All Chapters of I Switched Shops After The Landlord Raised The Rent Thrice: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

After the SATs were over, I had just put on my promotional banner when I received texts from my suppliers saying that they were increasing the price for ingredients. The manager from the shop next door, Ben Scott, forwarded their text to me. [Gabe came out with a new menu item again. Whenever he comes out with a new menu item, it sells like hotcakes! He’ll earn thousands!][Now that we have increased the ingredients prices by 30%, we’ll earn some profit too!][That’s right! John, you’re so smart! We’ll earn big money because of you!][Nancy, make sure you increase the rent too. Otherwise, you won’t get much!]When I read those texts, I was furious. My father passed on Anderson’s Tacos to me. We had been operating in this remote alley for 40 years. Because of our unique flavors, we also brought in a lot of business for the other shops on this street. Every time I came out with new menu items, my suppliers would immediately increase the price of the raw materials, as would my

Chapter 2

The surrounding business owners acted like they were concerned for me. They all came over to talk to me. I asked, “Since this shop location is so great, how about I swap with your location instead?” They fell silent. Everyone knew that even though my business was the best, my shop was the smallest. People would queue up almost every day for my tacos, and my regulars would call in advance to place their order with a deposit to my account. They knew that if they ordered late, the tacos would be out of stock.My father operated Anderson’s Tacos for more than 30 years. I had worked on it for 10. I could not let this business collapse.I created a fake account and asked Ben to add me to the group chat. He was one of the only ones who supported me. [Ben, aren’t you afraid of getting fired?][Gabe, I wanted to quit for the longest time. These people are ruthless. They’ll reap what they sow sooner rather than later!]I read the text and could not help but snicker. Ben was right. They

Chapter 3

I discussed it with Helen. We closed our shop and went over to have a look at the new shop. Gold Square was just two streets away from my current shop. As I walked over, I could see the clean street and the rental banners hanging before the shops. The rental agent, Ned Smith, welcomed us. “Gabe, I’m a loyal customer of Anderson’s Tacos. If you rent from me, aside from the perks I mentioned earlier, I’ll also try to arrange additional rent relief for you. Come, have a look!” He passed me a flyer and took me to the shop. “This shop’s close to the entrance of a nearby neighborhood, and anyone who’s going to the market will pass by. When people walk to and fro from the market, they’re bound to see your shop!”Helen and I were satisfied with the shop, so we signed the rental agreement on the spot. Then, we went to the market located behind the shop. We found that the quality of the vegetables was really good, and it was a lot cheaper as well. Helen grabbed my hand. “I told Un

Chapter 4

Helen and I had moved into the new shop. I took all my equipment and utensils to the new shop at midnight. Ned had already inspected whether the shop needed renovations. There was nothing much to be done. It was ready to move in. I just had to stick some tiles onto the concrete floor. I had already asked someone to handle it for me. As I looked at the workers renovating my shop, I received a call from Nancy. She sounded angry. “Where did you go, Gabe? What did you do to the shop?”“I moved. I no longer want to rent from you, Nancy. The price hike is unbearable, and I’ll end up incurring a loss. I can’t rent from you anymore. You can just refund the two weeks’ rent as well as my deposit to me.”“Refund? Dream on! Nancy was furious. “You were the one who wanted to rent from me. Now, you end the lease without even informing me?! You’re in breach of contract—”I interrupted her and said, “I didn’t breach anything. You breached it first. I’m only following your footsteps. You cut

Chapter 5

Nancy yelled at them, but the security guard only chuckled and said, “Oh, I recognize you. Aren’t you from the other street? Since Gabe moved here, are you here to buy his tacos?“It doesn’t matter who you are. You have to queue up today. Gabe’s tacos are famous. Can’t you see? His shop has been in business for 40 years. It’s a solid brand.”“That’s right! I came all the way here just for his tacos!”Nancy saw all my regulars queuing up and sneered. “Gabe, do you dare to tell the truth in front of everyone? You owe me money, and you breached our rental agreement. I’m here to discuss that with you!”John said, “We’ve worked together for so many years. You rejected my stock without telling me in advance, and I suffered a loss! If you don’t buy from me, who do I sell them to?”Leonard also added, “Gabe, you can’t do this to me! Because of you, I stocked up on vegetables. Now that you no longer want them, what am I supposed to do?”I put the tacos into a container. Then, I looked a

Chapter 6

Nancy was certain that I would return. She did not know that without Anderson’s Tacos, that street would lose its customer traffic. By the third day of operating at my new location, the number of customers visiting the old street had dropped by 50%. The two shops next to me also lost business because they were no longer benefiting from the customers I brought in through our bundle deals. Without me, customers would not even have a reason to visit that street.Very soon, Ben sent me a text. [Gabe, I’ve decided to quit!]He complained to me. [I bet you don’t know, but once you left, no one was frequenting the street anymore. My boss told us to go out and look for customers, and he set a KPI of 10 customers a day.] [He was also asking for high revenue. If not, he said he’ll deduct our salaries!][He’s crazy! Without your shop, who’ll come here? I’m planning to try my luck finding a new job near Gold Square.]I laughed and sent him a contact I had at Gold Square. [You can com

Chapter 7

I threw Nancy out, and the police also reprimanded her. She passed out from anger. When the court commenced, her family members represented her. They said that she was still hospitalized. Everyone was harassing her online while supporting my business at the same time. I was not that kind. She had maliciously increased my rent from $8,000 to $13,000, and then later to $15,000. The wrongful rent increases and breach of contract amounted to $200,000 in compensation.As for John and Leonard, they were unable to sell their stocks without my support. Leonard was in a slightly better position. After selling off his first batch of vegetables, he could control how much stock he wanted to replenish. However, things were much tougher for John. Without me as his biggest client, and with his actions being exposed online, his previous customers stopped buying from him.He was left with stock that he could no longer sell. He had originally been a small supplier, but with my support, he was

Chapter 8

“I don’t have money! You might as well just kill me!“Kill me if you dare!” The next second, she looked up and saw me. When she met my gaze, she trembled and turned around abruptly. She was trying to hide.I walked over. “Hello everyone, how are you doing?”When they heard my voice, they turned around and walked toward me. “Gabe, you’re back!”“Please come back, Gabe. I’ll give you my shop!” “They’re the ones who wanted to increase prices. It has nothing to do with us. We’re good neighbors!” I sneered. “Really, my good neighbor? When you found out that they’re increasing prices, and when I was at my wits’ end, you supported them instead!“You’re all ungrateful! I helped you in the past, but when I needed help, what did you do? How dare you ask me to come back?”Nancy grabbed my hand. “Gabe, I was wrong. I will not increase rent anymore, alright?”“It’s too late, Nancy. I’m here to remind you to pay me $200,000 in compensation! You have a week to do so. If you don’t pay

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