I took a deep breath instinctively before unplugging the charger and answering Sun Jiwei's call. I tried to keep a calm tone as I asked him, "Brother, is there any news from over there?"
"Yes, I just spoke to him on the phone and told him your thoughts, but he's on vacation in Thailand right now, so we can't discuss it right now."
"He didn't explicitly refuse, did he?"
“No, not really… By the way, he gave me a contact number, saying it’s his son’s number. Why don’t you talk to his son first?” After a slight pause, Sun Jiwei continued, “I think it would be more beneficial for you to talk to his son about this… After all, he’s not Cao Jinbo. Sixteen shops, with a monthly rent of seventy or eighty thousand yuan, that’s not a small amount for him to use as pocket money. Anyway, these houses are just sitting idle.”
"If his son can really make the decision for him, it will save me a lot of trouble... But the final contract still has to be signed by Cao Jinbo himself, right?"
"Logically speaking, we should sign with him."
"Okay... I'll go meet his son first. Give me his contact information."
...
A moment after ending the call with Sun Jiwei, he sent me the number. I lit a cigarette and dialed the number, but to my surprise, the call only rang twice before being hung up. I dialed again, but it was immediately disconnected.
I suspect Cao Jinbo's son is also someone who enjoys a life of pleasure and debauchery. He's probably still half asleep and definitely wouldn't want to answer a call from an unknown number.
I sent him another message very politely: "Hi, your number was obtained by my friend from your dad. I heard that your dad has 16 vacant shops in Jiulongju, and I'd like to rent them all. But your dad is on vacation abroad right now, so if it's convenient for you, let's talk first. I guess your dad is thinking the same thing, otherwise he wouldn't have given your contact information to my friend."
After sending the message, I was plunged into a long wait. My intuition told me that Cao Jinbo's son was probably an unreliable person, and it was hard to say whether he would even notice the message. But I had no better options and could only wait passively.
...
After breakfast, I left the inn to Taozi and Tienan, and went to Jiulongju again. Pingge got up early today, and when I arrived, his coffee shop was already open, but as always, there was no one there.
He brewed a pot of tea, poured me a cup, and then asked, "Have you found out who owns those 16 shops?"
"I actually found out."
"Are they locals from Dali, or investors from other places?"
"A local." After a slight pause, I added with a touch of感慨 (gan3kai3, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and regret), "Dali is such a small place. I not only know this person, but we've had a grudge against each other for a long time!"
"Wow... this is interesting... tell me, how did you two start this feud?"
I gave a wry smile at first, then replied, "This all started when the 'government' was protecting Erhai Lake and shutting down the lakeside guesthouses... At the time, a few friends and I happened to have some spare money, so we partnered up to take over a lakeside guesthouse in Longkan that had already been closed. We were quite lucky; our guesthouse was on the first list of guesthouses to reopen... To be honest, the guesthouse was really profitable after reopening, but that also became our downfall..."
Brother Ping is a smart man. He understood what I meant and continued, "You're a classic case of the big tree attracting the wind... So later, the inn got targeted by bad guys?"
"Yeah, I was pretty impulsive and I even injured someone... Then the other party started using this as an excuse to refuse mediation... He set a condition: unless I transfer the inn to him at a low price, he would have to put me in jail."
"Wow, this is a big deal!"
I sighed and then said, "You bet... I was really desperate back then. Luckily, a friend pulled me out of it and we managed to settle things, but the grudge is definitely still there!"
"Is that even a question...? This guy is a typical bully." After a slight pause, Brother Ping asked me, still somewhat puzzled, "Since you've already settled this matter, why don't you just focus on running your profitable seaside inn in Longkan? Why do you have to come to Jiulongju, this godforsaken place, and meddle in it?"
I laughed and replied, "You really are living in your secluded Jiulongju, oblivious to what's happening outside... Don't you know that a huge integrated project combining a hotel and a water park has been built over in Longkan?"
"I really didn't know about this!"
As I smoked, I said, "Our guesthouse is located right on the same site as this project, so it'll definitely be demolished before the New Year... You know, if this way of making money is cut off, I'll definitely have to find something else to do. I can't starve to death in Dali, right?"
Brother Ping nodded and replied, "You've really shown great perseverance... It's a pity that fate didn't give you food, otherwise it would be great to have a nice seaside inn to run... Seaside inns are doing so well these days!"
I looked up into the blinding sunlight and gazed at the world beyond Jiulongju, but I didn't say anything to Brother Ping... In my heart, fate is a powerful hand; when it really wants to change you, you have no power to resist. Although I also know how much benefit I would gain if this seaside inn could continue to operate.
Brother Ping seemed to sense my disappointment, so he poured me another cup of hot tea, gesturing for me to warm up first; then, he said to me, "Brother, if I may ask, who was the person who ran your inn back then?"
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