Mavi wasn't particularly bothered by Tencent's rejection. First of all, his investment negotiations with Alibaba were progressing quite smoothly.
Secondly, even if Tencent turned him down, as a reborn individual, he had plenty of ways to turn the situation around.
One option was to wait until he had more money and simply buy out Naspers. Alternatively, he could go to Google, develop a smartphone and an Android system, and then launch a messaging app called WeChat. That would allow him to dominate China's mobile market.
By then, more and more people would likely choose WeChat, and its market share would eventually shake QQ's dominance...
However, this wasn't Mavi's preferred approach. His entire plan was still in the conceptual stage, waiting to see if Tencent would completely shut him out.
"Young Master, the convoy is ready. Shall we depart now?" After Mavi finished his lunch, his butler, Ivan, re-entered the private room.
"Yeah, let's go now." After indulging in lavish Manchu-Han feasts for the past couple of days, Mavi felt the need to go out for a walk.
The $50 million he had set aside for investing in Tencent was no longer needed. Meanwhile, his Citibank account still held a hefty $288 million, with nowhere to spend it.
So, Mavi decided to head to downtown Beijing and buy a few buildings. Fortunately, in the year 2000, there were no property purchase restrictions. Even foreigners only needed to complete a few formalities to buy real estate.
Given his current wealth, Mavi would obviously be looking at luxury properties within the Second Ring Road of Beijing. However, in 2000, China's real estate market was still in its early stages. Many well-known luxury apartments and villa communities hadn't even been built yet. Some developers probably hadn't even acquired the land...
So in the end, Mavi set his sights on the Siheyuan (traditional courtyard houses) within the North Second Ring Road!
Yes, the very same Siheyuan that would later skyrocket in value to 1 billion or even 2 billion yuan per unit! The same ones that countless wealthy buyers would fight over.
These traditional courtyard-style buildings were ancient structures formed through centuries of history. They were an irreplaceable resource, highly scarce, and a status symbol among Beijing's elite.
In the past, high-ranking officials, celebrities, and political figures all lived in these Siheyuan. Their historical value alone was immeasurable, not to mention the skyrocketing real estate prices in Beijing, where every inch of land was worth a fortune.
"Go find out if there are any reputable real estate agencies around," Mavi instructed his butler. Since Siheyuan were historic properties, all transaction information was handled through real estate agencies—developers simply didn't have them, nor could they.
Ivan, his butler, didn't quite understand what his young master was planning. Why was he suddenly inquiring about real estate agencies? In the past, he had always purchased brand-new properties.
However, since Mavi was his employer, the butler didn't question him and simply carried out his orders. "Understood, Young Master. I'll go ask right away."
Ivan and the female translator went to inquire with the manager of Tingli Pavilion about reputable real estate agencies.
What the butler didn't know was that after purchasing and renovating these Siheyuan, they could be transformed into small-scale palaces. More importantly, these properties were inside the North Second Ring, an area that countless people envied but couldn't afford!
Following the restaurant manager's recommendation, Mavi got into his Red Flag luxury sedan, accompanied by four Mercedes-Benz S-Class (nicknamed 'Tiger Head Benz' in China), and headed straight for Beijing's Dongcheng District.
In 2000, the internet wasn't widely available, making it difficult to locate addresses. The convoy circled the East District of the Second Ring Road for a while before finally finding the recommended real estate agency, tucked away in a small commercial alley.
Since it was a one-way street, the cars couldn't drive directly in and would have had to take a long detour.
"Just park here. No need to go around. I'll walk over," Mavi said. He wasn't the type to be overly particular. Besides, the alley was already narrow, and if their convoy blocked it even briefly, it would cause a traffic jam and inconvenience others.
"Understood, Young Master," the butler replied, signaling the driver to pull over. He then stepped out and opened the car door for Mavi.
The sight of the Red Flag luxury sedan and multiple Mercedes-Benz S-Classes immediately caught the attention of passersby. People turned their heads, wondering which wealthy tycoon had arrived with such a grand entourage—luxury cars, bodyguards—it was like something out of a modern-day imperial procession!
Mavi, wearing sunglasses, stepped out of the Red Flag car in style. His handsome features made him look like he had just walked off a movie set, exuding an undeniable charisma that had a lethal effect on women.
"Keep some distance—don't follow too closely," Mavi instructed. Now that he was back in China, he wanted to experience the local atmosphere alone without his bodyguards ruining the moment.
"Understood, Young Master," the butler acknowledged, leading the five burly bodyguards to maintain a distance of about ten meters behind Mavi and the female translator.
This scene quickly became amusing—whenever Mavi stopped walking, his butler and bodyguards would stop simultaneously, causing passersby to glance back at the group of black-suited men with curiosity.
As Mavi casually strolled to the real estate agency, he removed his sunglasses and began scanning the listings on the whiteboard, which displayed rental and purchase information.
The female translator, standing beside him, smiled and stepped forward. "Mr. Mavi, what kind of property are you looking for? Perhaps I can ask for you."
Just as she was speaking, a real estate agent, a young woman inside the agency, noticed Mavi through the glass. Quickly adjusting her smile, she walked over in her high heels and greeted him enthusiastically.
"Hello! Are you looking for a property? I'm a sales agent here. My name is Xiao Jie!" she said with a cheerful expression.
"Do you have any Siheyuan for sale?" Mavi asked through the translator. Though he really wanted to speak Chinese, he still had to rely on translation.
"Siheyuan? Sir, are you looking to rent or buy? Since Siheyuan are historic properties, both the rental and purchase prices are significantly higher than regular houses," Xiao Jie explained.
She wasn't very tall and was slightly chubby, but her voice was sweet, and her cute tiger teeth made her smile quite charming.
After hearing the translation, Mavi nodded casually and spoke in a calm tone: "That's fine. How many Siheyuan do you have available? If they're large enough, I'll take them all."
The female translator, having witnessed Mavi casually throw around $50 million before, was somewhat prepared for his extravagant spending.
But when she translated his words word-for-word to Xiao Jie...
The newly hired real estate agent, who had been in the business for only three months, widened her eyes in shock!
"Wait… ALL of them?!"
"Sir! Please wait just a moment! I'll immediately go get the files for you!" Xiao Jie exclaimed, dashing back into the agency.
She had only been working in real estate for a short time and had never handled a major deal before. And now, Mavi had just walked in and said he wanted to buy every single Siheyuan they had for sale.
This was insane—a once-in-a-lifetime big sale!
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