NOVPUBEver since starting the online business, with Xu Qingfan’s suggestion, Yao Jiping changed the remaining SKUs in her store to sell hardware and daily necessities, which more than doubled the sales and greatly increased the profit margins.
Actually, Xu Qingfan originally wanted to recommend that Yao Jiping sell some adult products, but he was scared to death.
Therefore, even without the over three million Xu Qingfan contributed to the family, the couple could easily afford an entry-level BBA in the past few years.
"Mom, you should also go learn to drive, little electric scooters aren’t safe, and you even bring the battery home to charge every day, I’m afraid it’ll catch fire!"
"How old am I already..." Yao Jiping subconsciously wanted to refuse.
"Auntie, you and my mom should go learn together, I’ll pay for you to learn!" Xu Qingfan ignored his own mother and turned his head to speak to Lin Jing.
"Haha~ Then Auntie won’t be polite!" As Yao Jiping’s best friend, Lin Jing was almost aware of everything that happened in Xu Qingfan’s family, including the fact that he had made millions from drawing comics.
Yao Jiping also laughed from the bottom of her heart, having a filial and sensible son really was wonderful!
She thought about her in-laws’ faces, [Driving two luxury cars back for the New Year to show off seems not too bad...]
"Jingjing, why are you messing around with this brat too, it’s been so many years since I touched a textbook..."
Xu Qingfan knew well his mom’s temperament, saying this was as good as agreeing; he immediately offered a way out, "The driving theory test is very simple, you can take the exam online, I’ll go back and help you with it!"
"There’s really no way to handle you, we’ll see when we get back."
"Ah yes, yes, yes!" Xu Qingfan sometimes really suspected that Xia Xiaoxiao was his mom’s biological daughter, their haughty attributes were exactly the same.
"Hahaha..."
The matter of buying a car was more or less settled like that; anyway, the last thing the parents lacked now was money, so he couldn’t be bothered to intervene in what kind of car they wanted to buy.
The car didn’t take long to stop at Licheng Square, Donghui City was just across the street, similarly only a little over two hundred meters away from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital—if one could buy a house nearby, in terms of livability and value appreciation potential, it would be quite good.
"Why do you always have a sour face, I don’t owe you money, do I?" Seeing Xia Xiaoxiao sitting far from him during the car ride and still keeping her distance after getting out, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but irritably grab her wrist.
"Let go of me!" Xia Xiaoxiao, like a cat whose tail was stepped on, struggled to break free.
"I won’t let go!" Xu Qingfan, used to being shameless, grabbed her again.
Xia Xiaoxiao shook him off unsuccessfully a few times before giving up and allowing him to hold her, still wearing a displeased look.
"Sorry about that, I wasn’t doing it on purpose yesterday, it’s your fault for trapping my hand." Xu Qingfan tiptoed and whispered apologetically in her ear.
"You’re still talking about it!" The girl angrily hit him with her hand.
"Okay, okay, I’ll stop," Xu Qingfan waved his hands, asking for mercy, "At most, if you feel you’ve been wronged, I’ll let you touch back."
"Get lost!" Xia Xiaoxiao had the look of wanting to stab him, her chest heaving.
"Alright, alright." Xu Qingfan released her hand with a grin and ran up to catch up with Wu Lingyu.
Xia Xiaoxiao: ???
Hold on, you’re actually leaving because I told you to get lost?
[You can forget about me paying you any attention in this lifetime!]
Xia Xiaoxiao caught up again, squeezing in between the two and pulling Wu Lingyu far away from him.
It had only been half a year since the construction of Donghui City started, with only the foundations established and the main structure not even two stories tall, but presales had already begun.
The sales office had prepared a 3D model of the completed building. Aside from the landscaping being a bit deceptive, overall it wasn’t much different from what he remembered in his previous life.
"Why buy presale properties? First, because the price is low; second, because there are more options to choose from; and most importantly, because the potential for appreciation is enormous!" The salesperson distributed brochures to everyone and served tea and snacks.
"$3888 seems a bit expensive, the property prices on West City Road are only a little over $2800 now." Yao Jiping was quite interested in the promotional pictures in the brochure, but the price dampened her enthusiasm.
"Ma’am, this price is really not expensive at all. The materials we use for construction meet European Union standards, and the cost per square meter is several hundred more expensive than those other residential areas. Moreover, our location—close to the hospital, park, and shopping mall—is within walking distance, and once the metro opens in the future, even double the price might not be enough to get such a good property, not to mention that we have the most advanced design and the most reasonable amenities..."
The male salesperson went on with another long spiel, giving Yao Jiping quite the headache. She waved her hand dismissively and said, "If I order two apartments and a few shops, what’s the lowest price you can give me?"
The salesperson’s eyes lit up as he eagerly asked, "Respected Madam, may I know how many shops you plan to order?"
"It depends on whether the price is right. In any case, no fewer than three!" This was the first time Yao Jiping felt like she was buying houses like they were cabbages, and it felt incredibly satisfying; after all, everyone has a need to show off now and again.
"Please wait a moment, I will make a call to my superiors and try to get you the best discount possible!"
After the salesperson left, Lin Jing looked at her best friend with amusement, "Do you really need to buy that many shops?"
"Jingjing, let me tell you, buying shops is really better than just keeping your money in the bank," she whispered in Lin Jing’s ear, "My convenience store made almost two hundred thousand this year alone."
"That much?" Lin Jing’s pupils dilated with shock, and she quickly covered her mouth, realizing she had reacted a bit too strongly.
"Yeah, after buying the shops, simply franchising a Good Taste Duck Neck or Good Taste Milk Tea isn’t bad. You just have to take care of the accounts at the end of the month, and the rest of the time you can have the employees mind the store." The success of the convenience store clearly expanded Yao Jiping’s horizons, now regretting that she initially had her hundreds of thousands sitting in the bank. If she had bought shops with that money, it would have more than doubled by now!
"Maybe I’ll have a look as well..." Lin Jing glanced at Xia Xiaoxiao, feeling that as a mother she still hoped to give her daughter a generous dowry.
The salesperson soon returned, excitedly saying, "Respected Madam, our manager said that the current price for the shops is 5888 per square meter. If you order three, we can give you a 20% discount on the houses, and 10% off the shops..."
The three of them didn’t join the crowd, instead observing the model houses from a sandbox.
"If we toss my little brother in, he’d become a giant cat from Superman," Xu Qingfan said with a laugh.
Xia Xiaoxiao shot him a glare, "Why don’t you jump in then?"
"Why are you always so explosive, like you’ve eaten a barrel of explosives?"
"It would be better if you were the one blown up!"
"Then I’d drag you down with me!"
"I’d kick you off me with one foot!"
"Then I’d just cling to your stinky foot and not let go!"
"..."
Wu Lingyu looked from Xu Qingfan to Xia Xiaoxiao. Although the girl could solve the most difficult math problems, her smart brain couldn’t understand why these two always bickered at the drop of a hat, like the bickering friends from the movies, with a hint of sweetness in the mix...
"Yu, Xiao Xiao, come over here!" Yao Jiping and Lin Jing simultaneously waved for the three to come over.
"What’s up?" Xu Qingfan asked as he led the two back to the sofa.
"Which of these two apartment layouts do you think is better?"
He took the two floor plans handed over by Yao Jiping, one for apartment 701 and another for 801.
Both were 180-square-meter large apartments; 701 had three bedrooms, one living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, with an exceptionally large living room of almost a hundred square meters. 801, on the other hand, had five bedrooms and one living room, with the living room only spanning over forty square meters.
"Are 701 and 801 directly above and below each other? Can we buy both and convert them into a duplex?" Xu Qingfan suggested after a look.
"Turn them into a duplex? That sounds feasible!" The adults thought about it and then nodded in agreement.
"Turning them into a duplex is certainly no problem, the customer is God. As soon as you pay the deposit, we’ll immediately arrange for someone to adjust the blueprints, and you’ll be able to take possession of the house by the end of next year at the latest!" The salesperson was almost cracking up with joy; closing this deal would virtually equal half a year’s work.
Yao Jiping exchanged a glance with her husband, Xu Aiguo, both feeling that buying the duplex was doable.
This was their third time coming here to look at apartments, and they had already visited several other properties before deciding that this place was the best.
"We haven’t decided on the shops yet, so let’s tentatively reserve apartments 701, 801, and 702 for now. Where can we pay the deposit?" Yao Jiping said.
"Please follow me."
...
