Liu Chen's purpose in coming to Shanghai was to buy a house. In fact, she not only wanted to bring her three companions to Shanghai for fun, but also wanted to plant the idea of buying a house in Shanghai into their minds.
They say that 2008 and 2009 were golden years for buying property. Liu Chen certainly didn't believe that her future Bitcoin gains would be inferior to housing prices.
But the key was that even with money later on, buying a house in Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou would be fraught with difficulties. For a city like Shanghai, the policies introduced were even stranger.
First, you had to have paid social security for two years.
Second, you had to be married.
Therefore, seizing the opportunity while Shanghai was still encouraging home purchases to acquire a property was the right move, both from an investment perspective and for the possibility of developing a career in Shanghai in the future.
Mi Zhuzhu looked suspiciously at Liu Chen, whose eyes were glued to the glass wall of a roadside real estate agency. She turned her head to ask Lai Jielun, who was carrying a backpack,
"Why do I feel like Chenchen is more interested in looking at houses than shopping?"
Liu Chen had twenty-two million yuan in her card, which had been multiplied tenfold by the system. Looking at the large areas of property with an average price of fifteen to twenty thousand yuan per square meter behind the glass wall, Liu Chen felt a bit wistful.
"Tsk, tsk, Shanghai is indeed Shanghai. Our C City sells for only five or six thousand, but they're already selling for seventeen or eighteen thousand here."
Liu Chen's words instantly drew the gazes of the three behind her to the property advertisements on the glass.
"Wow! It's true? You can only buy a two-bedroom apartment of seventy square meters for a million yuan?" Mi Zhuzhu exclaimed.
The sales manager, who had been sitting inside without moving, looked up when he heard the voices outside. Seeing that they were a few high school students, he immediately lost interest and continued to chat with his online girlfriend.
Liu Chen naturally didn't miss the reaction of the salesperson behind the glass wall. She didn't, as described in novels, get stimulated and buy a house on the spot to show how rich she was. Instead, she quietly straightened up and pulled Mi Zhuzhu away.
The four of them, as originally planned, went shopping for clothes. Liu Chen and Mi Zhuzhu took photos of each other after trying on clothes.
The four of them strolled from one end of the pedestrian street to the other, then followed the direction of the crowd, crossing an intersection, and heading towards The Bund.
Yes, the closer they got to The Bund, the more pronounced the French architectural style of the last century became on both sides of the street. Local specialty shops dotted the roadside.
Mi Zhuzhu looked up with great interest, occasionally taking pictures with the card camera in her hand.
After Mi Zhuzhu finished taking pictures, Liu Chen took her hand and continued walking, muttering,
"Most of these so-called local specialty shops are actually wholesale from Yiwu, Zhejiang. If you don't believe me, go to Beijing and you'll see. The two places are in the north and south, but the specialties are exactly the same."
"Oh? Really? Then what about the pastries Lai Jielun brought back for us last time?"
Liu Chen couldn't help but laugh as she looked back at Lai Jielun walking behind her, "The pastries are indeed a Shanghai specialty, but it takes hours to queue for just that one box."
"Ah?! So long? Lai Jielun, you're so kind!"
Lai Jielun, who had been calmly following Mi Zhuzhu, trying to prevent her from being pushed by passersby, heard this and his ears began to turn pink. He looked at Mi Zhuzhu's retreating figure and smiled gently.
"It's alright."
Ren Mo, who was about to turn and share something with Lai Jielun about a sports car parked by the roadside, felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
Many moments from the past year that he hadn't paid attention to now replayed in his mind like a movie.
"Lai Jielun! You!"
Ren Mo pointed at Lai Jielun with one finger, his face full of shock.
Lai Jielun turned around and saw Ren Mo's expression. He quickly covered Ren Mo's mouth with one hand and put a finger to his lips,
"Shhh!"
After seeing the shock on Ren Mo's face subside, Lai Jielun let go. He didn't bother with it anymore and continued to follow Mi Zhuzhu, planning to talk about it later in the hotel room.
Liu Chen and Zhuzhu walked in the front. They passed the entrance of the Peace Hotel on the left side of the road. After climbing four steps, there was a small glass revolving door. A hurried glance from the outside revealed that the interior was now magnificent.
When Liu Chen traveled to Shanghai on business in her previous life, she had passed by its entrance countless times. At that time, even using so-called group purchases, it would cost two thousand five hundred yuan to stay for one night.
She could afford to stay for one night, but the dining inside was completely unaffordable.
Now she had the financial means, but seeing Zhuzhu holding her camera and taking pictures beside her, she decided against it.
After passing the Peace Hotel and walking to the end, they crossed a road and reached the famous Shanghai Bund. This time, without having to follow the crowd, Liu Chen led the three of them south along the Bund, explaining as they walked,
"This area is the first place all tourists arrive, so it's very difficult to get a chance to lean on the railing and take pictures. If you walk down for about five hundred meters, the crowds will thin out."
"Wow! Chenchen, why does it feel like you've never been here, yet you seem more experienced in Shanghai than Lai Jielun? It was the same when we came out of the airport today. You didn't even look at the signs, but you directly found the taxi stand?"
"Because I did my research beforehand!" Liu Chen wiped the sweat that had broken out on her forehead. "As long as you do good research, you can be as familiar with it as if you'd been there many times in your mind!"
Zhuzhu nodded, "Got it!"
The four of them were lucky enough to find a section of the railing that was empty. Liu Chen found several angles, and the four of them took many photos with their cameras.
The sky gradually shifted from dusk to night, and the deep blue once again reclaimed its dominance over the sky.
After taking photos, they naturally did the expected thing and boarded a Huangpu River cruise ship. After buying tickets and waiting for about ten minutes, they passed through winding railings, went from indoors onto the deck, and then down a large ramp from the deck to the boarding area.
The cruise ship looked quite large, but upon boarding, they discovered that most of the space had been allocated to the decks at the bow and stern.
There were many chairs placed on the deck, some with backrests covered in red velvet, and others that were simply plastic stools.
"Let's sit here and enjoy the view for a while, and then go inside if it gets cold."
There were also seats inside the cruise ship, but they belonged to the restaurant, and sitting down required consumption. Although Teacher Lai had given Lai Jielun a lot of money, Liu Chen didn't intend for Lai Jielun to spend it all.
After the Beijing Film Academy started, there would be countless expenses, so there was no need to waste it here.
The cruise lasted for a total of one hour round trip, but this one hour was somewhat nominal. The actual time spent sailing on the Huangpu River was only a little over twenty minutes one way.
On a midsummer night on the Huangpu River, looking at the brightly lit skyscrapers and European buildings from the last century across the river, while feeling the gentle night breeze.
"Achoo!"
A loud sneeze came from behind, followed by Lai Jielun's voice:
"Zhuzhu, shall we go inside? The scenery outside is beautiful, but the wind is a bit strong. We've seen enough, let's not catch a cold from the wind in Shanghai?"
Liu Chen instinctively wanted to get a jacket from the system, but vaguely remembered that the system was still being updated.
"Let's go inside and sit for a while."
Taking advantage of Lai Jielun and Zhuzhu walking ahead, Liu Chen took out two hundred yuan and handed it to a waiter standing on the first floor.
The waiter looked up at Liu Chen, accepted one hundred yuan, and returned the other hundred.
The four of them sat at a table by the window, but Liu Chen's gaze was fixed on Tomson Riviera, which stood on the banks of the Huangpu River. She had seen the news at the agency today that Tomson Riviera had a significant price reduction, with the price per square meter dropping to fifty thousand yuan.
Fifty thousand was certainly not cheap, but this "low" was in comparison to the pre-sale price of eleven thousand yuan per square meter when Tomson Riviera first opened.
Now, with twenty-two million yuan in her pocket, Liu Chen looked at Tomson Riviera with a hint of fervor. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
After the cruise, the four of them returned to the hotel the same way they came. It was probably late, and there were fewer pedestrians on the road. As they passed a convenience store, Liu Chen went in and bought a large bag of snacks, bread, and milk.
After all, in 2009, food delivery hadn't become popular yet, and if you were hungry at night, your only option was to go out of the hotel to find food.
After the plane ride, checking into the hotel, shopping, visiting The Bund, and taking the cruise, Mi Zhuzhu, upon returning to the hotel, barely managed to keep her eyes open to look at the photos on her phone before going to wash up and sleep.
The next morning at nine o'clock.
Liu Chen opened her eyes and looked at Zhuzhu, who was still sleeping soundly on the other bed. She brushed her teeth as quietly as possible and then went out.
After going out, she turned left and walked to the intersection outside the alley, in the opposite direction of Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street, to hail a taxi.
"Driver, to Tomson Riviera."
After arriving at the entrance of Tomson Riviera and getting out of the car, Liu Chen, with her backpack on, walked into the Tomson Riviera sales office.
Due to the financial crisis, Tomson Riviera, which had aimed to be the most expensive property in China when it opened, now had a sales office as deserted as a clubhouse before opening.
Fortunately, after Liu Chen entered, a saleswoman with a round face with a smile stepped forward to greet her.
"Hello, I heard you have discounts on buying houses now?" Liu Chen got straight to the point, as she needed to hurry.
The round-faced saleswoman was taken aback by the direct question, but fortunately, her training was very thorough. After a few seconds of confusion, she quickly smiled and replied,
"We do have a few special offer units, but their location and orientation might not be perfect. Would you like to see them first?"
"Can you point out the specific floors and orientations?" Liu Chen walked to the property model and asked, "And please calculate the total price and price per square meter."
Her proficient demeanor in buying a house made the round-faced saleswoman's heart pound.
Could she be meeting a legendary super-rich second-generation buyer?