Waiting in line through the night

“Why did you still let Li Mingjiang buy shares?” On the way back, Zhang Peng asked Chen Ling, “He’s clearly not a trustworthy person. Isn’t it unwise to keep him around?”

Chen Ling nodded and lit a cigarette. “Yes, it’s not ideal.”

“But there’s no other way—we’ve expanded too quickly…”

Hearing this, Zhang Peng understood and didn’t press further. As the future successor of a family business, he knew this all too well.

Why do family businesses exist? Isn’t it precisely because the cost of building trust and the risk of trial and error with outsiders or strangers is too high? That’s why so many businesses start with couples or siblings. The natural trust born of blood ties can’t be matched by outsiders. Of course, sometimes couples turn against each other or brothers become enemies, but that’s another matter.

The situation with Cheng Company was much the same—rapid expansion meant that both the two stores and the property management company needed people to run them. With no time to train suitable talent, they had no choice but to cooperate with others. In fact, it was the same reason that Chen Ling chose Zhang Peng, Bao Zhenhai, and Bu Chunsheng as partners in the early days—they were classmates and roommates, relatively close at hand.

There was simply too much to be done, and Chen Ling wasn’t some mythical figure with three heads and six arms; even if he were, it wouldn’t be enough. So he had to rely on those who were at least somewhat familiar. That’s why it was vital to use every means to bind people to the business. Zhang Peng himself had once tried to tie Chen Ling with interests, though he’d failed.

“Don’t worry,” Chen Ling said with a smile, “as long as I keep control of the big picture, Li Mingjiang won’t be able to stir up any trouble.” He was confident in this—after all, with the system’s verification, Li Mingjiang should have already given up any ambition to compete with him.

In fact, the biggest priority right now was the reselling of apartment numbers.

“By the way,” Zhang Peng suddenly said, “my father mentioned he might come to Linjiang soon. He wants to buy me an apartment here, and he also wants to meet you.”

Chen Ling looked at him in mild surprise and nodded. “All right.”

The preparations for reselling the apartment numbers proceeded in an orderly fashion. News had already come from Zeng Fucai’s side: the people were all arranged, just waiting for the day of the sale to act together. Feng Lifang’s training was ongoing, and the first batch of employees had acquired the most basic skills. Recruitment was still happening continuously. Although there were only two stores for now, Chen Ling had already chosen several locations for new ones, leased them, and renovations were underway.

During this time, Lin Yi, Yan Ji, and Chen Ling met once again.

This time there were more people present. In addition to the three of them, the actual on-site heads of sales for both real estate projects were called in. On Chen Ling’s side, he brought Zeng Fucai, Zhang Peng, Bao Zhenhai, and Bu Chunsheng. Both sides got to know each other, smoothing the way for future cooperation.

In the anxious wait that followed, the days passed one by one, until finally the day came when the two projects would open for sale…

Fan Lin was an owner in the first phase of Binhu Huacheng, with an 88-square-meter apartment. Because it was on a lower floor and faced the street, it had been relatively cheap when she bought it—8,800 yuan per square meter. But now, the price had risen to 13,000 per square meter. In just two years, the value had increased by nearly 400,000 yuan, and she couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride.

She heard that the second phase would open for sales tomorrow, so she washed up early, preparing to rest. She wanted to visit the sales office the next day—not to buy, of course, but just to see others pay a much higher price for the same location, the same community, the same property management, and the same amenities.

Then, she could proudly tell her husband, “See? Wasn’t I wise to push you to buy back then?”

But in the middle of the night, Fan Lin was woken by a commotion outside. She was bewildered. There were only two residential communities near Binhu Huacheng: no malls, no parks, and certainly nothing that should be making such noise in the middle of the night.

“Go see what’s making all that noise downstairs!” She nudged her husband with her foot.

Her husband woke up groggily and mumbled, “Just go back to sleep. Why do you care so much?”

“It’s too loud! I can’t sleep!” Fan Lin gave him a harder shove—

Thud! Her husband fell out of bed.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Just go look, enough with the excuses!”

“You’re such a pain…”

Rubbing his sore backside, her husband pulled the curtains aside and then froze, speechless.

“What is it?” Fan Lin pressed.

“It’s unbelievable!”

“Don’t scare me in the dead of night! Or you can sleep on the couch…”

“No, really, come look—there are so many people outside!”

“Huh?” Fan Lin’s curiosity got the better of her. She joined her husband at the window, and together they stared in astonishment.

Across the street, in front of the sales office, a long, crooked line of people stretched all the way to the corner and beyond—so far that they couldn’t see where it ended.

“What’s going on?” Fan Lin was now wide awake, clutching her husband’s arm nervously. “Why are there so many people?”

“Maybe they’re lining up to buy apartments?” her husband guessed, just as baffled.

Since the Lehman incident in America on September 15 this year, the global financial crisis had broken out. For ordinary people, this was no longer a secret. Anyone with a bit of sense knew the economy wouldn’t be good in the coming years, and that investments should be made with caution and risks tightly controlled.

Naturally, unless you needed a place to get married, who would buy an apartment now?

But the endless line in front of the sales office kept gnawing at the couple’s nerves.

“So many people lining up to buy? Sales don’t even open until tomorrow! Are they really going to wait all night?” Fan Lin asked.

Her husband pursed his lips. “No idea! And the second phase isn’t cheap, either. I passed by the other day and saw prices starting at 13,888 per square meter—the average might be fifteen or even sixteen thousand! That’s crazy!”

Fan Lin stared at the line below, deep in thought.

After a long while, she nudged her husband. “Hey, don’t your parents have some retirement savings?”

Her husband frowned. “Why do you ask?”

“We…” Fan Lin hesitated, then gritted her teeth. “Let’s buy another apartment. This time in the second phase!”

“You’re crazy!” He ignored her and climbed back into bed.

Fan Lin exploded. “Who are you calling crazy? I said, who are you calling crazy? Get up and say that to my face!”

“Can you stop? It’s the middle of the night! Retirement savings? Why not ask your own parents for money?”

To his surprise, Fan Lin’s eyes lit up. “You’re right—I’ll call them!”

“What?!”

“Are you out of your mind? Do you know what time it is?”

“Just you wait, in a few years you’ll be kneeling to thank me! Marrying me is the best luck you’ll ever have in your life!”

“…”

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How sad—something’s come up in Hangzhou, I may not make it back home for the New Year.

How delightful—if I can’t go home, I can just buckle down and write more (hehe).

So—dear readers, please give me some votes!