After a thorough overhaul, property management became more standardized. Security guards were on duty twenty-four hours a day at the entrance, preventing unauthorized people from entering or leaving. Homeowners had to present their owner's cards, while renters had to show passes. When tenants moved out, security personnel had to verify it with the homeowner.

This was unlike before, when some tenants had even dared to secretly sell the landlord's TV, refrigerator, and other valuable appliances and furniture, leaving the home empty without the owner's knowledge.

Because renters had to pay a security deposit and sign a contract, the deposit was not refundable—or at least not fully—if they left before the lease expired. Some tenants were well aware of this. They never planned to ask for their deposit back and would simply clear out all the appliances and furniture, causing the landlords to suffer substantial losses.

Yi Anguo had experienced this himself and could only chalk it up to bad luck in the end. This was one of the reasons he held a very poor opinion of the property management department.

In fact, for tenants with special circumstances who needed to terminate their lease early, he would refund part of their deposit as long as their requests weren't excessive and were reasonable. However, he always required them to pay for an additional week of rent.

After all, the original agreement was for a one-year contract. Terminating it midway means you don't get your deposit back. That deposit is essentially your penalty for breach of contract; not charging an additional breach fee is already generous enough. If you suddenly decide you don't want to rent anymore, I need time to find a new tenant, don't I? You could also find another renter and sublet to them directly, in which case I could give you a full refund on your deposit. It's not like subletting is prohibited.

However, some people probably thought that since they were leaving and wouldn't be living there anymore, they definitely wouldn't get the deposit back. Therefore, they would secretly clear out all the valuables in the landlord's house and sell them. After selling everything, not only would they recoup the security deposit, but they might even make a significant profit. These people had already left Shenzhen, so even reporting them to the police wouldn't do much good, as it wasn't considered a major or high-profile crime.

The guards now stationed at the gates were all actual military veterans. Their spirited and impressive demeanor was a refreshing change. Seeing such security, many homeowners felt much more at ease and comfortable.

The property management services had also improved significantly. They were available on call, with staff on duty 24/7 to answer the phone. Changing a fuse, replacing a lightbulb, or fixing a water pipe was done for a small fee to cover materials, or for free if no materials were needed.

The service attitude was also much better than before. Any staff member whose poor service was reported by a homeowner and verified to be true would be fired immediately.

Besides implementing strict management, Yi Anguo had also increased their salaries and benefits. He believed in the principle that if you want a horse to run, you have to feed it well. Otherwise, how could it have the energy?

Under this pressure, the executives of the property management company didn't dare to slack off. After all, if the new boss was dissatisfied with their work, they would be dismissed.

The property management company had a new boss who was wealthy, lavish, and very willing to spend money. All aspects of their benefits had been significantly improved. They were given whatever they needed, be it people or money. If they still couldn't perform well, then the problem was theirs.

The property management company was getting back on track, the second mortgage on his properties was proceeding smoothly, and the year 2005 was about to begin.

The end of the year was when National Liquor's stock price was low. It had dropped from a high of over 40 yuan at the end of October to below 35 yuan now.

Yi Anguo had established his own private securities investment studio and hired a dozen professional traders. He was building a position by accumulating National Liquor stock, leveraging his capital advantage to buy low and sell high. His goal was to keep the average transaction price between 35 and 37 yuan, and under 38 yuan whenever possible.

He would sell when profits exceeded ten percent and buy in bulk again when the price fell by more than ten percent. If the stock rose too quickly, he would sell off his shares to push the price back down, after which he could buy in large quantities once more. The T+1 settlement mechanism greatly affected retail investors, but for a large stakeholder like him, it had no impact at all.

He was quietly and aggressively buying up shares of National Liquor. No matter what happened, he couldn't lose. If the stock price didn't rise, he would just hold on to it. If the price dared to drop, he dared to buy in bulk.

That was the advantage of a reborn individual who already knew the trends for the next ten or twenty years. Why would he fear his stocks becoming worthless? In any case, Yi Anguo didn't know of any other good stocks to buy before mid-July 2005, so he settled on National Liquor. Grabbing onto one sheep and shearing all its wool was enough. This was a blue-chip stock. Although its market value hadn't exceeded 20 billion yuan yet, it was around 15 billion, so shearing it a few extra times was perfectly fine.

However, the amount of capital Yi Anguo had on hand was quite substantial. With his previous accumulations plus the recent sum of over 200 million yuan, his total funds had reached more than 450 million.

He had originally intended to reduce his holdings, but after more than two months of selling, he had only managed to offload about two million shares. The more the price fell, the more shares he ended up holding.

Despite this, the total assets in his account were continuously rising, rarely ever dropping. Over time, his portfolio had grown from 230 million yuan to 250 million.

It might not seem like much, only a 20 million yuan profit in two months, not even a ten percent increase. But you would think differently if you considered that the stock price had fallen from 40.66 yuan to 34.66 yuan. If the price were to recover to 40.66 yuan, his total assets wouldn't be 250 million, but 285 million.

Putting so much money into National Liquor stock wasn't ideal. But aside from National Liquor, Yi Anguo remembered one other stock that was worth trading before mid-July of next year: Penguin Holdings, which was set for a massive surge. However, Penguin Holdings was listed in Harbor Island. Although Harbor Island was part of the same country, it had a special status and used the Hong Kong Dollar, which was considered a foreign currency. An individual's annual foreign exchange quota was only 50,000 US dollars, roughly 400,000 Hong Kong dollars. For the average person trading Hong Kong stocks, that was probably enough, but how could it be sufficient for Yi Anguo?

Either he wouldn't trade Hong Kong stocks at all, or if he did, it wouldn't be with a mere 400,000 Hong Kong dollars. He would need at least one or two hundred million yuan to make it worthwhile. Otherwise, it wouldn't be very interesting.

Since he was getting into Hong Kong stocks, why not dabble in US stocks and oil as well? He didn't have to do it right away, but he could start preparing for the future.

For instance, in the second half of 2007, international crude oil prices would skyrocket past ninety US dollars a barrel. The price would continue to rise through the first half of 2008, peaking at over one hundred forty-seven dollars a barrel before plummeting due to the global financial crisis. By Christmas Eve, it would drop to twenty-five dollars a barrel.

As a reborn individual, possessing foreknowledge of these events presented a massive opportunity for wealth. If he prepared and positioned himself in advance, it would be difficult *not* to make money. Although he wasn't a professional himself, he could hire people to do the trading. As long as he held the final say, he could direct the traders to operate according to his exact intentions.

Furthermore, in early March 2009, he could sweep into the US stock market with the dollars he harvested from US oil futures and buy at the bottom. Just think about America's four big banks—how far had their stock prices fallen? Citibank's stock had dropped below one US dollar, and the other major banks had also hit their historical lows. If he bought everything up then, a five-fold return in one month wouldn't be a problem.

Then there were the big US tech stocks. Companies like Apple, Amazon, and Google would also see their share prices fall to rock-bottom levels. Buying in at that time and holding for the long term would guarantee an enormous fortune. He could make money just by lying down.

Just as Yi Anguo's mind was racing with ambitious thoughts, Ding Jing knocked and entered, disrupting his pleasant daydream.

"Ah, Ding Jing, you've come! Speaking of which, it's been almost half a year. Have you made any progress? I'm waiting for you to come up with that 9 million yuan!" Yi Anguo reminded her with a grin.

"I'm here to talk about this very thing," Ding Jing said directly. "I hope you can provide me with another sum of money. The 3 million I had before is almost gone. How can I earn back 9 million yuan without any startup capital?"

"Ah! You need another 3 million yuan?" Yi Anguo said, feigning a troubled expression. "Then how much will you have to pay me back?

"Why don't you just give up and admit defeat? Be my woman, stay by my side and help me. Wouldn't that be nice!"

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