Chapter 0968: A Seller's Market

Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao had managed to save some money recently.

Earlier, Zhao Fusheng had received a planning fee for the Mercedes-Benz car advertisement. Although most of it was invested in US stocks, specifically NetEase shares, the Germans were so fond of his planning that they incorporated his advertising slogan into Mercedes-Benz's global campaign.

According to industry practice, they paid him an additional four hundred thousand US dollars for this.

This money was Zhao Fusheng's personal income, so it went directly into his account without going through Future Advertising.

Coupled with the substantial monthly advertising revenue from the my123 navigation website, Zhao Fusheng was now a man of some wealth.

In fact, he was even a bit richer than Fan Baobao.

After all, the money she had saved up earlier had been taken by Zhao Fusheng to invest in Shengda Technology.

Since they had decided to buy, they naturally wanted to buy something good.

But to their surprise, after inquiring about several courtyard houses, they found it wasn't as easy as they had thought.

"There are more buyers than sellers now," a middle-aged man in his forties, who was their agent at a real estate agency, told them.

"Uncle, why is that?" Fan Baobao asked, puzzled. To her, it was hard to understand—many courtyard houses were empty, so why wasn't anyone selling?

It must be said that a young and pretty girl is always likable. If Zhao Fusheng had been the one asking such repetitive questions, the middle-aged man would have long lost patience. But looking at Fan Baobao's delicate and charming face, he smiled slightly and explained, "Little girl, you need to understand that a courtyard house rarely has just one owner. Some have five or six owners, and some even more than twenty. With so many co-owners, the property rights can't be divided, making it very difficult to reach a sale."

Fan Baobao and Zhao Fusheng exchanged glances, realizing they had oversimplified things.

"What, didn't you do any research beforehand?" The middle-aged man could tell at a glance that they were a young couple. Although Fan Baobao looked somewhat familiar, he didn't think much of it.

"Research?" Fan Baobao looked up with a blank expression.

Zhao Fusheng smiled wryly and nodded, acknowledging the man's point.

He couldn't very well tell him that he and Fan Baobao had simply had a whim to buy a courtyard house.

Seeing that Zhao Fusheng remained silent, the middle-aged man naturally didn't press further. Judging by their accents, they didn't seem to be locals, and their attire didn't suggest they were wealthy. In his view, they probably couldn't afford a courtyard house worth millions.

"Would you two like to look at some other properties?" the middle-aged man asked politely.

"Thank you, but no need," Zhao Fusheng said, gently shaking his head and pulling Fan Baobao out of the agency.

Back in the car, they both laughed involuntarily. There was no helping it—this misunderstanding was a bit too big.

"What now?" Fan Baobao looked at Zhao Fusheng, waiting for him to decide. She was used to letting him handle everything.

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment: "I think buying a courtyard house is a good idea, because it's really nice. Whether we live in it ourselves or sell it later, we won't lose money."

This was his genuine thought. In his memory, courtyard houses in the capital would later fetch astronomical prices, and even then, it would be a seller's market. Transactions often ran into hundreds of millions, whereas now, according to that real estate agent, a typical courtyard house cost only around two to three million.

To be honest, if he had enough funds and it weren't so hard to buy a courtyard house, Zhao Fusheng would have considered buying ten or eight as an investment.

"But it's hard to buy now," Fan Baobao said, frowning slightly after hearing Zhao Fusheng's words.

She knew he had a point, but the problem was that it wasn't something they could simply buy whenever they wanted.

Ultimately, there was a fundamental difference between a buyer's market and a seller's market.

The advantage of the former was that whenever a buyer needed something, they could take their money and find what they wanted on the market, even controlling the price. The latter, however, had nothing to do with money—you could have the cash and still not get what you wanted; you had to rely on the seller's willingness. If they didn't want to sell, no amount of money would help.

Just like now, Fan Baobao and Zhao Fusheng had clearly expressed to the real estate agent their intention to buy a courtyard house. Logically, for an agent, closing such a deal would be good business, as they would receive commissions from both parties.

But the agent simply told them helplessly that there was nothing he could do—they really didn't have suitable listings on hand.

No businessman would turn away easy money unless they were certain they couldn't earn it.

"Let's go back first. I'll think of another way."

Zhao Fusheng was silent for a moment before saying to Fan Baobao.

No matter what, since they had decided to do it, they had to see it through.

For Zhao Fusheng, this was his lifelong motto.

If he hadn't brought up the matter with Fan Baobao and they hadn't made this decision, it would have been fine. But since it was their joint decision, Zhao Fusheng felt uncomfortable not trying his best.

People are often like that—the harder something is to obtain, the more they want it. Conversely, things that come easily are often given up quickly.

Take Zhao Fusheng now, for example. He could have used the money to buy an apartment near the Third Ring Road, which would also appreciate in value. But his mind was entirely set on courtyard houses, and he didn't consider anything else.

Back home, Fan Baobao went to rest in her room, while Zhao Fusheng sat on the sofa, deep in thought.

To buy a courtyard house, the paperwork wasn't a big issue. The state didn't prohibit buying courtyard houses, and there were no regulations about second homes. Zhao Fusheng was sure he wasn't doing anything illegal.

So the problem now was whether they could find a suitable property with clear ownership and a willing seller.

Zhao Fusheng slowly rubbed his phone screen, his mind racing. He was thinking about how to solve this problem.

After a long while, his eyes lit up as if he had an idea. He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

If all went well, this person would surely give him a pleasant surprise.