Girl Wears Those Shoes

SELL THE FIRST LISTING

SELL THE FIRST LISTING

Gigi woke up in the middle of the night, and thought about her idea to move Amara’s house quickly. In the morning, she was determined to take action. She called Mom Li and told her she would be home for dinner. Gigi’s parents, Chou and Li, ran an import/export merchandise store located on one of the commercial streets in Chinatown. The store was close to their house. Their modest one-story four-bedroom house, where they lived, was the one they bought when they first came to America. That was when Gigi, their only child, was just ten years old. They couldn’t wait to see Gigi and hear all about her new days in the office.

The idea was to sell her first listing to her parents. Why not? She believed it was a great investment!

“I think the price is great and it’s an excellent investment opportunity,” she explained, chowing down on a bowl of fish stew over steamed Jasmine rice. Gigi wiped her mouth. “Hmm, it’s as yummy as always, Mom!”

Li smiled. Teresa Teng’s song was playing softly:

Chou was eating their soup quietly.

“We can still negotiate the price.” Gigi tried to convince. “The lady is asking for $190,000.We can offer $180,000 or something.”

Smiling even bigger, Li began to get excited. “You know, Gigi, we always wanted to make some investment in real estate. We are so proud of you getting into this business.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’m having a great time. You know the West U Place is very well known and is well-established. It’s going through the old-to-new transition. It’s a small house, but it’s affordable. We can lease it first. When the market goes up, we can sell it for a good profit. That’s what everybody is doing these days. They’re dabbling in the real estate.”

“I love the idea,” Li said. “What do you say, Chou?”

“It’s all about you two. I’m happy Gigi started a new career. Whatever you two want to do, I’ll support you one thousand percent!” Chou was smiling too.

“A house like that in that kind of neighborhood is hard to come by.” Gigi was taken over by excitement. “I know we’ll do great!”

The moon was hanging above the window, half-faced behind the cloud.

In the next few days, Gigi managed to get both parties into the contract of $185,000. Li and Chou loved the house. It was their first investment in the residential real estate. They were thrilled they could do it in this popular neighborhood. The inspection went well and there weren’t any major issues. They had worked hard and lived frugally. For the sales amount, they could afford to pay cash for it. Yet beyond the thoughts of investing, they were proud to support their only child on the first deal in her real estate career. Without any doubt, Gigi was delirious about her accomplishment of a quick closing.

“Congratulations to y’all!” Kelly said. She closed the file and clapped hands. Eva came in and served everybody hot tea. “We are all done! We have copies for both parties to take home. The deed will be recorded at the county. Li and Chou, you should receive it in a month.”

Gigi said, “All right, Mom and Dad! Congratualtions, Amara!”

Amara sipped on her tea and said to Li and Chou, “You have a very smart daughter. She’s very driven and she’s also a lot of fun. I enjoyed working with her. I have no doubt that she will be very successful in this business.”

“Are we hungry? There is a great Tokyo Sushi place by our office. How’s that sound?” Kelly suggested.

“Sure. I’m ready for some hot Sake too.”

“Sake to me toast!”