Rising Son

Chapter 61 - I Became a Landlord?

After this incident, the feelings that we had for each other were exposed. Although we did not directly state our true feelings, it was implied. I did not say out loud that I wanted her to be my woman, and she never explicitly said that she liked me, but we were both keenly aware of the shift between us. We had a good understanding of each other's emotions.

By the time we finished eating, it was already past nine. Having the burden that had been plaguing her life finally being relieved left Fae in a good mood. She drank a lot of wine, but she did not drink to the point of being wasted. She was just a little tipsy.

Fae, who normally wore a cold mask, was smiling the whole night. Her natural charm radiated from her every movement, her smile lighting up the room. Her tipsy state only accentuated her allure, her pretty face was flushed, and her enchanting eyes blurry. It made me hungry; hungry for her.

I drove her home. I had plans to approach her brazenly. Maybe I could take advantage of this opportunity and score a homerun with her, enabling me to spend the night with my beautiful teacher. However, who would have thought that Fae had already anticipated this. After kissing my cheek, she ran out of the car and toward her apartment, escaping nimbly.

Taken aback, I rolled down the car window and shouted, “Fae, you’re really just going to kiss me and run away. Don’t you think that’s a little too mean?”

“Come on, you’re still having those naughty thoughts?” At the door of her apartment, Fae turned her head and looked at me with a smirk. “Kid, skedaddle. Your teacher needs some rest.” She turned away and walked straight into her apartment before slamming the door.

This woman... was treating me like a child. Sulking, I turned the wheel forcefully and drove away. I returned to the hotel. Violet was already fast asleep, she had apparently dozed off while I was out. Before going to the shower, I wrapped her in a blanket and collapsed into my bed.

The night passed by peacefully. I woke up the next day refreshed and ready. Violet asked playfully if I did it with Fae. I grabbed and then pressed her to the sofa, spanking her butt a couple times.

At the company I received property deeds and keys from a person sent by my grandma. A thick stack of paper sat on my desk. All these properties were to be under my name.

“So many?” I sat there, stunned. “There's like a dozen properties, right? Were they all bought by grandma?”

“Not quite.” Violet covered her mouth and giggled. “Ma'am’s way of thinking is quite old-fashioned. Gold and real estate, she believes, are the most valuable assets in this world. As such, she has a hobby of buying properties. She doesn't live in them. She simply purchases the ones that catch her eye."

“Over the years, these properties started to stack up. She has several properties across this country. To this day, no one really knows exactly how many properties she owns." Violet tapped her chin with her finger. "I’m guessing she owns several hundred properties.”

"In the past, she would only buy real estate in top-tier cities or locations with stunning beauty. Tier-two cities, such as Razor City, have just begun to flourish nicely, grabbing her notice. They're considered the emerging cities by the elites." Violet pointed to the thick stack of deeds on the table. "These should all be property Ma'am bought during her initial browsing of Razor City."

Hearing her explanation, I became even more dumbfounded. "She bought real estate for fun? Damn, how rich…" I thought, as the terrifying realization of the financial power of my family slammed into me again. After a long pause, I finally came to terms with my grandma’s unorthodox hobby. I combed through the papers and was once again hit by a surprise.

My grandma gave me a total of 12 properties. Among them, there were six villas in total, divided into three different regions. The tallest of the buildings stood five stories tall, surrounded by beautiful greenery and gardens. It took up more than half an acre of land. The combined value of these six villas was over 40 million dollars. What was even more terrifying were the other six other properties. They were all shops!

"The most expensive, top of the line stores in Razor City?! She gave me six of them! The biggest one is an acre!" I couldn't stop myself from yelling. This was simply too frightening.

They were situated on Golden Plaza, a street located in Razor City’s most luxurious commercial area, the Financial District. The District was surrounded by brand-new skyscrapers, which formed a perfect circle. Golden Plaza was at the center of the circle. The Financial District was the hallmark of Razor City, while the Golden Plaza was a shopping paradise with high-end goods.

Every industry that sold physical products and did business in Razor City lived by a saying. Having your firm registered on the stock exchange merely served to demonstrate that you were a respectable brand. Getting a shop set up at the Golden Plaza, on the other hand, demonstrated that you were one of the leaders in your respective industry, demonstrating your strength and influence. The competition to get into the Golden Plaza was fierce. Major luxury brands would compete with each other for a spot.

Around 200 shops of all sizes were present. The annual rent for these stores might reach 500 dollars per square foot!

What was this absurd pricing? A shop at the Golden Plaza that was 8000 square feet had an annual rent of 4 million dollars! Despite this, there were still countless businesses that would die to rent a space for their shop inside the Golden Plaza, and this was only the price of renting a spot! The price of purchasing a spot was even more expensive!

I heard that the real estate company only sold half of the available shop spaces when the Golden Plaza was built. Each slot is valued at roughly 2,000 dollars per square foot. That was, however, five years ago. The price per square foot has now tripled to 6,000 dollars. Every inch of the Golden Plaza was valuable.

I heard that when the Golden Plaza was completed, The six shops that my grandma gave me were all in prime locations. Five of them were around 10,000 square feet, the remaining being 30,000 square feet. To put it plainly, the total value of these six shops exceeded 500 million dollars!

In addition, based on the trend of the current market, one had to pay a high premium to obtain these lots. Otherwise, no one could buy them even if they wanted to. No one would be willing to sell it at the supposed “market” value.

If you possessed a shop in the Golden Plaza, it was the equivalent to planting a money tree. It would be stupid to sell it.

“This is insane...” I muttered to myself. “Half a billion dollars and she gave it to me just like that. Grandma is even more generous than my dad.”

Violet burst out laughing. “It seems Ma'am really loves you. Nevertheless, the entire Taylor Group will be yours in the future. It’s just a measly half a billion, Sir.”

I lit a cigarette and sighed. The Azure Company’s affairs had not been sorted out yet, but half a billion dollars came out of nowhere and landed in my pocket. I owned six shops in the Golden Plaza. Even if I lazed around for the rest of my life, I would be able to live well off collecting the annual rent off those six shops.

No, no, no, that thinking was beneath me. I wanted to inherit the Taylor Group after all. How could I be thinking like this?

I shook my head side to side. I had been poor for too long. It would be inevitable that thoughts of living a life of comfort and security would drag down my ambitions. My heart raced by just thinking about how much rent I could earn from those six shops each year. The thrill stimulated me greatly. I was looking forward to experiencing the world of being a landlord.

“What month is the rent due? When will I get the money?” I inquired.

Violet scanned through the stack of papers until she came to the contracts for the shops. "Every year in October, the rent is due," she explained. "It is currently September. They are required to pay the rent within a month under this arrangement. Do you want me to find someone to collect the rent for you, sir?"

“No need.” I waved my hand. “I’ve got nothing to do this morning, right? Perfect, I’ll check out Golden Plaza and see it for myself. I’ll also try out this rent collecting business.”

Violet looked at me, puzzled. “Well, as you wish. I’ll call the tenants and tell them to prepare for your arrival.”

“Alright, while you do that, I’ll head out.” I left the company. While I drove to the Golden Plaza, I received a call from a Pagani dealership.

“Greetings, Mr. Taylor. I’m happy to inform you that the limited-edition Pagani Huayra Dinastia you ordered has arrived at Razor City. There are three of them in existence. Please specify the time and location you would like. We will send your car there.”

Huh? I bought a car? Pagani Huayra Dinastia? What?

My mind blanked for a moment before going into overdrive. It seemed that this was the car that my grandma said she would send me. I did not expect that the process to be so shockingly efficient. It had already been shipped to Razor City.

I have heard about Pagani cars. They were a leading luxury brand, and their supercars were among the greatest on the planet. There were only three Pagani Huayra Dinastia in the world. It cost around 4 million dollars.

Well, after seeing half a billion dollars in real estate, I was already a little bit numb to my grandma’s overwhelming generosity. Therefore, this top-class supercar did not excite any major emotions from me. However, it did pique my curiosity. I really wanted to see what such an expensive car would look like.

“Bring the car to the Golden Plaza. I’ll be there in an hour,” I said on the phone.

“Got it, Mr. Taylor. Our representatives will contact you as soon as they arrive at the Golden Plaza.”