“Grandmother Yu, I know you’re angry. Ah, it’s my fault for being clumsy with words – that’s not what I meant. As Chaoyang Real Estate’s owner, I’ll take full responsibility for my employees’ mistakes. While we must hold those responsible accountable, we also need to resolve the issue. The city government has already approved this land, and Chaoyang Real Estate is ready for development. Now I just hope to compensate you and Mr. Xu properly…”

Even if it was Grandmother Yu’s house, could they go against the government’s planning?

Zhu Suizhou showed a willingness to compensate.

He was quick to admit fault and sincere about solving the problem:

“You can tell me your demands. I’ll resolve what I can, and find ways to resolve what I can’t. Business is about making money – having such trouble before construction even begins on a perfectly good mall has me very anxious too.”

Zhu Suizhou spoke earnestly, and Vice Mayor Zhao thought he made sense.

When asking for something, one should have the right attitude. Manager Zhu had already humbled himself enough – surely Xu Zhong Yi would accept now?

“Comrade Xu, why don’t you make a demand and see if Manager Zhu can meet it?”

Xu Zhong Yi’s face twitched, giving Zhu Suizhou a sense of an insincere smile:

“Manager Zhu is very eloquent. I’m sure your mall will prosper after it’s built. Manager Zhu, why don’t you tell us how much compensation you’re willing to offer?”

Liu Yong grew anxious – how could they discuss compensation when Xiaolan wasn’t even present?

Would Xu be generous with Xiaolan’s interests?!

But Zhu Suizhou showed real sincerity:

“I’m willing to compensate Mr. Xu’s family 500,000 yuan.”

Vice Mayor Zhao’s eyes widened.

500,000 yuan was quite substantial!

After working many years to become vice mayor, his salary wasn’t much. Zhu Suizhou was very generous – offering 500,000 yuan compensation for a building on just over two mu of land showed real sincerity.

Consider that Chaoyang Real Estate had acquired 25 mu of prime location at Erqi Square from the city government for just 5 million yuan. At 200,000 yuan per mu, the highest land price in Shang Du at the time, Chaoyang Real Estate was essentially paying twice for Building No. 45’s land… But government compensation to private citizens would never be this high.

All land belonged to the state – getting any compensation for state replanning was already good.

Only because Building No. 45 was the Yu family’s returned ancestral property – for ordinary private homes, residents would happily accept a replacement apartment after government replanning.

Take Pengcheng for example – Luo Yaozong’s family had over 20 mu of private land but only received 10,000 yuan compensation per mu.

“This is a very good offer!”

Vice Mayor Zhao urged Xu Zhong Yi to accept.

Grandmother Yu frowned, and Liu Yong puffed his cheeks.

Zhu Suizhou was indeed clever, making what seemed like a very generous compensation offer.

But was 500,000 much?

Just ‘Blue Phoenix’ operating there could make 100-200,000 a year – Liu Yong knew this better than anyone. It was truly a prime location – 500,000 yuan could be earned back in just three years!

“500,000 yuan? Manager Zhu, our Xu family isn’t refusing to comply with government planning – rather, someone used fraudulent means to handle this matter. I see Manager Zhu’s sincerity, so I’ll be direct: 500,000 yuan is impossible, but 500,000 US dollars we could consider.”

Vice Mayor Zhao’s eyes widened further.

500,000 US dollars?

Xu Zhong Yi was asking for the moon – such inflation, why not just rob them outright?

Yuan Hong Gang also thought 500,000 US dollars was a lot – any foreign exchange was precious. At the official exchange rate, 500,000 US dollars could build a worker dormitory. Yuan Hong Gang also felt Xu Zhong Yi was asking for the moon, but with Liu Yong’s intense eye signals, the factory director reluctantly chimed in:

“If Manager Zhu is truly willing to pay this much, and Grandmother Yu and Comrade Xu have no objections, I won’t pursue the matter of improper property rights changes either.”

Owing favors was troublesome.

He was stooping to help Xu Zhong Yi extort Chaoyang Real Estate.

Zhu Suizhou’s expression changed slightly, “Mr. Xu, you really want 500,000 US dollars? How could Chaoyang Real Estate possibly provide so much foreign exchange? And you’re only considering it – if there are other conditions, please state them all at once, and give me a clear answer!”

“Of course, there are other conditions. Manager Zhu, you know very well why you’d even resort to tricks to get Building No. 45’s land. The building itself isn’t valuable, but that location is irreplaceable – you won’t find such valuable land anywhere else in Shang Du. I had originally planned to develop this land myself. Now that Manager Zhu has obtained it through improper means, we should share the profits instead of you eating alone. Value Building No. 45 at 500,000 US dollars – I won’t ask for cash, I’ll use this 500,000 to buy shares, and pay you an additional 1.5 million US dollars, making it 2 million US dollars total. How about we develop and build the mall together?”

What?!

This development surprised everyone.

After all this fuss, Xu Zhong Yi wanted to cooperate with Zhu Suizhou.

Vice Mayor Zhao couldn’t understand this development, and Yuan Hong Gang hadn’t processed it either.

Grandmother Yu was stunned before coming to her senses.

Liu Yong had a vague understanding, roughly guessing Xu Zhong Yi’s thinking but not entirely sure.

Zhu Suizhou also couldn’t make sense of it.

He definitely couldn’t accept 500,000 US dollars in compensation.

Chaoyang Real Estate was Zhu Suizhou’s empty shell for leveraging other people’s money – he could barely scrape together 500,000 yuan, let alone 500,000 US dollars.

Xu Zhong Yi meant to give him 1.5 million US dollars… Zhu Suizhou’s heart stirred – this business could be negotiated, depending on how many shares Xu Zhong Yi wanted.

Zhu Suizhou wasn’t afraid of business negotiations – he most feared when the other party wouldn’t talk and couldn’t be moved by any conditions.

“Mr. Xu, I can’t give you an answer right now. This needs company discussion – you know there are other investors. Valuing Building No. 45 at 500,000 US dollars for shares is impossible, but we can discuss details.”

Vice Mayor Zhao thought Zhu Suizhou was incredibly generous and Xu Zhong Yi’s move was unexpected, but at least the matter could be temporarily resolved.

Since both parties were willing to talk, it was no longer the city government’s concern – surely Grandmother Yu and Xu Zhong Yi couldn’t trouble the city government anymore.

“I wish you both a happy cooperation! Haha, this is a win-win situation – congratulations to Chaoyang Real Estate for attracting foreign investment, and congratulations to Comrade Xu for finding a good project!”

Without Vice Mayor Zhao’s prompting, both parties shook hands.

Xu Zhong Yi and Zhu Suizhou arranged a time for detailed discussions, parting amicably. Seeing Liu Yong gave Yuan Hong Gang a headache: “Comrade Liu Yong, please put in a good word for me with the elderly couple. This matter seems to no longer need my help. Goodbye!”

Liu Yong had no time for the factory director’s grievances.

Having never dealt with Xu Zhong Yi before, he didn’t know how to broach the subject.

Xu Zhong Yi didn’t hide his intentions:

“If we took back Building No. 45 and ruined Chaoyang Real Estate’s mall plans, it would just harm both sides. The city government would lose face and land sale revenue, and whoever owned Building No. 45 wouldn’t be welcomed… I see Little Xia also wants to redevelop that land, so why not let me invest and share the profits with Chaoyang Real Estate? Building No. 45 was my mother’s gift to Little Xia – this is just my additional expression of gratitude!”