Chapter Twenty-Four: Anju Real Estate Planning

“Sigh, how did you run into him again? You really are unlucky.” Tan Xue lay sprawled on the big bed in Li Youlan’s hotel room, laughing as she watched Li Youlan apply slices of fruit to her face as a mask.

“How would I know? That guy is like a lingering ghost. I was having a good time, and suddenly, there he was.” Crestfallen and dispirited, Li Youlan had lost her usual spark. Yesterday, Chu Dong had humiliated her badly. She refused to accept defeat after losing once, insisting on best out of three, then best out of five… until finally, Chu Dong refused to play any longer. He told her that if she intended to cheat, then he wasn’t interested anyway; he had no interest in her little buns.

After getting off the motorcycle, Li Youlan’s legs were numb from sitting so long. By the time she tried to chase after them, Chu Dong had already vanished with Xiao Yuer.

“So, how did you finally escape? Don’t tell me you actually…” Tan Xue, surprisingly, still had the mood to tease Li Youlan.

“Shut up, you heartless thing! I did all that for you, you know. That guy is a real bastard—he even tried to hold me by force! Luckily, I’m clever; I used the excuse of going to the bathroom to put on a disguise and escaped. He’s probably still waiting outside the restroom like an idiot, ha!” Li Youlan burst out laughing as she recounted the story.

Chu Dong had only left with Xiao Yuer after seeing Li Youlan slink out of the restroom, trying to cover her tracks. Xiao Yuer chattered excitedly the whole way. Ever since witnessing Chu Dong’s impressive display, she’d developed a blind admiration for him. If Chu Dong hadn’t stopped her, she would have insisted on guarding the restroom to prevent Li Youlan from escaping.

After dropping Xiao Yuer off, Chu Dong returned to his room at the Feipeng Hotel, settled onto the sofa, and began reading the newspaper.

The pages were filled with real estate ads, which, strangely enough, piqued his interest. He studied the new housing developments and the densely packed classified ads for secondhand apartments, pen in hand, calculating the prices of different areas. He noticed something: everyone knew the real estate market was struggling and houses were hard to sell, yet prices in Dalian were still creeping upward. Between the lines, two things were clear: first, Dalian, as a city ideal for living and tourism, hadn’t reached its price ceiling yet; second, the pool of potential buyers was still gradually pushing the prices higher. Real estate developers hadn’t lost hope in the market, even with sluggish transactions.

Setting down the newspaper, Chu Dong opened his computer and browsed through real estate news online: “Housing transactions severely impacted by the economic crisis, both new and existing home markets are sluggish,” “Anomalies in the national housing market, prices continue to rise,” “Dalian housing prices up 8.4%, ranking seventh nationwide”…

“A contest of wits—this is all a contest of wits,” Chu Dong muttered as he read. “It’s a psychological game between developers and buyers, and a struggle between speculators and the broader economic environment.”

He had spent less than two years at Harvard Business School, but he excelled at cutting through the fog to grasp the essence of an issue and find the key to unlock it.

Observing the current downturn in real estate, Chu Dong felt like a hungry lion spotting prey. He realized that now was a prime opportunity to enter the market.

“Qiangzi, help me apply for a business license—I want to start a consulting firm.” Chu Dong had always believed that friends were meant to help each other, so he never stood on ceremony with Qiangzi or Haozi, and the feeling was mutual.

“What kind of scheme are you cooking up now? Isn’t everything going well for you? You’re not even losing money anymore—why can’t you just settle down?” Although Qiangzi was already dialing numbers to get it done, he couldn’t help but rib Chu Dong.

“Call me as soon as it’s ready. I’m in a hurry—the sooner, the better!” Whenever Chu Dong set his mind to something, he acted decisively. He hung up without waiting for Qiangzi’s complaining.

“Damn it, can’t you finish what you’re saying before hanging up? What’s the company called? Where’s the office? You need to tell me these things!” At first, Qiangzi hadn’t thought much of it, but his uncle, who worked in the business registration office, grilled him for details he couldn’t provide, scolding him for being careless. That’s when he called back, venting all his frustration at Chu Dong.

“Call it ‘Anju Real Estate Planning and Marketing Co., Ltd.’ The office can be at my place,” Chu Dong replied, feeling a little guilty. He realized Qiangzi had been chewed out because of him, so he answered honestly.

“All right, I’ll call you when it’s done.”

After hanging up, Chu Dong began flipping through recent newspapers to see which developers were advertising the most. He circled a few who were running aggressive campaigns, and a few others who had advertised only to disappear.

Qiangzi’s full name was Wu Ziqiang, and Haozi, whose real name was Ma Hao, had been Chu Dong’s classmates since elementary school. The three of them had grown up together. Although they’d been apart for some years, their bond was as strong as ever. Wu Ziqiang’s family ran an advertising company that dominated Dalian’s outdoor ad market. The company wasn’t publicly listed, but they were worth billions—far better off than some who only made money by going public. Ma Hao’s family was in the seafood business, mainly dealing in sea cucumbers and scallops—their wealth was unimaginable by most standards. Yet, these two got along best with Chu Dong, whose family had fallen on hard times. Knowing that Chu Dong would never accept charity, they had tried to help him secretly rebuild his family business, but Chu Dong saw right through them. After a few tries, they gave up on the idea, content to spend money at his hotel, figuring that when Chu Dong truly ran out of cash, he’d find his own way to recover. But even after burning through tens or hundreds of thousands each month, Chu Dong always had money to spend, leaving the two of them completely at a loss.

But then, with Tan Xue’s arrival, Chu Dong’s attitude shifted. Seeing this change, his friends relaxed, each getting busy with their own affairs instead of partying every day as before. When Chu Dong called, Qiangzi took care of the business license right away—having connections in high places certainly helped. The next day, Qiangzi delivered the business license to Chu Dong in person.

There was no time for thanks. Chu Dong asked Xiao Lan to make several copies of the license, and began packing up to head out. Qiangzi, annoyed, grabbed his sleeve and refused to let him go.

“I came all this way to deliver your license, and you can’t even offer me a drink? Honestly, since I walked in the door, no one’s paid me any attention. I feel like a total outsider here.”

Chu Dong patted Qiangzi’s shoulder and said solemnly, “Brother, time flies and waits for no one. I have to work hard to make something of myself, to carve out a sky of my own with these two delicate hands. You go chat up some young ladies—that’s where your talents truly shine.”

“You know, I actually did make a date. But remember, I’ll be back for you,” Qiangzi said, hurrying off.

Chu Dong tucked the documents Xiao Lan brought into his bag, went out, and hailed a cab. “To Jiedong Auto Repair,” he told the driver as soon as he got in. Haozi’s Audi was still at the shop, but he’d gotten a call yesterday that it was ready. He’d need to make an impression, so he planned to use the car again.