1,999 yuan per square meter had already left everyone speechless!

Yet Xia Xiaolan continued raising prices as she spoke.

The first floor would be expensive because it came with underground parking – that made some sense.

The second and third floors would be expensive because they were at good heights, not tiring to climb yet not as damp as the first floor – that also made some sense.

The fourth and fifth floors would be expensive because of the good views!

The sixth-floor duplexes would be expensive because they included rooftop terraces.

So there were no cheap units at all!

“Director Xia, if everything is marked up, which units are priced at 1,999 yuan per square meter?”

Once again, it was Ying Jinchuan who broke the silence.

Xia Xiaolan searched the model for a while before pointing to a 70-square-meter small unit in Building 4, “I think the lighting might not be ideal here, so let’s make this the special offer unit at just 1,999 yuan per square meter. What do you all think?”

Ying Jinchuan stared at Xia Xiaolan, speechless for a long while.

He wasn’t struck by her brilliant talent – he had never met someone so brazenly shameless. Yes, regardless of gender or age, Ying Jinchuan had met many bad people, but they all tried to hide their misdeeds. Only Xia Xiaolan could be so shameless yet so straightforward about it!

“Since Director Xia has set the prices, we’ll sell at these rates. I haven’t managed the specific site operations, so I’ll let Manager Ge speak!”

Ying Jinchuan indicated that he handled finances, not sales.

It wasn’t Ge Jian’s responsibility either – he was the project manager, and construction was complete, so what did it have to do with him?

But Ge Jian’s loyalty to Xia Xiaolan was unquestionable. He was the only one in the office who didn’t question her pricing.

Miss Xia… no, Director Xia now. Whatever Director Xia wanted to do had never failed. Did it matter if the price was one thousand or two thousand? It only mattered how Director Xia planned to sell them.

“Director Xia, we currently have 19 units available for sale. Since Building 1 faces the street with high-ceiling shops on the first floor, floors 2-5 have 70 and 90-square-meter units, totaling 16 units. But since Qihang occupies one 90-square-meter unit, only 15 remain, plus four 135-square-meter duplexes on the sixth floor.”

Ge Jian spoke very clearly, and Xia Xiaolan didn’t interrupt him.

But he wasn’t seeing the full picture.

“Who said we’re only selling 19 units?”

Ge Jian quickly added, “The first floor has five shops, one being used as the sales office. Do you plan to sell the remaining four?”

Xia Xiaolan thought for a moment and shook her head, “Don’t sell the shops yet, let’s sell the apartments first! Who says we can only sell completed units? Ge Jian, Engineer Wang, you’ve both been managing construction – at the current pace, how long until the entire project is complete, including the courtyard landscaping? It shouldn’t take more than five months, right?”

Wang Houlin considered this. Although they had concentrated on Building 1, the other buildings weren’t standing idle.

Building 2 had already topped out.

Building 3 had begun construction.

Completing all buildings would take about five months, but if Director Xia was in a hurry to sell, they could speed up the schedule:

“If we push the workers, we could do it in four months—”

Xia Xiaolan waved her hand: “No need. Good work takes time. The show building needs to be ready for early sales, but the others can be built slowly. Five months is too short – I’ll give you half a year! We need to give those who aren’t paying in full some time to gather funds. We don’t need to wait until the units are completed to sell them. The finished units will go to whoever signs the contracts first, then people can choose from the ones under construction. All units will be delivered before June 30, 1986.”

The show building was for viewing, not immediate occupancy.

With construction ongoing in the complex, it would be dangerous if eager owners moved in early.

This was a small development, not a hundred-mu mega-project where construction areas could be cordoned off.

Better to have everyone wait half a year to take possession.

Mao Kangshan couldn’t hold back any more:

“Are you only selling these units to Hong Kong buyers? Are you going to sell in Hong Kong?”

“Most clients will probably be from Hong Kong. Hong Kong is small with a dense population. They sell properties by ‘feet’ – English feet, not our common meters! About 11 feet equals 1 meter. They often talk about ‘thousand-square-foot mansions,’ but a 1,000-square-foot home is only slightly larger than our 90-square-meter units. They can’t spare so much space for landscaping. Golden Sand Pool’s units will be very attractive to Hong Kong clients, but we’re not necessarily only selling to Hong Kongers. Anyone who can afford it can buy it!”

Xia Xiaolan’s sudden price increase came from a realization – “Golden Sand Pool” itself was a major selling point.

Even Mao Kangshan knew only Hong Kong people could afford these prices. Hong Kong people particularly valued feng shui, and the gold sand Xia Xiaolan had poured into the pool wasn’t just for land speculation – wasn’t all that previous groundwork for today’s harvest?

Xia Xiaolan believed mainland residents could also afford housing worth over a hundred thousand. She didn’t think she was the wealthiest person around.

While millionaires were rare, people worth several hundred thousand weren’t uncommon.

Like those electronics resellers Chen Xiliang knew in Yangcheng – it wouldn’t be surprising if they had such means.

The question was whether they would be willing to spend money on housing. Golden Sand Pool units came with Pengcheng household registration quotas. Many people trying to make it in Pengcheng were from elsewhere, all without local registration — wait, she should probably talk with Secretary Peng. Having two registration spots per unit regardless of size was too rigid. Why not differentiate by unit size?

Make it two spots for 70-square-meter units.

Three for 90-square-meter units.

And naturally, four for 135-square-meter units!

“If there are no objections, let’s compile today’s meeting content, place newspaper advertisements, print flyers, and begin sales promptly at 8 AM on December 14th…”

With the boss having spoken, what objections could anyone raise?

December 14th was next Saturday. Xia Xiaolan would be in Pengcheng to oversee how sales went.

Would they sell?

As everyone left to attend to their duties, Ying Jinchuan stayed behind.

“Director Xia, I should mention something. Director Pan, who previously handled Qihang’s loan, has been reassigned to other business.”

Xia Xiaolan frowned, “Has the mortgage arrangement been settled?”

Ying Jinchuan shook his head, “The new director is named Sheng, transferred from the Beijing headquarters!”

Sheng Xuan!

So she was waiting here for her!

Xia Xiaolan shook her head, “Do we have time to negotiate with other banks?”

Ying Jinchuan wasn’t sure, “I’ll try my best.”

“Good, let’s pursue both options. You talk with other banks, and I’ll meet with Director Sheng personally… Don’t give up on Director Pan’s side. He’s worked in Pengcheng for so long, and being pushed aside by someone parachuted in from above – Director Pan must be unhappy too. People in the banking system all know each other. Maybe Director Pan has friends who can help!”

Ying Jinchuan opened his mouth but said nothing.

These were principles that even 40-year-olds might not understand, yet Xia Xiaolan knew all these intricacies. She was truly a seasoned operator.

It would be hard for someone so clever and brazenly shameless not to get rich!

Xia Xiaolan decided to seek out the root cause and ask Mayor Tang how to handle this. Should she go all out in confronting Sheng? Would Old Tang have her back?