“Miss Xia, you’ve misunderstood!” Zhu Suizhou anxiously tried to explain, but Xia Xiaolan had no desire to listen further and left with Bai Zhenzhu. Today’s meeting had ended on an unpleasant note.
Zhu Suizhou stood there, his expression fluctuating. He certainly knew Xia Xiaolan wasn’t someone to be trifled with. Things were different now compared to when Xia Xiaolan first invested in Asia Plaza. She had swept through the Hong Kong stock market and now held abundant cash flow. Zhu Suizhou didn’t want to push Xia Xiaolan out before Asia Plaza even opened, but her profits from the Hong Kong stock market had put him on high alert.
If he didn’t remove her, what if she approached Second Madam to buy Chaoyang Real Estate shares first? He only held 20% of Chaoyang Real Estate’s shares, and he was merely an employee hired by Du Zhaoqi. If Xia Xiaolan became the major shareholder, she could fire him and kick him out.
Zhu Suizhou didn’t believe a word when Xia Xiaolan said she no longer cared about the Asia Plaza project. Who would turn down a profitable venture? Besides, while the current Asia Plaza’s scale wasn’t large, what about future expansion?
Although Du Zhaoqi had been arrested, Zhu Suizhou had studied his previously mentioned Japanese ‘Yaohan’ model. Even if not copying it exactly, there were lessons to be learned.
Opening a chain of shopping centers and building an Asia commercial empire was Zhu Suizhou’s goal. If Xia Xiaolan, a young woman, could flourish with Qihang Real Estate on one hand and Qihang Capital on the other, why couldn’t he? Asia Plaza was just the beginning… He shouldn’t have agreed to let Xia Xiaolan invest in the first place. Now he had nurtured a tiger that had become a threat, leaving him in a dilemma!
“Second Madam, I think Miss Xia is deliberately being difficult about money. Even at $3.5 million, she won’t give up her shares. Raising the price further would only harm your interests due to excessive premiums.”
Second Madam was dizzy with anger. Xia Xiaolan was truly impossible to deal with!
$3.5 million and still wouldn’t sell? Zhu Suizhou was right—this wasn’t about money anymore but about causing trouble. Despite Xia Xiaolan’s claims that she wasn’t helping Du Zhaohui target her, Second Madam didn’t believe a word. Xia Xiaolan was here to create obstacles, and had even turned defensive into offensive by suggesting Second Madam sell her Chaoyang Real Estate shares!
Through her dizziness, Second Madam managed to find a moment of clarity: “What should we do now? Can we let her hold us hostage? The previous plan to dilute her shares through expansion won’t work either—she has plenty of money now.”
Expanding the project would naturally require shareholders to increase investment. This was a tactic Du Zhaoqi had considered using when Xia Xiaolan didn’t have much cash. But it wouldn’t work now—everyone knew Xia Xiaolan had reaped huge profits during Hong Kong’s stock market crash. Hadn’t the Hong Kong media reported she made hundreds of millions in Hong Kong dollars?
Word was that Xia Xiaolan had bought the Lu family’s “South Kong Financial Report” and acquired numerous properties in Hong Kong Island… Who knew how much liquid capital she still had? Second Madam wasn’t confident about competing with Xia Xiaolan financially.
Zhu Suizhou consoled her: “Second Madam needn’t worry. Before coming to Hainan Island, I wasn’t certain, but after arriving, I discovered Qihang Real Estate is quite active here. Just in Coconut City, they’re building commercial housing, which will tie up a lot of capital…”
If Asia Plaza was no longer Xia Xiaolan’s favored project, what was it? Surely not real estate in Coconut City?
Previously focused solely on Shenzhen, Zhu Suizhou hadn’t noticed the unusual activity on Hainan Island. Upon arriving this time, he discovered land in Coconut City was selling quite well. Some plots had already been fenced off and were under development.
What was Xia Xiaolan planning, choosing to build commercial housing in Coconut City instead of making money in Shenzhen? Commercial housing prices in Shenzhen were climbing steadily. In Coconut City, he’d inquired, prices were only a few hundred yuan per square meter.
Many people wanted Shenzhen residency. There, even company-built welfare housing costs several hundred yuan per square meter, matching Coconut City’s commercial housing prices. Since Hainan residency wasn’t particularly attractive, many considered several hundred yuan per square meter expensive… The local economy was weak, and residents couldn’t afford to buy homes.
Surely Xia Xiaolan hadn’t come to Hainan Island purely to contribute selflessly to the local government?
Feeling something was amiss, Zhu Suizhou remained cautious. After failed negotiations with Xia Xiaolan, he convinced Second Madam to stay in Hainan while he quickly returned to Shenzhen.
He placed his hopes on Sheng Xuan. Upon returning home and seeing her, he asked: “Are there any upcoming policies we don’t know about yet, particularly favoring Hainan Island?”
Married to Zhu Suizhou for just over a year, Sheng Xuan transferred her work to Shenzhen and immediately prioritized preparing for pregnancy. She was already over 30 when they met, and delaying pregnancy would make her an older mother.
Now five months pregnant, Sheng Xuan’s condition was obvious—she was quite swollen, naturally affecting her appearance. However, Zhu Suizhou wasn’t someone who only valued beauty; he married Sheng Xuan because she was valuable as a person. Their marriage was a union of equals, and with her pregnancy, their relationship had solidified. With Zhu Suizhou’s high emotional intelligence, if he could make outsiders like him, how could he not please his wife?
So while Sheng Xuan occasionally thought of Tang Hongen with some regret, most of her attention had completely shifted to Zhu Suizhou. His success meant her success.
Now was the best opportunity for Zhu Suizhou—no one had expected major shareholder Du Zhaoqi to be arrested and sentenced to death with reprieve. Sheng Xuan thought this sentence was too lenient. If he had been sentenced to immediate execution, the situation would have been even more advantageous for Zhu Suizhou.
When Zhu Suizhou returned to Shenzhen without Second Madam, Sheng Xuan had already guessed: “We don’t have the energy to worry about what policies might come out in Hainan now. But what about buying shares from Xia Xiaolan—did it not work out?”
Having shares in Xia Xiaolan’s hands made Sheng Xuan uneasy. Xia Xiaolan was so difficult to deal with, that she might turn around at any moment and take over Asia Plaza entirely. If Second Madam could buy Xia Xiaolan’s shares, that would be ideal. Second Madam had never done business or worked much, and having lost favor in the Du family with no one backing her, wouldn’t she be completely at Zhu Suizhou’s mercy?
Seeing Sheng Xuan’s anxiety, Zhu Suizhou consoled his wife: “I never really expected it to work out. Given Xia Xiaolan’s domineering personality and the delicate relationship between the Du family’s second branch and her, I knew they wouldn’t reach an agreement when I took Second Madam to Hainan.”
So he had anticipated failing to buy back the shares.
Sheng Xuan was confused, “Then why did you go?”
Zhu Suizhou patiently explained, “If I hadn’t taken Second Madam on this trip, how would she have witnessed Xia Xiaolan’s temperament firsthand and trusted me more? To Second Madam, Xia Xiaolan stands in opposition to her, while I am her capable assistant in protecting Asia Plaza. To prevent Xia Xiaolan from monopolizing Asia Plaza, she can only rely heavily on me, giving me more authority to keep Xia Xiaolan in check!”
With too much authority given, the Second Madam wouldn’t be able to take it back. So whether or not Xia Xiaolan sold her shares, Zhu Suizhou would achieve his goal—this had been his backup plan all along!