Mixed in 1980

Chapter 368 A desperate move

The British certainly have a knack for property speculation, especially when it comes to reducing land supply, which has a significant impact on pushing up housing prices.

In late 1984, a joint statement was issued, stipulating that only 50 hectares of land in Hong Kong could be sold each year, and the property market quickly recovered, starting a period of rapid price increases.

From HK$84-500 per square foot at the end of 3 to HK$94-6000 per square foot at the end of 5, the price of housing increased more than tenfold.

Now that land supply has been reduced again, the housing market is rising even more sharply. Chen Fan is terrified just looking at it, just like Japan back then.

Of course, this is what Chen Fan wanted to see.

Chen Fan called Zhou Wenya every day to get information, and once again instructed her to continue the hype, aiming to push the average price above 10,000 yuan within a month.

"The situation is much better than expected!"

Swire Properties' Ho Lee-tai smiled, "The average price has exceeded HK$9000, and the average price per square meter has reached the HK$10 mark, which is more than expected."

With more than a year to go before July 1, 1997, He Litai decisively issued an order to put some second-hand houses on the market and accelerate the opening of new houses.

Pre-sales have also begun on newly developed land!
It's time to cash out and leave!

"Chen Fan, there's been an accident at sea!"

Zeng Ali came in with a newspaper. The headline on the front page read: "Two American aircraft carriers have come to our doorstep to demonstrate."

This is clearly meddling in the island's domestic affairs!

Chen Fan took the newspaper, glanced at it, and started cursing: "Damn it... that son of a bitch, he really thinks he's the world police, meddling in everything."

After cursing, I felt utterly powerless!
Ultimately, one is just a person. Even with enormous wealth, one is still like an ant in the face of many things.

Chen Fan suddenly felt nostalgic for the future!

The diplomatic quartet F4 back then were truly incredibly charismatic, especially their famous five-word statement at the UN General Assembly: "That's the decision!"

"What can we do?" Zeng Ali clenched her fists, feeling extremely frustrated.

She never forgot what Chen Fan had said long ago: without the country as a backer, we are nothing in the world.

Just like Old Huo in his early years, when the British said they wanted to take his land, they just took it away; when they said they wanted to buy his company, they just gave him a receipt for a debt.

Chen Fan's ability to grow strong and successful over the years, and to reap huge profits everywhere, is all thanks to a powerful backer; otherwise, he would have been dealt with by the British long ago.

Just like with controlling housing prices before, if Xinghuo Real Estate didn't have a 40% stake in China Construction, the British could have taken all the land with just a word.

Just like how we dealt with Old Huo back then!
"Call Qiu'er and Yuanyuan over."

Chen Fan asked Zeng Ali to call for help. He opened a drawer, took out a cigarette, lit it, and smoked about half of it before his three wives came over.

Chen Fan turned on the TV; the news was reporting that a military exercise was being conducted in southern Fujian.

Xu Jinqiu and Zhao Yuanyuan immediately started cursing, spewing one vulgar curse after another, even more vulgar than many grown men, leaving Chen Fan stunned.

They do swear, they just don't usually.

"Everyone has seen the situation. There's not much we can do, except donate some money so that when the children grow up, they can stand up straighter."

Upon hearing this, Zeng Ali agreed, saying, "Our generation has encountered a lot of frustrating things growing up. We can't let our children suffer the same fate. Let Starlight Investment take 1 million US dollars."

Ms. Zhao nodded slightly: "I hope that when the children grow up, we will be the ones blocking other people's doorsteps, not the other way around. Starlight Investment will also contribute 1 million US dollars."

Xu Jinqiu nodded and said, "The foundation still has some money in its account, and we'll also donate 1 million US dollars, but who will we donate this money to? Which organization will receive it?"

"Donate it to the Space Foundation!"

Chen Fan flicked his cigarette ash and took another puff: "You can't get anything done with little money. Our family isn't short of money. I'll have Wenya transfer 10 billion US dollars to each of your private accounts later."

"You can donate directly to the foundation. There's no need to publicize it. Just get a receipt."

"Grandma... this money, once donated, will eventually be squeezed back tenfold, a hundredfold, from those Americans. What utter bullshit, damn it..."

After muttering and cursing for a while, Chen Fan picked up his phone and called Zhou Wenya, asking her to transfer the money to his three wives' accounts: "There's no time to lose, you should go now."

Xu Jinqiu asked in surprise, "Aren't you coming along?"

Chen Fan shook his head: "You guys can go!"

"That's okay!"

The three daughters-in-law did not hesitate and immediately went out to donate money. Because the amount was huge, they needed to transfer the money at the Bank of China and did not return until evening.

Each person donated $11 billion!

Chen Fan didn't care how much he donated; he had more money than he could spend, whether in the company account or his personal account. He just couldn't swallow this anger!

Xu Jinqiu took out a cigarette from the drawer and lit it for him: "When we went out today, we met a group of people who were quite interesting."

“Just like you, they have very strong tempers. When they heard about this, the three brothers drove a dilapidated van from the Central Plains and donated 2 yuan to help build an aircraft carrier for the country.”

“We also treated the three brothers to a meal and arranged a hotel for them. These three brothers are all very sentimental. They drive old and beat-up cars and dress like ordinary farmers, but they are very generous when it comes to donating money.”

"When they arrived, they couldn't find the place to donate, so they waited outside the central bank for a long time before they finally found out where to receive donations."

A few days later, CCTV News also reported on it.

Xu Jinqiu pointed at the TV: "These are the three brothers. The one in the lead is Yu Donglai. He used to run a tobacco and alcohol shop."

"These days, opening a tobacco and liquor shop and having 2 yuan to spare would probably drain your savings."

Chen Fan was surprised; he hadn't expected it to be him!

He's a capable person!

He will undoubtedly have a place in the future retail market; he is practically a benchmark of integrity in the industry.

As we entered mid-April, the storm at sea finally subsided, but the Hong Kong property market went crazy, with prices rising again and again, reaching an average of HK$1.05 per square foot.

HKD 115500 per square meter!

At the same time, the price of housing in Beijing was only 4000 yuan per square meter, which, according to this year's exchange rate, is equivalent to 4320 Hong Kong dollars per square meter.

Property prices in Hong Kong are 27 times higher than in Beijing!
"Have the people of Hong Kong gone mad? Their per capita GDP is only HK$19, how can they support housing prices of HK$11.55 per square meter?"

Xu Jinqiu scratched his head, thinking for a long time but still couldn't figure it out: "Per capita GDP, most people probably can't get that much income, right?"

“The average worker’s monthly salary is only HK$6000 to HK$10000. The cost of living in Hong Kong is high. Ordinary people don’t have much savings, so how can they afford to buy a house?” Chen Fan raised the corners of his mouth.

A high price is justified!
In an effort to drive up property prices, Hang Seng Bank shareholders have poured in a lot of money, with their buying and selling transactions incurring significant stamp duty costs.

Housing prices have already reached their peak!

Ordinary people can't afford it, and capital is also watching and waiting. The price is too high. Even if mainlanders take over in the future, can they afford it?
The per capita GDP in mainland China is only over 5000 yuan per year!

Swire Properties' Ho Lee-tai also realized something was wrong. Prices were rising too fast, but transaction volume had decreased significantly, and for a time, there was a lack of buyers.

In short, they're not selling!

A little over a month ago, the price was pushed up to 9000 per square foot. In the past month, although a lot of properties have been sold, the total number is still not much.

The original plan was to ship it over a year.

Just over a month has passed, and the houses are already hard to sell, and our funds are tied up: "Shit... Chen Fan deliberately inflated the price."

"His goal is to trap foreign investment!"

It was only at this point that He Litai finally realized something was wrong. Housing prices had already been pushed to a high level, and now it wasn't a question of whether potential buyers wanted to purchase, but rather whether they could afford to.

There are plenty of people who want to buy it.

Those without houses complain, wanting to have a place to live; those with small houses complain, wanting to buy a bigger house; those with big houses also complain, wanting to buy even more houses.

When housing prices rise to a high level, everyone complains about the difficulty of buying a home and how unaffordable it is. It's similar to the situation in mainland China in later years.

As a result, Chen Fan also got scolded!

Previously, controlling prices to prevent increases would draw criticism, and now that prices are rising, they'll still be criticized. This is the biggest reason why Chen Fan doesn't engage in real estate development in mainland China.

Want a good reputation? No way!

Real estate is a blood-sucking industry. It not only drains the savings of three generations of a family, but also jeopardizes a person's future for the next thirty years.

"Fake..."

After cursing for a while, He Litai hurriedly went to find someone to discuss the matter. Now was not the time to consider the price, but to consider how to get out unscathed.

Just as I was about to turn off the TV, I saw another infuriating news report: Yu Jing of Xinghuo Investment was being interviewed by a TV reporter and dropped another bombshell.

"Mr. Chen owns a total of twelve villas and fifteen large apartments. As Mr. Chen instructed, except for one apartment which he will keep for his own residence, the rest will all be put up for sale."

"In addition, Xinghuo Investment also has 10 plots of land and 8 large factories that will be put up for sale. Interested parties can contact them directly."

PS: Second update!
(End of this chapter)