With the test results in hand, Lu Jia and I returned to the apartment we rented near the hospital and shared the good news with Lao Mi and my mom… Especially my mom, who was incoherent and tearful… I understand that feeling all too well; it's like being given a second chance at life, and you want to cherish everything.
At this moment, I feel that I have a new understanding of this world. Some things that I couldn't let go of before, I feel that I can let go of now; and things that I didn't want to pursue before seem precious now.
That afternoon, we took Lao Mi to the ward; the next day, based on the examination results, the attending physician gave a treatment plan of chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy.
Old Mi has officially entered the treatment phase.
The treatment process was very painful because chemotherapy caused many adverse reactions. Old Mi started losing his hair and vomiting... and radiotherapy left large areas of trauma on his body... But this was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune, at least there was still hope for him to live.
...
About ten days later, Lao Mi completed the first phase of treatment. There are four more phases to go, during which he will rest for a few days to give his body a chance to recover.
I'm also planning to take advantage of this break to go back to Dali.
During my absence, some unpleasant things happened in Jiulongju: some real estate agencies started to infiltrate the area, renting shops from some owners at low prices and then subletting them at high prices... For them, as long as there is profit to be made, they completely disregard the quality of the tenants.
Because of their unscrupulous practices, a barbecue vendor recently came to Jiulongju... Every day, a lot of garbage is generated in their shop, and they don't clean it up in time, which has seriously affected the overall hygiene image of Jiulongju.
We are also helpless about this. After all, our studio is not an official organization, and we have no right to stop those owners from renting their shops to intermediaries, who then profit from the difference.
However, I really hate this short-sighted behavior. These owners who bypass our studio and only care about their immediate interests will definitely ruin the environment of Jiulongju again. Not only will they suffer losses, but the value of the shops we have hoarded will also be greatly reduced... In addition, our initial investment in advertising and promotion, as well as labor costs, will all be wasted.
Their reason for doing this was simply because we didn't pay them rent in the first year, while the real estate agents would pay them a small amount. But they couldn't see how much we did for Jiulongju with the money we saved on rent. Without our initial investment, how could those real estate agents have rented these shops from them?
I am very disappointed with human nature.
...
As evening approached, I flew from Chengdu to Dali, where Chen Jin picked me up at the airport. On the way back to the studio, we discussed the matter, and I asked him, "What's the current situation on the commercial street?"
Chen Jin sighed first, then replied, "One word: 'chaos'... I don't know what those idiot owners were thinking... They rent their shops to those real estate agents, and these agents only care about making money. Do they have any sense of responsibility about the overall environment of the commercial street?... Damn it, when Jiulongju was lifeless, no one cared... Now that it's lively, they're starting to shamelessly come here to make money... How can these people be so damn stupid?!"
After pausing briefly, he continued, "I really hope the relevant departments can give us authorization to let our studio do the overall planning for this commercial street... If they continue to play this game without any bottom line, Jiulongju will be ruined sooner or later... I heard that in a couple of days, a foot massage parlor and a KTV are going to move in. They're really going to turn this street into a red-light district!"
"Granting authorization is impractical... Let's think of another way."
"What other options are there? ... The property rights are in their hands, and we have no right to interfere with their buying and selling activities."
I quickly weighed the options in my mind and then said to Chen Jin, "Let's launch another round of intensive advertising. This time, let's change the focus of the promotion and highlight the investment value of Jiulongju... There are several very successful WeChat public accounts in Dali, right? Most of their followers are people who have settled in Dali from other places. They have plenty of money and investment needs... Once their funds come in, we'll quickly sell off the shops we have."
Is it reliable?
"It's not a big problem... The real estate agents have their eyes on Jiulongju now, which is a bad thing, but actually a good thing... In order to make more money, they will definitely exaggerate the investment value of Jiulongju to their clients. You can reveal our case of buying shops at low prices and selling them at high prices to them, and then let them promote it... The value of shops in Jiulongju will soon reach a high point... We just need to seize the opportunity to sell."
Chen Jin nodded, and after a moment of silence, he said, "You're already prepared to give up on Jiulongju, aren't you?"
I replied in a low voice, “This is our hard work, I don’t want to give up… but human nature really can’t withstand the test… Actually, when we were preparing to develop Jiulongju, I knew this day would come, but I didn’t expect it to come so soon… I thought that if we put our heart into it and let the homeowners see our sincerity and achievements, they would trust us. But, with just this little bit of profit in front of them, they lost their resistance… What value does our sincerity have then?… Heh, we can change the market, but we don’t have the ability to change human nature… I’m quite disappointed!”
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
