Chapter 14: The Landlord's Heavy Loss

Two hours later!

In front of the bamboo grove, Cao Kun watched the girl’s retreating figure with a complicated mix of emotions.

He had never expected that it would be the girl’s first time being reprimanded.

If she had been through this many times before, he would have felt no burden at all.

They were mere acquaintances, engaged only in a friendly sparring match—there was no question of who gained the upper hand, nor who owed whom an explanation.

But the fact that it was her first time made Cao Kun feel less carefree.

Although the girl left immediately after, without a word about responsibility or accountability, as if she were the one at fault, the more indifferent she appeared, the more uneasy Cao Kun felt.

He had a persistent sense that he ought to do something.

But what could he do?

He didn’t even know her name.

It wasn’t for lack of asking; he had asked, but she refused to tell him.

He even inquired why she was drinking alone and crying—whether someone had wronged her.

But she remained silent on the matter and urged him to leave the campus quickly.

She warned that security patrolled Haicheng University at night and was harsh toward outsiders.

This surprised Cao Kun greatly.

How did she know he wasn’t a student there?

Did he look like a worldly, mature man?

No, that couldn’t be it!

Though his soul was mature, his body was still only eighteen years old.

He had asked her how she could tell he wasn’t a university student, but she said nothing.

As her figure faded into the distance and disappeared, Cao Kun let out a self-mocking laugh.

“Really, here I am—a man—yet I’m so torn up, acting like some weak woman, while she’s so carefree.”

With that, Cao Kun shook his head with a smile and strode away.

...

10:30 p.m.

In a five-star hotel room in Haicheng, Cao Kun entered carrying bags full of food.

Having tasted the benefits of the “Food Bucket 72 Technique,” he was increasingly eager to see just how strong his body could become.

So, he devised a training plan for himself.

He would train at least three hours every day.

At his pace—executing the “Food Bucket 72 Technique” once every ten minutes—that meant eighteen repetitions.

Each repetition required a base of one pound of cooked beef, so eighteen repetitions meant preparing at least eighteen pounds of cooked beef.

Of course, he didn’t actually prepare eighteen pounds of beef.

After the nauseating experience of overeating eggs the previous night, he was determined not to repeat that mistake.

Instead, he bought a variety of foods that evening—dumplings, steamed buns, grilled skewers, steak, pizza, burgers, crayfish, and other delicacies.

By rotating through different dishes, he ensured that he would never again make the mistake of eating too many eggs.

...

The next morning, 7:30 a.m.

Seeing Cao Kun step out of the hotel, Liu Yuling yawned as she opened the passenger door for him.

Noticing the exhaustion etched across her face and the redness in her eyes, Cao Kun couldn’t help but tease her.

“So, did your husband come back last night?”

From their conversation the day before, Cao Kun knew Liu Yuling’s husband was away on a business trip, having left only two days ago and still several days from returning.

Liu Yuling shot him a plaintive look.

“Ugh! Do you know how late I worked last night? Three a.m.—I only went to bed at three in the morning and got up just after six. I barely slept three hours—I’m about to die from exhaustion.”

Seeing her pitiful expression, Cao Kun burst out laughing.

“I get it, I get it. I know you had a rough night, but it’s all for the money, right? Think about the cash—this little tiredness is nothing, isn’t it?”

Liu Yuling smiled faintly, unable to deny his words.

Indeed, the only reason for her exhaustion was to earn money.

And compared to the 360,000 yuan agency fee, this fatigue was negligible.

She wouldn’t mind staying up until three a.m. every night for a whole month if it meant the money was coming in.

“True enough,” Liu Yuling chuckled as she climbed into the car and said, “Anyway, I’ll take you to eat first. After we eat, we’ll go see the first landlord.”

With that, she pressed the accelerator and drove Cao Kun away.

...

9:00 a.m.

In a café by the window in the Yundong District of Haicheng, Cao Kun and Liu Yuling approached a man in his forties waiting for them.

He was Huang Jiahao, the first landlord Cao Kun was to meet today.

Huang Jiahao was from Guang Province and had invested in eight apartments here a few years back during a booming real estate market.

At the time, he bought them for 8,500 yuan per square meter, thinking the price was low enough to guarantee profit.

Who could have guessed? Years later, those properties hadn’t appreciated but instead dropped to 7,700 yuan per square meter.

Each of the eight apartments averaged 130 to 140 square meters—large units.

Losing 800 yuan per square meter, his total loss was close to 800,000 to 900,000 yuan.

Seeing no sign of recovery in the Yundong District’s property market, Huang Jiahao decided to cut his losses and exit.

However, the market didn’t allow him to do so easily.

Because these eight apartments had been listed with Liu Yuling for nearly three months without a single sale.

This weighed heavily on Huang Jiahao; his hair was almost turning white from worry.

He wasn’t a wealthy man from Guang Province, and if he couldn’t convert this money back soon, his cash flow would break.

If that happened, it would be a disaster.

So when Liu Yuling called him the night before to say someone was interested in buying all eight apartments, he took the high-speed train overnight to get here.