Reborn as a Noble's Son

Chapter 518: Chapter 477: Lin Zhengxing’s Dominance_1
 

Mayor Nie’s words silenced everyone in the room. The atmosphere in the private room became awkward. Ma Fei, a master at lightening the mood, knew better than to speak at this moment. As an experienced veteran, he certainly knew when to stay quiet.

Everyone clearly knew that Mayor Nie was hosting a lavish reception for the visiting investors in Wanghai City. Ordinarily, the mayor’s attentiveness would indicate that all departments were fully supportive and eager to facilitate the process for the investors. However, nobody expected that Mayor Nie would bring up land auction as soon as he spoke.

As everyone knows, land transfers in China usually take one of three forms: invitation to bid, auction, or listing. Invitation to bid means that the government or land department invites specific, or non-specific companies to bid. Later, these companies compete and the one with the most favorable conditions would earn the land development rights.

An auction means a piece of land is auctioned. Depending on their own evaluation criteria, companies bid from a set starting price. It’s a completely free market operation model. Highest bidder takes the prize.

A listing occurs in the State Land and Resources Transaction Center. After the transfer right of a piece of land is displayed, various companies submit a deposit to the land center and offer a listing price. This form is somewhat similar to an auction.

An Guoyu and the Secretary of the Wanghu District Party Committee began to ponder. Initially, they assumed that since Zheng Jiawei was an old friend of Mayor Nie, surely an invitation to bid would be favored.

Creating a specific bidding invitation for Zheng Jiawei’s company, while inviting other companies, would just make them feel like they’re giving the appearance of competition. Even better, Jiasheng Real Estate could set up two or three shell companies. In this way, they could acquire the land at the lowest price.

If concerned about reputation and appearance, listing could work. A land listing transfer announcement in a small corner of the Wanghai Daily would suffice, with the announcement’s date being only three days from the final deposit deadline. At that time, even if some interested companies saw the announcement, they would be powerless to respond. This would ensure that Jiasheng Real Estate could smoothly acquire the land.

With the real estate industry gradually heating up in China and the further implementation of the housing reform system, demand for houses has grown substantially. More and more enterprises are entering the industry, and various deceptive measures have been explored by the personnel within the system.

What they did not expect was that Nie Zhenbang chose the least advantageous method of auction. This plot of land, spanned six hundred acres, with a nearly two thousand meter coastline. It even boasts a beautiful bay and the Quanwang Expressway passing by. It’s just three kilometers from the city center of Wanghu District. Being in the development zone, as long as the houses are built, there is no worry about finding buyers. According to Wanghai City’s current land market price, the starting price has reached 180 million yuan. However, if auctioned, it could possibly exceed 300 million yuan.

“Hehe, President Zheng, it seems that Mayor Nie has a strong trust in Jiasheng Real Estate,” An Guoyu said with a laugh.

Nie Zhenbang secretly approved of An Guoyu’s ability to defuse the situation with a light-hearted comment. Though not deeply acquainted with An, Nie evaluated him favorably as a versatile individual. If An proved to be decent, he seemed worth cultivating as an ally.

Lost in thought, Nie Zhenbang reflected on the old saying: ‘it’s hard to catch fish in crystal clear water’. Everyone has their own network of relatives and friends and may take actions to better their loved ones’ lives, provided they don’t violate essential principles. Nie Zhenbang didn’t oppose this. He wasn’t so obtuse as to block any minor wining-and-dining amongst his subordinates.

Zheng Jiawei snapped out of his daze, deep in thought over Nie Zhenbang’s announcement about land auctions. Having interacted with Nie Zhenbang during his time in Liangxi City, as an excellent businessman, he had some insights about human nature. People like Nie Zhenbang are upright officials who prioritize their political achievements and future. They welcome anyone who can enhance their political achievements, as long as they don’t violate their conscience or moral bottom line.

With these thoughts, Zheng Jiawei smiled to himself and said, “Mayor Nie, I understand your intentions. Once upon a time in Liangxi City, Jiasheng Real Estate almost had an opportunity to cooperate with Mayor Nie. Now that such an opportunity has presented itself again, we naturally would be willing. Working on a project under Mayor Nie’s leadership, I believe, we can enjoy a successful partnership.”

Zheng Jiawei’s words had a hidden message. Last time in Liangxi City, didn’t Jiasheng Group suffer a defeat due to shady operations? This time, as long as it’s open and fair, Jiasheng Real Estate is not afraid of any rival.

Subsequently, Nie Zhenbang burst into a hearty laugh as well: “Ha ha, Mr. Zheng, you certainly are an outstanding representative and paragon of businessmen. I believe our collaboration will be extremely enjoyable.”

Having said this, Nie Zhenbang stood up, turned to An Guoyu and Lin Chunnan, the Secretary of the Wanghu District Party Committee, and said: “Secretary-General Guoyu, Comrade Chunnan, we welcome enterprises like Jiasheng Real Estate. I think we can assign the Land and Resources Bureau to work on this with the Wanghu District Party Committee and District Government, making it a key project in Wanghai City for this year. For companies like Jiasheng Real Estate, the city will open green channels in business registration, taxation, and urban planning. We will fully support and exercise our influence with the banks, too.”

…

With Nie Zhenbang’s instruction at hand, the entire Wanghu District was greatly boosted. They had long planned to develop the beach area of Moon Lake Bay, but they hadn’t encountered a suitable investor, and so the project had been shelved. But now, the arrival of Jiasheng Real Estate, coupled with the urban focus, quickly spurred the whole project into action.

The Wanghu District Party Committee and District Government promptly held a special work meeting and established a preparatory leadership team for the Moon Lake Bay project. Lin Chunnan personally took on the role of the head of the project leadership team, the District Governor acted as the deputy head, and the executive deputy Governor acted as the director of the team’s office. It was indeed a powerful formation.

Within a week, an accurate measurement of the entire Moon Lake Bay area was conducted, encompassing a total of 693 acres and involving 93 households for demolition. With such a large area involving only about 90 households, the intensity of the demolition was not too large.

At the same time, the Land, Planning and other relevant departments completed the planning of the Moon Lake Bay plot; the land use was set as purely residential use. Commercial residences would definitely not be suitable here. Moreover, detailed plans were issued on details such as Floor Area Ratio of the land.

At the same time, an auction notice was published in the Wanghai Daily. The plot of land in Moon Lake Bay would be formally auctioned on the 8th of December.

…

Eastern Sea Group, top floor of Hongyun Building, Lin Zhengxing’s office. In the classically decorated office, Lin’s motto, “treasure of a businessman,” was hung on the wall. Directly opposite, a calligraphy stating “Soaring Roc” was displayed, although the phrase was clichéd. The signature, however, was impressive – the revered calligraphy belonged to the vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. For Lin Zhengxing, this calligraphy piece was like an amulet in Wanghai City.

The other two walls featured large photos. These were photos taken when central leaders had visited Wanghai and posed with Lin Zhengxing and other Eastern Sea Group executives.

It must be acknowledged that Lin Zhengxing had his own unique strategy when it came to opportunism and lobbying. Using important figures to boost his standing had indeed added a lot of bargaining chips to Lin’s position, also being the reason why Eastern Sea Group was so prosperous.

At this moment, Lin Zhengxing was sitting in his chair, his face appearing somber as he looked at the man in front of his desk and sternly said, “Jiasheng Real Estate? What’s their background, that they dare to come to Wanghai City and grab business?”

The middle-aged man, who looked about fifty years old and seemed fairly ordinary, was well-known within the Eastern Sea Group as the number two man, second only to Lin Zhengxing. People at the group internally called him “Uncle Nine”.

Uncle Nine responded in a low voice, “Boss, Jiasheng Real Estate is not a small entity. They are quite a formidable company in South of the Yangtze River. Their total assets amount to about 5 billion, and they have a great background in Jiangnan. The chairman, Zheng Shaonan, is a representative of the National People’s Congress and also the vice-chairman of the Jiangnan Provincial Chamber of Commerce.”

As soon as the words fell, Lin Zhengxing said in a deep voice, “I don’t care who he is. In Wanghai, there can only be the Eastern Sea Group. I’m quite interested in that plot of land at Moon Lake Bay. If it weren’t for the ongoing third phase of construction at Tianquan Villa, I would also want to acquire it. Now that someone wants to snatch it away, of course, I have to step in.”