26. Vast Blue Ocean (Please vote and add to your favorites!)

The expression on the bar owner’s face shifted several times as he rapidly weighed the pros and cons in his mind—Just let it go like this? The loss stings, and he felt indignant! But to truly start a fight? Just as this young man had said, if things really got out of hand, it would only make things worse for him!

After a long moment, he clenched his teeth, forced a smile, and nodded, “Fine, as you wish. I’ll give you a discount. Pay one thousand, that’s all right, isn’t it?”

Chen Ling chuckled as well. He released the spring knife in his pocket and nodded, “Deal. Baozi, pay him.”

With a bewildered look, Bao Zhenhai counted out a thousand in cash and handed it over. Before he could even process what had happened, Chen Ling and the others had already led him out of the bar…

It wasn’t until they were in the taxi that he suddenly came to his senses, exclaiming, “Oh no, I forgot about Huanhuan!”

“Forgot your Huanhuan? I’ll give you a banana for that!” Zhang Peng was so exasperated that he laughed. “This blockhead really is hopeless!”

Then, clicking his tongue in amazement, he said, “Old Chen, you were amazing back there! You had that boss completely at a loss for words. But I’m still a bit annoyed—why did we pay him in the end? If it were me, I’d have made sure to teach him a lesson!”

“There’s no need. No matter what, a grudge shouldn’t be pushed too far. If we’d really fallen out with him, our day wouldn’t have ended well either. Cornered enemies shouldn’t be chased,” Chen Ling replied.

“I’d have been fine,” Bu Chunsheng suddenly added. “Those guys weren’t much of a threat.”

As a former soldier, he naturally despised this kind of thing. If Chen Ling hadn’t taken charge earlier, he probably wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from starting a fight…

“Sheng, let me tell you something,” Chen Ling smiled. “A lot of things in this world aren’t just black and white. For instance, what if that bar owner was only forced into this because his business was failing, he has a paralyzed mother to support, and a son born mentally disabled? What would you do then?”

Bu Chunsheng paused, then muttered, “I didn’t think about it like that.”

“Hahaha…” Zhang Peng laughed loudly. “Old Chen, are you cursing that boss or what?”

“Is there a problem?” Chen Ling didn’t deny it. “Not at all!”

Zhang Peng nudged Bao Zhenhai. “Baozi, why so quiet? If Old Chen hadn’t come with us tonight, you might really have been stuck there. At least say thank you.”

“Thanks, Old Chen,” Bao Zhenhai replied woodenly, then fell silent again.

Chen Ling shook his head. “Let him be. Let him have a moment to himself.”

At those words, Zhang Peng licked his lips and, after a moment’s thought, decided not to rub salt in the wound.

When they returned to the dormitory, Bao Zhenhai sat at his computer, scrolling through his chat history with Huanhuan. After a long time, he finally seemed to come to terms with it and, feeling uncharacteristically awkward, asked the three of them, “Did I look like a total idiot back there?”

“Baozi,” Chen Ling clapped him on the shoulder. “You need to be more confident!”

Before Bao Zhenhai could breathe a sigh of relief, Chen Ling continued, “Just drop the ‘like’—you are one!”

That line made Zhang Peng and Bu Chunsheng burst out laughing, and even Bao Zhenhai’s dark cheeks turned a little red with embarrassment…

At last, the dormitory’s atmosphere returned to normal.

As the laughter faded, Zhang Peng asked, “Old Chen, now that everyone’s here, tell us your detailed plan for the next steps.”

“Alright,” Chen Ling replied. “You guys definitely need to get familiar with things first.”

“I’ve already rented two storefronts today. We’re going to open a real estate agency. As for registering the company and renovating the shops, Old Zhang, I’ll leave that to you.”

“No problem at all,” Zhang Peng agreed cheerfully.

“Hold on,” Bao Zhenhai frowned. “A real estate agency? We don’t know anything about selling houses.”

Chen Ling shook his head. “We’re not really going to sell houses. The agency is just a front. What we’re actually going to do is resell property reservation numbers.”

“Reservation numbers?”

“That’s right. Right now, real estate projects are mostly sold on-site at sales offices. The two shops I picked are tied to projects I’ve vetted—they’re the ideal choice in every way.”

“There’s still some time before the two developments start selling officially. There’ll be a registration phase first, and only customers who’ve registered will be allowed to pick a property on opening day. What we’ll be selling are the registration numbers obtained after registering.”

At this, Bu Chunsheng asked, puzzled, “But if people want to buy a house, can’t they just register themselves? Why would they buy from us?”

Chen Ling grinned slyly. “That’s exactly the point, Sheng. Sure, people can register themselves—but what if all the spots are taken? Developers can only sell after getting a pre-sale permit, so the number of units released each time is limited. If we snap up all the reservation numbers, anyone else who wants to buy has to come to us.”

“Will there really be that many buyers?” Bu Chunsheng asked, worried. “Houses in Linjiang aren’t cheap—each one costs over a million, right?”

Seeing the same concern in Bao Zhenhai and Zhang Peng’s faces, Chen Ling answered seriously, “You need to remember—there are far more people who can afford homes than you might think. Especially with real estate, the market depends entirely on policy. Real estate isn’t just business between people—it’s a subtle coordination between people and the authorities. From broad strategies to local controls, real estate plays an irreplaceable role. Do you understand?”

He looked at the three of them, only to be met with three blank stares.

Chen Ling smiled wryly to himself. He couldn’t expect people now to understand things with the hindsight of a decade or more, especially not three sheltered college students. There was still a long way to go before they’d catch up.

So he just said, “Never mind all that. Let’s be practical. When the two shops open, Baozi and I will handle one, and Old Zhang and Sheng will handle the other.”

“I’ll put together written instructions for everything—how to register, the overall transaction process, and all the important details.”

“Alright!”

The three replied in unison, their expressions turning serious.

After all, Chen Ling’s first “entrepreneurial” venture had already proven successful, and the profits were plain to see. Their trust in him was nearly absolute.

But Chen Ling himself, faced with such rare trust, suddenly felt the weight on his shoulders grow heavier…

He’d felt this before, on his last life’s entrepreneurial journey—all those who followed him were, in a sense, staking their futures on him.

He hadn’t managed to shoulder that burden in his previous life, but this time, his confidence was unshakable!

…

The days that followed settled into a simple rhythm.

With Zhang Peng taking the lead, Pengcheng Group of Ouzhou City in Qujiang Province—his family’s company—set up an office in Linjiang and assigned several employees to manage it.

For now, this office’s only task was to support Zhang Peng’s needs, leveraging Pengcheng Group’s connections and resources in Linjiang.

The preparation for the two stores was now handled entirely by this office.

Meanwhile, Chen Ling was busy drafting and refining company policies. The business might be a mere facade for now, but who’s to say a mask can’t turn beautiful?

Although the real estate agency business had been around for over a decade and there were many kinds of companies in the market, Chen Ling knew… the field was still a vast blue ocean!

Compared to the asset-heavy, high-risk operations of property development, real estate agencies were light on assets and low on risk, making them the perfect point of entry for a market about to go wild.

…

Just as Chen Ling’s business was about to officially launch, he received two phone calls.

One was from Li Mingjiang. The development office for Lianjia Village was almost ready, and the crucial moment had arrived—the fight for the director’s seat!

Landing that position meant controlling two parcels of collective land in Lianjia Village, with enormous economic interests at stake.

So Li Mingjiang planned to treat Liu Xuefeng to dinner tonight, hoping to get a clear stance from him. Liu Xuefeng’s agreement to attend was half the battle, but Li Mingjiang wanted Chen Ling to join them as well.

The other call was from Liu Xinyue. She’d also heard her father had agreed to the dinner, and hoped Chen Ling would come, too—to make their relationship public to her father.

On one hand, the call of interest and business; on the other, a devoted girlfriend.

After hanging up, Chen Ling could only smile wryly.

This dinner would be anything but easy.