Hu Shang Center Building.
It's a massive skyscraper landmark in Shanghai, designed to be taller than the nearby Shanghai Global Financial Center.
It officially completed and began operations in 2016. Like most modern super high-rise skyscrapers, the Hu Shang Center Building is more than just an office building. Its 9 sections each have their own sky lobby and atrium, nestled between inner and outer glass walls. The 1st section is a retail area, sections 2 to 6 are for offices, and sections 7 to 9 house the hotel and observation deck. Each floor of the sky lobby will have its own retail shops and restaurants, creating a vertical commercial district.
Gu Bai, Li Zhun, and Zhao Weiwei got out of their luxury sports cars, and passersby started their routine photo-taking.
At the entrance of the building, the leasing manager, Hu Kai, seemed to be waiting for someone. The weather was hot, and the employees accompanying him were drenched in sweat, as the business suit attire was clearly unsuitable for this season.
Seeing the three luxury cars stop not far away, a flash of excitement appeared in Hu Kai's eyes, and he quickly called his subordinates.
"Hurry, follow me to greet them."
Saying this, he trotted towards Gu Bai and the others.
"Brother Zhun, is this the office location you chose for the company?"
Getting out from the air-conditioned car, Gu Bai's head immediately started sweating due to the noticeable temperature difference.
"How is it? Not bad, right? The Central Mansion only started trial operations last year, and the companies it's accepting now are all well-known. I had to find a few people to get this done. Let's go up and have a look first; if you're not satisfied, we can change it."
"Hurry up, it's so hot I could die."
Zhao Weiwei, who was naturally frail, couldn't withstand the torture of such hot weather.
Just as the three were about to enter the building, Hu Kai brought several subordinates over to greet them.
"Good afternoon, President Li."
As the manager of the leasing department, Hu Kai knew perfectly well what to do, full of respect and humility. His subordinates were a bit skeptical; after all, this was their quick-tempered manager. But since their superior had to be respectful to this person, they had to be even more attentive, quickly following suit and greeting them.
"?"
Li Zhun glanced at him, slightly frowning with confusion.
"My name is Hu Kai, the leasing manager of the building. The director told me you were coming to view the building this afternoon, so I came early to wait for you and lead the way."
"Alright, then lead the way."
Upon Li Zhun's instruction, Hu Kai quickly moved to the front to lead the way.
Entering the building, the cool air-conditioning made them feel a bit more comfortable.
Hu Kai turned around, maintaining his respectful demeanor, and asked, "President Li, would you like to view the building first or sit in the lounge for a while?"
Li Zhun ignored him and asked Gu Bai, "Old Gu, what do you plan to do?"
"What's there to sit for? Let's solve this and register the company directly. It's best to settle everything in the next few days; I'll be starting school soon."
Black lines appeared on Li Zhun's forehead: "If you hadn't said it, I would have forgotten. You're still a student, are you planning to just be an armchair executive?"
Gu Bai laughed awkwardly. Honestly, that was exactly his plan.
"How could that be? I'll handle the big picture, and you guys take care of the details. I trust you two!"
Zhao Weiwei grabbed Li Zhun: "Alright, he's the boss and he has the final say. Anyway, if there's a loss, he'd lose the most.
But Gu Bai, you're really daring, thinking of leaving a two-billion-dollar project unattended while you go study?"
"What do you know? My goal is to serve the country."
"Thanks, I got a good laugh out of that."
Hu Kai and his team stood aside with forced smiles, not daring to interrupt.
After the three had joked enough, Li Zhun turned his head, putting on a different expression, adopting a commanding tone.
"Let's go see the building first."
But Hu Kai didn't dare show any dissatisfaction, accompanying with a smile: "The floor we're going to see is the 30th floor."
With the location informed by Hu Kai, Li Zhun and the others headed towards the elevator.
Seeing them move a bit further away, a slightly bolder male subordinate whispered in Hu Kai's ear, "Manager, who are these people? They talk about two billion like it's 200 bucks."
Hu Kai hastily turned back to glare at him.
"Keep your voice down. If they hear you, you'll be packing your things and leaving immediately.
Don't say I didn't warn you, these people are the ones the director repeatedly advised us to pay attention to. I don't know the other two, but that President Li is the heir of Nanshan Real Estate. You know Nanshan Real Estate, right? It's worth hundreds of billions.
The other two probably aren't far off either. So, be careful with what you say."
After saying this, Hu Kai quickly trotted to catch up with the trio.
............
The 30th floor of the Central Mansion.
Hu Kai walked at the front, introducing the basic information to Li Zhun and the others.
Gu Bai casually found a place to play on his phone. Company relocation isn't really a big deal; it's just a matter of prestige, and this can be left for Li Zhun to handle.
Li Zhun also knew that Gu Bai was dead set on being a hands-off manager, so he could only roll his eyes in resignation.
"President Li, our Central Mansion is located in the Lujiazui Financial Center District. To the east is the Shanghai Global Financial Center, and to the north is the Jinmao Tower. It's definitely an ideal business district in a prime location.
Our Central Mansion is a super high-rise landmark in the entire Shanghai. The building is 632 meters tall, designed by the U.S. architecture firm Gensler, with an outward spiral shape, symbolizing the traditional dragon emblem of Hua Country. It consists of 121 floors, vertically divided into nine zones, including a commercial center at the ground level, office floors in the middle, and hotels, cultural facilities, and an observation platform at the top. The 118th-floor observation deck, 'Shanghai Apex,' is a functional experience area enveloped by large floor-to-ceiling transparent glass walls. From our Central Mansion, you can have a close view of the Oriental Pearl, Jinmao Tower, and Global Financial Center at your feet, overlook the Bund, Expo Park, and Eighty Thousand People's Stadium in the distance, and enjoy the Gusu River and Huangpu River winding together into the Yangtze River and out to the East Sea, making it the perfect high-end office location choice.
Among them, floors 7-83 are the office areas available for lease, and the 30th floor we are currently viewing is right at the center of the building."
Li Zhun gazed at the cityscape of Shanghai outside the window, nodding in satisfaction.
Seeing that Li Zhun was satisfied, Hu Kai relaxed and continued to introduce with a smile, "The actual usable area on this floor is 3,215 square meters, which absolutely meets normal office needs."
"How much?"
Facing Li Zhun's inquiry, Hu Kai quickly took out the document in his hand.
"The leasing price of our Central Mansion's office area is 13-23 yuan/square meter/day. This floor belongs to a relatively good location, originally quoted at 17 yuan/square meter/day. However, the director specifically instructed me to give President Li the most preferential price, so the quote for this floor is 15 yuan/square meter/day.
The total, calculated based on the actual area, is 1.44 million a month. Additionally, as long as the lease intention is to reach 3 years, we will offer one year of free property management services."
Li Zhun's family is in the real estate business. Although he hasn't yet been involved in family affairs, he understands that the price Hu Kai mentioned is indeed quite favorable.
After hearing Hu Kai's offer, Li Zhun turned around and asked Gu Bai, "Old Gu, what do you think?"
Gu Bai was playing on his phone and didn't even look up.
"I think it's pretty good. You decide for yourself."
A hundred and some thousand a month is not a figure that needs attention in Gu Bai's current view.
"1.44 million a month, over 17 million a year, and you don't even care..."
Li Zhun helplessly held his forehead and then asked Zhao Weiwei for his opinion: "I can't communicate with someone who doesn't care about a billion. Old Zhao, what do you think?"
Zhao Weiwei seemed much more serious.
"Just about right. The company's relocation is just a matter of face, placing the company here elevates its status, and eventually, we'll have to spend the money, so it doesn't matter."
Li Zhun thought it made sense and immediately decided.
"Are you Manager Hu?"
Hu Kai quickly expressed his humility.
"President Li, you can just call me Xiaohu."
His manner showed no awareness that he was quite a bit older than Li Zhun.
Li Zhun didn't mind his attitude. He was used to many people being deferential to him, and Hu didn't rank highly among them.
"Let's go with what you said then, fill out the lease intention for three years, and pay one year's rent first."
"Alright, President Li. I'll arrange it for you right away."
Hu Kai was overjoyed; this was definitely a big deal, and he stood to gain a considerable commission. Most importantly, securing such a big client would be a significant achievement, making his dreams of promotion and salary raise possible.
"President Li, would you like to sit in the meeting room for a while?"
"Sure."
After saying that, Hu Kai hurried to prepare the signing formalities, not forgetting to instruct a few subordinates on his way out.
"Take President Li and the others to the meeting room and entertain them well."
It was hard to imagine how this middle-aged man showed his respectfulness to Li Zhun just now.
......
In the meeting room, Li Zhun, as the legal representative of the three, directly signed his name on the contract.
"The company will be established in the next couple of days, and as for the rent of the office area, we will pay it to you in the company's name at the time. This contract can be considered as an intention agreement."
Hu Kai nodded repeatedly with the contract in hand.
"Since it's settled, we'll come over in a few days for the handover."
"Rest assured, President Li, we will make sure to quickly get your office space ready."
With a fulsome smile, Hu Kai accompanied the three to the building's entrance, watching them leave in their supercars with a long sigh of relief.
"In the end, wealthy second-generation people are handling business. A transaction worth more than ten million is resolved in just two hours."
One of Hu Kai's subordinates said enviously.
Hu Kai reverted from his previous humble demeanor, glanced at the speaking subordinate, and said.
"Don't be envious. Compared to them, your entire life would seem gray. Just work hard, and at the very least, you'll have a better life than most."
Hu Kai had passed the age of grand ambitions. Now he only hoped that his current income would allow his family to maintain their current standard of living.