Chapter 32 — Anchoring the Horizon
The first scouting trip to the southern capital was supposed to be a quick inspection of potential rental spaces.
But Li Ming didn't even make it to the coffee shop before his real estate agent showed him a corner lot.
"Lease or buy?" the agent asked.
"Buy," Li Ming said, without hesitation.
The agent blinked.
"It's… expensive. Could rent for a fraction of the—"
"That's the point," Li Ming interrupted.
"Why waste money slowly when you can waste it all at once?"
Changing the Playbook
From that week forward, every property proposal came with the same decision: purchase if possible, rent only if absolutely necessary.
The finance team quietly panicked.
The operations team quietly cheered.
Owning the land meant no landlords, no sudden evictions, no competing brands sneaking into the same building.
The First Foundation
In the southern city, the Italian chain's flagship branch opened in a freshly purchased, two-story building on a busy commercial street.
Upstairs was dining space; downstairs, a kitchen twice as large as needed — a "future expense sink" in Li Ming's mind.
Within three months, that oversized kitchen became the central prep hub for the city, cutting delivery times for other branches in half.
The Logistics Gambit
Meanwhile, in the eastern city, Li Ming signed papers for a plot of industrial land.
Officially, it was for a "regional cold storage hub."
Privately, he called it "the hole I'll pour money into until I can see the bottom."
The construction manager, however, saw a different future:
With two hubs — the original in their home province and this new one — Horizon Group could send fresh goods to three provinces without relying on third-party storage.
The Staff's Perspective
Over dinner one night, his deputy, Zhang Wei, leaned in and said, "Boss, buying all this property… you're building a legacy."
Li Ming laughed.
"Legacy? No. I'm building the world's most expensive way to go bankrupt."
Zhang Wei didn't believe him.
Neither did the rest of the management team, who now spoke openly about "the day we go national."