Chapter 34
“Are we really going to that party?” Sophia asked Scarlet as they were in a taxi.
Scarlet recalled that this party was also her first banquet after coming back. However, cause she had trusted Ann and her mother, they dressed her like a nun, making her become a laughingstock. She didn’t know whether they would invite her today cause she had really changed. How could Ann allow her to go and take her timelight?
“Yes, we should. We just came back, and by going to that banquet, we will understand the wealthy families. After all, there must be some emerging families,” Scarlet said.
“Okay, then we will have to complete everything on time so that we can make it,” Sophia said.
“I suppose that it will only take us 2 to 3 hours there. After that, we go to the company and then prepare ourselves. We should have finished everything by six, get ready by seven, arrive by eight,” Scarlet said, making Sophia look at her in admiration.
Still, she felt that it was possible as their hair was already styled, thus only wearing the outfits.
“We have arrived,” the driver told them as he parked at the parking lot within the industrial centre.
“Thank you,” Scarlet said as Sophia handed the man the money.
“Miss, I don’t have enough change. Can you send the payment to me via Weibo?” the driver asked as he stared at the money in Sophia’s hands.
“Mmmh, will you still be around?” Sophia asked instead.
“I might or might not. Do you want me to pick you up later?” the driver asked as he guessed something. Sophia nodded, and the man looked at her hesitantly.
“Yes, I guess this money is enough to travel to and fro, right?” Sophia asked.
“But it's triple the trip. I won’t have enough change even if we do that,” the man said.
“Aunt, just give him as a tip. Uncle, the money on top, you can buy your children something,” Scarlet said.
Sophia didn’t have any issue with it as they had both tasted both richness and poverty. If this small amount could help someone, they were more than willing.
“No, no,” the man refused after coming out of shock.
“Uncle, we will be here for like three hours. If you wait for us, won’t you be losing money? Just consider that pay as your payment for driving different customers in those three hours,” Scarlet said as she took the money from her aunt’s hands and placed it in the man’s hands.
“Aunt, let’s go so that we can come back soon,” Scarlet told her stunned aunt.
They left, and by the time the man was coming back to his senses, they had already walked into the building.
“Hello, are you here to purchase a house?” A young lady walked to them.
“Olivia, go serve behind. I will take care of the customers,” a middle-aged lady said as she walked towards them hurriedly. From how the two ladies were dressed, one could tell that they had money, so how could she let an intern serve them?
Scarlet looked at the woman and sneered as she knew what was going on.
“I am sorry, but I would like the young lady to serve us,” Scarlet said. She once saw the middle-aged woman when her father was buying an apartment for Ann. That was after the house prices in this area rose.
“Miss, have I done anything wrong?” the middle-aged woman said as she panicked, and Scarlet shook her head.
“No. It’s just that she was the one who welcomed us. First-come, first-served, right?” Scarlet said, making the woman angry. Her eyes darkened; she wanted to retort, but knew that the latter wasn’t someone she could offend.
“What’s going on?” A middle-aged woman and a young lady walked in.
“Oh, Mrs Dennis, what brings you here?” the second salesperson said as her eyes lit up, leaving Scarlet and her group behind.
Seeing this, Scarlet rolled her eyes and let her be.
“Oh, they just wanted me to serve them, but I will first serve you before serving them,” the saleswoman said, shocking Sophia as she didn’t know that people could talk nonsense without caring whether the party concerned is present.
She opened her mouth to retort, but Scarlet held her hand. She turned to her, and Scarlet shook her head.
“Can you please show us the apartments available?” Scarlet told the young saleslady, who was called Olivia.
Hearing this, the other saleswoman looked at Scarlet with disdain, as she had thought they were there to purchase a villa.
“Show us the villas,” the customer who walked after Scarlet and Sophia said as if competing with Scarlet and showing her that she could afford the villas while Scarlet could only buy a poor apartment.
“Please come this way,” Olivia said as she didn’t care what kind of house Scarlet and Sophia bought. At least she will get some commission.
She took out three magazines that we filled with house photos.
“The apartment prices vary with their sizes and the area in which they are. There are ten phases; phase one is the most expensive, with one apartment costing half a million. However, if you pay the full amount, you get a twenty-five percent discount,” Olivia started explaining.
“Can you tell us about all the phases, please?” Sophia asked.
“Yes. The houses in phase ten are quite smaller and their prices are two hundred and fifty thousand. Phase 9, two hundred and seventy-five thousand. Phase 8, three hundred thousand, Phase 7…” Olivia was explaining when Scarlet interrupted her.
“How many apartments are in each phase?” Scarlet asked, making Olivia look at her with confusion, but still answered her.
“Depends. In phase 1, one floor has two apartments, and there are twenty floors,” Olivia said.
“Those are forty apartments. If I were to buy all. How much should I pay? I recall you said something about a discount, right?” Scarlet said as she started feeling stressed.
Just buying one phase, they will have already used half the amount they have.
Her words stunned Olivia, who started getting excited as she had never thought that she would get to serve such a rich person. She wondered whether Lina would regret it when she found out.
“The discount will be five million, so you will pay fifteen million,” Olivia said after doing quick calculations.
“Okay. Do you guys sell shops?” Scarlet asked.
“Yes. The shops that are in the middle of the shopping centre are the most expensive. Two hundred thousand. The ones in the south are the cheapest, one at one hundred and twenty thousand. They also have a discount, but just fifteen percent,” Olivia answered.
“Their sizes?” Sophia asked.
“Different. The shops have three phases. The north, the center, and the south. However, there are small shops, medium ones, and large ones in all the phases. The price varies with the locations. Which ones do you want?” Olivia asked.
“Let’s go see the apartments in phase one and the shops at the south first,” Scarlet said.
They went to the apartments, and Scarlet nodded. She thought that they weren’t in very bad conditions. Just changing the interior designs, and they will be ready to start selling. She recalled that it was a week before her birthday when the news of the railway construction was announced.
That was the reason why her father bought an apartment for Ann in this area as her adult property. She never understood why her father would buy that apartment for Ann when Ann’s birthday had already passed, but they claimed that as an adult, she needed a house of her own.
She massaged her temple as she felt that they had a lot to do in those two months, and the money wasn’t enough. She had to think of how to earn more money quickly.
"This floor, there aren't any apartments, what is it for?" Sophia asked as they walked around the first floor.
"Oh, I heard that the boss wanted to sell the shops to the people who will buy the apartments. It is the same in all the phases. Also, the top floor is the same." Olivia explained.
"How much?" Scarlet asked as she looked at the rooms. There were three rooms.
"A room goes for one hundred and seventy-five thousand," Olivia answered.
"Are there three rooms on the top floor?" Sophia asked.
"Yes. The price is the same."
"For all six rooms, that will be one million and twenty thousand?" Scarlet asked.
"There is a twenty percent discount. So the total amount will be eight hundred and forty thousand. If we combine the prices," Olivia said.
"Okay, include them also," Scarlet said. She thought that she would transform the rooms into a gym, cafe, children's playground, indoor restaurant, and visitors' relaxation.
“Are you satisfied with them? If you want decorations, then we can do it for you,” Olivia asked, making Scarlet look outside.
“No need. I will employ people to do so. Also, all the apartments are mine. I want to rebuild the gate. It should have its own main gate, not a main gate that is used with the other phases,” Scarlet said.
As they walked, they heard from Olivia that most people bought phase ten to eight as they were the cheaper ones. From phase five, one of the apartments had been bought. Scarlet felt that it was a pity she didn’t have enough money, or else she would have bought them. She would think of how to earn more money and buy them. But buying them would mean that they needed to have enough money for renovations.
They walked towards the shops, and when Scarlet saw where they were, she smirked. They were quite near the area where the railway would be built. In the future, these buildings will be the most expensive in this area.
“I am quite satisfied with them. I saw that there are about fifty unoccupied shops, and they are all close to each other,” Scarlet said.
“Yes, the shops are far from each other. Many people think that it is money losing renting cheap and small shops and not selling to rent the shops in the shopping centre,” Olivia explained.
“Are we going to open the studio here?” Sophia asked.