Facing off against Xia Xiaolan, does that make someone unkind?

Tang Yuanyue couldn’t utter a single word.

Truly, while he wasn’t exactly a moral saint and didn’t pull punches in business, compared to Du Zhaohui, he was definitely a law-abiding citizen!

He never expected that one day, Du Zhaohui would be the one teaching him about kindness—

“Zhaohui, you can leave now.”

Tang Yuanyue didn’t want to continue the conversation, but now Du Zhaohui was the one who wouldn’t leave.

“That’s not right. Xia Xiaolan always talks about how many investment opportunities are out there. When the money’s in our pockets, we have control. Why must you cooperate with that loser Ji? He’s told you his plans, why can’t you just do it yourself without him?”

“You’re not short of money, but loser Ji is. How much money can the second branch give him? He’s just trying to exploit you—”

“Hey, Tang, are you even listening to me?”

Wherever Tang Yuanyue went, Du Zhaohui followed like a shadow.

Tang Yuanyue couldn’t bear it anymore:

“Zhaohui, carefully consider what you just said.”

Du Zhaohui paused, exhaled, then smacked his lips, “I’m just telling the truth.”

Damn, this troublemaker had made him think his breath smelled!

What smell could there be? He’d eaten wonton noodles in Hong Kong before crossing the border today, could that still be detected?

“It’s the truth, but it’s too shameless. Los— no, I mean your brother Du Zhaoji approached me for investment. Refusing him is one thing, but turning around and stealing his idea, isn’t that shameless?”

Tang Yuanyue asked him.

Du Zhaohui hummed and hawed, “How can you make money without being shameless? Not making money when you can makes you a fool. Stop putting on an act with me!”

Tang Yuanyue had a splitting headache.

Why did he ever become friends with someone like Du Zhaohui?

Maybe he’d be more compatible with Second Young Master Du!

After all, Second Young Master Du had studied abroad, unlike the scoundrel Du Zhaohui!

Yes, all businessmen are shameless, everyone knows this fact, but it’s unseemly to say it out loud.

Everyone still needs to maintain a veneer of civility to hide their shame.

“I’m begging you, it’s my fault, I shouldn’t have asked to meet. Just do me a favor and let me have some peace. I need to think carefully about the Asia matter.”

Unable to outdo Du Zhaohui in shamelessness, Tang Yuanyue surrendered on the spot.

Du Zhaohui lingered in the office for two hours, walking away with two bottles of Tang Yuanyue’s wine and a box of cigars.

Tang Yuanyue’s assistant didn’t dare say anything. Some people appear glamorous and flashy on the surface, but who knew they could be such a scoundrel?

The boss must be furious.

To the assistant’s surprise, after Du Zhaohui left, Tang Yuanyue smiled:

“After meeting with Zhaohui and her, I’ve got some ideas. Now you can help me arrange a meeting with Second Young Master Du. If he wants financing, he’ll need to show some sincerity.”

That scoundrel Du Zhaohui had one thing right – not making money when you can makes you a fool. Businesspeople never turn away from money. If they start refusing money, that businessman must be terminally ill.

Whether Du Zhaohui was terminally ill, Tang Yuanyue wasn’t sure yet.

Looking at today’s situation, it couldn’t be far off.

Tang Yuanyue felt he could still save himself.

Making money is making money, no matter who it’s with.

If Du Zhaoji couldn’t show sincerity, he might still invest but then team up with Xia Xiaolan to force Du Zhaoji out.

If Du Zhaoji could learn from the Japanese Yaohan model, why couldn’t he?

Du Zhaoji only proposed an idea – besides the ongoing construction in Commercial City, Yunan Province, they hadn’t bought land anywhere else, only had a report… these weren’t worth much capital!

…

Xia Xiaolan felt her nose itch.

After leaving South Sea Hotel, surely no one was talking about her behind her back?

Du Zhaoji’s expansion plans somewhat disrupted Xia Xiaolan’s current plans. Back at the company, she called in Ge Jian and Ying Jinchuan:

“How are the preparations for the new property development?”

“Director Xia, we’ve even completed the sand table model. We’re just waiting for your word to begin concentrated marketing.”

The new property development operated on a completely different model from Golden Sand Pool.

Golden Sand Pool was hyped up from the moment they started cleaning the sewage pool, promoting the ‘feng shui treasure land’ angle to attract Hong Kong buyers.

The new development was different. Xia Xiaolan planned to launch sales in March, but everything had been kept very low-key until now.

Low-key land acquisition, low-key foundation work, low-key construction – Ge Jian was getting anxious.

Ge Jian now understood that “good wine needs no bush” was nonsense. How can you sell even the best product if consumers don’t know about it?

The new development’s name has been confirmed – “Luohu Sky City,” because it was located next to Luohu District. The Golden Sand Pool community would be in the future Futian District, benefiting from proximity to the golf course and Xiangmi Lake Resort, making it very marketable.

When Xia Xiaolan was buying the new land, she considered staying in that area, but precisely because of Golden Sand Pool’s hot sales, the local government wasn’t foolish – nearby land prices had skyrocketed.

Moreover, she was also building elevator apartments, which would overlap with the golf course area.

Xia Xiaolan held back from buying.

The land around Xiangmi Lake couldn’t be bought piece by piece anymore. Once the project became popular, she wouldn’t have enough capital.

Better to make money elsewhere first. When buying, better to acquire more in one go.

This led to Qihang’s second development project, “Luohu Sky City.”

The name wasn’t chosen randomly. Why call it “Luohu Sky City”? Because it was one of the few high-rise residential projects in Pengcheng at the time. With low buildings everywhere, creating a residential project as tall as an office building justified the name “Sky City.”

Living high up wasn’t a problem – residents wouldn’t have to climb stairs.

Luohu District was currently Pengcheng’s most prosperous area. “Luohu Sky City” certainly wasn’t in the district’s most prosperous zone – residential buildings weren’t office buildings, and Xia Xiaolan saw no need to waste money on expensive land.

“We’ll launch sales around March 20th, the timing works out.”

“We still need advertising, covering both newspapers and television. Especially in Hong Kong. This time we won’t invite feng shui masters – using the same trick every time won’t convince consumers anymore. The core marketing message is high quality at low prices, positioning this as Qihang’s flagship project after Golden Sand Pool. The company will provide transportation from Luohu Customs for viewings. We can apply the same strategy we used for Chengrong Plaza to our sales.”

Ge Jian carefully noted down every word Xia Xiaolan said.

These were strategic guidelines that couldn’t be explained again to all Qihang employees – Xia Xiaolan only needed the management to understand.

Ying Jinchuan remembered Chengrong Plaza’s promotion particularly well. “We offered free transportation for property viewings when selling Golden Sand Pool, just on a smaller scale than Chengrong Plaza. They have a permanent sales venue requiring long-term dedicated shuttle services. We’re selling residential properties – once the houses are sold, that’s it, so the impact wasn’t as significant then. Director Xia, are you referring to Chengrong Plaza’s shopping lottery system?”

Give away laundry detergent with house purchases.

Impossible – people who can afford houses won’t be tempted by such small benefits.

Unless—

Xia Xiaolan laughed heartily, “Manager Ying, we won’t be giving away laundry detergent. Different consumers have different needs. We can offer parking spaces, housing payment discounts, cash vouchers, and other incentives!”