"I understand your reasoning, but we can't just keep holding onto the properties without selling them, can we? If the properties aren't sold, where will we get the money to repay the bank, let alone bid on land for new developments?" Zhuo Weidong said with a wry smile.

"Then what's there to talk about? If you want to start selling, just pick a day and do it," Yi Anguo said with a laugh.

"My Phase Four is about to go on sale. Don't you have any other ideas?" Zhuo Weidong asked.

"What ideas could I have? Are you expecting me to buy a few hundred more units?" Yi Anguo retorted. "You should keep them and sell them for more money yourself! There's no need to sell them to me on the cheap!"

"Selling them one by one will definitely fetch a higher price, but it's a very slow way to recoup capital. I have my eye on a piece of land in the Futian District city center. I want to test the waters with a commercial real estate project there—build a high-class tower with upscale offices on top and a mall and hotel below," Zhuo Weidong said, shaking his head.

"What's your absolute deadline? The 90 million yuan I borrowed is due at the end of November, but I can pay you back then," Yi Anguo said. "If you're in a real hurry, I can even pay you back in mid-October."

"Ninety million is hardly enough," Zhuo Weidong said, shaking his head.

"If that's not enough, then I can't help you," Yi Anguo said, sounding equally helpless.

Even after paying off the 90 million, he would still have over 100 million in funds, but he had no interest in buying more houses. He needed to prepare his capital to enter the stock market next June or July and make a killing. Countless stocks had soared by forty or fifty times in just over two years. Wouldn't speculating on those be far more rewarding? Why bother with real estate, especially since property speculation didn't have a very good reputation?

It wasn't that he didn't want to help, but the situation was just impossible. The Phase Four apartments hadn't even been handed over. After the handover, they still needed to be decorated and filled with furniture and appliances before they could be rented out. On top of that, the bare-bones units were selling for more than the fully furnished ones in Phases Two and Three. How could he possibly take on such a deal? He knew prices would rise and he'd eventually make a profit, but…

Was he supposed to buy them and just let them sit empty and unrenovated for three years while paying the mortgage? The mortgage payments for three years were no small amount. Although he could afford it, impacting his stock market profits would make it not worth the trouble.

"Brother Yi! If you really want to help, there has to be a way!" Zhuo Weidong said, patting Yi Anguo's shoulder. "Your previous 1,600 units were all mortgaged at a value of 6,400 to 6,500 yuan per square meter. Now, the transaction price for properties in Blue Coast's Phases Two and Three has already risen to 9,000 yuan per square meter. You could take out a second mortgage on them. You should be able to get around 300 million yuan."

"If I do that, my monthly mortgage payments will skyrocket. The rental income won't be enough to cover them," Yi Anguo countered.

Even though housing prices were rising quickly, rents weren't keeping pace. They would definitely go up eventually, but not right away.

"Just hold on for a year, a year and a half. Once the prices have risen enough, you can sell them!" Zhuo Weidong urged. "Look, the price is already at 9,000, but I'll still sell to you at the lowest price of 7,500 yuan per square meter. You could take them off my hands and sell them immediately without losing a thing!"

"Don't try to fool me," Yi Anguo said shrewdly. "First of all, that price is for large, luxury-style units. Your Blue Coast Phase Four is mainly small units, so the price isn't as high as 9,000. When you start selling, you'll be lucky to get 7,500. You won't even touch 8,000."

"Furthermore, you're selling off-plan properties that haven't even been handed over yet. How could they be the same price as fully furnished, move-in-ready homes?"

"I guarantee they'll be delivered fully furnished, ready to move in. And I'll cover the mortgage payments until then. How's that?" Zhuo Weidong said with sincere desperation.

"Still no good. Selling me these small units at 7,500 yuan per square meter is too expensive. 6,000 at the most might be reasonable. The normal price would be around 6,500, maybe 7,000 tops," Yi Anguo stated.

"To be honest, I'd rather not buy any more property. Having so many properties to my name is starting to become a burden. Speculating and hoarding property isn't good for one's reputation, especially when prices are rising this fast. If people found out I own this many places, I'd become a target of envy and resentment.

"I'm pretty content with how things are now. The rent covers the mortgage, so I don't have to worry about a thing. I could take out a second mortgage on these properties, and sure, I could borrow a lot of money, but the pressure would be immense. The monthly mortgage payments would increase drastically. If something unexpected happened and the properties suddenly depreciated, I'd be ruined.

"If it weren't for you, Brother Zhuo—if I didn't know you were a good man who genuinely considers me a friend—I wouldn't even be entertaining the thought of buying more."

Zhuo Weidong nodded. He knew in his heart that Yi Anguo was telling the truth. Although his plan could lead to huge profits if property prices soared, the risks were also immense. If prices were to fall, it would be a disaster.

And it's not like that's impossible. You never know.

As it stood, Yi Anguo had over 1,500 properties, and the rental income easily covered the mortgage payments. He had no need to take such a risk. He was already sitting pretty, making a stable profit of hundreds of thousands a month.

"Brother Yi! I knew I wasn't wrong about you. You're a man of your word."

Zhuo Weidong patted Yi Anguo's shoulder again before suddenly throwing an arm around his neck.

"If you're willing to help your big brother out this one time, I will be truly grateful.

"The price is what you said: 6,000 yuan per square meter. I'll make sure they're delivered to you with high-end furnishings, and I'll cover the mortgage payments until the handover."

After settling their business, they moved on to pleasantries.

"So, your current girlfriend... is she the one who used to sell apartments at our sales office?" Zhuo Weidong asked with a smile.

"Yeah! What about it? Got a problem?" Yi Anguo said smugly.

"You're something else! You come here to buy apartments and end up running off with my salesgirl!" Zhuo Weidong exclaimed, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Speaking of which, you still owe my girlfriend over a million in commission! The commission should have been at least 1.5 million, but you only gave her 300,000. You're a real penny-pinching capitalist!" Yi Anguo said, starting to settle old scores.

"How much of a discount did I give you? If you'd bought those thousand apartments at full price, I wouldn't have just given her 1.5 million in commission—I'd have gladly given her 15 million!" Zhuo Weidong said, exasperated. "Besides, I had no idea she would become your girlfriend! If I'd known, how would I have dared to shortchange her? Tell you what, when you two get married, I'll give you a big red envelope with two million as a wedding gift. How about that?"

"Forget it. Keep it for yourself. It's not like I'm hurting for two million these days," Yi Anguo said dismissively.

"What, you think that's too little?" Zhuo Weidong asked.

"It's not that it's too little. I just don't have any plans to get married right now," Yi Anguo said, shaking his head.

"I see you have a little girl, about three or four. What's the story there? Dumped by an ex-wife?" Zhuo Weidong inquired curiously.

"I've never been married, so I guess you can't call her an ex-wife," Yi Anguo said with a shake of his head. "But she did dump me for another rich guy."

"Do you know where she is? You should find her. Let her see how well you're doing now! Make her regret it so much she comes back crying and begging for you to take her back. Then you can mercilessly dump her so you can get your revenge," Zhuo Weidong suggested, eager to stir the pot.

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