Jiu Qiao was one of the first to pay attention to the sell-before-rent model, but quite late. One day, five or six years later, while passing through the southern third ring road of the capital at Sihong Bridge, Jiu Qiao noticed an advertisement with little allure under a utility pole on the fast lane: "Dangerous planning construction, 300% return." Jiu Qiao thought, "Impossible, there can't be such a good thing?" Subsequently, he conducted a practical investigation into the business environment advertised.
The project was located not far from Haidian Bridge on the southern fourth ring road, close to Wai Bucun Book City. It had 11 floors above ground and one below, with floors 1 to 10 being for commercial exhibitions, and floors 4 to 7 for book retail stores. The developer aimed to use the consumer base of the bookstore to promote the commercial and service industries on other floors. Jiu Qiao learned that the developer indeed lacked experience in commercial real estate development and had disclosed financial difficulties, which led them to seek partners everywhere, but they were rejected twice because the partners were uncertain about the planning and operation mode of the commercial service industry format.
The project promoted the transformation of money into capital, promising a rental return of 10% annually for ten years if the commercial exhibition space was purchased. However, an industry insider stated, "The best commercial service industry projects need at least three years of cultivation, what will the developer use to support a 10% annual rent rate? A 10% annual return is hard even for a mature commercial service industry, let alone a new one."