this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
These past few days have been the hardest for Sheng Zhou. The variety shows and brand endorsements he cared about the most all announced their termination of contracts with him, and his career came to a standstill almost instantly.
Sheng Zhou hurriedly moved out of his luxury home, only to be urged by Xu Yao’s side about the compensation at market value. Many unique items had to be valued based on estimated future appreciation since they could not be purchased, and it seemed only a matter of time before he ended up broke.
Sheng Zhou’s mental state was stretched to the limit, and he didn’t know who ended up posting and leaking a blurry video of him drunk online. In the video, Sheng Zhou choked back tears as he self-reproached, “I definitely shouldn’t have rented a luxury home, and I definitely shouldn’t have rented Xu Yao’s house…”
This video made many people sigh; the former top star had fallen to such a state in just a few days.
[Let’s not mention Sheng Zhou’s disgraceful act of owing rent; renting from a meticulous landlord like Xu Yao is indeed terrifying. If you accidentally bump into something, the tenant would probably end up compensating it to death, right?]
[Who told Sheng Zhou to damage someone else’s luxury home? I say he deserves it.]
[This situation brings back bad memories. When I graduated, I rented for the first time and encountered a penny-pinching landlord. The faucet was old and ended up breaking, so I paid to fix it myself, but the landlord deducted a hundred bucks from my deposit for the ‘poor quality’ faucet I replaced it with. QAQ]
[Tenants in Xu Yao’s urban village, be careful! If you damage her second-hand furniture, you might end up paying a fortune!]
Qu Xi was very angry looking at these comments. Many short dramas were filmed at night, so Qu Xi slept in the morning and missed Xu Yao’s live stream collecting rent at Haicheng Shangpin.
Qu Xi’s cheeks puffed up in anger: “Yao Yao is not a penny-pinching landlord!”
Qu Xi lived in the Bay City No. 1 that Xu Yao lent her. A few days ago, while mopping the floor, she accidentally bumped into a small extravagant floor lamp, shattering the frosted glass lampshade as well as the bulb inside. Qu Xi was immediately scared stupid and froze.
When she hurriedly checked online, she felt like dying. That small little luxury floor lamp was worth eighty thousand!
Qu Xi almost cried as she called Xu Yao, already prepared to use her salary for the next two years to pay Xu Yao back. However, Xu Yao was very concerned and asked, “Did you get hurt?”
“As long as you’re not hurt, it’s fine. You didn’t break it on purpose,” Xu Yao thought for a moment and added, “Don’t mop the floor anymore. I’ll have my housekeeper come over every day after finishing her work to help you out.”
After moving into the mansion, Qu Xi seriously considered one thing—
Cleaning such a large luxury home was really hard work.
Qu Xi was so touched she burst into tears, sobbing, “Wuwuwu, Yao Yao is so nice, how can I ever repay you?”
Xu Yao remained calm: “You’ll have the opportunity to when you become famous.”
Qu Xi sniffled, feeling confused. When she becomes famous? She didn’t even know if she would ever be famous in her lifetime!
So Qu Xi was very angry about these online comments. Xu Yao was definitely not a penny-pinching landlord; Sheng Zhou was simply self-destructive, not only owing rent but also deliberately damaging the furniture in the mansion!
Qu Xi was quite worried about this. “Yao Yao, what if others are afraid to rent your place because of this?”
Qu Xi still remembered Xu Yao’s platinum business card, which had the words “Professional Rental” on it!
Xu Yao smiled confidently at her words: “That’s impossible.”
Since she retired to this world to enjoy her life as a landlord, she would be the very best landlord that she could be!
Qu Xi didn’t think much of it, just assuming that time would reveal people’s true nature. She then worriedly said, “The short drama ‘Yin Fate‘ is about to finish filming. I wonder if anyone will even watch it?”
After all, it was just a short drama, barely over an hour long when combined. The energised Zuo Ning could finish filming it all in just ten days.
Xu Yao was very confident about this short drama. After the script was revised, the quality of the plot was solid, and with Zuo Ning having her investment, the outcome would only be better.
*
Counting the days, Xu Yao clearly remembered that today was the day wherfe her pension would be distributed to her.
Little 6 popped up right on time: [Detected that the host is having a hard time enjoying retirement in this world. The Quick Transmigration Bureau feels guilty and has specially issued a pension of ten million this month.]
Xu Yao’s eyes lit up instantly. Ten million in pension?
For the sister of a tycoon, ten million wasn’t much, but pensions would increase! As long as she lived long enough, it would keep growing.
Previously, Little 6 said it would apply for more pension for her. Xu Yao had thought it would be at most six million, but she had never expected it to be ten million.
Seeing the freshly deposited ten million in her bank account, Xu Yao suddenly had an idea—
Could it be that by being a ‘hardworking’ landlord, she could eventually reap the benefits from the Quick Transmigration Bureau and become the world’s richest person?
Little 6 was instantly dumbfounded: [???]
No, host, what are you thinking?!
It detected that the host was having a hard time collecting rent every day, so it submitted an application to the Quick Transmigration Bureau for a pension increase!
As a little spirit assisting with retirement, Little 6 was new to the job and was a bit flustered: [Host, you can go enjoy shopping now and go buy buy buy.]
Little 6 had heard from its peers that the standard for determining whether the Quick Transmigration Bureau retirees were enjoying their retirement was based on how much they shopped. The host should be buying luxury bags, beautiful clothes, and shiny jewellery, not running around every day for tenants!
Having made up her mind to crazily exploit the Quick Transmigration Bureau’s resources in the future, Xu Yao remained calm: “No, I need to help my tenants deal with the trash property management issue now.”
As a qualified landlord, isn’t it normal for her to help resolve the difficulties and property issues of her tenants?
An employee knocked and walked in, reporting, “Miss Yao Yao, Mr. Xie Zhengtian, one of the owners from Tai’an Community, has arrived.”
A young man wearing a loose white sweatshirt and expensive sneakers walked in. When he saw Xu Yao, his eyes lit up, “Hello, neighbour.”
Xie Zhengtian had also appeared in the the original text and had entered the scene by seeking help from the richest man, Xu Jing, due to his family’s financial issues. Though of course, in the original, even Xu Jing had been ultimately defeated by the female protagonist, let alone a minor character like Xie Zhengtian.
Xu Yao had Lu Ye and the others pour tea for Xie Zhengtian and got straight to the point: “Mr. Xie, as a homeowner in Tai’an Community, you should be aware of the situation with Tiansheng Property, right?”
Before coming, Xie Zhengtian had done a quick search on Xu Yao’s basic information and knew her age, so he smiled and said, “We’re all young people, no need to be so formal! I’m just a year older than you, so you can just call me Brother Tian like everyone else!”
Xu Yao didn’t mind and called him Brother Tian.
Xie Zhengtian took the tea that Lu Ye had poured and recalled, “To be honest, I don’t actually live in Tai’an Community. But I’ve heard a bit about Tiansheng Property; they take the money but don’t do their job, and their style of working is quite perfunctory.”
The property fees for Tiansheng Property were actually quite high—five yuan per square meter—yet even the most basic maintenance of the community left homeowners collectively dissatisfied. This value for money simply wasn’t worth it.
Xu Yao nodded and said, “So I plan to establish a homeowners’ committee through a homeowners’ meeting to then replace Tiansheng Property through the committee. I’ve already submitted all the applications to the relevant departments.”
Xie Zhengtian felt overwhelmed just hearing this and frowned, saying, “Little Sister Yao, this sounds quite troublesome. Anyway, you don’t live there; it’s just rented out to someone else, so why not just make do?”
In Xie Zhengtian’s view, as long as he was comfortable, why bother with others?
Xu Yao curved her lips and smiled, asking, “Brother Tian, are you perhaps looking to sell your apartment in Tai’an Community? But it hasn’t sold yet?”
The current housing market had gradually become a buyer’s market, with buyers having a wide range of choices which gave them the luxury to be particularly cautious about second-hand homes.
After all, a poor property management would only accelerate a house’s decline into an old and shabby state, which would then affect the subsequent price of the home when put on the second hand market.
Xie Zhengtian had always wanted to sell the property he bought when he was young and naive. Xu Yao had indeed hit the heart of the issue. He fiddled with the teacup in his hand while pondering and said:
“But Little Sister Yao, although ideals are often beautiful, reality is harsh. Tai’an Community mostly consists of middle-class residents; some homeowners are abroad and find it inconvenient, while others might think changing property management is too troublesome. It might not be easy to handle.”
Despite neighbors complaining daily about how terrible and disgusting the property management was, if they were actually gathered together to hold a meeting to change it, they might hesitate.
They would worry whether the new property management would be worse, whether the process would be too troublesome, and whether they would have to fight legal battles with the old management, not to mention those who simply didn’t want to stir up trouble.
Little 6 detected this and instantly felt heartbroken: [Host, this is really tough.]
So, this landlord of it was having this hard of a time, huh? Better add a bit more to the pension next month.
Xu Yao smiled: “I understand what you’re worried about, but I have a way to make Tiansheng Property cough up some money first.”
Xie Zhengtian was confused: “??”
Make Tiansheng Property cough up some money??
He was a capitalist; how could he not know that a capitalist’s heart is dark? What kind of capitalist could spit out what they had already swallowed?
*
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
Although Sheng Zhou was already out of the picture, the variety show “My Home Life” still had to continue filming, with the other four guests still having to participate.
The director could only try and find the silver lining in the situation; after all, at least the scandal involving Sheng Zhou had made their show known nationwide, right?
The director urgently confirmed with the other guests, even carefully checking the property deeds. Except for the ordinary person Zhou Qi, the rest owned their homes, ensuring there would be no more issues with rent arrears or damaging the landlord’s furniture.
Worried that there might be problems with Zhou Qi, the director took the crew to Tai’an Community for filming.
The fans in the live broadcast room were still very upset, constantly shouting that the show was no longer interesting without Sheng Zhou.
[Wuwuwuwu, I wanted to see the luxury houses. Now they’re just going to film an ordinary person’s home; there’s really nothing interesting about it.]
[Although this sounds a bit bad, it was still interesting when Xu Yao collected rent from Sheng Zhou…]
[?? I think I saw Xu Yao!]
[+1, I think I saw her too. What’s up with the cameraman? Why are they avoiding her? Take a closer look to see if it’s Xu Yao.]
The production team was a bit flustered now. The assistant director rushed up from behind and urgently whispered to the director, “Xu Yao is here; it seems like Xu Yao is coming again.”
The director jolted, still haunted by the psychological shadow from the incident with Xu Yao collecting rent from Sheng Zhou a few days ago. He quickly instructed the cameraman to change the shot and cautiously looked in the direction the assistant director had pointed in.
Xu Yao was wearing casual short sleeves and shorts, with sunglasses perched on her nose, even donning a pair of slippers specifically for collecting rent! A young man in a hoodie stood beside her, but judging by his sneakers, he was also a rich second generation.
Damn, don’t scare him; he actually is quite timid at heart!
Whilst the director felt anxious, he noticed Xu Yao and Xie Zhengtian heading towards the property management office. He breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, “Go go go, let’s first go to Zhou Qi’s house.”
Fortunately, Xu Yao wasn’t coming to find them this time.
The moment the director saw Xu Yao coming, he immediately resolved to ask Zhou Qi if there were any issues with overdue rent or utility bills!
“Little Sister Yao, the small apartment I bought in high school is in Building 2 on the top floor. Which unit did you buy?” As they walked towards the property management office, Xie Zhengtian looked up at the surrounding high-rise buildings and asked.
Xu Yao pointed: “Building 3.”
Xie Zhengtian nodded and continued to ask, “Building 3 is nice; it’s the best building in Tai’an. Which unit did you buy? Or how many units?”
Since Xu Yao was busy solving property management issues, Xie Zhengtian felt that she must own more than one unit in Tai’an Community; otherwise, she wouldn’t be so invested. It was probably several units.
Xu Yao added another few words, “Building 3, the whole building.”
Xie Zhengtian suddenly stopped in his tracks, looking up at the tall building in front of him, falling into silence.
Xu Yao asked, “Brother Tian, what’s wrong?”
Xie Zhengtian’s face tightened as he stammered, “…How about you just call me Little Xie instead?”
Damn, the whole building? Oh no, even if one unit is nearly ten million, the entire building would still definitely be worth more than two luxury apartments in Haicheng Shangpin.
Moreover, it should be noted that the Tai’an Community is definitely better for renting than the Haicheng Shangpin luxury apartments, which could very well be the true source of Xu Yao’s rental income.
Thus, Xu Yao led the dazed Xie Zhengtian into the property management office. The staff there nearly cried upon seeing Xu Yao walk in; she really ended up coming.
Xu Yao directly addressed the property staff in the office, “I spoke with CEO Yang a few days ago. Is the share from the advertising revenue for the past five years ready? I’m here to collect my share for that building.”
Yang Guofa actually didn’t want to deal with Xu Yao, but who told Xu Jing, the richest individual to personally call him asking to contact Xu Yao? The Xu family was not someone he could afford to offend so he had no choice but to comply!
Although property management revenue has always been a muddled account, it would be a guaranteed lawsuit once it escalated to the housing authority. From the incident with Sheng Zhou, it was clear that this young lady Xu Yao was quite tough. As the largest owner in the Tai’an community, Xu Yao might really dare to sue the property management!
After much consideration, Yang Guofa could only grit his teeth and have them calculate the various public revenues of the Tai’an community over the past five years.
The Tai’an community resident group was a large group chat, where residents often argued, and business owners occasionally advertised. The property staff usually stayed out of it unless something urgent came up.
[Tiansheng Property Xiao Zhang: @All members, please come to collect the community dividends this month with your property deed and ID. This is a formal announcement.]
As soon as this message was sent out, the entire WeChat group was filled with question marks.
[?? Dividends? What dividends? Did you send this by mistake?]
[The trash property management can barely handle their own duties; I’d be grateful if they just did that, let alone giving out dividends!]
[Property management, the elevator on the left side of Building 8 is broken again! I want to go home! Hurry up and report it for repairs!]
[Does dividends mean receiving money? I’ve never seen property management give out money, or are you saying you’re starting a pyramid scheme from today?]
The WeChat group was in an uproar, with many owners sarcastically criticising the property management, hardly paying any attention to the issue of dividends.
In this day and age, people have only seen property fees being collected, never money being given out.
The staff at Tiansheng Property had long been accustomed to the owners’ mockery, copying and pasting that message several times in the WeChat group.
The owners were somewhat puzzled; what did this mean? Were there really dividends to receive?
And Xie Zhengtian ended up being the first owner, besides Xu Yao, to receive the community dividends for the past five years. The apartment he bought was the largest in the entirety of the Tai’an community, so he received over four thousand in community dividends.
Xie Zhengtian looked at the WeChat notification of the deposit, and his mood was quite complicated.
Initially, he had secretly used his pocket money for several years to buy this apartment to play games in, and when his father found out, he almost got beaten up. That apartment had been left vacant all these years, yet he still had to pay property and sanitation fees every year. Today was the first time he received money from it.
He didn’t know who his dad must have received insider information from to call him.
As soon as the call connected, the other side immediately asked, “I heard you went back to that lousy apartment of yours again?”
Xie Zhengtian pouted; his dad had been in a bad mood lately and liked to take it out on him.
Last year, the old man discovered that short videos were trending and insisted on entering the short video market, even starting Shark short video platform. However, he couldn’t compete in that market and the platform had pitifully few users. Now, it only was barely hanging on by. thread, and Xie Zhengtian wanted to avoid him whenever he saw his father’s long face.
He probably wasn’t feeling well again.
Seeing his son silent, Xie Father got even angrier. This kid was in his senior year and not studying properly, yet he dared to secretly buy a million-dollar apartment to play games.
Investing in real estate is fine, but this kid didn’t even consider anything else before buying. Is this how one thinks when investing in real estate?
Xie Zhengtian glanced at the community dividends that had just arrived in his WeChat, wondering how much he had been scolded by his family for buying that apartment. He couldn’t sell it at a high price and was reluctant to let it go at a low price, leaving it idle.
As a result, what ended up happening today? He had some pocket money now!
Xie Zhengtian felt a bit smug and said, “Dad, the dividends from my apartment’s community came in today!”
Father Xie: “…” Dividends? What dividends?
Father Xie didn’t care much about these so-called dividends: “Your apartment gives out dividends? How much can it possibly be?”
Xie Zhengtian was a bit displeased; although it wasn’t even enough for a full meal, it was still money! Even mosquito meat is still meat1!
Xie Zhengtian retorted, “Dad, just tell me; does the property you invested in give you dividends too?”
Father Xie was momentarily speechless: “…”
Well, it definitely didn’t.
Father Xie desperately tried to save his face: “The properties I, your father, invest in appreciate every year; selling your apartment wouldn’t even compare!”
Xie Zhengtian didn’t care about that and simply asked, “Dad, does your investment property give you dividends?”
Father Xie , ruthlessly stabbed with another poke of a knife: “…”
Father Xie gritted his teeth: “Unfilial son, shut up!”
not sure bc i don’t rent but do apartments actually give out dividends, or is this just fiction? maybe it happens in china but this is the first time i’m hearing of it
also i can’t count. should’ve been 2 chapters for the past 2 weeks i’ve missed. next week should be normal but the week after should be one chapter each bc they’re all over 9k words TAT
- 蚊子再小也是肉 lit. even a mosquito, though tiny would still provide nourishment — it’s better than nothing ↩︎