Buying Homes for 20 Million

"Mm, if my brother says we're buying, then we're buying. He spent several hundred million on a few cars, so spending 20 million on two apartments is nothing," Li Xiaoshuang replied calmly.

As Gu Manxiang listened, her eyes slowly widened. From the sound of it, her good friend's brother really was a filthy rich tycoon, and one whose wealth was beyond her comprehension. If he spent several hundred million on cars, wouldn't his net worth have to be over ten billion?

Although the thought left her utterly shocked, she knew her good friend well enough to know she would never make such a boast, so it was all true. With that in mind, she stopped dwelling on it and said to Li Xiaoshuang,

"Then I'll get the contracts. I'll do my best to negotiate whatever discounts I can for you."

Li Xiaoshuang nodded.

"When can we move in after buying these apartments?"

Gu Manxiang, who was getting up to fetch the contracts, stopped in her tracks at Li Rui's question and answered, "The apartments at Xiang River Loulan are all completed and fully finished." They could move in anytime after hiring someone to clean and buying the appliances.

"All right, that works." Li Rui had come out to buy a home today because he wanted to give Yiyi a good environment to recuperate in. These ready-made, fully finished apartments were just right.

As Gu Manxiang passed Liu Wenbin on her way to get the contracts, he caught her by the arm. "Xiao Gu, what's the situation?"

"Director Liu, my friend bought two 240-square-meter full-floor apartments," Gu Manxiang replied with complete confidence.

A gleam flashed through Liu Wenbin's eyes at her answer, and he gave her a thumbs-up. "Well done. Xiao Gu, I always thought you had talent. Keep up the good work. You'll get your bonus and commission."

Gu Manxiang was all smiles at Liu Wenbin's praise, but inwardly she cursed, You skinflint Zhou! You're all smiles when I sell an apartment, but when I don't, you put on that sour face and even dock my pay.

While Gu Manxiang was getting the contracts, the colleague who had chatted with her earlier asked, "Did you close a sale?"

"Yes, two 240-square-meter full-floor apartments," Gu Manxiang answered happily.

"Wow, didn't you say your friend was just coming to hang out with you? You never mentioned having such a rich friend!"

"I didn't expect it either. This friend of mine has a very rich younger brother. She said her brother spent several hundred million just on cars."

Hearing Gu Manxiang's words, several nearby salespeople gathered around.

"Heavens, your friend's brother is that rich? You'd better cling tightly to that thick thigh. Who knows, he might come to you again someday when he wants to buy another home."

"Exactly! Look at you. You were about to have half your 4,000-yuan base salary docked, and now you're definitely this month's sales champion. With commission and bonuses, I reckon you'll get over 70,000."

"I'm so jealous. I might only get my 2,000-yuan base salary this month. Boo-hoo, if only I had a friend that rich."

Leaving her envious colleagues behind, Gu Manxiang returned to the table with a card machine and two contracts, sat down, and carefully calculated the price again for Li Rui and the others.

Since they were on the best floor, the price exceeded the average of 38,000 yuan per square meter. Each 240-square-meter full-floor apartment cost a little over ten million. With the extra amount rounded off, the final payment for both apartments came to 20 million yuan.

Without another word, Li Rui took out his bank card and gestured for Gu Manxiang to enter the amount, then paid 20 million without hesitation. A ding sounded, indicating that the 20-million-yuan card payment had gone through.

Gu Manxiang beamed at the successful payment. A full-floor apartment worth ten million came with a commission of three-tenths of a percent. Two apartments meant 60,000 yuan. How could she not be happy?

After Li Rui paid, an 80-inch color television in the center of the sales hall displayed a message congratulating Mr. Li Rui on paying 20 million yuan in full for his home purchase. Staff members also invited Li Rui and the others over to smash golden eggs and draw prizes.

Meanwhile, a congratulatory message appeared in Gu Manxiang's work group chat: congratulations to Gu Manxiang on closing a 20-million-yuan sale.

Seeing that Gu Manxiang had closed such a huge 20-million-yuan sale, her colleagues all posted congratulations. It was company policy: whenever a colleague closed a sale, everyone had to send a congratulatory message. In private, however, every one of them was red-eyed with envy.

After going through the whole process, Li Rui and Li Xiaoshuang returned to the table and signed their names more than a dozen times under Gu Manxiang's instructions, finally completing the contracts.

Only then did Li Xiaoshuang come back to her senses. Turning to Zhang Huaiyuan, she asked, "We have a home in Star City now?"

Zhang Huaiyuan clasped his wife's slightly trembling hands tightly and nodded firmly. He understood her excitement, and felt even more guilt toward her. He could not even afford an apartment in their small county town. Without this younger brother-in-law, their family might never have been able to afford a decent home in their lifetime, much less an enormous full-floor apartment like this.

"Oh, right, we haven't even seen the apartments yet, have we? Manxiang, take us to have a look." Only now did Li Xiaoshuang realize that she had bought a ten-million-yuan apartment in a daze without even seeing it.

"Sure, I'll take you to see them now."

"No rush, no rush. Have some tea first. This is top-quality Longjing. Come, have a taste." Liu Wenbin, who had been watching from the side all along, saw that the payment and contracts were complete and immediately brought over a tray of tea with a warm smile.

Everyone could only sit down again and taste the tea before setting off to see the apartments. No wonder he had become a director. His attitude before and after was like that of two different people. He could switch his emotions on and off at will, without the slightest hint of awkwardness.

After finishing their tea, everyone followed Gu Manxiang for a few minutes to a 33-story building and took the elevator to the 25th floor.

There were only two apartments on the 25th floor, just right for Li Rui to have one and Li Xiaoshuang the other. The two apartments shared one elevator, with no outsiders to disturb them.

Li Rui did not feel much about this ten-million-yuan full-floor apartment. After all, with the money he now possessed, buying a home was hardly any different from buying a steamed bun.

He still had 9.5 billion in his Agricultural Bank of China account, 20 billion in his China Merchants Bank account, and 77.45 billion in his overseas financial account. Even excluding the 20 billion he had given Lu Yan to develop the Soaring Group, he still had 106.95 billion in cash on hand.

Buying a ten-million-yuan apartment really was hardly any different from an ordinary person buying a steamed bun, leaving Li Rui with little sense of anticipation. Li Xiaoshuang was different. Taking the keys Gu Manxiang handed her, she eagerly opened the door.

Just inside was an enormous living room, a full 50 square meters. With panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows, it looked exceptionally spacious and bright. Even after subtracting the shared building area from the 240 square meters, the actual floor area exceeded 180 square meters, with five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen.

Yiyi, whom Li Rui had been holding all this time, saw the beautiful, spacious home and wriggled free of his arms. She trotted to her mother, hugged Li Xiaoshuang's leg, and asked, "Mommy, is this our new home?"

Li Xiaoshuang looked down into Yiyi's innocent eyes, scooped her up, and kissed her. "Yes, this is Yiyi's home from now on! Uncle bought it for you, so you need to thank him."

Four-year-old Yiyi understood her mother's words: her uncle had bought this big, beautiful home for her. She immediately turned toward Li Rui and called sweetly, "Thank you, Uncle."

Li Rui stepped forward and pinched Yiyi's cheek. "Whatever you want from now on, just tell Uncle. I'll buy it for you."

"Xiao Rui, just keep spoiling her. If you spoil Yiyi rotten and she can't find a husband when she grows up, I'll come looking for you," Li Xiaoshuang joked.

"Haha, sis, my niece will be the little princess of our Li family. An ordinary man won't be able to marry her even if he wants to."

Li Xiaoshuang rolled her eyes at Li Rui and walked to the panoramic windows in the living room. Looking at the beautiful river view, her feelings were indescribably complicated. A full-floor apartment overlooking the river was something she had never dared imagine, yet now she truly owned one. It really felt like a dream, like an illusion.

"Oh, right, sis, these two apartments don't have any appliances yet. Take care of that and buy some. I'll transfer five million to you." Li Rui's words jolted Li Xiaoshuang out of her reflections, and she was just about to refuse.

Li Rui gave Li Xiaoshuang no chance to speak. After a few seconds on his phone, he transferred five million to her.

Seeing the text notification confirming the deposit, Li Xiaoshuang no longer even felt like rolling her eyes. Her younger brother really was a filthy rich tycoon. Five million seemed no different from fifty cents to him.