While Chen Jin was trying his best to get Lu Jia and me to rekindle our relationship, I felt lost. I silently smoked a cigarette before saying to him, "I know you mean well, but please don't give me too much advice on matters of the heart... I think things are fine as they are now, so why let a relationship interfere with my career, which is just getting on track?"
“I’ve never thought there’s any conflict between love and career. Besides, Lu Jia is really a woman who can help you in your career… Don’t forget, it was she who brought the business to Jiulongju in the first place, which allowed us to take advantage of that opportunity and get off to such a good start!”
I looked at Chen Jin for a long time before replying, "Can you stop trying to lead me astray and let me think normally?"
"Put your hand on your heart and tell me, which of my words wasn't the truth? How did it become that I misled you?"
"Not every truth in this world is correct... You've only seen part of my life; you have no idea what burdens I carry... If you truly consider me a brother, please don't try to advise me on these things... I desperately need space right now because there are so many things I haven't figured out, and I don't want to spend the rest of my life in regret... This is how I feel right now, do you understand?"
Chen Jin and I looked at each other, then he smiled helplessly and replied, "Why do you always give people the feeling that you have energy but can't use it?..." He paused for a moment, then continued with deep emotion, "Actually, I'm really envious of you! At least you have a woman by your side who truly loves you... As for me? I seem to never be idle, but it's all just playing around... Yes, everyone thinks I live a carefree life surrounded by women, but only I know how empty I feel inside!"
"So whether a person is good or bad is not something that can be persuaded, but rather something that can be chosen... You should understand my pain better than anyone else, because lost feelings cannot be made up for by replacement... And these are all things you are going through in a frenzy."
Chen Jin was speechless. He certainly hadn't expected that after all his efforts to persuade me, he would get a result that touched a nerve in his heart.
I spoke to him again, saying, "Let's not talk about this anymore, let's talk about something practical..."
Chen Jin lit a cigarette, squinted, and replied, "Go ahead."
"It's still about our studio. I want to make some adjustments to the operational direction in the next phase... Right now, the studio has a lot of cash in its accounts, and I don't want that cash to sit idle. So when you're negotiating business later, if you encounter homeowners who are in a hurry for money or who don't have much confidence in Jiulongju, just talk to them about the purchase contract in the name of the studio."
Chen Jin looked at me with some surprise: "Are you planning to buy some of the shops?"
"Yes, we can buy a few units first, take out loans from the bank, and then use financial leverage to amplify the investment results..."
"Isn't this a bit risky?... We're doing a business that's guaranteed to make money, and we've made quite a bit of money... If we lock up our funds in these shops, coupled with very high loan costs, I'm afraid that if we encounter any unforeseen circumstances, our cash flow will dry up."
I calmly replied, "The reason I'm only bringing this up now is because I feel the time is right... We are the 'operators' of this commercial street, and we should understand its prospects better than anyone else. The shops here are bound to appreciate in value... And don't forget, the shops on this commercial street also have residential attributes. The housing market in Dali has already exploded to this extent. Even if we didn't manage this commercial street, it would appreciate in value sooner or later. The reason it hasn't appreciated yet is because most investors still view these properties as commercial properties... And the awakening of market and investment value takes time... If we can get ahead of others in this process, we will ultimately benefit."
Chen Jin swallowed subconsciously, appearing both nervous and excited.
I then said to him, "Suppose we have the property rights to ten shops, each worth one million. But after we manage them, the value of these shops triples or even more. Then we choose the most opportune time to sell all of them. How much do you think we would earn in this process?"
"After deducting costs, a net profit of 20 million?"
I nodded and said to him with certainty, "It's 20 million."
Chen Jin took a deep breath and asked again, "Are you confident you can triple the value of these shops?"
I laughed: "Three times is just a conservative estimate. The investment nature of shops is different from that of ordinary housing. The investment value of ordinary housing is relatively stable, while the value of shops varies. Once things get crazy, it's not impossible for it to increase tenfold..." I paused for a moment, then continued: "Take the hottest Renmin Road as an example; 6 years ago, before Dali Old Town had taken off, Zhejiang real estate speculators could rent a 100-square-meter shop on Renmin Road for 30,000 yuan a year; the market price for the same size shop now is about 400,000 yuan a year. How many times do you think that's increased?"
"More than thirteen times!"
"Yes, now there's such a big cake in front of you, it's just a matter of whether you have the appetite and the courage to take a bite."
Chen Jin wiped his face heavily with both hands, and after a long while asked me, "Can you tell me, did this idea come to you on a whim, or did you have it all along?"
“I’ve had this idea for a long time… I had it when I first started setting up the studio. I just told you about it, but the reason I haven’t brought it up yet is because the timing wasn’t right… I’m not a dreamer, and I don’t like to realize value by making empty promises. What I can discuss with you is definitely something that has been carefully considered and has been rationally assessed in the market.”
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