Chapter 148 - Buying a Car

After leaving Delong Building, Lu Chen and Lu Xi took a taxi back to the studio.

Lu Xi asked curiously, “What’s the matter with Director Wen? Why was he so polite to you?”

She and Lu Chen came to EMI to sign the contract. After signing the contract, she waited in the reception room. She didn’t go to the listening room, so she did not know what happened later.

When Wen Zhiyuan sent them out just now, he was very polite.

Even to the point of flattery.

This made Lu Xi felt very strange. The attitude change of the director of the brokerage department of EMI was too big.

Lu Chen smiled and briefly talked about the grudge between Wen Zhiyuan and Zhang Qiong.

This was what Wen Zhiyuan told Lu Chen himself.

After hearing this, Lu Xi suddenly realized: “So that’s it. People say that the workplace is dangerous, really…”

She couldn’t help shaking her head.

Lu Chen has always been reluctant to sign a contract with other big company, and even declined the personal invitation of the music director of Flying Stone Records. At that time, she somewhat didn’t understand. But now, she thought that Lu Chen’s choice was really correct.

There is no way for EMI to compare with Flying Stone Records, where the internal infighting was so fierce. if she and Lu Chen entered Flying Stone Records, she didn’t know what kind of situation she will face.

Although Lu Xi has a strong character, she doesn’t like to fight with others.

Although Lu Chen’s own studio is weak, there is no problem in this regard.

The premise is that he can make so much money!

Ring! Ring!

Suddenly, Lu Xi’s cell phone in her bag rang twice.

She took it out and looked at it, and she suddenly smiled with delight: “The money from EMI has arrived!”

“So fast?”

Lu Chen was also surprised. He and Lu Xi had just left but the money has already arrived. Isn’t the efficiency too high?

In the signed contract, it was stipulated that the payment should be completed within three days.

Lu Xi said with a smile, “It seems that they attach great importance to you!”

If they didn’t attach great importance to him, it was impossible for the finance of EMI to pay the money so quickly.

It must have been someone at the top that have spoken.

Lu Chen smiled and said, “If they want to buy a song again in the future, then we have to raise the price again!”

There was no doubt that he was right to adhere to the high-price for high-quality product strategy from the very beginning for customers like EMI. As long as one tasted the benefits, then they can slowly increase the price, just like boiling frogs in warm water1.

If the previous offer was low, it was not good to raise it too high all of a sudden as that would easily ruin his reputation.

Lu Xi was speechless.

She found that she could not see through her brother more and more.

Ring! Ring!

Her cell phone rang again.

Lu Xi looked at it, smiled again, and smiled even more happily.

Lu Chen was stunned: “What?”

Lu Xi shook her mobile phone and proudly said: “The bonus of Beijing Satellite TV has arrived, 1.4 million!”

Lu Chen won the championship of “Singing China”. Although he gave up the so-called 4 million new star raising fund, the total cash reward was still as high as 1.4 million, and it was tax free.

However, the money was not immediately obtained at that time, and the satellite TV side also needed to follow the procedure.

Now it has arrived. It’s double happiness!

Lu Chen was even happier and said without hesitation, “Let’s first transfer 1 million to Mom, and then let’s buy a car.”

He shouted to the taxi driver in front, “Sir, please take us to Beijing Auto City.”

Lu Xi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “There is no need to be in such a hurry, right?”

It was okay to transfer money to their mother, but they were not in a hurry to buy a car now.

Lu Chen said with a smile, “Buying now and buying later doesn’t make any difference. So, let’s just buy one now.”

Since the establishment of the studio, several staff have been recruited, and the daily work has gradually become busy. It’s really inconvenient and time-consuming not having a car.

Time is money. He has long wanted to buy a car, waiting for the bonus from Beijing Satellite TV to arrive.

Since Lu Chen had made up his mind, Lu Xi has no objection.

After all, the studio depends on him to make money, and now that he has made so much money, it is not a big deal to buy a car.

Lu Xi thought for a moment and said, “Then I’ll call Li Feiyu. He used to be from a 4S store. He definitely knows the business.”

Lu Chen nodded: “Un!”

When the two arrived at Beijing Auto City, Li Feiyu was already waiting at the entrance.

The 4S store where he used to work was in Auto City, so he definitely is familiar with the situation there. They definitely won’t be cheated.

Seeing Lu Chen and Lu Xi, Li Feiyu ran over with a smile on his face and asked eagerly: “Big Chen, you are finally going to buy a car. I’ve been looking forward to this day. Have you decided what kind of car to buy?”

He was Lu Chen’s assistant. The car he bought must be for him to drive.

Lu Chen said: “We do not need to buy great cars or luxury cars. We just need something decent and affordable.”

“As for the price…”

He thought for a moment and said, “About 200,000, please help me have a look.”

“200,000?”

Li Feiyu scratched his head and said: “At this price, then choose the domestically made compact SUV, a gas-electric hybrid, highly subsidized, fuel-efficient, and the configuration is equivalent to imported cars that’s worth 400,000 – 500,000.”

Lu Chen said with a smile, “You’re the expert. I’ll listen to you.”

He got his driver’s license when he was 18 years old. He used to drive the family car. He liked cars but didn’t know much about them.

His career has just started. There’s no need to buy a good car, but it can’t be too bad.

High-quality domestic cars should be a very good choice.

Lu Xi said, “Then you go and choose first. I’ll go to the bank and transfer the money and come back here.”

They parted ways. Lu Chen followed Li Feiyu around the Auto City to choose a car. He looked at several stores in succession.

Finally, they arrived to the 4S store of Zhonghua Motors. (TN: Zhonghua = China)

A white SUV placed at the front entrance immediately attracted Lu Chen’s attention.

The shape of this car is very good, the appearance is majestic but exquisite. The split front face and arc headlights are perfectly blended together, giving people a sense of power.

Li Feiyu recognized it at a glance: “Zhonghua X7? This new car is already on the market!” (TN: Image of X7 at the end.)

As soon as the two stopped in front of the new car, a salesperson from the 4S store immediately came to introduce the car to them enthusiastically.

This Zhonghua X7 is a new urban SUV that was just launched by Zhonghua Motors. It is an environment-friendly hybrid electric vehicle. It integrates a number of the latest technologies and is quite high-tech.

In addition to the fuel-efficient power system, its configuration was also very good, with front and rear sensors, intelligent cruise, on-board computers, panoramic skylights, leather chairs and everything that one expects to find, and the interior space was spacious enough.

The biggest feature of the gas-electric hybrid was fuel saving. The fuel consumption of 100 kilometers is very low. Of course, the power performance is different from the traditional power, but Lu Chen doesn’t race or do cross-country drive, so it was enough for city driving.

The most important thing was that the car has a good safety configuration and a solid frame. It was equipped with six airbags.

If it is used by Lu Xi, he can rest assured.

In addition, in domestic cars, Zhonghua is a famous brand, and its quality has always been reliable.

As for the price, it is 190,000 to 290,000 depending on the configuration.

For this new car, Li Feiyu was full of praise, and Lu Chen was very satisfied, so he asked the salesperson to arrange a test drive and drove around the Auto City in the Zhonghua X7.

When they drove back to the 4S store, Lu Xi also came over.

The elder sister has no requirements for the car, as long as Lu Chen likes it. She and Li Feiyu bargained together.

Lu Chen finally decided to buy a comfortable configuration. After the subsidy, the price of the base car was 245,000, and the final price was not small, but the 4S store added about 20,000 worth of interior decoration and services as a small present. (TN: Base car means the standard configuration.)

The landing price of the car plus insurance, purchase tax, and other expenses is 263,000. (TN: Landing price is the total price of a product or shipment once it has arrived at a buyer’s doorstep.)

He paid by card on the spot. After the insurance and temporary license was handled, they will directly pick up the new car from the 4S store.

There was some time in the middle, and the three had a late lunch together.

The color of the car was white. Apart from being a little worried about it easily getting dirty, Lu Xi was very satisfied.

The three went back together in the new car.

The driver was Li Feiyu. Lu Chen saw that he liked this car very much, so he generously gave up the first driving right.

Li Feiyu drove the new car on the elevated road in high spirits and said, “Big Chen, now that you have a studio and a car, you can consider buying a house in Beijing. How can a big star live in an office!”

Lu Chen gave up the single apartment he had rented to her sister. He has been living in the studio.

He intended to find another small apartment near the park.

As for buying his own house…

Lu Chen said with a wry smile, “I really can’t afford a house in Beijing now. Let’s talk about it in a few years.”

His first consideration was to pay off all his family’s debts. It would be a long time before he could buy a house.

Don’t look at Lu Chen making a lot of money now, but according to his own estimate, if he wants to pay off his family’s debts, and if there is no accident, it would at least take until next year and the year after next.

But compared with the endless despair in the past, now it is a great happiness.

As for buying a house, the house in Beijing has the highest price in the country, and the average price is about to break through the sky.

He has just earned more than 1 million yuan. Even if he didn’t use all of it to buy a fully furnished house and choose a new house with a better location, he could only buy a bedroom. He would still not have enough for the down payment!

It is said that the biggest dream of many third and fourth tier star artists is to save enough money to buy a house in the Fifth Ring Road of Beijing.

The income of third and fourth tier artists is not too bad, but the usual expenses are also high, so buying a house is really a luxury.

Li Feiyu sighed, “Yes, the house is too expensive. I will go home sooner or later.”

Lu Chen said with a smile, “Are you going to take Xiaomei back with you?”

Li Feiyu laughed. Since Chen Xiaomei started working in the studio, Li Feiyu’s pursuit seemed to have paid off.

They chatted and laughed all the way, and they were about to arrive at the park.

At this time, Lu Chen’s phone rang.

It was Chen Jianhao who called. He asked Lu Chen to go to a teahouse in the university city.

So, Lu Chen asked Li Feiyu to drive to the studio first, and then drive to the place Chen Jianhao said.

By the time they found the place, it was already 2 o’clock in the afternoon.

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TN: The ” boiled frog in warm water ” originated from a “boiled frog experiment” performed by scientists at Cornell University in the United States at the end of the 19th century. When scientists put frogs in water (not boiling water) at 40 degrees Celsius, they couldn’t stand the sudden high temperature stimulus and immediately jumped out of the boiling water to successfully escape.

When researchers put frogs in a container of cold water and then slowly heat them (rises 0.2 degrees Celsius per minute), the results are different. Instead, the frog was comfortable in the water because of the comfortable temperature of the water at the beginning. When the frog found that it could not tolerate the high temperature, it was already overwhelmed and weak, and was unknowingly boiled in hot water. (This has another meaning but since it’s not related with the story, I won’t explain it here)

In this case, if in the beginning Lu Chen asked for a sky-high price (his was just high-price), then any company would be immediately repulsed into buying his songs. And since he just asked for a high-price (warm water), and the work (song) was of high-quality, EMI was much comfortable with it, and they won’t mind even if Lu Chen raise the price next time.