Chapter Forty-Eight: Seizing Every Moment

Jiang Xuan made a special trip to the hospital, posing as a family member of a patient, and managed to gather quite a bit of information. Ren Jifu had two ribs broken on his left chest, multiple fractures and abrasions all over his body, and his shin bone was indeed shattered. When he was brought to the hospital, he had already lost consciousness. The people who brought him in came in two groups: one group left immediately after dropping him off, while the person who hit him was rather generous, leaving a sum of money but never showing up again.

After the hospital managed to save him, Ren Jifu was left on an empty bed in the corridor, wrapped up like a mummy. Jiang Xuan deliberately lingered at his bedside, showing tender concern. Ren Jifu’s eyes peered out from beneath the bandages, full of terror. He likely suspected that Jiang Xuan had orchestrated the accident.

Before Jiang Xuan left, a small incident occurred: a nurse pulled her aside and asked whether imported medication was needed. With multiple fractures, Ren Jifu was in agony every night, howling with pain, and the imported painkillers worked better but were extremely expensive.

Jiang Xuan sighed gently, saying, “His family’s circumstances aren’t good. They only have the money left by the person who hit him. If that runs out, he won’t even be able to pay the remaining medical bills. If it can be saved, let’s save it.”

Zhao Zejun thought Jiang Xuan’s response showed real understanding. Wasn’t Ren Jifu fond of gambling? Saving some money for the casino was much better than wasting it on painkillers.

Afterwards, they arranged for Junzi to regularly visit the hospital corridor to observe Ren Jifu’s recovery, while Zhao Zejun attended classes by day, focusing his evening studies on chemistry and basic exercises, and spent weekends wandering around the construction site at Gaogang Village.

The courtyard had five units on the first floor, three on the second, plus a small attic room, giving it the appearance of a twisted, gloomy castle.

On Saturday night, Zhao Zejun received a call from Zhou Yuanyuan, who wanted the full lyrics and melody of “Miss Xia.” Her school was filming a youth documentary and hoped to use the song as an interlude.

Zhao Zejun agreed to give her the song but insisted on retaining the rights.

Since he didn’t know musical notation, he sang the song several times over the phone for her to record.

A verbal agreement over copyright was not much of a safeguard. Giving Zhou Yuanyuan the song was mostly for Xia Yubing’s sake. Zhao Zejun wasn’t so desperate as to keep evidence for a song that was itself plagiarized; he could easily produce more. If a song could reveal someone’s true nature, it was worth it.

Of course, if Zhou Yuanyuan decided to disregard her friendship with Xia Yubing and claim the song as her own, Zhao Zejun would settle that account when he had time.

He could give it away, but he could not be deceived.

News of Ren Jifu’s accident reached Ren Bida, his only relative. Ren Bida visited once, left two thousand yuan, and considered his brotherly duty fulfilled.

“Mr. Ren, you haven’t introduced any properties to me lately. Are you slacking off?” Zhao Zejun joked. “If you keep this up, I’ll have to find another agency.”

Zhao Zejun’s words were a bit unfair to Ren Bida.

Although Aijia Real Estate was only a medium-sized agency and not very large, it was growing fast. After several transactions with Zhao Zejun, Ren Bida had promptly added this wealthy, young, and generous client to his list of preferred customers, eager to curry favor, never neglect.

After the semester started, Ren Bida had recommended three properties to Zhao Zejun, totaling five units, but Zhao Zejun didn’t buy any.

The expansion of the pseudo-courtyard had given Zhao Zejun great inspiration. In urban villages, where oversight was lax, unauthorized expansion was easy. When redevelopment eventually came, the gains from expansion could rival those from purchasing the property itself, and the cost was very low—a few thousand yuan could get you an extra room or even a unit.

There were two prerequisites for expansion: either there was space around, or the buildings were joined in a large block so as not to affect other residents.

So he planned to concentrate his remaining funds. After inspecting the five units recommended by Ren Bida, Zhao Zejun took Liang Shi for field visits; the potential for expansion was limited.

To maintain good relations with Anjia and Ren Bida, he had already purchased two units, one from Old Bai and one from a young couple, and saw no need to buy more.

“Boss Zhao, what exactly are you looking for? Tell me, and I’ll ask around,” Ren Bida said.

That was precisely what Zhao Zejun wanted. He replied, “Mr. Ren, buying one unit at a time is too slow. I want to make a bulk purchase, preferably several units together within one area.”

“Oh, I see—you’re thinking about expansion. Boss Zhao, you’re quite the businessman, I must say,” Ren Bida responded, admiringly.

“I’m taking a gamble. If there’s no redevelopment, I lose everything,” Zhao Zejun said with a smile. “Some units in Gaogang Village belong to companies—old factories with poor or failing finances. They might be willing to sell. Also, you told me before that some investors bought properties in Gaogang Village hoping for redevelopment, but got stuck when nothing happened. Those people must own more than one unit. If we can find their information and negotiate, maybe we can settle it in one go.”

“You’re absolutely right, but…” Ren Bida clicked his tongue, troubled. “That information is only available at the Housing Bureau or the police. Normally, it’s not accessible…”

Zhao Zejun didn’t discuss ‘normal circumstances’ with him.

If he couldn’t handle something so basic, what was the point of running a real estate agency? If he couldn’t access transaction records, it would be as ridiculous as Yu Zhe failing to find business license info.

He said directly, “Mr. Ren, no matter how many units I buy or from whom—even if someone approaches me—I’ll go through Aijia’s formal procedures, and you’ll get every penny of your commission. If you’re worried, once you have the info, we’ll approach them together. Don’t worry, I observe the most basic business ethics; I would never cut you out of a deal.”

“Boss Zhao, now you make me look petty,” Ren Bida said sheepishly. “Alright, wait for news.”

“As soon as possible.”

Zhao Zejun glanced at the sky and said, “The news says there will be prolonged heavy rain soon. I don’t want to buy a property only for it to collapse in a flood.”

“I haven’t heard about rain, but you’re right—Yijiang is a rainy city. Rest assured, this is my own business, so I’ll give it my full attention.”

Zhao Zejun was about to respond, then paused. “Let’s not delay. It’s better to act early. Let’s check now—I’ll go with you.”

“No need to rush,” Ren Bida was amused by Zhao Zejun’s urgency.

“A thousand years is too long; seize the day. I don’t want to reach my deathbed and realize I wasted so much time, hoping for an extra five hundred years,” Zhao Zejun said.

Recently, CCTV was broadcasting the Chen Daoming version of “Kangxi Dynasty,” and the ending theme—Han Lei’s “Borrow Five Hundred Years from Heaven”—was stirring, familiar everywhere.

Hearing this, Ren Bida couldn’t help but give Zhao Zejun a second look.

Having been in business for half his life, he’d met plenty of people like Zhao Zejun—those who seized every moment, acted decisively.

Such people fell into two categories: some were merely impulsive, quickly losing interest, always chasing new things, and ultimately wasting time and resources without achieving anything; others had deep reservoirs within, clear plans for their future, and always felt there was never enough time.

Kangxi in the TV series was that kind of person. Compared to grand dreams and sweeping life journeys, a human lifespan was simply too short, hence the lament for five hundred extra years.

This young man before him—which kind was he?

Just how large was his ambition?

“Mr. Ren, can you focus while driving?” Zhao Zejun said softly from the passenger seat.