Buying a big villa!

"How much is this one?" Chi Qing asked.

"When the owner bought it, the unfinished property cost three million. And this is no exaggeration-he spent nearly two million on the renovations. The property market isn't doing well now, and he urgently needs money, so he's selling the whole package for 4.5 million, taking a loss of 500,000. Of course, if you factor in the cost of tying up that money, the loss is actually far greater," the young agent said. "Everything you can see inside, all the furniture and appliances, is included at no extra charge. You really can move straight in with just your bags."

"All right. When can we sign?" "If you really think it's too expensive, I can talk to the owner again..." The young agent and Chi Qing spoke almost simultaneously.

"What? What did you say?" The young man almost thought he had misheard. No haggling? What was going on? Had I heard that right? How had we jumped straight to signing?

"I said that works. I really like the house, and the price is fine. When would the owner be available to sign?" Chi Qing said.

"Ah, yes, just a moment. Let me contact the owner." Chi Qing had caught the young agent a little off guard. "Oh, may I ask whether you're planning to take out a mortgage or pay in full? The owner has a mortgage on this house, so that will need to be paid off first for the sale to go through." Gathering his thoughts, the young agent hurried to ask for the crucial information.

"I'll pay in full. The soonest I can make a partial payment is today, and I can pay the balance tomorrow," Chi Qing added.

"Great, great! That's wonderful!" The young agent was delighted. It looked as though his commission was secured before the New Year. This house had been difficult to sell because the renovations were so expensive. Since the owner urgently needed money, he had specifically raised the commission from 1% to 2%. A sale at 4.5 million would mean a commission of 90,000, minus the company's 20% cut. My God, I hardly dare imagine it! What kind of dogshit luck have I stumbled into?

With that thought, the young agent dared not hesitate and quickly called the owner, Zhang Tong. Since Cloud City was a tourist city, and this development mainly consisted of luxury holiday homes, very few people came to view properties in winter.

Ever since Zhang Tong had listed the house, even the agents had rarely called him. With the end of the year approaching, his company was at its peak demand for funds. Over the past few days, the finance department's constant requests for money had left Zhang Tong considering whether to slash another 500,000 off the price and sell it at a crushing loss, but he really could not bear to.

"Mr. Zhang, do you have time today? Can you come over to sign? Oh, this is Xiao Zhou, the agent!" As soon as he answered, he heard the young man on the other end babbling excitedly.

"Sign? Oh, sign." Zhang Tong did not register it at first. "Wait, sign? What did you say? The house at Imperial Villa Bay?" Zhang Tong suddenly grew excited.

"I have time. I can be there right away!" Zhang Tong sprang to his feet and was about to rush out, then stopped. "Wait, has someone viewed the house? We haven't even discussed the price. How are we already signing? Did you call the wrong number?" At that possibility, Zhang Tong felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, chilling him to the core, with none of the uplifting refreshment.

"No, Mr. Zhang, it's definitely your house. I'm here at your property right now. Someone came to view it today and liked it straightaway. She'll pay your listed price, in full. If you have time, please hurry over."

The agent, Xiao Zhou, had finally straightened out his thoughts. He hurried to explain everything clearly to Zhang Tong and urged him to come quickly. Buying a house depended on impulse. If this lady went home and calmed down, who knew how things might stand tomorrow? He could not let this cooked duck fly away.

At that moment, Chi Qing, the cooked duck in Xiao Zhou's mind, was wandering around looking at the house. The more she looked, the more satisfied she became. All right, there was no need to worry. This duck definitely would not be flying away.

Once Xiao Zhou confirmed it, Zhang Tong immediately grabbed the relevant documents and sped all the way to the agency. What incredible luck! No wonder the master said a benefactor would help me this month. And here she is! Now Zhang Tong's spirits really were soaring.

When he arrived at the agency and saw that Chi Qing was the only buyer there, Zhang Tong was a little surprised. For something as major as buying a house, wouldn't the whole family usually turn out? When he had bought this house, his entire family had viewed it over and over, compared it with several others, and he had nearly had a fight with his wife before they finally decided.

But never mind that. Whoever paid was king. With the agency acting as witness, the two parties quickly signed the sale agreement, and Chi Qing transferred all of today's 2.46 million to the agency's third-party escrow platform.

Only once the money arrived did Zhang Tong and Xiao Zhou finally relax. Mainly, Chi Qing was so unconventional that both men had been afraid she was acting on a whim and might suddenly change her mind halfway through.

"Miss Chi, thank you so much. I really have been short of funds lately. Otherwise, I honestly couldn't bear to sell this house. To tell you the truth, I was agonizing today over whether to lower the price," Zhang Tong said frankly after signing the contract. He was an honest man.

Chi Qing nearly burst out laughing. "Haha, Mr. Zhang, aren't you worried I'll back out after hearing you were going to lower the price?" Zhang Tong took it in stride, but Xiao Zhou's scalp tightened. "Haha, don't worry. Your house is worth this price. I'm the one getting a bargain buying it for this much," Chi Qing said with a laugh.

"I'm probably a few years older than you. If you don't mind, just call me Brother Zhang. If you have any problems with the house later, you can contact me anytime." Usually, once a house was sold, that was the end of it. Sellers generally disliked having too much contact with buyers, to avoid disputes down the road.

But who was Zhang Tong? He was a seasoned old hand who had spent years making his way in the world. One look at how Chi Qing handled things told him she was generous and straightforward. There was no harm in being on good terms with her.

"Sure, Brother Zhang. Just call me Qingqing. Once I move in, there probably will be a few things I'll need to ask you about." Chi Qing did not stand on ceremony either, and the two added each other on WeChat.