Getting into Guo Da’s Alto, Guo Da started the car and introduced the two people:
“This is my girlfriend, Yu Li, from Wenzhou. She was my client before. This is my online real estate partner, Liu Chen. She’s a top student. Ah, you know that very popular post on Hupu about a campus beauty who’s also a top student? That’s her. Her grades are excellent, and next year she’ll probably be aiming for Tsinghua or Peking University.”
Liu Chen sat in the back seat, looking at the Alto, which had previously been cluttered with real estate brochures and secondhand housing information, now neat and tidy, even with a faint pleasant scent.
It seemed Guo Da’s relationship had been going on for some time.
“Good morning, Sister Yu Li. Thank you for your trouble.”
Guo Da, driving, heard this and, while turning off the elevated highway, said:
“It’s no trouble at all. My Li Jie is also going to buy a property at the Dadi Construction development today. Since there are many of us buying now, the discounts are significant. I’ve even invested all my previous earnings into it.”
Yu Li, sitting in the passenger seat, nodded and affirmed:
“You’re right to invest your money in property. Our country is in a period of high-speed development, and the overall economic income of the people is growing. In the future, we’ll be able to live like people in the United States. As the capital of our country, Beijing’s housing prices will naturally not stop at just over ten thousand per square meter.”
Liu Chen, in the back, felt a surge of admiration for Yu Li upon hearing this. Yu Li bought property based on a predetermined outcome, knowing prices would rise, thus daring to invest. Liu Chen, on the other hand, clearly had faith in the country, which fueled her expectations for housing price increases.
A smart, mature woman like Yu Li must have lived a good life in her past life, right?
“We’re here, let’s go. Liu Chen has a flight this afternoon, so let’s sign the contracts early. We can even have some hot pot afterwards,” Guo Da said. He got out of the driver’s seat, walked to the passenger side in the light falling snow, and opened the door for Yu Li.
“Be careful not to bump your head.”
Liu Chen had already gotten out of the car ahead of them. From the back door, she found a parasol, opened it, and held it over her head to prevent her hair from getting wet. Despite having a constitution that resists chills, she would still catch a cold if she wasn't careful.
“Let’s go.”
Yu Li saw the interaction between Liu Chen and Guo Da, then nodded, smiled at Guo Da, and the two walked into “Dadi Mansion,” developed by Dadi Group, sharing an umbrella.
Buying property is something one gets accustomed to with practice. Moreover, with Guo Da, who had brought people to buy hundreds of units in “Dadi Mansion” before, it was even easier.
Liu Chen, according to her budget, bought a 200-square-meter flat, the second largest unit, and with the remaining money, bought a 50-square-meter one-bedroom apartment. The total was 3.44 million, all paid in cash from the small suitcase she carried.
However, Liu Chen’s actions didn’t attract too much attention. For real estate agents in Beijing, buying with cash wasn’t uncommon. Some coal bosses even preferred to bring stacks of cash, thinking it was more ostentatious!
What the agents envied was that when writing the purchase contracts, both these fully paid properties were registered only under Liu Chen’s name. And judging by her ID, she had only recently come of age.
“Rich people nowadays really trust their children…”
“Having millions in assets right after turning eighteen, aren't they afraid their daughters will be swindled by boys?”
“She’s so well-behaved and cute, which boy would have the heart to swindle her?”
When Yu Li saw Liu Chen taking out over three million from the suitcase, even she, an experienced veteran, couldn’t help but feel a jolt.
Her first thought was,
*This young girl’s money… its source is questionable.*
But then she remembered Guo Da saying that Liu Chen’s casual suggestion had caused his income to skyrocket like a train. Yu Li figured Liu Chen’s family must be in a big business, otherwise, she wouldn’t be so savvy in business matters, nor so casual about money.
Yes, casual.
Carrying a suitcase full of money around without any sign of nervousness, wasn’t that casual?
Liu Chen didn’t realize that the simple act of paying had led Yu Li to imagine so much. Over three million in cash had been exchanged for two purchase contracts with fresh seals, and two receipts.
She pushed the suitcase into the sales office and then pushed it out. It seemed nothing had changed, but Liu Chen had become a woman who owned three properties in Beijing!
At noon, they went to have hot pot with Guo Da and Yu Li. They started eating at eleven and finished at one in the afternoon. The three of them chatted about their visions for the future of the real estate market.
After seeing Liu Chen off to a taxi, Yu Li, arm in arm with Guo Da, stood outside the hot pot restaurant and sighed with emotion:
“Guo Da, how does that girl Liu Chen’s mind work? At such a young age, she talks so eloquently about real estate planning and development. But she’s still a bit radical, saying Beijing will reach 100,000 per square meter. I don’t quite agree with that.
If it’s 100,000 yuan per square meter, then the house she bought today would sell for twenty million? And a twenty-million-yuan house, if rented out, would cost a million a year? Who could afford that?”
Guo Da squeezed Yu Li’s hand, which was tucked into his down jacket pocket.
“Don’t overthink it. We’ll deal with the future when it comes. For now, we just need to make money and buy property. When we get married and have pets, we’ll need a place as big as the one Liu Chen bought today to live comfortably.”
Yu Li blinked and turned her head to look at Guo Da, who was holding her hand in his pocket.
“Guo Da, I’m divorced, five years older than you, and the doctor said I might never be able to have children.”
“So?”
Yu Li turned her head away and looked at the snow on the ground outside the restaurant.
“So, we’ll just date. When you want to stop dating and get married and have children, we’ll break up.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the person beside her moved.
Guo Da walked to face Yu Li and stopped, tucking his other free hand into another pocket.
“You’re divorced; you told me that when I first started pursuing you. You can’t have children; you also made it clear to me. To be honest, I hesitated.”
Yu Li’s eyes reddened. She pursed her lips tightly to control her breathing, not wanting him to see her vulnerability.
“Sister Li, but I still decided to pursue you. Because I spent two weeks thinking: what do I want? A complete family in the eyes of elders, or to spend this monotonous life with the person I like.”
Yu Li had already raised her head, her eyes fixed on Guo Da’s.
Guo Da smiled foolishly:
“I’ve already told my mother about you. She wants me to bring you home during Spring Festival to meet my parents.”
The light snow suddenly stopped, and the sun reappeared from behind the clouds.
The winter sunlight shone down on Beijing.