Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Pei Qian looked around as he walked. At the same time, he thought hard.

Many shops were being renovated in the area. This meant that if he opened the high-end restaurant here, there was a significantly higher chance of people finding it. Thus, all the locations that he chose a few days ago had become void immediately.

Pei Qian walked and walked and subconsciously arrived near the Ming Yun Villas residential area. When he saw the faintly discernible villas halfway up the hill in front of him, he fell into deeper thought.

Ming Yun Villas' was built at the base of a nameless hill (or a little bump) in Jingzhou City's outskirts. Most villas were at the foot of the hill, but some were built halfway up the hill. These were referred to as 'hilltop villas'. Based on Pei Qian's understanding, not many of the Ming Yun Villas were sold. This was true especially for the ones built halfway up the hill.

There were two main reasons for this.

First, the villas had no investment value. They were too expensive, and few people would have been able to afford them.

Ming Yun Villas was considered the outskirts of Jingzhou City. In order to buy a place here, most people needed to have a similarly-priced property in the city. What's more, most people were not willing to live in the outskirts.

If they only bought a villa as a holiday home to stay in occasionally, the quality-price ratio would be too low.

Thus, it was easy for the villa to completely lose its value after being purchased. Unless they were extreme ballers who had too much money and who only wanted to spend it all, people would not be inclined to buy a villa here.

Second, the hilltop villas in Ming Yun Villas were built based on the standards of hilltop villas overseas. All of them were designed by top designers who personally led the renovations. Thus, they were much more expensive than the villas at the foot of the hill. There were even infinity pools and gaudy decorations in the hilltop villas.

After they were put up for sale, most people had no idea how to foot the bill.

On one hand, they were too expensive. On the other hand, ballers who bought villas normally had specific requirements for the renovations. Some hated the designers' work and insisted on having things done their own way.

The plans that many ballers had were indescribable. Some wanted Baroque architecture with old-fashioned square tables that could seat eight; some wanted French-style villas with red, wooden furniture; some wanted Mediterranean-style villas with stone lions at the entrance; some wanted courtyard cottages with Koi ponds; and some wanted Chinese-style villas mixed with European neoclassical styles.

These were just the more basic ones.

After buying their villas, the first thing many ballers did was to knock down the walls and institutions and change the structure of the house. Then, they got their own designers to turn the villas into self-built homes. They even insisted on adding a bunch of prohibited structures in the process.

After all, not all ballers and rich people would have good taste; but all of them would have unique requirements for the villas they bought.

That was how these hilltop villas in Ming Yun Villas ended up in this awkward situation.

They had all been renovated and uniquely designed, so that they were being sold at sky-high prices. Yet, ballers still did not like them.

After buying these villas, ballers would have to undo all the renovations and spend another one or two million yuan renovating everything from scratch. Instead of doing that, they would much rather buy semi-finished products.

Based on these considerations, the quality-price ratio would be as good as zero.

Thus, these hilltop villas did the worst out of all of Ming Yun Villas. One could say that they were ultimate failures.

This was the most ridiculous thing: a plot of land in the residential area was to be used for commercial and residential purposes. Thus, a small portion of the villas was to have commercial qualities as well. According to the original plan, these semi-commercial villas were to be placed in the north-west region. What's more, they were to be separated from the other purely-residential villas. This was even more unappealing.

Yet, Pei Qian thought that this was not a bad location.

If he could set up the restaurant there, wouldn't it be even more difficult for people to find it? Compared to the previous shop spaces he chose, this one would be even more hidden!

In terms of practicality, the semi-commercial villas could be used for purely commercial purposes, as long as he fulfilled the fire stations' and hygiene authorities' requirements.

Since Pei Qian was starting a high-end restaurant, he would definitely work according to those standards. On top of this, he would pay attention to the effect he would have on the surrounding residents.

The restaurant could create noise pollution, disturbance to residents, and problems with parking management. This might affect the residents' daily lives.

However, this should not be much of a problem.

This was because the semi-commercial villas had already been separated from the purely residential villas. What's more, the hilltop villas stood alone. There were no surrounding buildings either.

According to the plan, semi-commercial villas had their own entrances. This would make it convenient for cars to come in and out.

The restaurant would not have too many customers as well. At the very most, Pei Qian would bring his employees here for a meal. They would only have meals here and would not engage in other activities like singing. By 8 PM, they would be gone. That would ensure that they did not disturb the residents.

Compared to the shops he chose earlier, this place was located much deeper in the area as well. It would be much harder for people to find it!

Who would expect a restaurant to be hidden among a bunch of villas?

Pei Qian was overjoyed. See, this was a blessing in disguise! I had to give up the few shop spaces that I found, but I ended up stumbling upon an even better location!

The only question is whether I can rent a villa and how much that rent is. If I can't, I wonder if I can buy it.

According to the System, Pei Qian could not purchase and invest in property on a large scale.

However, he wanted to use System Funds to buy a semi-commercial villa in order to open a high-end restaurant under his business name. He would not be purchasing properties in bulk, and he would not be investing in the property market either. There shouldn't be a problem, right?

At that thought, Pei Qian led Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan straight into Ming Yun Villas.

Zhang Yuan was even more confused.

What is Boss Pei doing?

Was he hoping to buy a villa for himself just because they accidentally stumbled upon Ming Yun Villas and he suddenly felt like it?

Yes, given Boss Pei's income, it should not be that difficult for him to purchase a villa here.

Zhang Yuan did not think too much and continued following behind Pei Qian.

…

When they arrived at the sales building, Pei Qian explained the purpose of their visit. The lady at the front desk made a call and then offered drinks to the three men. About half an hour later, Manager Cui rushed over.

While rushing over, Manager Cui had felt confused. Why was a customer taking the initiative to approach the sales building today? This was mysterious!

This was like people taking the initiative to approach insurance companies, wanting to buy insurance. It's unheard of.

From the get-go, Ming Yun Villas has been up for sale. Almost a year has passed since. Interested ballers would have bought their villas a long time ago. Why would they wait until now?

Yet, whatever it was, it was a good thing that customers were coming of their own accord. Even if they were not sincere about buying a villa and merely wanted to take a look, Manager Cui still had to host them.

After greeting Manager Cui, Pei Qian got straight to the point.

"Manager Cui, can I rent a hilltop villa?"

Manager Cui had just sat down and taken a sip of tea. He nearly choked on his drink when he heard the question.

The young man in front of him was dressed in a custom-made suit. He did not look poor. Yet, he was not here to buy a villa but to rent one?

According to the relevant regulations—if developers had ownership of the properties, they could rent them out.

However, who could afford to rent villas?

If they really rented the villas according to market price, it would cost about two to three hundred thousand yuan a month to rent a villa. Who would be bored enough to rent a villa in such a deserted place? This area was not even suited for living long-term.

What's more—even if people really were interested in renting the villas, the developer was not.

The villas had all been uniquely renovated. The pools and various furniture also had to be regularly maintained. Every now and then, they would have to be cleaned and repaired. For all they knew, a baller would take a liking to the villa; and they would be able to sell it.

Maintenance problems aside—even if they rented the villas out, the developers would only get two or three hundred thousand yuan a month. They really did not care for that.

Manager Cui looked apologetic as he said, "I'm really sorry, Sir. We can only sell our villas, not rent them out."

Pei Qian nodded. He had been prepared for this. "Is that so? What a pity. I have no choice but to buy one then."

He said this for the System to hear. Look, I tried to save the company's money. I've found a villa suitable to turn into a high-end restaurant, but the developers would only sell the villas, not rent them out!

Manager Cui looked confused and shocked.

What did he mean by 'What a pity, I have no choice but to buy one then'?!

Why did he sound reluctant?!

Pei Qian sipped his drink and asked about the price.

Manager Cui quickly answered, "If you're looking at our hilltop villas, they are almost six hundred square meters big. They have independent lifts, pools, gardens, and maintenance. They are being sold at about twelve thousand yuan per square meter. That adds up to about 6.3 million yuan in total."

Pei Qian remained silent for a moment and said, "It doesn't sound… too expensive."