The Golden Sand Pool exploded in value.

While Xia Xiaolan was still at school, she heard about the land prices at Golden Sand Pool rising rapidly.

Initially, someone offered 5 million.

The price quickly climbed to 6 million.

Then 8 million, 10 million, and finally, the highest bidder was Tang Yuanyue’s Meihua Company.

Ge Jian’s voice was trembling:

“Meihua offered 12 million to buy Golden Sand Pool. Chairman Tang has called several times requesting to meet with you.”

Xia Xiaolan’s voice was particularly light and cheerful:

“How did you respond?”

“Following your instructions, I told everyone who asked that it’s not for sale… Are you not planning to sell?”

A piece of land worth 2.78 million yuan.

In less than half a month after acquiring it, its value quadrupled to 12 million yuan.

Honestly, based on Xia Xiaolan’s initial planning for this plot, Ge Jian didn’t believe the Golden Sand Pool property development would ultimately earn more than 9 million. Working hard to develop real estate might end up being less profitable than flipping the land, and Ge Jian couldn’t say which choice was more correct.

“Ge Jian, we can’t sell this land. Not every pool doubles in value just by throwing two jin of gold into it. Golden Sand Pool’s success can’t be replicated in the short term. As you said, everyone in Pengcheng is talking about this plot. If Qihang Real Estate makes this project successful, the words ‘Golden Sand Pool’ will be firmly tied to Qihang Real Estate. Converting reputation into real benefits takes time, but this transformation is sustainable long-term!”

Mention Golden Sand Pool, and people think of Qihang Real Estate.

Who says a real estate company doesn’t need a reputation? Every industry needs it.

Having secured Pengcheng’s first commercial housing land use rights, Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t let go easily.

Even if one project couldn’t earn 9 million, she had no regrets.

She was only 20 years old, and it was just 1985. Would Qihang Real Estate only do the Golden Sand Pool project?

Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t sell even for Tang Yuanyue’s 12 million yuan offer.

If they added another zero… well, she’d be crazy not to sell then. With over 100 million in capital, what business couldn’t she do? She could make Ji Ya kneel and apologize on Chang’an Street in no time!

Principles had a price tag for Xia Xiaolan.

But the price was so high that most people couldn’t meet her psychological threshold.

With only 23 mu of land, if Tang Yuanyue wanted to spend 120 million to buy it, that would be 5 million per mu.

Unless Golden Sand Pool contained the Tang family’s ancestral graves that no one else could disturb, or disturbing them would destroy the Tang family, spending 120 million on land was excessive. Hong Kong tycoons might be wealthy, but they weren’t running a money-printing factory!

Since no one would meet her psychological price point, she could calmly demonstrate her principles to Ge Jian and talk about the company’s long-term development. After all, Ge Jian was already her devoted fan; this was just routine brainwashing.

Although Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t sell the land, she wanted to meet Tang Yuanyue.

“We need to make the bank believe Golden Sand Pool is worth this much.”

Rumors and public opinion weren’t enough. Xia Xiaolan wanted to meet Tang Yuanyue face-to-face, preferably with Credit Director Pan present.

“Then reply to Chairman Tang that we can meet this Saturday.”

When Xia Xiaolan agreed to meet Tang Yuanyue, Du Zhaohui felt bitter inside.

But someone else felt even more bitter.

Ke Yixiong, who had switched careers to become a construction contractor.

Earlier, he had sent messages wanting to cooperate with Xia Xiaolan, but she completely ignored him.

Ke Yixiong’s face was slapped again, fortunately only Cao Liu knew about it this time. When Ke Yixiong got angry, Cao Liu, trying to avenge his boss, made life miserable for Xia Hongbing and his daughter working at the construction site.

Ke Yixiong didn’t have to wait long before Golden Sand Pool exploded in value.

Qihang Real Estate made a stunning debut, with powerful backing to obtain commercial housing land approval.

Their luck was also incredibly good – the sewage pool they bought turned out to contain golden sand!

Some said they dug up ten jin, others claimed they found a gold nugget as big as a human head. The amount of gold discovered grew with each retelling, and with every gossip session, Qihang Real Estate’s name was mentioned.

Those with some connections could find out that Qihang’s owner was Xia Xiaolan.

When Ke Yixiong got the news, his expression was peculiar:

“No wonder—”

No wonder what?

No wonder she wouldn’t cooperate with him.

Xia Xiaolan had been quietly preparing her big move.

While people thought she was dealing in the Yangcheng clothing wholesale market, she had already moved to Pengcheng to work with building materials.

While they thought she was running a building materials store, she had already gotten involved in hotel renovations.

Was renovation Xia Xiaolan’s ultimate goal?

No, everything she did was for real estate development.

An industry Ke Yixiong absolutely couldn’t enter. He was just a contractor, taking jobs from the Chengrong Group and fighting with Pengcheng’s local gangs over profitable construction waste transportation routes.

Ke Yixiong had just discovered how easy it was to make money in Pengcheng, that legitimate business earned more than being a gangster.

He had just realized this fact, but Xia Xiaolan was already far ahead, having established government connections, obtained land approval, and started real estate development.

However, in terms of assets, Xia Xiaolan was far behind Hong Kong merchants.

But wasn’t she doing the same business as Du Zhaohui and others?

The developers were the ones eating meat, while those doing construction work below just drank the leftover soup!

Ke Yixiong slammed his hand on the table: “Good, good, very good!”

Was he inferior to a woman?

This woman was truly extraordinary.

Ke Yixiong couldn’t help but glance several times at Xia Hongxia cooking in the work shed. They shared the same surname Xia, but how could this cousin be so useless compared to Xia Xiaolan? Not just Xia Hongxia, but also Xia Ziyu who had smuggled into Hong Kong through him wasn’t very clever either.

Xia Hongxia trembled under Ke Yixiong’s gaze.

She and her father had wanted to leave long ago but simply couldn’t.

Firstly, the construction site wouldn’t let them go. The contractor was a gang leader from Yangcheng, and the father-daughter pair couldn’t forcefully quit.

Secondly, now Xia Dajun had been won over by Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu’s pillow talk was effective, and Xia Dajun didn’t support the father and daughter quitting either. Seeing his brother and niece going to work at the site punctually every day, rain or shine, one having no time for gambling and the other having reformed her lazy habits, Xia Dajun felt that Hua had put thought into arranging their work.

Decent and easy work wasn’t necessarily suitable for Xia Hongbing and his daughter.

That’s all Xia Dajun could think, after all, he still hadn’t been able to return to work for the eldest young master, so he couldn’t arrange more comfortable and decent work for Xia Hongbing and his daughter.

Regarding this point, Xiaoyu also had some complaints.

Of course, according to Xiaoyu, she was concerned about Xia Dajun’s future, which deeply moved him. Men can be so foolish sometimes – they take silent dedication for granted, while those who just talk well, doing three parts of work but claiming it as ten, are seen as truly caring. Xia Dajun now believed Xiaoyu truly cared for him, considering everything for him and the Xia family.

Unable to quit and not daring to quit, Xia Hongxia endured at the construction site.

In Pengcheng’s hot weather, she and another middle-aged woman had to cook for dozens of people, and the workload was imaginably huge.

What was even more uncomfortable was now, when Boss Ke often gave her strange looks. Even if Xia Hongxia were blind, she wouldn’t mistake these looks for admiration.

Both contemptuous and disgusted, why not just fire her if he didn’t want her there? Why insist on keeping her working at the site?

Xia Hongxia cursed Ke Yixiong as crazy in her heart, and when work finally ended, she didn’t want to stay at the site for even a moment longer, hurrying home with her father.

Exhausted like dogs, neither father nor daughter spoke on the way home. When they arrived, Xia Hongbing was immediately stopped by Old Mrs. Xia:

“This is terrible, that little vixen is pushing your second brother to buy some house!”