Chapter 157 Playing the Client

It is rare for a real estate transaction to be signed upon the very first viewing; clients usually inspect a property two or three times, or even more, before making a purchase. Zhang Wei had scheduled another secondary viewing with Chen Jiansheng, promising that if Chen still decided to buy the villa after another look, he would arrange a face-to-face meeting with the owner for tripartite negotiations.

Mr. and Mrs. Chen were still quite fond of the semi-detached villa and readily accepted Zhang Wei’s invitation. They agreed to view the property at six o'clock in the afternoon. Zhang Wei attached great importance to this second inspection and had put a considerable amount of preparatory work into it.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, Zhang Wei picked up Liu Cheng and Li Mengfei to meet the client. The group of five then headed to the villa district for the second viewing. This time, however, the route Zhang Wei chose required them to pass right in front of the Tian Tian Real Estate agency.

This was not because Zhang Wei deliberately wanted to make a show of force against Tian Tian, but simply because there were too many real estate agencies in the neighborhood. No matter which route he took, it was inevitable to pass by some agency, so he naturally chose the one that posed the least threat.

In the past, Zhang Wei would never have walked past Tian Tian when guiding clients, because Wang Zhen used to be there. If Zhang Wei had walked past with clients, he would undoubtedly have been targeted by Wang Zhen, which would have meant asking for trouble.

Now, however, Wang Zhen of Tian Tian had met with an accident, and the morale of Tian Tian's staff had plummeted to rock bottom. Forget about trying to poach other people's clients; keeping their own clients from being poached was already a struggle. Therefore, Zhang Wei had zero concerns regarding any threat from Tian Tian.

Yet, when Zhang Wei walked up to the entrance of Tian Tian's storefront, the scene there startled him. Outside the office stood more than a dozen agents, each wearing the ID badge of a different company, tightly packed into a massive crowd.

Lianjia, Century, I Love My Home, Anju, and virtually all other nearby agencies had set up large signs right at Tian Tian's doorstep. Each sign stood one meter high and some sixty to seventy centimeters wide, featuring bold black characters on bright yellow paper that glared dazzlingly under the sunlight.

Any clients or property owners wishing to enter Tian Tian's office had to squeeze their way through this crowd and could hardly avoid seeing the real estate listings displayed on the boards. It was a classic tactic for poaching clients, and every sign listed contact numbers so that interested clients could easily reach out.

Looking from afar, Zhang Wei noticed that Tian Tian’s sales representatives were cowering inside the shop. Not a single client or owner was inside, making the place feel utterly devoid of life and vitality. Glancing again at the dense forest of yellow signs blocking the doorway, Zhang Wei couldn't help but feel that these rivals were utterly ruthless—they were effectively driving Tian Tian down a dead end.

Zhang Wei was no saintly philanthropist, and Tian Tian’s survival or demise was none of his concern. Chatting with the clients along the way, he continued toward the villa. When they arrived at the semi-detached property, Wang Jian was already waiting at the entrance.

Wang Jian wasn't the only one standing outside; on the other side of the gate stood Su Ning and Liu Longlong. However, Wang Jian and Su Ning stood far apart, without any communication between them, acting entirely as if they were strangers.

"Jian, let's go inside," Zhang Wei said as he led Mr. and Mrs. Chen to the villa entrance, addressing Wang Jian while deliberately ignoring Su Ning and Liu Longlong, as if he had no acquaintance with them either.

Just as Zhang Wei’s group was about to step into the villa, the blare of a car horn suddenly shattered the air: "Beep, beep, beep..."

The sports car's horn was exceptionally loud, instantly drawing the attention of everyone present. A fiery red sports car drove up toward the villa and parked right outside the courtyard gate, and two women stepped out from inside.

One woman wore cascading, fiery red waves draped over her shoulders, sporting a pair of gray sunglasses on her delicate, charming face. She was dressed in a white, sleeveless mini-dress that exposed her slender arms and long, elegant legs, paired with black strappy stiletto sandals.

The other woman was equally attractive, featuring large eyes, a dainty nose, and an oval face. She wore a white short-sleeved blouse paired with a black knee-length skirt, exuding a sense of pure innocence with just a hint of sexiness.

"Little Fang, I'm your boss now, you know! You'd better listen to me later on!" the sexy woman said with a charming laugh, reaching out to stroke the other woman's waist.

"Sister Sophie, stop groping me all the time, it feels weird," Wen Fang said, twisting her body away.

"Oh, look at you, acting all shy with your big sister? Just a moment ago when I was changing clothes, you saw absolutely everything," Sophie pouted, feigning anger. "And now you throw a fit just because I touch your waist a little?"

"Alright, Sister Sophie, let's get down to business. It won't be good if we mess up Big Brother Wei's plan," Wen Fang said with a resigned tone.

"Relax, I've seen plenty of big scenes in my time. A little setup like this is a piece of cake," Sophie said nonchalantly.

"Ms. Su, Assistant Wen, you're here," Su Ning said, walking up to Sophie accompanied by Liu Longlong.

"Indeed, Manager Su. Is this the semi-detached villa you recommended to me? It looks quite nice!" Sophie took off her gray sunglasses, looked over the villa, and remarked.

"Ms. Su, the interior decoration and layout are even more exquisite. Let me take you inside to have a look right now," Su Ning said.

"Alright," Sophie nodded, then followed Su Ning into the courtyard of the villa.

Zhang Wei, Chen Jiansheng, and the others witnessed this scene from the entrance. A look of surprise crossed the faces of Mr. and Mrs. Chen, and Chen Jiansheng immediately asked, "Xiao Zhang, what's going on? Is that Ms. Su who drove up in a sports car also a client looking at the villa?"

"Brother Chen, let's focus on our own viewing and pay no mind to them," Zhang Wei replied evasively.

"Xiao Zhang, that's not the right service attitude. Since you promised to let us have a second look, why did you schedule other clients to view the house at the same time?" Chen's wife said with a hint of dissatisfaction.

Many things in life are such that the moment a competitor appears, anything of value instantly becomes far more cherished. Just like Mr. and Mrs. Chen: when Zhang Wei hadn't pressed them for a secondary viewing, they hadn't brought it up themselves; yet the moment another competing client showed up, they suddenly felt rather uncomfortable.

"Brother Chen, Sister, you're really doing me a wrong here. I can bring you to view the property, but other agencies can bring their clients too. I have no reason to forbid others from looking at houses," Zhang Wei explained.

"Even so, it shouldn't be such a coincidence that they arrive the exact moment we reach the door," Chen's wife questioned.

"Sister, past six o'clock in the evening is peak viewing time in the summer. If you're afraid of the daytime heat, others are too! Besides, this semi-detached villa offers incredible value for money, and many agencies are pushing it as a prime listing. I suspect the price might even go up soon," Zhang Wei said.

"The price is going to go up?!" Hearing this, Mr. and Mrs. Chen both wore looks of surprise before following Zhang Wei into the villa. Su Ning, Sophie, and their group closely followed right behind them.

The little drama performed by Zhang Wei, Su Ning, Sophie, and the others was a classic real estate closing tactic known as "staging clients." It was designed to create a sense of competitive pressure, forcing the real client to make up their mind and lay down a deposit as quickly as possible.

Sophie and Wen Fang were acting as the competing clients, while Su Ning played the role of an agent from another brokerage. Their sole purpose was to prompt Chen Jiansheng and his wife to feel a sense of competition and urgency, allowing Zhang Wei to seize the moment to close the deal and secure the contract.

Choosing Sophie and Wen Fang to play the clients was a carefully calculated decision by Zhang Wei. Firstly, Mr. and Mrs. Chen had never met them before; secondly, neither of them had ever worked as real estate agents. As long as they simply acted naturally, they wouldn't easily give themselves away with flaws.

Former real estate agents, on the other hand, would not do. Their tone of voice, logic, and professional terminology were deeply ingrained. For instance, to give the simplest example: an agent would refer to the landlord of a rental property as the "owner," whereas ordinary people preferred to call them the "landlord."

An agent's ingrained habits regarding such minute details were etched deep into their bones and could easily slip out inadvertently. They risked being exposed by a discerning client, which would backfire completely, making the client feel that Zhang Wei was being insincere and ultimately blowing the deal.

Once inside the villa, Zhang Wei accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Chen through the rooms. Whether due to it being their second viewing or not, the couple didn't pay meticulous attention to the house itself; instead, they seemed far more focused on Sophie's every move, as if trying to eavesdrop on Sophie's impressions of the property.

However, whether intentionally or not, Sophie rarely mentioned her thoughts on the house during the tour. Instead, she occasionally teased Wen Fang, acting as though she had very little actual interest in purchasing the place.

After a while, Zhang Wei noticed that Mr. and Mrs. Chen had finished touring the house but were in no rush to leave, lingering as if waiting for Sophie to depart first. Coincidentally, Sophie and her group walked down from the upper floor at that moment, and Sophie pulled out her phone to make a call.

To everyone's surprise, when Sophie made the call, she spoke in fluent, native English. Translated into Chinese, the gist of what she said was: "Darling, I've just looked at a villa. I love both the layout and the interior design, and the price isn't too high either. I want to buy it."

Whatever the person on the other end said in response, Sophie replied in English once more: "Oh, if possible, I hope you can rush over right now, because there's a couple here looking to buy the villa too, and I'm afraid they'll beat me to it."

A moment later, Sophie responded with a hint of disappointment: "Alright, since you have to attend a meeting tonight, I suppose we can only look at the house together tomorrow. But if you like this place too, we simply must buy it."

Finally, Sophie concluded: "Don't worry, they are Chinese and don't speak English; they have no idea I want to buy the house. I just put on an act like I wasn't interested."

"Manager Su, I've finished viewing the house. Let's go!" Sophie announced.

"Ms. Su, what do you think of this villa?" Su Ning asked.

"It's alright," Sophie shrugged, putting on an indifferent expression as if her impression of the property was thoroughly mediocre.

"Very well, then I'll see you out," Su Ning said, leading Sophie and her entourage out of the villa. Only Zhang Wei's group remained inside.

"Honey, what did that woman say on the phone in English?" Chen's wife asked.

"That woman said we are Chinese and don't speak English!" Chen Jiansheng said with a look of disdain.

"Talk about having eyes but failing to see Mount Tai! Her husband lived in the United States for ten years—how could he possibly not speak English?" Chen's wife scoffed. "Still, it doesn't matter. By the look of it, she isn't interested in this house anyway."

"That's hard to say!" Chen Jiansheng replied.

*(To be continued)*