When visiting hours ended, Caroline, walking out of Apple Prison, had a more concrete understanding of her entrepreneurial plans.
It was no longer as idealistic as before.
"Miss Needy, may I go for a stroll in the nearby Queens?" Caroline politely sought the opinion of the cold-faced female bodyguard.
"You may," Needy emotionlessly agreed to the girl's request.
Subsequently, the private sports car drove towards the Queens.
Compared to Wall Street, Broadway, and the bustling Fifth District, Queens was truly a commoner's district.
It was densely populated, and underground rap and gang culture were prevalent.
Therefore, it was more "free" and less welcomed by the wealthy.
Caroline had taken her father's advice to heart, wanting to do business away from the wealthy on Wall Street, which was why she wanted to survey Queens.
However, what greeted the girl was not business opportunities, but a nose full of strange odors and randomly appearing hooligans.
With Caroline's beauty and her naive, sweet aura, she had only entered Queens for two blocks before she had already been targeted by hooligans three or four times.
Fortunately, the cold-faced woman was present.
The alloy double blades on her back and the twin guns at her waist were not for show.
"Um, Needy, let's go back now."
After the cold-faced woman chased away two more hooligans who wanted to "chat her up," Caroline finally became disappointed with this place that did not match her temperament.
There were wanderers everywhere, and from time to time, one could see exciting zero-dollar shopping, and in the street corners, one could even see smokers flying leaves.
Just these things had already overturned the perception of Caroline, this young miss.
It wasn't until she was escorted back to the car by the cold-faced woman that Caroline breathed a sigh of relief: "Why don't we go stroll in the Fifth District instead? I'm more familiar with that place..."
Channing Building was on Fifth Avenue, which was indeed more familiar to the girl and gave her a greater sense of security.
It was another hour and a half's journey, and when Caroline returned to the Fifth District, she felt that the air here was exceptionally fresh.
"Our family used to live there." Caroline pointed to the most magnificent building in the Fifth District, introducing it to the cold-faced woman.
Perhaps it was returning to a familiar place, but the girl's demeanor became much livelier.
However, the Channing Building, which the girl pointed to, had already been cordoned off with police tape and showed signs of dilapidation.
"When I have money, I'll buy it back..." After Caroline made an unrealistic wish, she then took the cold-faced woman to introduce the environment of Fifth Avenue.
Although more than half of the luxury stores here were closed, and there were also a small number of homeless people wandering on the streets.
But perhaps out of sensibility, Caroline felt that the gazes of the homeless here were friendlier than those in Queens.
After a tour, the girl was finally attracted by a small coffee shop at the end of the street called "Sweetheart."
The girl vaguely remembered that this small coffee shop used to have good business.
It was just that due to the recent economic downturn, this small coffee shop had a transfer sign on its glass door, offering a one-year lease for 100,000 dollars.
This also included the coffee machine and various equipment in the shop.
Caroline, who was exceptionally familiar with this area, knew that if it weren't for this economic depression, 100,000 dollars would be good enough to rent the small shop for two months.
Now, 100,000 dollars could get her her own small shop on Fifth Avenue, which was very attractive to Caroline, who desperately needed to prove herself.
However, the girl was not too foolish; after inquiring about the transfer benefits from the shop owner, she said that she still needed to go back and consider it.
"So, you want to open a coffee shop in the Fifth District?" In the evening, Mike met the travel-worn Caroline, who had returned to King's Building.
"Yes, taking that shop only costs 100,000 dollars, and I'll still have a good amount of start-up capital left for emergencies," Caroline said excitedly. "And it's only 100,000 dollars a year, which averages out to less than 10,000 a month in costs."
"I calculated that if I make ten dollars per cup of coffee, I only need to sell thirty-odd cups a day to cover the costs..."
Looking at the girl's energetic but clueless demeanor, Mike realized that she was very lacking in common sense.
"So, do you know how much a cup of coffee costs in a self-service coffee machine now?" Mike interrupted the girl's endless chatter.
"Fifty cents?" Caroline answered uncertainly.
"Correct answer." Mike snapped his fingers and continued to ask, "So, why do you think people would drink your coffee that costs over ten dollars a cup?"
"Instant coffee from a machine and hand-ground coffee from a shop are not the same..." Caroline said seriously, "For example, I prefer to drink hand-ground coffee."
Coffee costing over ten dollars was neither expensive nor cheap.
It was specifically prepared for those middle-class people who enjoyed a petty-bourgeois lifestyle.
But the current situation was that most of those former middle-class people had now been bankrupted by this economic depression.
Therefore, mid-range coffee shops specifically prepared for them naturally had no market.
Although Caroline's family had also gone bankrupt, she had never truly experienced the life of lower-class people.
Therefore, her perception was still very idealistic.
This kind of mindset, if it doesn't experience setbacks, cannot be corrected by mere reminders.
"Are you sure you've thought it through?" It was only 100,000 dollars, and Mike didn't want to waste more words on it.
He didn't even want to dampen the girl's enthusiasm.
"I've already thought it through; that shop perfectly fits my entrepreneurial needs." Caroline nodded, seemingly reinforcing her persuasiveness.
"Since you've thought it through, then go for it." Mike said with a smile, "I still stand by what I said: even if you ultimately fail, I'll still support you."
"Eww, how cheesy—" Although she was already intimate enough with Mike, Caroline still blushed at his sudden "sweet talk."
Then, the girl took the hand of Needy, who had already become her best friend, and turned to flee from the hall.
"In just one day, their relationship has become so good?" Mike looked at the retreating figures of the two girls, his expression slightly surprised.
It was not easy to get along with the cold-faced woman, after all.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Jessie, who remained in the building to recuperate, smiled, then said somewhat seriously, "You should have also noticed that there must be a reason why that coffee shop is being transferred at this time. So why didn't you stop Caroline from taking over?"
As the director of King Agency, Jessie's business acumen was naturally not bad.
"Caroline is still too naive right now; it's good for her to spend money to buy a lesson. Why should I stop her?" Mike didn't mind the girls around him being pretty faces, but if they were willing to grow themselves, that would be even better.
"That's true, Channing Family's young miss should be more outstanding." Jessie thought for a moment and said, "However, with Channing's current reputation, it won't be easy for Caroline to open a coffee shop peacefully."
"Are you ready to help her clear the obstacles?"
What Mr. Channing in prison could think of, Jessie naturally could too.
Bringing it up now was also to remind Mike. Lest he only eat, drink, and play all day and do nothing serious.
"What's so difficult about that? I'll have Chris warn those old guys on Wall Street in a bit and tell them to behave. Otherwise, King Investment Group doesn't mind acquiring more resources..." With King Investment Group's current momentum, anyone who still wanted to make a living on Wall Street would have to show Mike some respect.
As the saying goes: when one whale falls, a myriad of things are born.
Since Channing Enterprise went bankrupt, King Investment Group had already shown intentions of replacing it.
Of course, "replacement" here referred to influence.