Du Ziheng repeatedly shook his head, "No, I wouldn't have come today if I weren't going to buy any. It's just that I can only use my personal savings to buy them, meaning I'll be using my pocket money to buy houses with you."
"Pocket money? I never thought someone as upright as you, Brother Du, would actually hide some pocket money from your wife!" Liu Yifeng chuckled.
Du Ziheng sighed, "There's no other way. Your sister-in-law is too strict. She says that if a man has money, he'll stray. So, whatever the family needs or whatever I want to buy, she buys it, because she holds all the financial power. I only get a thousand or two yuan for pocket money each month, but what's that good for? So, I have to find ways to earn a little extra on the side!"
Liu Yifeng asked curiously, "Then, the money you gave me before, was that your pocket money, or did you borrow it from your sister-in-law?"
"This is my pocket money. I've been saving it since we got married. My little nest egg has grown to about two million yuan. The money I can use for buying houses is only about two million yuan. I'll buy as many as I can with that, leaving not a single cent!" Du Ziheng said.
This greatly impressed Liu Yifeng, "Brother Du, your ability to earn money is incredible. To secretly save two million yuan on your own while all financial power is controlled by someone else, I'm truly impressed!"
"Don't tease me. My ability to earn money is like child's play compared to yours! If my wife hadn't insisted that I not follow you in buying houses, I would have invested all my funds in buying houses with you." Du Ziheng said.
Liu Yifeng patted Du Ziheng's shoulder, "Your two million yuan should be enough to buy about four houses. When they're demolished, you'll make money, and your nest egg will grow even larger."
The thought of his pocket money doubling instantly dispelled Du Ziheng's gloom.
"But no matter what, I'm most impressed with you. You're so daring to buy so many houses!"
"They say the bold eat, and the timid starve!" If it weren't for Tong Tong's advice, Liu Yifeng wouldn't have been so audacious. It was precisely because he trusted Tong Tong that he dared to go all out.
"By the way, did you tell your relative not to sell the house? He wasn't here just now, was he?" Liu Yifeng suddenly remembered something.
Du Ziheng replied, "Yes, I told him. He listened to me and agreed not to sell!"
Liu Yifeng nodded, "That's good. Otherwise, if his house were sold, and he found out you were buying houses here, he would definitely come after you. Not only would your sister-in-law find out that you were secretly buying houses with your pocket money, but it would also affect your family ties."
Du Ziheng wasn't too concerned about that. "In this world, family ties, to put it bluntly, are all maintained by money. The richer you are, the more relatives you have. If you're poor, they might not visit you for years, and the next time you see them, it'll be at a funeral. I only reminded him because his mother is my aunt." While Du Ziheng's words were crude, they held a lot of truth.
Liu Yifeng could relate to this. In the past, his family's relatives all looked down on them. Now that he was wealthy and even helping them start businesses, their attitude had completely changed.
As they were talking, more and more people started submitting their reports. In about twenty minutes, everyone had filled out their forms. Liu Yifeng gave Du Ziheng ten forms, letting him choose. The remaining were for him, totaling over eighty forms, not much different from last time.
The two of them repeatedly compared the area prices and locations of the houses on the forms. It took them nearly half an hour to finalize all the houses they intended to buy.
"Everyone, we've identified the houses. It's the same as before: those whose names are called are the ones who have successfully purchased houses. Those not called can leave. Those whose names are called, we'll go to the housing authority to transfer ownership. We'll exchange the property deeds for money!" Liu Yifeng divided the forms he held into two piles.
The crowd entered another tense phase, holding their breath and silently praying not to have their names called. Little did they know, it was those whose names were called who were the luckiest. But at this moment, they didn't feel that way, so when Liu Yifeng called out their names, their faces were dejected, and their expressions were filled with an indescribable sense of loss.
Soon, only twenty-four people remained in the large courtyard. Each of them would only own one property. Previously, Liu Yifeng had purchased some people had two, and some even had three.
"Everyone, congratulations on being selected. The prices will be as stated on the forms. I've already spoken with the housing authority, and we can proceed with the transfer of ownership now. Go home, gather all your documents, and we'll head over for the transfer!" The previous night, Liu Yifeng had messaged Wan Hui, asking him to inform his friends at the housing authority that he would be coming for transfers the next day.
Wan Hui immediately agreed, though he was surprised that Liu Yifeng was buying houses there again. Seeing his frenzied house-buying behavior, he figured the demolition of the area was a foregone conclusion. Therefore, he didn't believe Liu Yifeng's claim of having an intuition about the demolition, thinking it was more likely he knew something. How he knew, he couldn't say. But regardless, he felt he had bet on the right horse this time. At this moment, he eagerly awaited the day of demolition.
Upon arriving at the housing authority, Wan Hui's friend immediately led them to the VIP counter to handle the property deed changes. They worked until the office closed at noon, even extending a bit, before completing the transfer procedures for all the houses.
Liu Yifeng and Du Ziheng, after receiving the property deeds, immediately instructed the bank to transfer the money to their accounts. Within about ten minutes, everyone received confirmation messages from the bank about the funds arriving. With the money in hand, they felt a great weight lifted off their shoulders.
Du Ziheng's four houses cost him 1.92 million yuan, while Liu Yifeng's twenty houses cost 8.51 million yuan. The money in his account, which had been over ten million, immediately dropped to just over three million. However, he felt no regret, as he knew that in a short while, the money in his account would at least double.
"Everyone, have you all received the money?" Liu Yifeng asked with a smile, looking at the crowd.
Everyone nodded repeatedly, confirming they had received it. They were all pondering what to do with the money. Some planned to put a down payment on another house in a prime city center location, some intended to buy cars, and others planned to save it. Liu Yifeng wasn't concerned about how they would spend the money. Instead, he was hoping they could move out within a week!
In fact, they would have moved as quickly as possible even without Liu Yifeng's prompting. The reason they were so eager to participate in selling their houses was precisely to move out of this expensive area as soon as possible. However, what surprised them was that those who arrived in luxury cars didn't buy as much as those who arrived in vans. It seemed that the people who looked less wealthy were actually the ones with more money, truly proving that one cannot judge a person by their appearance, nor can one measure the sea with a dipper.
Before leaving, everyone couldn't help but express their gratitude to Liu Yifeng and Du Ziheng, as if they were saviors. Liu Yifeng felt he didn't deserve such thanks, as in a not-too-distant future, these people would likely wish they could devour him alive. However, it wasn't entirely his fault; they had eagerly offered to sell. If the buyers had been anyone else, they would have sold just the same. Who bought it, in the end, made no difference to them.
Seeing the two staff members who had to stay late to help with the property transfers, Liu Yifeng felt a bit embarrassed and wanted to invite them to lunch.