Yi Anguo had not expected his sister-in-law to pull such a stunt. Wasn't this a bit too cruel, too much of a blow to that guy? What if he can't handle it and just collapses! But then again, it might be for the best. Men need to experience heartache, to be rejected by a woman at least once, to love without reciprocation, in order to mature. Only then can they be more rational when dealing with emotional issues in the future. So, the setback he faced today wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

With this thought in mind, Yi Anguo felt entirely justified as he drove his car, taking his sister-in-law, Li Shanshan, away from the Shenzhen University campus.

In the car, Li Shanshan felt rather shy for having taken the initiative to kiss Yi Anguo. It was an impulsive act at the moment and didn't seem like much then, but looking back now, she felt she might have been a little too bold. This is my brother-in-law, after all. If my sister found out that I kissed her husband in front of so many people, she would probably scold me to death. Li Shanshan now felt quite embarrassed, as if she couldn't face anyone. She didn't even dare to look Yi Anguo in the eye, let alone chat with him.

"Ahem! You'd better not blab about what just happened in front of your elder sister," Yi Anguo said. Although he also felt embarrassed and awkward, some things needed to be cleared up. "It was you who kissed me forcefully, not me initiating it."

If Li Sisi found out, he wanted to be the one in the right; the fault would not lie with him.

"Brother-in-law! I'm not stupid. How could I possibly tell my sister something like that?" Li Shanshan replied. "Besides, even though I initiated it, you then..."

"I just couldn't help but open my mouth a little, and you seized the opportunity to slip in. Can you blame me for that?" Yi Anguo said helplessly. "I'm a normal man, not a eunuch. And even if I were, that wouldn't affect kissing, right?"

"Stop talking! You're still going on about it! You clearly did it on purpose." Unable to contain her shame and anger, Li Shanshan threw a few soft punches at Yi Anguo, though she didn't have the heart to hit him with any real force. It was a tickle at most.

"Hey! Stop messing around, I'm driving!" Yi Anguo said quickly. "I don't want to die in this car with you and become a pair of ill-fated lovers. Think about how sad your sister would be!"

...

After their little squabble, the atmosphere actually improved and became less awkward.

Regarding the second mortgage, Yi Anguo arranged for Chen Hong and Wang Bing, the two managers from the property agency, to follow up on it. Zhuo Weidong would also send someone to assist, mainly to handle the bank's revaluation of the properties to determine the maximum loan amount.

Although property prices had seemingly doubled, in reality, they hadn't, because the initial mortgage was already based on valuations of 6,400 and 6,500 yuan per square meter. The new valuation could add at most another 2,500 yuan per square meter. However, with 1,570 properties totaling somewhere between 170,000 and 180,000 square meters, the revaluation would increase their worth by four to five hundred million yuan. Even if they couldn't borrow the full amount, they could get at least three hundred million yuan. After paying back the ninety million yuan owed to the developer, there would still be over two hundred million yuan left, which was sufficient for now.

However, the future rental income would be far from enough to cover the mortgage payments. They would need to supplement it with about 1.5 million yuan each month, amounting to over eighteen million yuan a year.

The property management company was also swiftly handed over. After Yi Anguo successfully took charge, he didn't immediately change the existing management team. He did, however, hold a meeting for all staff, emphasizing a new policy: the capable would be promoted, and the incompetent demoted. Everything would depend on performance. Those who performed well could move up, while those who performed poorly would have to step down.

Another point of order was to rectify the previously lax work ethic and prohibit unauthorized private fees. If an owner filed a complaint that was verified by an investigation, the consequences would be severe. Serious offenders would be dismissed, while minor ones would have to apologize and compensate the owners, especially for any financial losses incurred.

Furthermore, he addressed the recruitment of security personnel for the community. Priority must be given to actual military veterans. Even if not veterans, recruits had to be young and physically fit, not weak and old. Otherwise, who would be protecting whom?

The existing security personnel also had to undergo a re-evaluation. Those who were qualified could stay, while the unqualified would be moved to logistical roles like cleaning if possible. If no suitable position could be found, they would be let go, even if it meant paying two months' salary as severance. This policy had to be resolutely enforced.

Yi Anguo immediately placed a recruitment ad in the newspaper, offering high salaries for a group of highly qualified veterans. He preferred seasoned soldiers who knew combat skills, not just ordinary conscripts who had only served their mandatory three years. The salary could be high, but their abilities and quality had to match; otherwise, there was no point. Civilians with martial arts training were also welcome, but they had to obey orders and follow commands. Like the other veteran guards, they were expected to participate in daily basic training and foster unity within the team, not act like lone wolves.

What's the use of hiring someone who refuses to follow orders and insists on doing things their own way, no matter how skilled they are? That would be like hiring a master to boss you around.

Blue Coast was a large community that required significant management. Yi Anguo discussed with Zhuo Weidong the possibility of taking over all the unsold commercial shops, buying them outright to simplify management. After all, buying them wouldn't be a loss, and they would generate rental income every year.

The prices of the shops were already somewhat inflated. Although housing prices had risen considerably, shop prices had not followed suit.

Zhuo Weidong was in dire need of capital, so of course, he had no objections. The more capital he could get, the better; no amount seemed to be enough to satisfy his appetite. Yi Anguo's willingness to buy the shops that were only leased out, not sold, was essentially helping him recover funds. He couldn't have been happier, so why would he object?

Although Yi Anguo couldn't offer a very high price, the price he proposed was quite reasonable. Business and personal relationships were two different things. While friendships often played a role in business, deals were fundamentally based on mutual benefit. No one would make a losing deal just for the sake of friendship. However, when a good relationship exists, it's normal to offer a small discount or some favorable terms. Otherwise, what's the point of having connections? Why would anyone bother making friends?

If he didn't consider their relationship, Yi Anguo could have simply waited until the agreed-upon deadline to repay the developer's ninety million yuan, and Zhuo Weidong would have been powerless to do anything about it.

But relationships are built over time. Initially, Zhuo Weidong helped Yi Anguo simply to use him to quickly recoup his own capital. As for whether Yi Anguo could actually repay the bank loans after buying the properties—whether he sank or swam—Zhuo Weidong certainly couldn't be bothered with that.

Of course, Yi Anguo, with his own prescient vision, was perfectly willing to be used by Zhuo Weidong. In turn, he leveraged Zhuo Weidong's connections and power to achieve his own goal of gaining substantial assets from thin air. Not only did he end up with over a thousand properties to his name, but he also had tens of millions of yuan deposited into his bank account.

From then on, his path became smooth sailing. His fortunes reversed, and he quickly became a wealthy man, living in a mansion, driving a luxury car, and enjoying an affluent lifestyle. By collecting rent and playing the stock market, his net worth began to soar along with the continuous rise in property values.

Although they had used each other, as time went on, Zhuo Weidong came to value Yi Anguo more and more. Soon, they began a second collaboration, and then a third, and Yi Anguo's wealth continued to grow steadily.

If the growth in wealth had come solely from the appreciation of property values, Zhuo Weidong wouldn't have been too surprised. That would just mean Yi Anguo had strong financial luck, with good fortune playing the primary role. However, when Zhuo Weidong discovered that beyond the wealth from his properties, Yi Anguo was hiding another enormous fortune of two hundred million yuan, he was utterly shocked.

At the same time, he began to take Yi Anguo even more seriously.

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