【Extra】

Now that things have come to this, there is no other way except to try our best to make amends.

Zhou Chuhan tried to contact the unit’s finance department and asked if the money he had contributed to the fundraising plan could be returned.

The finance department was very surprised to hear about her request. "Many people have come to ask if the limit can be relaxed, but you are the first one to ask if you can withdraw early."

"I borrowed the money from a relative. Now she has something wrong at home, so I have to take it out and return it to her." Zhou Chuhan lied with his eyes wide open. "I heard that the company gave 10% annual profit, so I got carried away and invested all the money..."

"Just do me a favor this time, okay?"

"That's your fault," the finance officer criticized. "How can you borrow money to participate in the company's fund-raising activities?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Zhou Chuhan nodded quickly, but he didn't take it to heart at all. "I will definitely not dare to do that next time. Can you help me?"

The finance department was helpless, "I want to help, but I have no way."

"Didn't we sign a contract when we paid the money? It's written in black and white. Employees are on a voluntary basis. Once they join, they are not allowed to withdraw midway."

"So this money can only be withdrawn after three years."

Zhou Chuhan was anxious, "How could this happen?"

The finance department advised her, "If you really need the money urgently, you should find another way. Forget about investing in the fund-raising plan!"

Zhou Chuhan smiled bitterly, "Okay, I get it."

**

65,000 is not enough to buy a good house.

If I borrow money from someone, firstly, my relatives are generally poor, secondly, my parents bought a house before and are short of money, and thirdly, I have to pay back the mortgage monthly after taking out a loan, which is a heavy burden. If I have to pay back not only the mortgage but also other loans, I really have to go without food and drink to afford it.

I went to various sales offices to ask and found that in the past six months, housing prices in various districts of the city have increased by 10%-15%.

Zhou Chuhan was quite annoyed.

I used to think that the interest rates offered by state-owned enterprises were extremely high, but now when I compare them with truly good projects, I realize that they are nothing. The price difference over just half a year is more than just the interest!

"According to Yunluo, housing prices can rise by 30% a year (Yunluo: I didn't say that). So far, they have risen by 10%-15% in the past six months, and the growth rate will probably remain the same in the next six months."

Zhou Chuhan picked up a pen and paper and started writing and scribbling, and finally came to a conclusion - if she lived frugally in the next six months, she would be able to save enough to buy a new house in a good location.

"It's only half a year, so housing prices shouldn't change much. Besides, commodities generally go up and down, fluctuating upward, so it would be even better if we could buy on dips."

After much thought, Zhou Chuhan believed that her plan was fine. She made up her mind to grit her teeth and persevere through the hard times of the past two years.

Once you make a lot of money from buying and selling real estate, everything will be easy.

**

In the next two months, the housing prices did as Zhou Chuhan expected. Not only did they not continue to rise, but they fell by 3%-5%.

At this time, the delicatessen had been transferred. Qian Yuchen divided the money equally and transferred half to Zhou Chuhan's account.

Including the new savings, the total savings is 75,000.

Zhou Chuhan went to several sales offices and found that 75,000 yuan was more than enough to pay the deposit.

She could have signed the contract to buy the house right away, except...

Zhou Chuhan secretly calculated that it had already fallen by 3% in two months. What if it continued to fall? Wouldn't it be more cost-effective to buy it then?

Houses are not small items! Saving 1% is worth tens of thousands! Wait a minute, maybe you can buy more space for the same price.

So she decided to wait and see.

Half a month later, housing prices rose by 1%.

Zhou Chuhan didn't take it seriously and thought it was a normal fluctuation.

Half a month later, housing prices rose by 0.5%.

Zhou Chuhan was a little anxious when she saw that the housing prices had gone up and would not come down. She told herself that she would not expect a new low, but would sign the contract to buy the house as long as the housing prices returned to the previous low.

But a month later, the housing prices kept rising. She waited anxiously, until the housing prices rose by 10% a month, until her savings grew bigger and bigger, but she couldn't afford the down payment!

Now Zhou Chuhan was completely confused.

I want to take out a loan to buy the house I like, but my savings are not enough for the down payment, so I can’t afford it.

I am reluctant to buy a small apartment or a property in the suburbs. After all, I was able to buy a house in the city center before, and maybe I can do it again if I wait a while.

But I continued to wait, feeling really anxious.

Yun Luo told her herself, "It's time to buy a house." Who knows if the house price will double in one go? !

Zhou Chuhan was in a dilemma, and nothing he did seemed right. What was worse was that he didn't know who to turn to for advice.

The system has left, and I don’t know what the other people’s level is, or whether they can be trusted.

Zhou Chuhan was extremely desperate.

Only then did she realize how important it was to master investment skills!

If she could see the trend of housing price changes as well as Yun Luo, how could she be so panic-stricken and not know what to do?

During the struggle, housing prices rose rapidly and then fell slowly, getting higher and higher.

Seeing that if he didn't buy a house now, he wouldn't even be able to afford a house in the suburbs, Zhou Chuhan made up his mind and quickly looked at houses, bought a house, and signed a contract.

Once I got on the bus, I finally felt relieved.

**

Four years later.

In the office, colleagues sighed and said, "I have participated in state-owned enterprise fundraising before, and I paid the interest and returned the principal on time. Why did something go wrong this time? It has been a year, and the principal has not been returned. What on earth does the company want?!"

Someone next to her interrupted, "Sister Fang, you're lucky. If you don't need the money urgently, just leave it there. Just treat it as a bank deposit."

"Little Meng next door is the one who is suffering! He had calculated that the fund-raising plan would expire in three years, and he would use his savings to get married. Now his company is making excuses and delaying the payment, and his girlfriend is about to break up with him."

"At first, my friend advised me that investment is risky and I should be cautious when entering the industry. I laughed at him for saying sour grapes. Who knew he hit the nail on the head..."

"I am even worse off, okay?" another person complained, "A relative who knows the business told me two years ago that house prices will go up, and I must buy it quickly if I need it."

"But what about me? I had invested most of my savings in the financing plan, so I couldn't spare any money! Then I watched helplessly as the housing prices went up, doubling or tripling!"

"Last year, they said that the fundraising plan had finally expired and we could finally get the money to buy a house. But who knew that the unethical company would not give employees a way out, saying that the plan did not meet expectations, the project failed to make a profit, and it was difficult to immediately repay all employees' principal. It is expected to be gradually repaid in the next two years, and the interest will be calculated based on the bank's one-year fixed deposit rate. Now a year has passed, and there is not even a shadow of the principal!"

He shook his head as he spoke, with an expression that said, "This little crappy company will be finished sooner or later."

Two hundred thousand yuan is trapped. Before investing, he was warned that if the state-owned enterprise is not doing well, it may not be able to repay the debt, but he didn't take it seriously. He knew he wanted to buy a house four years ago. In the end, Zhou Chuhan procrastinated and bought a house in the suburbs without saying a word. He was thinking in his heart, who can beat me in terms of misery?

The opportunity to get rich quickly was right in front of you, but you missed it.

What’s even more amazing is that while others were rushing to save up for the down payment, she saw that housing prices had doubled in the first half of last year and thought that they had reached the top, so she sold her house…

Nowadays, the house price is rising higher and higher, and the price is about 1.5 times of the price when the house was sold. She is afraid of it and dare not touch it again.

To be fair, I currently have a stable job, a good savings, and I live a good life.

But she had a system, she heard the news when the housing market was just starting to rise, and she should have done better!

But what is the reality?

Zhou Chuhan didn't buy a house too early (he hesitated for several months), and the investment house was located in a remote area, so the price increase was not as high as that in the city center. After all the calculations, it was almost at the average level.

She is really good at it!!

Sometimes, Zhou Chuhan felt ashamed when he thought about it.

How did she end up living like this? The opportunity was right before her eyes, but she didn't seize it.

If you don’t understand, can’t do it, and are unwilling to learn, then of course you can’t grasp it. A voice in my heart said this.

Zhou Chuhan's heart ached and he felt extremely uncomfortable, but it was too late to regret.

**

Another New Year.

During the Chinese New Year, relatives gathered together for a reunion dinner as usual. Qian Yuchen ignored everyone and stayed alone in a corner playing with his phone.

If it were in the past, the elders would definitely question him. But a few years ago, a relative claimed to be there to help, but he not only cheated on the weight, but also stole money behind the scenes, causing the business to go bankrupt. After that, everyone stopped talking much in front of Qian Yuchen, for fear of accidentally exposing his scars.

Of course, there were also people who didn’t understand the atmosphere and insisted on running over to start a conversation, “How are you doing lately?”

Qian Yuchen no longer had the high spirits he once had. "It's OK. It's OK."

The man asked again, "What are you busy with recently?"

Qian Yuchen replied, "Pushing a cart and selling breakfast."

The man's eyes lit up and he asked questions one after another, "Is business good? Is it particularly profitable? Is it hard work?"

Qian Yuchen said, "Generally, it's about the same as going out to work to earn some hard-earned money."

Hearing this, the man immediately lost interest. After sitting for a while, he found a random excuse to leave.

Qian Yuchen remained indifferent and continued playing with his phone.

Many people feel sorry for Qian Yuchen's self-degradation. In their opinion, if Qian Yuchen had not been cheated by his relatives during his career rise, he might have really expanded his business and become a big boss! How great would it be to bring all his relatives to make a fortune together?

Unfortunately, it is now completely impossible...

**

After dinner, Zhou Chuhan went out for some fresh air and accidentally met Qian Yuchen.

Zhou Chuhan suddenly remembered that at a family gathering a few years ago, the two of them were hiding outside the house and chatting.

At that time, both she and Qian Yuchen were full of hope for the future. Who would have thought that after a few years, they would become mediocre adults?

Thinking of this, Zhou Chuhan couldn't help but feel a little sad.

Qian Yuchen paused when he saw the figure coming from the corner of his eye. "It's you."

"It's me." Zhou Chuhan hesitated and approached cautiously, "How are you doing recently?"

If someone else asked, Qian Yuchen would say, "It's OK, it's OK."

But since it was his cousin who asked the question, he didn't just give a perfunctory answer, but answered seriously, "I'm doing very well."

At such an old age, with no business and poor education, how could he get better? Zhou Chuhan subconsciously thought that her cousin didn't want her to worry, so he lied to her on purpose.

She sighed, "If there's anything I can help you with, just let me know."

Now the money is all in the bank, depreciating every year. If the cousin is willing to pick himself up and start a new business, she is willing to invest in support.

Qian Yuchen felt warm in his heart, "I didn't lie to you, I'm really living a good life."

Zhou Chuhan didn't say anything, but his expression showed clear disbelief.

Qian Yuchen had no choice but to quietly tell the truth, "I push a cart to sell breakfast in the morning, and sell barbecue at the entrance of the university town at night. I make a net profit of 20,000 to 30,000 yuan a month."

"I bought a 120-square-meter house in the city center three years ago, planning to use it to get married. I paid off the loan last year and bought another 80-square-meter house, and the loan is almost paid off."

"Once this set is paid off, I plan to buy a shop. This way I won't have to set up a stall on the roadside every day, exposed to the sun and rain."

Zhou Chuhan was shocked and bewildered, "Then how are you going to tell your relatives..."

Qian Yuchen laughed at himself, "What if someone comes forward to help me again? I'm afraid of being cheated."

Zhou Chuhan stared at his cousin and suddenly asked, "You injured your elbow before and said you wanted to disband. Did you decide to go it alone at that time?"

"Yes." Qian Yuchen admitted, "When you are in partnership with someone, you have to record all your expenses and income. After a long time, it feels very tiring."

"After thinking about it, I think it's most convenient to do it myself. I don't care how big the business is, as long as I can earn more than working outside."

Zhou Chuhan's heart was shocked and he was speechless for a moment.

Qian Yuchen glanced at his cousin and lowered his voice, "I'm telling you the truth because I treat you as my own. Forget it after you've heard it, and don't mention it to anyone else, especially your mother, understand?"

Zhou Chuhan nodded heavily, meaning that she understood.

Qian Yuchen added, "No matter what, it was you who gave me the initial start-up capital. I will remember your kindness. If you run into trouble in the future, tell me and I will support you!"

Zhou Chuhan suddenly realized that compared to many years ago, his cousin had achieved success in his career. But this time, he had learned to keep a low profile.

The only one who ruins a good hand and wastes time is yourself.

The author has something to say:

Some readers said they couldn’t understand the title of the second copy. For example:

Some people come from wealthy families, and their wealth level is 10; some people come from average families, and their wealth level is 1.

There are four options at every crossroads in life: A. Cardinality + 3; B. Cardinality * 3; C. Cardinality - 3; D. Cardinality / 3.

Some people grow up by *3*3*3, while others grow up by subtraction and division. One or two years may not show much, but after five or ten years, the gap will be huge. This is what the title means.

**

Zhou Chuhan was probably like this: he had the right time, right place, right people and first-rate configuration at the beginning, and could have achieved great things; but after a series of disjointed operations, he lost all his advantages and gradually became mediocre.

The living standard is still above average, but when I think about how much better I could have lived, I feel like I have wasted my time.