging her to get married every day, and although she had originally been extremely resistant to marriage, she had no choice but to accept the blind dates.

She had already planned it all out.

With her looks and education, the bride price should at least be several hundred thousand, right!

When the time came, she would use the bride price to pay off her loans, and if worse came to worst, she could just get a divorce!

However, she didn't expect the first person she met on a blind date to exceed her expectations!

Yesterday, the matchmaker had bragged about Chen Qiu over the phone incessantly!

Saying he was young and promising, a successful entrepreneur with an annual income of over ten million, and that people were gifting him cars and houses just after he returned to his hometown...

She hadn't really believed it, but just now while making coffee, she had observed him and was surprised to find that the clothes Chen Qiu was wearing seemed to be LV!

The car parked at the entrance also seemed to be an audi a8...

She realized that what the matchmaker said seemed to be true!

At this moment, Wan Lingfei was no longer satisfied with just paying off her loans.

Under Wan Lingfei's gaze, Chen Qiu spoke.

"Miss Wan's philosophy is commendable; surely, one day in the future, you will succeed!"

A smile immediately appeared on Wan Lingfei's face.

"As a fellow entrepreneur, I knew Mr. Chen would definitely be able to understand me!"

At this moment, Chen Qiu asked curiously.

"If we were to get married, does Miss Wan plan to continue running the coffee shop?"

Wan Lingfei nodded without hesitation.

"Naturally. I have always believed that a woman must have her own career and cannot be bound by traditional ideas of serving her husband and raising children!"

"Moreover, a single coffee shop is just the starting point of my career!"

An expression of surprise appeared on Chen Qiu's face.

"Miss Wan wants to venture into other industries as well?"

Wan Lingfei smiled confidently.

"During university, I worked part-time at a cat café, a vintage shop, and a beauty salon, so I have some research into these as well."

"I once thought, if in the future there is a man who can buy an entire street of storefronts for me, I would marry him without hesitation!"

"I would personally craft every single storefront, and I am confident that I could make it the most famous commercial street in Gannan!"

Hmm, Chen Qiu felt that she had already started entering fantasy time!

However, it's good to have fantasies!

The bolder she is, the more my land will produce!

Chen Qiu silently took a sip of coffee, putting on an appearance of approval.

"To tell you the truth, I had considered the idea of buying a street of storefronts before, but I just felt that without anyone to manage them, simply collecting rent would be meaningless."

Upon hearing this, Wan Lingfei's eyes instantly lit up.

She had just said it casually; was there really a chance?

She joked.

"Are you sure that's not a thought you just had after hearing what I said?"

Chen Qiu asked in return.

"So, was what Miss Wan said just now truly what you think?"

Wan Lingfei seized the opportunity and nodded immediately.

"Of course!"

"I wouldn't even need a bride price from a man who could buy an entire street of storefronts for me!"

Eh! How can you not want a bride price?

This is a traditional custom!

Just as Chen Qiu was about to speak, the system's voice sounded in his mind.

【Ding, the blind date's requirements have been matched. You have acquired 48 storefronts from No. 59 to No. 107 on Wenqin Road!】