Chapter 87 Like Having A Fish Bone Stuck In One's Throat
"Problem? What problem?"
Liu Zhuo, who was wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, stood up from his office chair at once.
Having worked together for many years, he knew Xiao Qiang's character well enough. She would not have approached him if the situation did not prove difficult for her to handle.
On top of that, the chairman considered Jinzhong Village an important commercial territory for the Hengda Group.
All of a sudden, Liu Zhuo's face also turned incomparably grave.
"Initially, I did not plan to come to you for this, but the problem proved to be so difficult that I needed to discuss it with you. Someone bought Jinzhong Village one day before our strategic meeting to discuss the development of the countryside with the chairman! They were one step ahead of us by only a day!" said Xiao Qiang in a serious tone.
"What? A day's difference? Someone else managed to buy the village before we could buy it?"
Liu Zhuo frowned and continued, "Is it one of our competitors?"
"I don't think so, because the other party unabashedly revealed their intentions of reselling it. If it was a competitor, there's no way they would want to sell it!" said Xiao Qiang.
"So the other party is trying to make a quick profit by reselling it at a higher price?"
Xiao Qiang's troubled face, combined with the fact that the other party was not a competitor, led Liu Zhuo to the conclusion that the other party was trying to resell the land for a quick profit.
Listening to Liu Zhuo' spot-on comment, Xiao Qiang laughed bitterly and said, "Making a quick profit might not adequately describe it. Just last night, I met the other party for a preliminary meeting. As far as I know, that guy is a nobody in the business world right now. At least I've never heard of the name Ye Chen before. If what I understood was correct, he acted on his own in the acquisition of Jinzhong Village. I don't believe that he's financially backed by anyone from behind the scenes."
Liu Zhuo remained silent. He knew that Xiao Qiang had more to say.
"He spent just over 60 million dollars on the purchase of the 66 plots of houses in Jinzhong Village, which averaged out to no more than 1 million dollars a plot. At our meeting last night, I revealed my intentions of buying the land from him, and I offered 1.5 million dollars for each plot. Guess what he said? He said that I wasn't sincere and walked out on me! One day, just within a day, he could have turned a profit of more than 30 million! Instead of accepting my offer, he said I was not sincere and turned his back on me! He didn't even give me the chance to negotiate!"
As she spoke, Xiao Qiang could not help but felt slightly indignant by what happened.
Having been involved in the market for many years, she had seen many people who did not play by the usual rules, and she had also seen too many people who were greedy. But someone like Ye Chen? It was the first time she met such a person.
"And how much does he want?" asked Liu Zhuo in a serious voice. His eyebrows were furrowed.
Xiao Qiang exhaled. Her eyebrows were also furrowed as she bitterly responded, "Give it a guess!"
"5 million dollars for a plot?" blurted out Liu Zhuo.
In his view, no matter how greedy someone can get, a five-fold increase in profit in just a day or two was more than enough to make anyone go crazy with glee.
"5 million dollars? If it's just 5 million dollars, then we can call it a quick profit, but he wanted 10 million dollars! 10 million dollars for a plot! Only three days have passed since he acquired the land and he wants to flip it for ten times the initial price! He even said he won't budge from his asking price. He will not sell it for a penny less!" said Xiao Qiang with an indignant laugh.
"Is...is he mad? He dared to ask for such a price? He wants to sell the land for more than 600 million dollars just a few days after he acquired the land for a little more than 60 million dollars?" Liu Zhuo exclaimed in shock.
At that asking price, he was truly shocked!
"I don't know if he's mad or not, but he insisted that he won't sell the land for a penny less, and I personally don't think it's a bluff. Based on what I gathered from our first meeting, he will likely not budget at all from his asking price!" said Xiao Qiang.
Before Liu Zhuo could respond, she continued, "That's why I said it was a difficult problem for me to handle. For that asking price, the decision on what to do is way above my paycheck. Liu Zhuo, what do you think? I don't know what to do!"
"If Ye Chen had the audacity to ask for such a price, does that mean that he is very certain that we have to buy Jinzhong Village no matter what?" thought Liu Zhuo.
He gritted his teeth and said, "In just a few days, what could have been accomplished with a few tens of millions of dollars will now cost several hundred million. How can I even approach the chairman about this matter!"
"Currently the Hengda Group has lost the initiative and we are at the mercy of the other party. Jinzhong Village was our key strategic gateway to developing the countryside, but now it has been taken over by someone else. What else can we do?" exclaimed Xiao Qiang.
"If we don't get Jinzhong Village, then it won't be easy for us to get the development rights of the countryside from the government. And once the government announces the extension of Metro Line 10 and gives the green light to develop the countryside, all our previous efforts will go down the drain. More importantly, we will lose all our existing advantages while our competitors will enjoy this free-for-all buffet as they pump their capital into the countryside!"
Liu Zhuo's brows were so furrowed that it looked like he suddenly aged a lot in a short while.
"That's why I don't know what to do! We have to acquire Jinzhong village no matter what, but at the price of more than 600 million dollars... I really don't know how to approach the chairman about this!" said Xiao Qiang with a nod.
"This feeling, hmm... how do I describe it? It feels like I have a fly in my throat, I want to vomit it out, but I'm afraid to do so. Yet I can't get myself to swallow it too." thought Xiao Qiang.
"I will inform the chairman of this situation first, while you try to invite him over to our headquarters. I personally speak with him myself. We do not know when the municipal government will publicly announce the extension of the Metro Line 10. With that in mind, Ye Chen may not be in a hurry, but we cannot afford to wait around." Liu Zhuo said in a stern voice after he took a moment to think.
"Okay, I will invite him over now!"
...
Xiao Qiang acted fast.
As Liu Zhuo said, Ye Chen could afford to wait, but the Hengda Group could not.
However, when she dialed Ye Chen's mobile phone number, she was greeted with a prompt that he was in another phone call.
In the amusement park in Jiang Zhou, Chen Yinuo and Youyou were happily riding the merry-go-round. Ye Chen had gone off to buy some drinks.
On his way back, he received a phone call from Zhang Jingshan.
"Brother Ye!"
"Hmm? What's up?" asked Ye Chen as he made his way back to the merry-go-round with the drinks he bought.
"Brother Ye, the Old Master asked me to invite you over to our house for dinner tonight. What do you think?" asked Zhang Jingshan with a forced smile.
"What's the deal with that? Why did the old secretary ask me to come over for dinner out of the blue?" asked Ye Chen.
As he finished speaking, he seemed to realize something and continued, "Did you tell the old secretary something?"
"Oh, I told him nothing important. I was talking to him last night and he asked me what you were up to, so I said that you were not doing anything in particular. Then he brought up the acquisition of Jinzhong village. As we talked, he wanted me to invite you over for dinner. Brother Ye, is it convenient for you? Can you spare some time to come over?" said Zhang Jingshan.
He did not tell Ye Chen the questions that the Old Master asked, as he was no fool. He knew better than to simply speak his mind. If Ye Chen wanted him to know or wanted him to join in his plans, he would naturally have told Zhang Jingshan on his own accord. Otherwise, Zhang Jingshan might just bring contempt upon himself by prying too much. It might even ruin their relationship.
Ye Chen did not give an immediate reply. He paused for a while.
"The acquisition of Jinzhong Village caused the old secretary to invite me over for dinner? Seems like he's trying the same old trick from the last time at the vineyard!" thought Ye Chen. However, he did not feel any resentment towards the old man.
To him, being able to leave such an impression on Zhang Weimin's heart was not a bad thing.
"Sure, what time?" said Ye Chen.
"Around 6 pm. You can come over at around 6 pm." said Zhang Jingshan with a laugh.
"Okay!" said Ye Chen with a nod.
"Then I'll inform the Old Master about it! Oh yeah, do you want me to send you the location?"
"That won't be necessary! I still remember the way there when I followed you there the last time!"
"Okay, then that's all from me!"
Ye Chen hung up the phone. But before he could slide his phone into his pocket, it rang again. It was from Xiao Qiang.
Ye Chen asked with a chuckle, "Xiao Qiang, how about it? Are you agreeable to the price that I asked for?"
Xiao Qiang, who was frustrated after numerous attempts to call him, choked up when she heard his laughter.
That feeling of being put in a stranglehold by someone else and losing the initiative was unbearable for her.
"Mr. Ye, let's put aside talks about the price for now. Look, are you free later? Can you drop by Hengda Group's headquarters?" said Xiao Qiang with a forced smile. She was trying to keep her emotions in check.
"Later? I'm occupied. I'm spending time with my wife and daughter at the amusement park!" said Ye Chen.
Xiao Qiang was instantly dumbstruck when she heard that. She thought to herself, "Spending time with his wife and daughter at the amusement park? Is that more important than a deal that's worth a few hundred million dollars?"
"How about later in the evening?" asked Xiao Qiang.
"I can't make it either. I have a dinner appointment," replied Ye Chen.
Xiao Qiang's face, which was no less beautiful and charming than when she was younger, trembled uncontrollably.
"Is this guy deliberately toying with the Hengda Group?"
But she was overthinking it. Ye Chen really did not have the intention of toying with them.
In Ye Chen's eyes, spending time with his family and accepting the invitation to have dinner with the old secretary, were more important than the meeting with Hengda Group.
After all, he was in no rush to do the sale. It was the Hengda Group that was in a hurry to make the purchase.
"Then when are you able to make a visit?" Xiang Qiang asked. She was holding back her emotions and forced an unnatural smile.
Ye Chen replied, "I can come over tomorrow morning!"
"Phew." Xiao Qiang let out a sigh of relief. That worked for her.
"Okay, that works. Then please drop by our headquarters tomorrow, Mr. Ye. I will inform the receptionist to expect you. You can go directly to the receptionist when you arrive tomorrow."