The landlord's eyes lit up when he heard what Jin Xia said!
Two million six hundred thousand would be enough to pay off his gambling debts, with six hundred thousand left over...
Money was certainly good, but could this little brat, who was barely old enough to have grown any hair, really come up with that much?
"Who are you trying to fool? If you really had money, would you be renting my little single room? Don't think I don't know what you're scheming. You just want to team up with the agent and get a house out of me without paying a penny, don't you?"
He sat in the chair with his legs crossed and gave a smug grin. "Unless you show me the money first."
"I'll transfer all two million six hundred thousand to the agency as security. Sign the contract with the agent first, then execute a gift agreement transferring the property to me. Once everything's signed, the money goes straight to you."
Jin Xia wasted no more words. She knew this landlord well enough.
The man's character was rotten to the core!
What if the landlord came to his senses in a moment, realized she had money to spare, and decided to raise the price on the spot...
The agent picked up her phone and opened the account. "Ms. Jin has already transferred the full amount into our company account. So... are you still selling the house?"
"Yes!"
The landlord gritted his teeth!
The thought of his creditors hounding him, and even giving him a final ultimatum that they would break his legs if he failed to repay them within three days, instantly sent a chill down his spine. After all, those lenders cared about money, not lives. How could he stand up to them at his age?
Jin Xia waved a hand, signaling for the property agent to get the agreement ready.
The agent promptly handed over the agreement and contract she had drafted in advance.
Jin Xia had not expected everything to go even more smoothly than she had imagined. She signed the documents and completed the formalities almost in one go.
As she was leaving, she glanced back at the bald bastard of a landlord. "Oh, right. You have one day to pack up and leave, or else-"
Jin Xia pointed at the agreement in her hand. It contained an additional clause: if he failed to move out within twenty-four hours, he would be deemed to have abandoned everything inside the house, and she would have the right to dispose of it as she pleased.
The landlord had already received the two million six hundred thousand. Now his lips curled upward with delight, and he had become considerably friendlier. "Young lady, you should've told me you were a rich heiress slumming it to experience ordinary life... If anything I did before made you uncomfortable, let me apologize. Be the bigger person and overlook my faults. Please don't take them to heart."
Jin Xia gave a wicked smile and said calmly, "Of course."
As she watched the landlord hurry away with his phone tucked away, the smile tugging at her lips deepened.
The landlord rushed home, and the first thing he did was grab his wife and tell her to pack up so they could make a run for it. "Honey, let's get out of here. Once we leave Haicheng, no one will know who we are. Those loans they gave me were usurious. I asked a lawyer-there's no law protecting usurious loans!"
The woman gave him a cold, disdainful glance. "The property agent said two point six million, and you actually sold it for two million six hundred thousand? Didn't you know to haggle a little more?"
Before the landlord could say anything, someone kicked the wooden door open.
Police officers stormed inside. The officer in front first glanced at the landlord's wife, then checked the information on his phone. "Are you Fan Lifang?"
She nodded, and before she could process what was happening, someone had pinned her arms. "Hey, what are you doing? What's this supposed to mean?"
The officer gave the landlord and his wife a cold look. "We've received reports from members of the public that you're suspected of illegally operating a gambling establishment involving an enormous sum of money! Take them away!"
The police found eight mahjong tables upstairs, along with a large pile of chips.
At first, the landlord still tried to deny wrongdoing and clear his name, sitting in the police station and arguing incessantly. "It was just entertainment for us old folks, ten or twenty yuan at a time. How does that count as gambling?"
Unfortunately, the police pulled up the transaction records on his phone and pointed at the balance of over two million in his bank account, reprimanding him harshly. "You call this small stakes? If it was small stakes, where did these two million-plus yuan come from?"
Now the landlord had no way to defend himself. He said it was money from selling the house, but unfortunately...
The property title transfer formalities had not yet been fully completed.
The police went by the facts alone: he was a retired employee, yet a huge sum of over two million had suddenly entered his account!
On top of that, it was an indisputable fact that the landlord had gathered people to gamble in a rented residential house.
In the end, he was sentenced to eight years in prison, and the entire two million six hundred thousand was confiscated by the state...
When Jin Xia returned to the urban village again, it was because she had received a demolition notice.
At this juncture, the landlord and his wife had both been taken into detention, leaving neither of them any opportunity to get involved in the house's demolition.
Jin Xia led the staff inside to take measurements. As she looked around the foul, smoke-filled house, the landlord's family portrait was still hanging in the entry living room on the first floor.
She felt not the slightest ripple inside.
It was true that she had snatched away the landlord's family's chance to strike it rich, but that was only because the bald old bastard had been far too infuriating!
"Our measurements show that the usable area matches the property certificate: eight hundred and twenty-five square meters. Here is the assessment document. As the current property owner, once you sign this agreement, the demolition compensation will be transferred into your account within a month."
The staff member explained everything to her in an orderly manner. Jin Xia nodded with a knowing smile.
After handling all the demolition-related matters, she called the property agent again. "How's the house search I asked you to do coming along?"
Having seen how generously Jin Xia spent, the agent was even more efficient this time.
In just three days, she had found an old Western-style house that met her requirements.
Although the house was getting on in years, the residential complex-or, more accurately, the community-had quite a pedigree. It was Haicheng's only American-style residential community. The nearby residents were all prominent figures with high standards of conduct, and most importantly, it was relatively close to Haicheng University.
Since Jin Xia had decided to live this life over again, use the money she had to build her financial empire through legitimate channels, and stop depending on others, she would have to make a complete change!
She hung up, glanced at the pictures sent through the QQ chat window, and nodded in satisfaction before quickly replying, "Then let's go with this house. I'll meet the owner tomorrow."
The agent replied almost instantly, "All right, Miss Jin Xia. Please contact me if you need anything at all."
Jin Xia wandered aimlessly down the street. With her accommodation settled, she still had no vehicle to get around in.
She went to a luxury car dealership and chose an extremely understated Alphard, then hired herself a driver online while she was at it.
From buying the car to interviewing the driver, only an hour had passed by the time she finished everything.
An He sat in the driver's seat and looked at Jin Xia with some awkwardness. "H-how should I address you? Would Miss Jin Xia be all right?"
Jin Xia's delicate brows knitted slightly, and she replied softly, "Just call me Xia."
Being called "Miss" always gave her a strange feeling.
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