Reborn with Consumption System-Chapter 482 - 225: Scoring a Top-Tier House for Free_3
It was much more expensive than the Marriott, and of course, the class was much higher too.
Under normal circumstances, the annual retail total for a Banyan Tree Presidential Suite on the Bund exceeded 20,000,000 RMB, potentially reaching 24,000,000 RMB. However, these were two different concepts.
Retail meant instability on one hand and signified a vacancy period close to 40% on the other.
During vacant periods, the Presidential Suite’s private butler team couldn’t collect service fees. Additionally, the hotel’s other facilities lost the patronage of a major customer.
Therefore, a tycoon paying 20,000,000 RMB for a long-term stay was more valuable than 24,000,000 RMB from retail bookings.
If expenses for dining, entertainment, meetings, banquets, and other services could be entirely fixed with such a client, the former arrangement could be worth more than twice the latter, with no upper limit.
So, Brother Lie was now Banyan Tree’s prime Sugar Daddy.
"Happy cooperation!"
After finalizing the deal, Xie Rong beamed, vigorously shaking Han Lie’s right hand with both of his own.
"Come sign the contract at noon tomorrow; please have it ready," Xie Rong urged.
"No problem at all!"
Even after Liang Wu pulled Han Lie away, CEO Xie and his private butler team remained at the hotel entrance, standing like statues gazing longingly after them, reluctant to leave for a long time.
The next morning, the finance department deposited 4,000,000 RMB for rent into Han Lie’s SPD Bank card, which was exclusively for room bookings.
How it was accounted for wasn’t Han Lie’s concern. The cost was simply absorbed into the company’s operational expenses.
Damn, even more expensive than the company’s office rent...
After receiving the money, Han Lie, Lü Shuli, and Liang Wu went to the Banyan Tree again at noon. Lü Shuli reviewed the contract, and Han Lie signed it and made the payment.
The entire 20,000,000 RMB was swiped away, under Liang Wu’s puzzled gaze and Lü Shuli’s heart-pounding stare.
The one-year usage rights to the Banyan Tree Presidential Suite now completely belonged to Brother Lie.
But, in fact, Han Lie hadn’t spent a single penny.
Eighty percent came from the system, and the other 20% was covered by the company. Brother Lie had gotten the Presidential Suite for nothing.
Of course, after spending that money, there were no experience points earned, nor any system critical hits.
Brother Lie still felt a bit ripped off...
They had lunch right there at the Ocean Terrace Western Restaurant on the first floor. The head chef wasn’t a famous Michelin-starred chef, but he was very diligent.
The restaurant’s regular three-course set menu was 198 RMB. It wasn’t very high-end but boasted good value for money.
Well, the value for money was indeed maxed out. I recommend everyone give it a try if they have the chance.
Of course, Brother Lie wasn’t someone who cared about value for money. And CEO Xie certainly wasn’t going to entertain his Sugar Daddy with just that.
Where skill fell short, ingredients made up for it.
Caviar, gooseneck barnacles, jumbo sweet shrimp, Chiba abalone, Italian white truffles...
If Han Lie hadn’t insisted on not drinking, Old Xie would have even opened a bottle of 1992 Romanée-Conti.
But that bottle wasn’t spared either. Old Xie proactively handed the wine to the private butler, Leff, instructing him to keep it safe for Han Lie, ready for enjoyment at any moment.
This wasn’t limited to just that bottle. In fact, Banyan Tree had prepared an entire wine cabinet for Han Lie, a welcoming gift featuring various beverages worth precisely 888,800 RMB.
Seriously, it took a fellow countryman as general manager to be so good at orchestrating things.
Well, they definitely weren’t losing money on this.
Considering the actual wholesale cost of wine sold in the hotel for 888,800 RMB, everyone should have a general idea.
In the end, the grand gesture was what mattered—everything else was secondary.
In the afternoon, back at the company, Han Lie continued to work, monitoring the market with his "small fund" of 579,800,000 RMB.
There were some opportunities in the market that day, but they couldn’t accommodate much capital, so Han Lie didn’t act recklessly.
The greatest advantage private equity funds have over public ones is that private funds can freely hold cash positions.
Public funds don’t have that luxury. Equity-type public funds have a minimum stock position of 80%. This means they must maintain their holdings even if the market plummets, forced to buy more shares even while weeping over losses.
Thus, during a bear market, it’s normal for public funds to lose 90% of their net value. However, it’s quite astonishing for a private fund to suffer such a loss.
In ’22, this astonishing event happened more than four times...
AHEM, I digress. Anyway, Han Lie was someone who could endure inaction, preferring to hold cash rather than make hasty moves.
He waited until exactly 3:00 p.m. With the market’s hot spots scattered and lacking sustainability, Brother Lie decided to call it a day early.
Just as he was packing up, Second Sister Jin suddenly called.
"Lie, do you have plans tonight? The Wu couple would like to invite you for dinner!"
Han Lie didn’t want to go.
Wu Qilong’s intentions were easy to guess. Most likely, he envied the returns from Zhongcheng and wanted to entrust a portion of his wealth to Han Lie for management.
But Brother Lie didn’t want to take his money.
Pragmatically speaking, this "old brother" was of no use to him.
However, before he could refuse, Second Sister Jin added, "Come on! There’s good news!"
Han Lie couldn’t imagine what good news Second Sister Jin could have, but he decided to go and see.
Social obligations... well, accompanying one person is the same as accompanying another, right?
With Liang Wu still driving, Han Lie kept the appointment and arrived at a very secluded private club.
