Xia Xiaolan was more thoughtful than his son.

This sentiment wasn’t felt by Mao Kangshan alone.

Tang Hongen thought the same way.

Whenever Xia Xiaolan returned from Hangzhou, she would bring him two boxes of local fruit and plenty of tea leaves. West Lake Longjing was a famous tea, and Tang Hongen quite enjoyed it. What mattered wasn’t how much money was spent, but that Xia Xiaolan kept him in her thoughts. Meanwhile, his son Ji Jiangyuan was right here in Pengcheng, yet apart from formal occasions, he hadn’t visited Tang Hongen once.

Tang Hongen understood that their father-son relationship was distant, and with Ji Ya and George hovering around Pengcheng like surveillance aircraft, Ji Jiangyuan’s absence was avoiding potential conflicts.

The logic was something Tang Hongen understood better than anyone.

But comparing the formal courtesies from one side with Xia Xiaolan bringing him gifts from Hangzhou, Tang Hongen couldn’t help but feel moved. Xia Xiaolan was more considerate than his son. If things worked out between him and Afen, they would truly become family. To be honest, Tang Hongen, the powerful Deputy Mayor who wanted for nothing, was rather looking forward to that day.

It’s just that when Xia Xiaolan sent the gifts, she didn’t visit personally.

When she finally came, Tang Hongen smiled: “I see you’re even busier than I am, what have you been up to? Little Wang said you went to Hangzhou to find a master. What’s the matter, haven’t succeeded yet?”

“Uncle Tang, you’ve known me for so long, how could there be any master I couldn’t convince? My teacher saw my extraordinary talent and wanted to take me as his closed-door disciple. My trip to Hangzhou naturally went smoothly. Not only did I take Mao Kangshan as my master, but I also managed to bring my teacher to Pengcheng. These days I’ve been following my teacher around learning, so I haven’t had time to visit you.”

At this moment, Xia Xiaolan was truly radiating confidence.

Tang Hongen was pleased to see her this way. Hearing that she had invited Mao Kangshan to Pengcheng, he saw Xia Xiaolan’s determination: “You’re eager to get into real estate development, aren’t you? Does it have to be now? You usually stay in Beijing, and you’re planning to go abroad as an exchange student. How will you have the energy to manage real estate… I can’t indulge you on this, I must make it clear: building houses is a major undertaking, not like doing interior decoration. If the decoration isn’t good, we can redo it, at worst, we don’t make money. But houses are for people to live in. We can’t have problems showing up after a few years of occupancy. Safety must be guaranteed, your buildings must be solid!”

Tang Hongen’s expression was serious, and Xia Xiaolan didn’t dare joke around.

She understood better than anyone how troublesome it was when housing quality wasn’t up to standard.

Whether it was problems with underground parking, wall cracks, or other issues, the news was constantly filled with homeowners confronting developers for explanations. Xia Xiaolan had been a homeowner herself, and while her house hadn’t had problems, she knew friends who had been troubled by such issues.

In 30 years, how expensive would Pengcheng’s housing prices become?

Houses costing tens of thousands per square meter, with total prices in the millions, and large units costing over ten million – even with Xia Xiaolan’s income, it would be a significant sum.

For ordinary people to buy a house, they would need to empty not only their savings but also their parents’ savings on both sides, commonly known as “six wallets.”

Xia Xiaolan wanted to be a developer, but not an unscrupulous one. She naturally wouldn’t make the mistakes Tang Hongen mentioned. She had always wanted to build a brand, whether selling clothes, building materials, or houses – reputation was key.

“Don’t worry, Uncle Tang. I wouldn’t take this on if I wasn’t confident. I can still come over on weekends, and now I’m not working alone. With my teacher, I also have senior and junior disciples to help. Whether we’re selling houses to Hong Kong people or mainlanders, we’re all Chinese, we’re all compatriots. When people spend their savings to buy houses, I couldn’t possibly cheat them of their hard-earned money.”

Xia Xiaolan dared to make this military pledge.

If there were problems with the houses, Tang Hongen could hold her accountable.

To make money, she would rely on vision and good projects. She could earn money honestly, why would she need to make unethical profits?

Tang Hongen’s expression softened slightly: “I trust your judgment. Although I don’t support you getting into the real estate business so early, you have your plans. Little Peng said you want land around Xiangmi Lake. You know Harold has taken 2,500 mu of land, basically, all the good plots around Xiangmi Lake, leaving only remnant pieces. Moreover, his investment has driven up land prices in that area. Even though I’m the mayor, the city government won’t sell you land cheaply.”

Xia Xiaolan was about to set a precedent in Pengcheng!

Currently, the land sold in Pengcheng, or rather “leased” would be more accurate, most of it was acquired by foreign capital.

If not foreign capital, then Hong Kong merchants.

Or joint venture projects.

At worst, it was administrative allocation to state-owned units.

There was no precedent in Pengcheng for someone like Xia Xiaolan wanting to purchase land under a private company name to build and sell residential properties.

Liu Tianquan had previously done real estate in Pengcheng, but he had only skirted the edges, never daring to propose commercial housing.

What Xia Xiaolan wanted to do was genuine commercial housing.

Only in Pengcheng would Tang Hongen dare let Xia Xiaolan set this precedent. Last year, Tang Hongen had already discussed Pengcheng’s housing reform with higher leadership.

Perhaps letting Xia Xiaolan open this door was more suitable than others.

Compared to others, Tang Hongen trusted Xia Xiaolan more.

When Xia Xiaolan heard about the expensive land prices, she frowned:

“Uncle Tang, you know my capital is limited. If the land price is too high, I really can’t afford it… Could you tell me how much Harold paid per mu?”

Tang Hongen gave her a look:

“He’s a foreign guest, paying in US dollars. Foreign exchange has always been our work priority. His project will create employment opportunities for Pengcheng citizens when fully operational. You’re paying in yuan, how can you compare?”

Moreover, most of Harold’s land was designated for sports facilities.

Sports facility land prices were lower than residential land prices, given the shorter term.

Harold eventually agreed to the city government’s term adjustments, after both sides negotiated. Harold compromised on the terms, and the city government agreed to increase his proportion of residential land use.

Xia Xiaolan wanting to build houses next to Harold’s land was trying to take advantage of his golf course.

Tang Hongen was also worried that while taking advantage might be easy, this would put Xia Xiaolan’s project in competition with Harold’s.

With an investment of millions of US dollars versus Xia Xiaolan fretting over a few million yuan, how could she compete when they clashed? Tang Hongen expressed his concerns, but Xia Xiaolan laughed:

“That’s why I’m in a hurry! Once Mr. Harold starts construction, we’ll start too. His project is big and will be completed in phases. By the time he’s halfway done, I’ll have sold all my houses!”

Secretary Peng was just bringing in tea when he heard Xia Xiaolan’s shameless words. He stumbled, nearly spilling both cups of tea.

—How could there be someone so utterly shameless in this world?