Chapter 587: Selling the Villa at a Very Low Price
Fang Qiang's expression slightly changed and anger could be seen brewing in his eyes. He didn't like Li Jing… No, precisely speaking, he liked Li Jing very much. He once had the fantasy of getting her into bed, but it was a pity that Li Jing didn't have any good impression toward him whatsoever, thus he was flatly refused.
Therefore, he secretly instructed the other saleswomen to snatch Li Jing's clients, and even gave them preferential treatment so as to make her lower her head a bit and be unable to strike a deal. And now, he had two paths for her. First, to climb in his bed like a slut, and second, to pack up her stuff and quit. As for the sale of a villa, even if her performance was up to standard, it was just something to toy her with.
"I already told you that the villa #9 has already been booked by someone else. The deposit will be transferred to the company's account later. I understand that you badly want to sell a house, but it doesn't mean that you can snatch the bill from someone else either, don't you think? Very well then, ask your client whether they are willing to pick another villa, but do get the hell out if they don't wanna."
Tears burst out from Li Jing's eyes. Her grievance and irritation made her want to slap Fang Qiang a few times, but her sane mind told her not to. She couldn't afford to lose her job, otherwise she would have to sell her apartment. She needed to earn money to pay the mortgage and also send some money to her parents.
Suddenly, she remembered something and suppressed her impulse to cry, saying, "Manager, since you want to sell villa #9 to someone else, then I can forget it. But these two clients of mine are very special. Uncle Han, who lives in villa #8, seems to know them. He was very amiable and friendly towards them."
Fang Qiang's brows furrowed slightly and immediately mocked her, "Do you want to tell me that the Boss' current achievement was inseparable from his capable helper—the second son of that old geezer Han?"
"Isn't it so?" Replied Li Jing.
Fang Qiang got up with contempt and ridicule on his face as he scornfully derided, "Li Jing, do you know why you have no results in our sales center? It's because you're too stupid. You're too rigid and are oblivious as to how to adapt to circumstances. Do you know what decade you are living in? Shouldering the grace and benevolence from others until you die? Hmph, the present capacity of our Big Boss is more than that old geezer Han's son in the past. Do you think that our Boss will still give face to that Old Han on his son's account? That's ridiculous."
Li Jing's glimmer of hope was blown away by Fang Qiang's rebuttal. Unwilling as she may be, she didn't know what else she could use to argue back.
Suddenly, courage seemed to emerge inside her heart as she secretly made up her mind. She turned around and headed to the office under Fang Qiang's mocking smirk. Several minutes later, she obtained the cell number of her Big Boss, Chen Bin, and dialed it.
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Shanghai, Hongtu Group.
At the moment, Chen Bin, who owned a few billions yuan in wealth, was sitting in the reception room and receiving a guest. This particular guest was a Big Boss he had invited many times already, who had more wealth and higher status in Shanghai than him.
"Brother Jin, I've already expressed my intention as well as presented all the estimated profits to you. As long as you're willing to give me those few projects, I guarantee that I'll fulfill both the quality and quantity requirements. Besides, it won't affect your next big plan either, and we can also satisfy and make the best of both sides." Chen Bin had been looking forward to being able to pick up some subcontracts from Jin Xingkui after the Jinda Real Estate planned to subcontract several projects.
"Brother Chen, we are all in the construction industry, so we know it inside out," said Jin Xingkui smilingly. "However, more than ten construction companies have approached me recently, and they also offered more than you. It's tough for me to accept it if you can't allocate more profits."
Chen Bin secretly scowled and criticized Jin Xingkui for being greedy, yet he kept smiling on the surface and said, "How about I reformulate the agreement with much better conditions than these, Brother Jin? Anyways, there is still some time today, would you care to have a few shots in the golf course?"
"I don't have the leisure time you have now, Brother Chen." Jin Xingkui shook his head and smilingly said. "I recently started a new project and am ridden with all sorts of worrying things as well. Let's postpone it to later! We'll have a few shots whenever we find some time later!"
Chen Bin was somewhat disappointed inside and also envious at the same time upon hearing it, and yet he couldn't do anything about it. Jin Xingkui's business was currently booming, and his new project especially boasted massive works and would be quite a source of money once it was completed!
Ring, ring, ring…
A call from an unfamiliar number made Chen Bin swallow back the words he was about to say. After a moment's hesitation, he looked at Jin Xingkui and apologized before accepting the call, saying, "Chen Bin speaking, who is this?"
"Hello, Boss. I'm Li Jing, a salesperson from the Loran Villa Complex' sales center. I really wasn't supposed to disturb you, but I have very important thing to report to you."
"Speak!"
Upon hearing Li Jing's identity, Chen Bin instinctively wanted to hang up. After all, daring to call the higher-ups behind one's immediate superior's back was something he really didn't like. The last sentence from Li Jing, however, made him temporarily pause and allow her to speak.
Li Jing had long considered what she would say inside her mind. It was her last hope, thus she was ready to stake everything she had even if she would get fired. Not only did she narrate what Fang Qiang had done, she even told the issues with the clients who came to buy the villa today. Finally, she said, "Boss, Manager Fang said that you're the kind of businessman who discards your helpers after their help is made use of and the kind who only seek for profits and doesn't care about past sentiments at all. This is the reason why I called, to tell you that even Uncle Han attaches great importance to Mr. Tang, even flattering him. Also, these two clients are driving a very luxurious sports car. I secretly checked it out on the Internet and found that his car is priced at over 10 million yuan. I think their identity must be extraordinary."
A flame of anger blazed inside Chen Bin's heart. It was not aimed at Li Jing but toward Fang Qiang. Outsiders may not know the relationship between him and the Han Family, but he knew perfectly well that he would only be a good-for-nothing trash now if it wasn't for Han Jintong's son in the past. Therefore, he always remembered the benevolence given unto him by the others and even treating Han Jintong as his own elder and a family member even though many years had passed by.
Furthermore, what startled him most was about the clients who could afford a few millions yuan luxury sports car. Their identity was probably extraordinary and couldn't be underestimated. The waters of Shanghai were very deep, thus he always acted prudently despite having a wealth of a few billion yuan, for fear of offending someone he couldn't afford to offend.
"Who exactly is this Mr. Tang?" Asked Chen Bin after pondering for a moment.
"It's Tang Xiu," answered Li Jing.
The name felt familiar to Chen Bin and he gave it a thought for a while. He heard this name somewhere but couldn't remember it. However, for Elderly Han Jintong to feel the need to fawn upon him, this person was obviously someone whose identity was really extraordinary.
"I see. I'll come over to the villa complex shortly."
Having said that, he concluded the call. With a hesitant expression, he then looked at Jin Xingkui and asked, "Brother Jin, can I ask you something? Have you heard of a young man named Tang Xiu?"
Jin Xingkui stared at him with a blank face, and then his expression immediately changed. He then replied with a sinking voice, "I do know the owner of that name. Chen Bin, what are you asking Tang Xiu's name for?"
Astute as he was, Chen Bin couldn't help but turn more cautious after seeing Jin Xingkui's expression, as he then replied, "A staff from the sales center of the villa complex I just developed just called. She reported a particular situation to me…"
He then explained everything he had heard cautiously and finally said, "I feel that this name is quite familiar. It's like I've heard it somewhere but I can't remember it. But you have more experience and also have a lot of personal connections, Brother Jin, hence why I asked you."
A strange expression appeared on Jin Xingkui's face before he shot Chen Bin a deep gaze. Following that, he got up and said, "Chen Bin, I've given some thought to your offer, and I'm satisfied with it. You don't need to reformulate the agreement anymore, we can sign the contract today. However, I have a request."
Chen Bin was dumbfounded. Astute and smart he may be, yet he was completely bewildered by Jin Xingkui's jumping off topic. He couldn't grasp where it was heading.
"Please say!" Said Chen Bin cautiously.
"There's no need for Tang Xiu to pay for a villa in your villa complex," said Jin Xingkui. "Just sell it to him for 1 yuan."
Chen Bin instantly gasped a cold breath. At this time, he suddenly understood. No matter how the topic was shifted and circled about, Jin Xingkui just agreed to cooperate with him with the previous conditions, and it was all because of this Tang Xiu!!
This… who could this holiness be?
Not only was this person worth it for Elderly Han Jintong to fawn upon, even such a bigwig like Jin Xingkui gave up quite a large profit for him?
"Brother Jin, this Mr. Tang is…" Chen Bin cautiously explored.
"He has a lot of identities, but I won't tell you all of them one by one," said Jin Xingkui. "There are two points I can tell you now. Firstly, Tang Xiu is someone I can't afford to offend. Even if there were ten of me, I would never dare to provoke him. Secondly, he's a friend of mine and also my business partner. Though the New City Project is mainly helmed by me, he's the major shareholder in it."
Hiss… Chen Bin suddenly gasped upon hearing this. At this time, he rained down streams of curses toward Fang Qiang inwardly and couldn't wait to drag and slap him fiercely. Such a powerful great personage came to buy a villa in his villa complex, yet Fang Qiang went so far as to slam the door on his face just to intentionally make things difficult for a saleswoman?
"Brother Jin, I'll immediately rush over to the Loran Villa Complex. I'll sell the villa to Mr. Tang for 1 yuan just like you told me to."
"If so, then off you go and Godspeed!" Jin Xingkui nodded. "Anyways, it won't be convenient for me to appear there. And do not mention anything about the matter between us. When you're all done dealing with it, bring the contract to the Jinda Real Estate. I'll be waiting for you there."
"Brother Jin, I'll definitely handle this matter well," said Chen Bin with all seriousness. "As a matter of fact, I would still do it even if you didn't tell me so. It's because Elderly Han is my own elder, and I never dare not to listen to his words."
Jin Xingkui smilingly nodded. He was full of admiration and adulation toward Tang Xiu inwardly. He had heard of Han Jintong's name; an old man who didn't expose his talents yet was very capable. The second son of this old man was once a very successful businessman in Shanghai that had developed his business into a giant entity and then immigrated overseas to expand it.
Chapter 588: What Kind of Joke is This?
Inside the property sales center of Loran Villa Complex.
It had been more than half an hour that Tang Xiu and Mu Wanying sat in the rest area waiting for Li Jing, but they didn't see Li Jing's figure at all. They were quite surprised when Li Jing came to them slowly, with nothing in her hands just like when she left.
"What happened?" Asked Tang Xiu, confused.
Li Jing didn't understand what her Boss meant, so she wasn't certain the excuses she had to tell the other party would be useful. However, she had already packed the stuff in her office and was waiting for her Boss to come. In the case that the matter ended up unsatisfactorily, she was afraid that she could only be swept out and leave for home.
She felt somewhat sorry for Tang Xiu and Mu Wanying, for she thought that they were just victims who got implicated by her problems, so she said, "Mr. Tang, Ms. Mu, I apologize for keeping you waiting. It's because something went wrong. My Boss is currently heading here and he'll arrive soon, I believe. Would you two wait a bit longer?"
"What's the problem?" Asked Mu Wanying. "What exactly happened?"
Li Jing was about to speak but hesitated.
After looking at her expression, Tang Xiu's brows slightly furrowed and then asked, "What's the name of your Big Boss?"
"Chen Bin," said Li Jing and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Chen Bin?
After searching his memories, Tang Xiu couldn't remember the name, and obviously, he hadn't met nor was acquainted with him, thus this should probably be a internal problem of their company! As he thought up to there, he then looked at Mu Wanying and said, "It's fine in any case, since we have nothing to do this morning. We'll wait a bit longer then!"
"That's right!" Mu Wanying came to buy a house, but as a matter of fact, she had an 'ulterior motive'. That was, as long as she could be alone with Tang Xiu, whatever the place was the same.
Seeing that they expressed their willingness to wait, Li Jing immediately shot they a grateful look and personally served them tea.
Afterward, she went to wait for her Boss outside the door. Fang Qiang then strolled in in a leisurely manner with his left hand stuffed in his pocket. His eyes swept over Tang Xiu before landing on Mu Wanying's face, as shock immediately painted his face. Despite having considerable power in this sales center, he didn't dare to offend these clients, for he knew that people who could afford to buy such luxury villas were not your ordinary layman.
Nevertheless, he may not dare provoke Tang Xiu and Mu Wanying, but that was not so toward Li Jing. He felt that he could elevate his dignity and rank highly if he taught her in front of Mu Wanying. So, he raised his chin and said, "What are you doing, Li Jing? Don't tell me you haven't told the clients that the villa #9 has already been sold?"
"I…" Li Jing opened her mouth and her face turned pale.
"What's with me, huh?" Fang Qiang raised his brows and reproached her, "Though villa #9 has been sold, aren't there three others that have not yet sold out? If you feel that you don't have the ability to serve the clients well then I'll do it myself…"
Tang Xiu frowned. He looked at Li Jing and asked, "What's happened here?"
Li Jing finally realized that she couldn't hide it anymore as she toughened her resolve and said, "Mr. Tang, Ms. Mu, I'm really sorry. I originally presented you the villa #9, but after I brought you back and was about to draft the purchase agreement, he told me that someone had booked the villa and the other party would come over to pay the purchase agreement in the afternoon. Actually, the customer who pays first would get the villa according to the policy of our company. I also talked about this with him, but he pressure me with his manager's identity. I'm really sorry. I've already thought of a way to work it out. Please wait for a while."
Fang Qiang never dreamed that Li Jing would actually point the spearhead at him, more so that she bluntly disclosed it to the customer?
Anger surged up from his chest, as he glared at Li Jing and berated her, "What nonsense are you spitting out? Who is using the manager's identity to pressure you, huh? Your work attitude surely is problematic, Li Jing! You're not worthy to to be a staff at the sales center of Loran Villa Complex. You're fired! Go back and pack your stuff, and then leave!"
"That's really impressive, Manager Fang!"
A cold voice came from the front door of the sales center as several men and women followed a middle-aged man inside. It was the middle-aged man who just spoke.
The familiar voice made Fang Qiang's complexion change. When he turned and saw Chen Bin, his heart suddenly thumped violently as he obsequiously smiled and said, "Boss, why didn't you inform me in advance? I would have sent someone to welcome you outside…"
With a grim expression, Chen Bin hummed coldly and said, "Could I still see your unruliness if I had given you prior notice? Training an outstanding salesperson has never been easy for the company, and yet you only need a few words to fire her? With you doing it in front of the customer, is really so inspiring in and of itself, no?"
A chill ran down Fang Qiang's heart. As he was about to speak, he actually found that his Boss didn't even want to listen to him at all, but continued to walk toward the young man sitting on the couch instead.
"Are you Mr. Tang?" Asked Chen Bin respectfully as he arrived in front of Tang Xiu.
"Do you know me?" Asked Tang Xiu back, surprised.
"Hello, Mr. Tang, I'm Chen Bin, the chairman of the Hongtu Group. This is my business card." Chen Bin quickly said. "You and this young lady have been wronged by us, but thankfully our saleswoman has already informed me of everything. You can rest assured, however, that our company has distinct rules and policies that whoever pays the house is the one who gets it. Nevertheless, I still want to apologize to you and this lady for the problem caused by the staff of our company management that has brought a great inconvenience to the two of you here, and I must make up for it."
"Oh? How do you want to make up for this matter, exactly?" Asked Tang Xiu while letting out a faint smile as he got up to shake hands with Chen Bin, and the motioned Mu Wanying to change the seat to give a place for Chen Bin.
Chen Bin felt slightly flattered for being able to sit next to Tang Xiu and said, "Mr. Tang, regarding the problem caused by my company management staff, I will fire him at once and also inform the real estate developer circle. He will be blacklisted from all the major real estate developers in the future."
"This is an internal affair of your company." Tang Xiu neither approve nor disapprove it. "It has no relationship with us whatsoever."
At the side, Fang Qiang's face was tragic as he hastily cried out, "Boss, you can't fire me! I have the right to dismiss employees as the sales manager here. Also, I didn't offend these two clients either!"
Chen Bin suddenly turned his head and yelled angrily, "SHUT UP!"
Fang Qiang's breath lagged and dared not speak again.
The expression on Chen Bin's face was then replaced with a respectful expression as he said, "Mr. Tang, I decided to sell villa #9 to you for 1 yuan to make up for the wrongdoing my company has done to the two of you. You see…"
What?
Tang Xiu was struck dumb, whereas Mu Wanying's expression was one of disbelief.
1 yuan? A mere coin to buy a villa that was valued at over 60 million yuan? What kind of joke was this?
At the side, Fang Qiang stared at Chen Bin with disbelief all over his face as he couldn't believe what he heard. He could tell that the Big Boss was not ill, but why did he…
Li Jing was also shocked, because it never crossed her mind even in her dreams that her reporting a complaint on the phone would unexpectedly turn the situation into this.
"Is it because of Han Jintong?" Asked Tang Xiu after thinking for a moment.
"That's part of the reason, indeed," said Chen Bin quickly.
"And the other part?" Asked Tang Xiu again, frowning.
"Mr. Tang, the person urged me to not mention him." Chen Bin hesitantly replied, "I'm sorry, but what you ask is hard for me to comply."
"There's a saying that no gains will be obtained without pains." Tang Xiu replied, "We're here to buy a villa, not to obtain something for free. If you don't tell us about the whole story, do you think we can accept your villa so easily?"
After contemplating for a moment, Chen Bin finally spoke, albeit reluctantly, "All right! Since you must know, then I can only comply. It's actually Brother Jin Xingkui. I was having a discussion with him when I received a call from the sales staff—Li Jing."
Tang Xiu suddenly understood. He looked at Mu Wanying, nodded and said, "I see. Since it's a kind intention from Jin Xingkui, let's settle this like that, then! Anyways, you don't have to stay here, though. You can resolve the affairs in your company while we will also tend to other things after we're done with the purchase of the villa."
"You two, please wait for two minutes." Chen Bin quickly got up and said, "I'll immediately send someone to finish the formalities."
When everyone had left, Mu Wanying leaned on Tang Xiu, grabbed his arm, playfully smiled and said, "I suddenly have a feeling, sweetheart."
"What feeling?" asked Tang Xiu while glancing at Mu Wanying's hands pulling his arm.
"It's like I'm a mistress who's supported by a man, that is," said Mu Wanying with a chuckle.
Cough! Cough…
Her answer made Tang Xiu cough twice and be at a loss whether to cry or laugh. "Don't talk nonsense, will you? You're a rich young woman yourself, do you even need others to support you? The incident today is nothing but only an unforeseen mishap."
"Yeah, an unforeseen mishap, yet it saved me of more than 60 million yuan." Mu Wanying laughed lightly. "Anyhow, you do have quite the capabilities, sweetheart!"
Tang Xiu only wryly smiled in response and shook his head. He was actually pondering as to why Jin Xingkui urged Chen Bin to sell the villa priced at over 60 million yuan for 1 yuan only—what exactly did he invest to earn his friendship for?
Ten minutes later, Li Jing brought the house purchase agreement to Tang Xiu and Mu Wanying. Her attitude toward them at the moment had drastically changed—either her respectful expression or prudent attention to them betrayed the intense nervousness inside her heart.
Quickly after, the agreement had been signed. Mu Wanying herself didn't have a single dime on her, so Tang Xiu eventually handed Li Jing a coin and smilingly said, "Anyways, don't look so cautious like that—we're not some big tigers. That's right, has the duty shift for staff changes in your company been done already?"
"Yeah, it's been completed, and Fang Qiang has been fired." Li Jing replied with a grateful expression. "And I… I got promoted to the sales manager position. Mr. Tang, Ms. Mu, thank you very much."
"No need to be that polite." Tang Xiu waved his hand. "If anything, you have a good professional ethics and your work quality is commendable. It's just that Fang Qiang should not be a good person, else he wouldn't have made things difficult for a woman like you."
Upon hearing this, Li Jing was so touched that she almost broke in tears. Though she had indeed made some achievements by struggling with her own abilities after coming to this metropolis and was finally able to buy a small apartment through a mortgage, she lived alone, and there were no shoulders she could rest her head onto whenever she faced difficulties. The bitter experience she went through today had turned out to be the warmest thing she had ever gotten since coming to this city.