Chapter 165: The Mysterious Landlord and the Bizarre Investment Project

Zhan Yi was hardening his stance.

If he had previously entertained the thought of compromising and making peace with Tenda, that notion was fading away day by day, all because his wife, Zhang Lizhen, was seeing favorable returns in the stock market and making a steady profit.

Lacking any pressure from domestic family life, he naturally had no intention of compromising or accepting Tenda's terms for settlement.

This caused Chen Youwei to furrow his brow.

...

"Misfortune and fortune are intertwined."

Looking at the recent stock market profits in his account, Chen Youwei couldn't help but sigh. Since his own trades were turning a profit, that Zhang Lizhen would probably make money too as long as she didn't buy blindly—after all, both were being guided by Shengxin.

Moreover, judging by the shift in Zhan Yi's attitude, it was evident that the relief of financial pressure on his home front allowed him to focus entirely on the lawsuit with Tenda and fight it out to the very end.

"Just pay the compensation if we have to."

Lin Yuan scratched his head. "Fundamentally speaking, the final payment should indeed be paid. Whether it was embezzlement by Zhao Hui or substandard renovation work, those are all just pretexts."

"Even if our lawyers at Tenda have a higher level of competence, the final outcome is still a toss-up at fifty-fifty."

"If we lose, we still have to pay."

That may be true, but normally no one is ever willing to fork over extra money voluntarily. Not getting swallowed whole is already good enough, so coughing up an additional tens of millions is a bit of a headache.

For Shengxin to reissue severance packages to a batch of displaced employees was simply a Virgin Mary act—completely baffling.

That guy Zhang Long certainly had real ability, but he was also too much of a troublemaker, completely breaking the unwritten rules.

"Insist on fighting to the end?"

Zhan Yi's company wasn't actually very far from the residential compound where he lived, and Zhang Lizhen had walked over to visit. "Getting half of the balance back is already considered pretty good. Even if we manage to win the lawsuit in the end, it could drag on for two or three years before we actually see any money."

"If it really doesn't work out, let's just reconcile."

What Zhang Lizhen said made sense, but Zhan Yi shook his head. "Compromise has no bottom line. Once the baseline of persistence is broken, there is no bottom line left."

"Every single cent is something that I and my brothers deserve. It was earned through our hard work and sweat."

"If we write off half of the final payment—amounting to several million—the net profit our company made over the past two years goes down the drain for nothing."

"If we are going to take it, we take all of it."

Why should they give up half of their hard-earned money just to reach a settlement? It was all money that Tenda rightfully owed them. Since their family's material life was free of worries, they might as well fight to the very end without compromising.

Some things simply had to be stood up for.

...

Jiujiantang, Courtyard 43.

Zhang Long had first viewed the property at the beginning of the month and then visited it two more times. To be honest, he liked it a lot, but he actually had no certainty about whether he could successfully secure and purchase it.

On this Sunday afternoon, upon the invitation of the real estate sales agent Xiaofang, he arrived at Courtyard 43 of Jiujiantang to meet the seller.

The landlord still did not show up, but a proxy stepped forward instead, and their very first sentence was somewhat uncompromising.

"Please save yourselves the trouble if you're offering under fifty million."

In 2013, housing prices in Shanghai were not yet considered exorbitant. The current market value of a Jiujiantang villa hovered around fifty million, and regardless of the differing styles of each courtyard, that was basically the ballpark figure.

Of course, interior renovations and the fame of the previous owner would add some premium, but for someone buying the house with the intention of completely remodeling it, the existing decoration was actually worthless.

Once the transaction was completed, the homeowner would take away everything movable anyway; nothing of value would be left behind.

Fifty million as a baseline—no exceptions.

Although Courtyard 43 was not the absolute best villa in the entire Jiujiantang estate, it ranked comfortably in the upper-middle tier. Furthermore, the owners of every individual courtyard in Jiujiantang were either wealthy or noble, and moving in here would grant access to valuable social circles—making it an exceptional value.

Of course, that was assuming one could actually move in.

"Preference given to full-cash buyers."

The second condition was relatively friendly to Zhang Long. A full-cash transaction could be closed at any time without any issues. Fifty million was not five million; it was a solid, massive sum of capital.

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhang Long noticed that aside from a few individual buyers who showed no particular reaction, the rest furrowed their brows to varying degrees. It was clear that paying in full presented a financial strain, and most would have to rely on mortgages.

Even a few individuals whom Zhang Long had previously seen on television could not come up with the full amount in cash—after all, who would leave tens of millions idle in a bank card?

It was only because Zhang Long's rate of generating and profiting from wealth was simply too fast, and he hadn't found any other investments that truly caught his eye.

So he simply left the money sitting idle in his bank card.

After all, even with a demand deposit, a fund exceeding one hundred million could generate a substantial amount of interest every month, which was more than enough for daily food, living expenses, and refueling cars.

In a word, just living off the interest was more than enough.

...

"Lastly, there is the matter of cooperation."

Peng Minghui, the proxy sales agent for the landlord, swept his gaze in a half-circle around the room. "The homeowner requires an investor—a pure investor outside of this specific industry, with no decision-making voting rights, only the right to offer suggestions and opinions. The investment amount is twenty million."

"The specific industry is temporarily classified as confidential."

Just like that, the initial meeting concluded.

Zhang Long, just like most of the others, frowned in utter bewilderment. If you said this villa was desperate to be sold, the conditions set for it were remarkably high: a fifty-million baseline plus an additional twenty million to buy into an investment, totaling at least seventy million.

Yet if you said it wasn't eager to sell, it explicitly prioritized full-cash offers.

Perhaps it was a test of the buyers' financial capacity. In any case, Zhang Long couldn't figure out what kind of tactic this was, but at the very least, there was no negative financial omen hovering over Peng Minghui's head.

This indicated that selling the house was fundamentally not a trap.

However, there was no mention of the industry the homeowner was personally engaged in, so how could anyone know whether it was finance or something else?

"Brother Zhang, please wait a moment."

Suddenly, Xiaofang chased after him from behind, panting slightly as she handed a business card to Zhang Long. "If you are interested in purchasing, just give us a call to communicate and discuss."

Real estate agents weren't afraid that the eventual transaction would bypass them, as various administrative procedures ultimately relied on their assistance.

Zhang Long took the card and nodded noncommittally. The phone number belonged to Peng Minghui, featuring only a name and a digit sequence.

The company and profession remained unknown.

As for the owner of Courtyard 43, virtually none of the potential buyers who came today had communicated privately with the landlord; most were simply clients who had been brought on recent viewings, whom Zhang Long had crossed paths with.

The homeowner's final cooperative condition requiring an outsider probably stemmed from a desire not to have industry insiders meddling.

Otherwise, simply relying on the identity of being an independent owner of Jiujiantang Courtyard 43 would ensure an abundance of buyers.

Had some kind of internal split occurred?

Logically speaking, when seeking cooperation, it was best to look for someone capable of providing assistance and support in terms of resources, networks, and channels, rather than purely injecting twenty million in capital. Comparatively speaking, capital was the most useless asset.

Because acquiring capital was the easiest thing to do.

...

"Buzz, buzzz~"

His mobile phone vibrated with an incoming call. Unsurprisingly, it was Peng Minghui. When Zhang Long had called this fellow just a short while ago, the line was busy, so Zhang Long had simply sent a text message introducing himself and hung up. Now, the call was being returned. "Hello, Mr. Zhang Long. Regarding Jiujiantang Courtyard 43..."

Peng Minghui briefly outlined the property's information, emphasizing its interior decorations and other details. The starting price of fifty million was an exceptional value, and purchasing it would certainly not result in a loss.

Of course, wanting to buy it also meant investing twenty million into the homeowner's venture, bringing the total to at least seventy million.

"What does the landlord do?"

"Temporarily confidential."

Zhang Long broke out in a sweat, but Peng Minghui on the other end of the line paid it no mind. "There is still a week left before the May Day holiday. If Mr. Zhang Long is interested and has the financial capacity to purchase, please prepare your funds in advance and come back to Jiujiantang Villa No. 43 after the holiday for a face-to-face meeting and detailed discussion."

"Or, if you have other friends around you who are interested and capable, they are welcome to come along and discuss it together."

"Sorry to have disturbed you. That's all."

With that, the call disconnected, leaving Zhang Long speechless.

However, this only made him even more interested in the owner of Courtyard 43. Shrouded in a layer of mystery, the seller was deliberately using all sorts of secretive tactics to hook the buyers' interest while selling a house.

An ordinary house would simply be sold to whoever wanted it, but the crucial point was that Jiujiantang luxury villas were not ordinary high-end properties.

"Heh, interesting."

The corners of Zhang Long's mouth lifted in a smile. He stopped pondering the affairs of the luxury mansion at Courtyard 43, deciding to go take a look after the May Day holiday. Whether he could buy the house was a secondary matter; at the very least, it would satisfy his curiosity.

Was it all just pretense and mystification, or something else entirely?

"Buzz, buzzz~"

His phone vibrated with another incoming call. Zhang Long checked the screen and couldn't help feeling a bit puzzled, considering they had just met yesterday.

"What is it, Shangyu?"

A moment later, Zhang Long set off from home toward Tianhong Venture Capital, where an unexpected project had landed on their doorstep. Zhang Shangyu and the others had reviewed it and felt it was worth investing in, but they ultimately needed Zhang Long to come over and make the final decision together, as the involved funds were not a small amount.

An expenditure in the tens of millions required a degree of caution.

...

"Phew, we're almost heading back."

Beijing, the Shengxin branch office.

Qian Caiying, Liang Xue, and the rest of the team had no concept of holidays in their work. Even though it was Sunday, they were still just as busy, though they wouldn't need to work overtime tonight. The accompanying audit team would also wrap up early to return to their hotel or go sightseeing.

Beijing still had plenty of fun places to visit; in terms of tourist attractions, it surpassed Shanghai and carried an even greater renown.

"Yeah."

Liang Xue nodded softly.

She had learned a great deal during her days following the audit team to the branch office. Being brought along by Qian Caiying also allowed her to gain a better overall understanding of the branch's condition.

This would enable her to report to Zhang Long in much greater detail.

"What are you running away from?"

Qian Caiying's penchant for gossip hadn't diminished much during their business trip. It wasn't as though she hadn't questioned Liang Xue over these past few days, only to be brushed off each time. Still, Qian Caiying could guess a thing or two. "Actually, you don't need to overthink things. Overthinking will only bring you needless trouble."

"You only need to confirm one thing: whether you want to be with Zhang Long. That's all that matters; the rest is unimportant."

"Yeah."

Liang Xue murmured softly in response.

It was just that once someone got stuck in a narrow train of thought, it was terribly hard to walk back out. Everyone could easily speak pretty words, but some hurdles couldn't simply be seen through or completely ignored with just a few sentences.

At least, Liang Xue couldn't do that just yet.

"Look at this city of Beijing."

Qian Caiying gestured toward Beijing's bustling architecture and the crowds rushing by or enjoying their leisure. "A few decades ago, whether it was Beijing or Shanghai, both were desolate and impoverished."

"Yet in just a few short decades, it feels as though the era has completely transformed, developing into something dazzling and colorful."

"Life is actually very short."

Qian Caiying's gaze grew distant, her tone drifting. "Every single minute and second is time. Sometimes, being late by even a single second can yield an entirely different outcome. No one is going to stay standing in the same place waiting for you forever, understand?"

"Yeah."

Liang Xue nodded and murmured her assent once more.

Seeing this, Qian Caiying said no more. Everything that needed to be said and pointed out had already been mentioned; as for whether Liang Xue could seize the opportunity, it would depend entirely on herself.

"What project is so urgent?"

Inside the conference room of Tianhong Venture Capital in Shanghai, Zhang Long pushed open the door and spoke the moment he walked in. What kind of wonderful project was this?

"Right there, on the screen."

Zhang Shangyu and several other shareholder bosses, along with Investment Director Gao Shunnian, were already inside the conference room. Hearing this, Zhang Long turned his head to look at the project PPT presentation displayed on the screen...

His gaze instantly froze, and he cursed inwardly.