Chapter 109: Renting an Office

After seeing off Qin Yuhan, Li Dong headed to Longhua in the afternoon.

As soon as he entered the office, before he had even settled into his seat, Sun Tao burst in, looking flustered.

"Mr. Li, you finally arrived!"

Seeing Li Dong, Sun Tao sighed with relief. If Li Dong hadn't come soon, he might have driven himself mad with worry.

Without waiting for Li Dong to speak, Sun Tao asked, "Mr. Li, are you really going to invest fifty million in the stock market?"

"Let's sit down and talk."

Li Dong didn't rush to respond. He invited Sun Tao to sit down and then called out to Liu Qi outside the door, "Make a cup of tea for Mr. Sun."

Liu Qi responded and soon brought in two cups of tea.

Sun Tao wasn't in the mood for tea. Once Liu Qi left, he pressed on, "Mr. Li, are you sure you don't want to reconsider?"

Li Dong frowned and shook his head. "I'm confident."

Sun Tao looked troubled. Can investing in stocks ever be truly foolproof? People always start out confident, but those who end up losing the most are usually the same ones who were initially so sure of themselves.

Though Sun Tao kept this to himself, his dissatisfaction was clear on his face.

Li Dong thought for a moment and tried to reassure him. "I have insider information, and I'm sure we'll make a profit. When have you ever seen me do something I'm not confident about?"

Sun Tao forced a smile. He wasn't sure whether to call Li Dong naive or to commend his wide connections.

As for insider information, Sun Tao didn't believe a word of it.

If there was really money to be made, would anyone share that information with outsiders?

It was just like those so-called experts on TV, claiming to know which stocks will rise and which will fall. Most of the time, their predictions are just post-event commentary. If they truly knew what was going to happen, they wouldn't waste time analyzing—they'd just invest themselves.

Sun Tao thought about trying to persuade Li Dong again but saw his resolute expression and decided to keep quiet.

He was an employee, not a shareholder. He could offer some advice, but pushing too hard would be annoying.

Taking a deep breath, Sun Tao nodded. "Since you've made up your mind, I won't press the issue further."

He then added, "The money is ready. Just let me know if you need it in advance."

Li Dong acknowledged, relieved that Sun Tao had stopped pressing the issue.

As for Sun Tao's thoughts, Li Dong didn't care as long as it didn't affect work.

Once he made a profit from Baidu, Sun Tao would naturally have more faith in him. There was no need to explain too much now.

After discussing the financial matter, Li Dong asked, "Is there anything else going on with the company these days?"

Seeing Li Dong's inquiry, Sun Tao quickly responded, "Actually, there is something that needs your decision."

"While you were in Beijing, the university recruitment was completed. We hired over seventy people…"

Sun Tao briefly described the recruitment and continued, "But we can't fit all these people into Longhua. I was thinking that maybe we should rent a place to serve as the company headquarters. Otherwise, it will be inconvenient."

They definitely needed to assign these new hires to various branches for internships, but the branches in Fucheng and Tongshan were still not established.

With only the Qingyang branches available, they couldn't accommodate so many people, and without their own space, it was truly impractical.

Li Dong had overlooked this. He had been so focused on setting up his headquarters that he hadn't thought of this issue.

But now, with the headquarters still a distant dream, it was indeed necessary to find a new office space as the number of employees grew.

After thinking it over, Li Dong said, "How about the Global Plaza next door?"

The Global Plaza was right next to Longhua, close to the Longhua supermarket and convenient for business.

Sun Tao had also considered the Global Plaza but explained, "The rent there is quite expensive."

Li Dong waved his hand dismissively. "A little expensive is fine. We'll manage for a year or two. I'm going to build my own headquarters eventually!"

Li Dong had said this more than once. While Sun Tao had been skeptical before, he now thought Li Dong was just making empty promises.

Forget about the headquarters; they hadn't even built a distribution center. If they kept waiting, who knew when it would be done?

Li Dong could sense Sun Tao's doubts and didn't bother arguing further. Time would prove everything.

After discussing various other matters, Li Dong checked the time and said, "It's better to act early than late. How about we go check out the Global Plaza now?"

Sun Tao was eager to get this sorted, so he nodded in agreement.

The students hadn't graduated yet, but by June, they would all be starting work.

If there was no office space by then, it would be embarrassing and make people question the strength of Yuanfang.

They should secure a location now and spend a month or so on simple renovations to be ready for the new hires.

---

Since the Global Plaza was very close to Longhua Square, both Li Dong and Sun Tao were familiar with the area.

They went directly to the property management's rental center.

When the staff heard they were looking to rent office space, they immediately perked up.

Just as the staff was about to start pitching, they seemed to remember something, staring at Sun Tao with some hesitation. "Are you Mr. Sun from Yuanfang Supermarket?"

Sun Tao was a bit surprised but nodded.

Seeing Sun Tao nod, the staff's face lit up with joy. "I often shop at Yuanfang Supermarket and have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Sun a few times."

Sun Tao was relieved. Since he had spent a lot of time at Yuanfang, it was normal to be recognized.

This was like a semi-acquaintance. Sun Tao quickly exchanged a few pleasantries with the staff.

The staff then handed out business cards to Sun Tao and Li Dong. Li Dong glanced at his—Client Manager, Song Bin.

Song Bin was very enthusiastic. Just as Li Dong and Sun Tao were familiar with the Global Plaza, Song Bin was familiar with Yuanfang Supermarket.

He knew that Yuanfang Supermarket was thriving, and he was aware that Yuanfang didn't have its own office building.

Moreover, with the boss of Yuanfang personally visiting, it seemed like he might be able to close this deal with some effort.

Of course, he only recognized Sun Tao. As for Li Dong, who looked too young, he assumed he was just an employee of Yuanfang and didn't pay much attention.

Song Bin then asked about Sun Tao's requirements and finally recommended, "There's half a floor available on the 12th floor. The previous company just moved out. The total area is about 420 square meters, which would be perfect for Yuanfang's office. How about I take Mr. Sun up to have a look?"

Sun Tao glanced at Li Dong. Seeing him nod, he smiled and said, "Alright, let's go take a look."

The three of them took the elevator to the 12th floor.

As soon as they got out of the elevator, Li Dong frowned and pointed to the half floor with people on the left. "Isn't it too noisy here? What company is this?"

Song Bin explained, "It's a trading company. They make a lot of phone calls."

Li Dong didn't respond but thought to himself. What trading company? It was just telemarketing.

To be honest, companies like that were often scam operations.

The idea of being neighbors with a scam company made Li Dong immediately reconsider renting this floor.

However, since they were already there, it wasn't ideal to leave immediately. Li Dong patiently followed Song Bin around the empty half floor.

After a tour, Li Dong was even less satisfied.

He frowned and said, "This place is supposed to be 420 square meters. I don't think it even has 300 square meters."

While Li Dong could accept a little over 400 square meters, this space seemed too small. If several department managers and directors' offices were set up, there would be hardly any space left.

Yuanfang would definitely need to hire more people in the future. Were they going to make them work in cramped offices?