Chapter 0359: Brothers Settle Accounts Clearly

Yu Feihong still left, not even letting Zhao Fusheng see her off. Alone, carrying a suitcase, wearing sunglasses, she took a taxi to the airport.

Watching her retreating figure, Zhao Fusheng shook his head and chuckled softly.

The deepest thing is not the paths, but the human heart.

In his previous life, Zhao Fusheng didn't understand until he was forty that being able to treat and ignore people he disliked didn't mean he was hypocritical, but rather that his heart had matured enough to accommodate such dislikes. Conversely, being able to restrain himself from liking someone didn't mean he was cowardly, but that his heart clearly knew what he needed.

When he returned to the dormitory, Tan Kaixuan looked at him strangely: "What's up with you these past two days?"

Zhao Fusheng was completely baffled: "What's up with me? Is there something different about me?"

Tan Kaixuan chuckled: "Right now, your face is written all over with one word."

"What?"

"Restless!"

Tan Kaixuan burst out laughing, then looked at Zhao Fusheng and said: "My dad helped find out—the KFC franchise fee is one million, but rent, labor costs, and everything else are extra. Fortunately, they provide training, so we can send a few people over."

Zhao Fusheng rubbed his chin. The price wasn't unexpected, but the employee training issue was troublesome, because neither he nor Tan Kaixuan had the time to manage the store.

"What are you thinking about?" Tan Kaixuan asked curiously when Zhao Fusheng remained silent.

Zhao Fusheng replied: "I'm thinking about where to find someone to take charge of this."

"Hmm, I really hadn't thought of that." Tan Kaixuan was startled, then realized what Zhao Fusheng meant. After all, he wasn't stupid. Although he and Zhao Fusheng could start internships in the second half of their junior year, the problem was that Tan Kaixuan knew he was only interested in doing business. If he had to stay in that store all day, he could guarantee he'd go crazy.

After thinking it over, Tan Kaixuan looked at Zhao Fusheng: "How about asking your parents to help keep an eye on it?"

That was the only idea he could come up with, since Zhao Fusheng's family was local and more suitable.

As for his own parents, although the investment was substantial, Tan Kaixuan knew his family too well. His mother preferred stock trading, and his father, on Zhao Fusheng's advice, had recently been focusing on the building materials industry, so neither had time for this.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "My parents don't have time. They recently set up a shopping mall, and I..."

Before he could finish, a thought struck him, and he looked at Tan Kaixuan: "By the way, have you chosen the location for the store?"

Tan Kaixuan nodded. Although he found the sudden question odd, he replied: "It's on the first floor of that new Wanda Mall. I found a spot, but haven't negotiated the rent yet. I'll have to talk to their boss later."

Zhao Fusheng burst out laughing. He had guessed it—there were only a few good spots in downtown Ninghai, and Tan Kaixuan would most likely choose Wanda Mall.

"What are you laughing at?" Tan Kaixuan looked bewildered, staring at Zhao Fusheng in confusion. The sudden laughter startled him, and he didn't know what was going on.

Zhao Fusheng sighed and smiled: "Nothing. I'll take you there later. I know their boss."

"Great. How's your relationship? Can we negotiate a lower rent?" Tan Kaixuan didn't think much of it, instead focusing on costs.

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment: "It should be cheaper, but you'll have to say you're the boss."

Tan Kaixuan looked puzzled: "What? You..."

Before he could finish, he remembered what Zhao Fusheng had told him before and nodded: "You mean to get some policy benefits, right?"

"Exactly." Zhao Fusheng nodded.

Tan Kaixuan grinned: "I've heard that if I invest under my name, we can enjoy a three-year tax exemption. Haha, from now on, I'm the boss, and you're the minor shareholder under me."

Zhao Fusheng chuckled and gave him a look that said, "You figure it out." Tan Kaixuan immediately fell silent.

"Let's get this straight first. Even though you're the investor, I'll take the majority stake in the equity distribution. Is that okay?" Zhao Fusheng said to Tan Kaixuan.

Tan Kaixuan was taken aback, then nodded: "I understand. Don't worry, I get it."

Although the two were good friends, both startups and growing companies face a common problem: whether people's hearts will change in the face of profit.

The founder of Sequoia Capital, a renowned international venture capital firm, once said that many startup founding teams are friends. When the company is first established, they don't determine the equity distribution, and later, conflicts arise over equity. When success comes quickly, that's when the team is most dangerous. So when dividing equity, avoid equal splits. Reserve ten percent for management, twenty to thirty percent for investors, and keep the rest under your own control.

Of course, Zhao Fusheng trusted Tan Kaixuan, so when he said he would take the majority, he meant that the combined shares of himself and Tan Kaixuan should exceed fifty-one percent.

"Ten percent for management, I'll take fifty-five percent, and you take thirty-five percent. If we need financing later, it will come from our shares." Zhao Fusheng looked at Tan Kaixuan seriously.

Tan Kaixuan was stunned, not expecting Zhao Fusheng to allocate shares this way.

Having said that, Zhao Fusheng didn't give Tan Kaixuan a chance to object: "My funds will be in place soon. Have your uncle contact them, and let's settle the franchise fee first. I have only one requirement: if we franchise, no other franchisee is allowed in Ninghai for ten years."

Tan Kaixuan frowned: "Will they agree to that?"

He thought Zhao Fusheng's request was somewhat unreasonable.

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly: "I think it's no big deal. Don't forget, KFC hasn't entered the market in Northeast China yet. They probably don't know much about our situation here. What do you think?"

"That makes sense. Don't tell me you plan to monopolize the provincial agency rights." Tan Kaixuan wasn't stupid; Zhao Fusheng's words clearly had another meaning.

Zhao Fusheng looked at him in surprise and nodded: "That's right, that's exactly what I'm planning."

From the beginning, he had never said he would only open a store in Ninghai. Zhao Fusheng's ambitions were big; his target was the entire provincial market.