Finding Meng Guanchao wasn’t difficult.
Actually, Zhu Suizhou’s list came directly from the Ye City government – these people had purchased land from the government, so they wouldn’t leave fake contact information. Unlike Xia Xiaolan’s previous practice of leaving a public phone number near her home when sourcing goods in Yang City, that wouldn’t happen here.
Those qualified to participate in land speculation all had some capital – none would be unable to afford a home telephone. If one number couldn’t reach the person directly, whoever answered would provide alternative contact methods. Who knew if missing one phone call might mean missing out on a business opportunity?
So Zhu Suizhou successfully found Meng Guanchao.
Meng Guanchao was quite approachable and politely listened to Zhu Suizhou’s proposal before declining just as politely but directly:
“I’m sorry, but we’re not planning to sell our land!”
“Mr. Meng, please consider it. I know that since you bought land on Qiong Island, you must be very confident about its appreciation. But as Chinese people say, ‘money in hand is better than money promised.’ How much you could earn versus how much you earn are two different matters, wouldn’t you agree? By taking over your land, I’m also taking a big gamble. You make your profit and transfer the risk of losing to me – isn’t that a win-win situation?”
Zhu Suizhou was truly persuasive – Meng Guanchao almost wavered!
The land that Meng Guanchao had bought with his partners last year cost 40,000 yuan per mu, totaling 150 mu. Zhu Suizhou was quite forthright, offering to buy it at 70,000 yuan per mu.
This meant that with an investment of 6 million yuan, they could make 4.5 million in one year with zero risk.
It was like someone who bought a lottery ticket based on intuition being able to collect a hefty reward before the drawing!
70,000 yuan per mu was truly a sincere offer.
Making 4.5 million in one year, guaranteed – what more could one want?
So it wasn’t surprising that Meng Guanchao almost gave in.
The key word being “almost”—
“I see your sincerity, but we really won’t sell. I’m truly sorry.”
Meng Guanchao thought to himself that while this fellow had guts, he came too late.
The 70,000 yuan per mu offer was tempting, but having already waited almost a year, what was a few more days? The fact that the Ye City government had stopped approving land transfers spoke volumes.
Meng Guanchao felt he was likely to win this gamble.
70,000 yuan per mu wasn’t the final result – Meng Guanchao believed the price would surely reach 100,000 yuan per mu!
Selling now would be a huge loss, so he refused.
Despite Zhu Suizhou’s persuasive words, wasn’t he just trying to get a bargain?
No matter how eloquent Zhu Suizhou was, he couldn’t match a written agreement’s trustworthiness. Another reason for Meng Guanchao’s refusal was that his 150 mu had a safety net – if he wanted to sell, Qihang would buy it at market price!
The agreement terms were entirely in Meng Guanchao’s favor, and he knew he wasn’t the only one who had signed such an agreement.
Zhu Suizhou hit a wall with Meng Guanchao and others. Even for small plots of twenty or thirty mu, he spent the entire morning making calls, but no one wanted to sell.
He raised the price from 70,000 to 80,000 yuan per mu.
This would further reduce his future profits, but still, no one would sell to him!
After a busy morning, Zhu Suizhou had nothing to show for it.
By noon, he finally managed to arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone from his list. Zhu Suizhou could get along with anyone instantly, and instead of proposing to buy all their land, he tried to persuade them to sell just a portion:
“You could recover some of your capital. Why keep it all tied up in undeveloped land? Don’t you have other business to conduct?”
Not everyone had deep pockets like Qihang Real Estate.
This person was somewhat swayed by Zhu Suizhou’s words and agreed to consider it.
When Zhu Suizhou proposed signing a transfer contract, the person declined:
“Mr. Zhu, if I decide to sell, you’ll be first in line. Honestly, I don’t like Qihang Real Estate’s approach. Do they think they’re the only ones with money? Not satisfied with holding so much land, they want to monopolize everyone else’s plots too. Yet people like Old Meng trust them completely, signing those dubious agreements…”
The more Zhu Suizhou heard, the more alarmed he became.
He had wasted half a day – most people like Meng Guanchao had signed priority transfer agreements with Qihang!
He finally learned that Qihang had come to Qiong Island to buy land back in April of last year.
A whole year.
Xia Xiaolan had gotten a full year’s head start on him!
Having the same insider information, but others getting it so much earlier, Zhu Suizhou once again felt unfair treatment due to their family background.
This feeling was intense and made Zhu Suizhou extremely uncomfortable.
These two days of setbacks undoubtedly amplified his negative emotions.
He immediately saw through Xia Xiaolan’s scheme.
After getting insider information, Xia Xiaolan wanted to buy up all the land in Ye City but feared making too big a splash would draw attention and affect Tang Hongen. While buying land wasn’t illegal, deliberately hoarding it for speculation was wrong and speculative behavior!
So Xia Xiaolan spread out the risk, signing agreements with people like Meng Guanchao, waiting for the news of Qiong Island becoming a province to be announced, after which they would voluntarily sell their land to her… When she eventually bought their land, it would be at peak prices, making it difficult to profit from the price difference.
But when over 80% of the land approved by the Ye City government flowed into Xia Xiaolan’s hands, she would have a monopoly on the market!
What could she do then?
She could make new rules!
Before the Ye City government reopened land transfers, the price per mu would be determined by Xia Xiaolan.
No, even after the Ye City government reopened land transfers, Xia Xiaolan could still control land prices – after all, the city government wasn’t stupid. If land could sell for more, why would they sell it cheap?!
The more Zhu Suizhou thought about it, the more ideas came to mind.
And the angrier he became.
Xia Xiaolan truly lived up to having powerful backing, daring to play such a big game!
Could he not think of such methods?
Unfortunately, he lacked sufficient capital to play this way.
Even marrying Sheng Xuan wouldn’t be enough to back such a play.
—
Lu City.
Xia Xiaolan’s nose itched slightly.
While Zhu Suizhou was losing his composure in Ye City, she had been having quite pleasant days. With a camera around her neck, taking photos everywhere, Xia Xiaolan had many development ideas for the 12 mu of land Zhou Cheng had given her.
Zhou Cheng had such a keen eye – this location wasn’t just good, it was excellent.
Situated right at what would become a popular scenic bay, she worried that future development might be too successful, turning what should be a quiet holiday villa into a must-visit tourist spot for domestic travelers to Qiong Island.
What if the Lu City government wanted to develop this bay in the future and included her and Liu Yong’s houses in their plans?
Like Building 45 at Erqi Square, suddenly demolished to build a shopping mall.
Looking at the long-term perspective, this area would appreciate value.
For family residents, quieter was better, and with this mindset, Xia Xiaolan conducted her site survey. The group traveled around Lu City and missed the Evening News broadcast on April 13th.