Chris flipped through the brochure in his hands, growing more excited with each page. The brochure detailed five house models, covering everything from the exterior architecture to the decoration of every functional space inside. On the last page, thoughtfully, it even listed all the materials used for construction along with their expected lifespans.
Chris, with his engineering corps background, examined every detail carefully. After finishing, he sighed with admiration:
"So meticulous!"
The car soon arrived at the East District. Chris looked out the window, recalling that when he had driven here before, he hadn't seen any houses. Then he spotted a huge construction site fenced off, with a lavish two-story building at the entrance. Earlier, Chris had assumed this place was being developed into a golf course.
Now, the car stopped firmly right beneath what he had previously thought was a luxurious building.
"Pre-sale model, simply put, it means reserving your dream home in advance. Since you probably can't find a suitable house in the city now, why not come in and have a look?" Aldo said.
Chris glanced up at the massive Valentino logo on the building and felt the sales director's logic made sense.
Entering the building, the first thing that caught Chris's eye was a giant scale model in the center of the lobby. He couldn't help but be drawn to the rows of beautiful houses with green lawns in front. He really wanted a lawn of his own.
"All our house models are the currently popular suburban style," Aldo explained. "Each house has at least 150 square meters of lawn, and some come with swimming pools. The entire community consists of 80 houses, with two fitness trails, three central gardens, and a 300-square-meter community center. Confirmed tenants include a Valentino retail store and a bar."
Chris, initially attracted by the lawns, now focused on the central gardens, imagining swinging there with children.
"How exactly are the houses sold?" Chris asked.
Hearing this, Aldo was internally thrilled—another commission coming his way! He also admired Leo more. Creating this perfect scale model took time but paid off—six out of ten customers fell for it here.
Why was Aldo here in the first place? Because he couldn't focus on studying and had been thrown into the sales company by the boss. Almost becoming a gang boss himself, Aldo initially looked down on this job, but now he was fully motivated.
This was his fifth project since joining, and the houses from the previous four projects had all sold out. In a short time, he had sold 30 houses, earning $40,000 in commissions and bonuses. In just 15 days, he had made that much money—his first time handling so much cash. When he used to drive for the boss, earnings were intermittent and only about $10,000.
But this time, it was all his own effort—and spending felt great.
Aldo smiled warmly at Chris and said,
"Sir, don't worry. This is just the exterior environment. Now, let's move on to the model house."
"Model house?" Chris was unfamiliar with the term but followed Aldo with some anticipation to the back door of the building. With help from some elegant ladies, he donned a dust suit and helmet and climbed into a Willis Jeep he knew well.
Because the site was large, the off-road driving was wild and noisy. Over the mechanical noises on both sides, Aldo had to shout to explain the paths, gardens, and central spots Chris had seen on the scale model.
Thanks to the white lines painted on the ground, Chris could tell the exact locations of each house. They were on the community's main road.
"Why are there signs stuck in front of those white squares?" Chris loudly asked Aldo.
"Those are houses that have already been sold," Aldo replied.
Chris's heart tightened instantly. Just as he wanted to ask more, the car stopped.
A beautiful suburban house appeared before his eyes, shimmering faint blue under the sunlight. The perfectly manicured lawn immediately grabbed Chris's attention and touched his heart.
Passing the entrance sign and mailbox, walking on neatly paved stone paths, the two arrived at the house.
Aldo opened the door and gestured for Chris to enter, warmly saying,
"Welcome to your future home, Mr. Visen!"
Inside, Chris felt his eyes were not enough to take it all in: clean hallways, spacious living room, huge master bedroom, three additional bedrooms, an attic upstairs, a basement over 100 square meters, and a garage.
Aldo pointed outside at a small shed and said,
"That's every man's favorite—the tool room!"
"Why are there so many empty spaces for furniture?" Chris asked.
"That's Mr. Valentino's idea. He keeps emphasizing we live in a rapidly changing era. We must plan for the future and leave enough space for new gadgets to come!" Aldo said proudly.
"No wonder he grew the company to be number one in the state within two years," Chris muttered, bumping the wall with his body.
Yeah, very sturdy.
Just as Chris was enjoying the moment, the roar of an off-road vehicle came from outside.
"Time's up, Mr. Visen. The next client is here to see the house," Aldo said.
Chris immediately recalled the signs on the white squares along the road and urgently asked,
"How do I buy one?"
"See? That's the change. Out of the three who didn't buy after seeing the model, two will decide after visiting the model house."
"Let's go sit and talk. There's only one house left in the community now." Aldo said casually.
Chris's heart raced. They had introduced 50 houses here, and now only one was left.
As they left, Chris ran into the new visitor. Both eyed each other warily—competitors!
Neither noticed Aldo and another salesman wearing identical outfits with badges reading 'Sales Director.'
"Sir, your coffee," a curvy lady said as she approached.
But anxious Chris ignored both her and the coffee, grabbed the documents Aldo handed him, and after a glance, exclaimed,
"So cheap!"
Recently, due to the housing boom, ordinary self-built homes that used to cost $8,000 before the war were now inflated to $10,000. Yet the nice house they just saw cost only $7,999.
"That's right. You can't move in for another six months. The last unit you saw does have some flaws. Of course, you can wait; we're preparing the next phase. So, what do you think?" Aldo said.
A company executive personally chauffeuring and showcasing every detail of the home, the high quality of the houses, plus Valentino's good reputation—all crucial factors.
Most importantly, Chris noticed the client who had been behind him earlier also entered.
He worried the next phase might cost more or have worse locations.
Thinking this, Chris slammed the table:
"I'll buy! But even at this price, I can't afford it. Can I wait until my loan is approved?"
Aldo smiled slightly and pointed to a row of cubicles on the lobby's east side.
"No need for the bank—we provide one-stop service. Morgan Bank will handle your loan."
The process went smoothly, with bank officers accompanying Chris home to collect proof documents to finalize the loan.
The model house was sold to the last visitor.
When the lobby was empty, warm applause erupted—this meant all houses in the project had sold.
Two days later, when all state data was gathered by Daniel, he found that all 20 experimental projects in the state had sold out, and the bank funds had been deposited into Valentino Realty's account.
A total of $16 million, with $9 million net profit after construction and subcontracting costs.
"It actually worked. This will change the industry completely," Kevin murmured. As a veteran realtor, he clearly felt the wheels of time rolling forward.
Others were ecstatic.
"Now just hand the site over to subcontractors and station a few key staff. The rest can start preparing the second-phase combo project. Call the boss with the good news!" Sean said.
Daniel shook his head, waving a pile of data.
"This is exactly what the boss wants. I'm taking it to him myself."
At JP·W Company in Manhattan, Leo had been working for a month.
Today, Augustus visited mainly to ask about the first-phase project sales.
His visit eased Leo's busy mind, but the atmosphere in the meeting room was tense.
Jarvis complained to his uncle:
"Uncle, I still don't know what this company actually does. I only know that our Valentino CEO used JP·W's internal channels to lend a huge amount at low interest to Valentino Realty. Then he bought a lot of worthless land at low prices.
But I asked industry friends—there's a housing shortage for self-built homes, no one develops empty land. Even worse, our CEO wants to sell empty lots.
I admit some people are dumb, but no one would spend half their life savings on a pile of dirt!"
He had improved a bit but not much. Augustus ignored his nephew and asked Leo:
"Everything going well?"
"All under control. Richmond is just one last project away from completion!" Leo replied.
Jarvis stood up and pointed at Leo:
"Same line again! Everyone thought you were a fool before! Drawing white lines and sticking signs doesn't mean the houses sold. Ha! If I threw a sign in the Atlantic, can I say the Atlantic belongs to me?"
Knock knock knock.
Leo's office door was knocked.
Daniel entered, dust-covered but smiling. Being young, he couldn't hide his excitement:
"Boss, all sold out!"
Leo stood, took the data from Daniel, and flipped through it.
Augustus looked skeptical—over 20 projects, 2,000 houses sold in one month?
"Keep acting! Uncle, he's a con man!" Jarvis said.
The data was solid. Leo trusted Daniel.
Looks like his judgment was right—the housing demand was too strong, and the previous sales gimmicks helped.
Feeling good, Leo didn't want to hear the buzzing flies.
He told Augustus,
"You can verify with Norton. Loan data doesn't lie."
Augustus nodded and immediately dialed.
Seeing Leo's confidence, Jarvis hesitated. Recently, he had been hanging out with Bertram Jefferson and Edwin Hutchinson, two Virginia aristocrats who claimed Leo rose by seducing women and lying—representing ruthless bottom feeders.
"Good, good, I got it," Augustus said after hanging up, turning expressionless.
Jarvis saw the look and knew his uncle was angry, sure Leo's scam was exposed.
He glanced smugly at Leo:
"Uncle, we must recover losses and sue this con artist."
Then, in his view, Augustus's hand grew larger and suddenly slapped Jarvis's pale face loudly.
Augustus's cold voice followed:
"Norton reported over 200 houses sold. Richmond is far away—can't your so-called friends visit you? Guessing here makes you a pawn, and you've shamed the family!"
That was prejudice—his uncle was prejudiced! Jefferson and Hutchinson were noble American gentlemen, just like him!
Jarvis glared venomously at Leo, thinking this lowlife had carefully built a scam to fool his uncle.
Suddenly, he said to Augustus:
"Uncle, isn't Leo supervising Virginia Morgan Bank? Surely he and Norton, the bank manager, are in cahoots."
Angered by the stupidity, Augustus pointed to the door and yelled,
"Norton's my man! Get out!"
Jarvis left in tears.
Augustus turned and smiled at Leo:
"I hope you understand, teaching the young is tough. Sometimes, I really marvel that at 23 you can spar with old-timers like Cotton and Harry, while my nephew is 27 but still a kid.
Enough of that. Congratulations, Leo. You did it again."
He picked up the champagne on the table and said happily.
Augustus was genuinely pleased—the first hurdle was crossed. Leo had proved Americans could accept this new pre-sale model.
"We are the key players—don't forget who I work for. Besides, the bank wins anyway!" Augustus smiled approvingly.
Previously, banks suffered from slow repayments by both developers and buyers. Long capital turnover caused risks and inefficiency.
Now, developers are freed up, turnover is faster.
"I heard the Virginia Masonic Brotherhood invited you? Why no reply?" Augustus asked.
"You're also a Mason? Because of Clint's son Eddie, I was ignored by Virginia's lodge. When I needed them, they ignored me.
Now, I don't need them. Joining would be a waste of time," Leo replied.
"Hahaha! That's the essence of the Brotherhood—value! It's the only standard for joining.
I head New York's lodge. Your delay made Virginia's lodge a joke.
Their leader is Al Corison, Norfolk and railroad chairman—you know him.
Do me a favor—join sometime. It'll help you fit in Virginia. But it's a loose group—just an excuse to meet occasionally. Friends inside, strangers outside."
"Okay, sir," Leo said.
As Augustus left, he suddenly lowered his voice to Leo:
"Your wealth is about to explode. In America, even Rockefeller and Carnegie couldn't monopolize it alone!"
Leo understood—Augustus meant he wanted Valentino Realty to go public. But IPO wasn't on Leo's agenda yet.
In fact, Leo had one big move left in the pre-sale: mortgage-backed securities—the "culprit" of the 21st-century financial crisis!
Leo didn't reveal this not because he feared a crisis—Wall Street wasn't reckless yet, and people still saved money rather than overspend. Credit cards wouldn't appear for another four years.
The main reason was Leo planned to enter this field only after owning his own commercial and investment banks.
After everyone left, Daniel asked:
"Boss, the company now has a large cash flow. With phase two starting, there'll be more. There's little land left to buy in Virginia. Besides buying land, what's next?"
Leo stroked his chin, smiling:
"With pre-sales, inflated self-build housing prices will fall sharply. Those companies that piled up costs might have shaky finances.
Most are small listed companies dabbling in capital games.
We'll have our media badmouth them, then buy shares cheaply on the secondary market.
For unlisted companies, we'll investigate shareholders and buy shares with offers they can't refuse.
It's time to clean up Virginia's chaotic real estate market."
Daniel's eyes sparkled, imagining a dominant Virginia real estate company like Tishman Speyer.
"Phase two funds will buy a new materials factory in New Jersey. Our company is growing; we can't get stuck upstream.
As for phase three…"
Leo stood, looking at the distant Empire State Building:
"We'll move into New York and Pennsylvania. If Tishman can enter Virginia, I can enter their turf. It was agreed.
That's called: If the fox goes in, so can I."
After pre-sale success, Virginia media began heavy coverage, quickly spreading across the entire East Coast.
New phase two sales locations had as many reporters as homebuyers.
Just a week later, waves of praise flooded Leo.
The Wall Street Journal said:
"A great business model is born!"
The New York Times commented:
"Buyers happy, developers happy, banks happy, government happy—a miracle transaction pleasing everyone!"
Leo sighed, knowing the "everyone" was due to the era's special circumstances.
He frowned reading further.
The Washington Post devoted a full page to Leo, titled:
"The 23-Year-Old Billionaire—A Self-Made Veteran."
The article detailed Leo's rise but hinted obscurely that there might be problems.
Since Leo's not a public company, they listed data to show his net worth exceeding a billion.
"Valentino Realty owns 140 plots in Virginia's core locations, each large enough to build 90 homes on average, with an average price of $8,000 per house.
Full sales yield a gross profit of $100 million.
According to a former Valentino exec, they have a precise cost control system, with net profit at 60% of gross.
That means Valentino Realty will net $60 million.
Mr. Valentino is the major shareholder, likely holding no less than 80%.
Thus, his net worth will increase by $48 million.
With additional companies, real estate, and art collections, it's reasonable to estimate Mr. Valentino's net worth has passed $100 million.
And with pre-sale fever, his wealth continues to grow.
Note, this once-in-a-century business genius is only 23 years old!"
Leo put down the paper, understanding The Washington Post was trying to attract attention by exposing his wealth.
He guessed it was a broad call by the Cotton family for heroes to come challenge him.
Want to split this young man's fortune? Join us!
Thinking of a strategy, Leo relaxed. Since his wealth was exposed, why not leverage it—market himself as the symbol of young wealth and the American Dream?
Leo knew well from his livestream hosting days how to attract attention and win favor.
The mid-20th-century Iron Man wasn't bad either.
From now on, any company opposing him would lose in public opinion.
While pondering this breakthrough, Leo didn't know his bold moves were shaking the entire American business world.
Countless big players expanding their empires turned their heads back to America, curious about the young man who twice defeated the Cotton family!