Chapter 193: 90: A Family by the Spring Chapter 193: Investment, Bought Several Houses to Her Liking

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Protagonist:

Lin Xiyu

"What are you thinking about? Frowning so early in the morning—is someone bullying you again? Do you need me to deal with them?"

In the kitchen, Guben, wearing an apron, had thoughtfully prepared breakfast and carried two plates into the bedroom, placing them on the book desk.

"No one's bullying me. I was just thinking..."

Lin Xiyu hadn't gotten out of bed yet; she lazily turned over, propped her chin with her hand, and watched him with great interest.

"Thinking about what?"

Guben took off his apron and teased with a smile: "Do you think your husband looks handsome in an apron, so captivated that you're lost in wild fantasies..."

"You do look handsome like this, worthy of praise..."

Lin Xiyu commented fairly: "But that's not what I'm thinking. Are you in a hurry to go to BJ? Can you delay for a while? Let me stroll around Shanghai first and buy a few suitable houses before we leave. House prices change every day; I'm afraid that if we wait until after the New Year, we'll have to spend a lot more wasted money."

"Fine."

Guben readily agreed: "You take care of your business first. Sixth Grandfather isn't in a hurry on his end. I'll tell Qu Peng to have them wait a few more days."

"Are you going to visit Sixth Grandfather?"

Lin Xiyu frowned: "It's already been agreed upon; changing the date again wouldn't be good, would it? Why don't you go by yourself first..."

"I think Sixth Grandfather would rather see you."

Guben interrupted her quickly, not giving her a chance to refuse.

Lin Xiyu didn't believe him: "You're his closest relative..."

"Actually, Sixth Grandfather is very disappointed in me because of my mother's matter..."

Guben revealed his own scar and played the emotion card: "If you don't go, I'm afraid Sixth Grandfather won't want to see me and will kick me out of the house."

"Must I go?"

Lin Xiyu still had misgivings: "We've been separated for five years already, and I don't know how those people in the Gu Family will think..."

"Others don't matter."

Guben didn't care: "As long as Sixth Grandfather approves of you, no one dares to gossip."

"Alright then."

Lin Xiyu hesitated for a long while, unable to refuse him, and reluctantly agreed.

—

With the school holiday and some free time, Lin Xiyu began implementing her plan, contacting a real estate agent to view houses she liked.

The areas she chose were concentrated in HP District, around Nanjing Road and Huaihai Road. Although she had been in Shanghai for several years, she didn't dare say she knew this rapidly developing city very well; she only knew these two roads were the liveliest and most prosperous area, and buying a house here meant secure investment with relatively large appreciation space.

Wu Meng volunteered to act as her military advisor, accompanying her to view houses.

The two best friends were initially very excited, thinking that as long as they had money, buying a house would be easy.

However, the heat of the real estate market had far exceeded their imagination.

A dozen or so people scrambled for a single house, taking turns bidding; whoever offered the highest price got the house from the agent, signing on the spot.

"Are those people shills?"

Wu Meng watched with a pounding heart: "In just a few minutes, the price rose by tens of thousands. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me and I was seeing illusions."

"This won't do. We need to find someone who understands to ask what's really going on."

Lin Xiyu was calmer than her. She privately found an agent, gave her some benefit fees, and probed for inside information.

"Sister Lin, I'm only telling you this; you mustn't spread it outside."

The young agent was a girl not very old, named Liu Hua, appearing to be in her early twenties, with a glib tongue, calling her Sister Lin every other word.

"Among those people just now, a few are genuine buyers like you, buying houses for their own investment and living. The others are all house flipping groups..."

"House flipping group?"

Wu Meng looked completely baffled: "What does that mean?"

Liu Hua covered her mouth and whispered: "It means they team up to flip houses together, push up the house prices, then resell them to pocket the price difference."

"There's such a thing?"

Lin Xiyu was also extremely surprised: "Once the real estate market heats up, even house flipping groups appear."

"From their accents, they don't sound like locals of Shanghai..."

Wu Meng acted like a thief, lifting her eyelids to glance at a few members of the house flipping group.

"Sister Wu guessed right; they're from Wenzhou..."

Liu Hua made the same gesture, nodding sneakily: "Many are from the same village, pooling money to buy houses and then reselling them, splitting the profit equally."

"People from Wenzhou are impressive..."

Wu Meng suddenly understood: "People from that place all know how to do business. When I was in university in Suzhou, I heard a Wenzhou classmate say that his mother personally told him: if you have the ability, go do business; if you don't, go take the civil servant exam."

"Ai ai."

Lin Xiyu laughed helplessly: "They're flipping houses, making it hard for us. They keep pushing house prices higher, and I can't make up my mind whether to buy or not."

"Sister Lin, if you trust me, listen to my advice."

Liu Hua, mindful of the benefit fees, genuinely thought for her: "I know this trade. Once the house renovation policy came out, rising house prices are an inevitable trend. Actually, you're already a bit late buying now; prices rose a wave before the New Year. All houses have risen by about ten percent. From now on, there will be more and more people flipping houses; the later you buy, the more you'll lose out."

"I think so too..."

Wu Meng found it reasonable and kept urging: "Xiyu, buy it. Don't hesitate anymore. If you hesitate any longer, all the good houses will be gone, snatched up by them."

"The key is I don't know how much to increase the price appropriately..."

Lin Xiyu rubbed her brow with a headache: "Add too little and you're hiring a sedan chair for others; add too much and you lose out yourself."

"Sister Lin, listen to me......"

Liu Hua gave her advice: "Next time you buy a house, put on the airs of a rich woman, add fifty thousand the moment you open your mouth, make them wary in their hearts, and they won't dare to casually raise prices and compete with you."

"Would that work?"

Lin Xiyu's heart trembled; she wasn't really a rich woman, and just thinking about adding fifty thousand at once made her heart ache.

"It works, it must work."

Wu Meng strongly supported: "With Guben backing you up, what's there to hesitate about? Holding three million in your hand, are you still afraid you can't buy a house to your liking?"

"Sister Lin, you have so much money? Want to buy several houses?"

Liu Hua had sharp ears; hearing three million, she stared with wide eyes in surprise.

She had just said it casually, never expecting the beauty before her to truly be a potential big client.

"Let it be fate."

Lin Xiyu didn't want to expose her true thoughts and casually brushed it off: "This money isn't mine; I'm managing it for someone else. Buying too expensive would be hard to explain."

"Sister Lin, would this work?"

Liu Hua's gaze toward Lin Xiyu at this moment was blazing hot: "Let's exchange phone numbers. Tell me what kind of house you want and roughly what price range, and I'll help you find one. If there's a suitable one, I'll recommend it to you first."

"Fine."

Lin Xiyu had been worried about not having someone who knew the ropes to act as her inner support, and now someone had delivered herself to her door. Naturally, she agreed readily: "If you can really help me buy a house to my liking, I'll come to you for all my future house purchases and let you earn enough commission all by yourself......."

"Hehe, thank you, Sister."

Liu Hua had been waiting for these words; her gaze toward her became even more fervent.

"Do you still have move-in ready houses?"

Wu Meng had taken leave to act as military advisor, and failing to achieve her goal, she was quite unwilling: "Can you still take us to see a few more houses today?"

"There are move-in ready houses......"

Liu Hua gave an embarrassed laugh: "But that house's location isn't as good as here; it's not in the area the sisters like."

"Where is it?"

Wu Meng, eager to ask the boss for credit, couldn't wait to ask: "Tell me a specific location first; maybe we'll take a liking to it."

Liu Hua flipped open her notebook: "I remember there's one in PT District, near Huashi University......"

"Oh my, what a coincidence."

Wu Meng found it amusing and gave Lin Xiyu an ambiguous little glance: "Buying back to your alma mater. Back when you were in school, Guben kept thinking about buying a house there as your love nest. You didn't buy it back then, but now you can have your wish fulfilled."

"Cough, cough."

Lin Xiyu's ears turned red, and she coughed twice embarrassedly.

"Is Sister Lin a Huashi University graduate?"

Liu Hua's little eyes lit up, as if she saw small money flying in the sky.

"Indeed."

Wu Meng said with a smile: "She's a graduate student at Huashi University, the most beautiful system beauty of the English Department; so many people wanted to pursue her but couldn't."

"Sister Lin is a graduate student? So impressive......"

Liu Hua's little mouth was as sweet as honey: "I most admire those who are good at studying. It's a pity I have no talent; I couldn't get into university and started working after graduating high school."

"How old are you?"

Lin Xiyu had a good impression of her; the young girl looked delicate and sweet-mouthed, resembling her female cousin somewhat.

"Nineteen......"

Liu Hua, fearing they would dislike her young age and unreliability, eagerly declared herself: "Don't look down on me for being young; I've been in this line for two or three years. The houses I've sold number at least several dozen."

"Then haven't you made a killing?"

Wu Meng joked with a laugh: "You real estate agents make at least ten thousand commission per house; several dozen houses means several hundred thousand."

"No, no, no, not that many......"

Liu Hua waved her hands hurriedly: "The real estate market wasn't this hot before, and house prices weren't this high. After the company took a cut from the sold houses, there wasn't much left for us."

Wu Meng coaxed with a laugh: "This Sister Lin of yours is a big client. Suck up to her more, and the benefits will surely not be lacking for you......"

"Serving Sister Lin is my honor......"

Liu Hua took up the conversation smoothly; beneath her brilliant smile lay a precociousness beyond her years.

"This girl is capable......"

Lin Xiyu praised with a smile: "Quick-witted and articulate; just looking at her makes people like her."

"You're not a local of Shanghai, are you?"

Wu Meng also became interested in chatting with her and asked with a smile: "Where is your hometown?"

"Fujian."

Liu Hua didn't hide it: "My hometown is Nanping, very close to Wuyi Mountain."

"Wuyi Mountain!"

Wu Meng suddenly understood: "The scenery looks beautiful on TV, and bamboo raft drifting is very famous. It's a pity we've never been......"

"Sisters, if you have time, I can take you back to my hometown to play for a few days."

Liu Hua, for the sake of commission, went all out: "My family runs a small restaurant at the foot of the mountain. If you go, I'll cover food and lodging, and I can even take you into the mountain for free."

"That would be great......"

Wu Meng found it amusing, her domineering side leaking: "Just for that sentence, we have to buy the house. Let's hurry and go; don't waste time here. Once we get there, leave it to me. The airs of a rich woman must be put on. That house at Huashi University—we're taking it."

"Alright."

Liu Hua smiled with narrowed eyes, taking the two in a taxi to East China Normal University.

——

The house near Huashi University on Zhongshan North Road in PT District was, just as Liu Hua said, very close to the Door — a ten-minute walk away.

Lin Xiyu was very familiar with the environment of this area, and after viewing the house she was also very satisfied, immediately forming the intention to buy it.

"The owner of this house wants to go abroad and is eager to sell......"

Liu Hua knew the ins and outs and quoted her a price: "A 55-square-meter house, asking price 160,000, averaging about 3,000 yuan per square meter, which counts as a reasonable price."

"160,000 probably won't be enough to buy it, right?"

Wu Meng glanced at the other people in the room; seeing there was competition, she lost the domineering air she had just now, and her palms sweated nervously.

"We happened to come at a good time, quite lucky......"

Lin Xiyu felt a small sense of happiness: "Those few people, judging by their accents, are all locals, no house flipping group......"

"Then it's easy to handle."

Wu Meng straightened her slender waist, her spirits returning: "As long as there's no house flipping group, there's nothing to worry about; next, watch me, I'll compete with them in the bidding."

"Fine, you go ahead."

Lin Xiyu gave her an admiring gaze: "I support you in spirit."

"How much to raise each time is more suitable?"

Wu Meng still had some brains, she didn't act recklessly.

"10,000?"

Lin Xiyu hesitated: "This isn't Huaihai Road; raising 50,000 right off the bat would be too much of a loss, unnecessary......."

"Okay."

Wu Meng nodded, no objection.

"You don't speak first."

Lin Xiyu thought for a moment, then said: "Let them bid first; we'll just go slightly above whatever they raise."

"Makes sense."

Wu Meng stuck out her thumb to express admiration: "You're still the smart one; let's do it like that — no matter how much they raise, I'll add 1,000 yuan more."

"That won't work......"

Liu Hua had experience and gave pertinent advice: "1,000 yuan isn't enough to make them give up; on the contrary, it will stimulate them into unwillingness, and they'll keep competing with you."

Lin Xiyu's delicate brows furrowed slightly: "How much do you think is more suitable to add?"

"5,000."

Liu Hua held out five fingers, waving them in front of the two: "At least 5,000 yuan higher than them, only then can you dispel their thought of continuing to compete."

"Alright."

Lin Xiyu accepted humbly: "Then 5,000."

"OK."

Wu Meng also made an OK gesture, indicating she understood.

——

Facts proved that the saying "listen to advice and eat your fill" is very reasonable.

Under Liu Hua's covert guidance, Wu Meng raised the price by 5,000 six times in a row, the momentum intimidating everyone.

This Huashi University house finally closed at 220,000.

Lin Xiyu paid 10,000 yuan deposit on the spot and signed the House Purchase Contract.

The owner wanted to go abroad; the existing furniture couldn't be taken along, selling it cheap felt like a pity, so he discussed with her again: add 3,000 yuan and leave all the furniture and home appliances to her.

Lin Xiyu calculated and felt it was still suitable, readily accepting his request.

The remaining house payment was settled within three days; the owner also kept his word, and after receiving full payment handed the keys to them.

Both sides cooperated happily, both very satisfied; Liu Hua got her commission and smiled until her mouth couldn't close.

With this first house-buying experience, Lin Xiyu then felt at ease entrusting the heavy responsibility of subsequent house selection to her.

Liu Hua was also very dedicated; whenever there was a good housing source she would notify her at the first opportunity.

The two cooperated smoothly, and Lin Xiyu subsequently bought several more satisfactory houses from her one after another.