When Xia Xiaolan returned to the guesthouse with Liu Yong and others that evening, the front desk stopped her.

There was an explosion of phone calls for her!

“Must be Ge Jian and the others?”

Xia Xiaolan casually called back, and Ge Jian’s voice could barely contain his excitement:

“Director Xia, did you watch tonight’s Evening News?”

“No, just got back to the guesthouse.”

“Qiong Island is becoming a province, and they’ve also announced the establishment of a Qiong Island Special Economic Zone, Director Xia—”

Provincial status was one thing, but a provincial-level special economic zone was unprecedented. Ge Jian believed this news would send Qihang Real Estate’s projects on Qiong Island soaring.

That day had finally arrived.

Xia Xiaolan’s heart settled.

Her butterfly effect had influenced some people around her, but the true historical trends remained unchanged.

Qiong Island’s transformation from district to province, and the establishment of a provincial-level special economic zone.

Qiong Island’s real estate boom started on April 13, 1988 – this day marked the watershed moment for Qiong Island’s property market!

“I understand. This important news is beneficial for Qiong Island and equally so for Qihang! At times like these, we must stay level-headed, earn what we should earn, and avoid what we shouldn’t. We must ensure the quality of our ongoing construction projects.”

Qihang’s ongoing project was called ‘Haitian Yiyuan’, though construction had begun, it hadn’t been opened for sale yet.

Pre-selling before April 13th would have meant following market prices of several hundred yuan per square meter – Ye City’s going rate – which might not even cover Qihang’s costs.

From today onward, ‘Haitian Yiyuan’s’ pricing will depend on market response.

Previously, ‘Haitian Yiyuan’ had relied on bank loans for support. Without pre-selling units before construction, the financial pressure was immense. If the news about Qiong Island’s provincial status hadn’t been announced, Xia Xiaolan would have had to borrow money from Qihang Capital for the real estate division.

Now that wouldn’t be necessary – banks would be eager to continue lending to ‘Haitian Yiyuan’!

“Director Xia, there’s one more thing…”

Ge Jian told Xia Xiaolan about Zhu Suizhou’s desperate attempts to buy land in Ye City.

Zhu Suizhou was clever – unable to break through government channels, he had turned his attention to Meng Guanchao and others.

Unfortunately, Meng Guanchao and his associates wouldn’t sell – Mr. Zhu must be very disappointed.

However, Zhu Suizhou must have hit a wall with the Ye City government before changing targets. Did this mean Zhu Suizhou hadn’t sought help from the Song family, or had they refused him?

Given Old Song’s high standards for his family members, it was probably the latter.

The Song family’s attitude toward the Old Tang had once made Xia Xiaolan quite unhappy with them.

Though the Song family might be arrogant, they could still be restrained by Old Song, which made Xia Xiaolan reconsider some of her thoughts.

Xia Xiaolan hung up the phone.

Liu Yong stood dazed beside her, still processing.

“Provincial status? Establishing a special economic zone?! Xiaolan, is this real?”

“Uncle, Ge Jian said it was on the Evening News, so it can’t be fake. If you don’t believe it, by tomorrow morning at the latest, Qiong Island’s newspapers will publish this bombshell. Provincial status and special economic zone establishment are extremely important for Qiong Island, and for us too!”

Of course, he believed it.

Among the phone messages at the front desk, some were for Liu Yong too.

He could verify the answer by calling any of them.

Having mingled with Meng Guanchao’s crowd, Liu Yong naturally had some mental preparation – even though they had been spreading rumors about the district becoming a province.

However, the simultaneous establishment of a provincial-level special economic zone was unexpected.

Wouldn’t that mean the land he and Xiaolan bought on Qiong Island would bring enormous profits?

Still dizzy from the news, Liu Yong suddenly thought of something and pulled Xia Xiaolan into the room, asking in a lowered voice:

“Tell your uncle honestly, did you get accurate information early on? Does what we’re doing… count as speculation?”

After the initial joy, Liu Yong maintained some clarity.

Xia Xiaolan smiled and asked back: “You don’t think Uncle Tang leaked this information to me, do you?”

Liu Yong remained silent, but his expression betrayed his thoughts.

After pondering, he approached from another angle to advise Xia Xiaolan: “If he gave you the information, let’s not play too big – we should withdraw quickly. Making money is great, but what if someone investigates? What would happen to him?”

Hmph!

He wasn’t concerned about Tang Hongen – it was Tang’s behavior over the past two years that made Liu Yong feel his sister Afen had made the right choice in remarrying.

After years of hardship in the Xia family, finally meeting someone who cared and showed warmth – Liu Yong didn’t want his sister to lose her current happiness.

Making less money was fine; the Liu family wasn’t the type to repay kindness with enmity or betray trust with backstabbing.

Xia Xiaolan calmly denied:

“Of course, Uncle Tang didn’t tell me. This was just a big gamble, like when I shorted during the HK stock market crash. Meng Guanchao and others were gambling, and I was gambling too – we were betting on Qiong Island becoming a province. But even I couldn’t have guessed about the provincial-level special economic zone. I think Uncle Tang wouldn’t have known this news too far in advance. Uncle, why are you worried? Qihang has been established on Qiong Island since April last year!”

She wasn’t lying.

Tang Hongen truly hadn’t said anything.

Xia Xiaolan feared Tang would take the blame, which was why she came to Qiong Island so early, willing to keep Qihang Real Estate’s funds tied up in Ye City rather than trying to enter at the last minute like Zhu Suizhou!

Liu Yong had nothing more to say, his worries disappeared, leaving only joy.

Making money was making money – this was his niece Xiaolan’s talent, one she’d demonstrated many times. He should be more composed.

Sure, Qihang had bought over 300 mu of land, but so what?

Even if Ye City’s land value doubled, they’d only make about ten million. Compared to Xiaolan’s gains from the Hong Kong stock market crash, it wasn’t worth mentioning.

Liu Yong was thinking too simply. He hadn’t considered that if Ye City’s land would only be appreciated one or two times, why would Xia Xiaolan have him tie up all his cash flow here instead of investing in ‘Qihang Capital’ to profit from the stock crash?

After all, when Xia Xiaolan went to sweep the Hong Kong stock market, she had even brought along Chen Xiliang, Bai Zhenzhu, and others – there was no reason to exclude her uncle… Unless for one reason: there was more money to be made in Qiong Island than in the Hong Kong stock crash!

Xia Xiaolan didn’t plan to explain for now. If she told Liu Yong that land prices in Qiong Island would reach several million per mu, he wouldn’t believe it anyway.

Never mind Qiong Island becoming a province and special economic zone – even if it became China’s new capital, under normal circumstances, land prices couldn’t surge that fast in just a few years. Even Beijing’s land prices hadn’t reached several million per mu!

However, she did need to speak with Tang Hongen.

Although the Song family hadn’t helped Zhu Suizhou smooth things over, they might not be happy seeing her make big money on Qiong Island and might gossip about Old Tang behind his back. The Song family’s thoughts weren’t important, but it would be terrible if Old Song misunderstood Old Tang.

That night, countless people couldn’t sleep.

Not just the speculators who had come to Qiong Island, but even ordinary local citizens knew that provincial status and special economic zone establishment were good news!