Tycoon: From Rags to Riches

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: The Reason

Back in the living room, Gu Heng, Jiang Man, and Wang Baoshan were seated on the sofa, while the others stood scattered around them.

"Dean Jiang, are you sincere about selling the house?"

Gu Heng asked, lifting his teacup to Jiang Man.

"Of course."

Jiang Man, sitting elegantly, gave a slight nod in response.

"May I ask why?"

Gu Heng didn’t beat around the bush. "You went to all this trouble to furnish the house so beautifully, but you’re planning to sell it without having lived here a single day. That doesn’t seem logical."

Hearing this, Jiang Man fell silent for a moment.

"My ex-husband and I were married for twenty-five years. This house was originally meant to be our retirement home. But we divorced before the renovations were even complete."

"My ex-husband is in the medical equipment business, with operations all over Ji Province. For years, I knew he had other women on the side. But as long as he wasn’t serious about them and didn’t bring them home, I turned a blind eye."

At this, Jiang Man sighed softly. Then, her gaze suddenly sharpened. "But my tolerance only made him more audacious. He dared to have children with another woman behind my back. That woman even had the gall to bring his two children to my workplace to flaunt their relationship and declare her status."

"What chilled me to the bone was discovering that my ex-husband had been secretly transferring our marital assets behind my back. They were practically shitting on my head. I naturally couldn’t tolerate it any longer."

"So, I filed for divorce immediately."

"Only then did I realize he had already transferred most of our marital assets. After the court’s ruling, I was only awarded a few properties, and this house is one of them."

Gu Heng listened silently to Jiang Man’s story. Behind him, Luo Xiwen stared at Jiang Man, a dazed look on her face.

She found it hard to imagine that a woman as outstanding as Jiang Man would choose tolerance and indifference, knowing her husband had other women.

’Isn’t that cheating?’

’Isn’t that betrayal?’

Luo Xiwen’s innocent worldview was once again violently shaken.

"That bastard, Sun Kai!"

"If your father hadn’t helped him back in the day, would he be where he is today?"

"And now he treats you like this? He’s a fucking animal!"

Wang Baoshan, who was clearly privy to the inside story, cursed furiously after Jiang Man finished speaking.

Hearing Wang Baoshan’s tirade, Jiang Man gave a somewhat bitter smile. Instead of joining in, she turned to Gu Heng and said, "President Gu, I’ll be honest with you. I can no longer afford to finish furnishing this house, nor can I afford its upkeep."

"I have a daughter currently studying in the United States. Her father’s attention is now completely on the two young sons that other woman bore him. It’s uncertain whether he’ll continue to support her in the future, so I must prepare in advance."

"If you genuinely like this house, let’s talk price. I know the housing market is sluggish right now, and very few people in Beichun are willing to spend tens of millions on a house. I’m not looking to break even, just to lose a little less."

Jiang Man spoke with great sincerity.

Gu Heng looked at Jiang Man, their eyes meeting for a dozen seconds. Finally, he nodded. "Dean Jiang, name your price."

Seeing Gu Heng ask for a price and that he was genuinely interested, a flicker of delight appeared in Jiang Man’s eyes. She turned and retrieved a file folder she had prepared.

"President Gu, you can take a look."

Jiang Man handed the folder to Gu Heng. "All the purchase receipts, invoices, and customs duty forms for the building materials, furniture, and appliances since I started renovating this house are in here."

Gu Heng took the folder but didn’t open it, instead setting it aside.

"President Gu, aren’t you going to look?"

Seeing this, Jiang Man looked slightly taken aback.

"Someone will look at these later."

Gu Heng said with a smile, "Right now, we just need to discuss the price."

"Hmm..."

"Alright."

Jiang Man mulled it over for a moment, then said, "President Gu, my original asking price was 26.5 million. Since I’m sincere about selling, I’ll knock it down myself. How does 26 million sound?"

As Jiang Man’s words fell, the room suddenly went quiet. Everyone instinctively turned their gaze to Gu Heng.

"Dean Jiang, that cut was a bit shallow."

Gu Heng smiled at Jiang Man, then glanced at the time on his phone. "My legal team will be here in ten minutes. They are all professional lawyers who specialize in due diligence for luxury homes."

"If you can give me a satisfactory price before my legal team arrives, we’ll close at that price. If not, then I’ll have to leave the price negotiation to them."

"I’m sure you know how tenacious lawyers can be, Dean Jiang. As their employer, they will certainly haggle over every last penny until they’ve driven the price down to its absolute minimum."

"So..."

"Dean Jiang, please consider it carefully."

As he finished, Gu Heng made a ’please’ gesture.

’A legal team?’

Upon hearing this, Jiang Man’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.

"Ahem..."

"Jiang Man, I urge you to think it over carefully."

"We’re old classmates, so I’ll be straight with you."

"For a house like this, finding the right buyer really isn’t easy."

"Those who like it can’t afford it."

"And those who can afford it usually prefer to buy an unfurnished shell and design it themselves."

Wang Baoshan chimed in at the right moment. "If you miss out on President Gu today, with bad luck, you might not find another suitable buyer for the next three to five years."

"The housing market is down right now. In three to five years, who knows how much further prices will fall? Not to mention, this newly renovated house will have aged into an old one by then."

"For you right now, the most important thing is to liquidate the property and get the cash in your hands. Otherwise, no matter how valuable this house is, you can’t spend it."

Listening to Wang Baoshan’s persuasion, Jiang Man knew he was speaking the truth.

In fact, she hadn’t expected to meet an interested and capable buyer so quickly, so she was caught somewhat off guard.

"Hmm..."

Jiang Man hesitated for nearly five minutes. Finally, she gritted her teeth, looked at Gu Heng, and said, "President Gu, I’ll give you my lowest price. If you think it’s fair, we’ll go with it. If not, there’s no need for your lawyers to negotiate with me."

"One price: 23 million!"

"Consider the recreation room on the third floor my gift to you!"

At this, everyone once again turned their gazes to Gu Heng in unison.

Compared to her first offer, Jiang Man had just cut her own price by three million.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Gu Heng pondered for a moment before giving a slight nod. "Dean Jiang, 23 million it is. Let’s consider it a gesture of friendship."

When Jiang Man heard Gu Heng agree, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief wash over her.

"A gesture of friendship."

"President Gu, if you need anything in the future, feel free to call me anytime."

Jiang Man breathed a sigh of relief, a smile returning to her face.

"However, Dean Jiang, I must make one thing clear," Gu Heng said, his expression turning serious. "The price we just agreed upon is based on the premise that everything you’ve told us so far is true. If my legal team discovers any discrepancies between your descriptions and the actual situation during their due diligence, then this price will no longer be valid."

"No problem!"

Jiang Man said with complete confidence, "Investigate however you like. If I told a single lie, you can cut the price however you see fit."

"Alright."

"Then please trouble Dean Jiang to open the north entrance. They’ve already arrived."

Gu Heng said, glancing at his phone.

"Manager Li, you get the door."

Wang Baoshan instructed directly.

"Dean Jiang, please, stay seated."

"I’ll get it."

Li Mei said, walking briskly to the foyer to open the north-side sliding door.

Soon, two Audi A6Ls drove into the courtyard one after the other.

"TAP TAP TAP..."

As a flurry of footsteps approached from outside, everyone in the living room turned to look in the direction of the sound.

There were eight people in total, both men and women.

All of them were dressed in impeccable suits, carrying briefcases.

Every one of them looked energetic, exuding the unmistakable aura of legal elites.

Li Mei, Huang Yufan, and the others were also wearing suits, but standing before this group, the difference in caliber was immediately apparent.

"Chairman Gu, this is Lawyer He Jingyi, a senior attorney specializing in real estate. She is also a member of your dedicated service team."

As Gu Heng’s legal assistant, Xia Siyao had naturally come along. She first introduced the female lawyer at the front to Gu Heng, then continued, "The remaining six lawyers are also from our firm, specializing in real estate, each with their own specific focus."

"Lawyer He, we met the other day at Banquet Fusion."

Gu Heng stood up and smiled at her. "I’ll have to trouble you today, Lawyer He."

"Chairman Gu, you’re too kind."

"It’s our duty to serve you."

He Jingyi had short hair and a very sharp appearance, and her words were extremely polite.

At this moment, Jiang Man and Wang Baoshan, still sitting on the sofa, watched the scene unfold. Their eyes met, and they both saw the astonishment in each other’s expressions.

You have to understand, lawyers aren’t a dime a dozen.

They all charge by the hour.

They had originally thought Gu Heng’s "legal team" would be a couple of lawyers with a few assistants. They never imagined seven full-fledged lawyers would show up, led by a senior attorney in real estate.

Most importantly, the attitude these lawyers had toward Gu Heng was a little too deferential, wasn’t it?!

Wang Baoshan was filled with amazement. At the same time, his estimation of Gu Heng’s importance rose several more notches...

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