With the payment from Tianjiao Films, Wen Ying was initially in high spirits.
That same day, she couldn’t resist calling Xie Qian, seemingly mentioning the payment casually and modestly, but in truth, she was quietly showing off to him.
—Well, when people encounter good news, they can’t help but act a bit childish.
Although the pre-tax 500,000 yuan script fee was on a completely different scale from Xie Qian’s billion-yuan land purchase in Shanghai, the real gap between them had been set at birth. Comparing specific figures was meaningless. What mattered was that she was doing something she loved, and Xie Qian had taken a significant step in his fight against his deadbeat father. Their joy should be shared!
Her happiness wasn’t just about the money; more importantly, her script had been recognised by industry professionals.
The 500,000 yuan fee came from Li Zhentao, but the script was reviewed by both Zhang Guangzhen and Yuan Fenghui, proving Wen Ying could truly make a living from writing.
Xie Qian was naturally delighted for her. They chatted on the phone for a while, and Wen Ying repeatedly reminded Xie Qian to keep the Shanghai land deal confidential until the paperwork was finalised. Xie Qian patiently agreed, then brought up the dividends from ‘Shrimp King’ this year—since the ‘Shrimp King’ physical store opened on the night market street, business had been booming, not only crushing the former ‘Shu Ji’ but making it the top spot on the entire street.
From ‘Shrimp King’ alone, Wen Ying could pocket 50,000 yuan in dividends before the year’s end, enough to buy a car for Old Wen.
But she hadn’t decided whether to take the dividends when Li Mengjiao’s album sales came out. Seeing those paid-off music critics, Wen Ying was furious.
Suppressing the urge to roll up her sleeves and fight, Wen Ying had to deal with ‘Shrimp King’ matters first.
Big Liu, the barbecue shop owner, had made good money franchising ‘Shrimp King’ and, tasting the benefits of unified management, wanted to open another store. He even offered to increase the franchise fee.
Big Liu was bold, though not as bold as Qin Yi, who planned to open not just one but four new stores at once!
Shanghai was vast; five ‘Shrimp King’ outlets could easily be absorbed by the market.
To be fair, Shanghai had plenty of universities, and Qin Yi could follow the first store’s location strategy. As long as he could manage five stores simultaneously, funding wasn’t an issue for him.
After a failed romance with Xu Mei, Qin Yi poured half his energy into academics and the other half into business. Running a successful restaurant in Shanghai required attention to every detail, and in recent months, Qin Yi had grown remarkably fast.
Qin Xianming, seeing his son’s growing maturity, gave Qin Yi his first million yuan to use freely.
Wen Ying learned from Qin Jiao that both Qin siblings could receive three rounds of family support, each getting three “one-million” sums. These represented three chances to strike out on their own. If they made money with these funds, everyone would be thrilled. But if their ventures repeatedly failed, it would suggest the siblings weren’t suited for expansion and should follow family arrangements, focusing on maintaining rather than building.
With Boss Qin’s “million-yuan investment” and his own earnings, Qin Yi could now operate on a different scale. After careful consideration, he decided to stick with what he knew and expand ‘Shrimp King’ outlets.
Managing one store or five was still management.
In Sichuan, there was a well-known chain called ‘Tan Fish Head’, specialising in hotpot and Chinese cuisine. In 2005, it was aggressively expanding franchises nationwide.
As a Sichuan native, Qin Yi was familiar with ‘Tan Fish Head’.
Unlike foreign chains like KFC or McDonald’s, ‘Tan Fish Head’ was a local brand. Its growth showed the potential of franchised dining.
Qin Yi’s proposal to add four stores was well thought out.
He didn’t plan to open them all at once but to spread them over a year, adding one per quarter.
Big Liu offered to raise the franchise fee, and Qin Yi wasn’t stingy either. However, when Wen Ying received Qin Yi’s request, she didn’t immediately agree with enthusiasm. Instead, she felt uncertain.
She was pondering the future of ‘Shrimp King’.
Should they steadily build ‘Shrimp King’ into a major chain for long-term profits, or follow some brands that expand just to cash out through an IPO?
Wen Ying knew about cashing out through listings.
Bosses take the money and run, leaving a mess for franchisees and suppliers—she’d seen plenty of such news.
When Qin Yi mentioned adding four stores and praised ‘Tan Fish Head’s model, Wen Ying recalled that ‘Tan Fish Head’ would later fail twice at backdoor listings, suffer a broken capital chain, and collapse due to a private loan agreement. Qin Yi’s admiration for ‘Tan Fish Head’ made her reflect on ‘Shrimp King’s future.
If they aimed to cash out, ‘Shrimp King’ could just collect franchise fees, provide renovation plans, business strategies, menus, and signature dish recipes, leaving franchisees to fend for themselves.
If not for cashing out, franchisee selection needed to be more cautious.
‘Tan Fish Head’ fell due to poor management and aggressive expansion; ‘Shrimp King’ couldn’t repeat those mistakes.
Wen Ying didn’t distrust Big Liu or Qin Yi. Big Liu was manageable since he was in Rongcheng, where she could oversee things. But Qin Yi was in Shanghai—how would he run ‘Shrimp King’? Could ingredient quality be ensured? Monitoring would be tough.
And this was just Big Liu and Qin Yi. What about more franchisees in the future?
Wen Ying felt caught in a dilemma. She opened ‘Shrimp King’ due to a bet with her parents, and with limited capital but a desire for rapid growth, she chose franchising. To ensure ‘Shrimp King’s quality, direct operation like Haidilao was the best route!
Haidilao’s direct operation ensured consistent quality across its national chain. Its founder, with no culinary training, relied on meticulous service to stand out.
‘Shrimp King’ already had franchisees. Switching to direct operation would mean breaking contracts.
Big Liu and Qin Yi were early believers in ‘Shrimp King’. If they wanted to expand and ‘Shrimp King’ cancelled their agreements, it would mean paying penalties and likely losing friendships.
‘Shrimp King’ still had Qin Jiao’s shares!
Failing to plan is planning to fail.
After much thought, Wen Ying called a meeting of ‘Shrimp King’s shareholders, except Xie Qian in Beijing.
“I’m thinking we skip dividends for ‘Shrimp King’ this Spring Festival. What do you think?”
If dividends were distributed, Wen Ying would get the most, around 50,000 yuan.
The other shareholders wouldn’t get as much, but with the festival approaching, they were looking forward to buying gifts for elders with their earnings. Tang Yifeng and Geng Xiao, minor shareholders, were expectant.
When Wen Ying suddenly proposed skipping dividends, Tang Yifeng and Geng Xiao didn’t object outright but looked to her for an explanation.
“No outsiders here, just tell us what you’re thinking!” Qin Jiao said.
She knew her brother wanted to open new franchises. Was his rapid expansion in Shanghai causing Wen Ying concern? That seemed unlikely—more Shanghai franchises meant more fees, and Shanghai was far from Rongcheng. Even a hundred stores there wouldn’t affect Rongcheng!
Wen Ying explained that Big Liu and Qin Yi wanted to add franchises. “They both think the franchise fee isn’t an issue and are fine with a slight increase. They’re old friends of ‘Shrimp King’, so I plan to raise their fees to 60,000.”
The original fee was 50,000, so 60,000 wasn’t a big jump.
Qin Yi hadn’t relied much on ‘Shrimp King’s promotional support, unlike Big Liu. Even if the fee rose to 80,000, as long as it wasn’t excessive, Big Liu would pay.
Big Liu and Qin Yi could bring in five franchise fees, totalling 300,000 yuan!
With year-end dividends, that’s over 400,000 yuan. Wen Ying wasn’t planning to bank it all for interest.
Li Mengjiao’s album sales were outdone by Xu Mei’s, and with negative reviews piling up, Wang Shuang was in a foul mood. Wen Ying called the shareholder meeting, but Wang Shuang was distracted, only now snapping back, “Little miss, it’s this late, stop keeping us in suspense!”
Wen Ying pulled out a plan she’d written overnight and distributed it to the four shareholders present.
“With so many franchises, it’s time to get ‘Shrimp King’ on track.”
The ‘Shrimp King’ brand and trademark were registered long ago, but no formal catering company had been established.
To avoid collapsing like ‘Tan Fish Head’, it was time to formalise management!
