Early the next morning, Xia Xiaolan returned to Xiangmi Lake.

After carefully considering the locations she had seen last night, she truly liked the sewage pond area the most.

Although the land wasn’t perfectly rectangular, building houses should adapt to the terrain – the plot didn’t need to be perfectly shaped, as long as the house layout itself was regular.

The irregular areas could be used for landscaping or parking spaces.

After thinking about it all night, Xia Xiaolan grew increasingly fond of it.

Arriving at the spot at the agreed time, there was no sign of the cowardly village bully Luo Yaozong.

“Miss Xia, should I…?” Ge Jian glanced toward the village.

Xia Xiaolan shook her head.

Following the bamboo grove path inward led to Luo Yaozong’s village.

These days, villagers were all staying home, waiting for office officials to discuss compensation door-to-door. Besides good-for-nothings like Luo Yaozong who didn’t care about important matters, no one would be out wandering.

Luo Yaozong was terrified yesterday – how dare he not show up today?

“Something must have happened. This land has something strange about it, strange enough to overcome Luo Yaozong’s fear of me.”

Xia Xiaolan pondered thoughtfully.

Ge Jian trusted Xia Xiaolan’s judgment: “So we’re not going to deal with Luo Yaozong now?”

Xia Xiaolan smiled lightly: “Ge Jian, do you know what I love most about Shenzhen in ’85?”

Ge Jian shook his head.

Xia Xiaolan walked around the sewage pond, seemingly unbothered by the unpleasant smell. It was just some household waste – what was there to be disgusted about? Xia Xiaolan could completely imagine it as the smell of money!

“I love Shenzhen in ’85 because there are no nail households, I love Shenzhen in ’85 because everything gives way to reform and opening up!”

State ownership of land was China’s basic national policy.

This wouldn’t change from the country’s founding until 2017.

Private individuals couldn’t purchase land, they could only “lease” it.

Private individuals couldn’t own it either – even farmers when fields were distributed to households, were only given land by the state to farm.

For major development, this land could be reclaimed at any time.

Was all the land that Harold and Xiangmi Lake had enclosed truly state-owned urban land?

Before the Special Economic Zone was established, wasn’t all of Shenzhen just the countryside?

If Harold and Xiangmi Lake could enclose land, there was no reason Xia Xiaolan couldn’t get any. Having Luo Yaozong inquire about details would have been easier, but without him, Xia Xiaolan could go through official channels.

Hmph, that coward – the monk may run away but the temple stays put.

Xia Xiaolan planned to first investigate the land’s ownership rights. She didn’t even need to disturb Tang Hong’en – if Secretary Peng would just say one word, the Futian Street Office officials couldn’t refuse to cooperate.

Last night after returning, Xia Xiaolan had done her homework.

In March this year, the Shangbu Office was changed to Shangbu District, now overseeing five street offices including Futian, Nanyuan, Shatou, Yuanling, and Meilin, encompassing 25 residents’ committees, 14 village committees, and 45 natural villages.

Luo Yaozong’s Ganquan Village was under the Futian Street Office’s jurisdiction.

Ganquan Village couldn’t run away – how could it not be under the Futian Street Office’s leadership?

That coward Luo Yaozong had his little schemes.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t wait foolishly by the sewage pond but left with Ge Jian. Over a hundred meters away, Luo Yaozong was sneakily using his familiarity with the terrain to hide behind a broken wall and spy.

He was somewhat afraid the woman devil would rush into the village to grab him regardless of the consequences.

Seeing Xia Xiaolan still only brought one person, Luo Yaozong sighed in relief.

“Pah, as if I’m really afraid of you!”

Stinking Bamboo Ditch was worth over 200,000 yuan, all of which belonged to Luo Yaozong. The woman devil asking about it surely had ill intentions.

Luo Yaozong leaned against the wall watching. He had to persuade his grandfather to sell Stinking Bamboo Ditch – would foreign merchants want it?

His father was fierce with him but filial to his grandfather.

Luo Yaozong clicked his tongue, blaming his father for meddling unnecessarily. Why pull tricks? If sold together with other villagers’ land, they would have received over 200,000 yuan compensation by now.

With over 200,000 yuan, what kind of beautiful woman couldn’t he find? Even more fresh-faced than that woman devil… Thinking of the woman devil’s peach-blossom face, Luo Yaozong trembled in fear.

How could a woman be so fierce?

His sisters were all obedient, letting him have his way in everything since childhood.

Let alone beating him until he hurt for a month – his sisters wouldn’t let him bump into even a piece of greasy skin.

Luo Yaozong couldn’t help glaring hatefully at the backs of the woman devil and her henchman one more time, when he saw them stop by the roadside after leaving Stinking Bamboo Ditch. Luo Yaozong was instantly terrified, thinking they would return, and didn’t dare breathe behind the broken wall.

…

Xia Xiaolan hadn’t discovered Luo Yaozong.

She had spotted the convoy by the road!

Coming out of the bamboo grove, she saw several cars parked roadside. A car door opened just then and out stepped American billionaire Harold Wilson.

Harold was speaking with his assistant, turning his head to see Xia Xiaolan.

“Miss Xia?”

Xia Xiaolan sighed – truly when one’s luck is down, even drinking cold water gets stuck in the teeth. First, she was stood up by a coward, now meeting the person she least wanted to see.

The other party had invested nearly 100 million US dollars. Xia Xiaolan wanted to take advantage of their golf course project, so naturally felt guilty seeing Harold in person. After all, Harold could wave his hand, suddenly discover a small piece of land was missed, buy the sewage pond area, and then Xia Xiaolan would have no part in it.

Competing in wealth?

No way to compete.

Xia Xiaolan was only confident in her plans because she saw it was a sewage pond, not prime real estate.

Can’t let Harold discover this!

In a flash, Xia Xiaolan made her decision:

“Mr. Wilson, I didn’t expect to meet you here. No, I mean, knowing you bought this large piece of land, I didn’t expect you to inspect the unfinished land in the morning.”

Boss, you have so much money already, yet you’re still so hands-on – are you afraid of being deceived by your subordinates?

When rich people born with silver spoons work this hard, it puts a lot of pressure on self-made farmers’ children!

Harold walked over, “Diligence always fills life with surprises. Meeting Miss Xia by chance at the restaurant, and meeting again in such wilderness – my assistant said he saw you yesterday. Does Miss Xia particularly like the land I bought? If Miss Xia likes it so much, I’m very willing to invite Miss Xia to tour this place. Please allow me this honor.”

Harold thought Xia Xiaolan came again – surely something was up.

Xia Xiaolan thought, oh no, caught in the act – can’t let Harold grow suspicious.

Just touring Harold’s purchased land?

Was this female territory marking?

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t sure.

She dared not underestimate men like Harold – the interest such men showed wasn’t necessarily genuine. Even if he truly had good feelings for her, such fleeting feelings – how could they compare to a nearly hundred-million-dollar investment?

That would be crazy!

If it were Xia Xiaolan, even seeing the world’s most handsome man wouldn’t make her foolish enough to value him the same as nearly a hundred million dollars… oh no, the world’s most handsome man was her Zhou Cheng.

Pity she hadn’t earned hundreds of millions yet to let her Zhou Cheng shop and spend freely!