Che Rong sat down on the sofa, placing the freshly completed paperwork beside him.

Li Shi smiled: “It’s no problem, I just arrived myself a short while ago. But… Mr. Che, have you encountered some difficulties recently? Why are you selling property? We’re all friends here—if you truly need money, you could have asked me. I could lend you some for temporary relief. There’s no need to sell property.”

Che Rong shook his head: “Ah, that’s not it. It’s mainly because Star Bird Fitness is planning to open more branches, and I figured the money tied up in those properties isn’t doing anything useful. They don’t have much appreciation potential, so I might as well sell them and invest in Star Bird Fitness.”

Li Shi nodded slightly. This was completely understandable.

Previously, Che Rong hadn’t sold because first, he might have sold at a loss, and second, Star Bird Fitness’s situation wasn’t optimistic at the time, so investing more money would likely have been throwing it away—not worthwhile.

But now, after Star Bird Fitness adopted the new model, the response had been enthusiastic, with profitability higher than expected. Although there were other investors contributing, for Che Rong, more investment meant more profit, which was certainly better than keeping the money tied up in property.

Li Shi casually asked: “Where is the property located?”

Che Rong replied: “Oh, Jixiang Garden, not far north of the food market.”

Li Shi put down his teacup and thought for a moment: “North of the food market? Oh, I remember that place. I surveyed it before.”

“Selling isn’t a bad decision, since that location is a bit far from the food market and won’t benefit much from it. Taking the opportunity to sell early and investing the money in Star Bird Fitness will yield greater returns.”

“It’s not simply a matter of loss or gain—each choice has its own advantages and disadvantages.”

Sipping his tea, Che Rong mentioned casually: “By the way, there was an interesting incident when selling the apartment. The buyer was very young, in his early twenties, and his surname was Pei. When I first heard it, I was startled for a moment, thinking it might be Mr. Pei.”

“But then I thought, how could it possibly be Mr. Pei? Why would Mr. Pei personally go there to buy property? Haha.”

Li Shi didn’t take it seriously and asked casually: “What did he look like?”

Che Rong shook his head: “I don’t know. He wore a mask the entire time.”

“Hmm?” Li Shi put down his teacup.

Originally, he hadn’t been suspicious—after all, there were many young people with the surname Pei in Jingzhou. The possibility of Mr. Pei buying property there was very low, so it was likely just a coincidence.

But… wearing a mask throughout, in the middle of summer?

That was highly suspicious!

Li Shi remembered that Mr. Pei indeed liked to wear masks, especially when he was “traveling incognito” to avoid being recognized.

Could it be…

Although Li Shi thought this possibility was small, it did exist.

Suddenly, his gaze fell on the stack of materials beside Che Rong.

To determine the buyer’s identity, why not just check the contract?

“Mr. Che, would you mind if I take a look at the contract?” Li Shi asked.

“Oh, sure. But why do you want to see the contract, Mr. Li?” Che Rong put down his teacup and passed over the contract.

Li Shi flipped to the back pages and then fell silent.

Che Rong noticed Li Shi’s unusual expression and asked: “Mr. Li? What’s wrong?”

Li Shi examined the materials repeatedly, clearly finding it difficult to accept this conclusion, but after composing himself, he said: “The person who bought your property is actually Mr. Pei himself…”

“What?” Che Rong was completely stunned, momentarily unable to accept this.

That was Mr. Pei?

He had been calling him “young man” throughout the sale!

Fortunately, he hadn’t looked at the buyer’s youth and launched into stories about his own entrepreneurial achievements; otherwise, wouldn’t he now be trying to find a crack in the ground to hide in from embarrassment?

Li Shi handed the materials back: “How could this be fake? Do you think I could mistake Mr. Pei’s photo?”

Che Rong asked, puzzled: “But… why would Mr. Pei go there to buy property? And why personally? Handling the procedures himself?”

“It doesn’t make any sense!”

Li Shi nodded slightly: “Yes… it truly doesn’t make sense.”

Logically, why would Mr. Pei buy property there? With so many upscale communities in Jingzhou, if Mr. Pei wanted to buy property, wouldn’t he have already purchased several villas? Why buy a mere 170-square-meter apartment in an ordinary community?

Moreover, even if he wanted to buy, couldn’t he have sent a subordinate to handle it? Why personally hide his identity to complete the procedures?

Unless…

Mr. Pei didn’t want others to know and had another purpose?

This had to be the only possible explanation!

Li Shi furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

Che Rong didn’t dare to interrupt, clearly understanding that matters involving Mr. Pei were never trivial.

Behind this matter, there must be something significant!

However, it was beyond his ability to analyze—this kind of situation could only be handled by Mr. Li.

Li Shi stroked his chin and began to analyze.

“Why exactly would Mr. Pei buy this apartment?”

“Investment? Definitely not. If it were for investment, he wouldn’t buy just one unit but would have his subordinates purchase the entire building.”

“Personal residence? There’s a certain possibility, but it’s not high. A 170-square-meter apartment is very ordinary for Mr. Pei. If Mr. Pei wanted a residence, he would likely choose a large flat in the city center or a villa in the suburbs. Not to mention, the large flat at Sloth Apartments is much bigger than this one and closer to the company.”

“Therefore… the only explanation is that this is at most one of Mr. Pei’s many properties, purchased specifically to closely observe the food market and Sloth Apartments!”

Che Rong nodded slightly. Clearly, Mr. Li’s analysis made a lot of sense.

“But… if he wanted to closely observe the food market and Sloth Apartments, shouldn’t he have bought a property closer to them?” Che Rong asked, puzzled.

There were many properties near the food market, and those closer to it had been hyped up to over 10,000 yuan per square meter. But even at that price, it wouldn’t be unaffordable for someone of Mr. Pei’s financial capacity—being expensive couldn’t be the reason.

For Mr. Pei, did it matter whether the average price was 8,000 or 10,000 yuan per square meter?

So why buy a property that was slightly farther from the food market?

Li Shi took out a map: “The only explanation is… this location has factors we can’t see.”

“Look, here is Jixiang Garden. To its southwest is the food market, and to its southeast is Jumpscare Inn, forming roughly an isosceles triangle.”

“If it were solely for these two projects, the property should have been purchased right next to the food street. But now, strangely, there’s some extra distance.”

“Does this suggest that… there might be some future projects to the north of Jixiang Garden?”

“If new projects are opening to the north of Jixiang Garden, then it makes sense. This apartment can monitor multiple projects simultaneously, with an acceptable distance to each one!”

“As for why Mr. Pei wore a mask and personally handled the procedures… clearly, he didn’t want news to leak and attract too much attention!”

Che Rong was stunned, then said: “So Mr. Li, you’re suggesting that property values in this area will rise? Then I sold at a loss!”

Li Shi glanced at him: “Fool! Can you lose by selling to Mr. Pei?”

“Mr. Pei will surely compensate you in other ways!”

“Think carefully—did Mr. Pei say anything specific to you?”

Che Rong tried to recall: “Um… during our casual conversation, Mr. Pei did ask about the name of the gym. But it was just a casual question, he didn’t say anything else.”

Li Shi nodded slightly: “That’s it! Mr. Pei must be planning to privately invest a sum in Star Bird Fitness, otherwise, he wouldn’t have deliberately asked about it.”

Che Rong couldn’t help but get excited.

Mr. Pei personally investing?

Wouldn’t that make Star Bird Fitness take off immediately?

Actually, Star Bird Fitness was already showing signs of taking off after receiving investments from Mr. Li and others, but there was still a layer of separation from Tenda.

For instance, sourcing the smart fitness clothing racks had been through Li Shi contacting Chang You, which meant going through several intermediaries.

If their cooperation received Mr. Pei’s approval, it would be like moving from holding onto a single hair of the golden thigh to embracing the golden thigh itself!

Che Rong asked: “So… what do you plan to do, Mr. Li? Pretend not to know? Or mass-purchase properties in this community?”

Obviously, with Mr. Pei buying property there, it surely indicated that property prices in the area were set to soar!

Buying now would be the perfect timing, wouldn’t it?

Li Shi nodded, then shook his head: “We should buy properties here, but… not to profit from real estate speculation.”

Che Rong was puzzled: “Why is that?”

Li Shi explained: “Haven’t you noticed that Mr. Pei has always been very resistant to the idea of ‘real estate speculation’?”

Che Rong thought carefully: “Hmm… indeed, when I told Mr. Pei about my experience, especially when I mentioned taking the money from the property and investing it in the gym, his expression was quite approving.”

“Moreover, if Mr. Pei wanted to speculate on real estate, he would certainly purchase properties in this area on a large scale, but as far as I know, he only bought this one unit.”

Li Shi nodded: “Yes, although Tenda Group has purchased some properties up to now, the amount isn’t much compared to the company’s overall size, and they’ve all been used for Sloth Apartments, rented out at very low prices.”

“This demonstrates that Mr. Pei is very resistant to real estate speculation.”

“So, if we were to purchase properties on a large scale right under Mr. Pei’s nose and drive up prices, although we could make money, we would lose Mr. Pei’s favor. This would be completely counterproductive!”

Che Rong thought for a moment: “Then… should we pretend not to know?”

Li Shi shook his head again: “That won’t work either!”

“Mr. Pei chose to buy property here for certain special reasons, knowing it would appreciate.”

“After some time, these reasons will inevitably surface, and others will come to speculate on real estate!”

“By then, property prices will still be driven up, and we’ll be powerless to prevent it.”

Che Rong asked, puzzled: “Then what should we do?”

Li Shi said: “To prevent others from speculating, we must buy as many properties in this area as possible. Leave those that are owner-occupied alone, but acquire all the properties in the hands of speculators while we can!”

“After buying them, we can learn from the Sloth Apartments model and rent them out at relatively low prices on long-term leases.”

“This way, speculators won’t be able to profit much from this area, and those who genuinely want to live here can find good housing. Plus, this approach should also gain Mr. Pei’s approval!”