Lin Bei never expected that after helping Xiao Yang with her rental questions, three more people would come to her for advice.

One was a college student looking for a place to rent during the summer break. Another was a newly employed worker who had just moved to Jiangcheng and had been scammed out of their deposit by a shady real estate agency. The third was a stay-at-home mom preparing for a divorce, wanting to know how to secure the right to live in the family home.

Lin Bei couldn’t answer the fourth question, but she did help the person find a channel for legal aid.

“You’re a professional now,” Su Chen said, leaning back on the sofa as he watched her bustling around.

“A professional? I’m just a frugal lifestyle blogger,” Lin Bei replied while checking her messages. “Wait—actually, I can’t even call myself a blogger anymore. A blogger with only eight hundred view counts—it’s embarrassing to say that.”

“But you’ve helped people,” Su Chen remarked.

Lin Bei’s fingers paused for a moment.

Su Chen always spoke in a calm, understated way—no emotional appeals, no exaggeration—but every word hit the nail on the head.

Indeed, she had helped people. No matter how many views the videos got, those four individuals had definitely avoided some pitfalls thanks to her advice.

“Su Chen,” she put down her phone, “do you think I should start a proper consulting business? You know, one that specializes in solving people’s rental problems?”

“Sure,” he replied.

“Really?”

“Really. But you can’t offer everything for free. Nothing is valued if it’s free.”

Lin Bei thought about it for a moment—she could see his point. Xiao Yang had paid her two hundred yuan, and she’d listened carefully and taken detailed notes throughout the consultation. The other three, though, had gotten the advice for free and then bolted without even saying “thank you.”

“So how should I charge?” she asked.

“Charge by the issue. Fifty yuan for simple questions, two hundred for complex ones. If you need to review the lease contract or negotiate with the landlord, charge by the hour—one hundred yuan per hour.”

Lin Bei’s eyes widened. “One hundred yuan an hour? Isn’t that a bit steep?”

“Do you know how much lawyers charge per hour?” Su Chen asked.

“How much?”

“Five hundred at minimum.”

Lin Bei fell silent. Suddenly, she realized she’d never been very good at making money before.

“So do I need to register a company and issue invoices and all that?” she asked.

“Not yet,” Su Chen said. “Just get started first. Wait until you have more clients before worrying about those things. Right now, you don’t even have a proper consulting process—why bother registering a company?”

“Then could you design a process for me?” she asked.

“Why should I?” he retorted.

“Because I’ve cooked for you for half a month!”

Su Chen’s lips twitched, but he didn’t refuse.

He opened his computer, created a new document, and began typing.

Lin Bei leaned over to take a look, and what she saw on the screen was:

Lin Bei Rental Consulting Studio—Service Process

Step 1: Clients fill out a needs form (budget, area, apartment type, special requirements).

Step 2: Initial consultation to confirm needs (15 minutes free).

Step 3: Formal consultation and proposal delivery (fee based on complexity of the issue).

Step 4: Follow-up to ensure the problem is resolved.

Step 5: Client feedback and case accumulation.

“When did you learn all this?” Lin Bei exclaimed, completely amazed.

“I took an elective course in entrepreneurship management in college.”

“How many courses did you actually take?” she asked.

“As long as it’s enough,” he replied.

Lin Bei looked at his serious profile and suddenly thought that if he weren’t a rich second-generation heir, he’d surely succeed in starting his own business. Of course, he was doing just fine as he was—after all, she now had a free technical consultant.

“Oh, by the way,” Su Chen suddenly said, “your video’s view count has gone up.”

End of Chapter 15: I Have Clients Now!