Get rich quick starting with buying a house with zero down payment

Chapter 102 Something Happened in South China

At 6:30 in the morning, the sunlight was already quite dazzling. Ji Fanyin quietly walked out of the master bedroom, wearing cotton loungewear and with her hair loosely tied up.

She went to the kitchen first and took out milk, eggs, and toast from the double-door refrigerator with quick and skillful movements.

Then, she went to the guest bedroom door, listened carefully, and heard her fourth brother-in-law's suppressed snoring and her fourth sister's soft slumber.

A slight smile played on her lips as she walked back to the living room, sat down on a yoga mat by the French windows, and slowly stretched her body. This was a rare twenty minutes of her day, completely her own.

As far as the eye could see, at the other end of the living room, was the closed door to the study. Lei Guoliang was inside, most likely looking at global market data and the latest net asset value of the Ghost Fleet.

That string of numbers has been fluctuating at a dizzying pace in every stock market trading day since May: 60 billion, 65 billion...

Two nights ago, she glimpsed a corner of the screen and saw that it had already reached 68.7 billion.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the unreal tremor in her heart.

Starting from a small store in Nanshan, Shenzhen, it only took three years. Guoliang is like a tireless engine, propelling the giant ship of Anjia Tianxia, ​​and also propelling their lives, sailing towards a golden sea she had never imagined.

"Good morning, Auntie." A slightly hesitant and cautious voice came from behind.

Ji Fanyin turned around and saw her niece, Fu Xiaoya, standing at the door of the guest room, wearing the new cotton nightgown she had bought the night before, nervously twisting her fingers.

The girl had just turned eighteen, the same age she was when she first came to Shenzhen. Her skin was the healthy tan typical of country kids, and her eyes were big, carrying the bewilderment and curiosity of someone new to the big city.

"Xiaoya, why are you up so early? Why don't you sleep a little longer?" Ji Fanyin got up, her tone gentle.

"I can't sleep. Everyone at home is out working in the fields at this hour," Fu Xiaoya said softly, her gaze involuntarily drifting to the boundless sea view outside the window. "Auntie, are you practicing your martial arts?"

"Move around a bit, sitting for too long isn't good for your health." Ji Fanyin smiled and pulled her to sit on the sofa. "Did you sleep well last night?"

Is the mattress too soft?

"I'm so used to it! That bed—it's like cotton." Fu Xiaoya nodded quickly, her face slightly red: "It's just—it's too nice, it makes me feel a little uneasy."

Ji Fanyin patted her hand understandingly: "It's like this at first, you'll get used to it. Your uncle has arranged a training course for you, classes start next week, you'll be learning finance."

"During this time, you'll come with me to the company during the day to familiarize yourself with the environment. I'll have someone teach you how to use the computer and learn office software, okay?"

"Okay! Thank you, Auntie!" Fu Xiaoya's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously. She knew this was the beginning of a life-changing moment.

A noise came from the kitchen; it was Fourth Sister, who had gotten up and was clumsily trying to help make breakfast. Ji Fanyin hurried over: "Fourth Sister, you rest a little longer, I'll do it. Guoliang is a picky eater, I'm used to making breakfast for him."

17

Fourth Sister rubbed her hands together and said with a simple, honest smile, "How can that be? You're the hostess, you shouldn't be serving us—"

"We're all family, so let's not be formal." Ji Fanyin deftly cracked the eggs into the pan, her voice gentle yet authoritative: "You've just arrived, so take your time to adjust. Guoliang said that President Lu is already looking at the location for the fresh food mini-supermarket, and it should be finalized in the next couple of days."

"You can rest assured and stay here. Once the shop opens, we'll be very busy."

Lei Guoliang said it was an investment for his fourth sister and brother-in-law to open a small supermarket, but it certainly wasn't a really small one, like a convenience store of a few dozen or a hundred square meters.

If they opened such a small convenience store, the money they earned might not even be enough to pay the couple's salaries.

Since the primary goal of investing is to make money, Lei Guoliang plans to open a small supermarket of about 800 to 1000 square meters, which will be a community-based comprehensive supermarket mainly selling fresh vegetables, fruits, grains, oils and other non-staple foods.

Watching Ji Fanyin, dressed in an apron, bustling about in the spacious, bright, open kitchen, the fourth sister felt a growing sense of unease and distance due to her brother's success. This city sister-in-law didn't seem so difficult to get along with after all.

Inside the conference room of the South China Business Unit headquarters in Guangzhou, the air was as thick as solidified as asphalt. The projector light shone on Shen Mo's face, highlighting the dark circles under her eyes and the bloodshot veins in her pupils.

On the screen was the Southern Business Division's sales report for the first two weeks of May, showing the number of properties acquired, sales revenue, and market share. All the bar charts were surging upwards as if they had been given a stimulant.

However, at the bottom of the screen, a line of small print in bright red reads: "Risk Control Alert: 17 suspected violations this month, involving 8 city branches. 3 major risk warnings."

"Explain." Shen Mo's voice was not loud, even a little hoarse, but each word was like an ice bead hitting the conference table.

The dozen or so provincial general managers and deputy general managers sitting below were all trembling with fear.

A vice president in charge of the western part of the city braced himself and said, "President Shen, the market is too hot. Customers are snapping up houses like they're grabbing cabbages."

Some of our brokers, in order to close a deal, might—perhaps slightly exaggerate the future appreciation potential in their sales pitch, or—help the client find a way to solve the down payment—”

"Think of a way? What way?" Shen Mo interrupted him, leaning forward, his gaze sharp as awls: "Is it a high appraisal and high loan, or a down payment installment plan? Or are you running some kind of financial service behind the scenes?"

The chief executive was sweating profusely and dared not reply.

"Didn't I say that President Lu's risk control warning letter was just a load of rubbish?" Shen Mo slammed his hand on the table, making teacups bounce around. "Didn't I say that anyone who crosses the line gets the hell out of here?!"

"I said it—" the crowd responded in hushed tones.

"Then where did these 17 clues and 3 major risks come from?!" Shen Mo's voice suddenly rose, carrying an uncontrollable ferocity.

"Did I not explain myself clearly enough, or do you think that I, Shen Mo, am sitting in this position because I pulled strings or made exceptions for you?!"

She stood up and slowly walked around the conference table, the sound of her high heels clicking on the marble floor particularly clear in the deathly silent conference room.

"I know what you're thinking. You think the market is good right now, so the bold will thrive and the timid will starve. You think I, Shen Mo, need to achieve results, so you give me those results, and how I achieve them is not important."

They felt that the old man had painted a picture of a multi-billion dollar pie; as long as the pie was made big, no one would care if a little dust or mud got in the way.

She stopped behind the vice president who had just spoken, placed her hand on the stiff back of his chair, leaned down, and whispered almost in his ear, "Then let me tell you, you're wrong."

"The old man gave me 3% of the shares not so that I would lead you all to dance on a tightrope and then fall to our deaths together. He wanted me to lead you all to cross the finish line honorably on the drawn track."

"I want performance. I need discipline even more." She straightened up and looked around at everyone: "From today onwards, the Southern Business Division will establish an internal audit team, and I will personally serve as the team leader."

A cross-audit will be conducted on all contracts concluded in the past three months. Any brokers found to have issues will be dismissed, their direct supervisors will be held accountable, and the regional general manager will be demoted! Any problems?

"No problem." Everyone was sweating profusely.

"Meeting adjourned!" Shen Mo sat back in the main seat and waved wearily.

The crowd dispersed, leaving only her and her trusted assistant. The assistant whispered, "Mr. Shen, isn't this kind of investigation a bit too much? It'll create panic among the staff and affect performance—"

"If we don't investigate, we'll die even faster." Shen Mo rubbed his temples, his eyes gloomy: "The old man had Lu Chaoyang keep an eye on me, and Ji Fanyin also sent the old man's nephew to me—this is a warning to me."

I have to cut out the rotten flesh myself before they can find any evidence against me.

She stared at the glaring red alert on the screen, her nerves stretched to the limit. She knew she was playing with fire, but the allure of the market and the pressure of that 3% stake made it impossible for her to stop.

All she can do now is clear away the fuses around her as much as possible before the flames reach her.

In Shanghai, at 2 PM, in the East China Business Unit's Deep Blue Project Strategy Room, the atmosphere was a stark contrast to the city's usual gritty atmosphere. The air was filled with the aroma of freshly ground coffee and soothing background music.

The huge curved screen doesn't display performance data, but rather a complex asset allocation model for high-end clients and a cross-regional property value linkage map.

Su Wanqing, dressed in a well-tailored beige suit, stood in front of the whiteboard and wrote a line with a marker: "Customer psychology and asset allocation strategy adjustment under the expectation of the six national policies".

Seated below the stage were core members of the Star Project, as well as elites drawn from various war zones to participate in the preparation of the group's high-end asset transfer platform.

"The expectation of policy tightening has already taken hold." Su Wanqing's voice was cold and clear: "This will have two direct effects: First, short-term speculative funds will withdraw, creating a window of opportunity for the market to mistakenly sell off and undervalue high-quality assets."

Second, high-net-worth clients will have increased demand for hedging and long-term asset allocation, and they will have higher requirements for the professionalism of services and the hard currency attributes of assets.

She switched to the PowerPoint presentation, showing several top-tier housing listings that had just been exchanged from South China and North China through the platform's internal channels.

"Therefore, our strategy also needs to change. We're shifting from proactively pushing assets to precise hunting and value protection." She pointed to the screen: "Using our data and models, we scan across the country for top assets that are undervalued due to policy panic or funding issues, and quickly lock them in, negotiate prices, and buy them through our platform."

At the same time, we provide our No. 1 Steward clients with asset optimization advice based on policy changes, helping them adjust their portfolios, replacing illiquid and policy-risk assets with safer and more core assets.

A senior investment advisor from South China asked, "Mr. Su, won't this approach compress profit margins? And cross-regional coordination will be very difficult."

"Profits come from differences in understanding and efficiency," Su Wanqing said calmly. "We know which assets are undervalued, and we know how to complete cross-regional transactions compliantly and efficiently—that's where our profits come from. As for the difficulty of coordination—"

She looked at the young man beside her who had been silently operating the computer: "Engineer Li, has the platform's beta version successfully run the permissions and processes?"

"It's connected, Mr. Su." The young man, known as Engineer Li, looked up and adjusted his glasses. "We just completed the first simulated transaction, from Guangzhou to Shanghai, for a river-view apartment worth 20 million yuan. From information release, title verification, online negotiation, to generating a pre-contract, everything was completed within the platform, taking 47 minutes. Legal and risk control nodes have been embedded."

A murmur of amazement rippled through the conference room. Completing the initial stages of a cross-province real estate transaction worth 20 million yuan in just 47 minutes—that's revolutionary efficiency.

A faint smile appeared on Su Wanqing's lips: "See, this is the answer. We use rules and technology to turn difficulty into a barrier. While others are still struggling with cross-province property viewings and mailing contracts, we have already completed value discovery and initial locking in."

What we want from that 3% stake is precisely the right to define these rules of the game, isn't it?

She didn't roar like Shen Mo, nor did she work as hard as Zhou Zheng. She simply used the calmest approach to weave a vast network covering the high-end market across the country, with rules dictated by her.

She knew Lei Guoliang was watching her, and she wanted to prove that what Huadong offered was not just profit, but also a future.

In Shenzhen, at the headquarters of Anjia Tianxia, ​​in the risk control center, at eight o'clock in the evening, the eight screens in front of Lu Chaoyang were still tirelessly scrolling through data. His expression was even more stern than during the day. Beside him, Ji Fanyin held a cup of ginseng tea, her brows slightly furrowed.

"Two more cases." Lu Chaoyang pointed to one of the screens, which showed a scanned copy of a housing purchase contract that a branch of the Southern Business Division had just uploaded.

"Look here, the appraised value is significantly higher than the average transaction price of similar units recently by 15%, and the loan amount is abnormal. Also, this document raises questions about the relationship between the buyer and seller's agents, suggesting possible nominee ownership for speculation."

"Shen Mo held an internal reorganization meeting today, and the measures were quite drastic," Ji Fanyin said.

"The reason for the strong measures is that the problem can no longer be covered up." Lu Chaoyang rubbed his throbbing temples. "She is trying to cut her losses and survive. But once inertia and a chain of interests are formed, they cannot be broken by holding a single meeting."

Those below her, in order to achieve her insane performance targets, had long since developed a set of unspoken rules. If she wanted to change course now, those below might not be able to keep up, or even want to.

"Does Guoliang know?"

"I report it every day." Lu Chaoyang sighed. "The boss only replied with one sentence: 'Understood, keep a close eye on it.'"

Ji Fanyin remained silent. She knew Lei Guoliang was waiting, waiting for an opportunity, or waiting to see if Shen Mo could truly undergo the painful process of healing.

The ruthlessness and calculation involved chilled her to the bone, yet she also admired it.

"By the way, the Lei you assigned is at the Shennan branch." Lu Chaoyang pulled up a new employee assessment report. "His basic training assessment was excellent, but his mentor reported that he's quick-witted, likes to inquire about special channels and quick sales techniques, and doesn't pay much attention to basic community cultivation and customer service."

Ji Fanyin smiled wryly, "Guoliang threw him under Shen Mo's command to toughen him up. It seems it won't be that easy."

"The dragon has nine sons, and each one is different. As for my eldest nephew Lei Zhengping, I've looked into him privately. He has an excellent reputation in the factory. He's principled, responsible, and someone you can entrust with things," Lu Chaoyang rarely commented.

As the two were talking, Lu Chaoyang's other encrypted phone vibrated. He glanced at it, his expression changed slightly, and he quickly answered it.

"Say—are you sure? Okay, the evidence is secured, I'll report to General Manager Lei immediately."

After hanging up the phone, he looked at Ji Fanyin with sharp eyes: "Something's happened in the South China region. It's not a business issue, it's a person. The general manager of a city branch is suspected of using properties acquired through the quick-turnover fund for private mortgage financing, possibly exceeding five million. Shen Mo's internal investigation had just reached the edge when the man fled."

Ji Fanyin's heart tightened. This was the first case of internal fraud that truly involved criminal activity since the implementation of the fast-turnover model.

The nature has completely changed.

"Should we notify Shen Mo?"

"Not for now. The boss probably already knows." Lu Chaoyang looked at the screen showing the light still on in Lei Guoliang's office. "He's probably considering more than just this now."

In the study of Future Coast Phase III, at 11 p.m., Lei Guoliang closed the net asset value interface of the Ghost Fleet (70.3 billion) and also closed the emergency report window that Lu Chaoyang had just sent. He walked to the liquor cabinet, poured himself a small glass of single malt whisky, without ice, and sipped it slowly.

The strong liquor, once swallowed, brought a burning, invigorating sensation.

On the screen, there are three open windows:

1. Shen Mo's predicament: The aftereffects of her aggressive expansion are beginning to surface; internal corruption is emerging, and she is attempting to cleanse herself using even more radical methods. To save her, to abandon her, or ———?

2. Su Wanqing's chess game: She is steadily moving towards her goal of becoming a high-level rule-maker, with a frightening calmness. This is good, but things that are too perfect always make people want to see their cracks.

3. Family variables: The location of the fresh food supermarket has been decided, Fu Xiaoya has begun training, his second nephew Lei Zhengchang is starting to go astray under Shen Mo's guidance, and his eldest nephew Lei Zhengping, a rough gem, is shining in the factory—these blood ties are one of the meanings of his rebirth, and also a brand new challenge that he must overcome.

The town outside the window is still brightly lit. The May night breeze carries the salty smell of the ocean and the city's undying desire.

He knew that the matter with Shen Mo had to be dealt with quickly and decisively to have a sufficient deterrent effect. This might be an opportunity, a chance to readjust the power balance of the Southern Business Division, and even the entire group.

Su Wanqing's platform must be promoted, and vigorously promoted. Her rules should be used to counterbalance and regulate the wildness left behind by Shen Mo.

As for his family—he recalled that at dinner, his fourth brother-in-law, after drinking a few beers, said with a flushed face, "Guoliang, don't worry, we will definitely run the shop well and won't let you down." His eyes were simple and earnest.

He needs to provide these relatives who are willing to work hard and deserve help with a clear path to advancement and a solid bottom line.

As for those with wicked intentions, such as my second nephew who has already started scheming, they need a sufficiently profound lesson.

He picked up the red encrypted phone and dialed Zhao Shanhe's number.

"Mr. Lei."

"Tomorrow when the market opens, reduce your holdings in Yunnan Copper by 5% and Zhongxin Securities by 3%." Lei Guoliang's voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet study: "Thirty percent of the recovered funds will be transferred to a clean new account."

"Mr. Lei, have you seen any risks?" Zhao Shanhe was somewhat surprised, as these stocks were rising sharply.

"The risks haven't materialized yet, but the stock price has risen too much in the short term. It's necessary to lock in some profits first." Lei Guoliang looked at the amber-colored liquid in his glass, his gaze deep.

After hanging up the phone, he took one last look at the nationwide map of Anjia Tianxia on the screen. More than 700 stores, scattered like stars. Beneath each star, desire, struggle, dreams, and betrayal surged.

A storm seems to be brewing.