Chapter 18: Chapter 18: I Prefer to Collect Rent

"Miss Yun."

Seeing her again, Lu Yunque saw a completely different Yun Zijin from the one at yesterday’s auction.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Lu."

"Good afternoon. Shall we go inside?"

Lu Yunque gestured for Yun Zijin to enter.

Yun Zijin smiled faintly and walked into the coffee shop, with Lu Yunque following close behind.

Yun Zijin scanned the room and quickly chose a four-person table by the window.

"Let’s sit here."

Lu Yunque nodded and sat down with a refined air. Yun Zijin followed suit.

A waiter, who had noticed them earlier, came over at that moment. "What would the two of you like to drink?"

"A black coffee."

"A cappuccino, thank you."

Yun Zijin made her decision after a quick glance at the menu.

"Of course. Please wait a moment."

With that, the waiter turned and left to place their order.

Once the waiter was gone, Yun Zijin took the key to her rental apartment out of her bag and handed it to Lu Yunque.

"Here’s the key. Everything inside has been cleared out, and I even hired someone to clean it. I have videos and photos from after the cleaning. If everything looks okay, we can sign the lease termination agreement."

Lu Yunque was momentarily taken aback by how swiftly Yun Zijin got down to business the moment they sat down. He had expected her to make at least a little small talk before getting to the point.

Still, he rather admired her direct approach. He wasn’t one for dragging things out either.

"No problem. Miss Yun, you left the place very clean. I’ve brought the contract. Please take a look."

Lu Yunque took two copies of the lease termination agreement from the briefcase he had with him and handed one to Yun Zijin.

Yun Zijin wasn’t very good at reviewing contracts herself, but thankfully, she had her system. Only after Randomly Spend confirmed there were no issues with the contract did Yun Zijin confidently sign her name.

Lu Yunque also signed his name in the space for Party A, noting that he was signing on someone’s behalf.

After all, the person who had rented the apartment to Yun Zijin was Fang Shuxin; he had merely been entrusted by Fang Shuxin to sign the termination agreement with Yun Zijin.

Just as they finished signing, the waiter arrived with their coffees.

"Your coffees. Please enjoy."

After the waiter left, Yun Zijin spoke up. "Mr. Lu, you said you had something to discuss with me. What might that be?"

"Miss Yun, you must be aware that at yesterday’s auction, Li Yuexing, Fu Ze, and I were all planning to bid on that plot of land in the West Suburb. We didn’t expect you to come out of nowhere and snatch it up."

Yun Zijin nodded. She had to admit that was true.

"You must have bought the land on a whim yesterday, so I assume you don’t have any development plans for it yet, do you? I have a development plan here. I wonder if you might be interested, Miss Yun?"

As he spoke, Lu Yunque pulled another document from his briefcase.

’He certainly came well-prepared.’

Yun Zijin opened the project development plan Lu Yunque handed her.

It was a development plan for a hot spring resort. The plot she had bought yesterday happened to be the missing piece of the puzzle. With her land added, the entire property would form a relatively complete circle.

"I’ve looked at the plan. The location of my plot is certainly a coincidence. But I don’t quite understand—how could a powerful conglomerate like the Lu Family have missed a piece of land?"

’For a development project like this, shouldn’t all the land have been secured long ago?’

"If it weren’t for you, Miss Yun, I’m confident that land would have belonged to the Lu Family and no one else."

It was only put up for auction to generate some publicity for the project. Anyone with a bit of sense wouldn’t have tried to compete with the Lu Family. Who could have known a spitfire like Yun Zijin would appear out of thin air?

The crucial part was, she actually managed to win the bid!

From Lu Yunque’s words, Yun Zijin could detect a mix of sarcasm, gritted-teeth frustration, and utter helplessness.

Yun Zijin rubbed her nose. She had to admit she hadn’t really thought things through.

"Haha... well... we can always discuss a partnership! At worst, I just won’t bid against you at the next auction."

"You’re already thinking about a next time, Miss Yun?"

Yun Zijin fell silent. That was something she couldn’t guarantee.

"But we’re getting off-topic. We’re talking about the West Suburb Hot Spring Resort right now.

A partnership! I have no problem with that. But we need to be clear on the terms."

Truthfully, Yun Zijin hadn’t thought that far ahead when she bought the land. If Lu Yunque hadn’t approached her about a partnership, she might have just sold the plot off again at some point.

But partnering with the Lu Family was a good option too, as long as it meant she could make money without lifting a finger.

"Of course. I had someone draft a contract. Please, take a look, Miss Yun."

Yun Zijin set aside the project plan and picked up the new contract Lu Yunque produced.

She had to admit, for Lu Yunque to have secured his position as president of the Lu Group at the young age of twenty-five, his capabilities were unquestionable.

However, Yun Zijin quickly discovered that according to this contract, she would have very little say in the project.

Her land accounted for at least 10% of the project’s total area, but her share of the profits was only 5%.

Furthermore, during the development period, all rights to develop her land would belong exclusively to the Lu Group, and she would not be able to raise any objections to their development plans.

Honestly, Yun Zijin felt like Lu Yunque was treating her like a sucker.

"How about this? I don’t know much about developing these kinds of projects. If you guys ripped me off, I probably wouldn’t even notice.

But you know what I am interested in? Collecting rent.

I won’t participate in your project. Instead, I can hire a team to construct the resort on my plot according to your plans, and you can just pay me quarterly rent.

I’m sure the Lu Family can afford a little rent, right?"

Contributing her land as a stake in the company sounded nice, but until the resort started turning a profit, it was equivalent to giving the Lu Family her land for free, with no income to show for it.

Renting it out, however, was a different story. The moment the lease agreement took effect, the Lu Family would have to start paying her rent.

The amount didn’t matter so much to her; what she wanted was a stable income.

Lu Yunque hadn’t expected Yun Zijin to make such a proposal. It completely threw him for a loop.

No one had ever suggested something like this before. After all, most people who chose to partner up did so because they lacked the capital to fund a development project themselves.

"Your proposal is certainly... novel, Miss Yun. But I don’t have the final say on this project alone. I’ll have to go back and discuss it with the other directors at the company before I can give you an answer."

"Take your time. I’m not in a hurry."

She wasn’t short on cash. It wouldn’t affect her in the slightest when the project development began.

For the Lu Family, however, time was money.

Lu Yunque took a final sip of his black coffee and then bid Yun Zijin farewell.

As the president of the Lu Group, Lu Yunque’s time was measured in seconds. Sparing this much time to have coffee with Yun Zijin was already a rare exception. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to pay the bill.

Yun Zijin finished her cappuccino before leisurely strolling out of the coffee shop.

While walking around earlier, Yun Zijin had discovered a real gem of a shop: a tailor specializing in custom traditional clothing.

The owner was a well-preserved middle-aged woman named Wang Zhuxian. She wore a form-fitting cheongsam and had exquisite makeup on. If she hadn’t told Yun Zijin herself that she was over fifty, Yun Zijin would have initially guessed she was only in her thirties.

Yun Zijin had always had a weakness for traditional clothing. Seeing a place that did custom work, she had rushed over as soon as she finished her coffee.

She hadn’t had enough time to order anything just now, only managing to exchange a few words with Wang Zhuxian before she had to leave.

Seeing Yun Zijin return, Wang Zhuxian’s eyes lit up.

"Little Yun! Are you done talking with your friend?"

"More or less. There are still a few things that need to be confirmed, so we’ll have to discuss it again next time.

I’m here to order some custom clothes!"

Just looking at the display garments hanging in the shop, Yun Zijin couldn’t hide the adoration in her eyes.

"Alright! This book has all the styles we regularly make. Take a look.

Once you choose a style, I’ll draw up a design sketch for you. Feel free to make any requests you have."

Wang Zhuxian handed Yun Zijin a thick album, which was filled with all sorts of traditional clothing styles.