Siheyuan's Journey Through the Ages

Chapter 123: Real Estate on the Trend

Ma Qing stood up, took out 5 yuan and put it into the hat held by the police officer named Li. "Sir Li, you must be joking. I am thinking about how to do business in my store, not women."

Then he said to Huang Hongtu, "Old Huang, how can you be so blind? Quickly open a bottle of soda for Li Sir, and make sure it's cold." Then he said to the policeman surnamed Li, "It's so hot, Li Sir, why don't you sit here with me and take a rest."

As for the green window mentioned by the policeman named Li, Ma Qing declined it because he was afraid of getting sick.

Hong Kong had implemented a public prostitution system for 1873 years starting in . Women could engage in prostitution legally as long as they paid taxes and obtained a license.

In 1932, after the United Kingdom introduced a ban on prostitution, the Hong Kong government also began to implement a ban on prostitution in 1935. The long-standing public prostitution system was finally abolished, and seemingly very strict conditions were stipulated: "Any place where more than two people engage in prostitution can be regarded as a place of prostitution."

But I didn’t expect that there would be a countermeasure to every policy: “Since we can’t have two, then just have one.”

Hong Kong's unique custom industry - one prostitute on one floor - was born in this way.

In the 60s, "One Building, One Prostitute" was also known as "Green Window Prostitute Village". This was because in order to distinguish ordinary residential buildings and make their "Phoenix Building" more conspicuous, the "Phoenix" in the building would often find ways to decorate the windows green.

Policeman Li sat down, took the soda Huang Hongtu handed over, drank half the bottle in one gulp, and burped after finishing it. "That's great! Boss Xiao Ma is so generous. He actually bought a refrigerator for his supermarket. He must be very rich."

Ma Qing smiled and said, "This refrigerator is a bit expensive, but with this thing, more people come to my store to buy things, so it's still a good deal."

Ma Qing did not have any hatred towards this low-level policeman. The 150 yuan per month street patrol protection fee was not out of his pocket. It was just the rule of this era and society.

"Boss Xiao Ma has good business skills. He will definitely become a wealthy man in Hong Kong in the future. By the way, the business of your store has been improving in the past six months. Do you have any secret? When I have enough savings, I will open a supermarket." Policeman Li drank Ma Qing's soda and started chatting.

Ma Qing pointed to his own shop and said, "There is no secret. It's just a new shop. People think it's fresh and the decoration is comfortable. People just come here to show their appreciation."

"But if there is any difference, it may be the tricks I learned from the newspaper. The history of Wang Dong, the chairman of Formosa Plastics Group, started with a rice shop. After Wang Dong's small shop opened, there was not much business because the Japanese rice shop next door had a competitive advantage, and other rice shops in the city had tied up old customers.

However, the 16-year-old Mr. Wang demonstrated strong marketing skills. He not only went door to door to sell his rice, but also helped residents collect old rice and wash rice jars for free. In addition, the rice processing technology was relatively backward at the time, and the rice sold was mixed with rice bran, sand and small stones, which were not surprising to both buyers and sellers.

Mr. Wang would pick out all the impurities in the rice before selling it, which benefited the buyers. After a while, they became repeat customers. The newspaper said that Mr. Wang's rice shop sold less than 12 buckets of rice a day at first, but later it could sell more than 100 buckets a day.

"So I learned it. I asked Lao Huang to dry our rice to remove the bran, sand and small stones. Sure enough, gradually people came to me to buy rice, and then it boosted other businesses." Ma Qing said disapprovingly.

"That's great, it's indeed a solution, no wonder people can become rich." Ma Qing said, "How can I explain this? This solution doesn't work anymore. The profit margin of groceries is too thin. If you work more hours, you can earn an extra 500 to yuan a month, but it's totally unrealistic to think that you can make your first pot of gold from this. My current store, excluding Lao Huang's salary and various expenses, can probably make more than yuan a month."

"Damn, that's pretty good. I only get more than 200 yuan in public grain per month." Policeman Li sighed.

"But this shop is mine. If I do nothing and rent it out, I can collect four to five hundred yuan in rent a month. In the end, I'm running the shop for nothing." Ma Qing was definitely not telling the truth. How could he let others know how much he earned every month?

Policeman Li smiled and said, "You are so young and you own such a big building. There are so many people watching you. You should be careful. Don't be a landlord who just eats and waits for death. You must find something to do. Opening a supermarket is a good idea."

Policeman Li finished his soda and left. Ma Qing looked at the policeman's back and didn't know what he meant by saying this. Could it be that... Never mind. There was no need to think so much about it.

The next day, Ma Qing came to Sheung Wan to attend the opening ceremony of the fifth store of Ma Liang Real Estate Agency. Amid the sound of firecrackers, Ma Qing and Liang Haowen cut the opening ribbon.

Ma Qing looked at the green doorhead, with some artistic fonts in the middle - Ma Liang Real Estate, and a few small words "Seventh Store in Sheung Wan" written in the lower right corner. Sorry, Lianjia, I copied it.

The shop assistants of Ma Liang Real Estate are all dressed in suits, with work badges around their necks and company badges on their chests. The company has a formal and professional image, and with the endorsement of the law firm, it has been recognized by the general public. This is also the reason why Ma Liang Real Estate is expanding at the rate of one store per month.

After the opening ceremony, the two founders returned to the law firm and began the half-year summary of Ma Liang Real Estate Agency.

"Ma Qing, in the past six months, we have been opening a store every month. The situation is encouraging. Although we have increased our investment by 2000 yuan, the stores are basically profitable now. I calculated that with the current financial progress, we don't need to increase investment, and we can open stores at the rate of one per month. By the end of next year, we can have stores in every district of Hong Kong." Liang Haowen said excitedly.

"..." Looking at the excited and happy partner in front of him, Ma Qing didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm. Anyway, there were still half a year left until next year, so let him be happy for another three months.

Ma Qing asked tentatively: "Have we encountered any troubles in the expansion over the past six months?"

Liang Haowen was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Ma Qing, what kind of trouble can there be? There are only 7 stores, and it's not to the point of selling cakes to different people. Of course there are some small troubles, but my Liang family has been in Hong Kong for three generations, and I still have some connections. If I can't handle this, how can I be your partner? This is probably the reason why you asked me to be your partner."

"Haha, Brother Liang, you can't blame me for this. I just came to Hong Kong, so I must find someone to cling to. I'm sure you understand that, right?" Ma Qing laughed.

Liang Haowen also laughed, "How could I blame you? I can't thank you enough. You helped me open up a new world."

Ma Qing immediately took advantage of the situation and said, "How about this? I will invest another 1 yuan and try to add 10 more stores within three months. The situation is so good now. Since the other stores are profitable, we only need to invest in the initial store rent. What do you think?"

(End of this chapter)