Preparing to Invest in Real Estate

Xiao An'an was still living a carefree and happy life. Now that her parents were financially stable, she could have whatever she wanted.

Her parents adored her from the bottom of their hearts. Whenever she got bored at headquarters, they would ask her aunt, Chen Qi, to take her out to have fun.

After more than a month of vacation, she had played so much that her skin had tanned considerably—so much so that even Chen Qi had gotten a bit darker.

"You two haven't eaten yet, have you?"

Song Yanxi had spotted a seafood buffet that seemed pretty good and decided to take them there to try it out.

Chen Qi was currently working as a company accountant, earning around seven to eight thousand yuan a month with a relatively flexible schedule.

She had driven her Audi A4 today. At her age, driving such a car naturally filtered out a lot of unsuitable suitors.

As the saying goes, a factory worker or someone earning just a few thousand a month wouldn't realistically try to pursue a beautiful girl driving an Audi.

Wouldn't they feel insecure?

If she were driving a Panamera instead, she'd probably stay single forever—those who were suitable wouldn't dare to pursue her, and those who dared wouldn't be suitable.

Xiao An'an was a little foodie. Despite her small size, she could eat an astonishing amount.

She effortlessly popped one shrimp after another into her mouth without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Du Juan and Song Yanxi were chatting about skincare and beauty treatments. That was when Chen Qi found out that her brother was considering opening a high-end beauty salon.

"Sis-in-law, why didn't you tell me my brother wanted to open a beauty salon?"

"You never asked. He just casually mentioned it back then, saying it seemed like a lucrative business."

"A lucrative business? It's not just lucrative—it's insanely profitable!"

Chen Qi had previously worked as a receptionist at a well-known beauty salon in Shacheng, so she knew the industry well.

"Let me put it this way—take that French skincare treatment you were talking about today. The products used are worth at most a few thousand yuan, and aside from the beautician's labor costs and some sales commissions, the rest is pure profit."

"A 68,000 yuan treatment, and the actual products are only worth a few thousand?"

Song Yanxi was shocked. Thankfully, she hadn't been gullible enough to fall for it.

"What else did you expect?"

Chen Qi explained, "The key to running a beauty salon is its clientele. Unlike selling fruits, a beauty salon must cater to wealthy customers—only they can truly afford such services. A well-established high-end salon can easily make at least eight to nine million in annual profits."

That was… quite a staggering figure.

The more she thought about it, the more Song Yanxi felt that a beauty salon was a promising venture.

Her husband had already invested in the entertainment industry, and she knew his true motives behind it.

If they managed to launch a few celebrities, they could leverage their influence to attract a steady stream of wealthy clients.

What they lacked now was someone with expertise in the industry.

After all, Song Yanxi wasn't about to personally perform beauty treatments for customers.

"Xiao Qi, if you have any useful connections, keep an eye out for your brother. If he opens a beauty salon, I'll make the decision—regardless of the initial investment, you won't have to pay a single cent, and I'll give you 25% of the shares."

Her husband only had this one younger sister. There was no way they'd let her stay stuck earning a mere seven to eight thousand a month forever.

That salary might not be low in Nansheng, but in Beijing, it was practically nothing.

Meanwhile, real estate prices were still skyrocketing.

The villa they had bought had increased to 35,000 yuan per square meter in just a few months.

They had effortlessly made a few million just from the appreciation.

Real estate… what a paradoxical industry.

Song Yanxi thought about it—if her sister-in-law planned to settle in Beijing, she would definitely have to buy her a place.

It wouldn't have to be too big—just over a hundred square meters would be enough.

She needed a place to call home.

For a young woman working hard on her own, how long would it take to afford a home?

She decided to discuss this with her husband later.

As for her younger sister, Song Wu, there was no need to worry.

If she failed to make it in the entertainment industry, she could just inherit the family home.

As an older sister, the least she could do was not compete with her for it.

Chen Qi hadn't even considered the possibility, yet her sister-in-law was already thinking about buying her a place.

The rapid rise in housing prices made it clear—buying sooner rather than later would save money.

If they waited too long, they might get caught at the peak, making it an even worse deal.

Song Yanxi had her own considerations. She couldn't just let her money sit idly in the bank—she needed to make it work for her.

Investing in real estate was undoubtedly the best option.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

Her grin was almost splitting her face.

Meanwhile, Chen Qi was thinking about recruiting some of her former colleagues. She then asked, "Sis-in-law, how much is my brother planning to invest in the beauty salon?"

"If we do it, we're going to do it at the highest level."

After a moment of thought, Song Yanxi replied, "The first store will have an estimated investment of three million yuan."

Three million… if all of that went into hardware and renovations, it would be absolutely top-tier.

Far superior to the place they had visited today.

She continued, "Neither your brother nor I are beauty experts, so the person in charge at the start will be crucial. Their competence will determine the success or failure of the business. That's why I've decided—they won't have to invest a single cent, but I'll give them 20% equity in the business."

Three million, with 20% equity—that was worth six hundred thousand yuan.

Such an offer would definitely attract interest.

After all, most people in the beauty industry were from rural backgrounds. Even after years of working, few had the capital to invest tens or hundreds of thousands into their own business.

On the other hand, investors like them had money but lacked expertise.

A collaboration between the two was the best way to succeed.

This was also the philosophy her husband had always upheld—if you want to work with people, you must ensure they make money.

Only then would they be truly loyal to you.

That was how Zhang Tao, Liu Jing, and the others had come on board.

Without them, their fruit business wouldn't have grown so quickly.

Song Yanxi was simply following her husband's example.

When she got home, she discussed it with Chen Pingsheng.

He had no objections—he actually thought it was a great idea.

However, when she mentioned investing in real estate, he hesitated.

There was no doubt that real estate was profitable.

But given their current financial situation, unless they dipped into the company's funds, they could only afford to invest in two or three properties per year at most.

Still, any profit was better than none.

The hardest part of making money was the initial accumulation. Once they had a strong foundation, it would become much easier.

"Beijing has purchase restrictions. If you're going to invest in real estate, avoid taking out loans. And always choose second-hand properties over pre-sale ones."

"Why are you so against pre-sale properties?" Song Yanxi asked, puzzled.

In today's real estate market, new properties were mostly pre-sale.

Chen Pingsheng explained, "You're in business too—don't you get it? What are pre-sale properties?"

"A developer buys land, then uses it as collateral to secure a bank loan. That loan is then used to start construction.

"They barely finish laying the foundation before they start selling the units. Then, they take the buyers' money and invest it in another piece of land.

"Do you realize how massive the financial risk is? If this continues, the real estate sector will eventually crash, and China's entire economy might face collapse."

"That serious?"

"I hope I'm just overthinking it."

Chen Pingsheng added, "If you're using your own money to invest in real estate, I won't object. Just don't take out loans. As long as you buy in full, no matter what happens in the market, our family won't be at risk."

Song Yanxi thought about it and agreed.

They had already passed the stage of initial wealth accumulation.

Now, they had multiple businesses—fruit supermarkets, entertainment investments, and soon, a beauty salon.

Real estate was just a side investment.

Being cautious wasn't a bad thing.