City’s Best Divine Doctor
Chapter 828 - 0829: Choosing a Location for the Branch Store

Chapter 828: Chapter 0829: Choosing a Location for the Branch Store

At 5:30 PM, because Wu Shuang had some matters to attend to, he announced an early dismissal. Ye Qiu and Luo Yang went back to the boys’ dormitory, changed out of their military uniforms, and took a shower.

Initially, Ye Qiu wanted to join Luo Yang and the others for dinner at the cafeteria, but remembering his father might be waiting for him to check out the site for the second restaurant, he decided to leave first and drove to the Imperial Cuisine Restaurant.

"Ye Qiu, where are you?"

On the way, Ye Weidong called him to ask.

"Dad, I’m heading to the restaurant now."

When Ye Qiu arrived at the Imperial Cuisine Restaurant, he saw there was still a long line of customers. No wonder Ye Weidong was so confident about opening a second restaurant—it was obvious from the sheer number of people waiting in line.

"Have you eaten?"

Ye Weidong asked.

"Not yet."

"Then go eat first."

Ye Qiu went straight to his sister Ye Xue’s office, while Ye Weidong asked the chef to prepare a few dishes for Ye Qiu. After Ye Qiu finished dinner, they would go look at the new restaurant site.

In about twenty minutes, the waiter brought those dishes to Ye Qiu. Sitting there, Ye Qiu ate and found that the chefs’ culinary skills were still good—standards hadn’t dropped. If their cooking level were to decrease, it would definitely affect customers and ultimately the restaurant’s business.

"Dad, the chefs’ skills cannot slip. If their standards drop, it will affect the business here. You should check on them periodically."

"Of course I know that. We can’t have the chefs wrecking our livelihoods—otherwise, what would we eat?"

After finishing his meal, Ye Qiu and Ye Weidong came down from the office. When they got into Ye Qiu’s car, they headed first to the site that Ye Weidong had mentioned.

The first location was also in the suburbs. Ye Qiu drove there and found that the environment and transportation were acceptable.

However, this place was somewhat remote—more so than the location of their current restaurant.

Still, it was true that while the current downtown location was fantastic, finding a parking spot there was a nightmare. Opening a restaurant in the suburbs might not be a bad idea.

Besides, the rent in the city center was astronomically high, whereas rent in the suburbs was much cheaper by comparison.

"This place used to be a resort. The owner couldn’t keep it running, so I asked someone to look into it."

Ye Weidong said.

It took Ye Qiu about an hour of driving to finally reach the suburban resort that his father had mentioned. When he parked the car, he found the area was pitch black with not a single soul in sight.

It was clear that the resort had long since gone out of business, and no one was managing it anymore.

At first, Ye Qiu thought the place was completely deserted, until he saw a man in his forties or fifties wearing a security guard uniform emerge with a flashlight in hand.

After all, this was a resort, and there were still valuable materials on-site. Someone had to be hired to watch over it.

The security guard was there to prevent petty thieves from stealing anything. Seeing a luxury Mercedes-Benz SUV pull up with two people stepping out, the guard approached and asked: "Boss, are you here for a meal? This place is closed down."

"No, we’re here to check out the environment. We’re considering taking over your boss’s resort."

So that’s what it was.

The security guard, bored out of his mind, was ready to give Ye Weidong and Ye Qiu a tour. When Ye Weidong handed him a pack of premium Zhonghua cigarettes, the guard became noticeably more enthusiastic.

"How long have you been working here?"

Ye Weidong asked.

"A few months. After the resort went bust, the owner asked me to watch over the place and prevent theft."

As Ye Qiu and Ye Weidong looked around, they saw that aside from the security guard, there was only an old mutt guarding the premises.

The guard turned on some lights inside, revealing that the property still had electricity, and the lighting was functional.

Ye Qiu and Ye Weidong entered the resort and discovered that it was massive, covering more than 2,000 square meters. In addition to a main building with three floors, the other structures were scattered one-story buildings surrounded by dense trees. There was also a large fishpond and another smaller pond, with a stretch of forest farther out.

Ye Qiu thought the environment here was quite nice—very tranquil.

Then why had this resort gone bankrupt?

Ultimately, Ye Qiu guessed it was probably because the resort’s food wasn’t good enough.

In Jinling, Ye Qiu had tried other resort-style restaurants before, and the successful ones all served delicious food—often better than the average street-side diner.

However, looking at the surroundings, Ye Weidong appeared a bit disappointed. He found the place too remote. Despite its pleasant environment, would customers really come all the way out here for a meal?

If customers didn’t show up, wouldn’t they lose everything?

Clearly, Ye Weidong was unimpressed with the location.

After the security guard finished touring Ye Qiu and Ye Weidong around the site, he said, "Boss Ye, this is what the place looks like. But let me tell you—this location is really not suited for a restaurant. If you open one here, you’ll definitely lose money!"

This was just the security guard’s opinion. Because of the pack of Zhonghua cigarettes, he decided to share his thoughts. If it had been anyone else, he likely wouldn’t have said anything.

Ye Weidong shared the same sentiments.

Ye Qiu, however, asked, "Then what do you think this place is suitable for?"

"Well, it’s too far from the city. Maybe it’s okay for setting up a factory, but as for a restaurant, only ghosts would come to eat here."

The guard said.

Ye Qiu didn’t respond further.

As he and Ye Weidong left the resort and got back into the car, the elder man, clearly disappointed, was prepared to check out the next location.

"Ye Qiu, this place is unsuitable. Let’s go look elsewhere."

"Dad, I actually think this place is great. I could turn it into a more upscale Imperial Cuisine Restaurant—higher-end than the first one."

"What?"

Ye Weidong couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Imperial cuisine had historically been the most elite style of cooking, reserved for royalty. Even now, Ye Qiu believed the same standard applied. The first Imperial Cuisine Restaurant had already been exceptional, with luxurious, ornate décor. But the overall environment was still lacking something, in Ye Qiu’s opinion.

Here, however, it was different. Ye Qiu could redesign the entire place—even reconstruct the buildings from scratch if needed. Everything could be overhauled to make it more suitable.

It wasn’t the old buildings that Ye Qiu valued—it was the land itself and the surrounding environment. The only question was whether the owner would be willing to sell the land.

Given the resort’s distance of 20 to 30 kilometers from Jinling Jiangnan’s urban center, it would need a few years of urban development to catch up to this location.

Despite that, the land here was definitely still valuable.