Chapter 165 Problem Solved

About a month?

Having received Shi Wenxuan’s affirmative response, Zhao Fan pondered for a moment. Under the current circumstances, one month was not a long time. However, completely filling the shopping mall would require quite a bit of effort.

The shopping mall had four floors. Since there was currently nothing comparable in Yangcheng, it was destined to easily become a landmark.

Before that, news regarding leasing had to be leaked in advance. Only by attracting commercial shops could customers be drawn in as well.

Rental rates would then be set according to the different floor levels and locations.

"Are you certain this place won't be affected by the interior decoration work?"

"Rest assured, it won't."

As they walked, the two reached the staircase. Zhao Fan looked closely and saw escalators, which were rarely used in the country at this stage.

At this juncture in his past life, escalators had only recently appeared abroad. By the time Zhao Fan traveled back, even flat-belt moving walkways were already widely available.

Zhao Fan had not even considered escalators beforehand. Seeing them now, he felt an exceptional surge of pleasant surprise.

At the present stage, elevators and escalators could also be regarded as symbols of novelty.

Seeing Zhao Fan staring fixedly at the escalator in silence, Shi Wenxuan coughed a few times and said, "President Zhao, these escalators were manufactured overseas. Knowing that they haven't seen widespread application abroad yet, I specifically ordered them for installation. The payment hasn't been settled yet."

Zhao Fan fell silent. If his memory served him right, the initial cost of these escalators was exorbitantly high.

"How many units have been ordered for the entire mall?"

"Sixteen in total, two on each floor, located in two separate areas."

Zhao Fan stared at Shi Wenxuan, his tone carrying a slightly distant edge. "Just give me the total price."

Based on the prices he recalled, sixteen escalators would undoubtedly cost somewhere between three to four million.

Shi Wenxuan replied, "Five million, including transportation and all other miscellaneous expenses. I will send the detailed statement to President Zhao later."

With that, Shi Wenxuan glanced at Zhao Fan. "Does President Zhao feel that I acted arbitrarily on my own initiative?"

"Not at all."

Zhao Fan thought to himself that even if Shi Wenxuan had acted on his own, it was because he had been given prior instructions. What Zhao Fan wanted was a shopping mall that was entirely unique in the country; Shi Wenxuan considering matters from multiple angles could only be a good thing for him.

"These escalators are installed exceptionally well."

Zhao Fan offered a word of praise and walked with Shi Wenxuan toward the fourth floor. A single floor of the mall spanned an area of up to three hundred mu.

Such a vast space made the interior of the mall exceptionally cavernous, causing their footsteps to echo within it.

Although Shi Wenxuan had carried out some decoration work, it amounted to no more than simple renovations. Looking around, one was met everywhere with minimalist color schemes. The partitions in the middle varied in size, and certain areas remained large expanses of empty space.

Pointing to the large vacant areas, Shi Wenxuan said, "The shops that move in will handle their own interior decorations over there. They can rope off and decorate whatever size they desire. We still need to process some paperwork to get the water and electricity connected, plus..."

Amidst Shi Wenxuan's explanations, the two reached the fourth floor.

"A shopping mall cannot function as a corporate office in the strict sense, but it will certainly suffice for a short period. Being up here on the fourth floor, aside from employees having to navigate a few extra turns to get to work, soundproofing will ensure they remain undisturbed. Once the neighboring building is completed later on, transferring the company over a short distance will also be very convenient. What does President Zhao think?"

"It is indeed quite good."

More importantly, since this shopping mall belonged to him, Zhao Fan did not have to worry about rent.

Furthermore, the basic renovations completed by Shi Wenxuan meant he no longer needed to concern himself with separate interior remodeling. Once the equipment was moved in, the staff could immediately begin working.

However...

Zhao Fan glanced down toward the lower floors. Before any shops moved in, this mall would remain frighteningly desolate.

While Zhao Fan was surveying the surroundings, Shi Wenxuan leaned against the nearby railing. From the four-story design—ranging from structural load-bearing walls down to the evenness of the flooring—he had meticulously considered every conceivable factor, terrified of making even the slightest error.

Past structural collapses in shopping malls and fires involving the Sangtian Company...

All the events that had occurred in the past served as crucial reference points for Shi Wenxuan. He had specifically combed through various documents regarding crowd evacuation and fire safety, and consulted multiple government departments before finalizing his plans.

After scrutinizing and contemplating for a while, Zhao Fan finally made his decision. "Let's settle on this. By the way, how much longer until the neighboring building is completed?"

Shi Wenxuan calculated the timeline. "About another three months should suffice. Construction over there has been underway for over half a year, and it's rapidly approaching the finishing stages."

"Construction on the building has been underway for over half a year?" Zhao Fan asked in utter astonishment, wondering why he had been completely oblivious to it.

Shi Wenxuan nodded calmly. "Yes, and this shopping mall has also been under construction for over two years."

A dazed look crossed Zhao Fan's eyes. The shopping mall had been under construction for over two years as well? Time truly flew; before he even realized it, more than two years had slipped away.

Upon reflection, Zhao Fan could not help but frown. He had thought that his company, Feiteng, was expanding at a fast enough pace, but he had not anticipated time moving even faster.

Recalling the development of China in his past life, a sense of urgency welled up inside Zhao Fan. He could no longer afford to proceed at such a leisurely, unhurried pace.

While Han Chen provided steady progress on the internet front, numerous other lucrative projects existed, and the company needed to generate massive revenues in the short term.

In another year or two, housing prices in Yangcheng would experience a rapid surge, and he must not miss this wave of capital repatriation.

The arrangements for the land auction had to be brought onto the agenda.

Coming back to his senses, Zhao Fan motioned for Shi Wenxuan to leave, speaking as they walked. "I hope the progress on the building can be expedited."

Shi Wenxuan frowned. "Is President Zhao in such a rush?"

Previously, there had been no mention of accelerating the schedule, so why the sudden demand for haste now?

Zhao Fan replied, "Extremely urgent. I want to pursue some other ventures, and I need capital."

He stated his objective directly: he needed money.

Once completed, the commercial building, much like the shopping mall, would serve as a cash cow for Zhao Fan, making accelerated progress essential.

Shi Wenxuan shook his head. "President Zhao, this isn't a matter of whether I want to accelerate the work or not, but rather whether conditions at the construction site permit it."

"To be honest, I am personally unfamiliar with the technical details, but within safe parameters, I hope you can speed up the finishing work."

Zhao Fan was not unreasonable; professional matters should naturally be handled by professionals. However, that did not prevent him from wanting to speed things up within controllable limits.

"President Shi, I'll have to trouble you with this."

As they spoke, the two exited the main gates of the shopping mall.

Workers handling exterior finishing saw them and came over to greet Shi Wenxuan.

"Hello, President Shi."

"Hello." Shi Wenxuan returned the greeting and introduced Zhao Fan. "This is President Zhao Fan, the owner of the shopping mall."

Astonishment flickered in the worker's eyes, and he hurriedly reached out a hand. "Hello, President Zhao."

"Hello," Zhao Fan said, shaking his hand. "Thank you for your hard work."

The worker grinned broadly. "It's not hard at all. We're just earning a living, how can making money be considered hard?"

A smile touched Zhao Fan's eyes. "Well said. Earning money is never hard work."

After exchanging a few pleasantries with the worker, he left with Shi Wenxuan.

In the car, Shi Wenxuan explained, "These workers are performing the final touches. Once they ensure everything is flawless, they will leave. If President Zhao wishes to start leasing, we can begin promotional campaigns in the near future."

Zhao Fan sighed. "No rush. Let's relocate the company over here first."

The fire from the day before had completely disrupted Feiteng Company's forward momentum.

Upon arriving at Sangtian, Zhao Fan discussed interior decoration matters with Shi Wenxuan and subsequently placed separate phone calls to Xu An and Liu Chengbo.