Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 130: Attitude Towards Investment

(Second Update)

Feng Jun looked longingly to the stars and moon, eagerly awaiting Sister Hong. But, to his dismay, when she emerged from the light rain, there was also a man tagging along, carrying big and small bags.

As a former little brother of Hongjie, he was no stranger to the chef Xiao Wu. Xiao Wu brought a lot of ingredients, all processed and ready to cook, and Xu Leigang’s villa had three kitchens—large, medium, and small. The largest kitchen had everything you could think of; nothing was missing.

Xiao Wu went off to cook in the kitchen, while Sister Hong sat by the wooden root-carved tea table and started making tea.

Feng Jun felt a bit sulky. It wasn’t that he necessarily wanted something to happen between them, but sitting together, a single man and a woman, and flirting in an ambiguous way was also a pleasant life experience. This morning, after he had managed to see her from head to toe, he was filled with even more fanciful thoughts.

However, with an outsider present, he could only settle for casual conversation. Sister Hong was still quite adept at preparing tea. She took off her jacket and was just wearing a tight black long-sleeve shirt, with the sleeves rolled up high, exposing her pale and fair forearms.

Watching her bustling about, Feng Jun’s gaze grew vacant: she’s not even wearing short sleeves, honestly.

Sister Hong filled six small tea cups in a row, picked one up, drank it in a single gulp, and then let out a satisfied sigh. “In this weather, a few cups of hot tea really hit the spot.”

Feng Jun also picked up a teacup and downed three in a row, then smacked his lips, “Tsk, tsk, I feel even hungrier… In this cold and gloomy weather, it’s really better to drink some liquor.”

“Then drink some liquor,” Sister Hong said with a laugh, taking another sip of tea. “I’m free this afternoon too… You disappeared for over ten days, did you head back to the mines?”

“Hmm,” Feng Jun hummed noncommittally. “I just got back not long ago. This morning, Wang Tiechen and his wife paid a visit. They were very unpleasant and even threatened to get Wang Weimin out… Suggesting a mental illness certificate, I think this whole family is mad.”

“Mental illness?” Sister Hong’s eyebrows furrowed at this, then she picked up the teapot to make more tea. “Getting that kind of certificate does sound troublesome… What do you mean?”

“No particular meaning,” Feng Jun wasn’t expecting her to lend a hand in this matter, so he answered indifferently. “Just feeling a bit exasperated, how come there are so many people with such a high opinion of themselves?” “Intermittent mental illness, easy to fake a certificate,” Sister Hong slowly said. “Proving he doesn’t have intermittent mental illness, now that’s much harder…”

At this, Xiao Wu had already brought up four or five dishes, and Feng Jun called out, “Come on up and eat, I’m famished.”

He truly was starving. He wolfed down eight large buns and polished off four big chicken legs, then he picked up his wine glass, “Feeling a bit better now, come on, let’s drink slowly.”

Sister Hong watched him, her eyes becoming a bit glazed over, and upon hearing him, she picked up her wine glass with a smile, saying, “You really do have a hearty appetite, just watching you eat boosts my own hunger…” After a few drinks, Feng Jun remembered something important, “Right, you mentioned that you had something to discuss with me, what’s up?” Sister Hong hesitated for a moment before speaking up, “I wanted to ask, do you still have some money left from the jade stone sale?”

Feng Jun nodded, “There’s some left, how much do you need?”

They say it’s hard to borrow money these days, but he was never one to be stingy. In the past, he just didn’t have the means to be generous.

Of course, who to lend money to was also important. Sister Hong had made a good impression on him. She had previously offered to lend him five million to buy a villa, and although he had not ended up needing it, he was still grateful. Sister Hong pondered for a moment before saying shyly, “It’s not for me. A friend of mine is starting a project and is looking to borrow some funds or secure financing.”

Feng Jun fell silent for a while before shaking his head, “If you, Sister Hong, were borrowing, that would be easy to talk about. But your friend… I’m not acquainted with them.”

Sister Hong gazed at him in surprise, “You’re not even going to ask what the project is about?”

“Why would I ask about that?” Feng Jun looked back at her perplexedly, “Since I have no intention of investing or lending, why bother asking?”

Sister Hong blinked a few times uncomprehendingly, “You mean to tell me, with some idle funds, you’re not thinking of making some investments? You can’t just leave it all in the bank to collect interest, right?”

Feng Jun lit a cigarette and took a couple of puffs, pondering for a moment before saying measuredly, “Investment… Of course, I’m interested. But I wouldn’t hastily invest in a field I’m not familiar with. Anyway, I’m not short on ways to make money right now.”

“That’s exactly my point,” Sister Hong also took out a slim cigarette, igniting it with a flick of her lighter, “You get familiar once you start mingling, right?” “Not interested,” Feng Jun replied bluntly, shaking his head. “Getting familiar costs tuition fees. I might have the extra cash, but why should I take the risk if it’s not your affair?”

At his words, Sister Hong could only let out a wry smile, “It really isn’t easy to borrow money these days.”

Feng Jun did not pick up on her cue; he had already stated his position­lending money to her was fine, but he had no such relationship with other people.

But Sister Hong found herself in a difficult spot. She genuinely wanted to help her friend and was aware that Feng Jun had over a hundred million in cash after his last jade sale.

However, she couldn’t just say, “Consider it a loan to me,” after all, it was her friend who needed the money, not herself. Moreover, she couldn’t guarantee that Feng Jun would not incur losses if he invested in her friend’s project. After pondering for a moment, she decided to approach the matter from a different angle, “There’s a villa that Xu Leigang is very eager to take back. My friend has a piece of land suitable for villa construction. Are you interested in buying it?”

Feng Jun glanced at her, thought for a second, and responded, “Where is it located, and what is the size of the area?”

In fact, he had a feeling that if he wished, he could easily persuade Xu Leigang to give up that villa— the chubby man was now trying his level best to curry favor with him for the sake of acquiring cultivation techniques.

But why should he? These premises were imbued with the chubby man’s memories of his mother, Feng Jun saw no need to deprive him of this joy.

After all, he was going to live there for three years, which was enough time to build a new villa. By then, he resolved to design the new villa according to his own plans.

Sister Hong revealed the location, and Feng Jun knew of it—it was next to Renmin Park in Zhengyang, adjacent to Moon Lake, within a newly constructed upscale residential area featuring a cluster of villas. These were smaller than the villas here in Peach Blossom Valley but of a higher class and more expensive.

However, he had not heard of any vacant land left in that area where one could build their own villa.

Sister Hong explained that the area originally intended for a bird park as an attraction of the community, complementing Moon Lake and Renmin Park. But the project had been put on hold due to recurring bird flu outbreaks in recent years.

A couple of years ago, a state-owned enterprise executive bought a villa there and, concerned about the safety of a bird park, spoke to the developers. The project was canceled altogether, and Sister Hong’s friend then bought the land. The plot was around three mu, roughly the same size as the villa’s land in the wasteland. The location was exceptional, bordered by a rockery on one side and a lane leading to Moon Lake on the other, with dense woods on the other two sides.

Good location, beautiful scenery, and reasonable price—for these three mu, Sister Hong’s friend acquired it for forty million yuan, reaching an astonishing average transaction price of twenty thousand yuan per square meter.

The owner originally intended to use the plot to build a villa for himself, but his funds had always been tight, so the project was put on hold.

Sister Hong had initially hoped to borrow money from Feng Jun or to secure financing. Seeing that he was not particularly interested, she was compelled to use the land as a selling point.

“The asking price is forty-five million?” Feng Jun was taken aback when he heard this. Just the land alone would cost him forty-five million, and to build the villa, he would need to invest another ten to twenty million. “It’s a bit out of my reach.”

He had some money now, but having already loaned forty-five million to Xu Leigang, and now facing an expense of sixty to seventy million to construct a villa, his resources would become strained once more.

He was not certain he wanted to spend his lifetime in Zhengyang City. The city was just a place for him to work hard, and the sense of superiority exhibited by the locals made his acceptance of Zhengyang rather low, feeling he could not quite integrate into the city.

Therefore, he was hesitant about investing sixty to seventy million to build a villa here.

If he had a choice, he would prefer to build such a villa in his hometown’s small county town. Even if he liked living in a big city, he could choose a first-tier city like the capital or the Metropolis; there was no need to splurge in a second-tier city.

Sensing his hesitation, Sister Hong was also getting anxious, “Xiao Feng, though this place is a bit pricey, under normal circumstances, you couldn’t buy it even if you had the money. Honestly, it’s a rare opportunity.”

Feng Jun found it somewhat peculiar, “There should be many wealthy people in Zhengyang, right? If I don’t want it, surely someone else will buy it.” “Given the chance, of course I would first take care of our own,” Sister Hong replied confidently, “Besides, while there are quite a few rich people, there are not many who can fork out forty-five million all at once. They might even take this chance to drive the price down.”

Feng Jun stroked his chin and chuckled wryly, “Sister Hong, you really know how to put someone on the spot.”

“What’s so hard about this?” Sister Hong eyed him with dissatisfaction, “To be honest, I just don’t have the money, otherwise I’d be interested in buying it myself.”

You’re from Zhengyang, of course, you’d be interested! Feng Jun rolled his eyes helplessly, then his gaze flickered, “How about this… I’ve got another twenty pieces of jade. Are you interested in taking them off my hands?”

“Of course, I’m interested,” Sister Hong glanced at him and sighed softly, “But

I don’t have the money… Can I buy them on credit?”

She knew how good his jade was and that she could make money from it, but she also understood that despite having some assets, she really couldn’t afford to gamble with such items.

“Buy on credit…” Feng Jun pondered for a moment and then smiled bitterly, shaking his head, “Let’s forget about that. It’s best not to test human nature these days. How about this… you help me sell the jade, and I’ll give you a ten percent cut; how does that sound?”

Sister Hong was tempted but still put on a show of maintaining her dignity. She gavehima wry smile, “Wow, you used to work for me, and now that you’ve made it big, you insist on having me work for you. What is this, seeking some sort of psychological balance?”