Chapter 133: A Pleasant Surprise or a Fright?

As Mrs. Hubble stepped out of the car, she introduced the property to Su Mu:

"The total building area and living space are both listed on this copy of the property deed. The front and back gardens span over four hundred square meters, and there is also this one-hundred-square-meter swimming pool. If this house were built on that large hill next door, the price would at least double.

You can use the garden however you like. I’ll tell you a secret: if I had the money, I would buy this house in a heartbeat. You could flip it for a profit of about three hundred thousand dollars. The current owner is very wealthy and doesn’t realize the true value of this property; buying it is a guaranteed win!"

In Beverly Hills, there is a significant price gap between houses on the hillsides and those on flat land. The ones they had looked at earlier were all on flat ground, while this one was perched on a slope with a view of the area below.

The lighting was superb; through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, one could see the ornaments in the living room.

The gray color scheme was incredibly minimalist, the design was stylish and full of modern flair, and compared to this house, everything they had seen before paled in comparison.

Two peacocks fanned out their tails one after the other. They had wandered over from a neighbor's yard, and upon hearing a whistle, they trotted back to their owner. Keeping peacocks was nothing unusual; in Los Angeles, some people kept hippos, lions, or tigers—it was hardly a challenge for the wealthy.

Whether it was a sound investment, Su Mu wasn’t yet sure; he would need to survey the surrounding property values first.

Real estate agents in the United States value their reputations highly. The circle is small, and if a client complains or files a lawsuit, one’s career is ruined. They generally don’t scam clients easily, especially local residents. If they encounter other newcomers to the U.S. looking to buy, the price usually goes up a bit.

Su Mu replied, "I'll go take a look at the back garden first. You have the keys to the house, right? Can we go inside?"

"You are more than welcome. The keys are in my bag. The back garden is fenced. As you saw earlier, you have to pass a security screening to enter this area. They know me, which is why they let us through; ordinary people can't just walk in.

Living here offers plenty of privacy—it’s both quiet and comfortable. A house like this won't stay on the market for more than a few days. I have several clients waiting for a property just like this, and one of them has an appointment to view it tomorrow."

"I understand. If there are no issues with the loan, I can pay the deposit at any time."

Mrs. Hubble probed, "Are you buying this for yourself? Or are your parents paying? As long as there is a stable source of income or assets for collateral, I can help you communicate with the bank. I deal with them frequently and know quite a few people there."

Li Ping'an laughed, "My friend here has earned several million dollars in the last two months. He just opened a supermarket that brought in over two million dollars in revenue in just over a month—and that was only one store. His second store opened yesterday."

At Mrs. Hubble’s age, having dealt with all sorts of clients for so long, she had long since become an old fox. From that remark, she keenly sensed that Su Mu owned more than one company and assumed he was likely the child of a wealthy family.

Ever since An Wang, the founder of Wang Laboratories, successfully cracked the list of the world's ten wealthiest people, many had realized that Chinese individuals could be incredibly affluent. In recent decades, it was the first time a Chinese person had made it into the top ten of the Forbes list, while African Americans had never appeared on it. The list of super-rich had long been dominated by Jewish people and other white individuals. Some heads of Japanese conglomerates were also very wealthy, but they disliked disclosing their assets and preferred to live low-key lives.

She immediately beamed and said, "Then the loan will definitely be no problem, provided there is no bad credit history. Even if there is, it’s nothing to worry about; I can help you handle it.

There are other even better houses—would you like me to take you to see them? Being neighbors with stars and billionaires is more fitting for your status. This area isn't bad either; the bodybuilder who starred in 'The Terminator' lives nearby. He bought his house through me."

"No need to look at more expensive ones. I might consider it in the future, but right now, taking on a pricier property would be quite a strain."

After inspecting the back garden, which featured a large tortoise in a pond, Su Mu followed Mrs. Hubble inside. He scrutinized every corner and asked, "If I buy this house, how much commission do I need to pay you?"

"It’s primarily paid by the seller. You only need to pay one percent of the total price. We can discuss this, though—lowering it slightly is possible. What do you think?"

"That’s reasonable. The house is decent, but it's a pity that there’s nothing but houses in the immediate vicinity; you have to drive quite a distance just to buy things. Give me your lowest offer, and I can decide to buy it myself."

Su Mu tried to negotiate the price down—a habit picked up from Chinatown—though outside of slum areas, prices weren't usually inflated, making it difficult to get a significant discount.

After touring the upstairs and downstairs—five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and two living rooms—he noted the high-end materials, such as the white oak flooring. The master bathroom was equipped with a two-meter-diameter circular massage tub. The price could buy ten of Du Zhong's houses, but it naturally had its unique merits; after all, this was Beverly Hills.

Mrs. Hubble looked troubled as she told him, "It really is already a low price. The owner won't agree to go any lower. I can ask him for you, but are you sure you want to buy?"

"Of course. Do you have data on the prices of surrounding houses?"

"There is a house not far from here of similar size that is currently for sale—it’s actually not as nice as this one—and it’s listed at 1.39 million dollars. If you don't believe me, you can call that real estate agent; he’s my competitor..."

They walked and looked around. After asking a few local residents, Su Mu learned that the average price per square foot was higher than that of the house he was planning to buy, which put his mind at ease.

Not long after, he received word from Mrs. Hubble that the owner was willing to lower the price by ten thousand dollars and leave all the furnishings behind. After much deliberation and further discussion with Li Ping'an and Du Zhong, Su Mu finally let his guard down and told Mrs. Hubble he was willing to buy it.

...

In the evening, they went near Dodger Stadium to visit the second supermarket.

Su Mu still found it hard to imagine that today he had spent over a million dollars. With fifty thousand dollars deducted as a deposit, he had a little over one hundred thousand dollars left in his account, but he now held a purchase contract in his hands.

This supermarket was located in the basement of a department store. Its advantage was the low rent, and the staff were all Chinese, making them easy to manage.

Even on Christmas Day, the store remained open. There were many customers, and since there were many white people in the surrounding area, most of the patrons were white. Mr. Han was nowhere to be seen; an employee mentioned that he had taken his family on vacation and had left just that morning.

He had intended to visit Old Lady Lin—he had visited her at the nursing home last time he was in Los Angeles—but buying the house had taken up too much time. The house transaction couldn't be finalized until after the holidays, and Su Mu didn't need to raise funds before then; he could get a loan with zero down payment.

Business at the second supermarket seemed to be going well, and since he had already decided to buy the house, Su Mu stopped overthinking it.

The supermarket business was developing smoothly, which gave him more confidence in his decision to buy the property. He had never repaid his parents in this life, and it was time to let them enjoy a better life. He decided to go home and give his family a surprise.