Reborn as a landlord in Shanghai

Chapter 42 The necessary pressure still needs to be applied.

Because of her lateness this afternoon, it was already quite late when Mao Xiaoyu finished rescuing the person. Although she had told Guo Xiaoyan that she would come to pick up the key in the evening when she paid Liu Mingbo to change the lock at noon, Mao Xiaoyu was worried that Guo Xiaoyan would get off work early and wouldn't be able to wait for her to come over.

So after finishing her work here, Mao Xiaoyu didn't even have dinner. She rode her electric bike straight to the real estate agency. Of course, on the way, she called home to let her parents know she was safe and to tell them that she wouldn't be going home that night.

After cycling for half an hour, Mao Xiaoyu finally arrived at the entrance of the real estate agency.

When Mao Xiaoyu stopped the car and got out to look around the agency, there were hardly any people left. Only Guo Xiaoyan was working at her desk.

As for Xue Guangmei and Liu Mingbo, whom Mao Xiaoyu didn't see, she guessed that they must have gone home after get off work.

Since it was getting late, Mao Xiaoyu wasn't planning on standing outside and watching Guo Xiaoyan work, so as she walked in, she said, "Sorry, sorry, I'm a little late."

Hearing Mao Xiaoyu's words, Guo Xiaoyan stopped what she was doing, looked up at Mao Xiaoyu and said, "It's okay, the store has to keep accounts every day. Even after I get off work, I still have to do these accounts at home. Now that you've come to get the keys, I'll do the accounts in the store."

"It's not good to have you doing the accounting every day. We still need to hire people for the accounting department. After all, my goal is to open 10 to 15 real estate agencies in Yangpu District and Hongtian District within two years. As for other districts, we'll talk about that after we open these two districts. So with so many stores, we definitely need an accountant for the agencies, otherwise we won't be able to keep up with the accounting." Mao Xiaoyu stated her goal.

After all, Mao Xiaoyu lived in Hongtian District and Yangpu District in her previous life and hadn't been to other districts much. As for the future development of the entire city of Shanghai, she only had impressions of Yangpu District and Hongtian District. Therefore, Mao Xiaoyu planned to focus on Yangpu District and Hongtian District.

The two districts are already quite large, and there are enough houses for me to buy. Besides, I don't even know how much money I'll have to buy a house!

Moreover, Mao Xiaoyu also knew that Shanghai would implement a purchase restriction policy in 2010, making it difficult for her to buy a large number of houses. Therefore, Mao Xiaoyu felt that if she wanted to buy a house, it would be best to buy all the houses she knew that could be demolished in Yangpu District and Hongtian District before the purchase restriction policy took effect in 2010.

According to Mao Xiaoyu's estimate, buying so many houses waiting to be demolished would require several hundred million yuan. If there were more houses, it could cost over a billion or even two billion yuan. So, earning that much money in five years would be quite a financial burden.

However, pressure is what motivates people. In order to better prepare for her retirement, Mao Xiaoyu decided to work harder and earn more money in the next few years.

When Shanghai's housing purchase restriction policy was implemented in 2010, I couldn't buy a house. So I waited for my house to be demolished and I would receive a new one. According to the principle that the more houses are demolished, the more houses there will be. By 2020 to 2022, I don't know how many houses I own, but I will still have houses worth at least several billion yuan.

At that time, I'll sell off the houses I can, and keep the ones I can't sell. I'll have enough money anyway, and I can officially start my happy retirement.

…………

"I understand. I'll find someone to do the accounting. Right now, I'm not too busy, so I can still do the calculations. But when the shop gets busy, we'll really need someone to manage the accounts and do the accounting every day."

Guo Xiaoyan wasn't particularly good at accounting, but since the shop was new, and as the store manager and shareholder, she needed to keep the accounts in order every day, she reluctantly took on the role of accountant. Now, hearing that Mao Xiaoyu was bringing back the accountant, Guo Xiaoyan wholeheartedly agreed with Mao Xiaoyu's suggestion.

"Give me the key first," Mao Xiaoyu asked.

"Here, this is the key to the main gate. We only changed the main gate lock; as for the locks inside, we felt they didn't need to be changed, so this is the only key we have," Guo Xiaoyan said, handing the key to Mao Xiaoyu.

"As long as the main door lock is changed, it doesn't really matter whether the inner lock is changed or not," Mao Xiaoyu agreed as she took the key.

"I'll take you there in a bit, since you don't know where this house is," Guo Xiaoyan suggested.

"That works too, but I haven't had dinner yet. Can you take me there after I've eaten? By the way, have you eaten yet? If not, let's eat together so we don't have to go back and make it." Mao Xiaoyu asked.

"I haven't eaten either. I usually go back to cook, but I was waiting for you today, so I didn't go back to cook."

As Guo Xiaoyan packed her things, she said casually, "After all, there's nothing to hide. As a business partner, you should be honest. Otherwise, are you just going to watch the other person eat?" In Guo Xiaoyan's opinion, there was no need for that.

"Okay, let's eat together later and chat about things," Mao Xiaoyu agreed.

Next, the two locked the door of the real estate agency and went back to the place where they had eaten last time, ordering three dishes and a soup.

"By the way, did you ask about those houses I asked you to?" After ordering the food, the two of them sat at the table with nothing to do, so Mao Xiaoyu asked.

"We've already tested the waters. Some homeowners are willing to lower their prices, while others are still hesitant. However, we need to spend a few more days getting to know their approximate price range," Guo Xiaoyan said, frowning.

"That's not bad, but don't focus on the six houses I drew. You can ask about the others too. Let me put it this way, I don't care about the size of the houses, I just want cheap ones. Your goal now is to bring down the price of these 43 houses, to at least 3900 per square meter. Of course, try to bring it down as much as possible. If you really can't bring it down any further, then we can sign the contract," Mao Xiaoyu said earnestly.

There was no other way. Li Mingyue had already said that she could only borrow money at 4000 yuan per square meter, so Mao Xiaoyu could only buy the house at 3900 yuan per square meter. Only after paying various taxes and fees could she guarantee her basic living expenses.

If the price per square meter exceeds 3900, Mao Xiaoyu will have to use her own money to buy the houses. However, Mao Xiaoyu only has 50 yuan. If she is short too much, she is afraid that she will not be able to buy 43 houses. Therefore, in order to buy more houses, she can only ask Guo Xiaoyan to lower the price of the houses.

Hearing Mao Xiaoyu's words, Guo Xiaoyan frowned and said with difficulty, "If we want to reduce the price of all 43 houses to 3900 per square meter, that's impossible. It would be very good if we could reduce the price of one-third or one-quarter of the houses to 3900 per square meter. So it's really difficult."

"It doesn't matter if it's difficult, there's plenty of time. Right now, your goal is to find more real estate agents and have them negotiate with the sellers. We'll decide when to sign the contract when the price drops below 3900 per square meter. If we need people to negotiate, the more people in the middle, the better. With just three of us, we simply can't negotiate with them. So our real estate agency needs to hire more people."

Time is really tight, because it's already May, and there are less than two months left before the demolition notice is issued. But Mao Xiaoyu can't show it; she has to put on a nonchalant act and say, "But the pressure still has to be applied."

"It's not easy to find people for a real estate agency. Just because someone applies doesn't mean we have to hire them. Some people are really not suited to be real estate agents. If we hire people who aren't suited to be real estate agents, it will affect the atmosphere of the company. After all, people who aren't suited to be real estate agents are just here to scam the guaranteed salary," Guo Xiaoyan said with a frown, looking troubled.

Hearing Guo Xiaoyan's predicament, Mao Xiaoyu had no choice but to confront her. She herself had been trying to recruit people for several days without success, and it was only because she had finally run into Guo Xiaoyan that she had been clinging to her.

Therefore, when Mao Xiaoyu heard Guo Xiaoyan say that she was not very popular, she could only offer a few words of comfort.

Fortunately, the waiter brought out dinner, which eased the awkward situation.

They didn't talk about work while eating, and they didn't eat while talking about work. After having dinner, Mao Xiaoyu and Guo Xiaoyan didn't discuss any work-related matters. Instead, they buried themselves in their work and finished eating in no time.

After dinner, Mao Xiaoyu paid the bill. After paying, the two of them went out. Mao Xiaoyu rode an electric scooter, and Guo Xiaoyan sat behind him. Mao Xiaoyu then drove in the direction Guo Xiaoyan pointed.

Actually, the journey was quite short; otherwise, the seller wouldn't have chosen Mao Xiaoyu's agency to sell the house. So, it only took about five or six minutes to reach the destination.

Mao Xiaoyu first took out the loan documents from under the electric scooter seat yesterday, and then the two of them went upstairs to room 203, opened the door, and looked around.

The room was similar to the photos Xue Guangmei had taken, with no major changes except that there was an extra mosquito net and mat in the master bedroom. As for the electric fan, it was because there was air conditioning in the master bedroom, so there was no need for an electric fan.

The house has two bedrooms and one living room, and is fairly clean. You can tell that the elderly couple often come over to clean it and open the windows to ventilate it, because there is no odor in the house. It is a house that is frequently ventilated.

"It's so late, it's inconvenient for a girl like you to go home alone. You can take my electric scooter. I'll walk there to get the keys tomorrow morning when I wake up."

Guo Xiaoyan isn't Mao Xiaoyu's girlfriend. At most, Mao Xiaoyu would lend her his electric scooter. As for giving it away, forget it. Giving it back would be too much trouble. After all, Mao Xiaoyu isn't interested in pursuing women right now; making money is his priority.

"Thank you then." Guo Xiaoyan hesitated for a moment before agreeing. After all, although it only took a few minutes to ride the electric bike here, it would take Guo Xiaoyan half an hour to walk back to her rented room. The distance was too far, and taking a taxi was unnecessary. Giving her the electric bike was the best solution.

"It's okay. Remember to charge your phone tonight. There's one more thing, which is the housing issue. Since there are 43 houses, pick a few for me to focus on first. I need to start signing contracts in three days. Sign at least one house every day. Let's get the easy ones signed first." Mao Xiaoyu reminded her again.

"Okay, I understand," Guo Xiaoyan replied.

Next, Mao Xiaoyu escorted Guo Xiaoyan downstairs and watched her ride away on her bicycle before returning to her apartment.

Then she put the documents she had just brought up into the drawer on the table. After finishing all that, Mao Xiaoyu realized that she didn't seem to have anything!

There's no towel, toothbrush, or toothpaste for washing my face and brushing my teeth, and no change of clothes either. How am I going to get through the night?

Thinking about this, Sheng Xiaoyu felt a little regretful. She should have known better than to lend the car. If she went down to buy one herself now, she would have to drive a long way.

But I can't not buy them, these are necessities.

In the end, Mao Xiaoyu had no choice but to go downstairs to buy it with a bitter face. Although the store was not far away, she still had to run there on her two little legs.

After arriving at the store, I bought toothbrushes, toothpaste, towels, soap, laundry detergent, washbasins, clothes hangers, and other odds and ends.

Of course, that's all there was to buy. There were no clothes or underwear available, so Mao Xiaoyu had no choice but to buy two bottles of Coke, planning to go back and drink her favorite soda.

When Mao Xiaoyu returned to the house, he first took a shower, then washed all his clothes. As for what to wear, well, what was there to wear? A man doesn't care.

The main problem is that she has to wash her clothes today. It's May, and although it's cooler at night because of the seaside, it's still very hot during the day. Mao Xiaoyu gets covered in sweat every day, and by evening she always smells a bit. If she doesn't change her clothes, she can't wear them again tomorrow. Mao Xiaoyu doesn't have the courage to wear her own stale clothes, so she'd rather go naked than not wash them.

…………

After taking a shower, Mao Xiaoyu lay on the bed, with the TV on, the air conditioning on, and drinking her favorite soda. It couldn't be more comfortable.

I was thinking of calling my friends and classmates back home, but when I looked at the time, it was already eight or nine o'clock. In Shanghai, eight or nine o'clock isn't considered late, but it's late enough for my family. I know they're all asleep, so calling back now would just disturb their sleep.

So Mao Xiaoyu ultimately decided to call back tomorrow morning.

So, Mao Xiaoyu watched TV for a while before falling asleep.