Chapter 1

After the summer solstice, the coastal port city was shrouded in humid heat.

It was known for its massive annual port throughput, which became the city's calling card. The nearby infrastructure was built to be high-end and stylish, and the surrounding residential complexes rose in value, becoming "luxury properties." Egret Island Community was one of them.

But even in luxury properties, collecting property management fees was a headache.

Egret Island Community uniformly collected property fees for the entire year in June. With two months left before the deadline, the property managers' KPIs for urging payment were already on the agenda.

Property Manager Gong Dalong was racking his brains about how to get everyone to pay obediently when Anna, one of the wealthiest women in the community, came to say that her Bentley, parked in the community, had been scratched.

Gong Dalong valued this punctual and easy-to-talk-to owner very much, so he called Jia Wenjun, the property manager of Anna's building, to check it out together.

The incident occurred in the underground parking lot of the community. Although there was surveillance, Anna's parking space was at a corner, with cars coming and going, making it impossible to identify the perpetrator. In particular, the scratches on the car were very peculiar, as if a gear had run across the car door.

Jia Wenjun looked at the marks thoughtfully, as if she had seen them somewhere, but because she wasn't sure, she didn't say anything.

Gong Dalong knew Anna's loud and impetuous temper and ordered everyone in the department to find the culprit, but after two days, there was no progress, and Anna came again.

Gong Dalong, thinking that she had come to demand an explanation, pushed Jia Wenjun out to take the blame. Jia Wenjun had no choice but to apologize to Anna, only to see Anna take her hand and say with a smile, "I've already taken the car to get it repainted, so don't bother investigating. I'm here today to tell you that our community hasn't organized any activities for a long time. I suggest we go out to sea to fish."

Jia Wenjun knew that Anna was always impulsive and acted on a whim. It was a good thing for the property management that she wasn't pursuing the car incident. As for going out to sea to fish, that was not something that their community property management could arrange.

"Sister Anna, your suggestion of going out to sea to fish is indeed good. We will report to headquarters later. After all, the rental of yachts and safety issues require the strong support of the group headquarters. Once we have a reply, I will notify you as soon as possible." Jia Wenjun's face was full of polite smiles.

"No need to trouble them. I have a yacht, two stories, no problem fitting twelve or thirteen people. You don't have to worry about fuel or drinks, just choose the owners to participate. Let's set the time for this weekend, so hurry up." Anna wanted to do whatever she thought of right away.

"Sister Anna, what's this all about?" Jia Wenjun didn't expect Anna to make a decision so quickly. She knew Anna had money, but there was no need to spend it like this, right?

Anna didn't hide anything: "To tell you the truth, my company hasn't been very peaceful recently, and my car was scratched a few days ago. So I simply went to Fa'an Temple. The abbot said that I've been having bad luck recently and need to do more activities near the sea, make friends, and benefit the people around me to resolve it. As it happens, didn't I just buy a yacht? I got my driver's license too, so let's go out to sea together this weekend and have fun."

Jia Wenjun knew the owners of the buildings she managed quite well and knew that Anna believed in this kind of thing, so she understood her behavior.

"Okay, then I'll go back and talk to the manager. Sister Anna, the fuel and drinks cost a lot of money, so I'll go back and apply to headquarters. We can't let you pay for everything."

Anna smiled, "Since you're thinking of me so much, then apply. It doesn't matter if it's approved or not, we'll depart on time Saturday morning."

After seeing Anna off, Jia Wenjun returned to Manager Long's office and told him about Anna's proposal.

"Huh?" Gong Dalong didn't react, thinking that Jia Wenjun had come in to complain to him.

Jia Wenjun continued, "Manager Gong, the yacht only has twelve spots, so we can't bring everyone in the community. Since the number of spots is limited and the opportunity is rare, we can link the opportunity to get on board with the property fees. Whoever pays the next year's property fees first will have the chance to win a spot on the boat. This way, the owners will be more active in paying the property fees. What do you think, Manager?"

"Good, let's do it that way." Gong Dalong was so happy that his eyes were narrowed into slits after hearing her out.

"Manager Gong, Anna is providing the yacht, so we should provide the fuel and drinks, right?"

Gong Dalong didn't expect things to take such a surprising turn. While marveling at the unexpected opportunity, he waved his hand and said, "Of course, no problem. Uh, go connect with the head office about this matter later and apply for 50,000 yuan in activity funds. The application report must clearly state the purpose of this funding."

"Manager Gong, don't we have annual activity fees? The head office finance department probably won't approve another application." Jia Wenjun was a sensible person. Having been Gong Dalong's subordinate for three years, Jia Wenjun certainly knew that he wanted to line his own pockets with this money again.

Gong Dalong had tried to drag Jia Wenjun into the water several times, but Jia Wenjun hadn't taken the bait. If it were someone else, their position would probably be insecure after so many rejections, but Jia Wenjun was capable. Without her, it would be difficult to find someone to do most of the work in this department as well as she did. So he could only guard against her while also being unable to do without her.

Gong Dalong restrained his smile: "Why wouldn't they approve it? Don't you think that little bit of funding is enough to do anything? Buying a few balloons and pulling up a banner would leave nothing left. Forget it, I'll handle this myself. You notify all the property managers to broadcast this news in the owners' group today. Prepare nine invitation letters."

"Nine?"

"Our property management has to take up two spots, right? Anna has one, so you do the math."

"Okay." Jia Wenjun knew that Gong Dalong would definitely take one of those two spots. He never missed out on this kind of benefit. She didn't know who the other spot was for, but she didn't want to go anyway.

The two walked out of the office one after the other.

The colleagues who had been waiting to see Jia Wenjun make a fool of herself not only didn't see her being scolded by Anna and the manager, but also heard Manager Gong praising her for several minutes.

Lili, who understood the whole story, rolled her eyes and muttered to herself, "So what if she's capable? She's just lucky."

With such a good opportunity, Gong Dalong immediately organized everyone to discuss the sea fishing matters.

"Lili, the promotional poster needs to be eye-catching enough. Write 'Fishing Competition' on it, and the owners can even cook the fish they catch on the spot, and then have a cooking talent show. A sea banquet, and if Anna agrees, we can also have a fireworks display. When the time comes, we'll take good photos of the activities and upload them to headquarters. At the end of the year, we might even be rated as a star property by headquarters. With so many fancy activities, I don't believe those owners who don't pay their property fees won't be tempted." Gong Dalong rubbed his hands together while telling Lili to take notes.

"Okay, Manager Gong." Lili glanced at Jia Wenjun, who was sitting at the computer busy, her eyes full of smugness. Gong Dalong had secretly sent her a message earlier, saying that he had reserved a spot for her.

So what if Jia Wenjun came up with the idea? The good stuff would still fall on her head in the end.