Reborn as a landlord in Shanghai

Chapter 18 The Busy First Day

The next morning, motivated by the prospect of earning money, Mao Xiaoyu finished breakfast and left home early to begin his day's journey. His parents were very pleased with their son's attitude.

Because it was the first day, and she guessed it would be a busy day, Mao Xiaoyu told her parents before she left that she might not be back until very late tonight.

After leaving home, Mao Xiaoyu visited three flea markets and finally found six single beds measuring 0.9m x 1.8m or 0.9m x 2m. Although the six beds were slightly different in size, Mao Xiaoyu didn't care. After all, it was already good enough that she found them, so she bought all six single beds.

Of course, Mao Xiaoyu couldn't just buy six single beds today. After all, the whole house was empty and there were just too many things to buy. So after buying six single beds, she also bought a lot of other furniture. And the beds weren't the most expensive piece of furniture she bought. The most expensive piece of furniture she bought this time was the wardrobe.

For a landlord who rents out beds, a large wardrobe is essential. Not only do guests need wardrobes to store their luggage, but Mao Xiaoyu also needs a large wardrobe to store summer mats, mosquito nets, and winter quilts and duvet covers.

So this time, Mao Xiaoyu bought a total of fifteen wardrobes of various sizes. Of course, in addition to wardrobes and beds, Mao Xiaoyu also bought a dining table, ten stools, three small chairs, four TV cabinets, and a kitchen cabinet.

Of course, in addition to the furniture mentioned above, a lot of old appliances were also bought. For example, Mao Xiaoyu bought three rice cookers. The main reason for buying so many rice cookers was that some patients' family members might need to cook, but one rice cooker would definitely not be enough for so many people, so Mao Xiaoyu bought two extra rice cookers as backup.

Mao Xiaoyu also bought a washing machine specifically for washing bed sheets and duvet covers. After all, for hygiene reasons, Mao Xiaoyu has to wash the bed sheets and duvet covers every time a tenant leaves, so that the tenants can feel more at ease. However, Mao Xiaoyu definitely can't wash them by hand, so buying a washing machine is essential.

Then I bought a refrigerator, a microwave oven, four TVs, two electric kettles, four electric fans, a double-ended gas stove and a gas cylinder, two woks, two stainless steel soup pots, not to mention knives, cutting boards, spatulas, soup ladles, and all the necessary items. I even bought bowls, soup bowls and plates for eating.

Although the utensils she bought were all used, Mao Xiaoyu figured she could just buy some dish soap, wash the pots and pans twice, and use them as if they were new. As for the chopsticks, she had to buy new ones, since there was no need to skimp on a few pairs.

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They bought so many things that the owner of the secondhand market loaded three trucks with them. The trucks then followed Mao Xiaoyu's electric scooter for more than ten minutes before finally delivering the items to the hospital.

First, the goods were unloaded from the truck. Then, the staff of the secondhand market carried the old furniture and appliances to the third floor. Next, some staff assembled the old furniture and moved it to a suitable location, while others started testing the appliances, such as whether the refrigerator was working properly, how the washing machine was, and whether the television could be turned on. After all this was done, the staff of the secondhand market took the remaining payment and left.

Although she bought used appliances and furniture, Mao Xiaoyu didn't have time to feel bad about losing over 5000 yuan. After all the commotion, it was already past 3 PM. To save time, she rushed to the store and bought fifteen sets of bedding. The reason for buying so many was simply that they would be washed and changed frequently. In addition to bedding, she also bought slippers, clothes hangers, and dish soap—items the tenants would need.

After buying all of these, Mao Xiaoyu first made up the six beds. As for the pots and pans, she didn't have time to wash them because of the time constraints. She simply took the signs she had written that day and left the house.

Next, Mao Xiaoyu planned to make something simple to eat and then go to the hospital to solicit business. After all, she had spent more than 6000 yuan, nearly 7000 yuan, in one day, and she had to earn the money back!

Honestly, Mao Xiaoyu didn't expect to spend so much money in one day!

But there's no way around it; some things are indispensable.

Take television sets, for example. To provide entertainment for tenants, there should be at least one television set in each room.

But an old TV set costs four or five hundred yuan, so these four TV sets together cost almost 2000 yuan.

Not to mention a washing machine and a refrigerator, which together would cost more than 1000 yuan.

As for other things, they are cheap. For example, a single bed costs only about 100 yuan, and wardrobes range from tens to over 100 yuan, and even over 200 yuan. But a dozen wardrobes together would cost more than 1000 yuan, plus all the other odds and ends.

So when she did the math, she had spent over 5000 yuan at the flea market. This was only because the shopkeeper saw that Mao Xiaoyu had bought so many things and the distance wasn't far, so he didn't charge her for shipping. Otherwise, she would have had to pay for shipping.

I also went to the store earlier and spent over 1000 yuan. This was only because the bedding I bought wasn't very good, and since it's almost May and the weather is hot, I didn't need to buy much else, so I only spent a little over 1000 yuan.

Even so, she spent more than 6000 yuan today, almost 7000 yuan. Originally, she only had 8000 yuan in her account, but now that she has 7000 yuan left, Mao Xiaoyu's bank account is almost empty.

In addition, she needs to buy a few beds tomorrow, which will cost several hundred yuan more. She might only have a few hundred yuan left in her hands. If she doesn't make money, Mao Xiaoyu doesn't know how she will survive. Therefore, she hurriedly bought everything and prepared to take advantage of the large number of people going to the hospital at night to find some tenants to stay with.

Although there are only 6 beds in the room right now, which isn't enough, if all 6 beds are rented out, 6 x 6 = 36, we can still earn 360 yuan. The room is just sitting empty anyway, so if someone sleeps in it for one night, 360 yuan is still money.

Moreover, Mao Xiaoyu has already checked and found that each room can accommodate at least three beds, and it doesn't have to be all single beds. After calculating the area, she found that the best layout would be two single beds and one double bed.

After all, there's not enough room to fit four single beds, and three single beds would make the room feel a bit empty. Adding a double bed would make the space just right, and double beds are more expensive to rent than single beds because they can sleep two people. Even if you don't get paid for two people for a double bed, you can still charge 60 for a single bed and 90-100 for a double bed, which is still fine.

Moreover, the entire house can be converted into 4 rooms, which means 12 beds can fit. Currently, there are 6 single beds, so all that will be needed next are 4 double beds and 2 single beds.

As for the living room, a folding bed can also be placed there. In other words, in addition to the 6 beds we bought today, the whole house can fit another 6 or 7 beds, and at least 12 beds can be rented out in the future.

As for the folding bed in the living room, Mao Xiaoyu doesn't plan to rent it out. This folding bed is a spare bed. If she doesn't want to go back and there's no bed to sleep in, she can take the folding bed out and sleep in the living room. Normally, the folding bed is put away and it's as if it doesn't exist.

This way, the living room will appear more spacious, preventing tenants from seeing the bed as soon as they enter, which doesn't feel right.

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In an alley not far from the hospital, Mao Xiaoyu stood with a group of middle-aged men and women, holding a cardboard sign. Under the wary gazes of these middle-aged men and women, Mao Xiaoyu felt somewhat out of place.

But there's nothing they can do about it. The landlords here are all at least in their thirties or forties, and usually in their fifties. Moreover, 70% of them are women. It's no wonder that they're surprised when a teenager suddenly appears and does this kind of work.

Just now, two male landlords wanted to kick Mao Xiaoyu out, but they were spitting all over their faces by Mao Xiaoyu's fluent Shanghai dialect. In addition, Mao Xiaoyu showed her ID card to prove that she was from Shanghai, which made them give up their idea of ​​causing trouble for Mao Xiaoyu.

After all, nine and a half out of ten landlords here are from out of town. Half of the houses they rent out are rented, and the other half are their own. After all, not all of these people are wealthy landlords.

Moreover, even if the house is bought here and belongs to the landlord, the landlord's household registration is not in Shanghai. Of course, even if the household registration is in Shanghai, the landlord may not be able to speak the Shanghai dialect well. Therefore, the landlord naturally doesn't want to mess with Mao Xiaoyu, a local.

So when everyone saw Mao Xiaoyu going all out, speaking fluent Shanghainese, and with her ID card, who would dare to mess with her? After all, if any local were to stand there, no one could make any money today. Therefore, they could only keep their frustration to themselves.

However, now that they see Mao Xiaoyu doing the same business as them, even though there's another person competing for their business, they can only accept Mao Xiaoyu as one of their own. Furthermore, a representative from that side came to establish rules with Mao Xiaoyu, explaining the industry's regulations clearly.

As for the so-called three rules and regulations, they are actually just rules within a small circle of a few people. For example, the first rule is the price of renting a house, which means that the minimum standard for a bed is sixty yuan, and the price cannot be lowered unless absolutely necessary.

This regulation is for everyone's benefit. After all, if prices are lowered arbitrarily, one person lowers it by ten dollars, another by twenty, and yet another by thirty, eventually no one will have anything to eat. Therefore, the price for renting beds is regulated.

As for what it means unless absolutely necessary?

It depends on when it gets dark. Once it gets dark and there are fewer customers, you can lower the price a bit.

After all, the bed is empty, and if it's not rented out that day, it means losing a day's worth of money. So even if the price is a little cheaper, it has to be rented out by nightfall.

Of course, a capable landlord won't rent out their bed space cheaply even after dark, because if they charge 10 yuan less, they'll lose 10 yuan in profit.

Article 2: Once a tenant is identified, whoever takes over first becomes the tenant's landlord. If the tenant negotiates a price with another landlord, all other landlords must leave unless the tenant disagrees. Only then can a new landlord take over the property.

The reason for doing this is to ensure a good experience for tenants. After all, few tenants like to be surrounded by too many landlords, and too many landlords can easily lead to arguments and disputes, which can eventually cause various problems. Therefore, this rule is in place to avoid trouble.

Of course, there are other regulations, such as ID card registration, and how much commission to give for referring customers when all the houses are rented out.

After all, each landlord only has so many beds. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you might get a few more customers that day and fill up your own beds, eventually referring them to other landlords. Generally, you can get a commission of 20 yuan as long as the tenant stays.

The advantage of doing this is that everyone can make money. After all, if a bed is empty, you will earn less money for one day. Introducing tenants to stay there can make use of the bed, which is beneficial to both parties.

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Because it was the first time Mao Xiaoyu had done this, she always felt a step behind others. Sometimes others had already gone up to meet them, and she hadn't even figured out which person was here to rent a house. It wasn't until some landlords had already taken their tenants away that Mao Xiaoyu realized, "Oh, so this is someone who came to rent a house."

However, as a newcomer, Mao Xiaoyu felt this was normal. After all, as time went on, people would naturally be able to tell. So, Mao Xiaoyu could accept that she wasn't as experienced as others on the first day.

Of course, even so, because there were so many out-of-towners coming to the hospital, no matter how bad Mao Xiaoyu was or how unfamiliar he was with the business, he still managed to get a few customers. And surprisingly, one of the customers actually agreed to stay at Mao Xiaoyu's place.

And so, Mao Xiaoyu rode her electric bike with her tenant, and it took her three to five minutes to get to her house. This was because she rode along the main road; if she had taken the side roads, the journey would have been even shorter.

After the two went upstairs, Mao Xiaoyu registered their ID cards, collected 60 yuan, and then arranged a room and a bed for them separately.

During the process of making these arrangements, Mao Xiaoyu finally learned why the tenant had come to the hospital!

So they came for a follow-up check-up.

The tenant had surgery here last year, and this time it was time to go back to the hospital for a check-up and to see the doctor to check if there were any problems.

Because we came here last year and my family rented a house from landlords like Mao Xiaoyu, we wanted to rent the same kind of house again this time.

After all, staying in a hotel is really too expensive.

That's why Mao Xiaoyu found him and he ended up renting his place.