Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

When Li Zhao returned home, he realized a problem.

How did He Shuyao know where he lived?

Did the two have this much interaction during their elementary school years in their previous life?

After dinner, Li Changlin and Zhou Xiaoyun left Li Zhao in the living room, and Li Changlin took out the crumpled project proposal, his face full of seriousness.

It's clear that this plan has not only been flipped through by them, but also fought over by them, and has gone through a lot.

"Son, your dad and I have argued several times these past two nights because of this thing, as you know." Zhou Xiaoyun still seemed to be holding back her anger. "Since you gave it to us, you be the judge and see if I'm right or your dad is right."

"Let me take a look first."

Just as Li Changlin was about to respond to Zhou Xiaoyun, Li Zhao stopped them both with a single sentence.

He handed the proposal to Li Zhao and then waited quietly for Li Zhao to review it.

Something feels off.

As parents, they made a plan according to their son's request, and now they are waiting for his evaluation.

My son is in the sixth grade of elementary school.

However, it was Li Zhao who brought up this matter, the information source was Li Zhao, the connections were Li Zhao, and even the communication with the old man was Li Zhao.

They didn't have the authority to use their parental status to pressure Li Zhao.

Li Changlin was even a little smug, after all, he had been in business for more than ten years, and his experience in "considering how to do business" was there for him.

Therefore, he was very confident to argue with Zhou Xiaoyun, and his classic line, "What do you know, you're just a working person," always made Zhou Xiaoyun blush instantly.

Although the project proposal was so professional that Li Changlin kept having thoughts like, "Oh right, we also need to consider this," while filling it out; although his son had suddenly become a genius for some unknown reason; although his son seemed to have secretly read a lot of books and thus accumulated an astonishing amount of knowledge; although his son was incredibly worldly-wise as if he had been blessed...

However, his more than ten years of business experience is his greatest source of confidence in this family.

My son, bring it on!

"This is terrible."

Li Zhao quickly finished flipping through the pages and gently shook his head.

The pressure was put on Li Changlin.

Li Changlin was immediately captivated, while Zhou Xiaoyun's gaze kept shifting between the father and son.

"Oh no?" Li Changlin was tempted to activate his "I am your father" divine power.

"Well, first of all, I must say that, Dad, you are a businessman after all, and you have considered many details. Or rather, you have considered everything that should be considered."

Li Changlin's expression softened somewhat. "Then why did you say it was bad?"

"The bad thing is that it's essentially the same mistake as Mom."

The pressure is on Zhou Xiaoyun again.

She was just feeling smug when she was suddenly called out, and her face immediately fell.

"Mom compares prices at three different stores for a few cents when buying groceries, but she's so impatient when it comes to things that require a lot of consideration. Dad, this plan is in your handwriting, so I'll just assume it's yours. Look..."

Li Zhao turned to the first few pages. "You've done a lot of analysis and made a lot of assumptions about the ownership of the store. You even included the part about 'the old man lying to us.'"

"Isn't this necessary?" Li Changlin asked, somewhat displeased. "Your mother even thinks this isn't enough, complaining that I haven't considered things enough."

"No need. We only need to consider two scenarios: buying or renting. In fact, there's only one: we decide for ourselves whether to buy or rent. We can just talk to the old man about this intention directly. Those seemingly specific questions, like whether the old man really wants to sell or whether he owns the property, are actually meaningless. When we actually talk to him, these things will naturally come to mind."

"We need to prepare in advance," Zhou Xiaoyun said.

"Is it really necessary to write a whole page about a problem that could be solved with just a property certificate for this old man?"

"That's because your parents are thoughtful."

That's exactly what I was waiting for.

Li Zhao almost couldn't help but laugh. He flipped to the back and said, "But when it comes to the specifics of what to sell, staffing, and renovations, how come there are only two sentences?"

Zhou Xiaoyun fell silent, handing the battle over to Li Changlin.

"These things can't be fully considered at this stage; there's still much to discuss later." Li Changlin straightened his back. "The plan considers some practical operations that need to be addressed and dealt with now. Son, although you've read many books and learned a lot, your parents respect that, but you..."

I came, and I still couldn't resist.

"Let's stick to the facts," Li Zhao interrupted directly. "Then I'll talk about the specific steps we need to consider now. The Housing and Construction Bureau has designated this shop as a dangerous building, so the first thing we'll do after buying it is renovate it. Has that been taken into account in the project plan?"

"This..." Li Changlin blinked repeatedly.

"What's there to think about? Just do it, factor in the costs," Zhou Xiaoyun said.

"How much does it cost?"

"...Ask your dad."

Li Changlin glared at Zhou Xiaoyun. "You'd have to ask a professional for that."

"These are important bargaining chips when negotiating with the old man, Dad. You considered so many things about negotiating with the old man before, how could you have forgotten this?" Li Zhao said with a smile.

Li Changlin suddenly felt that his son was a bit scary.

He's only twelve years old. Li Changlin can understand how much he's learned and knows. He's a genius, after all. But where did he get all those interpersonal skills and conversational techniques?

The answer is that I learned it during winter break.

"Then you tell me, it's your turn. How would you write it?"

Very good, here comes another line that Li Zhao has been waiting for.

"The renovation of the pedestrian street was spearheaded by the New Taipei City Housing and Construction Bureau, and this is not the only one involved in the renovation of old and dilapidated buildings. The city's Housing and Construction Bureau requested the Qingqiao District Housing and Construction Bureau to set up a special team for the renovation of old shops, so we can use the renovation of the pedestrian street shops to ask them for a subsidy, and then ask the city's Housing and Construction Bureau for a subsidy for the renovation of dilapidated buildings. If the documents are complete, theoretically we can get a total of 40,000 NTD from the two subsidies."

Li Changlin and Zhou Xiaoyun were completely stunned.

"Considering that the old man should provide a copy of the property certificate and a report on the dilapidated building, we only need to come up with a renovation design plan—which we should already have. So it can be said to be zero cost. Furthermore, considering that we will also be renting four adjacent row shops, which are all government properties, obtaining the theoretically maximum subsidy should not be a problem."

Li Changlin licked his lips.

"We'll keep the money ourselves, but when we talk to the old man, we can say that the renovation will cost at least 60,000 yuan to force him to lower the price..." Li Zhao closed the plan. "Now I'm saying this plan is terrible. Mom and Dad, do you have any objections?"

The couple hesitated several times before speaking.

I also experienced the pleasure of being manipulated by my son, haha.

PUA should be taught from a young age.

"Let's take another look," Li Changlin managed to utter.

"Mom, you just said you wanted me to judge some issues. Do you still need to?"

"No need..." Zhou Xiaoyun started brewing tea.

When she doesn't know how to deal with awkward emotions, she will find something to do.

After putting away the project plan, Li Zhao went straight back to his study and began writing suggestions for revising He Shuyao's "Methodology of Happiness".

After some time, Li Changlin knocked on Li Zhao's door with the project proposal in hand.

"Son, do you still have this business plan?"

Li Zhao took a new book out of the drawer.

"Okay, your mother and I will discuss this further. But there's still one more problem."

Li Zhao nodded.

"It's just... this is, after all, 400,000. It was originally saved to buy a new house, but what if the business doesn't work out... your mother still has this concern."

"Even if the business doesn't succeed, it won't be a complete waste. I legitimately bought a storefront in a prime location for 400,000 yuan. I'll make a profit no matter how I resell it."

"Oh, right!" Li Changlin clapped his hands. "I was really confused. Well then, since this is a rare opportunity, once we've finalized things, you should contact the old man as soon as possible, and we'll go talk to him."

"Okay. Shall we talk, or will you two talk?"

"Didn't you say last time that you would speak first?"

"Then it's settled," Li Zhao said with a smile. "You just need to play the role of parents who are 'not that interested,' and leave the rest to me."

"……good."

After discovering that he could achieve stable financial freedom through stock trading using information asymmetry, Li Zhao lost his obsession with the business.

The original intention was simply to give the parents something to do, which might help change their personalities.

Unexpectedly, in the process of pushing this matter forward, Li Zhao actually succeeded in getting the two of them to accept the persona of "child prodigy," and even had the opportunity to put pressure on their parents in return.

perfect.

There is no better way to repair parent-child relationships than by taking the initiative now.

Mom and Dad, as long as you listen to me, this family will be happy.

After finishing his sentence, Li Changlin remained at the door of the room and did not leave.

"What's wrong, Dad?"

"Son, how do you know all this?"

Li Zhao was just about to make up an excuse when the phone suddenly rang.

"Whose number is this?" Zhou Xiaoyun said as she answered the phone. "Hey? Yes, it is. Oh, okay, I'll talk to him."

In just a few words, Zhou Xiaoyun's expression went from confusion to surprise to a broad smile.

"Son, your phone's ringing, come quick." Zhou Xiaoyun waved to Li Zhao, then made a whispering gesture, "It's He Shuyao calling."

The sound is not quiet at all.

Li Changlin instantly showed an "Oh~" expression.

No wonder this kid knows about subsidies for dilapidated housing renovation.

Li Zhao was too lazy to explain. The reason that "I have a good relationship with the daughter of the planning bureau director so I have a lot of professional information" was much easier to explain than his planning skills of more than ten years.

"Feed?"

"Li Zhao, tomorrow at 2 PM, right?"

"Yes."

"...Where do you live?"