Back to 2008: I Helped My Dad Become the Richest Man

One million in cash was placed on the marble tabletop without any warning.

The ten stacks of red banknotes, laid out there, silenced everyone in the sales office.

The saleswomen who were chattering away just moments before were now staring wide-eyed at the pile of money, their mouths agape.

The wealthy couple, who had been looking quite superior, stared in disbelief at the scene. The man's car keys clattered to the ground without him even noticing.

Sales manager Chen felt his heart skip a beat.

He had seen all sorts of wealthy clients, paying by credit card or check. But this was the first time he had ever seen someone come in with a million dollars in cash to buy a house, especially a seemingly unsophisticated farmer and a teenage girl.

The scene struck him as somewhat unbelievable.

"Manager Chen," Luo Xiyuan's voice broke the silence, "we've brought the deposit. Now, may we sign the contract?"

"Yes...yes! Of course!" Manager Chen seemed to wake up from a dream. He glanced at the pile of money, then at Luo Xiyuan. The expression on his face had completely changed from initial contempt and doubt to awe and flattery.

He quickly yelled at Xiao Wang, the saleswoman who was already stunned, "What are you all standing there for! Quick! Go and get our best legal counsel! Prepare the letter of intent! Also, bring out the best Da Hong Pao tea from my office and brew some for Boss Luo and Miss Luo!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Xiao Wang finally realized what was happening and scrambled to run to the office.

Looking at the shocked gazes of those around them, and then at the pile of money on the table, Luo Xinde and Li Minxia felt a mix of emotions—nervousness and pride.

Luo Xinde, in particular, straightened his back and, imitating the big bosses on TV, slowly took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag. Although his hands were still trembling a little, he tried his best to appear composed.

He thought to himself, "Wow, so this is what it feels like to be rich! It's fucking awesome!"

Soon, the legal and financial staff from the sales office arrived. The money counting machine rattled for a while before finally confirming that it was exactly one million, no more, no less.

The letter of intent was quickly drafted.

When Luo Xinde, as the legal representative of Luo's Farm, signed his name on the contract, he felt that it was not just a house purchase contract, but an important document that could change the fate of his family.

"Mr. Luo, Ms. Luo, it's a pleasure doing business with you!" Manager Chen handed the contract back with both hands, his back almost bent at a ninety-degree angle. "Rest assured, you two, we guarantee we'll handle the remaining formalities for you as quickly as possible! From now on, you'll be our most valued homeowner at 'Sunshine Waterfront'! Please feel free to contact us anytime if you need anything!"

As Li Minxia left the sales office and got back into her own blue pickup truck, she still felt like she was in a dream.

"You...bought them all? Fifty-seven houses?" She pinched her arm; it hurt. It was true.

"Bought it!" Luo Xinde slapped the steering wheel and burst into laughter. "Didn't you see that manager surnamed Chen just now? What a jerk he was! And those snobbish ladies, their jaws practically dropped to the floor! So satisfying! So satisfying!"

He felt that all the humiliation he had suffered in his life had vanished in that instant.

"Sis, why do we need to buy so many houses?" Luo Wen, who hadn't spoken until now, asked in a low voice. He was also taken aback by the scene just now.

"To make money, silly boy." Luo Xiyuan laughed and playfully flicked his nose.

She didn't explain much to her family. She couldn't tell them that in a few years, the price of this remote apartment complex, which they bought for 1,100 yuan per square meter today, would skyrocket to 10,000 or even 20,000 yuan per square meter.

These 57 houses will become a huge asset worth nearly 100 million yuan in the future.

This is the most important and solid foundation of wealth she has laid for this family since her rebirth.

"But...where would we get so much money to pay the full amount?" Coming back to her senses, Li Minxia started worrying about money again.

With a total purchase price of over eight million yuan, they don't even have a fraction of that amount in hand right now.

"Mom, who said we were going to pay in full?" Luo Xiyuan laughed. "Of course we're buying the house with a loan."

"A loan? Where would we get that much money?"

"Mom, you forgot, we bought fifty-seven houses. We didn't buy them in our individual names, but in the name of our 'Luo's Farm' company. This isn't a 'personal housing loan,' but a 'business property mortgage loan.'" Luo Xiyuan started using new terms again.

"We can use these 57 houses as collateral to apply for loans from banks. The banks see that we have such high-quality assets, as well as the stable cash flow from our farm and shops, they can't be happier to lend us money."

"In this way, we only need to pay a 30% down payment, which is a little over two million yuan. The rest can be financed through a bank loan. Then, we can do some simple renovations on these houses and rent them out."

"We use the rent we collect each month to pay off our bank mortgage payments. Maybe the rent will even be higher than the mortgage payments, and we can even make a profit! This is called 'renting to pay off the loan'."

She explained to her parents a set of real estate financial operations that later became popular.

Luo Xinde and Li Minxia were completely confused, but they understood the core idea—they could get all the houses without paying a lot of money, and they could use other people's money (rent) to pay off their debts.

"Is there really such a good thing in the world?" Li Minxia still found it unbelievable.

"Mom, that's the allure of finance," Luo Xiyuan said.

Luo Xinde, standing to the side, was so excited he didn't know what to say. He felt that his daughter had shown him another possibility today. He discovered that making money didn't necessarily require hard work and sweat. Making money with money, using other people's money to make money for yourself—that was the real skill!

"Xiyuan, well... we don't have that much down payment of over two million right now," Li Minxia asked another question.

"Don't worry about that," Luo Xiyuan said confidently. "The food factory needs a loan, right? I've talked to Director Zhang at the credit union, and he agreed to approve an 800,000 yuan equipment mortgage loan for us. The organic fertilizer plant also meets the national environmental protection subsidy policy, so we can get another 500,000 yuan. Plus, our next batch of pigs will be ready for market soon, and we still have a large sum of money to pay for goods from Jinhai Bay. By piecing things together, we'll have the down payment ready in no time."

She arranged all the cash flow clearly and transparently.

Looking at her daughter, Li Minmin finally gave up completely. She knew that her mind could no longer keep up with her daughter's train of thought.

From then on, she would work diligently as a cashier, letting her daughter decide how to spend the money without ever asking another question.

Having resolved a major event in her life, Luo Xiyuan felt much more relaxed.

"Dad, drive! Let's go to KFC! It's on me!"

"Okay!"

Luo Xinde stepped on the gas, and the blue truck sped happily toward the center of the county town.

When Rowan first tasted that crispy fried chicken and fries, he thought it was the best food in the world.

He looked at his sister beside him, who was handing him a Coke, and secretly vowed that he would earn lots and lots of money in the future so that he could treat his sister to KFC every day.

Looking at her younger brother's face covered in ketchup, Luo Xiyuan thought to herself, "What's KFC anyway?"

In the future, I'll take you to eat all the delicacies from around the world.