46: Enemies meet on a narrow road

Qin Shou rubbed his forehead, which was throbbing from the impact, a gloomy expression on his face. He thought, "Damn it, I was so focused on getting rich!"

As he massaged his forehead, he turned and walked to the wall by the office door, leaning against it. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and started browsing.

Qin Shou downloaded the Fangtianxia real estate app, planning to first check the North City Suburbs for any properties that were urgent for sale.

Qin Shou downloaded a local City property viewing app, intending to first search for property listings in the North City Suburbs to see if there were any houses being urgently sold.

Qin Shou knew very well that once tomorrow's bidding concluded, it wouldn't be long before news of the North City Suburbs' redevelopment would spread like wildfire. At that time, property prices there would surely skyrocket, and even properties currently listed for sale might be temporarily taken off the market by their owners. If he wanted to buy then, it would probably not be so easy.

Qin Shou briefly browsed the app and found several old residential areas in the North City Suburbs. Many houses were listed for sale online, mostly ordinary residential buildings of around 100 square meters. The prices were also similar, generally around 400,000 yuan.

However, Qin Shou searched for a long time but still couldn't find a particularly satisfactory property. His purpose for buying a house this time was very clear: he wanted to complete the transaction as quickly as possible before the news of the demolition and redevelopment was officially announced. Ideally, he would see it today and sign the contract tomorrow.

In addition, there was another very important point: the original owner of the house should preferably not have lived locally for many years, ideally someone who had immigrated abroad or worked in other cities for a long time.

The reason Qin Shou considered this was also very simple.

If he bought the house and signed the contract, and then a few days later, news of the demolition and redevelopment broke, the original owners would inevitably feel imbalanced, thinking they had suffered a great loss and been tricked. If he encountered reasonable owners, it would be fine; they could sit down and negotiate a solution. But if he encountered unreasonable rascals who liked to throw tantrums, it would inevitably lead to unnecessary disputes and trouble for himself.

Qin Shou kept browsing the app for a long time, and finally, one property caught his attention, making his eyes light up.

Qin Shou carefully checked the seller's introduction and found that this property was not a residential building in an ordinary community, but a standalone dilapidated house on an empty plot of land. The house had three floors, with each floor covering about 100 square meters, totaling over 300 square meters of built area. Most importantly, this house also came with a yard of about 200 square meters.

And the most crucial thing was that the property rights to the land occupied by this house were also in the seller's hands! This meant that he was buying not just the house, but also the property rights to the land! This was undoubtedly a huge surprise for Qin Shou.

According to the seller's introduction, this house was an old family home passed down from the seller's ancestors. More than ten years ago, the Municipal Government had carried out a large-scale housing renovation project, planning to demolish all the surrounding detached houses and rebuild them into modern apartment buildings. At that time, this house was also part of the renovation plan. However, the seller's ancestors at the time were quite influential in the City, with very extensive connections, and their attitude was also very firm, resolutely disagreeing to the demolition. They managed to withstand the pressure from the Municipal Government and ultimately preserved this old house.

Now, the seller's entire family had immigrated abroad several years ago, and this old house had consequently been neglected for many years, gradually becoming dilapidated and a truly dangerous building.

The cost of dealing with such a dilapidated house was extremely high; both demolition and reconstruction required a significant amount of money and effort. Furthermore, the North City Suburbs had not developed well in recent years, with hardly any external population. Therefore, although this house came with a considerable plot of land, it had never been able to sell for a good price. It had been listed online for several years but had never found a suitable buyer.

The seller's current asking price is 2 million RMB. For two million, one could buy a three-story detached old house, with each floor having an area of 100 square meters, totaling about 300 square meters of built area, plus a complimentary 200 square meter yard. Most importantly, it also included the property rights to the land!

Qin Shou thought about it for a moment and felt that this deal was an absolute steal. As long as he could acquire this house, even if the Municipal Government only compensated him according to the demolition policy standards, he would receive at least a dozen apartment units, plus several million in cash subsidies. It would be a massive windfall!

After reviewing the information for this property, Qin Shou immediately left a message for the seller, eager to prevent others from getting ahead of him.

"Hello, I am very interested in this property. However, I am in a bit of a hurry and would prefer to complete the transaction within three days. Would that be convenient?"

"Hello, may I ask your surname and how you prefer to be addressed?"

To Qin Shou's surprise, not long after he sent the message, the other party replied instantly. It seemed the other party was also eager to sell this property, and Qin Shou was overjoyed.

"My surname is Qin; you can call me Mr. Qin."

"Hello, Mr. Qin. I am currently not in the country and cannot return in the short term. It would be difficult to get back within three days. However, I have fully entrusted the sale of this property to Happy Housing Source agency. They can handle all the procedures on my behalf. If it's convenient for you, please leave your contact information, and I will have the agency contact you as soon as possible."

"13XXXXXXXXX."

Qin Shou didn't hesitate, immediately sending his phone number to the seller via private message.

It must be said that the seller's efficiency was outstanding, truly decisive. Just a few minutes after Qin Shou sent his phone number, his phone rang. The caller ID showed an unfamiliar local number.

"Hello, is this Mr. Qin? I am a real estate agent from Happy Housing Source agency. Our client has entrusted me to contact you. My surname is Zhu; you can call me Miss Zhu."

On the other end of the phone, a familiar and pleasant female voice, clear and melodious, could be heard.

"Zhu Xinyao!"

Qin Shou recognized it immediately; the owner of this voice was none other than Zhu Xinyao, the campus belle he had pursued for four years during university. It truly was a small world; enemies always meet on a narrow road.

"You are? ... Qin Shou!"

The other end of the phone was also stunned for a moment, then finally reacted, calling out Qin Shou's name with some surprise.

"Haha, what a coincidence. I didn't expect it to be you."

Qin Shou chuckled awkwardly, thinking, "I almost forgot, I still have a task to complete: winning over my first love goddess! And here it comes."

"Hmm, it is quite a coincidence, so much so that I don't even know what to say."

Zhu Xinyao laughed self-deprecatingly, a hint of undetectable desolation and loneliness in her tone.

"You must be very happy now, seeing me in this pathetic state. You must be very pleased, right?"

"Happy? Why should I be happy?" Qin Shou looked bewildered.

"Qin Shou, you don't have to pretend. I know what you're thinking. This way you can openly mock me! Back then, I rejected you and chose someone else. Now you can finally hold your head high, seeing how miserably I'm doing, not only divorced but also living a hard life as a real estate agent."

There was a hint of resentment and self-mockery in Zhu Xinyao's tone.

"Haha, Zhu Xinyao, do you know what I can't stand about you the most?" Qin Shou sneered.