Chapter 0970: Fan Baobao, the Master Negotiator

Wang Zhonglei was more proactive than Zhao Fusheng had imagined. Three days later, his call reached Zhao Fusheng.

"Fusheng, there's a siheyuan near the Second Ring Road, introduced by a friend. The property rights are fairly clear. If you have time, I'll go with you to take a look?" Boss Wang got straight to the point after a few pleasantries.

"Sure, no problem." Zhao Fusheng nodded in agreement and set a time and place with Wang Zhonglei.

The next day, he specifically asked Fan Baobao to take a day off. The two drove together to the place Wang Zhonglei had mentioned.

Seeing her former boss, Fan Baobao was a bit embarrassed, but Wang Zhonglei, being who he was, closed the distance with a few words. Through his banter, he actually made Fan Baobao feel that she might not have really understood this Boss Wang before.

Zhao Fusheng didn't mind. In his view, Fan Baobao really should learn how to judge a person's character. If she changed her impression of Wang Zhonglei just from this meeting, it would only show that his girlfriend wasn't mature enough and needed more experience.

Wang Zhonglei's friend was a man, said to have once been a playboy, but later, riding the wave of reform and opening up, he cultivated himself and went into business. This siheyuan was one he had bought for his own use, but now he needed money, so he was selling it.

Zhao Fusheng didn't believe a word of that spiel, but it didn't stop him from liking the house.

After all, both the location and the size met Zhao Fusheng's expectations, and Fan Baobao seemed quite satisfied too.

"Brother Tong, since you're a friend of Boss Wang, I won't be pretentious. My girlfriend and I really like this courtyard. Name your price." Zhao Fusheng looked at the middle-aged man surnamed Tong and said with a smile.

The man surnamed Tong was taken aback, not expecting the young man to be so direct.

After all, since he knew Wang Zhonglei, he hesitated for a moment.

Wang Zhonglei laughed from the side, "Old Tong, don't be polite. Fusheng isn't the type to be petty. Speak your mind."

"Alright, I won't dawdle. One price, four million." The man surnamed Tong said, "The property's building area is 360 square meters, and the interior decoration is well preserved. I think it's worth the price."

Before Zhao Fusheng could speak, Fan Baobao gently tugged at his sleeve. Clearly, Miss Fan was very dissatisfied with this price.

What a joke!

This was practically fleecing a fat sheep!

Fan Baobao hadn't been idle these past few days. She had looked up information on Beijing siheyuan online and at her workplace, and she knew that the highest price for such a courtyard was only about ten thousand per square meter. Besides, this courtyard wasn't as good as the man claimed.

This guy's price clearly treated Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao as suckers.

He probably didn't know how much Fan Baobao valued their money. In her own words, no matter how beautiful the first half of life is, the second half depends on wisdom and money.

So, aside from her family, in Fan Baobao's eyes, anyone trying to cheat her out of her money was committing an unforgivable act.

Wang Zhonglei also frowned.

He hadn't been very familiar with this man surnamed Tong before; they were only nodding acquaintances. It was only because of the siheyuan inquiry that they had closer contact. He had thought the man would offer a fair price, but he didn't expect him to ask for such an exorbitant amount.

Opening his mouth to speak, Wang Zhonglei was about to say something when Zhao Fusheng chuckled, "Brother Tong, to be honest, I find this price a bit hard to accept."

He paused and shook his head, "To tell you the truth, if I'm going to spend four million on this courtyard, I might as well buy a commercial apartment. What do you think?"

The man surnamed Tong fell silent. Clearly, he knew Zhao Fusheng was right, and he was also aware that his attempt to overcharge hadn't escaped the other's notice.

"Old Tong, that's not right. I brought a friend here in good faith to support you. What's this about?" At this point, Wang Zhonglei couldn't hold back either, his face darkening as he spoke.

His words were half true, half false. After all, they were all businessmen; asking high prices and bargaining on the spot were common. At this moment, both Zhao Fusheng and Wang Zhonglei were more about showing an attitude.

The man surnamed Tong understood this too. He wasn't bothered by Wang Zhonglei's words and instead smiled at Zhao Fusheng, "Since that's the case, you tell me. How much do you think is fair?"

Clearly, he was letting Zhao Fusheng make an offer.

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly and held up three fingers.

"Three million?" The man surnamed Tong was taken aback, then his face turned ugly: "Brother, you're not joking with me, are you?"

In his view, an offer of three million was simply nonsense; even by market rates, his siheyuan was definitely worth more than three million.

"You started the joke first, so of course I can joke too, right?" Zhao Fusheng retorted with a fake smile. He was no pushover; since Tong dared to ask for an exorbitant price, he should be prepared to be skinned alive.

Hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, the man surnamed Tong immediately became embarrassed.

Zhao Fusheng was right; it was Tong who had first made an outrageous demand. Now that the other party was countering, naturally they would drive a hard bargain. So it was understandable.

"No, that's too low," the man surnamed Tong said, looking at Zhao Fusheng. "At least three million eight hundred thousand."

"Three million fifty thousand."

"That's too little, really. How about three million seven hundred thousand?"

"Three million one hundred thousand."

"Brother, you can't just add fifty thousand each time. Let's be friends. Three million six hundred fifty thousand, how about it?"

Clearly, the man surnamed Tong's psychological price was around three million five hundred thousand.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled and simply stopped talking.

At that moment, Fan Baobao spoke up: "Fusheng, forget it. Let's not buy it for now."

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhao Fusheng laughed inwardly, but the man surnamed Tong's face turned ugly.

He was in urgent need of money, which was why he was selling this siheyuan. He had previously contacted some buyers, but their offers were relatively average, and since his asking price was not low, no deal had been reached.

Now, finally, there was a buyer who seemed quite serious, but because of one sentence from Fan Baobao, they were planning not to buy.

"Well, we can still negotiate," the man surnamed Tong said to Fan Baobao with a wry smile.

He could tell that this young girl actually knew nothing; she spoke up because she genuinely thought he was asking too much. In contrast, Zhao Fusheng and Wang Zhonglei, who remained silent on the side, were both shrewd characters.

But at this moment, the more inexperienced the young person, the harder they were to handle. The reason was simple: if he were negotiating with Zhao Fusheng or Wang Zhonglei, it would be a proper business discussion—back and forth, sharp words, bargaining. But with a young girl like Fan Baobao, if she got truly angry, she would definitely leave without hesitation.

Fan Baobao glanced at Zhao Fusheng and saw that he wasn't speaking. After a moment's thought, she said to the man surnamed Tong, "But your price is too high. I don't think it's suitable."

"Then tell me, what price is suitable?" The man surnamed Tong realized that Zhao Fusheng and Wang Zhonglei were definitely doing it on purpose; otherwise, how could they have been silently watching Fan Baobao haggle with him all along?

Fan Baobao tilted her head and thought for a long time, then gritted her teeth and said, "Three million four hundred thousand. If you agree, we can sign the contract today; otherwise, we'll leave."

The man was silent for a long time. After a while, he looked up and sighed, "Fine, three million four hundred thousand it is. Deal!"

"Great!"

Fan Baobao was overjoyed. She turned to look at Zhao Fusheng and said, "Honey, is it okay?"

"Okay, you decide." Zhao Fusheng wore a calm smile on his face, but inside he was already laughing so hard his stomach hurt.

This was true, because even Zhao Fusheng himself hadn't expected Fan Baobao to be able to cut the price to three million four hundred thousand. Originally, according to Zhao Fusheng's psychological expectation, three million six hundred thousand was the normal transaction price.

Unexpectedly, this girl had given him a pleasant surprise.