infodatos Chapter 7: My relatives mocked me for being spineless, so I promptly bought an unfinished building o
Chapter 7: My relatives mocked me for being spineless, so I promptly bought an unfinished building o
Uncle Lin wandered around the internet cafe with his hands behind his back, like an old rooster patrolling its territory.
He looked at the holographic panels on the wall that hadn't lit up yet and let out a cold snort.
"Lin Xian, you can't make it in the big city, fine, but you're taking your compensation money back to the village and buying this piece of junk?"
"Even a junk collector wouldn't want a place like this, and you expect to find a wife here?"
Lin Hai twirled the BMW car key in his hand rapidly, the clanging of metal particularly jarring in the quiet hall.
He tugged at his suit jacket, which still had loose threads, and held his chin high.
"Cousin, you have to accept your fate. Don't waste your meager skills."
"Brother, I just made a down payment in the city center and bought a 90-square-meter three-bedroom apartment."
"Although I have to pay 6,000 yuan in mortgage every month, I'm still a city dweller, unlike you, a rural drifter."
The middle-aged women watching the commotion outside immediately began to exclaim in admiration.
"Wow, Lin Hai is a good kid. He's already bought a big house in the city."
"Of course, Lin Xian's life is ruined. He can only make a living by staying in this dilapidated internet cafe."
Lin Xian sat in the ergonomic chair, not even glancing at the father and son.
He was directing Mu Xiaotian to sort and arrange the top-tier specialty drinks on the bar counter.
Mu Xiaotian, clutching several bottles of chilled drinks, secretly rolled her eyes at Lin Hai.
When Xia Anran heard others talking about Lin Xian like that, she was so angry that her cheeks puffed up like two little steamed buns.
She was about to step forward to argue when Lin Xian grabbed her wrist.
"Why bother arguing with two beggars' chickens? It's just beneath you."
Lin Xian stroked his chin and looked around the several hundred square meters of internet cafe.
The place is quite large, but it would be unfair to these beautiful young women to have Su Qinghan, Xia Anran, and the others all squeezed into it.
He opened his phone's contacts, found a number with the nickname "Old Li from the County Town," and dialed it.
Old Li was the biggest real estate developer in Qingshui County. A few years ago, he overextended himself and messed things up. His cash flow dried up and he almost jumped off a building.
The phone was answered after only one ring, and Old Li's obsequious voice came through the receiver.
"Oh, Young Master Lin, what brings you here to call me?"
Lin Xian leaned back in his chair, his long legs crossed and resting on the edge of the computer desk.
"I heard you have a housing project that's been abandoned for three years, what's it called, Century Mansion?"
Old Li was stunned for a moment on the other end of the phone, his heart skipped a beat.
"There is such a run-down place, right in the center of the county town. Young Master Lin, why are you asking about it?"
Lin Xian picked at his fingernails, his tone as calm as if he were buying cabbage at the market.
"How much? I'll take it all."
The entire internet cafe lobby fell into a deathly silence.
Uncle Lin froze as he was cleaning his ears, his little finger still stuck in his ear canal.
The BMW key in Lin Hai's hand fell to the ground with a "clatter," cracking open.
The sunflower seeds in the hands of the older women outside the door all fell onto their shoes.
Old Li on the other end of the phone was breathing heavily, and his voice was trembling.
"Young Master Lin, please don't make fun of someone like me who's almost bankrupt. Those are seven 30-story residential buildings!"
Lin Xian yawned, seemingly losing patience with the phone call.
"One price, 500 million. Deliver the contract to the internet cafe within three minutes. If it's even a second late, I don't want it."
"make a deal!"
"Young Master Lin, you're like my own grandfather! I'll send you there by rocket!"
After hanging up the phone, Lin Xian casually tossed his phone onto the table.
Uncle Lin's facial muscles twitched violently as he looked at Lin Xian as if he were a lunatic.
"Are you crazy? Five hundred million?"
"Even if you boil the bones into soup, you still wouldn't sell it for 50,000 yuan!"
Lin Hai, bracing his weak legs, picked up the car keys from the ground to bolster his courage.
"Keep pretending, let's see what you're going to use to pay later!"
Just then, a sharp police siren suddenly sounded outside the internet cafe.
Old Li, riding in a police car specially approved by the county government, ran three red lights and stumbled in, clutching a stack of contracts.
He knelt down in front of Lin Xian with a thud, holding up the equity transfer document high with both hands.
"Grandpa Lin, if you sign this, that unfinished building and the land it occupies will all be yours!"
Lin Xian took the pen and signed his name in a flourish.
The system's mechanical voice sounded in my mind at just the right moment.
"Ding! Detection indicates that the host has completed a large-scale property purchase. Funds have been automatically deducted and a legitimate transaction record has been generated."
Lin Xian tossed the contract to Old Li, who was covered in sweat.
"Tomorrow I'll find a construction team to level that place; I want to turn it into a luxury staff dormitory."
"And while we're at it, let's build a rooftop garden with a deep-sea hot spring, so my girls can live more comfortably."
Old Li kowtowed repeatedly, agreeing each time before leaving.
Uncle Lin and his son were completely dumbfounded, their minds buzzing.
That's 500 million yuan in cash flow! Even the county magistrate has to be very polite to this developer, but now he's kneeling down to Lin Xian.
Lin Hai thought of the small 90-square-meter apartment he had just bragged about, which he had taken out a loan for, and now he wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground.
Others buy seven buildings like they're buying cabbages, while I have to work for the bank for free for thirty years.
His prized BMW was nothing more than a cog in the machine compared to Lin Xian's wealth.
Lin Xian turned his head and looked at the father and son with a half-smile.
"Who just said my life is ruined?"
Uncle Lin swallowed hard, his face turning a deep purplish-red, unable to utter a single word.
His pitiful self-esteem was crushed to nothing by this 500 million contract.
Lin Hai lowered his head, no longer daring to even glance at Lin Xian, and tugged at his father's clothes as he retreated towards the door.
"Brother Xian... we have other matters to attend to, so we won't bother you any longer."
Like stray dogs, the father and son pushed through the crowd of onlookers and slunk away from the internet cafe.
The way the middle-aged women outside looked at Lin Xian completely changed, their eyes now gleaming with the light of hungry wolves.
"Wow, I knew Lin Xian was going to be successful! He's a tycoon with 500 million yuan in assets so easily!"
"Hey kid, my daughter just graduated from college this year. How about she comes over to make your bed tonight?"
"Young Master Lin, don't you think my second daughter is pretty? She'd be happy to be your foot-massaging maid!"
Lin Xian rolled his eyes and told Mu Xiaotian to kick the group of crazy middle-aged women out.
Mu Xiaotian waved the broom, slamming the door shut with a deafening roar, all the while cursing under her breath.
"Get out of my way, everyone. Only I can cling to the boss!"
Xia Anran cupped her face in her hands, her eyes filled with undisguised admiration.
"Lin Xian, are you really going to use all those houses as employee dormitories?"
Lin Xian leaned back in his chair, looking at the flowing lines of light on the ceiling.
"Of course, from now on you can each choose one building, and the rest can be demolished and turned into harem pools."
Xia Anran blushed and turned her head away, pretending to tidy up the mouse and keyboard on the table.
Just then, the screen of Lin Xian's phone on the table lit up.
A bank transfer notification popped up, indicating that the transaction fees for the unfinished building project had been settled.
Just as Lin Xian was about to pick up his phone, the sound of screeching brakes suddenly came from the street outside the internet cafe.
A white Mercedes-Benz G-Class parked arrogantly next to Lin Xian's hover pickup truck.
The car door was forcefully pushed open from the inside, and a foot wearing a limited edition red-soled high heel stepped onto the mottled stone pavement.
A tall woman with wavy hair took off her sunglasses and looked around at her surroundings with disdain.
This is Liu Qian, the gold-digging ex-girlfriend who turned around and got into a nouveau riche's car because she thought he was poor.
Liu Qian walked to the entrance of the internet cafe in her high heels, deliberately making her Cartier bracelet on her wrist jingle.
She pinched her nose, looked at Lin Xian sitting in the computer chair, and curled her lips into a mocking smile.
"Hey, haven't seen you in years. You've gotten even more shabby. And now you're working as a network administrator in this run-down place?"