Zhang Haixin said with some embarrassment, "To be honest, my son is getting married, and I plan to buy him a wedding house in our hometown. Originally, I was looking at an 80-square-meter two-bedroom apartment, but now I can get him a bigger house and even buy him a car!"
Li Rui thought for a moment and said, "Teacher Zhang, if you trust me, don't buy a house in your hometown. Use that money to buy a house in Haizhou."
Zhang Haixin shook his head repeatedly, "Houses in Haizhou are almost 20,000 per square meter! The down payment alone would be enough to buy several houses in our hometown!"
Li Rui said, "Houses in your hometown have no room for appreciation; they can only be lived in. Your 1.7 million will always remain 1.7 million. Haizhou just hosted the World Expo this year, and house prices are just starting to rise. In a few years, they will reach unimaginable prices. By then, 1.7 million might turn into 5 million or even 10 million!"
"Really?" Zhang Haixin was somewhat swayed.
"Trust me, you won't regret it," Li Rui said.
Li Rui's advice to Zhang Haixin came from his heart. Having taken such a big advantage of him, offering some free advice was a form of compensation.
As for whether Zhang Haixin would listen, that was beyond Li Rui's control.
Walking out of the exhibition hall, Li Rui felt completely relaxed.
With so many copyrights in hand for a few years, 1.7 million could at least turn into 500 million!
This was just the pure copyright value, without calculating the potential for subsequent development.
Li Rui was even considering, once he had enough capital, to emulate Universal Studios and Disney's model and create a "Sci-Fi Studios," putting all of Zhang Haixin's works into it. That would be immeasurable!
"It's not just Zhang Haixin..." Li Rui thought again.
Taking advantage of the low copyright value in 2010, he still needed to acquire some future blockbusters!
By then, he would integrate all the best copyrights in the Chinese-speaking world and go head-to-head with Universal Studios, to see who was better!
Yes, that's what he would do!
While Li Rui was envisioning the future, he suddenly saw Chen Qinglian's face turn pale, clutching her stomach with both hands.
"Sister Chen, what's wrong?" Li Rui was startled.
Chen Qinglian used to be too busy with work and often forgot to eat, which left her with a chronic stomachache. Today, she had been busy with Li Rui all day, and not only had she not eaten, but she hadn't even had a sip of water, causing her condition to flare up.
"It's all my fault!" Li Rui apologized, "I was so focused on the copyright matter that I starved you. Come on, I'll treat you to a big meal!"
After arriving at the restaurant and drinking a cup of hot water, Chen Qinglian's complexion gradually improved.
Li Rui apologized, "Sister Chen, I'm really sorry, I almost starved you."
"It's okay, I'm used to it. When I first started working, I was often so busy that I didn't eat all day, which is how I got this chronic illness," Chen Qinglian said with a smile.
Li Rui handed her the menu, "Then I really need to treat you well. If it weren't for you today, the copyright acquisition wouldn't have gone so smoothly. My treat, order whatever you like."
Although Li Rui was very rich, Chen Qinglian didn't order indiscriminately; instead, she chose a few practical dishes.
Li Rui saw this and knew that she was a very intelligent woman who knew how to maintain a sense of propriety.
After the dishes were served, the two ate and chatted, gaining a deeper understanding of each other.
Chen Qinglian was twenty-nine years old, a local of Haizhou, and majored in finance in college.
She joined Guangdong Development Bank right after graduation and worked her way up from a teller to a senior wealth management manager, achieving success in her career.
Unfortunately, her marriage was not happy; she had divorced a year ago and was currently single.
"Enough about me, tell me about yourself. You're so young and already have so many assets, what are your plans next?" Chen Qinglian asked curiously.
Li Rui said, "You're a wealth management manager, what do you think I'll do?"
Chen Qinglian pondered for a moment and said, "From the many accounts you opened today, you seem to be planning financial speculation. You have a lot of capital, and speculation can indeed rapidly expand wealth. But I must warn you, speculating in stocks is fine, but speculating in futures carries too much risk. If you're not confident, I advise you not to touch it."
"Thank you for the reminder, I'll be careful," Li Rui smiled slightly.
For others, futures might be a shortcut to instant success or a devil's claw that drags people into an abyss. But for Li Rui, a reborn person with memories of various experiences from his previous life, it was no different from an ATM, and one that didn't require a card or a password!
"Actually, I think what you and Teacher Zhang said today makes a lot of sense. Haizhou's house prices will continue to rise. You should invest your assets in real estate; the risk is low, and the returns are high, making it more stable than stocks and futures," Chen Qinglian added.
"Oh?" This remark piqued Li Rui's interest.
After the slump of 2009, the real estate market gradually recovered in 2010, ushering in the prelude to the next round of massive house price increases.
Although house prices in first-tier cities had already begun to gradually rise, there were still many negative views on real estate in society, believing that this round of price increases was merely a brief recovery, and that house prices were very likely to fall back to pre-2008 levels.
No one dared to guarantee whether real estate would make money in the future, yet Chen Qinglian could accurately predict the future trend of house prices, which made Li Rui look at her in a new light.
"Why do you say that?" Li Rui asked.
Chen Qinglian said, "It's very simple. If you compare it horizontally with other major international cities, you'll see that house prices in China's first-tier cities are undervalued. China's development speed is so fast that Yanzhou, Haizhou, Yangcheng, and Pengcheng will sooner or later become international metropolises. The current house prices do not match their future status. Take Haizhou, for example; current house prices still have at least one or two times more room to grow!"
"Clap, clap, clap!" Li Rui couldn't help but applaud.
Chen Qinglian's face flushed, "What are you doing?"
Li Rui said, "I think what you said is excellent, I couldn't help but encourage you."
"I was just saying," Chen Qinglian said.
Li Rui smiled without speaking, a thought forming in his mind.
After eating, the two went downstairs.
Chen Qinglian originally planned to go back to the Bank, but Li Rui pulled her straight to the luxury goods area.
"Where are we going?" Chen Qinglian was stunned.
Li Rui said, "I want to buy a gift for a friend, could you help me pick one out?"
"A female friend?" Chen Qinglian asked.
Li Rui said, "Yes, a female friend, about your size, and as beautiful as you."
Under Li Rui's persuasion, Chen Qinglian followed him into the Chanel flagship store.