Epiphanies of Rebirth Chapter 46 (Part 3)
Translated by Pure
Edited by Qing
Chapter 46.3 Qi Kai, that annoying fly that keeps buzzing and flying around… Can’t bear it anymore, it’s time to act. (Part 3)
Lin Jingzhe had just walked behind a pillar when Xiao Chi grabbed his arm, dragged him over, and hugged his waist tightly. Lin Jingzhe responded by raising his hand and wrapped them around Xiao Chi's neck. He then covered the latter's fiery lips with his own.
Lin Jingzhe let out a low groan of pleasure at the kiss. Xiao Chi embraced him tightly, almost lifting Lin Jingzhe’s feet off the ground. The two entangled their lips and tongue unreservedly as Lin Jingzhe's fingers threaded through Xiao Chi's hair.
Although they were just f*ck-buddies, for the first time in his life, Lin Jingzhe wanted to act coquettish. After their kiss, he buried his head in Xiao Chi's neck. Lin Jingzhe opened his mouth to nip at his collarbone, and in a dissatisfied tone, making trouble for no reason, he said, "There’s too much mousse in your hair, it’s not good to touch at all!"
Xiao Chi let himself be bitten, the pain light enough to be considered insignificant. With one hand, he pulled out Lin Jingzhe's shirt that had been tucked into his pants. The hand then reached in, and stroked the body underneath gently.
After a moment of nipping at his skin, Lin Jingzhe soon calmed down, and quietly just enjoyed their embrace. Not long after, he found fault again, "Your hands are sweaty."
Xiao Chi lowered his head and kissed his cheek and closed eyes. Satisfied, Lin Jingzhe no longer made any more complaints.
It wasn't until Deng Mai and Hu Shaofeng came back that the two separated. Lin Jingzhe was surprised to find that Lin Jingzhe hadn’t ‘reacted’ this time. Xiao Chi also looked okay, except for his hair being a little messed up. It was as if the kiss between the two parties just now was really just a pure kiss that did not contain any sexual meaning.
Lin Jingzhe was a little startled, too. He realized that Xiao Chi was much softer than he appeared. Strictly speaking, the two were now just friends with benefits. Even he himself had a tacit understanding not to seek help, and the other party also had no obligation to solve his problems.
But the truth of the matter was that the negative emotions brought by Qi Kai were actually driven away so easily. And it was thanks to someone he never would have thought would help him.
The sense of security of being surrounded and protected still lingered for a long time. Although Lin Jingzhe was rational, he still couldn't help but crave this addictive feeling.
******
Qi Kai was obviously not someone who was willing to give up easily. Originally, he had just wanted to maintain his own superiority and take revenge on Lin Jingzhe. Although he retaliated, Qi Kai came back with heavy losses, so the anger in his heart only increased.
In the past, no one would dare bid for the land he was interested in. Now, even a country bumpkin dared to try to bring shame to him, the difference was too great! He needed to put these people back in their place, otherwise he would not be able to hold his head up in Yan City in the future!
He soon found out that Lin Jingzhe had found an even better office space. On the other hand, his precious car that was smashed to pieces couldn’t be sent out for maintenance because the road to Qunnan Customs was blocked. The combination of these two events caused Qi Kai to suffer from countless nights of insomnia.
Although both sides would not publicly display their disputes, their resentment and hatred towards one another was mutual. Lin Jingzhe finally realized that Qi Kai was a person who wouldn’t admit defeat until he was near death. On one hand, he wanted to be seen as too magnanimous to display hostility, but on the other hand, he believed he was the most superior and loved to show off.
The office was simply decorated. They put up a sign allowing others to know this was a real estate office. After updating their company profile, recruitment began. Qi Kai dared not make big moves, but his disgusting little tricks emerged one after another. Lin Jingzhe had a good temper, but he was disturbed several times by Qi Kai and became extremely irritable. Just like now, Deng Mai was silent for a long time after hanging up the phone. He raised his head and stretched out his hands and helplessly shrugged toward him. "He had already joined another company, so he won't be coming in for his interview."
Deng Mai was referring to the few job seekers who had been contacted for a real estate interview before. They would agree to come in the afternoon, but would call last minute to say that they had found another job.
The office area was large but empty, and there was only Lin Jingzhe and Deng Mai in it. The recruitment of the first batch of employees was imperative, otherwise the basic work in the subsequent development of the triangular plot would be a headache. The current era was nothing like the future, where the number of fresh graduates looking for a job was like a thousand horses crossing a single-plank bridge. The lack of talent was now a common problem for private companies in the entire business world. There were not many excellent talents who were willing to give up their jobs in state-owned enterprises or government-funded agencies to work in private enterprises. Deng Mai managed to contact a few, but they were quickly poached by others.
The first time Deng Mai thought it was a coincidence. But after the following interviewees all reported the same way, only then did he realize something was wrong.
Their job offers were just too coincidental. Nine out of ten job applicants were absorbed into Qiqing Real Estate.
Lin Jingzhe closed his eyes. He crossed his arms, face expressionless.
Deng Mai knew that Lin Jingzhe was still listening, so he slowly explained what he had just recently learned, "The salary offered by Qiqing Real Estate is just too competitive. The monthly salary of the first batch of basic employees we set was at three hundred. After a couple of days, we then increased it to four hundred, which was already a very high salary in the industry. However, the monthly salary Qiqing Real Estate offered to the first few batches was eight hundred. Special positions offered as high as one thousand two hundred a month."
Eight hundred, one thousand two hundred.
Lin Jingzhe laughed out loud. They contacted nearly twenty people, almost all of them were poached by Qiqing Real Estate, and they even offered such a high price. Even in large enterprises like New Era Group, it was unheard of to have a basic salary exceeding four hundred, not to mention factories and other places. Qi Qing really splurged his hard-earned savings.
He wasn’t sure if this money was paid by the couple or by Qi Kai. If it was paid by Qi Qing, then according to Jiang Qiaqia's character, she was probably dying of distress now.
"It wouldn’t be good if this continues." After Deng Mai’s initial rage, he started to worry, "Brother Lin, how about we also..."
Also keep up with the standards of Qiqing Real Estate and improve the treatment of employees. At least a small batch of people had to be recruited before the triangle plot project began.
Halfway through, he was interrupted by Lin Jingzhe's raised hand. Lin Jingzhe remained silent, as if contemplating. After a while, he opened his eyes and asked Deng Mai calmly: "I remember that the next real estate bidding in Yan City is about to start. When is it exactly?"
The topic changed too quickly, so Deng Mai paused before answering: "In about a month, didn't you say you would not participate before?"
This bidding would be in the form of an auction with a total of seven plots. The introduction and description of each plot of land were released a few months ago. Deng Mai had brought back a copy of this pamphlet to Lin Jingzhe back then. He also lamented to Lin Jingzhe that the land prices in Yan City had soared at such a terrifying speed. After Lin Jingzhe read the introduction of the seven lands at that time, he clearly told Deng Mai there was no need to submit the application to the auction.
So Deng Mai had completely disregarded the bidding meeting until now. Then Lin Jingzhe asked him to find the introduction pamphlet to the lands that he had put away before.
God-knows-where the pamphlet had been placed, so Deng Mai spent a lot of effort to find it. After he did, Deng Mai spread it out on Lin Jingzhe's table. Of the seven plots, two of which were in the north of the city, which was the most popular area, while the other plots were scattered around. It was difficult to analyze every plot’s merits and drawbacks, but they were all large in size.
Ever since the bloody 'land king' bidding war just a few months ago, the prices of land in Yan City had nearly doubled. The price assessments by the industry were also becoming less and less conservative. Among the seven pieces of land, one was particularly large, covering an area of 480,000 square meters. It was Plot No. 2, a wasteland located in the southern suburbs of the city. Due to the size of the land, it was even speculated that the final bidding amount may exceed 80 million.
Lin Jingzhe stared at this land for a long time. Wubao Mountain in the south of the city, Lin Jingzhe had a deep impression of this place and name.
Currently, it was a mountain ridge in the countryside that was completely different from the bustling land in the south of the city. However, in a few years, the most famous crematorium in Yan City will be established there. This was because the nearby Wubao Mountain had a gentle slope and tranquil feng shui, which made it suitable for a cemetery.
Lin Runsheng had been buried here after his death in his previous life.
The feng shui of the cemetery and the crematorium had not been faked, but before the real estate had the chance to fully develop the land, an earth-shattering commotion in the surrounding area occurred. The original residents of the area clamored for the real estate company to refund the land. They protested, argued with the developers, held banners and caused trouble. Their actions caused a catastrophic aftermath that lasted decades. As a result, in the year of Lin Runsheng's death, the housing prices around Wubao Mountain were at least 20% lower than those in the other sections of Yan City. The transaction volume of first-hand and second-hand housing was pitifully small.
The proprietors wanted to sell it, but who would be willing to buy this scary place?
"Prepare the bidding materials and a qualification certificate." After a long period of silence and under Deng Mai's bewildered gaze, Lin Jingzhe put down the introduction pamphlet. He pointed to Plot No. 2 and said in a deep voice, "In the letter of intent, just write No. 2 land. Once it’s finished, hand it in immediately."
Deng Mai was taken aback. Once he came back to his senses, Deng Mai only thought that Lin Jingzhe suddenly discovered the business opportunity in Plot No. 2, so he hurriedly said, "Okay. I'll go to prepare now. By the way, Brother Lin, about our situation with Qi Kai… Should I keep our letter of intent confidential, so he won’t find out?"
"It doesn't need to be so troublesome. It's okay to keep it on the down low, but when the time is right, you can leak some of this news out." Lin Jingzhe smiled and turned to look at Deng Mai, whose face was full of confusion. "It wouldn’t be good if he didn’t find out."
Qi Kai was an annoying fly that had been buzzing all this time, and Lin Jingzhe had already endured enough. It was time to be ruthless.