The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Panda Novel

Little Lin was also curious. “Then what do we do now?”

Brother Mao smiled and said, “There are no policies, so let’s create our own policies!”

Little Lin was stunned, still not understanding.

Brother Mao continued, “Let me give you a simple example. The houses in the county cities around Shanghai weren’t very high last year. They were about 5,000 yuan per square meter. They are not part of Shanghai, but it’s an hour’s journey to Shanghai. What is this? This is a business opportunity! This is what we can speculate on!

“There was a rumor last year that Shanghai would bring these counties under its wing. This was nothing but a baseless rumor…

“But baseless rumors means something! In the eyes of ordinary people, that’s just talk about finances at the meal table, but in our eyes, that’s money!

“Back then, we cooperated with a few bosses and went straight to that county city. We silently swept away all the good second-hand and first-hand buildings, creating a false impression of a large number of property sales…

“The local real estate developers were also willing to see such a situation. Who wouldn’t want their own properties to be popular? Hence, they cooperated with us and did all kinds of publicity. All kinds of advertisements flooded the area. They listed down how many apartments were sold on the first day of sales, etc…

“With so many advertisements like this, the locals became nervous.

“Immediately after that, we started to spread some rumors on local forums. Some influential media reported some rumors that this place was about to come under Shanghai’s jurisdiction and that there would be a metro train line extended all the way there…

“These information all mentioned that they were rumors, and not to be treated seriously.

“The locals dreamed of becoming part of Shanghai, so this topic managed to scratch their itch. They naturally joined in the discussion.

“At that moment, we tell the public that the county city’s housing prices are going to increase.

“It was already very logical that prices would rise. It’s especially those who have houses to their name. All of them wished the property prices would quickly increase and catch up the price and catch up to Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Thus, they started shouting as well…

“At that moment, we already were in control of almost 70% of the county city’s property resources. We put the property on sale at an agent company, but we didn’t sell them! This created the situation that everyone was holding to their property in the hopes for prices to rise.

“With us not selling all these properties, the individuals also hold onto their property and refuse to sell them.

“Then we increased the prices a little every day, and it quickly doubled.

“The individuals would naturally follow. This way, the prices of property in the entire county city would rise!

“In the past, people who were still hesitating about buying the place became anxious. They were afraid that they would end up buying a more expensive apartment in the future. In order to save money and to earn money—no matter what their motives were—their money would eventually flow into the real estate market.

“When we saw that the prices had risen to a reasonable level, we sold the property in batches. Once we got the money, we left. Do you know that when we invested a few billion, but we ended up earning more than a billion! Damn it, after you are in this line, there’s no way you’ll do anything else. Nothing is safer than this. It’s more profitable and convenient.

“It feels so good to control a city’s life and death…”

Little Lin was speechless when he heard that. “Oh my god, that much? Brother Mao, you’re really awesome! Oh right, Brother Mao, wouldn’t the local government do something about you?”

Brother Mao chuckled and said, “About that, let’s see what’s going on. However, generally speaking, the property prices of a small county city is very low. The government won’t care about it when it starts to increase a little. We also have a short time gap. Before the government can react, the price would have rapidly risen. We would sell the property, profit, and leave.

“Small county cities usually didn’t receive much taxes, so they are happy to see property prices increase a little. However, once it exceeds a critical line locally, it would be troublesome. Therefore, when everyone first learns about it, they wouldn’t care too much about it. In short, it’s fine speculating in property, but one has to be moderate. If one goes overboard, they would suffer. This level depends on experience.

“Of course, if it’s within the critical line, we won’t be able to earn much either. What we need to do is to quickly surpass the red line before they can react and earn the most amount of profit.

“As for the remaining mess, we just leave it to whoever needs to deal with it.”

Little Lin said, “Brother Mao, will the government end up punishing you after the matter is over?”

Brother Mao did not think much of it. “Now there’s no official rule that we are not allowed to speculate in property. It’s not under any legal jurisdiction, just empty areas. We can do whatever we want in these empty areas. The only thing we’re afraid of is that the local government suddenly implements a policy and intercepts it… But the government has many things to consider. Enacting a policy takes them at least a month and as long as a year. By the time they are done, we will have earned enough money.”

“What will happen to the property prices after you leave?” Little Lin asked.

Brother Mao thought about it and said, “I don’t usually care about it, but since you asked, I’ll tell you. Under normal circumstances, once we leave, the price of property will continue to rise. After all, no one would want to sell a house they bought at a high price to crash. Those who still had properties would also think that if you sell it so expensive, why would I sell it at a cheap price?

“As a result, the property prices will continue to increase before the government controls it. It will only stop when the locals can’t afford it even if they have to sell their blood.”

Little Lin grinned and said, “Nice. It’s that scary?”

Brother Mao said, “So what? Back during the global financial crisis, it started from real estate. Compared to them, it’s trivial. Besides, you don’t care if the outcome is scary as long as we aren’t the unlucky ones.”

Little Lin nodded and said, “Brother Mao, awesome! So you’ve targeted Songwu County this time? But what’s there to speculate here? There’s no big city here, right?”

Brother Mao chuckled and pointed at his head. “That’s where you are lacking. That’s why you are poor. Songwu County isn’t worth mentioning. Even Black Mountain City isn’t worth speculating. But Songwu County has a treasure. It has the best resource for speculation!”

With that said, Brother Mao looked in the direction of One Finger Monastery.

Little Lin was smart as well. He immediately shouted, “One Finger Monastery!?”

Brother Mao said with a smile, “That’s right. It’s One Finger Monastery! I’ve never thought much of him in the past, but it’s different now. One Finger Monastery isn’t only famous in the country, but it also has a certain level of fame internationally. Every day, foreigners come here and head straight for One Finger Monastery.

“Regardless of how big One Finger Monastery is, it’s famous!

“It’s famous and there are many tourists. The local hotel prices have increased to one thousand a night, but the housing prices have only exceeded three thousand per square meter! That’s money!”

Little Lin gasped and said, “Brother Mao, are you planning on buying the entire county city again?”

Brother Mao nodded and said, “That’s right. This time, we want you to sweep through all the second-hand property in the county city! Not a single one of them should be left behind! This time, we’ll do a big one!”

Little Lin hurriedly said, “Brother Mao, let me join. I still have a few million to invest…”

Brother Mao chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, since I’ve brought you here, I’ll let you join. Since the country hasn’t done anything drastic, we’ll earn whatever we can.”