How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 573

Yang Chen continued his conversation with Zhang Hao, the manager of the neighborhood’s management office, learning more about the area.

The apartments here were priced at 120,000 yuan per square meter, so the rent was correspondingly high. A typical three-bedroom apartment rented for 8,000 yuan per month.

It’s important to remember that this was Jinling City, not Hai City. The average salaries were significantly different. In Hai City, 8,000 yuan a month could secure a very comfortable three-bedroom apartment.

Consequently, the rental and sales rates in this neighborhood weren’t particularly impressive. Many apartments remained unsold or unrented.

Yang Chen said, “When developing a project, you have to consider the specific local conditions when setting prices, not just arbitrarily base them on your own subjective ideas. I could say I want to sell it for 100 million yuan per square meter, but who would buy it? What a bunch of idiots. Manager Wang, tell everyone to lower the rent to 5,000 yuan per month, and we’ll furnish the apartments ourselves. Tenants will only need to bring their personal belongings and bedding to move in.”

Zhang Hao responded, “Huh? Lowering it that much will reduce the perceived quality of our neighborhood.”

Yang Chen countered, “Houses are for people to live in, not to show off. Like I said, a price of 100 million yuan per square meter might seem high quality, but will anyone pay for it? Lower the price to 50,000 yuan per square meter.”

Zhang Hao exclaimed, “Huh? The housing authority won’t approve our filed price. That’s too much of a drop; it’s practically a fire sale! And we can’t explain it to the owners who bought the apartments at a high price.”

Yang Chen retorted, “Explain what? Commercial housing is commercial housing. Since it’s a commodity, the price will naturally fluctuate, which is in line with market rules. Who says housing prices can only rise and never fall? The owners who already bought the apartments don’t have the right to complain. I can sell my own house at whatever price I want. If the housing authority doesn’t agree, tell their director to call me. I’ll talk to him. Why should I have to explain myself to them?”

Zhang Hao conceded, “Understood! I’ll do it right away!”

Yang Chen said, “Okay. You guys get busy; I’m leaving.”

Zhang Hao replied, “Okay, I’ll see you off.”

Yang Chen waved him off, “No need; you get back to work.”

Zhang Hao stopped at the door to watch Yang Chen leave, sighing as he drove away. “It’s really impossible to deal with a boss who doesn’t care about money,” he muttered.

After leaving Xuanwu Lake View, Yang Chen went online to accept ride requests on DiDi [a Chinese ride-hailing app, similar to Uber or Lyft].

Soon, the first order came through.

Yang Chen called the passenger and said, “Hello, this is your DiDi driver. Do you have a lot of luggage?”

The passenger replied, “Not much, just one suitcase.”

Yang Chen asked, “How many people?”

The passenger answered, “Four.”

Yang Chen responded, “Oh, then I’m sorry, I can’t take you. My trunk is full, and if all four of you fill up the car, there’s no place for the suitcase.”

The passenger was confused. “Huh? Do you carry personal items in your trunk? Are you sure passengers won’t have any luggage?”

Yang Chen explained, “I’m sorry. I’m here from Hai City for fun and just picking up a few rides. I just bought an apartment complex, and the property certificates filled up the trunk. My home isn’t here, and I have nowhere to put them, so I have to carry them around. So, I really can’t take the four of you plus a suitcase. It’s not that I’m refusing to take you; it’s just that I really can’t.”

The passenger laughed loudly on the phone and said, “Hey, buddy, you’re really good at bragging, aren’t you? I could believe you if you said you were a rich guy from Hai City who just bought an apartment here. I could even *barely* believe you if you said you bought a building. But you’re telling me you bought an *apartment complex*? Are you taking me for a fool? You’re just a DiDi driver who casually bought an apartment complex in Jinling City? Even if people from Hai City are rich, they can’t be *this* rich, right? You’re too good at bragging. Hurry up and come pick us up; it’s cold outside, and we’ve been waiting for a long time.”

Yang Chen insisted, “I’m sorry, I really can’t take you. Unless one of you doesn’t ride in the car and can put the suitcase on the seat.”

The passenger challenged, “Hey, you. Come here right now; I want to see if you really have a trunk full of property certificates. I have to see what a Hai City tycoon is like, buying houses by the complex.”

Yang Chen sighed, “Sigh… Okay.”

Yang Chen was genuinely perplexed. Why were people always so stubborn?

Why couldn’t they just believe what he said?

Why did they have to be skeptical?

Was buying an apartment complex really that unbelievable?

Meanwhile, at the pick-up point…

The girl who had called the car hung up her phone and said to her companions with a smile, “These DiDi drivers are really good at making things up. Maybe he saw that we used a coupon and didn’t want to take us, so he made up some story about the trunk being full of property certificates and not being able to fit a suitcase, and told me to call another car. Haha… I could believe him if he said he had something he bought in the trunk, but he actually told me he casually bought an apartment complex and the trunk was full of property certificates. Isn’t that a stupid excuse? Do you think I’d believe that?”

The companions laughed and joked.

“There are DiDi drivers who can make up stories like that?”

“If he doesn’t want to take us because we used a coupon, he should just say so. Making up such an outrageous reason is just not taking us seriously. We’ll give him a bad review for lying to us and teach him a lesson.”

“But what if his trunk really *is* full of property certificates?”

“Zhao Juan, are you okay? How could anyone buy an entire apartment complex at once? Even Jack Ma [a famous Chinese businessman] wouldn’t buy like that!”

“Haha…”

“If his trunk really is full of property certificates, I’ll be his mistress, as long as he gives me an apartment to live in.”

“Let’s all be his mistresses, and we’ll each get an apartment.”

“Haha…”

“I’m afraid his body can’t handle it.”

“Haha…”

“He can buy an entire apartment complex; can’t he buy some deer antler and tiger penis [traditional Chinese medicine ingredients believed to enhance virility] to replenish himself?”

“Damn! Zhao Juan, how do you know so much? Do you buy these for your boyfriend every day?”

“Haha…”

The passersby nearby glanced over, wondering what these four girls were talking about that was so funny.

Deer antler, tiger penis, boyfriend… were girls nowadays so open that they talked about this kind of thing in public?

While they were laughing, a JAC SUV [a Chinese car brand] stopped next to them.

The girl who had called the car checked the license plate number and said, “Yeah, that’s the one. Let’s go see what’s in his trunk.”

Yang Chen got out of the car and walked over, saying, “I’m sorry, everyone; there really isn’t enough space.”

The girl who had called the car walked directly to the trunk and said, “Open it and let me see. If it’s really full of property certificates, I’ll kill myself, and you can just take the three of them and the suitcase.”

“Haha…” The companions laughed.

Zhao Juan said, “Chen Hong, you’re too cruel, aren’t you? But you’re a true sister. To fulfill the three of us, you’re willing to kill yourself.”

“Haha…” The companions laughed again.

In fact, Chen Hong’s meaning was very clear. She simply didn’t believe that Yang Chen’s trunk was full of property certificates. It was just too absurd.

Yang Chen said, “I’m not lying to you; there’s no need to look, really.”

Chen Hong insisted, “If you don’t show me, I won’t let you leave.”

Yang Chen countered, “But if you really kill yourself, how will I explain it to your family?”

“Haha…” Chen Hong’s three companions laughed, clutching their stomachs.

Chen Hong rolled her eyes and said speechlessly, “Okay, that’s enough. If you keep acting, it’ll be a bit too much. Do you think I used a coupon, so you’re making less money and don’t want to take us? How about this: when we get there, I’ll buy you a cup of milk tea as compensation. Is that okay?”

Yang Chen replied, “No, no, that stuff is unhealthy. I stopped drinking it five years ago. Now I usually drink coffee, milk, or tea.”

“Haha…” The four girls laughed again.

Chen Hong said, “There’s really no way to talk to you. You’re a bit too… simple, I feel. I’m sorry; I’m not scolding you, but that’s just the feeling you give me.”

Yang Chen responded, “I can understand you. Some things limit your imagination, so you think I’m talking nonsense.”

Chen Hong said, “Oh, no. How about I just make up for the money you lost from the coupon? Is that okay? If you keep arguing, it won’t be fun anymore. Hurry up and open the trunk; we’re in a hurry.”

Yang Chen relented, “Why don’t you believe me no matter what I say? Okay, okay, I’ll show you. Sigh…”

With that, Yang Chen reluctantly opened the trunk.

Chen Hong exclaimed, “It’s really full of boxes! What’s in here?”

Reaching out, Chen Hong opened a cardboard box. When she saw the property certificates neatly stacked inside, the four of them instantly widened their eyes, their faces displaying exaggerated shock.

Chen Hong quickly picked up the property certificate on top to check the bottom, and it was still a property certificate.

She opened another box, and it was also full of property certificates.

She quickly picked up a property certificate to examine it: “Building A, 101, Xuanwu Lake View,” “Building A, 102, Xuanwu Lake View,” arranged in order.

Chen Hong exclaimed, “Wow, buddy, these are property certificates for Xuanwu Lake View! Your name is Yang Chen?”

Yang Chen confirmed, “That’s right!”

Zhao Juan interjected, “Impossible! Xuanwu Lake View costs an average of 120,000 yuan per apartment. How could you afford to buy the entire complex!”

Yang Chen explained, “My family just has a little money. I told you that some things limit your imagination, so you think my words are nonsense. When you see the reality, you should doubt your own intelligence. You doubt, you question, you don’t believe, you find all kinds of reasons to try to prove that I’m fake, until you finally have to accept the reality, and you feel inferior, and then you want to apologize to me. Right?”

The four of them exchanged glances, their expressions even more shocked.

Chen Hong admitted, “Brother, you’re so right. My psychological changes are just as you described. I’m sorry; poverty really has limited my imagination.”

Zhao Juan protested, “Impossible! I don’t believe it. My boyfriend’s boss bought an apartment in Xuanwu Lake View. I’ll call him and find out. Handsome, if you’re faking it, the crime of possessing so many fake property certificates is no small matter.”

As if on cue, her boyfriend’s phone call came in.

Zhao Juan shook her phone at Yang Chen and said, “My boyfriend is calling; do you want me to ask him to verify it?”

Yang Chen replied, “That’s your freedom; I can’t control it.”

Zhao Juan retorted, “Oh, you’re still being stubborn, huh? Okay, I’ll put it on speakerphone, and everyone can listen together.”

With that, Zhao Juan answered the phone and put it on speakerphone.

Zhao Juan said, “Hello, what’s up?”

Her boyfriend replied, “I can’t see you tonight; my boss called me in for something.”

Zhao Juan asked, “Ah? What’s the matter? So urgent!”

Her boyfriend explained, “Don’t even mention it. Didn’t my boss just buy an apartment in Xuanwu Lake View? When he bought it, it was 120,000 yuan per square meter. Today, the entire Xuanwu Lake View complex was bought by Yang Chen, the boss of the Star Chen Group. Boss Yang doesn’t care about money and thinks the price is too high, so he lowered the price to 50,000 yuan per square meter. In just one month, my boss lost more than half of his money, and he’s definitely not happy about it. So, he asked me to have dinner with some leaders from the housing authority tonight and asked me to ‘drink with them’ [an euphemism for bribing officials], hoping to start with the housing authority and prevent the filed price of Xuanwu Lake View from being lowered.”

Zhao Juan was stunned, and her phone accidentally slipped from her hand and fell to the ground.

She quickly picked up the phone and stammered, “You… you’re not lying to me, are you?”

Her boyfriend replied, “Why would I lie to you? I even booked a room and bought three condoms. If I wasn’t forced to, would I not go to see you?”

Zhao Juan protested, “Oh, why are you saying this?”

The three companions covered their mouths and smiled, their faces full of gossip, but then they looked at Yang Chen again. So *he* was the legendary Boss Yang of the Star Chen Group.

Zhao Juan asked, “If I said I’m with Boss Yang right now, would you believe it?”

Her boyfriend chuckled, “Haha… I believe it; I believe everything. If you said you were with Sun Wukong [the Monkey King, a famous character in Chinese mythology] right now, I’d believe it. I’m not going to talk to you anymore; I’m still at work. Bye.”

The phone call ended, and Zhao Juan looked at Yang Chen with an embarrassed expression, then quickly bowed and said, “Boss Yang, I’m sorry; I didn’t know it was you. If I had known it was you, I definitely wouldn’t have doubted you. You’re so right; you described our psychological changes so accurately. Now our mood is that we have to believe it, and then we feel inferior, and then we want to apologize to you.”

Chen Hong chimed in, “Yes, yes, that’s exactly what we mean. Boss Yang, please forgive us; don’t be so serious with us girls. We’re just ignorant, and poverty has limited our imagination.”

Yang Chen said, “Then I’ll cancel the order, and you can call another one.”

Chen Hong protested, “Don’t! That… Zhao Juan, your boyfriend has already bought the condoms; it would be too much if you didn’t go to see him. What if he gets pent up? Go see him; don’t be with us. We three single dogs will be fine. Bye!”

With that, the three of them quickly ran into the car and sat down.

Zhao Juan exclaimed,

“Wow, you always said we’d be sisters forever, and now you’re throwing me away? Humph! I’ll just hold the suitcase, okay?”

After saying that, Zhao Juan got into the passenger seat and put the big suitcase in her arms.

Because of the limited space and the large suitcase, she was leaning against the back of the seat and couldn’t move. Even so, she still wanted to ride in Yang Chen’s car.

Yang Chen said, “Miss, there’s no need to make it so hard on yourself, right? How about this: I’ll call a car for you, and you can follow me in his car, and you can still reach your destination together. Okay?”

Zhao Juan refused, “No! I’m not having a hard time at all; I think this is very comfortable. It’s my first time meeting Boss Yang; how could I ask you to call a car for me? Let’s go, let’s go; I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me; just drive carefully.”

Yang Chen asked, “Are you sure you can handle it?”

Zhao Juan insisted, “Sure! I’m an adult; I’m not stupid. If I really couldn’t handle it, I definitely wouldn’t have gotten in. Right?”

Yang Chen conceded, “Okay!”

With that, Yang Chen drove off to the destination.

In less than two minutes, Zhao Juan already felt a squeezing pain in her chest, her breathing was a little labored, and her face was flushed.

Yang Chen noticed, “Miss, are you feeling unwell? Why is your face so red?”

Chen Hong in the back row joked, “It’s okay; she blushes when she sees a handsome guy. Boss Yang is so handsome, she’s bound to blush.”

Zhao Juan smiled awkwardly and said, “Yes, yes, I’m a bit of a nymphomaniac, and I do blush easily when I see a handsome guy. Boss Yang, don’t mind me.”

Yang Chen nodded and continued driving.

It was a rare opportunity to be in Yang Chen’s car, so the four passengers naturally wanted to chat with him.

Chen Hong asked, “Boss Yang, why did you suddenly come to our Jinling?”

Yang Chen replied, “I had nothing to do, so I came to see a friend.”

Chen Hong pressed, “A female friend?”

Yang Chen clarified, “No, to be precise, it’s a business partner.”

Chen Hong inquired, “Oh, so you usually just drive DiDi for fun?”

Yang Chen confirmed, “Yeah, I have nothing to do, so I have to find something to do.”

Chen Hong observed, “Other people drive DiDi to make a living; you drive DiDi to experience life. The nature of the same thing is different when done by different people.”

Yang Chen countered, “The nature is still the same; it’s all about taking passengers from the starting point to the destination.”

Chen Hong laughed, “Haha… Boss Yang is so humorous.”

While they were chatting, Yang Chen suddenly noticed that Zhao Juan’s breathing in the passenger seat sounded a little strained. After all, Yang Chen also knew some medical skills, and observation, auscultation [listening with a stethoscope], interrogation, and palpation [examining by touch] were basic skills.

Yang Chen quickly pulled over, hurriedly got out of the car, ran to the passenger seat, and pulled the box out. Zhao Juan instantly felt relieved, and her breathing became smoother.

Yang Chen was also exasperated and said, “Miss, why are you doing this? You almost suffocated yourself! No, I can’t take you anymore. If something happens to you, how will I explain it to your family? You guys get out; I can’t take you no matter what.”

The four passengers could only get out of the car quickly, and their companions teased Zhao Juan.

“Wow, Zhao Juan, you’re too cruel to yourself!”

“No, you already have a boyfriend; you can’t be so desperate to see a handsome guy!”

“Yeah, you’re too cruel to yourself. If Boss Yang hadn’t discovered it in time, you would have been suffocated to death. Look, your breasts have been flattened!”

“Haha…”

Zhao Juan rolled her eyes and said, “Go on, your breasts have been flattened. All three of you rode in Boss Yang’s car, and I’m the only one riding in another car; I don’t want to. So what if I have a boyfriend? It can’t stop me from admiring more handsome guys.”

Yang Chen said, “Okay, I’ll drop you all off here. No matter what you say, I can’t take you anymore. Call another car, and ask in advance if the trunk can fit a suitcase.”

With that, Yang Chen got into the car and left.

The four passengers watched Yang Chen’s car depart with reluctance, their faces full of regret.

Chen Hong sighed, “These few minutes may have been the highlight of our lives. Sigh… We’ll never see him again.”

…

Yang Chen continued to accept orders, and this order was to go to the Moon Star Furniture City.

“Hmm? This order is good; I can go see the furniture and furnish Xuanwu Lake View, which will make it easier to rent out,” Yang Chen said to himself.

Soon, Yang Chen picked up the passenger.

The female passenger was wearing a fur coat, looking like a wealthy woman.

Why would someone like this call a DiDi?

Yang Chen followed the usual procedure to verify the information with the guest, and after confirming that it was correct, he set off for Moon Star Furniture Plaza.

The wealthy woman stared at Yang Chen’s profile for a moment and said with a smile, “Young man, you’re quite handsome. Your license plate is from Hai City. Did you used to live in Hai City, and you couldn’t make it there, so you came back to Jinling?”

Yang Chen replied, “Auntie, you’re so direct; I’m so embarrassed.”

The wealthy woman chuckled, “Haha… I’m sorry; look at my mouth. I’ve always been so direct; please bear with me.”

Yang Chen said, “It’s okay.”

The wealthy woman continued, “Actually, my family has five cars, but my husband, son, and daughter each drove one away, and my Panamera [a luxury car model] is in maintenance, and there’s one Q5 [another luxury car model] left, but I think it’s a bit ‘cheap,’ so I was too embarrassed to drive it out.”

*Damn*, he thought, *it looks like her family is really not simple; even a Q5 is considered ‘cheap.’*

Yang Chen asked, “Auntie, what do you do for work? Do you make furniture?”

The wealthy woman scoffed, “Who makes furniture? It doesn’t make any money at all. We’re in real estate, and we also do some online finance.”

*These two industries are really profitable if you do them well, and the annual profits are calculated in units of hundreds of millions*, Yang Chen thought.